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TUESDAYS — YOUR INBOX — ASSUREDLY
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CURATED ECOLOGICAL NEWS
Petroleum, a given for modernity, is fast depleting
“Oil and gas executives say they are doing everything they can to sound an alarm that prices are about to soar as the commercial and government inventories that have mitigated price rises so far are rapidly depleting. Some inventories could be wiped out within weeks, coinciding with the peak summer travel season.
“As the conflict with Iran drags into its fourth month, the administration is confronting the highest rate of inflation in three years. Trump told reporters Wednesday oil prices will drop ‘like a rock’ once the war concludes. Industry executives suggest otherwise.
“The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to 349.2 million barrels, approaching a multi-decade low last seen in 1983. Millions of barrels of oil need to remain in pipelines and refineries to keep the systems from breaking down. The critical moment could come anywhere from the end of this month to closer to the end of summer.” [click the link for the full article]
Build resilience before all else
“In an age of vanishing species, a warming planet, growing polarization, and deepening inequality, it is clear that our systems are no longer coping. The crises overlap and amplify one another, in an era we now refer to as the polycrisis — a convergence of ecological, economic, and social disruptions, rooted in our dependence on fossil fuels and the devotion to endless growth.
“Energy, he reminds us, is at the heart of everything we do. Without it, life simply can’t continue. With a surplus of cheap fossil energy, economic activity shot up exponentially over the past hundred years, and with it our collective pressure on the planet, leading us to the disappearance of wild nature, the loss of mammals, vertebrates and invertebrates.
“Heinberg argues, the most meaningful work now lies in building resilience. Rather than chasing ever-greater profits, societies will need to strengthen local ecological, food, and distribution systems.
“What happens as energy, food and supply chains become less reliable? How will climate‑driven disasters reshape cities? And what kinds of social fabric will we need if we are to navigate collapse without descending into chaos?” [click the links for the full articles]
Overpopulation crisis worsens every other crisis
“Not so long ago, the people concerned about population growth tended to be racists, nativists, and eugenicists. ‘It’s no coincidence that most of those who are obsessed with population growth are post-reproductive wealthy white men: it’s about the only environmental issue for which they can’t be blamed’, wrote George Monbiot.
“That description was a caricature when Monbiot wrote it, but today’s wealthiest white men (think Elon Musk) are more likely to advocate population expansion, not reduction. Nandita Bajaj — executive director of Population Balance, who is brown, female, and definitely not wealthy — defies those stereotypes. She chose not to have children and has dedicated her life to research and advocacy on behalf of women, vulnerable people, animals, and planetary health.
“‘Human overpopulation is not the only factor driving ecological overshoot, but it is the most neglected one, and the factor that intensifies every crisis confronting us. And it really should be one of the most important progressive issues given its patriarchal roots’, Bajaj said.
“The message is blunt: ‘Population Balance is showing how consumption, population, and technospheric growth are connected and compounding variables of planetary disaster, suffering, and extinction’, said Eileen Crist, a Population Balance advisor.” [click the link for the full article]
Pfas incineration leaves smaller, yet still toxic, by-products
“The nation’s garbage incinerators are largely failing to eliminate Pfas ‘forever chemicals’ air pollution, and are putting people in largely low-income neighborhoods at risk. The powerful waste management industry is increasingly pushing incinerators as a solution to virtually indestructible Pfas waste.
“Nearly 100 municipal or hazardous waste incinerators operate nationally, including seven in Minnesota. A new industry trade group report alleges Minnesota’s incinerators are reducing their forever chemical emissions by 99.6%. The report is full of bad assumptions, incomplete data, misleading language, and fails to conduct proper testing, according to an analysis by the Zero Burn Coalition.
“Pfas are a class of at least 16,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
“Recent research has shown that exposure to the chemicals via the air is more of a risk than previously thought, though regulators are only beginning to establish health standards.” [click the link for the full article]
Harvested data — laid off jobs — compensation denied
“When I see rhetoric about welcoming a new development with open arms, I take that to mean the developer is looking for public money of some kind. This was shown recently when Beale Infrastructure withdrew its proposed data center in Gardner KS [for lack of tax incentives]. These companies will just keep looking until they find a handout.
“A big reason AI companies are receiving so much investment money is the promise that their technology will increase productivity, which means they can lay off employees and replace their job functions with AI.
“The entire electronics industry has been affected by AI’s massive demand for hardware. Chip suppliers such as Samsung, Micron, and more have cut production of consumer memory to chase higher-margin AI business. Pretty much everything with a circuit board is more expensive now as a result.
