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

William Catton, Chapter 2 of Overshoot: The Tragic Story of Human Success

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

William Catton. 1980. Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change. University of Illinois Press. Origins of Man’s Future We are already living on an overloaded world. Our future will be a product of that fact; that fact is a product … Continue reading →

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Rapid Population Growth in California: A Threat to Land and Food Production

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

David & Marcia Pimentel. June 2, 2008. Rapid Population Growth in California: A Threat to Land and Food Production. Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Are Californians —who are now coping with overcrowded cities, jammed highways, and a … Continue reading →

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Nothing is So Powerful As an Exponential Whose Time Has Come

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

Donella Meadows on: Nothing is So Powerful As an Exponential Whose Time Has Come The reason environmentalists are often so gloomy is that they know what the word “exponential” means. “A lack of appreciation for what exponential increase really means … Continue reading →

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Nering on the Mirage of a Growing Fuel Supply

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

4 June 2001. Evar D. Nering. The Mirage of a Growing Fuel Supply. New York Times. In my classes, I describe the following hypothetical situation: We have a 100-year supply of oil if it were consumed at its current rate. … Continue reading →

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Humans are a ‘plague on Earth’: Sir David Attenborough warns that negative effects of population growth will come home to roost

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

22 Jan 2013. Humans are a ‘plague on Earth’: Sir David Attenborough warns that negative effects of population growth will come home to roost. The Independent. TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned that human beings have become a “plague … Continue reading →

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Peak Coal already happened or likely soon, so worst IPCC scenarios may never happen

Posted on January 8, 2013 by

[ The good news is that The IPCC has greatly exaggerated the amount of coal reserves we actually have The scientists below find that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has greatly exaggerated coal reserves, so the IPCC scenario … Continue reading →

Posted in But not from climate change: Peak Fossil Fuels, Climate Change, CO2 and Methane, Coal, Global Warming, Peak Coal, Planetary Boundaries, Runaway Greenhouse | Tagged | Comments Off on Peak Coal already happened or likely soon, so worst IPCC scenarios may never happen

Up to 9% of Methane lost in leaks erodes green credentials of natural gas

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

Jeff Tollefson. 2 Jan 2013. Methane leaks erode green credentials of natural gas.  Losses of up to 9% show need for broader data on US gas industry’s environmental impact. Nature, volume 493 Scientists are once again reporting alarmingly high methane … Continue reading →

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Overpopulation is destroying the planet — China for example

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

Kenneth R. Weiss. July 22, 2012. China’s population and economy are a double whammy for the world China’s ‘one-child’ policy has slowed population growth and brought prosperity — but it couldn’t avert massive damage to the environment. Los Angeles Times. … Continue reading →

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Overpopulation will lead to Uprisings, Social Chaos, and Revolutions

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

Kenneth R. Weiss. July 22, 2012. Runaway population growth often fuels youth-driven uprisings.  In fast-growing countries, many young men are unable to find employment or pay dowries. Frustrated ambitions can be an explosive force — and a reason for joining … Continue reading →

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Drought cost more than hurricane in 2012

Posted on November 18, 2012 by

Jeff Masters. 16 Nov 2012. Lessons from 2012: Droughts, not Hurricanes, are the Greater Danger. wunderground.com The colossal devastation and loss of life wrought by Hurricane Sandy makes the storm one of the greatest disasters in U.S. history. The storm … Continue reading →

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