Last Week in Collapse: March 24-30, 2024

Bird flu reaches American cows, heat records continue, a major bridge is destroyed, and the accelerating breakdown of public order…

Last Week in Collapse: March 24-30, 2024

This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.

This is the 118th newsletter, and it’s rather grim. You can find the March 17-23 edition here if you missed it last week. Thank you for subscribing to the Substack.

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The United States has extracted more oil for each of the last 6 years than any country in history. Another conference on global heat began on 28 March, and will run through early June, accomplishing little. And, although temperatures are rapidly rising, the heat index is rising even faster. A study in Science Advances concluded that heat waves are lasting longer, and traveling more slowly, because of manmade climate change.

A state of emergency was declared in part of eastern Malaysia over worsening Drought. Flooding in Brazil killed at least 27, displacing 7,000+. At least 15 Mexican states are experiencing wildfires, made worse by a lasting Drought. Flooding slew 7+ in Nairobi.

The EU Parliament shelved a plan to restore tracts of land & sea, in advance of a vote that was certain to fail. With new EU elections in June expected to boost conservatives and reduce the number of seats of greens & socialists, future environmental legislation will be less likely to pass.

Drought is interfering with crawfish spawning patterns in the U.S. Deep South. Low water levels threaten to leave fragile eggs exposed, and reduce the amount of vegetation (and oxygen) necessary to support baby crawfish.

Dunes in South Australia are being pushed inland over 3 meters per year, as a result of rising sea levels, Drought, and winds. Meanwhile, Sahara duststorms are reaching Europe more often, thanks to changing weather patterns and growing desertification. The Greater Beijing area was also smacked with a duststorm, forcing some schools and factories to temporarily close. Duststorms may also carry bacteria & fungi over great distances.

The Maldives hit 35 °C 95 °F for the first time in March. A heat wave in Thailand is expected to hit 43 °C (109 °F), with a temperature humidity index of 55 °C in Bangkok, and nights over 30 °C. Wet-bulb here we come. Phuket already broke its all-time temperature with 39.3 °C (103 °F). Meanwhile, Guatemala made new records for March, and, in some regions, all-time temps; Honduras, too. Guyana broke its March temperature record, and parts of Algeria’s highlands hit such high temperatures that they not only broke March records, but April & May records, too.

Cyclone Gamane lashed Madagascar, killing at least 18 people and destroying hundreds of houses. The Atlantic hurricane season is shaping up to be a record season with “well above the historical average number of tropical storms, hurricanes, major hurricanes and direct U.S. impacts,” according to one meteorologist. Scientists expect more named storms, more serious hurricanes, and more U.S. storm impacts than average. Hurricane season for the U.S. begins on June 1.

Iowa, America’s #1 corn state, is facing Drought and water restrictions just as the planting season approaches. Yet global corn supplies have swollen so much that corn prices are expected to drop considerably later this year. Conversely, Irish potato-planting is being hampered by overly wet earth forcing a delay to the planting. Blistering Drought in Iraq is forcing some farmers to plant drought-resistant jujube trees instead of classic date palms.

Atmospheric warming has caused a polar vortex to reverse direction—though it is believed to soon return to its normal course. Renowned climate scientist James Hansen released a 14-page article claiming that global warming is accelerating, contrary to the claims made by the IPCC’s global climate models.

A study in Nature Communications claims that reforestation can, in some instances, actually lead to a warmer climate, when one factors in the *albedo** (sunlight reflection) change. Savannahs which were reforested may absorb more sunlight; this effect is not accounted for in many studies, leading to overestimations of the impact of carbon sequestration for some projects. Another study on Australian efforts to reforest tracts of land determined that their efforts had a negligible effect on carbon offsets.

Antarctica’s largest ice shelves are moving a few inches every day, according to a study released last week. Glaciers are “slipping” on icy rivers partially as a result of lamb waves. Meanwhile, scientists looking into eutrophication in the Baltic Sea are concerned with how blue-green algal blooms may endanger sea life and impact the global food chain—and how such problems may not be limited to just the Baltic Sea.

