#polycrisis

2025-06-26

"The effects as this plays out will be—well, horrific. An eight-year study study of six key crops—corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, cassava and sorghum—in the premier scientific journal Nature on Wednesday predicted that each degree Celsius increase in temperature will lower global food production by an average of 120 calories per person per day."

Link: resilience.org/stories/2025-06

#Climate #FoodSecurity #PolyCrisis #Agriculture #Disasters #Environment #Economics #Energy #ClimateCrisis #Sustainability

So many moving pieces
Bill McKibben, originally published by The Crucial Years
June 26, 2025

I hope this tour through science and economics & politics has been helpful in some way—you can see why I sometimes despair, not just of the future but even of my own ability to get across what’s happening in the present. I think I’ve been at this so long that I have a better sense than most of how all those moving pieces interact, but there are so many pieces & they’re now moving so fast.

Teaser image credit: Photo by oskar holm on Unsplash. Unclear what it's a photo of...concentric circles, perhaps a dome, with red colored lights? 

“Things aren’t just getting worse. They’re getting worse faster,” said...Zeke Hausfather of the tech firm Stripe & the climate monitoring group Berkeley Earth. “We’re actively moving in the wrong direction in a critical period of time that we would need to meet our most ambitious climate goals. Some reports, there’s a silver lining. I don’t think there really is one in this one.”

...Here’s how Roger Harrabin of the Guardian explained the findings

    The study shows that such extreme events are becoming more frequent, longer-lasting & more severe, with last year’s figures reaching twice that of the 2003-2020 average.

    The steepness of the rise was not foreseen. The researchers say they are amazed & alarmed by the latest figures from...Nasa’s Grace satellite...the intensity of extremes appears to have soared even faster than global temperatures.
2025-06-26

The only underlying reason anyone would consider today’s AI ”alive”, would be that their screens have become more important to them than real life itself.

We can’t help but assign humanity to the icons of humanity that appear. Now primarily on a screen.

This is our strength and vulnerability, and as is often the case, our actions often tell more of ourselves than what we think.

Unfortunately, it’s one more crisis to slap on to the polycrisis currently facing humanity.
#ai #life #polycrisis

Mason Loring Blissmason@partychickens.net
2025-06-24

This is a repost from Meg Schwarz, from her LinkedIn account. It struck me as being particularly important at this moment in our lives:

The international community is watching as the pillars of international law and accountability are cracking, not just in Gaza, but across the world.

From Ukraine to Gaza and beyond, the erosion of humanity is unfolding in plain sight and it’s ordinary civilians who bear the brunt.

Hospitals destroyed. Bombing and devastation. Children buried beneath rubble. Starvation used as a weapon, killing innocent people while the world watches ….and for those who care deeply, the pain of witnessing this unfolding horror is unbearable.

When the UN Charter was written, it promised "never again”, but what happens when that charter is ignored, when those with the power to act look away, walk away from their responsibility?

As I wrote in an article recently — “What if the UN Charter fails? A world without rules is closer than we think.”…. that collapse doesn’t start with war or genocide.

It starts with silence, especially from those funded and entrusted to speak.

Where are the voices of the not-for-profits who exist to protect vulnerable communities?

Where are the voices of the multicultural organisations that champion belonging and inclusion?

Where are the voices of the DEI leaders who taught us to name injustice?

Where are the voices of the children’s advocates, the ones who once said every child mattered?

Where are the ethical brands and corporate voices who refused to stay quiet in the face of harm?

Where are the voices of the world leaders who stood on international stages and promised to defend human rights?

We’ve seen everyday people step up. Aid workers risking their lives. Volunteers delivering food by flotillas, but those with titles, resources, platforms, they’ve chosen silence….and silencing others - only serving to normalise what we are seeing.

That silence is not neutral. It’s a decision….and one history will remember, we will remember!

If you've ever spoken of reconciliation, peace, or justice, this is the test of whether you meant it.

If you've ever said children deserve protection, this is when to speak their names.

This isn’t politics. It’s humanity. It always has been.

So if you have a voice, a platform, a following, are an influencer - use it now.

Speak for all the people who no longer can.

The collapse of human rights begins not with bombs, but with silence

Further reading:
What if the UN Charter fails? A world without rules is closer than we think

chinadailyhk.com/hk/article/61

#polycrisis #gaza #ukraine #iran

An image of a judge's gavel sitting on the shattered surface of a desk. The wood looks cracked in a way that suggests stone, so it's probably some sort of LLM-generated hallucination. Apologies for that if it is.
2025-06-24

I have a question for people who have been through really hard times. Not a bad day or a bad week, but extended periods of grinding, crushing hardship. (If you know, you know.)

My question is: what did other people do to support you that helped? Especially long distance friends (cf pandemic).

So many people I care about are struggling and deeply suffering. I want to find ways to be a better friend.

