SC286-9

https://wraltechwire.com/2023/09/22/doomsday-authors-analysis-we-have-destroyed-our-ecosystem-now-we-await-the-collapse-of-civilization/

We have destroyed our ecosystem – now we await the collapse of civilization

The headline for this article is: We have destroyed our ecosystem. It is not: We might destroy our ecosystem. Nor: We are on the verge of destroying our ecosystem. Nor: Unless humanity takes steps X, Y and Z, we will destroy our ecosystem.

The headline is: We have destroyed our ecosystem. The die is cast. The deed is done. We have gone too far. And we have destroyed it.

There was a speech this week by UN Secretary General António Guterres, covered here:

Humanity has ‘opened gates to hell’ by letting climate crisis worsen, UN secretary warns  – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/20/antonio-guterres-un-climate-summit-gates-hell

This quote is salient:

“The UN secretary general said the world is ‘decades behind’ in the transition to clean energy. ‘We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels,’ Guterres said, adding that some fossil fuel companies had embarked upon a ‘shameful’ attempt to stymie the transition.”

In this short quote we see many of the buzzwords that summarize the destruction of our ecosystem:

• Foot dragging
• Naked Greed
• Entrenched interests
• Raking in billions
• Fossil Fuels
• Attempt to stymie the transition

The problem is that he is refusing to state the obvious. He says, “We must make up for time lost…”. Unfortunately, “we” will not do anything of the sort. We will not “make up for time lost.” We will not moderate our behavior in any significant way. We have already gone too far, and we are not going to stop, and therefore we have destroyed our ecosystem.

Who is “we”? “We” are the developed and near-developed countries who burn most of the world’s fossil fuels. Why won’t “we” do anything significant? Why won’t “we” moderate our behavior? It’s because “we” cannot. There are many reasons for this, but the simplest way to understand it rapidly is to ask one simple question:

“If planet Earth stopped burning fossil fuels today, what would happen?”

The answer is just as simple: The effects would be profound, and billions of people would die within a year. Why?

• Modern agriculture would come to a dead stop. Nearly every tractor in the world, and every combine harvester, is powered by fossil fuels. Without fossil fuels there would be no plowing, no planting, no cultivating, no harvesting. Therefore, there would be no food for people to eat and billions would starve to death.
• Modern transportation would come to a dead stop. Even if there were food, it moves around a country like the United States in diesel trucks and diesel trains and diesel ships. Without fossil fuels, all these vehicles stop moving and we all starve to death.
• Modern electricity grids would come to a complete stop. More than half of the electricity in the United States comes from fossil fuels like natural gas.
• Modern factories would come to a complete stop. Factories need electricity and fossil fuels to power their operations, and they need trucks and trains to bring in the raw materials for the factories to digest.

Without these four essentials, modern society collapses. They all require fossil fuels.

Where are our leaders?

Can we wean all these sectors off fossil fuels? Yes, of course. But it will take decades even if we ignore all the power wielded by the incumbent fossil fuel companies and their lackeys. What if we saw a headline tomorrow that said, “World leaders allocate $10 trillion to rapidly decarbonize all of global agriculture, transportation and electricity generation in 5 years.”? We will never see this headline. There is no group of world leaders thinking in this way. World leaders are not on the verge of allocating this kind of money. Nor are world leaders even contemplating such an allocation.

Modern economies will be burning fossil fuels, and therefore adding gigatons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, for many decades to come. History shows us that this is what will happen. Modern economies will do this because there is no near-term alternative to fossil fuels that does not involve spending trillions of dollars to speed things up. Because world leaders don’t want their people to starve and die, fossil fuel consumption will continue largely unabated.

And therefore, the Earth’s ecosystem as we know it today is lost. The only question is: How long do we have until we see the collapse of modern economies and civilization?

How do we know for sure that Earth’s ecosystem is lost?

How do we know for sure that Earth’s ecosystem is lost? All that we must do is look at the headlines and articles from this past summer. Headlines like:

