Many thanks to my friend Barry Smiler for being October’s sponsor. Do take a look at his climate site, which nicely complements mine. He recently added some nifty enhancements to his Research page. And for your climate listening pleasure, he suggests this little song.
“World’s oceans absorbed record heat equal to 40 times annual global energy use…
““The ocean is transforming before our eyes,” said Pierre Bahurel, director general of Mercator Ocean International, which published the report. “Warming, rising seas and ecosystem degradation are interconnected signs of significant and long-term change.””
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/30/worlds-seas-warmed-23-zettajoules-2025
“Another day, another record. The globe just broke the record for the warmest Sea Surface Temperature anomaly.
“Thanks, El Nino and carbon pollution. (Copernicus ERA data) H/T Michael E Mann.” {Jeff Berardelli]
https://x.com/WeatherProf/status/2105453541766709510
“Polar oceans transformed as warming melts ice habitats: Research…
“The Arctic’s combined sea surface and sea-ice surface temperature rose 4.2C between 1982 and 2024, or around 1C per decade, according to the 10th annual oceans report… In the Kara Sea north of Siberia, temperatures have climbed by 6.7C since 1982, or 1.68C per decade.”
https://phys.org/news/2026-09-polar-oceans-ice-habitats.htm
“Food boss whistleblowers accuse boards of climate change ‘quick fixes’.
“A group of senior executives from major UK food suppliers and retailers has claimed the industry has responded to the climate crisis by resorting to “quick-fix crisis management” to present the “illusion of resilience”… They warn that the content of a suppressed government report on the risks to the food chain of climate change is now coming to fruition.”
“The boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has said that homes being built now in England could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas.
“Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, said the flooding threat was “absolutely increasing”.”
“Warmest September night in almost 80 years.
“The second-hottest September night in University of Reading history has been recorded. The 24-hour minimum temperature for Wednesday, 30 September, was 18.8 °C, at 9.00am BST. Only once has a higher minimum temperature been recorded in September, when on September 5th 1949 the 24-hour minimum temperature was 20.3 °C.”
https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2026/University-News/Warmest-September-night-in-almost-80-years
“The Netherlands hits full-year sunshine record by September 2026.
“The Netherlands has already recorded more sunshine in 2026 than in a typical full year, according to new meteorological data. The milestone arrives alongside an unseasonably warm late-September spell that has broken 92-year temperature records across the country.”
“September ends with 32.2C [90F] in FRANCE, 31.2C in GERMANY and a HISTORIC HOT NIGHT – MINIMUMS:
“Up to 23C in France and Belgium – 20.4 Bierset, 20.2 Dourbes Monthly record, 19.9 Humain Monthly record; Germany – 20.0 Deuselbach. Tomorrow Thousands of October High Mins records from Spain to Scandinavia.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2105352374122651809
“Mass Heat Wave Deaths in Europe Show Climate Extremes Are Outpacing Adaptation Efforts.
“A series of deadly heat waves from May to August overwhelmed Germany’s healthcare and emergency response systems and led to an estimated 16,000 heat-related deaths during the summer, the most heat mortalities ever recorded in the highly developed country.”
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30092026/europe-heat-wave-deaths/
“EU’s Insurance Watchdog Warns of Risks Tied to Extreme Heat…
“The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority said multiple sectors are likely to be impacted as temperatures rise, including insurance covering medical costs and income protection.”
“‘Explosion of melt rates’: 20% of Swiss glaciers lost in five years.
“Switzerland has lost almost one-fifth of its ice in just five years, research has found, in a dramatic reshaping of the Alpine country whose big white glaciers have been reduced to moonlike rock deserts, scientists say.”
“Even high-altitude forests in Switzerland are now weakened by frequent droughts, making natural hazards more dangerous.
“Researchers have shown that declining forest stands are an increasingly common phenomenon across all altitude belts in Switzerland. They concluded that even in the highest ‘subalpine’ belt, trees are no longer protected by the cooler temperatures from the damaging effects of summer droughts…”
“Southern France on red alert as Mediterranean storm causes severe flooding.
“A powerful Mediterranean storm brought torrential rainfall to southern France on Wednesday, prompting authorities to place the Herault and Gard departments under the highest-level red alert for rain and flooding, according to BFMTV.”
https://www.trtworld.com/article/b58c025d71d4
“After the floods in Barcelona, AEMET warns of another storm.
