Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your new year.

- Michael Mann and Peter Hotez write about the combined threat posed by climate change, pandemics and an anti-science message which makes it far more difficult to deal with real problems. Katharine Hayhoe offers a year-end summary of the state of the climate - featuring the juxtaposition of a climate breaking down faster than previously assumed with growing recognition that we have (but are failing to implement) means to stop the harm. And Holly Elser et al. study how the effects of wildfire smoke include increased risks of dementia and other brain damage. 

- Andrew Egger highlights how Republicans have become trained to reward chaos agents while seeing actual governance as a problem. Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Kopstein discuss how the plan for Donald Trump's second term is to replace any trace of public service with patrimonialism based solely on Trump's connections and interests. 

- Jared Yates Sexton offers his take on how Americans need to prepare for Trump's ascension to power. And Ian Dunt notes that the most important individual action will be to act with decency even in the face of a government bent on cruelty. 

- Finally, Paul Krugman discusses how social media fits into the culture of generating profits from addictions. And Thor Benson interviews Ryan Cooper about the options available to build a new information ecosystem beyond the poisoned social media giants. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sueellen Campbell highlights how record-breaking temperatures are being covered around the globe, while Sarah Collins discusses new research showing that the northern hemisphere's summer of 2023 was the hottest in millenia. And Qi Zhao et al. examine the growing death toll from heatwaves around the world even before the unprecedented warming of the last few years. 

- Michael Mann and Katharine Hayhoe make the case that the antidote to doom is doing. But Natalie Alcoba reports on the torrent of threats and abuse directed at Charlie Angus for proposing even the most modest limits on climate-destroying propaganda. And Drew Anderson reports that the UCP's reality denialism extends to an outright refusal to accept direct evidence that their ban on renewables was entirely the result of a political order, while Neel Dhanesha takes a look at the "news mirages" being set up by dirty energy operators to substitute fossil fuel PR for any actual reporting which might expose their pollution or corruption. 

- Hazel Sheffield reports on new research showing that UK corporations hiked their prices far beyond the rate of any cost increases to goose their profits at public expense. 

- Finally, Kate Dubinski discusses a study confirming that the costs of homelessness impose an even greater burden on an already-overwhelmed health care sector. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Michelle Gamage and Katie Hyslop report on the grassroots push for better anti-COVID-19 planning in British Columbia schools. And in case there's any doubt what's at stake, Brenda Goodman reports on new research finding that long COVID may cause a greater disability burden than cancer or heart disease, while the San Diego Union-Tribune warns about the immense social damage which would result from continued spread without massive improvements in treatments and therapies.  

- Damian Carrington et al. write about the growing indicators that humanity has already fundamentally broken our climate. And while Katharine Hayhoe makes the case to respond with determination rather than resignation, it's worth noting the powerful interest aligned against any effort to meaningfully avert a total breakdown - including a fossil fuel sector talking openly about its plan to continue to spew carbon pollution for generations to come, and a sketchy carbon offset system which is claiming credit for  the false promise of protection of forests which are themselves turning into carbon bombs. 

- Meanwhile, David Climenhaga points out how the UCP is putting its thumb on the scale to prevent clean energy development generally, while Clayton Keim writes about the Peace Energy Cooperative solar project as a stark example of the progress that's been shut down in order to keep Albertans hooked on dirty fossil fuels. 

- Finally, Rebecca Zandbergen examines the enduring consequences of the Canadian federal government's decision to stop funding social housing. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Antoine Flahault et al. offer a reminder that we can't afford to be complacent about an ongoing COVID pandemic which continues to cause serious and sustained harm on a mass basis. And in case we needed another reminder of the aftereffects of infection, Andreas Weiss et al. study the connection between COVID-19 infection and the development of type 1 diabetes in children. 

- Katharine Hayhoe writes about the twin crises of the climate breakdown and plummeting biodiversity - with both reflecting the desperate need to plan based on environmental well-being rather than profit motives. But Julia Steinberger's discussion of the important work being done at Beyond Growth 2023 (h/t Alison) includes recognition the near-total media blackout on the idea that our society could be shaped by anything but the ideology of the cancer cell. 

- Therese Raphale reports on the exodus of doctors fleeing the UK Cons' deliberate destruction of public health care - and their arrival instead in Australia where they're being promised that their work will be valued. 

- Finally, Naama Weingarten reports on the flood of false information in Alberta, as both the public safety emergency created by wildfires and the ongoing provincial election have been turned into opportunities for propaganda and disinformation. And Trevor Harrison writes that Danielle Smith's laughable denials shouldn't persuade Alberta voters that a UCP win will result in anything but the destruction of national institutions and benefits based on the whims of the fanatical fringe. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Trevor Howlett warns not to treat a short-term drop in case numbers from an alarming peak as an excuse  to stop taking COVID-19 seriously. And Alexander Quon and Bonnie Allen offer a look at the painful and lonely plight of ICU patients sent to Ontario due to Scott Moe's choice to overload Saskatchewan's health care system. 

- Emma Jones reports on the increased number of liver conditions likely arising out of pandemic drinking. And Stephen David Cook reports on the deadliest year yet for drug poisonings in Alberta. 

- Brett Dolter discusses some of the lessons we should take from our COVID response in dealing with the generational challenge of climate change - though there's reason for concern that the main takeaway is that self-serving profiteers will find excuses to stake fraudulent claims to the entire world before the public can get its shoes on in response. Bob Ward reviews Katharine Hayhoe's Saving Us as a resource in trying to reach people who are hesitant to contribute to climate solutions. And Fiona Harvey reports on Antonio Guterres' message that we can't rely on optimism without action, even as the obvious plan of the leaders who need to step up is based on wishing rather than effort. 

- Roy Culpeper points out the need for Canada in particular to start contributing our fair share to global emission reductions. And Jay Wilson discusses how cleaner infrastructure is a vital part of the picture. 

- Finally, the University of Cambridge studies the amount of work necessary to achieve the positive mental health outcomes associated with it - and finds that a day per week is the point of diminishing returns for work for its own sake. And Sara Zaske reports on new research confirming that parents living in poverty who are offered a basic income will put the new resources toward their children.