1. Humans Have Exceeded Six of the Nine Boundaries Keeping Earth Habitable – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/humans-have-exceeded-six-of-the-nine-boundaries-keeping-earth-habitable-180982909/
2. Brazil Could Break All-Time High Temp Record in Waning Days of Winter – https://themessenger.com/news/brazil-could-break-all-time-high-temp-record-in-waning-days-of-winter
3. NASA confirms summer 2023 was Earth’s hottest on record – https://www.space.com/nasa-2023-summer-hottest-on-record
4. Earth just had its hottest summer on record, U.N. says, warning “climate breakdown has begun” – https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hottest-summer-on-record-2023-un-says-climate-change-global-warming-data/
5. Scientists warn entire branches of the ‘Tree of Life’ are going extinct – https://news.yahoo.com/scientists-warn-entire-branches-tree-011943508.html
6. It’s not just coral. Extreme heat is weakening entire marine ecosystems in Florida – https://grist.org/extreme-heat/its-not-just-coral-extreme-heat-is-weakening-entire-marine-ecosystems-in-florida/
7. Spain hailstorm destroys nearly $43 million worth of crops as it hits nearly 100% of some farmers’ harvests – https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spain-hailstorm-destroys-nearly-43-million-worth-crops/
8. Ten countries and territories saw severe flooding in just 12 days. Is this the future of climate change? https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/16/world/global-rain-flooding-climate-crisis-intl-hnk/index.html
9. Antarctic sea-ice at ‘mind-blowing’ low alarms experts – https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66724246
10. ‘We are dropping about 2,000 acre feet a day, that’s never happened’ | What it will take to fill up Central Texas lakes – https://www.kcentv.com/amp/article/tech/science/environment/what-will-take-fill-central-texas-lakes/500-77a448cc-98e4-45ac-8e0e-6e4924940f82

The ecosystem is collapsing. We are watching it happen in real time. Humanity is doing nothing of any significance to slow or stop the collapse. If we were to sit and digest all the current headlines, the news is horrible on so many fronts:

• Massive heatwaves all over the planet
• Massive droughts and also
• Massive floods
• Massive die offs
• Massive forest fires

Earth’s ecosystem is reacting to all the carbon dioxide humanity has added to the atmosphere in the ways that the ecosystem inevitably must. Scientists knew this was going to happen. Scientists have been warning us about the effects of carbon dioxide for decades. And now we are witnessing the end game.

We can also predict what’s coming:

• A combination of extreme heat plus drought causes the Amazon rainforest to light on fire and collapse
• A large glacier or two collapses in Antarctica, causing significant sea level rise over a short period of time
• Drought or saltwater intrusion means that one or more major American cities run out of water and must be evacuated
• Droughts and floods and heat and stupidity (e.g. the war in Ukraine) combine to cause significant and simultaneous crop failures, meaning that a billion poor people must starve to death

All these disasters are coming. It is just a matter of time.

 How Will Civilization Collapse?

Let’s imagine that there are significant crop failures next year. Will this cause the collapse of civilization? Probably not, at least in the developed world. Developed countries have the money to buy what food is available. The poor countries will starve, not the rich ones.

Let’s imagine that the Amazon rainforest collapses and injects another 100 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This will cause global heating to accelerate even more. The wealthy nations can afford air conditioning, while poorer nations will see deaths and even less food due to the heat.

What will cause the civilization in a developed country like the United States to collapse? The thing that could do it is the simultaneous destruction of several big cities, combined with the economic and social effects from this destruction.

• If the Colorado river dries up because of continuing drought, the collapse of civilization could happen. Multiple large cities in the American Southwest would need to be abandoned. The millions of crazed people streaming out of these cities along with the massive financial hit from all the abandoned properties could do it.
• If sea levels were to rise by a meter (3 feet) in a relatively quick timeframe, it would devastate a number of American cities like Miami and Boston. Again, we would have millions of crazed people streaming out of these cities and the financial losses from the abandoned properties could cause an economic collapse.
• If a massive hurricane or two were to hit Florida and cause the collapse of the state’s home insurance market, it might be enough. Millions of crazed people would be streaming out of Florida and the banking system would take a big hit from the abandoned and uninsurable properties.

It’s just a fact that nothing of any significance is being done to prepare for these inevitable scenarios. When they occur, it will feel like a huge surprise to most Americans, especially those experiencing the direct effects. Think about the toilet paper crisis of 2020 and multiply by 1,000. There will be panic. There will be over-reactions. There will be bloodshed. Then things can become completely unmanageable. And this is why there will be a collapse of civilization as we know it today. We will pick up the pieces in the aftermath and cobble together something new, but civilization as we know it today will be lost.

....

https://www.asiamarkets.com/diesel-fuel-shortages-could-lead-to-a-global-economic-crisis-within-months/

Diesel fuel shortages could lead to a global economic crisis within months

Global diesel fuel shortages are rapidly emerging, and most in the western world are yet to recognise the catastrophic potential.

Asia Markets first wrote about the prospect of diesel fuel shortages in the US in November 2022.

Then, shipping monitoring services had reported a number of diesel tankers heading to Europe were involved in unscheduled diversions to the United States.

“The Thundercat, carrying a cargo of diesel from the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday changed its destination from the Dutch port of Rotterdam to the New York Harbour, according to shipping data. Proteus Jessica, currently in the Atlantic Ocean, has in recent days changed its destination to New York from the Southwald waiting area off the southeast coast of England.“

If you thought things were sounding desperate back then, wait until you see what the next few months could bring.

