Many thanks to my friend, Barry Smiler, for being May’s sponsor. Do take a look at his website, which nicely complements mine: Climate News · Research · Perspectives. He recently upgraded the site and welcomes any feedback you’d care to offer.
“A ‘triple whammy’ of chaos has triggered a downward spiral in Antarctica, scientists discover…
“…the impacts could be enormous, said Alberto Naveira Garabato, a report author and physical oceanographer at the University of Southampton, “The ocean may transition from a stabilizer of the world’s climate to a powerful new driver of global warming.””
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/08/climate/antarctic-sea-ice-decline-winds-warming-ocean
“Climate change and shifts in the food web are continuing to threaten the survival and reproduction of penguins in Antarctica, a Chinese expert has warned.
“”The loss of sea ice has imposed breeding pressure on emperor penguins, which rely on stable sea ice for chick rearing,” said Liang Qi, an associate professor at the School of Geospatial Engineering and Science at Sun Yat-sen University.”
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202605/08/WS69fd3ed0a310d6866eb47759.html
“Friday ice update – Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *lowest* on record (JAXA data)…”
• about 570,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 970,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,410,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,810,000 km² below the 1980s mean [Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3mldyqry6d222
“As each new model run comes in, it seems more possible that we are witnessing history. The latest NMME forecasts the strongest El Niño on record, with the white shading +3°C or higher (+5.4F) anomalies covering an immense section of the Central-East Pacific.
“And I’d add that the average is heavily weighted down by one outlier model ensemble, so I suspect it will grow even more intense next month. Thus, it’s very likely we are going to see the climate do some unprecedented things in 2026-2027…
Update: “Holy cow… They just changed the Y axis like a week ago to keep all the lines on the graph. It looks like they will need to again.” [Jeff Berardelli]
https://x.com/WeatherProf/status/2052792670007759298
“What is causing the unprecedented scale of Wales’ wildfires?
“Satellite images have revealed the scope of the damage from Elan Valley’s wildfire …Experts stated the wildfire last week which blazed from April 25 – May 1 was on a “scale not seen before”, after wildfires also impacted the 70 square mile estate last year…”
“Measurements of glamos_ch winter snow depth on Swiss glaciers are in: 25% less snow than normally at the end of winter. Glaciers are poorly prepared for the heat of next summer!
“The snow deficit is among the lowest values ever observed, especially in the South and East of Switzerland.” [Matthias Huss]
https://x.com/matthias_huss/status/2052620457698885881
“This April was the second driest in Hungary since [records began in] 1901, HungaroMet announced on its Facebook page on Thursday…
“…the national average precipitation was only 4.1 millimeters, which is 90% below the 40.3-millimeter average for the 1991–2020 period. This makes it the second-driest April and, considering all months, the 12th-driest month since 1901, they wrote.”
https://hungarytoday.hu/this-april-was-the-second-driest-since-1901/
“Drone crash sparks massive forest fire near Chernobyl nuclear plant.
“A large forest fire burned through the Chernobyl exclusion zone on Friday after two drones crashed within the nature reserve near the disaster-tainted nuclear plant the previous day, Ukrainian authorities said.”
“Turkish scientists studying plastic pollution in the Black Sea found that plastic waste can carry hazardous chemicals and spread them through the marine ecosystem.
“”Although we previously demonstrated the distribution of plastics in marine environments and living organisms, their relationship with pollutants had not been revealed before.””
“Storm Erminio Puts Greece on High Alert.
“Authorities issue “Red Code” warnings as severe weather brings heavy rain, storms, and gale-force winds across large parts of the country, with flood risks and widespread disruption expected… Civil Protection authorities have activated emergency measures…”
https://www.tovima.com/society/storm-erminio-puts-greece-on-high-alert/
“Cyclone Harry has brought the pearls of Sinis to their knees, even the Isthmus beach is on the verge of closure [Sardinia].
“The sun is shining, but the situation on the Sinis beaches is increasingly grim. The mayor of Cabras, Andrea Abis, is about to issue yet another ordinance to ban access to another area of the seaside village of San Giovanni di Sinis.”
“Torrential rain forces cancellation of Torrevieja May Fair opening events [Spain]…
“The miserable weather caused problems well beyond Torrevieja too, with firefighters across Alicante province dealing with a wave of flooding incidents as torrential rain battered several areas throughout the evening.”
