You would be welcome in Scotland. We're still shielded from the worst of the relentless cruelty south of the border (but that's obviously under sustained attack - this time from the "progressive socialists" in London).

#Brexshitania
#SingleTransferableParty
#BusinessAsUsual

A wooden figure against a wooden backdrop, flanked by not one but two "Butcher's Aprons".

#BusinessAsUsual
#Ukania
#SNAFU

For at least one capitalist corporation (actually for *most* of them), Business As Usual is continuing and maybe even getting better.

Drill, baby, drill? BP loves that idea! To hell with "net zero" and a Green Transition, which they probably never took seriously anyway.
______________________________________

Oil giant BP has abandoned its net-zero plans and will invest more in fossil fuel expansion.

Five years ago, the company promised to cut oil and gas production to 1.5 million barrels a day by 2030. But oil’s falling share price and the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuel policies have prompted a rethink, and the company now plans to increase production to 2.4 million barrels a day while cutting $5 billion from its renewable energy investments.

With deregulation making oil and gas more attractive to investors, BP has chosen to prioritise short-term profits over long-term sustainability — a move that could embolden other energy giants to follow suit, undermining efforts to curb climate change. It’s a bet against the urgency of the crisis — a gamble with far-reaching consequences for the planet’s habitability.

Trump's "drill, baby, drill" mantra and regulatory rollbacks — such as expanded drilling leases and eased restrictions on LNG exports — have made oil and gas a safer bet.
______________________________________

FULL ARTICLE -- https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/bps-u-turn-betting-big-on-oil-and?r=1qy42b&triedRedirect=true

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

“Badenoch raised the Palestinian family at #PMQs on Wednesday, claiming it was “wrong” that they are allowed to live in the UK.”

“Responding, the Prime Minister said: “Let me be clear, I do not agree with the decision, she's right, it's the wrong decision.”

It’s official.

Starmer is as big a vicious right-wing Tory shit as Badenoch.

Farage must be loving this.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24929706.keir-starmer-palestinian-family-right-live-uk-wrong/

#Brexshitania
#SingleTransferableParty
#BusinessAsUsual
#TwoCheeksOneArse

Most US voters, according to a recent survey, approve of the job President Trump is doing. That seems unbelievable, but apparently it's true.

People will believe a lie if it's told to them often enough. And people will believe what they want to believe if that makes them feel safe and comfortable, regardless of the underlying reality.

This applies to Trump and MAGA — but it also applies to the lies told by corporate Democrats about capitalism, and how it's NOT a grave danger to our climate and environment.

#USA #Trump #Politics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

Greta Thunberg says:

"Leaving capitalist consumerism and market economics as the dominant stewards of the only known civilization in the universe will most likely seem, in retrospect, to have been a terrible idea."

That's from page 202 in “The Climate Book.”

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709837/the-climate-book-by-greta-thunberg/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

There is *one* good thing to come out of these terrible and destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. Landlords are getting richer!! 🙄

➡️ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14283559/LA-landlords-rent-accused-price-gouging-fires.html

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

Headline from the BBC: “Planet-warming gas levels rose more than ever in 2024”

➡️ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30dn5dn53jo

Yes, of course they did. What did you expect? Business As Usual has never stopped.

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

I'm shocked — shocked! — to find that Big Oil has engaged in lobbying to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. 🙄

➡️ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/15/polluter-pay-bill-climate-disasters

#Politics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

But yes, it's #BusinessAsUsual because #Crapitalism requires people to #ConsumeConsumeConsume!

Canadian teen with #BirdFlu was on #LifeSupport, new report reveals

The hospitalized teen was also given three #antiviral treatments, underscoring how severe #H5N1 infection can be

By Nicole Karlis, January 6, 2025

"In November, a teenager in British Columbia was infected and hospitalized with bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus. While most cases have been mild, commonly characterized by #conjunctivitis and respiratory symptoms, this previously healthy Canadian teen was hospitalized from the virus in critical condition. Their symptoms started with double conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, and turned into a fever and coughing. A few days later the teenager was admitted to intensive care after developing acute respiratory distress syndrome [#ARDS].

"'This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions,' said British Columbia’s health officer, Bonnie Henry, at a news conference at the time. 'It just reminds us that in young people this is a virus that can progress and cause quite severe illness.'

"Now, a recent report brings to light more details about the teenager’s case. In the report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers explain that the 13-year-old girl spent weeks fighting for her life after contracting a severe H5N1 infection from an unknown source. In finding her diagnosis, researchers say that she initially tested positive for influenza A, but not the seasonal subtype. Further testing suggested she had a high viral load of a novel influenza A infection, which researchers discovered to be the H5N1 avian flu.

