collapse of the old society

Welcome to climate change. Thousand year floods every year are just the beginning of birth pangs. And - as scientists and NGOs have been warning us for years - the poorest countries have the least resiliency and their people will suffer most.

Pray for Libya. And pray Western disaster capitalists keep their filthy hands out of it.

Piped

“Canada is a major oil and gas producing company, ah, country.”

—Justin Trudeau

More than four years in the making, the report is written by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a body made up of more than 140 countries that provides policymakers with scientific assessments to help protect Earth’s biodiversity and prevent extinctions. A summary of the findings was approved over the weekend in Germany and released Monday, with full chapters slated to be published later this year.

The body concluded the threat from invasive species is “underappreciated, underestimated and often unacknowledged,” with only about a sixth of the world’s nations having laws or regulations on the books addressing invasive plants and animals. With new species introduced at an “unprecedented” rate of 200 a year, the problem is expected to get worse before it gets better.

Highlights from the article:

$423 billion is an extremely conservative estimate for the financial damage caused by invasive species

The authors consider the increasingly rapid spread of invasive species to be an existential threat; "One of the things that we stress that really is the tremendous threat this does pose to — and I know this is going to sound grandiose — but to human civilization"

Invasive species play a role in 60% of extinctions

Even the fucking Antarctic is in danger from invasive species - invasive grasses are taking advantage of melting glaciers to turn parts of Antarctica into grasslands

🤮

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/7482593

Mark Freed experienced growing dread due to the increasing wildfires near his home in California. He felt a sense of helplessness and searched for safer places to live, but still felt disaster was inevitable. Experts define dread as being heavier than anxiety since it involves a tangible threat. With climate change, people dread future extreme events and the consequences of inaction. Constantly focusing on doom and helplessness can cause paralysis. Taking small climate-friendly actions and community support can help transform dread into hope and empowerment. While dread spreads awareness, constant focus on it harms well-being. Therapists recommend acknowledging valid emotions while reconnecting with life's meaningful aspects through nature or hobbies. For Freed, routine and spending time with his dogs now makes life livable despite managed dread.