“Morocco Gas Imports Down As Record Rainfall [following seven-year drought] Boosts Hydropower.
“Record rainfall this year has helped Morocco reduce gas imports, with hydropower generation nearly triple year-ago levels. Officials continue to push for a diversified energy mix to lessen Morocco’s reliance on gas imports.”
“Cairo’s Nilometer measures the mood of a nation gripped by the threat of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam…
“…the bitter, years-long quarrel between Egypt and Ethiopia over the former’s share of the Nile’s water has quietly given symbolic significance to the Nilometer, turning it into a monument to the enduring bond between the river and the livelihood of Egyptians.”
“Severe heat wave in Egypt to peak on Sunday…
“Fahim added that the rise in nighttime temperatures leads to an increase in “dark respiration,” a process during which plants consume a larger portion of their stored energy and nutrients during the night.”
https://www.egyptindependent.com/severe-heat-wave-in-egypt-to-peak-on-sunday/
“MONSTER HEAT IN AFRICA – 37C MINIMUMS. Absolutely brutal and scary heat in the Sahel and Sahara.
“Mind blowing MINIMUM Temperature of 36.9C [98.4F] at Yelimanè, MALI. 34.1C Kita – hottest night in history. Max Temperatures reaching 46C in ALGERIA and 44C in LIBYA.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2052795579814600889
“A devastating windstorm has wreaked havoc across several local government areas in Niger State [NW Nigeria], destroying over 1,000 houses and leaving scores of residents displaced.
“The Niger State Emergency Management Agency made this known in a statement on Thursday by the Director General, Abdullahi Baba-Arah.”
https://punchng.com/windstorm-destroys-over-1000-houses-in-niger/
“Record heat and Record cold in Southern Africa.
“May Lowest Maximum on records: ZA: 7.5 [45.5F] Aliwal, 9.4 Orania, 13.3 Lephalale; Record of Highest Minimum: 26.5 Europa Island FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES. Next days extraordinary heat in South Africa and Mozambique.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2052661265944744331
“Burundi’s Main Port Struggles to Recover From Flooding.
“The landlocked East African nation of Burundi is racing against time to rebuild its main port facility [on Lake Tanganyika] that was damaged by flood waters in late 2023 and early 2024 – an indication of climate change’s impact on critical infrastructure, particularly in poor countries, according to the UN.”
https://maritime-executive.com/article/burundi-s-main-port-struggles-to-recover-from-flooding
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT ALL OVER ASIA:
“Records are smashed all over Asia every day from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia. INSANE MINIMUMS up to 27C [80.6F] in UZBEKISTAN with the hot air about to enter CHINA (43/44C coming to Xinjiang!).” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2052301880856871325
“Worsening water crisis disrupts daily life in Kabul [Afghanistan]…
““We need water, but the wells have dried up,” said Mohammad Hamed, another resident. “Because of unemployment and lack of work, instead of earning a living, we spend our time searching for water — carrying it by hand or by cart. We simply do not have water anymore.””
“For India, Arbitration Is Dead When It Comes To Indus Waters…
““India has largely stated, and continues to insist on the bilateral format of the Indus Water Treaty with no third-party intervention. It clearly signals that it prefers direct engagement over externally driven processes.””
https://stratnewsglobal.com/neighbours/for-india-arbitration-is-dead-when-it-comes-to-indus-waters/
“‘A calamity’: Why is a record heatwave sweeping South Asia?
“…Countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen temperatures soar well above seasonal averages, with some areas approaching or exceeding 45-50 degrees Celsius (113-122 degrees Fahrenheit).”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/8/a-calamity-why-is-a-record-heatwave-sweeping-south-asia
“Why is humid heat becoming more dangerous than heatwaves in India?
“…According to a new study by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), humid heat is becoming increasingly dangerous in India’s coastal areas. Since 1981, heat stress along the country’s coast has intensified significantly due to the combined rise in temperature and humidity.”
“Seven killed in Bihar due to lightning, falling trees amid heavy rain…
“At least seven persons were killed in Bihar either due to lightning strikes or after being crushed under falling trees following torrential rain and gusty winds… One person each in Bhojpur, Patna, Samastipur, and East Champaran died due to lightning, and two persons in Patna and one in Vaishali succumbed to injuries after being crushed under trees…”
“Starting May 9th, northern China will be hit by the strongest heatwave of the year!
