💡 SPOTLIGHT
Collapse and us: on the dangers of ecological defeatism
Emilio Santiago, senior scientist at the CSIC and author of the book “Contra El Mito Del Colapso Ecológico” (“Against The Myth Of The Ecological Collapse”), believes that downplaying the importance of the climate crisis is as suicidal as letting yourself be carried away by paralyzing fear. Ecological collapse, he warns in an article for Spanish online media outlet Ethic, is counterproductive to the transformation of our economic model.
In 2015, Roy Scranton published a book that became a climate bestseller: Learning to Die in the Anthropocene. His thesis is that, in the face of the climate emergency, we must assume that "this civilization is already dead." Faced with the certainty of disaster, the only response would be to stoically assume ecological collapse, and perhaps build again among the ruins of modern society.
This defeatist outlook, which gives to the ecological collapse of our societies the status of destiny, is not anecdotal. Its presence is growing, both in ideological and scientific discourses — and in a general state of mind. Still, even while its excessive influence is problematic, the terror of the future is a justified sentiment. The eco-social situation is in a critical state, as disasters are multiplying in many parts of the planet and will intensify if we do not change course drastically.
The summer-autumn season of 2023 will go down in history for breaking high-temperature records, in a leap of scale that has the world's climatologists perplexed. António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, has launched a new term, "the era of global boiling," in an attempt to make world public opinion face the evidence perfectly summarized by the environmentalist Andreu Escrivà: "The world in which my parents lived no longer exists."
And, yes, this new world we are living in is very dangerous.
To face the fire, we need a middle ground between passivity and panic. Downplaying an existential danger is as suicidal as allowing ourselves to be dragged down by a paralyzing fear. Ecological collapse wallows in the effects of fear, something that, numerous studies conclude, leads to inaction.
This is why collapsist discourses are politically counterproductive for eco-social transformation.
Moreover, on a scientific level, the discourses of collapse are inaccurate. They tend to reproduce a whole series of intellectual vices, such as reductionism and determinism that eliminate from the equation the most important variable: human collective decisions. [...]
— Read the full article by Emilio Santiago for Ethic, translated into English by Worldcrunch.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Iran-China-Russia war games in Gulf of Oman: The navies of China, Iran and Russia have begun joint drills in the Gulf of Oman, their fifth common military exercise in recent years. The war games starting on Tuesday coincide with heightened tensions in the region as Israel’s war on Gaza rages for a sixth month and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea in response.
• Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns: Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to resign following weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the country. It comes after regional leaders met in Jamaica on Monday to discuss a political transition in Haiti. Henry is currently stranded in Puerto Rico after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home.
• Zelensky says Russian advances in Ukraine “halted”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian advances have been “halted” in Ukraine and that the situation was now “much better” for his troops than in recent months. Kyiv has faced mounting pressure on the front line in recent months, losing ground to Moscow amid hold-ups to Western aid from the United States.
• Maduro confirmed as Venezuela's ruling party candidate for July elections: Venezuela’s ruling party has chosen President Nicolas Maduro to run as its candidate in the country’s upcoming elections. The decision by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which was founded by the late Hugo Chavez, has been in power for 25 years. Maduro will now seek a third successive term as president in the vote on July 28.
• Boeing whistleblower found dead: A former Boeing employee who raised concerns about the firm's production standards has been found dead in the U.S. state of South Carolina. John Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017. In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company. The Charleston County coroner said the man had died from a "self-inflicted" wound on Saturday, and police were investigating.
• Andrew Tate brought to Romanian court on UK arrest warrant: Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate was arrested for 24 hours in Romania on a British warrant and the Bucharest Court of Appeals was set to decide on whether to extradite him. Tate and his brother Tristan were detained late Monday night on allegations of sexual aggression dating back to 2012-15, which they “categorically” deny.
• Airbnb, privacy v. security: Airbnb says it is introducing a worldwide ban on the use of security cameras inside rental properties. The changes to the company's policy will come into effect at the end of next month. The rental platform said it had made the decision as part of its efforts to simplify its policy on security cameras and “prioritize the privacy of our community.”
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)-owned Iranian daily Alvefagh dedicates its front page to the thousands of people that gathered for the dawn prayer in the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to celebrate the start of Ramadan. With no ceasefire in sight in the war in Gaza, the mosque, which is among Islam’s most sacred sites, will be at the center of the coming holy month after Israeli police denied entry to worshippers on Sunday.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Dreaming of Gaza: Nakba, war and the next Palestinian generation
In an article for independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr, Palestinian writer Sarah Abu Ghazal reflects on the recurring dreams and visions she has had since the Israel-Hamas war began, as well as on the past and present traumas experienced by her family and the people of Gaza.
💭 Since the Israel-Hamas war began, I have experienced two things. First, a mental image of my grandmother has appeared to me every day against my will. Second, I have had recurring dreams of three basic symbols in different forms: a young girl, always wearing pink pajamas, and an army; the Israeli occupation (sometimes settlers); and a discussion with Israelis who invade my dreams. I confront them to either confess their guilt or accept the truth, but I wake up before that happens.
🇵🇸 I do not need a dream interpreter or a psychoanalyst to decode the symbols that I believe all Palestinians in Gaza are sharing since the outbreak of the war. It tests our ability to comprehend the present genocide, what we are sharing here and now — not a past event of our collective history that we learn from, nor an idea from which we derive a logical warning that it might happen in reality.
✍️ I had not been able to write anything since the war began. I lost the ability to use language and create words or sentences with meaning. Nothing is more eloquent, profound or true than the remains of children. If the images coming from Gaza do not make the world realize the atrocities, I do not think reading a text about it will.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
2,664
A record-breaking 2,664 objects were launched into space in 2023, surpassing the previous year's record. U.S. agencies and companies were responsible for 81% of these launches, with 1,935 objects belonging to SpaceX's Starlink constellation, constituting 73% of the global total. While the growth of satellite constellations like Starlink holds the potential to enhance global Internet connectivity, it also raises concerns about space debris and the congestion of Earth's orbital environment.
📣 VERBATIM
“We’re all dirty. We all moved boxes.”
— Former Mar-a-Lago resort employee Brian Butler, referred to as “Trump Employee Number 5” in the classified documents indictment of Donald Trump, spoke exclusively with CNN. Butler shared details on unwittingly moving classified documents onto Trump's private plane and the subsequent pressure campaign by Trump-aligned lawyers. The interview revealed that Butler helped move boxes to the airport at the same time federal investigators were visiting Trump's property in June 2022. He said he did not know about the contents of the boxes and felt pressured by co-defendant Carlos De Oliveira to hire a Trump-aligned attorney. Butler said Trump should not run for president again, emphasizing the importance of transparency for voters.
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
(see top) Thousands of Muslims gathered to celebrate the start of the holy month of Raman at the Istiqlal mosque, in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. — Photo: Donal Husni/ZUMA
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Why The Biden-Netanyahu Clash Over Gaza Is Bound To Escalate — FRANCE INTER
• Slippery Sanctions: How UK Firm Renishaw Keeps Working For The Russian Army — VAZHNYYE ISTORII/IMPORTANT STORIES
• Temu: What If The Chinese E-Commerce App Was Really Just A Beijing Data Collector?— LES ECHOS
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