There are simply no constraints on the rampant growth of the aviation industry. Meanwhile, 43% of Ethiopians live in poverty (measured at just $3/day!) and 72% live in "multidimensional" poverty (a broader measure). But there's $12.5 billion for a new giant airport.

The rising inequality, the erosion of empathy, the weaponisation of hate. It all makes sense in the context of this graph.

Indonesia can go ahead and do this, but Western nations are still wringing their hands and trying to decide what to do. This really shouldn't be a tough call, folks.

What this means in reality is even more extraction of the earth's resources, leaving behind trashed, lifeless landscapes and contaminated air and water. The human enterprise can't exist without monumental pollution of our planet.

#ClimateEmergency "Hotter oceans contribute to rising sea levels, disrupt fragile marine ecosystems and fuel extreme weather." www.scientificamerican.com/article/ocea...

It's sad to say, but the UNFCCC's efforts at climate governance have become mostly performative, without much substance. Here's a look at the last 10 years of COPs, in words and pictures. insideclimatenews.org/news/2612202...

With media focus on the retraction of an apparently definitive scientific article central to the argument in support of #glyphosate use, we are reminded of #regulators' overwhelming dependence on #pesticide companies for health & safety data. 📣 Tell Congress to #TakeAction: https://ow.ly/9JQn50XUgoL

Extreme right-wing nationalism and fascism are, by their nature, anti-climate, anti-environment and anti-life. It's a death cult, always has been.

Now imagine if every major news outlet put this image on their front page and explained what was going on and what it meant. (Note the baseline is 1951-1980, not pre-industrial ... so the actual anomaly is worse.)

In this #BugBanterPodcast, we’re diving into what it really takes to save bees, butterflies, & other pollinators, and how you can be part of the solution! Join us for practical tips for all spaces!🐝 Audio & transcript 📻 xerces.org/bug-banter/b... Video w/ captions 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=B76R...

Leon is right, this should be front page news everywhere. But it's not. It's almost like we'd just rather not know what we're doing to ourselves and the planet. Rather, as a New York Times headline today puts it, we're more interested in "The 30 Best TV Shows on Netflix Right Now."

Even if SAF were feasible/economical at scale, every airline intends to grow their fleets and expand routes. Alaska Airlines alone just ordered 110 more planes and intends to grow its fleet from 413 planes to 550 by 2035. SAF is a fantasy. To reduce aviation emissions, shrink the aviation industry.

Firms now fear the guy they wanted in the White House. "Yet fear of the Trump administration has become a significant factor in corporate decision-making. One executive viewed the order as unenforceable and vague, but said his company would strive to comply for fear of angering the administration."

Hardly a word about the climate implications of speeding up exploitation of Venezuelan oil Ball park esrimate - burning all reserves would result in ~ 130 billion tonnes of CO2 An astonishing 3 years plus worth of current GLOBAL annual emissions www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...

The view this morning. The only thing that keeps me sane these days is living in this place.

Thuggery. He's like a mob boss. We once had the institutions that could have prevented this -- Congress and the Supreme Court -- but no longer. They're going to let him do whatever he wants to do.

Trump "has ceded Europe to Russia," @general-ben.bsky.social says. His message to Europeans: "Hold us accountable. Don't roll over." The new US national security strategy doesn't mention Russia as a threat — but names Western liberal democracies as one.

Meanwhile on the planet

That’s a classic.

So many charts today. All saying the same thing. 🇺🇸

Cutting emergency response funding at a time of worsening climate crises sets us up for disaster.

Firms now fear the guy they wanted in the White House. "Yet fear of the Trump administration has become a significant factor in corporate decision-making. One executive viewed the order as unenforceable and vague, but said his company would strive to comply for fear of angering the administration."

Somehow "free trade" is always considered an automatic good thing, no matter who gets hurt in the process. In this case, it will hurt European farmers who are already struggling, and who will have to compete with a flood of cheap food -- produced at lower standards -- from South America.

In his daily newsletter this morning, @sykescharlie.bsky.social included this excerpt of a powerful piece his wife, J.F. Riordan, wrote. It really resonated with me. Full post at jfriordan.substack.com/p/fire-in-th... (You may need to click on the image to see the entire excerpt.)