“It is currently predicted that Tmax in Hebei Province may exceed 40C [104F] on May 13th, and hundreds of weather stations are expected to break their mid-May heatwave records.”
[Jim Yang]
https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/2052380798532370799
“Malaysia resorts to cloud seeding to save rice crop from drought…
““This year … has been affected by prolonged dry weather, low rainfall and reduced dam water levels,” said Malaysia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu. The conditions mean farmers have missed two of the three usual planting phases for so-called “wet direct seeding” of rice…”
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN SE ASIA. Absolutely crazy what’s going on in Southeast Asia with records smashed every day for over 1,100 consecutive days.
“Today it was the hottest May day in history at Manokwari, INDONESIA with 35.8C [96.4F], after its hottest night. Historic heat also in the PHILIPPINES.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2052732025304482080
“Conservationists fear fires could erase years of orangutan habitat recovery.
“Fires have burned part of a restoration site being prepared for orangutan habitat in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, raising fears that another severe fire season could undo years of recovery work… Large parts of the surrounding forest had already been degraded…”
“Critically endangered ‘Timor green pigeon’ will soon be extinct without urgent action.
“The Timor green pigeon lives in a very limited part of the world. It exists only on Timor Island and a few nearby islands, including Rote, Semau, Atauro, and Jaco. It prefers lowland forests and does not migrate. This narrow range makes the species vulnerable. Many island birds face similar risks.”
“Second-driest April on record for NSW as likely El Niño brings threat of dry year ahead…
“Rainfall was below average across every state last month, conditions that were likely to continue throughout winter, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast, which indicated El Niño was likely to develop.”
“SOUTH AMERICA – historic autumn heat wave.
Another Incredibly hot night, warmer than a summer night. Some Records: BRAZIL: Minimum 27.8C [82F] Santa Maria, 23.8 Sao Luis Gonzaga, 23.1 Bage; PARAGUAY: 24.0 San Juan Bautista. In few hours that area will switch from Summer to Winter.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2052514855257542793
“Paraguay expanded a reserve in the Gran Chaco. Why is deforestation still rising there?
“Approximately 2.78 million hectares (6.87 million acres) were added to Paraguay’s Chaco Biosphere Reserve in 2011, yet the area continues to be one of the country’s worst hit by forest loss. Regulations are only selectively enforced by the government, if not entirely ignored, critics say.”
“Climate change could erase most South American cloud forests, study warns…
“Because cloud forests capture moisture from fog and release it into streams, their disappearance threatens the drinking water supply of an estimated 16 million people who live downstream. Only about one-third of South America’s cloud forests fall within protected areas.”
“Hantavirus cases nearly doubled in Argentina in the past year. Experts say climate change is to blame…
“Experts blame climate change and habitat destruction for the rise in cases of the disease, which is usually caused by exposure to the urine or feces of infected rodents. The current season, which started in June 2025, has already seen 101 confirmed hantavirus cases…”
“Heavy rain floods roads across Monterrey metropolitan area, Mexico.
“Heavy rain affected Monterrey and nearby municipalities during the afternoon and night of Thursday, May 7, with flooding reported on major roads and underpasses across the metropolitan area. Nuevo León Civil Protection reported 42 damaged vehicles, 17 short circuits, 6 fallen trees, one fallen pole, and one fallen cable.”
https://watchers.news/2026/05/08/heavy-rain-floods-roads-across-monterrey-metropolitan-area-mexico/
“The numbers are unreal. Spring-to-date temperature rankings across the Lower 48:
“15 states are having their warmest spring-to-date on record; 28 states are top 3; 32 states are top 5; 39 states are top 10… This is not “a warm spot on the map.” It is a continental-scale torching.
[The Global Warmer]
https://x.com/TheGlobalWarmer/status/2052806417619595319
“This is the part that should stop people cold.
“1934 was not just “a bad drought year.” A 2014 NASA/Lamont study found it was BY FAR the worst North American drought year of the last millennium — roughly 30% worse than any other year in the paleo record.
“And now the modern U.S. PDSI is pushing into that same historical danger zone… in a much hotter climate system. That is not normal variability. That is a flashing red warning light.” [The Global Warmer]
https://x.com/TheGlobalWarmer/status/2052815474161840543
“‘The worst time for wheat’: US farmers face losses to extreme heat and drought…
“This year’s winter wheat crop condition in the Plains is one of the poorest in recent history, rivaling 2023, another drought year. The weekly crop condition report issued by an arm of the US Department of Agriculture rates the 44% of Kansas’s and 49% of Oklahoma’s wheat in very poor to poor condition…”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/08/wheat-farmers-face-loss-crops-heat-drought
“Lake Powell runoff to hit record low, putting West’s water supplies at risk.
