Breaking Down: Collapse

AI is an increasingly divisive topic, even (or especially) among collapse aware folk. How seriously should we take its development?Anthropic Researcher Quit, Says AI Labs Are 'Gambling With Our Lives' - Business InsiderFlock Wants a Closely Surveilled World with No Exit | The New Yorker

Today we take a look at the bottom of the marine food chain, where new research indicates things aren't looking to great:Climate change may erase 25 million hectares of kelp forests by 2050Seaweed carbon removal cannot keep up with climate-driven loss | PLOS BiologyProjected declines in zooplankton energy supporting Northwest European Shelf ecosystems | Communications Earth & Environments43247-026-03840-1_reference.pdf (PDF)

Wildlife is collapsing, and time is running low to make the changes we must in order to protect them.Gray whales are washing up dead on the West Coast. The reason is alarming | Scientific AmericanFrance's wildlife suffers severe blow from intense heat: 'The entire food chain is disrupted'Bears, coyotes spotted in unexpected SoCal places during scorching heat wave - ABC7 Los AngelesOne effect of climate change: More rats, ticks and mosquitoes — and more disease - Evanston RoundTable

Sources:Judge blocks Trump’s new USPS rules for mail-in ballots with just weeks before midterm elections | The Independent2026 midterms: Trump is getting the mail-ballot chaos he wants.US House passes bill penalizing universities that participate in boycott of Israel | House of Representatives | The GuardianJimmy Kimmel Says James Talarico Interview Won't Air After FCC ThreatsMeagan Morris Speaks From Jail After Being Sentenced to 50 Years by the Trump Administration for an Alleged Terrorist Attack [WATCH]ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted - The New York TimesTrump Pushes to Rename New Mexico ‘New America,’ but He Can’t Do It by Executive Order | Law CommentaryDonald Trump pledges $5K dividend if GOP wins CongressJudge reinforces order banning immediate work on Trump’s 250-foot archConstitution Doesn’t Cover Right to Clean Water, Court Rules (1)

Am I alone in imagining a better future? A whole bunch of data says no:Support for changing the current economic system | Pew Research CenterAmericans stand out internationally for their pessimism about the nation’s political system | Pew Research CenterAP-NORC America 250 Poll - AP-NORCHarvard Youth Poll Finds a Generation Under Pressure — and Losing Faith in the System | The Institute of Politics at Harvard University51st Edition - Fall 2025 | The Institute of Politics at Harvard UniversityAmericans End Year in Gloomy MoodNew poll: Just 13% of youth feel America is headed in the right direction | Harvard Kennedy SchoolYoung Voters Have Growing Power, but Broken Politics Leave Them ‘Fatalistic,’ Studies Find | Research UC BerkeleyThe State of Public Trust in Government 2025 - Partnership for Public ServiceNew Low in U.S. 'Very Satisfied' With Personal Life

If collapse is inevitable, is there a point to trying? FYI the episode contains spoilers for the musical "Hadestown".

Renewables have made massive strides in the 2020s. I answer the question that still comes up from time to time: Can a successful rollout of renewables save society from collapse?Tracking the energy transition: Where are we now? | McKinseySo, where exactly does the US energy transition stand? | Canary Media

A new UN report officially announced that limiting warming to +1.5C is no longer a viable goal:Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’ | Climate crisis | The Guardian

Sources:Judge Tells RFK Jr. to Stop Using Fake AI Studies on Teen Pregnancy | The New RepublicJudge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Stanford Students Who Criticized Israel - The New York TimesThe U.S. Has Killed 227 Civilians in Boat Strikes During “A Year of Murders”IRS Softens on Businesses in Wake of Agency Worker ExodusWyoming judge weighs transgender woman’s self-defense | Advocate.comThe Trump Administration is Now Claiming That Being a Trans Ally Makes You More Violent. Yes, Really.James Talarico: "Nothing terrifies them more, than people who show up to vote...Wyoming Governor Objects to ‘Very Odd’ D.O.J. Election Monitoring - The New York TimesICE Plans to Pay $5 Million to Create National Voting Database | WIREDDHS chief says ICE could make arrests at polling places — ignoring federal ban on armed agents at voting sites - Democracy DocketMail voting live updates: Judge weighs fate of Trump’s anti-voting executive order - Democracy DocketICE owes millions to hospitals and detainees can't get treatmentICE holds man with stage 4 cancer in detention despite permanent US residency | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) | The Guardian'Who is Profiting from ICE?' Texas mom's site sparks secret DHS note