Follow Asia Markets on Twitter

The International Energy Agency recently published its September Oil Market Report.

Some key takeouts:

• World oil demand remains on track to grow by 2.2 mb/d in 2023 to 101.8 mb/d, led by resurgent Chinese consumption, jet fuel and petrochemical feedstocks.
• The extension of output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia through year-end will lock in a substantial market deficit through 4Q23. 
• Global observed oil inventories plummeted by 76.3 mb to a 13-month low in August, led by a hefty decline in oil on water. Non-OECD oil stocks fell by 20.8 mb with the largest draw seen in China, while OECD inventories eased by 3.2 mb.

So, we have a world where oil demand is surging and supply is being strangled.

What has this go to do with diesel?

Well, to fuel trucks you need to find some oil, then find a refinery that can turn the oil into diesel.

So, there are two main aggravating factors that have us on the path to catastophic diesel fuel shortages… oil markets and oil refineries.

The oil markets factor (in-part outlined above) is clear… The oil market is becoming extremely tight.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was pillaged ahead of the November 2022 U.S. mid term elections to keep fuel prices down (voters don’t like high fuel prices).

And as you can see below the situation remains dire.

This chart is a big worry for the U.S.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently holds just over 348 million barrels of oil – to put this into perspective, if America were to rely on this reserve for consumption it would last 46 days.

The reserve hasn’t been this depleted in four decades.

What’s making the situation worse is OPEC supply cuts which were set in motion in October 2022 when OPEC+ agreed to cut production by 2 million barrels per day. At the time this was the largest cut since the COVID-19 lockdowns begun in early 2020.

In the latest OPEC move (highlighted above in the International Energy Agency key takeouts), Saudi Arabia and Russia confirmed they would extend their combined 1.3 million barrel per day cuts until the end of 2023.

The United State’s dwindling influence over OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia is telling. Last month, the Saudi’s were announced as one of six new member states of the China-led BRICS alliance.

Watch this space. Hedge Fund manager Chris MacIntosh has suggested Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning romance with China will lead to conflict.

Refinery capacity exacerbating diesel fuel shortages

Russia accounts for close to 15% of the world’s diesel supply. The country’s enormous oil refining industry produces 6.8 million barrels of refined oil (mostly diesel and jet fuel) per day.

But Russian refineries, as of Thursday (September, 21), have been banned from exporting diesel to all countries apart from four friendly former Soviet states – Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

The announcement made by the Kremlin, saw global oil prices spike above $94 a barrel in the proceeding hours.

As Henning Gloystein from Eurasia Group told the Financial Times:

“Russia wants to inflict pain on Europe and the US and it looks like they’re now repeating the playbook from gas in the oil market ahead of the winter months — they’re showing that they’re not finished using their power over energy markets.”

But that’s far from the only problem.

In western countries – namely the U.S. and the U.K. – refining capacity has fallen off a cliff.

Bloomberg data shows three quarters of crude oil pumped within the United Kingdom was exported during 2022 because there wasn’t enough capacity for it to be refined within U.K. shores.

Over the past two decades, the country’s refining capacity has reduced by a whopping 50%.

Refining capacity has been crunched in the U.S. too.

The U.S. saw two years of sharp declines after dozens of refineries across the country were shuttered as the world was hit with COVID lockdowns.

Capacity in the U.S. is now around 18 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s around one million barrels below capacity during 2019.

As of January 1, 2023, there were 129 operable petroleum refineries in the United States, five fewer than 2019.

Asia Markets previously featured commentary from market analyst George Gammon on the U.S. refinery situation.

Gammon pointed to green agendas disincentivizing the addition of more refining capacity.

“If you owned a refinery, would you reinvest in more capacity when you have the Government breathing down your neck saying ‘we got to do something about climate change’, or in California they’re saying we’re not going to sell any gas cars, only electric cars by 2035… You got the Green New Deal, you’ve got Greta Thunberg.

“Isn’t it ironic that the prices of weeding ourselves off fossil fuels, or the attempt to do so too early, is actually what is causing the demise of the United States and the West as we know it. Everybody wants clean energy… but the problem is if we go from A to B too early there isn’t going to be an economy to benefit from the clean air. “

What are the implications of worsening diesel fuel shortages?

Diesel quite literally fuels the global economy. Without it, the economy comes to a standstill.

As you read this article, just about everything in front of you required a truck, which required diesel, to get there.

Diesel fuel prices are already breaking out in just about every region on earth. It’s likely this is just the beginning of an extended period of extreme diesel prices.

There are a lot of lines in these charts, but the bottom line is a high cost of diesel impacts everything.

