Huge thanks to Kimpton Bradford for being my monthly sponsor again. His words:
“During this early autumn month, let’s thank the intellectual giants who came before us and helped illuminate the path towards recognising the dramatic changes taking place in our environment. Henry David Thoreau, John Muir and Aldo Leopold form part of a remarkable intellectual throughline, laying the foundations for so many of the thinkers we listen to and lean on today.”
“The last three months are the warmest on record globally, relative to every other June-July-August period since 1850.
“Data from NOAA/NCEI’s NOAAGlobalTempv6.1.0.”
[Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3mwjbuccj3c2i
“Historic fishery collapse holds lessons for the present.
“From the 13th to the 16th century, herring from the Sound – the strait in the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Sweden – was one of northern Europe’s most important trade goods. Salted herring from the so-called Skanör-Falsterbo fishery fed large parts of Europe. Around 1570, however, this fishery collapsed within a short period of time – with far-reaching consequences…”
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1145103
“The UK is set to face the worst harvest on record, analysis has found.
“In the latest crop numbers from AHDB, spring barley is down by 17% compared to the UK five-year average, while oats are down 14% and winter wheat 11%. AHDB said the harvest was “rapid and straightforward but with very disappointing yields”.”
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN EUROPE:
“Almost 32C [89.6F] in Germany today, over 30C in Switzerland, 33C in France – and this is just the beginning of a heat wave which will completely rewrite European climatic history with several thousands records smashed by even 5/6C margins.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104232985340113348
“No, that is not a mountain in some desert. That is the Matterhorn on September 27, 2026.
“Via Niko Froitzheim.”
[Thomas Reis]
https://x.com/peakaustria/status/2104499909420277806
“Austria’s largest glacier is hanging on by a thread.
“What was once a broad river of ice flowing through the mountain valley has broken apart and pulled dramatically uphill. A lake now covers some of the ground where glacier ice once sat. The remaining lower section of the Pasterze is connected to the ice above by just one narrow passage.”
https://www.earth.com/climate/austrias-largest-glacier-is-hanging-on-by-a-thread/
“Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides across parts of central Greece overnight, with the island of Skiathos and central Evia among the hardest-hit areas.
“More than 100 millimeters of rain fell within a few hours in Psachna, Evia, while Skiathos recorded more than 50 millimeters, according to Greece’s National Observatory.”
“Bad weather in Catania, roads turned into rivers: flooding at the Fair and water in shops [Sicily].
“Violent downpour from the early hours of the morning on the Etna capital. Heavy inconvenience to traffic and for students heading to school. Rain from the night also in the Acese area.”
“Deaths and injuries reported amid heavy rain in Murzuq as municipality declares state of emergency [Libya].
“…the Murzuq Municipal Council declared the highest level of emergency in response to the heavy rainfall and unstable weather conditions, as well as the potential risks posed by flooding and water accumulation to residents’ safety.”
“Morocco Records Hottest Start to September Since 1981…
“Sidi Slimane recorded 47.1°C [116.8F], breaking the previous September record of 45.8°C set in 1988. Kenitra reached 45.1°C, above its previous record of 44.6°C from 2006. Sale also set a new September record at 44.3°C…”
“Pollution, deforestation, others threaten Nigeria’s rivers…
“Nigeria’s rivers are facing growing pressure from pollution, untreated wastewater, indiscriminate dumping, erosion, sand mining, deforestation and the effects of climate change, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, has said.”
https://guardian.ng/news/pollution-deforestation-others-threaten-nigerias-rivers-fg-affirms/
“Record again in SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE:
“34C [93.2F] in The Sao Tome Airport is a new record of September highest Temperature. One by one, this tiny country is breaking every monthly record.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2103889944662200423
“EXTRAORDINARY; WORLD CLIMATIC HISTORY REWRITTEN. Hundreds of records brutalized with absurde margins allover Africa:
“40.2 [104.4F] Cahama 1000m asl – ANGOLA SEPTEMBER HOTTEST DAY EVER; Min 26.5 Tete – MOZAMBIQUE SEPTEMBER HOTTEST NIGHT; 32.5 Pamandzi MAYOTTE – SEPTEMBER HOTTEST DAY.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104639970803876127
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. Record heat never ends in SOUTH AFRICA; September Highest Minimums (some broken by 5C+!):
“17.7 [63.9F] Ceres, 16.3 Excelsior, 18.9 Brandvlei, 19.7 Oudtshoorn, 17.9 Laingsburg, 19.1 Prins Albert, 17.4 Tzaneen, 19.8 Thohoyaundou.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2103835434002358383
“Zimbabweans face acute water stress after poor rainfall.
