Plastic production, use and disposal each year saddles the US with up to $1.1 trillion in social costs, the bulk of which are due to human health impacts, according to a new report from Duke University that characterizes the tally as a “conservative” estimate.

With Brazil ready to host COP30, DeSmog obtained copies of checks Exxon mailed to the right-wing Atlas Network in the 1990s to turn Latin America against climate treaties.

Dept. of Everything Old Is New Again: History tells us that polite incrementalism and political kowtowing will prevail at Cop30 – even as catastrophe unfolds around us.

ExxonMobil is one of the world’s worst climate polluters, emitting more than 90 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2024. But that only accounts for its direct emissions from oil and gas drilling, refining gasoline and other fossil fuels, as well as from producing plastics.

A recent UN study shows the planet is on course for 2.8C of warming above the pre-industrial average by the end of this century based on current policies. This is a looming catastrophe for billions around the world.

Rich, poor nations to see drop in crop yields, Capitalism fails on 45 climate indicators, Net zero an insidious loophole, Cracks in Antarctic 'doomsday glacier' trigger accelerated destabilization, Global climate policy broken, Consumer loan delinquencies near 5-year high… in The Collapse Chronicle!

In October alone, companies announced roughly 153,000 job cuts, the worst October for layoffs since 2003. Layoffs in the US have reached their highest level in more than a decade, signaling a turn in the labor market. New data show that US employers have announced 1.1 million job cuts this year.

Australia will offer at least three hours of free solar power every day to households including those without solar panels under an energy-saving programme that is expected to go live in 2026. www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Warming temperatures and increased precipitation in the Canadian High Arctic are mobilizing new pathways for subsurface contaminants to spread from more than 2,500 contaminated sites associated with industrial and military sites across the region.

The climate crisis is causing the permafrost to melt in Alaska, forcing the village of Nunapitchuk to relocate. Homes in Nunapitchuk have been sinking into the permafrost, and residents have decided their only choice is to move the entire village to higher ground.

Diplomats and leaders from around the world are gathering on the edge of the Amazon rainforest for annual talks on how to limit global warming. This at a time when the US has taken climate change from to back burner to off the stove entirely.

The Time of Play Pretend Prepping is Over, How Climate Change Worsens Heatwaves, Droughts, Fires & Floods, COP30 Climate Talks Start in Brazil, Media Complicit in Climate Confusion, Dealing with Climate Dismissives, Layoffs Soar to Great Recession Levels as 1.1M Jobs Cut… in The Collapse Chronicle!

Once pitched as dispassionate tools to answer your questions, A.I. chatbots are now programmed to reflect the biases of their creators.

The Federal Aviation Administration will reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 major markets from Friday to maintain safety, as unpaid air traffic controllers face growing fatigue and staff shortages during the government shutdown.

Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall have supercharged the breeding of sandflies that spread the climate-driven disease kala-azar. It predominantly impacts children under the age of 15. When left untreated, the disease attacks vital organs and is fatal in 95 percent of cases.

Hurricane Melissa has slid from the front pages, but the devastation remains: a monster created by a supercharged atmosphere. The people least responsible for the emissions heating oceans are the ones living through consequences. Climate physics meeting inequality, powered by human choices.

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.” If your only tool is technology, every problem appears to have a technofix. Michael Mann answers Bill Gates: There's no “patch” for the climate crisis. And no way to reboot the planet if you crash it.

I'll keep repeating this truth. There are few industries that understand the complex realities of how climate change is affecting the world today more than insurance. Physical risk. Non-physical risk. Liability risk. Reputational risk. Etc. We see it. www.insurancebusinessmag.com/uk/news/brea...

Online climate misinformation often borrows the look and feel of scientific figures and charts to appear trustworthy. “We call this ‘scientific mimicry’: a way of performing rationality and credibility while undermining the scientific consensus.”

An Iraqi lawmaker warned Monday that the country is facing its worst drought on record, with water reserves at dams dropping to about 4 billion cubic meters. He called for urgent action as the government signed a new water-management document with Turkey.

Critics question whether carbon credits provide genuine climate benefits or just give polluters a free pass. It works in theory: Pay a little extra for your flight, offset your business emissions, and somewhere someone else will plant trees for us. But new research blows that idea apart.

Climate change costs millions of lives each year, Global emissions expected to decline- but not fast enough, Carbon credits 'free pass for polluters,' Continental drying: threat to a common future, Inside a new wave of climate misinformation, Living through the end times… in The Collapse Chronicle!

The food being served at Mar-a-Lago as Trump cuts off food stamps for millions of poor families

Alarming symptoms of climate distress as key indicators hit record highs, Seven questions and answers for a new generation, Desertification causes crop failure in southern Russia, Climate intervention may not save coffee, chocolate and wine, Water crises in Iran, India… in The Collapse Chronicle!

With the EPA’s top research office dismantled, America’s ability to respond to toxic spills, floods, and wildfires is in jeopardy. The solution: build an independent environmental science institute.

A glacier on Antarctica's Eastern Peninsula experienced the fastest retreat recorded in modern history—in just two months, nearly 50% of the glacier disintegrated.