“Catalonia reactivates INUNCAT for Thursday. The south of Tarragona and the Valencian Community are facing the most dangerous stretch of the new rains. Barcelona is just beginning to recover from the floods when a new forecast of torrential rains puts Catalonia on alert again.”
https://urgente24.com/omni/tras-las-inundaciones-barcelona-aemet-advierte-otro-temporal-n633763/amp
“Greece Storms: Extreme Rain, Winds Expected, Ferries Docked.
“Greece is facing a new round of severe weather, with heavy rain, thunderstorms and gale-force winds expected through Sunday. Crete is at the center of the storm, with authorities putting the island under Red Code.”
https://www.tovima.com/society/greece-storms-extreme-rain-winds-expected-ferries-docked/amp/
“Flood disaster in Sakarya [Turkey]: rivers overflowed, houses flooded…
“We are facing the strongest rainfall in the last 27 years. 150 kilograms of rain fell per square meter in our region. All institutions are working together as one body to eliminate the destruction. Our state is here. Our AFAD, Gendarmerie and UMKE teams are on duty and making the necessary intervention.”
“Tunisia’s food, water shortages overshadow economic growth.
“Tunisia is facing shortages of staple goods and bottled drinking water despite recent signs of economic recovery, revealing vulnerability in the nation’s supply, distribution and import chains. The current scarcity of basic goods showed broad economic fragility in Tunisia.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/tunisia-s-food-water-shortages-overshadow-economic-growth/4073849
“Record heat never ends in Northern Africa & Sahel.
“Today Temperatures up to 42C [107.6F] in Senegal. New record of September highest temperature at Kita, Mali with 39.6C. From tomorrow hundreds of October records will be pulverized allover North Africa and the Sahel.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2105367449398923582
“Mount Stanley (Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda) – 1906 | 2022.
“The massif peaking at Margherita Peak (5,109 m) is the only remaining of the three formerly glaciated zones in Rwenzori Moutains. Africa is currently losing its last glaciers…” [Melaine Le Roy]
https://x.com/subfossilguy/status/2105365766371725714
“Record heat again AFRICA:
“After the exceptional hot days up to 43C, another streak of record hot nights. SEPTEMBER HIGH MINS RECORDS: KENYA – 25.5 [77.9F] Lamu; ZIMBABWE – 24.0 Victoria Falls, 23.5 Hwange.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104955546616930361
“RECORD HEAT IN MALDIVES:
“Brutal MINIMUM of 28.7C [83.7F] at Male destroys HOTTEST SEPTEMBER NIGHT IN MALDIVES. Record also at Hanimadhoo: Min 28.4C.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2105232404122075492
“From Farmers to Shopowners, India Counts the Cost of a Brutal Monsoon…
“For Ajay Kumar Chutani, whose family has run a sari shop in the north Indian market town of Karnal since the 1970s, the months after the monsoon are always his busiest… This year, after erratic rains through the wet season and the country’s weakest rainfall since 2015, Chutani is keeping a close eye on the till.”
“Heavy rain and flooding in northern India kills at least 62.
“The state government said 46 people were injured and more than 1,000 houses were damaged after three days of heavy rainfall caused flooding in several districts. Schools were closed today in parts of the state…”
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/heavy-rain-and-flooding-northern-india-kills-least-62
“Trekkers helicoptered off mountains as more deadly landslides hit Nepal…
“Hundreds of trekkers on the Annapurna Circuit – crucial to Nepal’s economy – have had to cut short their hikes to get to safety. Many have been helicoptered out of the districts of Manang and Mustang, from a hiking circuit that usually takes up to three weeks to complete.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c607l4l3vn0eo
“Himalayan hydropower boom faces mounting insurance pressures…
“In Nepal alone, insurance claims have exceeded premiums in four of the last five years, raising questions over the ambitious expansion of this clean energy source. India, Bhutan and China are also turning to hydropower to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels…”
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/energy/himalayan-hydropower-boom-faces-mounting-insurance-pressures
“On September 28, Xuanhan, Sichuan, was hit by heavy rainfall exceeding 200mm within 24 hours.
This caused the water level of the local Qu River to surge by more than 4 meters.
[Jiim Yang]
https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/2104908836335419668
“Severe flooding hits Russia’s Vladivostok as torrential rain swamps city.
“Severe flooding has hit the Russian city of Vladivostok, with torrents of water washing away sidewalks and stairways, cars becoming submerged in flooded pits, and entrances and apartments inundated in residential buildings.”
https://caliber.az/en/post/severe-flooding-hits-russia-s-vladivostok-as-torrential-rain-swamps-city
“Residents of Tokyo awoke to a familiar sound on Wednesday: raindrops splashing against windows and balcony floors.