“More than a million residents in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, are facing acute water stress after years of poor rainfall… With the population growing and demand for water rising, the looming threat of El Niño is deepening the crisis.”
“Saudi Arabia | Thunderstorms persist over Mecca Al-Mukarramah today, with continued activity of rain-bearing clouds and lightning in the region.
“Footage – Wael Al-Hutairshi.” [Arab Storms]
https://x.com/Arab_Storms/status/2104295562900017425
“EXTRAORDINARY WORLD RECORD AGAIN:
“We are witnessing something crazy with thousands of records smashed allover Asia every day of the month. 47C again in KUWAIT today. MINIMUM 34C [93.2F] Kuwait City Port is LATEST 34C MINIMUM EVER RECORDED IN NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104596279854862351
“Heavy rain lashes Punjab, KP as emergency declared in twin cities [Pakistan].
“Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds lashed several cities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with hailstorms reported in some areas, prompting authorities to declare a rain emergency in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.”
https://www.nation.com.pk/28-Sep-2026/heavy-rain-lashes-punjab-kp-emergency-declared-twin-cities
“Erratic Monsoon Rain Threatens India Crop Outlook, Official Says…
“The monsoon is crucial for India’s farmers because it irrigates fields and fills reservoirs that provide water for crops sown through the winter when there is typically less rain. India is a major producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton.”
“‘Village for sale’: Parched hamlet’s desperate plea in Maharashtra…
“Desperate for water as their farms and wells dry up, around 7,000 residents of Tulshi village in Maharashtra’s Solapur district have put up a striking banner declaring ‘Village for Sale, Price: Water’ — a symbolic protest against a water crisis they say has persisted for decades.”
“Rain fury grips north India, at least 17 dead in UP, mudslide in Himachal.
“Heavy rain disrupted road connectivity in Himachal Pradesh and triggered flooding and other rain-related disruptions across several states on Sunday, 27 September, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting more intense rainfall in parts of north and central India.”
“Entire mountain breaks off and vanishes in Nepal landslide weeks after disaster killed 1,450.
“This is the moment a huge mountain collapsed following a seismic landslide in Nepal. At least 19 people have died and 10 workers left missing following floods and landslides caused by storms…”
“Heatwaves across southern China intensified further today, with Yuanyang reached 39.2°C [102.6F].
“Additionally, 16 weather stations broke records for the highest Tmin for September. Temperatures in southern China are set to rise even further.” [Jim Yang]
https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/2104564686511575164
“Hong Kong’s changing climate in 7 charts: from quadrupled ‘very hot days’ to record rainfall.
“Data from the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) shows that record after record is being broken, from the number of “hot nights” a year to the average temperature through August, the final month of summer.”
“Central Tokyo records 34 consecutive days of rain, longest on record.
“The area has seen precipitation since Aug 27, with typhoons approaching. The previous record was 33 consecutive days from June 27 to July 29 in 2019. The heaviest rainfall during the current streak was 156 millimetres on Sept 21.”
“Despite a drop in deforestation in 2025, forest losses pile up in the Mekong.
“Over the course of 2025, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined 746,168 hectares of tree cover (1.8 million acres), including more than 154,000 hectares (380,000 acres) of primary forest, according to Mongabay’s analysis of data published by the University of Maryland and Global Nature Watch.”
“Kanchanaburi residents warned of flood risk as dam releases increase [Thailand].
“Residents along rivers and in low-lying areas have been urged to move belongings to higher ground and closely monitor water levels. The situation at Kanchanaburi’s town waterfront was becoming a concern, with water levels visibly higher than on September 28.”
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40071647
“Record rainfall triggers deadly floods and landslides in Myanmar’s Dawei district.
“Local volunteer groups are carrying out urgent search-and-rescue operations, while additional relief teams from neighbouring Mon and Kayin states are deploying to the disaster zones to assist trapped residents as downpours continue.”