#AskFedi #Polycrisis

Mason Loring Blissmason@partychickens.net
2025-06-22

From Michael Patmas, MD, FACP, via LinkedIn:

Dr. Vinay Prasad will now hold three separate roles at the FDA, solidifying his position as the top adviser to Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. Dr. Prasad will serve as the agency’s chief medical and scientific officer, in addition to leading the center that regulates vaccines, gene therapies, and the blood supply, according to an internal memo obtained by STAT. Traditionally, the agency’s chief scientist and chief medical officer have been two distinct roles.

Who is Dr. Prasad? Well, you can get an idea from reading his article below. If you read past the vulgar and unprofessional title, it is bascially an assault on non clinical health care adminstrators whom he has referred to as abject pieces of sh----". He alleges that he regularly comes in contact with blood and body fluids while working in the hospital. If he is, it is because he violating basic infection control practices.

So, a doctor who doesn't follow infection control policies is now in charge of the US blood supply?

sensible-med.com/p/blood-shit-

#publichealth #polycrisis

Mason Loring Blissmason@partychickens.net
2025-06-21

This isn't a new concept - Carl Sagan talked about this decades ago - but it's important to remember.

bigthink.com/life/overview-eff

#polycrisis #globalwarming #capitalism

2025-06-18

In "Planning for the future in the shadow of the polycrisis: Young women's uncertain transitions to adulthood" Justyna Kajta, Justyna Sarnowska, Paula Pustulka and Agnieszka Kwiatkowska show that adaptability has become a leading strategy for navigating life in the face of multiple crises in the transition to adulthood.

doi.org/10.1177/00016993251336

#sociology #PolyCrisis #adulthood

@sociology @academicchatter

2025-06-18

#ABC literally did "Oh shit, the economy!"

wow.

#YouCantEatMoney #Iran #Israel #Polycrisis

Analysis by Alan Kohler
This crisis could be disastrous for the global economy
Lord Caramac the Clueless, KSCLordCaramac@discordian.social
2025-06-17

@lutzen @hart Seit Trump die USA abreißt und zu Trumpistan umbaut, ist die allgemeine Verarschlochung in Politik und Wirtschaft explodiert.

Das wirkliche Problem ist, daß unsere Industriezeitalter-Zivilisation zunehmend dysfunktional wird, nachdem sie das 6. Massenaussterben der Erdgeschichte angezettelt hat, angetrieben nicht von einem einzelnen Asteroiden oder einer Periode des Supervulkanismus, sondern davon, daß wir ganze Landschaften kaputtmachen, um an irgendwelche Bodenschätze zu kommen, ganze Landschaften umpflügen und vergiften, um sehr wenige Pflanzenspezies in sehr großen Mengen anzubauen, daß wir die Atmosphäre mit unseren Abgasen zum Treibhaus machen, daß wir große Mengen an extrem langlebigen synthetischen Verbindungen freisetzen, die womöglich noch Jahrhunderttausende in der Biosphäre herumvagabundieren, bis dann endlich irgendwelche Mikroorganismen evolviert sind, die den Scheiß irgendwie geknackt bekommen, daß wir Wildtiere umbringen, damit sie unsere Nutztiere nicht belästigen, daß die Jäger des 19. Jahrhunderts in kurzer Zeit sehr viel der verbliebenen Megafauna ausgerottet und noch mehr an den Rand des Aussterbens gebracht haben, und daß wir das Meer leerfischen mit kilometergroßen Netzen.
Und wieso tun wir das? Wir werden dafür bezahlt. Unsere Gehirne sind darauf gedrillt, bunte Zettel und geprägte Metallscheiben mit dem Überlebenstrieb zu koppeln, darum machen wir für Geld alles, auch ganze Landstriche abbaggern oder Flüsse vergiften. Wir sind nicht mehr Teil des Landes, auf dem wir leben, oder Teil des Ozeans, auf dem wir fahren, wir sind Teil der Maschine und erfüllen unsere Funktion.
Diese Zivilisation ist nicht reformierbar, höchstens vielleicht noch revolutionierbar. Eine linksgrünversiffte postrevolutionäre Version der späten Maschinenzeit könnte durchaus noch Geburtshelfer für die erste Zivilisation nach der unseren sein, genug Licht ins kommende dunkle Zeitalter werfen, daß es nicht unnötig lang dauert. Der Kapitalismus liegt schon lange im Sterben, wird nur durch verzweifelte Maßnahmen seit dem Crash Ende der Nulljahre am Leben erhalten, und seine Degenerationsform wird wohl irgendwas zwischen Pinochet und Putin als politisch-wirtschaftliches System, irgendwas in mafiös-faschistoid mit Cyberpunk. China ist eh schon ein Cyberpunk-Fiebertraum, aber weil die Führung keine Rücksicht auf die Interessen von Kapitalisten nehmen muß, wird China als letzte Bastion des Industriezeitalters noch stehen, wenn anderswo von mechanisierter Massenproduktion nur noch zu träumen ist. Die haben ihr Land zwar ökologisch schon zu sehr ruiniert, um wirklich die Nachhaltigkeitswende noch vor dem Absturz hinzubekommen, aber sie werden sanft mit dem Fallschirm in die Post-Kollaps-Welt absinken, wo andere hart stürzen.
Große Teile der Welt sind längst abgestürzt, für die wird das Ende des Industriezeitalters nicht mehr viel ausmachen, weil von dessen schönen Seiten bei ihnen eh nichts mehr ankommt.

