Breaking Down: Collapse

There are many direct consequences of climate change that will have a devastating impact on humanity. Equally so, perhaps, will be the indirect consequences that come as people make choices about what to do about it. This episode focuses on one such conflict already taking place, and expecting to worsen in the coming years:India ensuring ‘not a single drop of water’ flows into Pakistan after suspending major river-sharing treaty | The IndependentSwitzerland votes on plan to cap population at 10 million

Sources:FBI raid of Ohio voting rights group stokes fear of pre-midterm crackdown | Ohio | The GuardianThe FBI’s raid on free and fair elections - Democracy DocketArizona advances voter ID ballot measure for November - Democracy DocketFlorida Reinstates Trump Lawyer Chesebro Despite Guilty Plea (2)California sues county that just eliminated mail and early voting - Democracy DocketIn hopeful sign for mail-in voting, court fast tracks bid to block Trump order - Democracy DocketCourt tosses MAGA lawsuit seeking access to Georgia’s election operations center - Democracy DocketSurveillance footage shows election equipment being wheeled out of a Maricopa County facility in Phoenix in March 2026

Sea Level Rise numbers just got more intense for large coastal cities, thanks to the double whammy of rising oceans and sinking ground levels.Subsidence more than doubles sea-level rise today along densely populated coasts | Nature CommunicationsSea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence

This week I speak again with Juan Pablo Quinonez, nearly 4 years after our first interview. Juan Pablo has written and released a book about navigating collapse. Find it hereBooks – Juan Pablo Quiñonez

RCP 8.5 was removed as a potential emissions scenario. This is great news, right! Right? Right...The climate apocalypse is canceled. The merely terrible is not. | Vox

The billionaires are heading towards becoming trillionaires, and the masses are struggling to get by. Why, and what are the mechanisms?Sources:Why Bezos and other oligarchs/kleptocrats and interest groups are trying to bankrupt the US federal government : r/collapseBezos defends billionaires, hypes AI, praises Trump on CNBCWhat Are ‘Freedom Cities’? Billionaire CEOs’ Plan Could Reshape America - Newsweek

Sources:Exclusive: Justice Department launches a criminal investigation into Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll | CNN PoliticsHawaii just found a way around Citizens United. Trump's midterm plot rejected as court blocks Alabama's new congressional map - The Mirror USCalifornia will impose a 100% tax on payments distributed from Trump’s Jan. 6th “slush fund.” : r/lawgov.uscourts.tnmd.104622.312.0_2.pdfJan. 6 officers sue over $1.8B pot they call ‘slush fund’ for ‘insurrectionists’gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.63.0.pdfWoman fired by Indiana university over Charlie Kirk post to receive $225,000 legal settlementFlorida biologist fired over Charlie Kirk post after his death wins $485K settlement - ABC NewsCongressman Cohen Introduces Six Articles of Impeachment Against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts | Congressman Steve CohenHawaii Governor Enacts 13% Tax Bracket on Million-Dollar Earners

A list of climate woes and research from the week:Something startling is happening in the Gulf of Mexico » Yale Climate ConnectionsThe next era of Atlantic hurricanes could be far more destructive » Yale Climate ConnectionsWhy an immense marine heatwave off the US west coast has alarmed scientists | West Coast | The GuardianSome seas may soon be trapped in near-permanent heatwaves - Earth.comThe world’s enclosed seas highlight the need for urgent emission reductions and societal adaptation | Communications Earth & EnvironmentIn shock decision, National Security Council stops work on climate change | The Times of IsraelChesapeake blue crab population drops 50%. The question is: Why? | Fisheries | bayjournal.comAntarctic ice-shelf basal melt shaped by competing feedbacks | Nature GeoscienceThe ‘doomsday’ glacier’s giant ice shelf is about to break away | New ScientistProf. Eliot Jacobson on XExtreme Temperatures Around The World on XExtreme Temperatures Around The World on X