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!

40% of amphibians face imminent extinction

Posted on March 24, 2012 by

Wake, D. 2 Mar 2012. Facing Extinction in Real Time. Science vol 335, 1052-53. Throughout the world, amphibians are in decline, and many species—perhaps 40%—face imminent extinction. Recent studies have discovered why amphibians are dying. The amphibian decline is happening … Continue reading →

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Hunting can drive species extinct

Posted on March 24, 2012 by

14 Jan 2009. Humans’ prey species evolving dangerously fast. NewScientist. Hunters and fishermen go after the largest catches they can find, which is driving evolution in a way unlike anything else on Earth, and the rapid changes triggered in wild … Continue reading →

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Acidification of our oceans: unprecedented rate in past 300 million years

Posted on March 24, 2012 by

Ahmed, Nafeez. 2017. Failing States, Collapsing Systems BioPhysical Triggers of Political Violence. Springer. As climate change is accelerating, so is the acidification of the oceans. The two processes are causally related. Oceans are becoming more acidic because the vast bulk … Continue reading →

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Biodiversity in glacier-fed rivers threatened by climate change

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

So many of these articles belong in several different places, the web of life is hard to categorize and put in one spot. 16 Mar 2012. “Glacial river biodiversity”. Nature Climate Change. Glacial melt water increases biodiversity in mountainous freshwater … Continue reading →

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Sharon Astyk on stages of Collapse

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

Astyk, Sharon. 19 Mar 2012. Commentary: Collapse? Really? ASPO Peak Oil Review. 1. People get really mad at their government. This usually leads to some measure of civil unrest, and often changes of government, some of which are meaningful and … Continue reading →

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Invasive species unchecked by climate

Posted on March 5, 2012 by

Philip Hulme of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, New Zealand writes in the 3 Feb 2012 issue of Science: Climate change is likely to devastate native species and biodiversity. But ironically, invasive alien species — which are a threat … Continue reading →

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Water Infrastructure Falling Apart Nation-wide

Posted on March 4, 2012 by

Water statistics: 2.5% of all water is fresh (drinkable), 69% of fresh water is locked up in glaciers and ice caps, in the USA 37% (of 127 trillion gallons) is used for irrigation, 1,847 gallons to produce 1 lb beef, … Continue reading →

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Middle East, the beginning of the end

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

With not only roughly two-thirds of the world’s remaining oil, but also the easiest and cheapest to get at, with the highest EROEI, any major disruption instantly throws the world into hard times and a die-off if nations don’t share … Continue reading →

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Loss of Top Predators

Posted on January 7, 2012 by

James A. Estes, et al. 15 Jul 2011.  Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth. Science vol 333. Before men, large predators and herbivores had huge influences on nature across land, ocean, and fresh water ecosystems.  Their loss has a “trophic cascade” … Continue reading →

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Climate Change: creatures collide, compete, parasitize one another

Posted on January 6, 2012 by

Climate change models of biodiversity loss are underestimating future extinctions, because as animals move around they compete and parasitize each other.  Already animals and plants that can’t handle increasing temperatures are moving to cooler places. Some can’t move fast enough … Continue reading →

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