Breaking Down: Collapse

One of the things I fear most about collapse is that there's so much we don't understand, and that inevitably means there will be consequences we can't predict. Today I go through a couple of recent findings that weren't necessarily expected by the scientific community, and therefore not accounted for in climate models.Antarctic warming is altering atmospheric stability: New evidence from the 1950s to the presentVolcanism-induced collapse and recovery of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation under glacial conditions | Science AdvancesReduced Vegetation Uptake During the Extreme 2023 Drought Turns the Amazon Into a Weak Carbon Source - Botía - 2026 - AGU Advances - Wiley Online LibraryBrazil’s growing water crisis

Some new research has come out showing that for every .1C rise in temperature, there's a 7.2% loss in marine life.Chronic ocean heating fuels ‘staggering’ loss of marine life, study finds | Marine life | The GuardianLong-term warming reduces fish biomass, but heatwaves shift it | Nature Ecology & EvolutionClimate ReanalyzerScientists Thought Antarctic Ice Melt Helped Fight Climate Change. It Doesn’t

Homeowners are faced with continually less options - and even when new options are presented, they're often trapsHome Foreclosures Surge 38% in a Year: The U.S. Housing Market on the BrinkWhy This Tiny Apartment is Taking Over American Cities : r/collapseTrump pauses 50-year mortgage plan, drafts 401(k) down payment access

Odds have risen sharply for a breach of the minimum power pool level as soon as July (worst case) and December (most probable) of this year. On top of that, it's been revealed that structural limitations to the dam itself might mean that MPP is the lowest level at which any water can be reliably delivered downstream.The coming failure of Glen Canyon Dam - High Country NewsNo deal forces Colorado River crisis to continue | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.comThe Colorado River rift abides - High Country NewsLake Powell forecast plummets toward critical lows, study saysBig Decisions Loom for a Rapidly Shrinking Lake Powell - Circle of Blue

New research indicates that several tipping points may be officially crossed before we technically hit 1.5C. The paper also researched the impacts of duration above a benchmark vs highest temperature peak.Global warming must peak below 2°C to limit tipping point risks - University of Exeter NewsThe implications of overshooting 1.5 °C on Earth system tipping elements—a review - IOPscience

It seems that collapse is a weight, slowing pressing down making life harder for the every-day person. Home owners struggle as insurance premiums rise more than 50 per cent in five years - ABC NewsJob Searches Lengthen, Savings Dwindle for Americans - Business InsiderSocial Security trust fund could run dry earlier than expected, analysis finds - CBS NewsCalifornia's Housing Crisis Has Turned RVs Into Rental Properties : r/collapseOil majors profit $467bn since Russia’s Ukraine invasion | Global WitnessMaxing out your 401(k) or pouring money into index funds makes you complicit in the problem — you're literally funding the endless, exponential-growth doomsday machine of modern capitalism. : r/collapse

Sources:In an extraordinary and illegal move, Trump says he's transferring 10 billion dollars from the US government to his "Board of Peace," which he chairs and can therefore use the funds as he wishes : r/lawTurns Out There Was Voter Fraud in Georgia—by Elon Musk | The New RepublicTrump: "The Supreme Court has given me the unquestioned right to ... destroy foreign countries." Oh? Is that correct? : r/lawCan they actually do this? JD Vance: "We're announcing today that we have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that is going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people' : r/lawFormer ICE instructor testifies agents were trained to discard constitutional rights : r/lawMusk's xAI, Pentagon reach deal to use Grok in classified systemsPentagon pressures Anthropic on AI accessDOJ Withheld Epstein Files Including Allegations That Trump Sexually Abused a Minor: ReportThe Epstein files arrest of former ‘Prince’ Andrew makes Trump’s Justice Department look pathetic | The IndependentTrump responds to question about Prince Andrew’s arrest: ‘I’m the expert… I’ve been totally exonerated.’ : r/lawSupreme Court rules that Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs are illegal | CNN PoliticsPresident Trump imposes a 10% global tariff under Section 122 and says all existing tariffs will remain in place, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling. : r/lawFedEx sues Trump administration for tariff refunds after ruling

One area of collapse I find very intriguing is humanity's response. How do regular people react, and what do those in power do? Here are a few examples from news this week.Activist group Extinction Rebellion says it is under FBI investigation | Climate Crisis News | Al JazeeraSwitzerland Will Vote on 10-Million Population Cap Proposal in June - BloombergMunich Security Conference 2026: Macron says Europe 'must act proudly, not be vilified'

A recent cold snap in Florida did ~$1 billion in damage to agriculture. This is likely just the beginning of many such events, and could lead to widespread food insecurity and other catabolic collapse consequences.Florida nurseries face millions in losses from devastating freeze damageFlorida suspends farm inspections after freeze and drought losses'It's still early': South Florida farmers assess crop damage after hard freezeDamage to Florida's crops could top $1 billion due to freeze