“Regarding power needed to run these operations, the Stratos data center recently approved in northwest Utah is projected to consume more power than the entire state, supplied by new gas-powered power plants.
“AI models have to be trained on data, and that data comes from all of us. This data is incredibly valuable, and tech companies have become accustomed to receiving this data in exchange for the privilege of using their ad-supported apps. We the public should be paid actual money for this data. Advocates for universal basic income such as Scott Santens have been calling this an AI dividend.” [click the link for the full article]
Data center double speak by politicians
“Annette Singh and Annie Cannelongo will vote in November with one issue at the top of their minds: data centers. Their opposition to data centers has led Singh to collect signatures for a longshot ballot initiative to ban them statewide. This campaign is hardly a one-off. More than 70% of Americans oppose building the centers in their local area, according to a recent Gallup survey.
“The political energy is slowly beginning to catch up to voter anger. Lawmakers in both parties who have touted the centers as economic boons in their states are backpedaling. But few politicians are embracing grassroots demands for a pause or ban on data center construction, which some on the left see as a missed opportunity for Democrats.
“Democrats are divided because some trade unions support the centers. Republicans have largely supported the centers, spurred by President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic backing. Local lawmakers in more than 10 states introduced bills this year to pause construction.
“A handful of progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), have pushed legislation to temporarily ban data center construction. Sanders called for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund seeded with a 50% tax on AI companies’ stock, so that Americans would own a piece of the industry.
“In Ohio, home to more than 200 data centers, 71% of voters said in a recent poll that they support a temporary ban on data centers. Majorities said data centers have a bad effect on the environment, energy prices and the quality of life of people who live near them.” [click the link for the full article]
Chasing money down Parsons nuclear rabbit hole
“A company building an underground nuclear reactor in Parsons is planning an initial public offering of 2.5 million shares, planning to raise more than $40 million. California-based Deep Fission partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to build its Gravity Reactor in boreholes one mile underground in the Great Plains Industrial Park.
“A Securities and Exchange Commission filing said, ‘Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Our Gravity Reactor is unproven, and our design, borehole development activities, planned pilot reactor, and future commercial applications may fail, progress more slowly than projected, or encounter delays or changes that increase costs and capital requirements’.
“The common stock offering will not continue if Nasdaq doesn’t approve the listing. The company expects to apply for its commercial license with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in early 2027, the filing said.” [click the link for the full article]
Water becoming viewed as living, instead of commodity
“The defining signature of the past 6,000 years of human civilization is the domestication of the hydrosphere — capturing, damming, canalizing, reorienting, propertizing, privatizing, consuming, profiting from, depleting, and poisoning it. Water has been repurposed for humanity, often at the expense of millions of other species that depend on it.
“The entropic consequences of water use during the fossil-fuel-based Industrial Revolution — the water-energy nexus — have eclipsed localities, regions, and continents, propelling Earth into the sixth extinction of life.
“Now, the hydrosphere is freeing itself, spasming in ways unimaginable half a century ago. Waters are breaking loose as Earth warms, altering water cycles and producing effects humans can scarcely manage. Efforts across the U.K. and elsewhere aim to free rivers, restore floodplains and habitats, and decommission dams, teaching us to adapt to water rather than force water to fit development.
“Across the globe, experiments are underway to reintroduce ecosystem-friendly water management practices, though most remain pilot projects. Engineers, urban planners, and landscape architects are implementing bioswales, rain gardens, and permeable pavements to restore hydrological balance.
“As climate change brings heavier snowfall, torrential floods, prolonged droughts, heatwaves, and hurricanes, harvesting rainwater has become a priority even in high-tech cities. Traditional cistern systems, from Jordan to Las Vegas, are being adapted and scaled.” [click the link for the full article]
Agroecology for resilient, local food systems
“Resilient, self-reliant food systems. This is what a major new IPES-Food report puts forward as a way to deal with food price volatility driven by increasing geopolitical tensions. report by Jennifer Clapp and IPES-Food colleagues, focuses on how countries can reduce dependence on global markets and stabilise food prices in the new global reality.
“Along with the ongoing impacts of both climate shocks and the war in Ukraine, this new geopolitical reality is defined by tariff and trade wars, aid cuts and the breakdown of international institutions. The latest shock – the near complete closing of the Strait of Hormuz – compounds upon these to further destabilise global food markets.
“[Reforms] must not entrench ‘industrial input-intensive models’ through ‘isolationism’ or ‘harmful forms of protectionism’. Instead resilient, self-reliant food systems should promote ‘more diverse, just, and locally rooted agroecological food systems that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and external inputs, and support smaller-scale producers and local and territorial markets’.” [click the links for the full articles]
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