This all could see the “soft landing” narrative destroyed. It could lead to much higher inflation, for much longer. Already treasury yields are telling us something, ticking higher in recent days.

Could it be diesel fuel shortages that fuel a global economic crisis and stock market crash as we move into 2024?

....

https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/slouching-towards-beelzebub/

Slouching Towards Beelzebub

“Using the #FauciLiedPeopleDied trend is a great way to show your friends you’re a conspiracy theorist.” –Dr Anthony Fauci

So, here’s what you might have learned over the weekend if you ventured into the thickets of alt news: in April and May of 2021, the president (“Joe Biden”), the whole White House Covid Response Team (Andy Slavitt & Co), and everyone in the WH communications office, the US Surgeon General (Vivek Murthy), senior officials of the CDC including director Rochelle Walensky, Francis Collins, head of NIH, and Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIAID were all freaking out, holding crisis meetings, and sending blizzards of emails among each other after being informed by a Pfizer safety report that the miraculous new mRNA Covid vaccines produced significant cases of myocarditis and blood-clotting abnormalities.

     All these officials proceeded to craft a campaign to tell the public that this myocarditis was mild, extremely rare, and self-resolving (it wasn’t), and urged all Americans over twelve to keep taking the vaxx shots. Later, they expanded the vaccine program to include children down to six months old. By 2022, all of US public health officialdom had to know that the vaxxes were also ineffective at preventing infection and transmission of Covid. Rochelle Walensky kept pushing the vaccines as “safe and effective” until she resigned in June, 2023. Her replacement, Mandy K. Cohen, is still pushing the latest mRNA booster shots in the face of reports (mainly from the UK and other foreign countries) of a shocking rise in all-causes deaths and disabilities from heart and blood disease, neurological injury, and cancers. The CDC refused this month to release updated information on case numbers of myocarditis and pericarditis in the USA.

     The record of those frantic 2021 doings in the White House and the CDC came from a document dump prompted by a FOIA request by Edward Berkovich, a lawyer associated with Naomi Wolf’s Daily Clout news organization. He requested emails between February and June, 2021, that included the term “myocarditis.” CDC sent 472 pages, followed by an additional 46 pages, (believed to be sent by a whistleblower) that included emails between White House officials up to the president. Of the 47, 37 were entirely redacted (whited-out, not blacked-out, that is, blank pages). Only two pages of the 46 contained no redactions. The redactions were made, the CDC said, pursuant to Exemptions 5 and 6 under code 5 U.S.C. §552, which protects documents received by the president.

      That was a lot to wade through. Apologies. What’s the upshot? From early on, our government lied about the safety of the vaccines, at the same time that they lied and confabulated about the origins of the Covid-19 virus. They continue lying about all of this to this day even as they appear to prepare for a replay of a pandemic. Now that the weekend is over, you will not read about any of this in The New York Times. Why is that? I will offer my theory: that newspaper’s business model, based on pages and pages of print advertising, is completely broken and it is on financial life-support from the CIA and / or DARPA, probably facilitated by private sector cut-outs laundering the money. That’s how dishonorable the flagship of the US news media is.

     And, of course, there is the added layer of government-directed censorship, also through private sector cut-outs, that is aimed at suppressing the truth about Covid from every angle, especially the vaccines. Doesn’t all of this look rather sinister? Choose one of two possible explanations: 1) the Covid-19 episode from the beginning was a fantastic fiasco of blundering incompetence by hundreds of officials from many agencies plus elected leaders, and at every stage was made worse by additional incompetent actions aimed at concealing massive chains of prior misdeeds producing more misdeeds resulting in the wholesale collapse of authority in our country. In other words, an epic clusterfuck.

     Or 2) The entire Covid episode is a chain of crimes committed deliberately with malicious intent to kill and injure large numbers of people while contriving to deprive the survivors of their basic liberties and their property. Because identical events are seen in all the other nations of Western Civ, it would be reasonable to infer some kind of coordination managed by a supervisory force or entity. What we see is a globalist coalition formed of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), The European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the pharmaceutical industry, the “Five Eyes” intel alliance, the global banking establishment, The Democratic Party, and scores of well-endowed non-governmental agencies such as the George Soros constellation of councils and foundations. What else is unseen?

      One conspicuously strange element of the whole picture is the phantom leadership of the supposed world hegemon USA in the figurehead, “Joe Biden.” Never in history has such a move into tyranny been fronted by such an embarrassingly un-charismatic empty vessel. Never in our country’s history have our affairs whirled in such a mystifying flux of bewildering forces. Even our Civil War was a more straightforward clash of interests. Events are moving quickly now. They’re setting up the steam-table for that banquet of consequences.