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

Methane’s potential for another major extinction event

Posted on July 17, 2012 by

June 22, 2016. As Alaska warms, methane emissions appear stable, study finds. phys.org. Excerpts: One reason no increase has been seen may be that “Bacteria that produce methane and bacteria that consume methane will both become more active as temperatures … Continue reading →

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Super Weeds resistant to GMO pesticides are taking over millions of acres

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

Coombs, Amy. May 20, 2012. Revenge of the Weeds. Plant pests are evolving to outsmart common herbicides, costing farmers crops and money.  the-scientist.com Please read the above article, below are some excerpts: Weeds are developing resistance to glyphosate—the most common … Continue reading →

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New finding: Plants far more harmed by Climate change than previous estimates

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

Shifts in the timing of flowering and leafing in plants due to global warming appear to be much greater than estimated by warming experiments. Predicting plant responses to climate change has important consequences for human water supply, pollination of crops … Continue reading →

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Biodiversity loss impact on ecosystem worse than climate change and pollution

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

David U. Hooper, et al. A global synthesis reveals biodiversity loss as a major driver of ecosystem change. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11118 “This analysis establishes that reduced biodiversity affects ecosystems at levels comparable to those of global warming or air … Continue reading →

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Fungi destroy bees, bats, amphibians, trees, etc

Posted on April 11, 2012 by

Attack of the Killer Fungi: Rising Threat Worries Scientists Wynne Parry, LiveScience   11 April 2012 An unprecedented number of diseases caused by fungi have been causing some of the most severe die-offs and extinctions ever witnessed in wild species and … Continue reading →

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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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Floods and water-borne disease

Posted on March 24, 2012 by

Our clean water infrastructure built a century ago is rusting and eroding apart, making the invasion of disease causing micro-organisms during floods even more likely. excerpt from Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us … 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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