“…runoff from the melting snow into the river will bring April through July flows into Powell to only 13% of average, says the federal Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2026/may/08/lake-powell-runoff-to-hit-record-low-putting-wests/
“Rare brain-eating amoeba found in water at several western national parks – including Lake Mead and Yellowstone…
“Researchers discovered Naegleria fowleri, which can cause a fatal brain infection, after surveying 40 thermally impacted recreational waters in five national parks and recreation areas in the western U.S.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/brain-eating-amoeba-national-parks-b2972260.html
“Heat is set to blast much of California, topping 100 degrees in some areas…
“Temperatures could top 100 degrees in the Central Valley for the first time this year. By Monday, Fresno could see temperatures as high as 102 degrees — which would be the earliest in the year the thermometer has hit that mark since records have been kept…”
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-08/california-weather-heat-wave-100-degrees
“Southeast Alberta seeing ‘driest spring’ on record as fire risk reaches extreme.
““This is the driest spring that we’ve had,” said Cypress County mayor Dan Hamilton. “We’ve had this drought for five or six years’ now, but this is probably the worst start of the summer,” Hamilton added.”
“Canadian Muskoxen Hit by Double Punch of Novel Diseases and Climate Change…
“An emerging pathogen, dubbed Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Arctic clone, was linked to widespread muskox mortalities on Victoria and Banks islands from 2009-14. Another outbreak was identified on Ellesmere Island in 2021. Brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, is now appearing…”
“Whales ‘forced to shout’ to communicate over shipping noise…
“The underwater sound from ships’ engines in the Strait of Gibraltar is similar to standing next to a vacuum cleaner, according to the findings. Scientists say the noise pollution poses a potentially deadly threat to pilot whales, the second-largest dolphin species.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/08/whales-shout-communicate-over-shipping-noise/
“Among Flowering Plants, Thousands of Evolutionary Oddities at Risk of Extinction.
“…scientists determined that more than 20 percent of the evolutionary history of flowering plants is at risk of being eradicated. The research, published in the journal Science, identified nearly 10,000 species that should be prioritized for conservation given their unique and threatened evolutionary history.”
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/flowering-plants-evolutionary-history
“Hunger threat grows worldwide as climate change alters food quality…
““The diets we eat today have less nutritional density than what our grandparents ate, even if we eat exactly the same thing,” said Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.”
https://caliber.az/en/post/hunger-threat-grows-worldwide-as-climate-change-alters-food-quality
“Climate Cracks Are Spreading — and Even the System Knows It Can’t Hold.
“…suppressed reports are coming out so thick and fast that you could be forgiven for thinking you’d already read it. Add the voices of insurance companies, the Bank of England and the finance industry, and it’s clear to see that the cracks aren’t just showing, they are spreading. The whole system is creaking and groaning at the seams, and the US/Israel war with Iran has supercharged that.”
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
“Climate Cracks Are Spreading — and Even the System Knows It Can’t Hold.”
But it will try to hold on nonetheless, and it will do so by disavowing the rotting parts of itself through “radical” self-criticism. Like how revelations about carbon finance and greenwashing have the practical effect of providing an outline of what not to do/say for the next wave of state-sanctioned carbon scams and schemes.
To conclude, a fun yt video about dinosaurs.
For anyone who doesn’t have the time to watch Jupiviv’s video but is curious:
“By the end of the Cretaceous, beaked birds were already eating a much more varied diet than their toothed relatives. These birds weren’t specialized on insects or other animal food, and so they were able to pluck up hard food items like seeds and nuts.
“And in the aftermath of the extinction, when animal life was severely cut back, those hard, persistent little morsels got beaked birds through the hard times. Beaked birds were able to feed on the seeds of the destroyed forests and wait out the decades until vegetation began to return.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-birds-survived-and-dinosaurs-went-extinct-after-asteroid-hit-earth-180975801/
Thanks jupiviv, agreed, it will try to hold on. Though now that the mask has come off, I wonder if the powers that be will even bother with carbon scams and schemes?