“The Japanese capital has now seen a record 35 consecutive days of rain that experts blame on a combination of climate change and El Niño… The record rainfall has triggered a sharp rise in the price of vegetables, cast a shadow over tourism and left millions of Tokyoites wondering if they will see sunshine again.”
“Nine bodies pulled from Myanmar landslide as rescue effort continues…
“Intense rains have caused flash floods, cut roads, and disrupted communications, complicating rescue efforts in a region already troubled by civil war. The extreme weather has also affected neighbouring Thailand, resulting in 24 flood-related deaths…”
“Bangkok Floods Bring Instant Pain to Debt-Laden Households…
“The disruption has been immediate for thousands of street vendors, drivers and other informal workers who don’t get paid if they can’t get to work. Nearly a week of flooding has brought parts of the capital’s informal economy to a standstill…”
“Bali Records 123-Day Rain-Free Streak as El Nino Extends Dry Spell.
“Bali has recorded its longest rain-free period at 123 days, with dry conditions persisting across parts of the Indonesian tourist island as El Nino is expected to continue into early 2027. The record was recorded at a rainfall monitoring station in Sumberklampok village, Gerokgak district, Buleleng regency…”
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/bali-records-123day-rainfree-streak-as-el-nino-extends-dry-spell
“‘The toll is huge’: El Niño-driven wildfires overwhelm Indonesia’s orangutan population…
“The mother’s hands were peeling from walking on the torched ground. Her eight-month-old baby, which clung to her side, was dehydrated and thin. The pair, named Mama Abu and Abu (“ash” in Indonesian), were found in an oil palm subsidiary estate, rescuers say.”
“Philippines central bank braces for ‘Godzilla’ El Niño.
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, is actively tightening monetary policy to combat an extreme 2026–2027 “Godzilla” Super El Niño. Metereologists expect this weather event to be the strongest in at least a millennium, creating massive supply shocks across Southeast Asia.”
https://www.ft.com/content/390fafe6-88bf-4564-978d-4774e2b75e8d
“Approval of biggest coal project in NSW planning commission’s history described as ‘infamous betrayal’.
“The New South Wales independent planner has approved the biggest coalmine project to ever go before it, allowing mining to continue until 2045 at a Hunter Valley project described by climate groups as a “carbon bomb”.”
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
“Mid Summer day with Temperatures up to 36C [96.8F] and several September records smashed.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2104880246621196382
“Antarctica’s ice loss is locked in, and extra snowfall won’t save it – that’s bad news for low‑lying coastal areas elsewhere.
“We found that Antarctica’s ice loss this century is locked in – even if the world limits global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the 2015 international Paris climate agreement’s most ambitious goal.”
“Evidence builds showing climate change could be intensifying El Niño events…
““The evidence is accumulating that climate change makes for more powerful El Niños,” climate scientist Mark Cane with Columbia University in the U.S. told Mongabay in a video interview. His work was instrumental in enabling accurate forecasting of El Niño events in the late 1980s and early ’90s.”
“Breaking News! The preliminary Nino 3.4 sea-surface temperature anomaly for Sept. 29th came in at 3.18°C above the 1991-2020 baseline.
“This marks yet another record all-time high and the 123rd consecutive record daily high at 1.1°C above the previous daily record set in 1997.”
[Prof Eliot Jacobson]
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/2105316589922898188
“The Niño 1+2 region, near Peru and Ecuador, has reached a remarkable 5.36°C above average — about 0.7°C higher than the previous record from 1983.
“It is breaking records in both the traditional and relative sense, and is forecast to approach 6°C above average during November.” [Ben Noll]
https://x.com/BenNollWeather/status/2105443739955298464
“RECORD HEAT IN ECUADOR:
“Hottest September day in history with 37.6C [99.7F] at El Coca (Puerto Francisco de Orellana) after breaking the national record of August.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2105416017296105912
“30 days of records in PERU this month; today Trujillo broke again its record of September Highest Minimum with 22.8C [73F].
“Tomorrow 100% of all coastal station of Ecuador, Peru and Northern Chile will destroy in pieces every October such record.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2105299288486007151
“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
“Strong storm leaves thousands of families affected in Paraguay as Superniño advances.
