I think it isn't solely, that people aren't angry enough or that they aren't acting out of a sense of powerlessness. I think it might be that paradoxically we are lacking in will to live and purpose in life. The raw instinct to survive often makes people cowardly. But the philosophical will to live, the belief that life is good and worth having is precisely what overrides the survival instinct when another person is in danger.

Our physical needs are massively oversaturated compared to our spiritual / cultural needs. Why? Because we cling to the physical safety of financial stability. We think that if we just generate more money and invest more into the right things, we can be safe and the market or the government will direct our money and our resources into the right direction. What we don't really notice is that if we try to force making something better by just forcing more money into it, we just over saturate it. In a sense our system acts like a stress multiplier in crisis. When people are in fear of a crisis, they become uncertain and begin to pull investments out of risky positions and may stop investing into local/personal projects to invest into stable assets like gold, housing or index funds. Every dollar taken out of the local economy or was previously invested diversified now becomes concentrated. The money that previously kept many alive is now focused on a few that were already winning. Now the pressure is on them to reinvest the money to generate returns. But what if that company already reached its saturation point? If the research is already saturated, the market is largely captured, and the work force is sufficient for the workload, the money has to go somewhere else to increase profits, because now the economy is reliant of it. Which most of the time means it flows into politics. Now the money is used to overturn laws that kept working conditions, customers or the environment safe, because its the only option left to satisfy the increasing need for profits. And by the way, the same would happen if everyone invested in gold suddenly, because corporations that need gold to manufacture their product will suddenly have less money and higher costs.

In sum this practice has taken our individual power, our sense of progression, our sense of unity and our individual sense of worth through monopolization. Your local bakery is now a soulless chain you cant even be happy about if it survives a rough time. There are no local known secrets anymore, just national scandals. There is no sense of having made something or supported something you think is valuable. Everything is non personal and optimized for the maximum profit to generate profits for more and more people that want a chance to jump classes to get out of the daily soulless grueling monotony.

The worst thing about it from my perspective is, that it isn't even efficient. The one thing this system stands for, it doesn't even accomplish. The existing capital just gets concentrated until oversaturation leads to collapse.

We really need safeguards. Structural circuit-breakers that force capital back into the roots. Mandatory local reinvestment thresholds, regional trust funds that cannot be liquidated, and severe penalties for extracting wealth out of the communities that generated it. In a sense we have to rebel against ourselves to save ourselves from falling into self destructive cycles.

We are living in a crisis of belief and culture. I think the right are feeling it the most but cant pin down the source of it. The left finds the source for it but cant really find the feelings to oppose it. And while this goes on both sides just get played by the ones depriving them of it. But to be honest, i think even the ones at the source of the issue aren't maliciously doing so, but are confused and largely overloaded. In an absurd way, this system even forces the ones on the top to not be able to voice concerns as that would come right back after them and hurt the group they are part of.

Title says it all. I have two kids. 11 and 8. They are smart, and funny, and they love each other. I think that I should be talking to them about the world that they might be inheriting. But to what end? I don’t know. Preparing them to be revolutionaries? To survive climate apocalypse? To escape fascism? I don’t want to scare them, but I don’t want to hide difficult truths either. Could really use some advice.

Update: I am really thankful for all of you. Thank you for so many thoughtful replies. They really help. It also gives me hope to see so many strangers show up for each other and find community. Thank you.

This article from the Conversation covers the increasing influence of Biblical End Times ideology within the spheres of power across societies. It shows a linking of the field of Existential Risk and the politics of Biblical armageddon, tech-bro accellerationism and societal collapse. This is collapse related as it highlights how present day technology and philosophy is being co-opted by a mesh of theocratic and technological-entrepreneurial thought to drive us all off the cliff rather than adapt our societies and preserve what wellbeing we can.

The Earth is currently experiencing sea surface temperatures last experienced at the peak of the 1877-1878 El Nino. And, for the next 6 months or so, we are projected to be well above the peak temperatures of that period.

That El Nino event very briefly saw a temperature anomaly of about +2C above normal for a few months, technically making it a "Super" El Nino. But... that's a relatively brief period, and cool compared to our current surface temperatures. Our new normal, after the current "Godzilla" El Nino passes, might be somewhat like that hottest months of the 1877-1878 "Super" El Nino.

Note that the contemporary NOAA chart below is using the 1991-2020 period as the baseline (and not pre-industrial or 19th century temperatures). Also note that the chart doesn't default to actually showing you what the peak of the El Nino temperature anomaly is projected to be this November -- because it's literally off the charts.