There has been a return to 90s neoliberal ‘disruptionism’ esp with AI and crypto (tho the latter is too stupid and useless to be mainstream.)
Except this time the narrative is ‘grimdark’. Hope and change exist but are conditional, requiring sacrifice and willingness to be sacrificed. The private vs public debate is also less relevant, mostly because the two have elided and become interchangeable. Carbon credits were bad because of capitalism, and capitalists must repent by giving them away for free. They will receive the same benefits as before but in a more second order, informal way that is more resilient to criticism due to being marketable as ‘grassroots’ and ‘local’.
The impulse to maintain economic growth at all costs is going to prevail, but you wonder how the climate upheaval we have coming down the pipe with this El Nino is going to factor into voting and policy decisions.
Well my fellow realists, here we go with week 11 of acceleration mode! Wow…
Quark’s latest is titled: Excessive debt and the perception of a lack of risk are keeping the system going.
https://tinyurl.com/5n9b77eh
Flippr, I see Quark dismisses Mark A. Shryock’s doomy “EIGHT WEEKS TO EMPTY SHELVES. SIXTY DAYS TO FAMINE” article with the admonition, “It is necessary to narrate reality and not invent it.”
My own sense is that here in the UK, assuming tanker traffic remains very constrained through Hormuz, we are looking at, along with much higher prices for energy products, some physical shortages of refined products towards the end of June.
I imagine the government will intervene in rationing/allocating rather than just letting the market decide how demand destruction shakes out. I don’t see famine within sixty days.
Can there be a “Warning – Contains Toxic Hopium” label attached to C&E purported Olympian overview links like the last one, that feigns collapse awareness (‘the system knows”horseshit) but is pure hopium grifting at its core?
Resilience. Adaptation. Talk amongst yourselves. Grief counseling. Degrowth. The Cactus model. What lies beyond pathetic?
Martin, I hadn’t realised in my haste that the article is by Rupert Read, formerly of Extinction Rebellion, and now Co-Director of the Climate Majority Project. He’s an activist but I think in the sense that he is trying to galvanise people to prepare locally for an inevitable climate collapse, rather than fight for political change.
“We ourselves are the cavalry… gathering locally where we are across the country in the coming weeks and months, we can better land on the fact that, where the powers that be have failed, we are ourselves ready, as best we can, to step into the breach.”
Hell yeah, it’s Rupert Read. I’ve seen all these names, been to all these places – ain’t nobody, as Chaka Khan sang.
Here’s what you can get for pressing the link inside the links :
1. The “Good Men’s Project,” ffs. Note: As stupidly named as “The Brights.”
2. “S.A.F.E.R.
Strategic Adaptation for Emergency Resilience”
wherein,
3. “Regulate Us. Better.”
“Uniting business voices to demand Government action on the crossing of Planetary Boundaries.” Note: here’s the only “uniting business voices” that could ever work for the benefit of remaining humanity: “we give up.”
4.”Many leaders understand that it’s too late for a smooth transition, and want to make a meaningful difference.
If that sounds like you, we warmly invite you to join like-minded others in our leadership circles.”
Note: I know an excellent permanent home for these “leadership circles”: at the bottom of the deep blue, well, you know what.
5. “The mass climate action that can drive real systemic change is in the hands of citizen-led initiatives. We offer portfolio funding and strategic and practical assistance to emerging leaders of citizen climate action – helping their important work to grow, scale and flourish.”
Note: Generalissimo Rupert Read, and his merry band of portfolio funding leaders of leaders, are heading nowhere but right off the Dover cliffs.
Note to notes: sorry to be so harsh towards Britpop types. They can start out strong as if they’ve learned a collapse thing or two, but inevitably…GRIFT.
No offense taken, Martin. 😂
In the few articles I’ve read by Rupert Read I’ve struggled to fully understand what he is advocating, so thank you for the synopsis. I wouldn’t want to rain too hard on their parade but, yeah, it’s not quite the brass tacks, localised emergency-preparedness movement that I thought. “Real systemic change” is not on the cards.
There has been a sudden increase in the rate of sea level rise
Satellite measurements show that in the early 2010s sea level rise suddenly accelerated to a rate of 4.1 millimetres per year, possibly in response to an increase in the rate of global warming By Michael Le Page, 8 May 2026
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2525773-there-has-been-a-sudden-increase-in-the-rate-of-sea-level-rise/
There has been an abrupt change in the rate of sea level rise as measured by satellites. Around 2012, it suddenly accelerated and has remained higher ever since.