“At least 4,000 families have been affected by a storm with winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour that hits the central, northern and eastern areas of Paraguay… the storm on Tuesday afternoon left a preliminary balance of 20,000 victims.”
https://www.telesurtv.net/tormenta-familias-paraguay-supernino/
“Viruses run rampant across Havana as water, power fails.
“A severe public health emergency is gripping Havana, Cuba, where rapid outbreaks of viral hepatitis and diarrheal illnesses are surging as a direct result of catastrophic water and electricity failures… basic municipal hygiene has collapsed across the capital.”
“‘It’s just cruel’: US households hit by surge in electricity shutoffs amid record hot summer.
“Utility disconnections were up 28% in 10 states in July 2026 – the hottest month ever recorded in the US – compared with July 2024, data shows… A record hot summer collided unhappily with rising energy costs for households across the US that struggled to the point where many were disconnected from their electricity supply, even as dangerous heat baked their communities.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/29/electricity-disconnected-record-heat
“North America continues abnormally warm in this exceptional September 2026, the Hottest September in US History.
“In particular, the MINIMUM at Brownsville, Texas was an insane 85F, tying its HIGHEST MIN EVER. Tomorrow the US National record of October Highest Minimum will be approached.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2105432320807518340
“Evacuations underway as Southwest flooding threatens dam failure.
“Tropical moisture from Hurricane Polo and a pair of other weather systems are fueling dangerous flooding from the Southwest into the Plains, with more rounds of heavy rain expected through Friday… Floodwaters breached a 20-foot dam wall in southern New Mexico on Tuesday, sending water into Garfield…”
“Massive 29-Foot Oceanic Manta Ray Spotted in San Diego for the First Time.
“Southern California’s increasingly tropical-looking ocean has delivered another stunner… A giant oceanic manta ray — the largest ray species on Earth — was filmed off San Diego by Net Zero Expeditions, an encounter the company says may represent the first documented sighting of the species in local waters.”
https://www.surfer.com/news/oceanic-manta-ray-san-diego-video
“Heatwaves, wildfires expose a third of world to extreme ozone pollution…
“When heat and sunlight react with airborne emissions from wildfires, vehicles and industry, they create ground-level ozone pollution, which can damage lung tissue, cause breathing problems, trigger asthma attacks and lead to other health issues.”
“Britain won’t dim sunlight to fight climate change.
“Government confirms it will not deploy controversial technologies designed to cool the planet… The UK government has formally ruled out the deployment of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) technologies. This decision marks the country’s first official policy stance on “sun dimming” geoengineering techniques.”
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/solar-radiation-management-geoengineering-bkdr03b5c
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
“‘It’s just cruel’: US households hit by surge in electricity shutoffs amid record hot summer.”
“When heat and sunlight react with airborne emissions from wildfires, vehicles and industry, they create ground-level ozone pollution, which can damage lung tissue, cause breathing problems, trigger asthma attacks and lead to other health issues.”
Muggy warmth, no electricity and ozone pollution, on top of political and social chaos. Collapse slowly fading into focus like a scene from a 90s David Fincher film.
Anyway speaking of films, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the just recently aired Amazon tv series “Spider-Noir”. Nick Cage plays a 1930s private eye who happens to also be Spiderman – do I even need to sell it any more? Watch it and be blown away by a crossover we didn’t know we desperately needed, but we did, and now we have it thanks to our gracious overlord Jeff Bezos!
What a hellscape we’re now occupying.
America was peak empire
In 2008?
Truth Wizard, I guess you could make a case that the US peaked as a superpower between the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the 9/11 attacks of 2001, unrivalled as it was in that window.
Tim Morgan of Surplus Energy suggests that the US hit peak prosperity per capita in 2000, looking at its Energy Cost of Energy.
Jupiviv, I’ve heard that “Spider Noir” is rather fun and that you can choose to watch it in moody black and white or colour.
Jeff Bezos definitely has ground to make up after Amazon blew over a billion dollars on the dismal “Lords of the Rings” spin-off, “The Rings of Power”.
Australia has plenty of coal. Diesel is another matter.
In New South Wales, the Independent Planning Commission has approved the continuation of the enormous Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) until 2045. This will allow Glencore and Yancoal to extract another 429 million tonnes of coal. Opponents have described the project as a “carbon bomb”, while the operators point to jobs, export revenues and continuing Asian demand for thermal and metallurgical coal.
But beneath that debate lies a much simpler problem: extracting coal requires diesel. A lot of diesel.