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT In SOUTH/EAST ASIA. Records smashed everywhere, every day. More September records:
“MYANMAR: 39.5 [103.1F] Sagaing, 36.5 Ela, 35.8 Lashio; BANGLADESH: 37.5 Feni (15th); HIGH MINIMUMS: INDONESIA: 27.1 Palu; PHILIPPINES: 27.0 Dagupan.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104550666303676756
“Indonesia’s Worst Fire Season in Years Tests Prabowo Budget Cuts.
“On the edge of one of the largest cities in Indonesian Borneo, administrator-turned-firefighter Heru Hartarto surveys the hectares of scorched peat before him… igniting yet again. “We’re exhausted. Many new fires are appearing,” said Hartarto, as his fire truck hummed in the background. “The impact is worse than what I could have imagined.””
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-indonesia-wildfires-el-nino/
As a reader-funded publication, your one time and regular donations help keep this site going. If you value this article or any others, please share it far and wide and consider a Patreon subscription or a one time Paypal donation. You can also support this work by buying a virtual coffee. Thank you!
“Record heat in Oceania & SE Asia.
“Min 84F/28.9C Majuro – MARSHALL ISLANDS SEPTEMBER HOTTEST NIGHT. HAWAII had a very hot month: in particular the MINIMUM of 77F/25.0C at Hilo on the 17th tied its September record.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104188954589478935
“Residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health, study says.
“Metal mixtures found in the leftover smoke, ash and debris from the deadly 2023 Maui wildfires were harmful to the lung health of people living nearby long after the burning ended, a new study says.”
“JUST IN: El Niño just Broke its Hottest Temperature on Record.
“The El Niño 3.4 region average SST just surpassed 2015 for the highest temp ever measured in the El Niño (3.4) region. (Recently it broke the SST anomaly, this time it’s the absolute temp). It comes 2 months earlier than typical peak…”
https://x.com/WeatherProf/status/2104342389775122852
“Just how high will El Niño jump? The strongest events often intensify rapidly in October and November as ocean-atmosphere coupling strengthens.
“With *another* potentially record-breaking westerly wind burst forming soon, the Niño 3.4 region could push toward +4°C in November.” [Ben Noll]
https://x.com/BenNollWeather/status/2104602040009732382
“The worst marine heatwave on Earth is ongoing off the coast of South America, with ocean temperatures up to 14°F (8°C) above normal.
“Not good.”
[Colin McCarthy]
https://x.com/US_Stormwatch/status/2104375814972461287
“EXTRAORDINARY WARM NIGHT IN PERU AND CHILE – every record from Ecuador border up to Antofagasta broken!
“RECORD SEPTEMBER HIGHEST MINIMUMS – PERU: 24.3 [75.7F] Piura, 23.1 Chiclayo, 22.6 Trujillo, 21.9 Lima, 16.9 Tacna; CHILE – 20.1 Arica, 19.4 Iquique.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104284413110665225
“SOUTH AMERICA HISTORIC HEAT – exceptional MINIMUM 30.8 [87.4F] Miguel y Jesus is PARAGUAY HOTTEST SEPTEMBER NIGHT EVER.
“Dozens of records pulverized in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Peru, including all time records like the insane 43.6C at Robore.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104732424022139233
“45C [113F] IN ARGENTINA.
“As your author said long time ago, here we are – 45C again in early spring in Argentina; 45.1C Ingeniero Juarez; 44.4C Posta Salazar. On Monday another deadly hot day coming!”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104491314440216921
“Strong storms and hail the size of a golf ball caused damage in Córdoba [Argentina].
“…the hailstorm lasted approximately three minutes and was accompanied by very little rain, practically dry. Before the stones began to fall, he said he could perceive the advance of the phenomenon: “I could hear like a roar, the hail that was approaching and my dogs that began to get nervous.””
“Rains leave five dead and keep several regions of Honduras under threat.
“Heavy rains affecting Honduras have left five people dead and hundreds of families affected by flooding, overflowing and swollen rivers in different regions of the country, as authorities warn that rainy conditions could continue over the next eight weeks.”
“Still very much on track for a THIRD CONSECUTIVE record-warm month across the Contiguous US.
“Through September 27, PRISM has the Lower 48 running an astonishing +3.47°F above the 1991–2020 mean. The existing September record is +2.98°F, set in 1998.” [The Global Warmer]
https://x.com/TheGlobalWarmer/status/2104680394507350120
“Homelessness in Las Vegas proved deadly after 2nd hottest summer on record.
