Collapse Catch-Up: May 1–6, 2023

Welcome to the 12th edition of Collapse Catch-Up, a weekly newsletter that catches you up on the latest signs that we are living through the collapse of global industrial civilization. (You can read the older editions here.)

This week we have news about record high temperatures, dangerous storms, more oil drilling, deadly diseases, bank failures, AI-related job losses, and increasing tensions between the U.S. and Russia. Let’s dive in…

Extreme Weather

Last week there were record high temperatures in several countries around the world including Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, which had it’s hottest May day ever at 43.1°C.

Although sea surface temperatures have declined slightly, they’re still much higher than usual. But when you consider that since 1971, global warming has trapped as much heat as 25 billion nuclear bombs, it’s not very surprising.

A massive heatwave is hitting Northern Canada, where temperatures are reaching 32°F, about 13 degrees above average for this time of year, and it’s going to get worse. Thousands of people in Alberta were forced to evacuate due to wildfires, which is extraordinary for this time of year.

As climate change affects the jet streams, their behavior is becoming more erratic. In this case, the jet stream went South over…