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CURATED ECOLOGICAL NEWS Verdant river deltas supporting human life are disappearing
“The land near the mouth of the Mississippi River is barely land at all. Muddy water forks into a labyrinth of pathways through a seemingly endless expanse of electric-green marsh grass. Stretching for more than a hundred miles along the coast of Louisiana, this is one of the world’s largest, and most famous, river deltas. There are thousands of such deltas across the world, ranging in size from just a few acres to thousands of square miles. “Many of these places are now disappearing, often quite rapidly. The soils are sinking and the seas are rising. In Louisiana, a football field’s worth of land is gone every hundred minutes. Hundreds of millions of people that live on other deltas too, could lose their homes and their livelihoods. “As climate changes through the epochs, deltas are formed and then buried underwater. Still, these past few thousand years can be thought of as an ‘age of the delta’, says Utrecht University geomorphologist Jaap Nienhuis. Not coincidentally, it has also been an age of human flourishing. ‘Human civilization started when modern river deltas started to appear. It’s scary to think of what could happen if river deltas disappear, Nienhuis says.” More at: Local and bioregional regenerative transition
“The central fact of our historical moment is that we are in the midst of an unprecedented global environmental, economic, and social polycrisis that threatens the future of civilization and all life on Earth. This would still be the case under a President Kamala Harris. Neither candidate was proposing to tackle climate change, endless economic growth, or advocating for a regenerative revolution. “While a lot of time, energy, and resources will undoubtedly be necessary to stop the erosion of civil rights, protect the most vulnerable, and defend democracy, I believe it’s essential that we find ways to engage in both resistance and regeneration simultaneously — things like growing local food systems, supporting social entrepreneurship, and transitioning to renewable energy. “Cultivating regenerative communities is so essential because they represent what is the most wholistic, realistic, and desirable alternative to the status quo of the Industrial Growth Society — which is already causing a sixth mass extinction and pushing our planet towards catastrophic tipping points. “Local and bioregional regenerative efforts, undertaken collectively, also have the potential to buoy our spirits. By incorporating values of hard work, frugality, neighborliness, and self-reliance, regeneration sidesteps political pigeonholes, and focuses on the kind of community we want to create for ourselves and our children.” More at: Prepperism: not by isolation, but by mutual support
“One afternoon, hoping to survive the apocalypse, I logged on to an online course entitled Ruggedize Your Life. There were dozens of us on the call, including a geophysicist, an actor, a retired financial adviser, and a civil engineer. Our session was taught by Alex Steffen, a ‘foresight consultant’, who for many years, worked as an environmental reporter. Having concluded that the worst consequences of a heating climate had become inevitable, Steffen made a pivot. He now advises individuals, as well as businesses and localities, on how to gird themselves for impact. “Originally early adopters of what we now think of as the prepper philosophy went off-grid; hoarded provisions, firearms and ammunition, and sometimes constructed hidden bunkers. Prepperism took a reputational hit in the 1990s, when it was linked with the militia movement, along with incidents such as the deadly standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing. “In the ensuing years, the philosophy went mainstream, fueling radio shows and YouTube channels as well as an ecosystem of regional conventions and wilderness survival trainings. More than 20 million Americans are now taking steps to prepare for cataclysm — assembling go-bags and stocking up on food, water and first aid supplies — more than double the estimated number in 2017. “Liberals make up about 15% of the prepping scene, according to one estimate, and their numbers appear to be growing. Liberal preppers differ from their rightwing counterparts because the calamities they anticipate have different characteristics. But concern about global heating is not a fleeting crisis one can ride out with a well-stocked arsenal and a few pallets from Costco. “For Steffen and other preppers on the left, threat analysis begins with an understanding of network effects: how various social and economic systems work together to support our ongoing survival, or undermine it. The typical survivalist fantasy of isolating oneself in an off-grid cabin deep in the woods is unlikely to offer much protection, Steffen said. He believes you would be safer in urban settings — especially cities that are taking the threats seriously and developing resilience plans. ‘You are better off choosing to move towards systems that are used by a lot of people’, he told us. “Another distinctive characteristic of liberal prepperism is an increasing focus on the emotional and even spiritual aspect of facing catastrophe. Given the damage we’ve already done to the atmosphere, those seeking to prepare have begun talking about what acceptance looks like. For them, the question is less whether we survive than how we maintain our humanity in the face of calamity, how we cope with loss, and how we use the time we have.” More at: Resilience, regeneration, community
“In these tumultuous times, ‘resilience’ has become something of a buzzword. But what does resilience mean, exactly? And can it help us survive and thrive in the era of climate change? A decade ago, Island Press set out to answer those questions. So, we partnered with a diverse group of thinkers to publish articles and op-eds that envision a truly resilient future. “The authors whose work is collected here include activists, academics, planners, and public officials. Each of their writings is a miniature time capsule, capturing real-time takes on the upheavals of the last decade. They show that resilience is not about ‘bouncing back’ to the disastrous status quo that increases greenhouse gases and widens inequality will only magnify human suffering. “True resilience calls us to rethink the design of our communities and the systems that meet human needs, while rectifying the inequities that leave too many people vulnerable to disaster. This is what resilience means to us. The future is already under way — community-owned clean energy; strategies to safeguard communities from flooding and fire; energy efficiency and renewable power; policies to protect those at greatest risk.” More at: Scientific data being scrubbed from federal web sites