“David, a unhoused man in his 60s living in Las Vegas, knows that reality better than most. “The first month I was out here, I was rushed to the hospital. I had a 106 temperature. I was on life support from the heat,” David said. “It’s ungodly hot and it’s getting hotter,” he continued.”
https://www.ktnv.com/news/homelessness-in-las-vegas-proved-deadly-after-2nd-hottest-summer-on-record
“Hurricane Polo is nearing landfall in Mexico’s Baja California Sur.
“In 24 hours, by Tuesday evening, the storm will cross into the United States, where it could cause life-threatening flash floods in New Mexico on Tuesday night, followed by Colorado on Wednesday.” [Ben Noll]
https://x.com/BenNollWeather/status/2104692703716127137
“Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California.
“Concerns are mounting about an ocean phenomenon known as a Kelvin wave that could raise sea levels along the California coastline by up to a foot, as scientists say El Niño is supercharging the threat of storm surges and flooding in the coming months.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/california-kelvin-wave
“Nor’easter uncovers 1884 shipwreck on Nantucket beach.
“Erosion along the Massachusetts island’s south shore stripped away enough sand to expose a large section of wooden wreckage believed to belong to the Warren Sawyer, a 19th-century schooner that was wrecked by gale-force winds in December 1884. More than 140 years later, another storm has pulled part of the Warren Sawyer back into view.”
https://weather.com/2026/09/28/news/trending/video/noreaster-erosion-new-england-nantucket-shipwreck
“Legal bid to stop underwater AI data centre in endangered whale habitat launched.
“A proposed underwater AI data centre off the coast of Maine is facing a legal challenge from conservationists, who warn it could harm endangered whales, after federal regulators accepted the developer’s application for a preliminary permit a week after the local council imposed a moratorium on the project.”
“More plastic, less glow? Pollution threatens deep sea’s bioluminescent life, experts warn…
“When deep-sea organisms ingest plastics, it could disrupt the chemical pathways that create bioluminescence and damage the tissues in their bodies, impairing their ability to find food and a mate.”
“Without water, forests lose their ability to absorb CO₂…
“During periods of drought, trees… face a dilemma: whether to open their stomata to facilitate the photosynthesis necessary for the tree’s metabolism and growth, or to close them to conserve water and protect their hydraulic system from irreversible damage.”
https://theconversation.com/without-water-forests-lose-their-ability-to-absorb-co-289072
“Climate aid driving up public debt of poorest countries by billions of pounds each year.
“The system for distributing climate aid from rich countries is leaving some of the poorest and most vulnerable countries struggling to access finance – while piling billions onto the public debt of a significant number of nations, new analysis by The Independent shows.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/climate-funding-money-aid-africa-b3057612.html
“Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers.
“Conservative organizations are filing open records requests by the dozens at public universities, demanding emails, research drafts, correspondence with law firms and other documents from academics studying climate change.”
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
Expensive Diesel as Unintended Fisheries Policy
The sharp rise in diesel prices is causing serious problems for the fishing industry. In several European countries, vessels are staying in port more often because, at current fuel prices, a fishing trip is barely profitable.
But there is a more interesting question: what happens ecologically if diesel remains structurally expensive?
The most energy-intensive fisheries are particularly vulnerable to high diesel prices. Large trawlers do not only burn fuel to reach their fishing grounds. While fishing, their engines have to pull heavy nets through the water and, in some cases, across the seabed. As a result, fuel consumption per tonne of fish caught can be very high.
Passive fishing methods, in which nets, pots or lines are set and retrieved later, have a very different energy profile. Higher diesel prices therefore do not affect all fisheries equally. They begin to select between different fishing methods.
This may give some fishing grounds an unintended period of respite. But this is also where the paradox begins.
A fisher who does continue to go to sea when diesel is expensive has a strong incentive to extract as much value as possible from every litre of fuel.
Searching for fish becomes expensive. Known concentrations of fish become more attractive. Modern sonar, satellite navigation and data from previous catches can help vessels maintain high catches while spending fewer hours at sea.
There is a second feedback mechanism. When fewer vessels go to sea, the supply of fish falls. If demand remains unchanged, fish prices rise.
That improves the economic relationship between the value of the catch and the cost of diesel. A fishing trip that was unprofitable when fish sold for €5 per kilogram may become attractive again at €7 per kilogram.