HVO is an open-cut mine. Before a tonne of coal can be transported away, enormous quantities of soil and rock have to be excavated and moved. This is done using excavators, bulldozers and, above all, gigantic mining trucks.
According to the project documentation, HVO will consume approximately 3.27 billion litres of diesel over the remainder of its operating life. That is almost 450,000 litres per day. A single mining complex would therefore account, on average, for around 3% of all diesel consumed in the state of New South Wales.
Within the coal-mining industry, the share is even larger. NSW coal mines together consume at least four million litres of diesel per day. HVO alone would account for roughly 11% of that total.
The revised mine plan is expected to produce significantly fewer diesel-related emissions than earlier versions. That may sound like a technological improvement, but an important part of the explanation is much simpler: hundreds of millions of tonnes of harder-to-extract coal have been removed from the original plan. Some coal with a high “strip ratio” has also been excluded from the mining plan.
That is economics disguised as climate policy. Moving less rock means burning less diesel and reducing costs.
The permit therefore says that HVO may continue producing until 2045. Whether all the permitted coal can actually be extracted economically will depend partly on the availability of diesel.
We shall see.
Zip, thank you for those thoughts. Diesel is so foundational to the “real” economy – farming, fishing, agriculture, mining (as you say), shipping, trucking etc.
“Diesel is Mother’s Milk” was the core mantra of the War Boys in the “Mad Max” movies. More prosaically, Art Berman calls it the haemoglobin of the global economy. Insufficient haemoglobin makes an organism, weak, breathless and highly vulnerable to cardiovascular shocks.
“Oil Jumps as China Fuel Export Halt Raises Fresh Diesel Supply Fears… Chinese refiners suspended exports of oil products to markets outside Hong Kong and Macau. Reuters reported that four people briefed on the situation said refiners had been told to halt exports pending further guidance from Beijing.”
https://www.share-talk.com/oil-jumps-as-china-fuel-export-halt-raises-fresh-diesel-supply-fears/
The mixed layer of the ocean is 25 to 200m. That layer is now warmer than any single previous day by more than 0.1 degree. If all that extra heat was released back into the atmosphere it would warm it by 0.8 to 6 degrees on average, but more at the surface.
For transfer to the deeper oceans the heat can only be advected, convected or conducted. There are rate limits to these processes. Conduction increases with a hotter upper layer but it is a small contribution. Convection slows down as stratification gets more stable so surface warming is self reinforcing once the heating rate becomes high enough (could that be what happened in 2023?).
Advection is by currents – shallow currents are driven by winds, which are expected to slow down with overall heating. Ice creation at the poles drives a lot of the deeper flows and is hindered when fresh water caps form. AMOC is measurably slowing.
The PDO is still negative, which means some downwelling in the Northern Pacific, but it’s magnitude is decreasing.
Therefore all that surface layer heat is probably not going to go into deep water – a lot is going to stay where it is or diffuse into the atmosphere.
Additionally – Summary of likely super El Nino effects:
https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-impacts-of-this-years-record
(I don’t think Hausfather is a cutting edge scientist, but he’s a good writer.)
Zeke was recently interviewed on Nate’s podcast
Thank you, George. Suppose Jeff Bezos is concerned too and got the message and putting his money to work on it..
Jeff Bezos backs Pacific ocean protection amid growing climate pressure
The new funding arrives as the South-West Pacific deals with increasing pressure from ocean warming and acidification. A July report from the World Meteorological Organization said those changes were affecting marine ecosystems and local economies.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/jeff-bezos-pledged-10-billion-to-fight-climate-change-in-2020-6-years-later-his-earth-fund-is-putting-more-than-25-million-into-pacific-ocean-conservation/amp_articleshow/134607696.cms
According to World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said, “Across Asia and the Pacific, heat is intensifying multi-hazard risks, intersecting with food systems, public health, infrastructure and oceans, and placing new pressures on health and livelihoods. Early warning and early action save lives when alerts are timely, messages are trusted and last-mile delivery reaches the vulnerable.”
It’s not easy, but..
Jeff Bezos compares the challenge of philanthropy with building Amazon
The amounts being discussed through the Earth Fund remain relatively small compared with Bezos’ personal fortune. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index as per October 1 2026, valued him at about $273 billion, placing him third on its ranking at the time of the report. Bezos has previously spoken about the difficulty of philanthropy in an interview with CNN in 2022. He said, “The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way.”
“It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates, hard-working teammates, and I’m finding — and I think Lauren is finding the same thing — that charity, philanthropy, is very similar.”
