“We were the first that ever burst into that silent sea.” – STColeridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner Like the mariners of old, humanity has embarked on a deadly voyage into a world unable to support life in its current abundance. A stagnant, dying world where poisons seep amain through ocean and atmosphere. Life first … Continue reading Humanity: sailing into a stagnant ocean

Perhaps the deadliest pandemic ever to strike humanity is the plague of deliberate misinformation, mass delusion and unfounded beliefs which is engulfing 21st Century society. Whether generated by the fossil fuels lobby, certain media or other corporate interests, the anti-vaccine lobby, religious fanatics, politicians, ideological extremists, well-meaning simpletons or nutcase conspiracists, a global deluge of … Continue reading The Age of Deceit

By Julian Cribb AM* Paralysis. Atrophy. Inertia. Perplexity. These terms describe the state of mind of governments around the world, grappling with an existential crisis they do not understand and whose course they appear impotent to change. None of the usual levers work, push them, pull them how you will. You can’t halt wildfires by … Continue reading The End of Politics

By Julian Cribb* A new world superpower is arising. One that is unelected, borderless, controls most governments and, increasingly, employs the familiar tools of repression and deception to attain its goals. In Australia, the US and Britain, young people calling for urgent climate action are being arrested and gaoled. Harsh new laws are being passed … Continue reading The rise and rise of petrofascism

By Julian Cribb* Election 2022 may herald the end of party rule in Australian politics. Indeed, like Gorbachev, Scott Morrison seems poised to pull the trigger on the dissolution of the rotten old party system. It could be his political legacy. It’s a big thought, after a century or more of the national interest being … Continue reading Don’t vote for a political party. Vote for a good woman (or man) instead.

By Julian Cribb AM Fifty-five million years ago, the Earth took a fever. Somehow, 12,000 billion tonnes of carbon escaped into the atmosphere – and global temperatures soared by 5-8 degrees Celsius over the next few thousand years. What caused this event [i] is still subject to scientific debate, but a vast release of methane … Continue reading The Earth Strikes Back

The early 21st Century has been noteworthy for a marked increase in the number of governments willing to act against the interests of their electors – and the number of electors prepared to vote against their own best interests and choose such governments. Since an educated, thoughtful and responsible electorate is indispensable to any democracy … Continue reading Idiocracy: is the decline in human intelligence undermining democracy?

Many times larger than climate change and more deadly than Covid or war, humanity’s chemical emissions are the crisis nobody wants to acknowledge. It is the worst case of mass homicide in human history. Worse than World War II and the Holocaust, worse that World War 1, worse even than the great famines in China … Continue reading Time to end the mass killing