The ecological effect of expensive diesel therefore contains its own counterforce.
This effect can be particularly strong for high-value species. The higher the market value of the catch, the easier it is to absorb higher fuel costs. For low-value species, the situation is different. The market cannot pass on rising energy costs indefinitely.
The real metric may therefore be how much economic catch value a fishing fleet can obtain from one litre of diesel.
Several factors come together in that figure. Distance to the fishing grounds, fish density, fishing method, engine power, technology, market prices and fuel costs collectively determine which fisheries remain economically viable.
Some of the resulting adaptations may be ecologically beneficial. Others may simply concentrate fishing pressure on particular stocks. Expensive diesel is therefore not an environmental policy.
But the diesel price does something that fisheries policy has been trying to do for decades: it puts a hard price on the amount of energy used to extract a kilogram of fish from the sea.
Most fishers are “price takers” rather than price makers. Due to anti-trust laws, highly competitive seafood markets, and powerful wholesale buyers, fishermen generally cannot collectively negotiate or pass rising diesel costs on to consumers. When profit margins vanish, the economic incentive to fish evaporates entirely.
Zip, thank you – those nuances had not occurred to me. These are alarming times for European fishing and farming, simultaneously stressed by climate change and soaring energy prices. The days of taking food for granted are coming to an end.
UK fishermen are even worse off than their European counterparts:
“Soaring diesel prices are forcing British fishermen to stay at home while French boats are free to trawl UK waters, industry bosses have warned. The price of marine diesel, currently around £1.15 per litre, has more than doubled in six months, making it no longer economically viable for many British fishing vessels to go to sea.
“Their European rivals, meanwhile, receive a fuel subsidy from Brussels worth about 35 cents (30p) per litre, making it worthwhile for French vessels to head out… Fishermen are also reliant on the prices buyers are willing to pay for their catches at auction, leaving many crews on a “knife edge” financially, Mr Newton said.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/09/27/soaring-diesel-prices-leave-british-fishermen-stuck-on-land/
“David, a unhoused man in his 60s living in Las Vegas, knows that reality better than most. “The first month I was out here, I was rushed to the hospital. I had a 106 temperature. I was on life support from the heat,” David said. “It’s ungodly hot and it’s getting hotter,” he continued.”
Here in America we don’t let our homeless die from heat stroke. We take them to the hospital and cure them so they can get a second chance… at dying from heat stroke. Oh and also we call them “unhoused” because apparently it’s more respectful than “homeless”. I’m guessing the people who decided that were quite comfortably housed.
Jupiviv, that rather clunky word jumped out at me, too. I’d never heard it before – but apparently it has been around a while:
“Unhoused is no neologism; it’s been around since the mid-16th century… Homeless is an old word too, with origins in old English, said Greenberg. But historically it has referred to a lack of social and emotional connections, rather than the absence of a physical residence.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/20/homeless-unhoused-houseless-term-history
In all previous years global sea surface temperature anomaly (above 1982-2010) reached 0.9 degrees for two days in January 2023. This year has been above it since June 22nd, and is now at 1 degree anomaly. I think it will be above 0.9 through to April, maybe for an entire 12 months. With this amount of heat available right at the surface I do not see what mechanism is going to allow the atmosphere to cool down even if the El Nino does eventually dissipate – maybe a huge ice melt, but otherwise where can the heat go.
https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/?dm_id=world2
This is in-line with the SST warming jump seen in 2023 which was followed by only minor cooling – SST rose over 0.4 degrees from 2012 to 2023, which was about a doubling of the previous decade – I think it will more than double before the early thirties. The ocean surface is where the most important warming is happening, not the headline 2m number. Copernicus, below, is soon to be updated for 2025.
https://climate.copernicus.eu/climate-indicators/sea-surface-temperature
Like most people, I expect, I used to think earth systems were just too big to change quickly and the current rate is nothing I ever imagined – and it’s going to get quicker each year. There is no way a complex, and therefore inflexible and fragile, civilisation can cope with this sort of forcing – the global supply chain seems the most likely place to break first but there are plenty of other vulnerabilities.