"The U.S. tight oil sector, particularly the Permian Basin, borrowed half a trillion dollars to drain America as fast as possible, for oil exports....Its lost $200B, already, and is still another $200B in long term debt..." The US shale industry will never make money (other than for CEOs)

UKBMS data feeds into UK government statistics to measure biodiversity. Each year, @jncc publish Biodiversity Indicators - giving a snapshot of how our biodiveristy is faring buff.ly/Cw71ZAY You can view the latest Biodiversity Indicators here - buff.ly/cyuIo2G

Where we are as a species

First farmers, now shale oil drillers. Sooner or later everyone finds out Trump doesn't actually care about them. “We’re talking about this administration screwing us over again,” said a CEO at one of the country’s leading shale groups, describing the plans as “against American producers”. (1/2)

👇 "Mr. Trump has effectively declared the United States to be a predator nation. And the U.S. Congress and the rest of the American polity aren’t standing in the way." "Now we are in a shark tank."

Next up: Theocracy. "'to save and restore the American family' through massive tax credits for families with more children while capping alimony payments, enacting strict work requirements on social benefit programs, discouraging online dating, creating marriage “bootcamp” classes and more." 1/2

👇 "Mr. Trump has effectively declared the United States to be a predator nation. And the U.S. Congress and the rest of the American polity aren’t standing in the way." "Now we are in a shark tank."

Because this would fit with all the other incredibly stupid things we're doing these days.

Yup, the UNFCCC subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

Endless climate-killing growth. "Alaska has a fleet of 413 planes, which it expects to grow to 475 by 2030, and to more than 550 by 2035. Alaska is in a major expansion ... the airline began flying from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul ... it plans to add flights to Rome, London and Reykjavik."

I just wish we saw the same level of interest about the fate of our climate system. "The couple has revealed very little about their wedding plans, but that hasn’t stopped fans from parsing podcast comments, photos and lyrics for clues about when, where and how they might say 'I do.'

So we're still going to add the equivalent of almost four more Los Angeles to our population in just the next 30 years. Or more than one Los Angeles per decade. "The CBO projects the population growing from 349 million this year to 364 million in 2056, and then starting to shrink."

The latest in the Wall Street Journal's recurring weekly argument for wealth taxes.

Makes no sense. "Youth sports has shifted from low-cost grassroots programs ... toward a high-priced industry filled with club teams, specialized training and travel tournaments staged at gleaming youth sports complexes — changes fueled, in part, by private equity and venture capital investment."

Why is any state or local government subsidizing data centers?

Yes yes yes.

We've known this for so long ... and done nothing.

“If he makes a move on Greenland, the damage that does to America's ability to rally allies - that's devastating." David Rennie, Geopolitics Editor at The Economist, discusses President Trump's foreign policy approach to Greenland. #Newsnight

The American people electing Trump after he staged a coup attempt 5 years ago was a nail in the coffin of our democracy. You can rationalize it all you want - But inflation! But wokeness! - but ultimately it was a societal suicide attempt and probably the dumbest collective voting decision ever made

Yep. "The nation has returned to the era of the robber barons (so-named for exploiting the system for personal gain), in which political influence is in the hands of the very wealthy, and the wealth gap is expanding ... even the richest of the Rockefeller and Vanderbilt crowd [would] blush."

Welcome to the American petrostate By Michael E. Mann | Nov 7, 2024 @BulletinAtomic The U.S. is now a failed Democratic state. With the reelection of Donald Trump..the U.S. is now poised to become an authoritarian state ruled by plutocrats & fossil fuel interests. thebulletin.org/2024/11/welc...

A sobering fact: We’ve lost around 3 billion birds in North America since 1970. A new report (StateOfTheBirds.org) offers a snapshot of the struggle of several groups. About 1 in 3 American bird species need our help. We're fighting to save birds and other wildlife. Join us at SaveLifeOnEarth.org

It is wonderful to see Bison thriving in the UK. With any luck we will see much more of it this year! 🦬🦬 youtube.com/watch?v=bJVi...

All that winning… Or, how to destroy world class institutions in a year. Bravo, boys.

Autotranslate from Trumpese: WAKE UP EUROPE

A year ago this week, he openly mused, also at Mar-a-Lago, about making Canada, Greenland and Panama parts of the United States." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/u...