Wäre es einfach nur das Ende einer Zivilisation, eines Zivilisationszeitalters, dann wäre das alles nicht soooo schlimm, außer halt für uns paar Milliarden Menschen, die dummerweise in dieser Zeit leben müssen. Dummerweise ist da aber noch dieses dumme Massenaussterben von Lebewesen. Hey, wir sind ja auch Lebewesen! Ist das nicht irgendwie blöd? Hurra, laß uns unsere Gehirne digital simulieren, dann brauchen wir keine Tiere mehr zu sein, dann können wir Roboter sein, die von Strom leben! Na ja, eher unwahrscheinlich, es sieht so aus, als ob wir halt doch nur aufrechtgehende Nacktaffen mit großen Mutantenhirnen sind, und wir brauchen eine stabile ökologische Nische für große allesfressende Landwirbeltiere, weil wir halt welche sind. Bei einigen Massenaussterben in der Vergangenheit findet man danach ziemlich schlagartig keine großen Fossilien mehr, selten mal etwas so groß wie ein Kaninchen, vieles nur mausgroß. Bei anderen sieht man hingegen eine langsame Verzwergung über viele Generationen hinweg, wo nur die größten Tierarten wirklich alle komplett aussterben, andere werden nur klein. Wenn die Nachfolger des Homo sapiens verzwergte Hobbits sind, die in selbstgegrabenen Erdhöhlen dem Treibhausklima trotze und mit Bio-Gartenbau die Ökosysteme wieder aufpäppeln, dann ist das kein allzu schlechtes Ende fürs Industriezeitalter. Wenn wir Hominiden komplett aussterben und für immer verschwinden, dann schon. Und die Reaktionären und Faschisten jeglicher Coleur wollen mit dem Irrsinn weitermachen, bis unsere Überlebenschancen als Spezies bei deutlich schlechter als 50:50 stehen, nur damit die Reichen reich bleiben.
#πολυκρίσης #polykrisis #polycrisis #EatTheRich #fascism #industrialism #collapse #kollaps

Mason Loring Blissmason@partychickens.net
2025-06-16

I haven't seen a study looking at this previously, but it's an obvious area of interest.

arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872

#llm #ai #polycrisis

2025-06-15
Mason Loring Blissmason@partychickens.net
2025-06-10
2025-06-08

@carl YES!

Worst thing is, the EU Commission is not even a government! There is no #EU government!

A quick overview by @tagesschau on how Ursula #vonderLeyen used the #polycrisis of the 2020s to change up things in Brussels:
tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/v

But it fails to call her out on that! A politician who seizes more & more power by simply giving herself new fields of responsibilities can hardly be called democratic.
tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/v

@Fou_ad @Peter_Link @palestine @israel

Mason Loring Blissmason@partychickens.net
2025-06-02

@dyckron Evidently the gold-standard scientific research the current US administration is applying is mostly pyrite. Here's some actual research. #publichealth #polycrisis

2025-05-29

The worst part about talking with my teenager is having to keep telling her we knew and have known all the time how to fix all this shit.
#ClimateChange #poverty #oppression #polycrisis #parenting

2025-05-27

"I feel bombarded by articles on the U.S. housing crisis, which inevitably display suburban tract homes sprawling across the landscape or promote skyscraper apartments instead. I look at these patterns on the landscape and think, “What an utter waste.” We are doubling down on a way of life that has no possible good future."

Article: resilience.org/stories/2025-05

#Sustainability #PolyCrisis #Housing #Affordability #Resilience #FoodSecurity #Localization #ClimateCrisis #Community #Economy

Growing the Shire, Not the ‘Burb: Facing the Housing Crisis with Ecological Sanity
Jason Bradford, originally published by Resilience.org
May 27, 2025

By putting this idea out there – that we can respond wisely to the polycrisis by building ecologically savvy agrarian villages – I hope to capture the imagination & fruitful energy of some of you.

"In early 2025, the U.S. human population is about 340 million. The housing stock is 150 million, so that on average there are 2.3 people per home. Home size is large, with newly constructed homes averaging 2,600 square feet.

New homes sell on average for $665,000, which works out to $250 per square foot. This enormous sum, allocated among 2.3 people, is around $290,000 per person. It’s a lot of money, and, this is key, each of these residences is tied to an infrastructure that locks it into industrial-scale flows of energy & materials that are paid for by wage earners.

Now I’m going to bring up something that is almost never discussed in the context of housing, let alone road building, career choices, or the future of college football, but is absolutely critical to all of these and much more: planetary boundaries...You should quickly make the cognitive leap (actually only a tiny hop) to understand that the life-support systems of Earth are undermined by normal daily living in industrial modernity...which needs to be reduced by about an order of magnitude to have any hope of keeping Spaceship Earth conducive to Homo sapiens."

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