Category Archives: 2) Overshoot

The polycrisis/overshoot, collapse of the financial system, breakdown of supply chains, blackouts, end of being able to make computer chips, and so on are symptoms of the underlying cause: peak energy and peak everything, especially peak diesel since trucks, rail, and ships make this one-time only fossil fueled civilization possible. Wind, solar, nuclear, and so on also need fossil fuels for every single step of their life cycle, so that is a dead end. It is back to before the 15th century — wood world. Whether the house of cards collapses from chokepoints in the middle east such as the Suez canal, the financial shock of a natural disaster or from debt and corruption, Export Land Model, or nuclear war — there is certain to be a series of dislocations that ultimately bring population down to 400 million (population before fossil fuels) or less (due to overshoot factors such as top soil erosion, pollution, etc) Let’s hope there are some islands of sanity and that you are living on one of them!

Phytoplankton have declined 40%: they provide food and oxygen for all creatures on Earth

This article from NewScientist discusses how phytoplankton are disappearing — and they provide half of the food animals both in the ocean and on land depend on, plus produce a great deal of the oxygen we breathe. Throw in overfishing, … Continue reading

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Laughing Gas — nitrous oxide — could deplete ozone and cook the planet

2 Sep 2009. Laughing gas set to deplete the ozone layer. NewScientist. 28 August 2009. Lisa Grossman. Laughing gas is biggest threat to ozone layer. NewScientist. 21 July 2012. Michael Marshall.  Laughing gas may cook the planet. NewScientist. The ozone … Continue reading

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Climate change concentrates toxins in plants – bad news for herbivores

Michael Marshall. June 1, 2012. Climate change will create a toxic brew for herbivores. NewScientist. A warmer world could lead to more concentrated and higher levels of toxins in plants.  Herbivorous animals are also less able to process toxins when … Continue reading

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Dying seagrass is releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide

23 May 2012. Mowing down seagrass meadows will cut loose carbon. NewScientist. SEagrass has as much carbon as the world’s forests and the carbon dioxide contained in them could be released as they are dying off from water pollution, dredging, … Continue reading

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Oil and Gas infrastructure are falling apart

Beneath Cities, a Decaying Tangle of Gas Pipes March 23, 2014. Patrick McGeehan et al. New York Times It is a danger hidden beneath the streets of New York City, unseen and rarely noticed: 6,302 miles of pipes transporting natural … Continue reading

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Asian medicine a major cause of biodiversity loss

I haven’t noticed any shortage of people in China – what a tragedy the men there feel like they need to eat endangered animal penises, and for the government not to stop it. 6 Mar 2003. S. Malik et al. … Continue reading

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The scientific consensus: we are screwed if we don’t act soon

May 21, 2013. Scientific consensus on maintaining Humanity’s life support systems in the 21st century.  Essential points for policy makers. Stanford University. Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point. Human impacts are causing alarming levels of harm to our planet. … Continue reading

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Financial Monsters — Bigger Crashes than 2008 are yet to come

by Alice Friedemann   October 12, 2007 The monsters are still there. Sure, quantitative easing fed them enough money to keep them away for a while, but cheap money can’t be doled out to bankrupt banksters and Wall Street forever.  Meanwhile … Continue reading

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Humanity will need 27 planet Earths by 2050, a new study estimates.

Stephen Leahy. 3 Aug 2011.  Data Shows All of Earth’s Systems in Rapid Decline. Inter Press Service. Overpopulation is causing huge losses in biodiversity, and ‘protected areas’ such as national parks aren’t working. UXBRIDGE, Canada, Jul 29 (IPS) – Protecting … Continue reading

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Why is modern concrete falling apart?

Here’s more information from Courland’s book “Concrete Planet” and other information I found on the web since I wrote Enough energy after Peak Oil to rebuild and repair concrete infrastructure? Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory has been trying to figure out … Continue reading

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