Category Archives: Polycrisis

Google AI: A polycrisis is a single situation where multiple, distinct global crises occur simultaneously and interact in ways that amplify each other, making the overall damage significantly worse than the sum of its individual parts. Instead of dealing with isolated, sequential emergencies, a polycrisis features intersecting networks of stress across economic, geopolitical, ecological, and technological systems.
Core Characteristics
Causal Entanglement: A crisis in one system (e.g., a geopolitical conflict) directly triggers or worsens a crisis in another system (e.g., energy prices and global food supply chains).
Feedback Loops: The compounding effects bounce back and forth between systems, creating highly volatile and unpredictable domino effects.
Systemic Overwhelm: Because the crises are deeply linked, they cannot be successfully resolved one at a time, frequently paralyzing traditional governance and risk-management strategies

Soot warming earth even more than thought

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

Richard A. Kerr Science 25 January 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6118 p. 382 DOI: 10.1126/science.339.6118.382 Soot Is Warming the World Even More Than Thought A new study finds that soot is warming the climate about twice as fast as scientists … Continue reading →

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Climate Change deadlines: the longer we do nothing, the worse it gets

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

Thomas F. Stocker Science 18 January 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6117 pp. 280-282 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232468 The Closing Door of Climate Targets Robust evidence from a range of climate–carbon cycle models shows that the maximum warming relative to pre-industrial times caused … Continue reading →

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Climate change is causing increased salinity in water and soil world-wide

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

November 23, 2012. Climate Change–Induced Salinity Threatens Health.  Science Vol 338: 1028-1029 Sea-level rise, storm surges, and cyclones exacerbated by climate change have begun to severely affect coasts and river estuaries in low-income countries. The resulting increased salinity in soil … Continue reading →

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Gonorrhea could soon be untreatable according to World Health Organization

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

Science 15 June 2012: Vol. 336 no. 6087 pp. 1364-1365 WHO Warns of Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that gonorrhea, which infects 106 million people in the world each year, could soon become untreatable. In its Global … Continue reading →

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Invasive Species prevent new species from evolving: human induced mass extinction recovery will take longer than thought

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

Richard A. Kerr. February 10, 2012.More Than One Way for Invaders to Wreak Havoc.   Science: Vol. 335:646 Ravenous pythons and anacondas invading the Florida Everglades are ravaging the local ecology. But a study published last month suggests that invasive species … Continue reading →

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China the epicenter of bacteria resistant to all antibiotics

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

Mara Hyistendahl  Science 18 May 2012: Vol. 336 no. 6083 p. 795 China Takes Aim at Rampant Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria that cannot be stopped by common drugs are proliferating around the world (Science, 18 July 2008, p. 356). But a … Continue reading →

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

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

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

Posted on July 11, 2013 by

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

Posted on July 11, 2013 by

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

Posted on July 11, 2013 by

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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