The climate disruption is still a lesser part of the causes for geopolitical, social and economic breakdown, but the fastest growing, even as energy supplies and buffers hit red zones (but sudden debt collapse? – who the hell knows). Food and other household inflation is being driven up significantly and it’s starting to drive large numbers of migrants, even in developed countries, as extreme events hit repeatedly without any local recovery, and climate regimes gradually move.
George, re migrants the recent scenes we saw in Ceuta are just a mild foretaste of what is coming. I fear we will reach a point where desperate migrants are mown down by border guards, as has already happened in Saudi:
“Saudi border guards are accused of the mass killing of migrants along the Yemeni border in a new report by Human Rights Watch.
“The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, titled They Fired On Us Like Rain, contains graphic testimony from migrants who say they were shot at and sometimes targeted with explosive weapons by Saudi police and soldiers on Yemen’s rugged northern border with Saudi Arabia.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-66545787
A snow less Matterhorn should now be renamed:
“Doesn’tMatterhorn”
This is because most people do not concern themselves with the lack of distant elevated moisture.
They will freak out only when their household taps do not provide sanitized, filtered, and highly pressurized H2O provided by a very extensive & expensive infrastructure network.
Remember that 1 PSI equals water lifted 2.31 feet or 70.4 centimeters. 1 PSI is also equal to 6.89 KPA.
Most households have 60 to 80 PSI.
60 PSI equals water lifted 139 feet. 80 PSI is 185 feet up. 185 feet is approximately 13 to 15 floors up in a skyscraper.
Have you ever tried humping 84 lbs of water in two 5 gallon jugs up 15 stair flights? I wish it was a timed Olympic sport.
Think about that the next time you luxuriate in a hot shower with the water pressure beating upon your shoulder and back muscles.
Bob Shaw Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?
Yes, water is heavy. Enjoy those hot showers while we can.
The Doesn’tMatterhorn photo was shocking.
“Doesn’tMatterhorn”.
Nice, Bob. 😂 I am picturing Freddie Mercury sadly singing, “Nothing really matters. Nothing really Matterhorns …to me.” 🎵
I was going to post this yesterday, but waited and it kinda ties in with Pan’s last article in a way
“Trump administration lowers fuel economy standards, critics say at a significant environmental cost
https://apnews.com/article/trump-gas-mileage-electric-vehicles-pollution-403742074c3f3140aaa1d10829daf35f
Transportation already accounts for much of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet; 28% as of the last estimate in 2022.
It “ignores the feasibility of clean technology and the millions of fuel-efficient cars already on the road,” Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said of the rule.
Since taking office, Trump has also pulled back auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases.”
Not that this really at all will deter the crisis we have created by our American way of life.
It just reflects the denial mode in our cultural stream of the actual.
PS Harassment has been going on for a long, long time..
America Is Only Nation Where Climate Scientists Face Organized Harassment
‘I feel for my American colleagues and what they’ve had to deal with,’ one British climate scientist said. By Katherine Bagley September 10, 2012
Thanks, Vince. This is not unexpected. From Nate Hagens’ “Beyond the Superorganism” paper:
“Around the world, as economic prospects deteriorate, people will foster group cohesion by blaming their problems on outgroups, and tend to vote for leaders who promise better economic futures, or things to be more like the past, (linked to more economic growth, linked to energy, linked to carbon). Trump etc.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919310067
Donald is a servant of the superorganism, as much as he is a leader.
I’m glad I don’t have to depend on reaching other homo sapiens sapiens, which must be the most frustrating, debilitating job imaginable.
For example, the extremely well-researched, brutal truth-telling piece linked here gets crickets. No, not the one that got someone exercised about frightening (to them) new terminology.
The one from UK’s Indepedent – anyone bothered by it in the slightest? For what it says about how awful the condition of climate justice is? Hello? Bueller?
It is an excellent, in-depth piece, Martin. A telling quote:
“Speaking as his government tries to prepare for what is expected to be a devastating super El Niño climate event, Liban Obsiye, executive director of the National Climate Fund of Somalia, adds: “Our ability to mobilise climate finance for support in times of crisis such as this is almost impossible because the climate finance architecture really depends on borrowing, and borrowing depends on your balance sheet and credit rating – both of which are big problems for us.””
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/climate-funding-money-aid-africa-b3057612.html
Turns out the game is even more brutally rigged than I realised.
I wonder if our common grandmother, Lucy, would say today; ‘My grandchildren are a bunch of dumb asses.’ ?