“Swathes of scientific data deletions are sweeping across US government websites. Now, scientists are racing to save their work before it’s lost. There are hundreds, many even thousands of people involved across multiple networks. And they keep a damn close eye on their phones. “Cathy Richards is a data and inclusion specialist, and civic science fellow at the Open Environmental Data Project (OEDP), a non-profit based in Hudson, New York. Her organisation is a founding member of the Public Environmental Data Project (PEDP), which emerged in 2024 to safeguard data under the current administration. “In recent weeks, Richards and her colleagues have archived datasets packed with information on US flood hazards, greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and environmental justice, among other subjects. Multiple organisations including the Internet Archive, a non-profit, Safeguarding Research and Culture, and the Data Rescue Project, are now engaged in activities alongside the OEDP to rescue this data from oblivion.” More at:
It’s all about the data, stupid
“To state the obvious: DOGE [pronounced DODGY) is still out there, chipping away at the foundations of government infrastructure. But the DOGE project has recently entered a new phase. From here on out, it’s all about the data. From the start, DOGE has wanted as much of it as it could grab, and through a series of resignations, firings, and court cases, has mostly gotten its way. “In many cases it’s still unclear what exactly DOGE engineers have done or intend to do with that data. For DOGE, data is a tool. It’s also a weapon. “Start with the Internal Revenue Service, where DOGE associates want to build a ‘mega API’ that would make it easier to view previously compartmentalized data from across the IRS in one place. An API for all IRS data would make it possible for any agency — or any outside party with the right permissions, for that matter — to access the most personal, and valuable, data the US government holds about its citizens. “That’s true also of DOGE’s data aims more broadly. Right now, the target is immigration. But it has hooks into so many systems, access to so much data, interests so varied both within and without government, there are very few limits to how or where it might next be deployed.” More at: Kennedy running rampant like Musk
“Last December, I wrote about the dangers of the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. I made the case that these appointments, starting with Kennedy, were a deliberate attempt to break our health system, and would make Americans sicker. As the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, and of the Labor, Health, and Human Services subcommittee, I know the importance of their missions. “I did not expect Kennedy to simply obliterate health agencies that are key to our nation’s progress and leadership in public health. As part of their drastic and haphazard purge and reorganization at HHS, they have eliminated entire agencies: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — eliminated; The Health Resources and Services Administration — eliminated; The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response — eliminated; And even the Administration for Community Living — eliminated. “The administration has fired or pushed out thousands of experts and experienced staff who help keep Americans safe from infectious diseases, including Measles, HIV, and tuberculosis. At the National Institutes of Health, Kennedy has fired more than 2,000 employees, including several Directors of NIH’s individual institutes. The administration has withheld federal funding from universities that do not adopt their preferred policies.” More at: Missouri poor air quality a public health hazard
“Missouri’s air quality worsened from 2021 to 2023. The American Lung Association’s report found that the St. Louis and Kansas City areas both had poorer outcomes for some measures of air quality compared to previous years. St. Louis was ranked 21st worst city across the country for its ozone levels this year, after being ranked 30th last year. Kansas City was ranked 34th worst for its ozone levels, compared to 48th for 2024’s report. “In urban areas, things like high vehicle traffic and concentrations of industrial output can worsen air quality and be associated with higher rates of lung diseases and other chronic conditions. In more rural parts of the state, manufacturing, mining and agriculture all contribute to poorer air quality. Plus, high-pollutant industries tend to be concentrated in lower-income areas, where residents are predisposed to other forms of chronic health conditions “Both Great Rivers and the American Lung Association are advocating to increase the number of air quality monitors placed throughout the state. But they aren’t holding out hope, given cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency at the federal level. Under the Trump administration, the federal agency is exploring ways to roll back at least 31 air, water and emissions regulations related to the endangerment finding, and experts say the rollbacks could harm public health.” More at: Energy hog AI wants all-of-the-above energy
“Over 150 years of growth in demand for fossil fuels has nearly reached its end, the International Energy Agency forecasts showed for a second year in a row. That would be relatively positive news for the climate — but for fossil fuel producers, that message posed a major threat. In recent months, artificial intelligence (AI) proponents have begun talking up the idea that AI and data centers can drive a surge in fossil fuel demand, prolonging the fossil fuel era. “‘We need energy in all forms’, the former CEO of Google, now chair of a pro-AI think tank, Eric Schmidt, told a Congressional hearing. ‘Renewable, nonrenewable, whatever.’ Schmidt previously served as chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which under his watch wrote legislative proposals that later became law. ‘If you think about it, it’s going to take enormous energy to beat China to AI’, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) said. “‘Dr. Schmidt, you said all energy resources are needed’, Guthrie said, ‘and then AI will develop solutions to deal with climate change’. Schmidt has carried the same promise to top Saudis — drawing a similar positive response. Climate experts have warned that it’s not that simple. AI is at best a double-edged sword for the climate — in part because the technology requires so much energy.” More at: | 