A Colorado university released a 48-page report on carbon credits and water security claims that the market for voluntary carbon credits may incentivize local sustainable water projects…or something. I couldn’t fully understand this report but some of you might find it interesting.

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Climate change is impacting our brains and leading to greater ADHD, Alzheimer’s, depression, and much more. Rising CO2 levels have been linked to decreased concentration abilities, domestic violence, and aggression. Storms and wildfires can give survivors PTSD. And don’t even get me started on health threats from nano/microplastics. Chemical pollution from fossil fuels is also contributing to diabetes, some cancers, and neurological problems.

Dengue fever has come to Puerto Rico, with 500+ new cases this year. Antibiotic-resistant “super gonorrhea” has quickly multiplied across China—and is spreading further.

Cocoa reached $10,000 per tonne for the first time ever, and is likely to continue rising. Debt feeds the exploitation of sugar workers in India, forcing girls into early marriages. For these desperate wage slaves, many of whom are pushed into hysterectomies, Collapse has already arrived.

Crops around the world are losing some of their nutrients due to rising CO2 levels. In response, scientists are looking into “biofortification,” a process which engineers seeds to produce one or two nutrients in greater quantities; botanists are not yet able to increase all nutrients for a given seed.

20% of food is wasted, according to a 191-page UN Report, the Food Waste Index 2024. Although fewer than half of the world’s nations have data on household food waste (and fewer than 25% have data on food service & retail food waste), the report indicates that “the median amount of food waste is 212 grams per person per day or 77 kilograms per person per year, close to the global average of 81 kilograms in this report.” According to the report, food waste is primarily an urban issue, and is concentrated more among households than in the restaurant industry or retail—which doesn’t seem to me to be entirely accurate. The report also lacks data on agricultural food waste, like crops rotting in the field.

“Food waste…results in the throwing away of more than US$1 trillion worth of food every year. It is also an environmental failure: food waste generates an estimated 8–10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (including from both loss and waste), and it takes up the equivalent of nearly 30 per cent of the world’s agricultural land.…up to 783 million people are affected by hunger each year….Most G20 countries do not have data suitable for tracking progress….” -selections from the executive summary

Exercise works. A study in Scientific Reports determined that physical activity in women aged 18-34 reduced all symptoms of Long COVID. The WHO launched a global coronavirus detection network, CoViNet, to monitor COVID, MERS, and other new coronaviruses of public concern.

Nigeria’s power grid collapsed again, the second time this year—and their annual inflation surpassed 31%. An American startup is planning to sell advertising on the moon; some analysts forecast the lunar economy to be worth $150B+ by 2040. British housing problems result in overpaying for substandard housing, in a bubble that some investors think is time to abandon.

Italy’s poverty rate hit 10-year highs, and Tunisia’s economy is in dire straits. “Biflation” is emerging in desperate economies—and may be coming to a currency near you soon, if it’s not there already. Meanwhile, Egypt’s growing debt bomb ticks closer to an explosion that will bring down more than just the government…

One week after bird flu was detected in an American goat farm, American cows have contracted H5N1—the first cows in the U.S. to test positive. Around 10% of selected cow herds in Texas & Kansas tested positive, alongside some cows in Idaho, New Mexico, Ohio, and Michigan. In other words, it’s far, far too late. Officials claim the risk in pasteurized milk is low.

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The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a 1.6 mile (2.5 km) bridge connecting two parts of Maryland, collapsed after a cargo ship collided with one of its pylons. The cost of repair is expected to surpass $2B—it will take years to reconstruct.

Poland’s Prime Minister is warning that Europe has entered a “pre-War era” amid devastating nationwide airstrikes by Russia against Ukrainian infrastructure. France is sending APCs and missiles. Zelenskyy requested a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council for 4 April; these attacks were the largest assault against Ukraine’s energy systems since the start of the full-scale invasion.