Last Week in Collapse: September 17-23, 2023
War, Migration, Disasters, Disease, and……Resilience?
Last Week in Collapse: September 17-23, 2023
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter bringing together some of the most important, timely, useful, depressing, ironic, astonishing, or otherwise must-see moments in Collapse.
This is the 91st newsletter. You can find the September 10-16 edition here if you missed it last week. Thank you for subscribing to the Substack.
Humankind has made quite a splash on our planet recently. In the last 500 years, extinction of other genera/species accelerated around 98%. Elephant populations have crashed by over 95% in the last 120 years. The disturbance to the world’s ecosystems will not go unavenged: plagues, drought, storms, and the biodiversity dieoff will be are challenges forever. At the cost of our environment, we made a technological leap frog ahead—but we didn’t stick the landing.
Damage Report from Libya: the devastating flooding from September 10 claimed over 4,000 lives—and 8,000+ are still missing. 43,000+ people have been displaced. Warehouses, fishing operations, and markets were also hard hit. The flooding may have also exposed unexploded mines & ordinance.
Europe’s air is bad, says the WHO. 98% of people are breathing unsafe levels, and it’s causing ~400,000 deaths a year. The worst country for air: North Macedonia. The Guardian made an interactive map to examine air conditions across the continent.
Heat waves in Sydney, Australia. An untimely heat wave in Brazil led to wildfires.
Marine heat waves are usually devastating closer to the surface. However, a Nature Climate Change study suggests that we should be more aware of deeper sea temperatures, because marine heat waves last longer farther down. Researchers are particularly worried about marine heat waves in the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Northern Ireland relies on a large lake for almost half its drinking water. Unfortunately, this lake is infected with algae and bacteria. Wildlife is being choked out. Meanwhile, drought has resulted in saltwater creeping up the Mississippi River, threatening ecosystems and drinking water as it moves.
Sweden is cutting its climate budget, guaranteeing an emissions rise that will make its 2030 targets impossible. Taxes on petrol will also be reduced.
No, it’s not just you feeling the mental health unravelment because of Collapse and the climate. Disaster-induced trauma, even secondary or tertiary mental stress from events like wildfires and flooding can be powerful and overwhelming. What will happen when entire societies & states face collective stresses in the future?
The world’s largest carbon capture facility is being constructed in Texas. The 65-acre operation will bind CO2 to a chemical and transform it into carbonate salt. 800 more facilities like this have to be built for the U.S. to achieve net zero by 2050. The White House has also announced the creation of the “American Climate Corps”, a 20,000-person effort to increase resilience to climate events and move the energy transition forward.
A 308-page Stanford PhD thesis on the history of “Big Carbon” interfering with the truth of global warming concludes that climate change would not be the crisis it is, if big energy companies, in conjunction with other bad actors, had not bribed, denied & downplayed science, and conducted information warfare for decades, in pursuit of high profits and industrial expansion.
Canada’s wildfires have contributed 2B tonnes of CO2 this year alone—3x the annual carbon footprint of the entire country. Wetlands are drying up, forests are burning; Canada has crossed its environmental tipping point and there’s no going back. Hell awaits. Dozens of fires in Sicily burn, too.
A 665-acre reforestation tract in Brazil was burned, probably by illegal ranchers protesting the transformation of their grazing land. Meanwhile, large carbon offset projects may be “junk,” according to some accountability professionals.
Scientists are saying that rivers are warming faster than oceans, and losing oxygen more quickly. Toxins, drought, and dieoff lie ahead if the rivers are not managed well. Ordinarily this would be a wake-up call, but humanity seems to be on some very strong sedatives. The ocean broke new temperature records again last week.
Soil health is incredibly important—and the soil is warming faster than the air, interacting in a feedback loop wherein the soil also loses moisture faster. Hotter extremes are damaging soil health and its future potential.
It’s never been this hot in Iraq in late September. In San Antonio, 100+ days over 90 °F (32 °C) in a row. One and a half million people in Seattle must conserve water due to an ongoing drought. Mt. Rainier is losing its ice—and it might not come back.
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The U.S. government is mailing free COVID tests again. COVID is rising in hospitals and health care settings, but few are masking up. In some locations you can get the booster now; other places are suffering supply delays. The U.S. CDC will stop updating the database of “Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19” starting on September 27. A study on Long COVID found various organ damage, especially in the lungs.
Obesity in America is on the rise, with 22 states recording at least 35% of people are obese. High blood pressure is also mounting. The WHO released its first report on hypertension, and it’s a 291-page doozy.
New research on the impact of tire pollution suggests that we have been underestimating the damage it can cause to waterways and fish. Microplastics shed from tires also presents a long-term problem.
The “rat lungworm” has established itself in the American southeast. The parasite can jump from rats to slugs/snails and then to humans.
The WHO confirmed that cholera more than doubled last year, and this trend has not stopped in 2023.
Global debt hit new highs last week, and oil is creeping up to $100 a barrel soon. Ghana is basically bankrupt, and it’s not alone. Many banking systems are facing growing challenges. The US is stringing along Pakistan, negotiating arms to Ukraine in exchange for IMF debt relief. We are entering stormy economic waters.
Rice prices are surging after India’s export ban crippled global supply. A slow-moving energy crisis is building in India & China as drought reduces hydropower output. The Japanese Yen has hit its lowest buying power of all time after prolonged deflationary pressure.
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Sudanese officials are admitting that the War may spread beyond Sudan’s borders, as external actors and terror groups are getting involved. The Army chief is ready to sit down with the head of the insurgent RSF armed group. This battle video from r/CombatFootage depicts some chaos from a battle between the two forces struggling for control. An 18-story landmark building burned in Khartoum.
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