The Age of Collapse

You don’t have to look very hard to see that the great theme of the 21st century so far is sudden, ruinous collapse. America, Britain, Europe — all teetering on the brink. But it’s hardly just countries in a political sense. The planet. A mass extinction of life itself. People’s sense of optimism and faith in the future imploding into nationalism, extremism, fascism. Trust, meaning, belonging, purpose. Bang! Everything, more or less, as far as you look, seems to be collapsing in on itself, as wide as you care to see. Why is that?

If collapse is the theme of this new century, then what’s really weird, strange, and remarkable is that when you really look at all these very different kinds of collapse, whether what’s imploding is economies, societies, minds, food chains, or ecosystems, it seems to follow a specific and characteristic pattern too. The glaciers melt from the bottom. The insects and bees and little fish and mammals are dying off first. The oceans are warming faster than the atmosphere. Economies are imploding because a new class of poor has grown — whether in America, Britain, or Europe. Do you see the pattern yet?

Read the Medium story by Umair Haque - “The Age of Collapse.”

Humans experimenting with climate's 'playing nice’

Like “rats inside the experiment,” Neils Bohr Institute glaciology professor Jorgen Peder Steffensen says of us humans when he considers the risks of a sudden reconfiguration of global circulation which could, among other things, cause long-term drying across America’s breadbasket states.

“That’s going to impact the entire world,” Steffensen cautions in recognizing that the 11,000 years of the interglacial period since the last ice age “has been unreasonably stable. And we don’t know why” or how long that stability may persist.

Steffensen, in exceptionally eloquent and straightforward language, acknowledges that models consistently point to a gradual global increase in temperatures as a result of the continue widespread combustion of fossil fuels and increased emissions of carbon dioxide. “But that’s assuming the climate plays nice,” he says.

Read/watch the Yale Climate Connections story - “Humans experimenting with climate's 'playing nice’.”

Adelaide pelted with huge hailstones as severe storm follows 31C heat

The Bureau of Meteorology says large hail
fell through the north-eastern areas
of the Adelaide metropolitan area.

Sudden and severe thunderstorms swept across Adelaide on Friday afternoon, with huge hailstones hitting streets across the city centre.

The system swept south-east on a day when there was only a 40% chance of rain predicted. Adelaide experienced 31C heat before the storm broke, bringing wind gusts of more than 90km/h.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned wind gusts of more than 125 km/h were possible in the North East Pastoral, Mid North and Riverland areas.

Localised flash flooding was reported as some areas received up to 10mm of rain in as many minutes. The bureau said areas that may be particularly affected include Adelaide, Whyalla, Renmark, Mount Gambier, Leigh Creek and Moomba.

Read The Guardian story - “Adelaide pelted with huge hailstones as severe storm follows 31C heat.”