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Niall Ferguson proposes that “Superficially… [it’s] no more than a very nasty coincidence that the latest wave of the pandemic should happen at the same time as so many extreme weather events and a wave of social and political unrest. On closer inspection, however, we can see that these are connections between these disasters – […]
The World’s Cascade of Disasters is Not a Coincidence Read More »
The authors use Boolean and dynamic network models to investigate how the the interactions of climate tipping elements (Greenland Ice Sheet, West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and Amazon rainforest) could produce domino effects (or tipping cascades) across other tipping elements. They find that tipping points in the Greenland
Jonathan Rowson reflects on the many ‘flavours’ of meta-crisis, framing them through personal anecdotes, emotions, and spirituality. “There is a broader crisis of civilisational purpose that appears to necessitate political and economic transformation, and there are deeper socio-emotional, educational, epistemic and spiritual features of our predicament that manifest as many flavours of meta-crisis: the lack
Tasting the Pickle: Ten Flavours of Meta-Crisis and the Appetite for a New Civilisation Read More »
This article examines network models to better predict tipping points, defined as “a critical threshold (tipping point) at which a tiny perturbation can qualitatively alter the state or development of the subsystem.” By using moisture measures in the Amazon rainforest as a model system, the authors determine that “clustering and spatial organization increase the vulnerability
Dynamics of Tipping Cascades on Complex Networks Read More »
The paper proposes that reinforcing feedbacks could push the earth system toward a planetary threshold past which lies an irreversible “Hothouse Earth” scenario that catastrophically disrupts ecosystems, societies, and economies. The authors suggest that a deep transformation based on a fundamental reorientation of human values and operating systems is necessary, as well as resilience-building strategies
Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene Read More »
In this essay, Joseph Masco argues that the word “crisis” has become a counterrevolutionary term in American media and politics, used to stabilize existing conditions rather than address problems of militarism, economy, and the environment. By assessing nuclear and climate dangers, he suggests alternative approaches for creating positive futures without relying on the current discourse
The Crisis in Crisis Read More »
The authors argue we are increasingly witnessing a new form global crises they characterize as “synchronous failure.” This form of crisis “is more biophysical in origin, more inter-systemic in manifestation, more global in scope, and more rapid in development” (5). The deep cause of synchronous failure are increases in energy throughput, heightened global connectivity, and
Synchronous Failure: The Emerging Causal Architecture of Global Crisis Read More »
In this blog, Michael Lerner (co-founder and president of Commonweal) frequently discusses the global polycrisis. Notable blog posts include: “Navigating the Polycrisis-Life in Turbulent Times” (19 April 2023) “The Year of the Polycrisis” (1 February 2023) “Shed a Little Light” (30 August 2022) “Changing Times” (7 April 2022) “Sources of Hope in the Face of
The authors argue that the world faces an increasing concatenation of crisis in time and space due to “the increased strength of global vs. local drivers of change, so that changes become increasingly synchronized”, and dense global connectivity, which enables crises to propagate and sometimes sees risk management efforts in one region to become crisis
Are we Entering an Era of Concatenated Global Crises? Read More »
This two part special issue of the journal Globalizations considers the multiple crises, dimensions, and interpretations of the global financial crisis.
Globalization and Crisis Read More »