11 Charts to Keep You Up Tonight, How to Defuse the Arctic Methane Time Bomb, Antarctic Glacier Retreats Faster Than Any Other in Modern History, The 2025 State of the Climate, Who Protects Us When the EPA Won't? Food Sovereignty Or Bust, Nobody Knows What to Fear Anymore… in The Collapse Chronicle!

Ahead of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, new research finds that the high-carbon lifestyles of the super-rich are blowing through the world’s remaining carbon budget. Billionaires are using their political and economic influence to keep humanity hooked on fossil fuels to maximize their private profit.

Empires rose on the belief that growth meant survival. The Industrial Revolution leveraged coal and oil. Today growth is non-negotiable. Fossil fuels still supply roughly 80 percent of global energy, which keeps the addiction in place. What once made civilizations strong now makes them fragile.

ndustries and individuals around the world burned record amounts of oil, gas and coal last year, releasing more greenhouse gases than ever before, a group of leading scientists said in a new report, warning that humanity is hurtling toward "climate chaos."

Fossil fuels increase particulates, so the current regime’s intention to increase extraction and use of fossil fuels and to block transition to renewable energy may damage public health. In today’s edition of The Collapse Chronicle! collapsechronicle.substack.com/p/the-collap...

What the air you breathe may be doing to your brain, 2024 hottest year in last 125K, Humanity on path to ‘climate chaos,’ Addiction to growth the engine of our destruction, Climate change worsening Pakistan’s deadly floods, US economy a house of cards built on vaporware… in The Collapse Chronicle!

Don’t miss today’s edition of The Collapse Chronicle Weekly Review, a collection of the best stories and most interesting writers on collapse. Subscribe and never miss an issue. Always free! collapsechronicle.substack.com/p/the-collap...

How bad will it get? Climate change ungreening the oceans, Planet on the brink, Climate change clears northern route for first container ship, Rising heat kills 1 person/minute worldwide, When staying isn’t safe, America’s impending population collapse… in the Collapse Chronicle Review!

The remarkable thing about enshittification isn’t that it happens, but that people keep using the products. Ahem…Twitter.

Don’t miss today’s edition of The Collapse Chronicle. Subscriptions are always free! collapsechronicle.substack.com/p/the-collap...

2025 state of the climate, 1st Q of 21st century ends with unspeakable destruction, What will it take to stop Antarctic ice collapse? 50 dead after Melissa thrashes Caribbean, Airlines call for end to shutdown, What happens when incomes, employment, social compacts erode… in The Collapse Chronicle!

Imperialism has always come with a high body count. True today with US efforts to retain what's left of its hegemony. All the energy poured into imperial submission accelerates humanity’s greatest threat. The effects of growth pushes earth’s tipping points with the die-off of coral reefs.

None of us want to think about this, but it is something to consider for the ones we love. What would make us leave our homes and flee? The first lesson of escape: survival isn’t just about running fast. It’s about knowing where to turn, who to trust, and how to read the signs.

How Bad Will It Get? Is Humanity on A Self Terminating Path? Exit Routes & Safe Havens - When Staying Isn't Safe, Lobsters are Moving North, Diminishing Returns of 'Victory': Empire in the Age of Tipping Points, AI Pushing Climate Goals Out of Reach, Food Lines Growing… in The Collapse Chronicle!

Amazon said on Tuesday it will reduce its global corporate workforce by about 14,000 people, with more cuts expected next year, in a major shakeup driven in part by adoption of artificial intelligence at the tech giant.

The government shutdown is nearing the end of its first month with scarcely an end in sight. The risks of a recession swell if the government shutdown stretches into the December holiday season. The US sheds around $15 billion in lost economic activity for each week of the shutdown.

Here is the long and short of it.

Capitalism works too well — and that’s the problem. Success comes with a fatal weakness. Capitalism’s growth imperative collides head-on with planetary limits. It consumes resources, destabilizes the climate, and makes sustainability impossible without systemic collapse.

Heat records fell all around the world last year. Greenhouse gases were high, and El Niño was strong. Even so, the unexpected level of the temperature increase surprised researchers. Earth reflected less sunlight back to space than usual. Low cloud cover declined in key regions.

Five unoccupied Outer Banks homes collapsed Tuesday into the Atlantic Ocean, increasing the tally to 16 that have tumbled this year. Forecasters issued hazardous weather advisories related to coastal flooding, high surf and wind. Beaches care losed on northern Rodanthe and the north end of Buxton.

Hurricane Melissa impacted Cuba on Oct 29 after ravaging Jamaica the day prior. The storm has downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane; it was a Category 5 storm as it caused devastation across Jamaica. Hurricane Melissa is believed to be the strongest storm of the year.

Rising heat kills one person a minute worldwide, New reason for rapid global temp surge, Sea level rise threatens China’s coastal megacities, Facing widespread death of coral reefs, Hurricane Melissa batters Jamaica, Climate storms threatens ‘vicious cycle'… in The Collapse Chronicle!

Ann Telnaes.