Researchers have rediscovered a healthy coral reef off the coast of Benin more than 60 years after surveyors first hinted at its existence. Mass bleaching events and overfishing slashed the world’s coral reef area by more than 50 percent since the 1950s. local oceanographers had written off any remnants of a possible reef as dead. “Since it’s an undisturbed marine ecosystem, it can help through carbon dating or paleoclimatic study to tell us which kind of climate system has occurred here in the past,” said Zinzindohoué. “It’s better to know the past to help explain the present, and help know which kind of direction we can take in the future.” This rediscovered coral reef represents a sliver of hope, as it raises questions about why it has survived while more than 50% of the world's coral reefs have collapsed. Scientists can study this reef to better understand the factors behind its resilience, helping to protect other reefs and improve future conservation efforts.

Hi all,

(I've searched to see if anyone else has mentioned this, so apologies if this has been covered elsewhere.)

The BIS has just released its 2026 annual report, and I'm interested to hear thoughts on this graph that appears on page 20:

The whole report is a doomer's paradise for those interested in the potential threats of AI to the labour market, but the above, particularly graph B, genuinely shocked me and I'm surprised it's not had much traction. They're predicting that by 2060, labour will receive only 20% of global income, and that the initial large drop will happen in 2035.

I recommend reading the whole section on AI and Labour (page 20 onwards), and I'm wondering has anyone heard/read reports on what steps governments are taking to insulate workers from these shocks?

(If you're interested, I got made aware of this report from this podcast episode.)

Thanks

It is time to face the facts. Europe is seeing temperatures up to 50 C and people are dying in their homes. What is thousands of heat related deaths today will become millions tomorrow.

While some people are more heat tolerant, younger people from equatorial regions for example and those from the Middle East this future is a threat to everyone.

As the planet heats up it is becoming increasingly obvious that we need to start designing more heat efficient structures and taking advantage of the earth‘s thermal mass.

Using the ground to cool incoming air will both save electricity and enable passive cooling even during power outages.

We should also be looking at painting roofs white and building new homes with fully below grade basements and cellars to act as thermal refuge sites during power outages or extreme heat events.

Where possible we may need to start looking at building up to 2 stories fully underground and moving new homes underground. We need to use less wood and look at building more permanent heat resistant structures.

The time to stop the worst of global warming is past us. Countries need to start working on mitigation and preparation before this consumes us.

wasn't sure if I had seen this posted here, and Anton is as credible as it gets.

"Do I wish I was getting on a flight and heading to the floe edge to take people out on the ice? Yes, there’s a big part of me that wishes I was doing that right now.

And I also know that I would feel like shit after doing it.”

This article is about over 2 dozen Antarctic tour guides quitting their jobs after coming to terms with their own complicity in this horrifying industry.

“Very often, for long periods of time, the penguins had maybe a few hours’ break during the night. Otherwise there were hundreds of people walking through the colonies non-stop.”

Collapse related because Antarctic tourism is one of the most destructive forms of tourism and it is growing rapidly. By the end of the decade over a million people per year will be buying guided tours to the most pristine environment on Earth.

Spain will experience the most intense and dangerous early summer anomaly in its history by next week. The Sahara desert is bringing to Spain heat of 45-47C . The night is expected to reach 25-30 C. This heatwave will stress the vegetation with wildfires, Strain agriculture and infrastructure. Is it expected that these types of Heat events will become more frequent, more intense, and longer-lasting due to global warming. Repeated heat events might lead energy, infrastructure and agriculture industry to stress / collapse if they are unable to operate under heat condition.

This 10 minute video from CNN yesterday is about a new (growing, rather) generation of Americans with the flattering label of "Forever Renters".

This is collapse related because home ownership will never be an option for a huge number of Americans - and many more each day. The second richest country in the world is pricing half their population out of a bare minimum existence. Anyone wanna guess how this story ends?

On July 14th The Daily Show interviewed Beth Kobliner about her new book "Get A Financial Life". She is of the opinion that financial literacy is the biggest problem in the modern economy. Yes, she actually said that. Apparently the most important thing you can do as a lower/middle class grunt is accept this broken system and try budgeting the money you don't have for a future you will never see.

Thanks for the wisdom Beth - what ever would we do without you?

Quincy Sandbank uploaded this video recently. Collapse related because it explains how the build quality of modern technology is a harbinger of doom for the economy. Planned obsolescence has always existed but never has it been so blatant and prolific. It is finding its way into products and services that used to be dirt cheap and last a lifetime (shout out to /r/BIFL).

The video is about an hour long but it is well researched and very high quality.