It is possible that the sudden jump is mainly due to natural variation. However, it could also be a response to the accelerating rate of global warming, says Lancelot Leclercq at the University of Toulouse in France.
The average global sea level has already risen by more than 0.2 metres over the past 15 years as a result of global warming. This has been caused by a number of factors: as well as increasing melting of mountain glaciers and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, the oceans are expanding as they warm.
Here in South Florida a construction high rise mania imaginable is in full force. The solution, build higher sea walls to ebb the rise and preserve the semblance of normalcy so this can continue a bit longer for the “cash and grab” special interest developers (political connected) crowd and ignore the overcrowded gridlock. Seems the voting public (like they matter) are kept at bay with distractions….
Good selection today, Pan. You’ve probably already posted this one but it caught my eye.
Thank you, Vince. I actually hadn’t.
I’ve been a bit neglectful of sea-level rise, as it is so incremental and still feels like one of our less immediately pressing threats. Obviously, if you live in Tuvalu or Hatteras island or Saint-Louis in Senegal you’d beg to differ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm4Ngchen3g
Thank you, Pan, I watched it and that is frightening to these residents that are dealing with the erosion of Saint-Louie
This comes to mind I just read
Quote of the day by Jim Carrey
“Everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart, and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart.”
Ace comedian and the versatile star Jim Carrey shared these words of wisdom when he delivered a commencement address to the 2014 Maharishi International University of Management class. He reflected on life, fame, and what really matters when he addressed young students who were ready to step into the real world. He wanted to guide them to work in the right direction, to understand that the endgame has more to it than what meets the eye.
Just like in the film of John Huston, The Treasure of Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart with the gold dust blowing in the wind to back where it came…
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2026/05/carbon-dioxide-highest-in-millions-of-years-update.html?m=1
Here is the lastest arctic blogspot report on co2
Thank you, Heather. We were talking about sulfur hexafluoride in the comments section just the other day. Interesting to see it get a mention here:
“The image below shows a worrying recent rise in concentrations of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which has a global warming potential (GWP) over 100 years of 24,300 and, because it has a lifetime of 1000 years, its GWP over 500 years is even higher, i.e. 29,000…
“The image below shows SF6 recorded at Ochsenkopf, Germany. The fact that Germany has strict regulations to prevent SF6 releases raises concerns that the high recent readings at Mauna Loa and Ochsenkopf may be the start of a global accelerated rise.”
https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2026/05/carbon-dioxide-highest-in-millions-of-years-update.html
Interesting also that Sam Carana is not making any bold predictions about timing here, as that has been a hallmark.
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/27/bitcoin-miners-are-becoming-ai-companies-and-selling-their-btc-to-fund-the-transition
Here is also another development bitcoin companies are now going to ai. Bitcoin miners use the same infrastructure as ai so not surprising but Ed zitron reports thats hardly anything has been built. Many reports of being planned but he thinks maybe less than 5 mw of new data centers have been built. Although he sometimes goes into the many problems of water, chips and many other issues and power issues that plague it. Now there is also very big public blacklash against these projects. Not including all of the other supply chain issues ahead of this insanity.
Sunday quote:
“Against stupidity, the very gods themselves struggle in vain.”
– Schiller
h/t Paul Edwards
https://lylel.substack.com/p/scientists-discover-climate-change/comment/256750447
Could the Dust Bowl of the 30s happen again?
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-23-ideas/clip/16212808-dust-bowl-blues
Just a mention here of this article: https://www.newstarget.com/2026-05-09-the-coming-famine-why-people-will-starve.html
The Coming Famine: Why Millions Will Starve and What You Must Do Now
“Four billion people who are living today depend on the Haber-Bosch process that turns natural gas into nitrogen fertilizers. Without it, modern agriculture collapses. The Persian Gulf supplies a quarter of the world’s natural gas feedstock for fertilizer, and the damage to infrastructure in Qatar and elsewhere will take years to repair. On March 19, 2026, the CEO of QatarEnergy confirmed that retaliatory strikes had destroyed two of Qatar’s fourteen critical LNG trains [2]. This is not a supply chain hiccup — it is a surgical strike on the very architecture that feeds human civilization.
Countries like China and Russia have halted fertilizer exports …”