Get your checkbook out and save the Planet
Vince, I suppose it is like a philanthropic version of carbon offsetting, given the amount of damage Amazon does to ecosystems through vast logistics networks, air/road shipping fleets, and packaging waste.
https://oceana.org/reports/amazon-report-2021/
George, I found a study that looks at possible causes for the 2023 acceleration, including stratification, but it is very dense and full of runic maths, so I’ll never get around to digesting it. Might be of interest to you though:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/56646
The tenuous teleconnections apparently make forecasting the effects of El Nino on the UK frustratingly challenging. Probably unusually soggy then unusually cold this winter. You just know all of that redistributed heat in the system is going to bite us somehow though.
Zeke’s overview is excellent. He offers this warning re food:
“Of the major climate modes of variability, “only El Niño can force globally synchronous crop failures,” because it simultaneously affects breadbaskets on multiple continents.”
Your comment reminded me that I always wondered why the oceans are so cool the deeper they get when earth has a molten core … how come that doesn’t make them boil? I realize it must be the distance from the heat source, but I’ve also read that the earth’s core’s as hot as the surface of the sun, and the sun heats the oceans from 93mln miles away. So, in a science fictiony kind of irony, like a Dr Who episode, he is sent to save life on a planet where it’s inhabitants are burning up the insulating layer (like asbestos, but consisting of oil & coal) that is keeping the surface denizens from being fried, not by their sun, but the heat emanating from beneath, making the rock surface as hot as a skillet without the oil and coal insulation that is being systematically exhumed & incinerated.
Were we earthlings to learn that that were actually the case, it is quite clear to me that it would not make one iota of difference in the rate of extraction & combustion of said insulation.
So, like those who can not pay their cooling bills & orangutans 🦧 trying to live where palm oil plantations are needed to make, you know, green biodiesel, our future is bleak.
Thank you, Barry, for sponsoring this month! Even just that first piece you list on atrazine is horrifying.
And thanks for the song link:
With our eyes wide open, we—
Walk the plank, we walk the plank
With our eyes wide open
And that is the end of the story
Thank you indeed, Barry. 🙏
We should sadly expect coal-powered steamers to reappear along with the re-establishment of strategic coaling stations. The ongoing UK struggle with Argentina over control of the Falklands [Malvinas] islands points towards this result at some future time.
Bob Shaw Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?
Bob, I’m not sure we will have the ability to revert to coal-powered steamers at scale. We’ll definitely burn all the coal we can though.
Signing off for the evening now, so please forgive my silence. Youngest has a birthday and a Halo-themed Victoria sponge must be eaten.
Coal Never Went Away
In 2025, 17.3 million tonnes of coal were handled at the Port of Rotterdam, 8.7% less than in 2024. Of this, 16.7 million tonnes consisted of incoming shipments, while only around 0.6 million tonnes were shipped out again by sea. Much of the remainder is transported by inland waterways and rail to destinations in the Netherlands and, particularly, the German hinterland.
For comparison, coal imports in recent years were:
2021: 23.4 Mt → 2022: 27.7 Mt → 2023: 21.8 Mt → 2024: 17.6 Mt → 2025: 16.7 Mt.
So coal imports have fallen by roughly 40% since the 2022 peak, but 17 million tonnes is hardly a marginal flow. In 2025, coal still accounted for approximately 26% of all dry bulk handled at Rotterdam.
And here is the interesting part: the decline has not simply continued in 2026. During the first quarter, coal throughput stood at 4.0 million tonnes, 9.8% lower than during the same period a year earlier.
But over the entire first half of 2026, coal throughput actually increased by 17.8% compared with the first half of 2025. According to the Port of Rotterdam, this was due both to a recovery in coking coal and to increased volumes of thermal coal.
The port explicitly links the increase in thermal coal to higher gas prices resulting from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
If this has been posted before I didn’t see it. Pretty good. Many of the numbers have already changed I’m sure. And the beat goes on and on and on…
https://youtu.be/WC7VwcH1g0k?is=Jj65_sIna4xyylrg
Let the Clever Apes suffer for their actions. They are too stupid to realize they are facing the consequences as they are in the finding out stage. None of the fools will admit they are responsible for their own misery. It’s everyone’s else fault, but not mine. All this time I’ve thought stupidity was responsible. Being wrong does not bother me. It was the monkey mind egos that have been the problem. Go ahead & destroy the habitat.
A fool & his life are soon parted.