"The next day doctors started her on oseltamivir, also known under the brand name Tamiflu. However, her respiratory functions declined rapidly causing her to be intubated. She was also placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a machine that is a form of life support for people with life-threatening illnesses. In addition to the ECMO machine, the teenager received a plasma exchange and two more antiviral medication treatments — amantadine and baloxavir.

"In an accompanying editorial, experts noted while mutations were detected in her case, it’s 'unclear whether these #mutations were present in the infecting virus or emerged during the course of the patient’s illness.'

"In other words, it’s unclear if the virus #mutated to be more severe in humans.

"'The mutations evident in the Canadian case highlight the urgent need for vigilant surveillance of emerging mutations and assessment of the threat of human-to-human transmission,' the editorial stated, adding that vaccine development and therapeutics are also needed — perhaps to treat more severe illness. 'The Canadian case showed higher viral loads in the lower airway and very prolonged shedding, despite therapy, which highlights the potential need for longer therapy.'

"Researchers concluded their editorial with an acknowledgment that 'many questions remain.' For example, the severity of cases is likely to depend on host immunity, the route of exposure, or other changes in the virus.

"Currently, the CDC says that the risk to most Americans remains low.

"'We do have candidate vaccines and antivirals available to try to mitigate severe influenza in the case of wider spread,' the report stated. 'That said, a balance between enhanced vigilance and ‘business as usual’ is needed."

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/06/new-report-on-severe-case-of-canadian-teen-with-bird-flu/
#HPAI #BirdFluMutations #Flu

For more than 30 years, scientists have warned that unless fossil fuel use is reduced to a minimum, Earth's climate and environment will be damaged beyond repair.

We're caught in a battle between the need for a livable planet versus Business As Usual.

Guess which side is winning...
_____________________________

The world’s coal use is expected to reach a fresh high of 8.7 billion tonnes this year, and remain at near-record levels for years.

There has been record production of coal and power generation from coal since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine inflated global gas market prices, according to the International Energy Agency.

The IEA said the coal rebound, after a slump during the global Covid pandemic, means consumption of the fossil fuel is now on track to rise to a new peak of 8.77 billion tonnes by the end of the year – and could remain at near-record levels until 2027.

The Paris-based agency blamed power plants for the growing use of coal over the last year, particularly in China which consumes 30% more of the polluting fuel than the rest of the world put together.

Coal demand in China is expected to grow by 1% in 2024 to reach 4.9 billion tonnes, which is another record, according to the IEA. India is expected to see demand grow by more than 5% to 1.3 billion tonnes, a level previously reached only by China.
_____________________________

FULL STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/18/coal-use-to-reach-new-peak-and-remain-at-near-record-levels-for-years

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

It's a sad story.

A long battle pitting dedicated climate scientists on one side versus billionaire capitalists and neoliberal politicians on the other side.

Guess who won.

➡️ https://grist.org/economics/how-the-world-gave-up-on-1-5-degrees-overshoot/

And this is not Hollywood. There will be no "happy ending" to the story.

#Politics #History #Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

Remember that news yesterday about the failed attempt to craft a global treaty limiting the production of plastics?
➡️ https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/113583706019927966

Below is a link to a dramatic presentation on the impact of billions and billions of plastic bottles sold every year.

This is from the intro...
__________________________________

Around the world, almost 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute. As the environmental impact of that tide of plastic becomes a growing political issue, major packaged goods sellers are under pressure to cut the flow of the single-use bottles and containers that are clogging the world’s waterways.

Plastic production has surged in the last 50 years, leading to widespread use of inexpensive disposable products that are having a devastating effect on the environment. Images of plastic debris-strewn beaches and dead animals with stomachs full of plastic have sparked outrage.
__________________________________

LEARN MORE -- https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ENVIRONMENT-PLASTIC/0100B275155/

#Environment #Climate #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Pollution

The Scottish Government continues to mitigate Westminster austerity. Red Tory or Blue Tory it's #BusinessAsUsual in the "precious union".

#Scotland needs Westminster and the duplicitous #Brexshitania #SingleTransferableParty régime like a hole in the head.

#VoteLabourGetTory
#SarwarLiedToScotland
#LabourGaslightingCostsLives
#OptionalIdentityMark

Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic) says we need to spend the next three-plus years reforming our labor unions and building toward a general strike in 2028.

I like it.

✊ https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/11/rip-jane-mcalevey/#organize

#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateAction

🛑 Business As Usual will lead to our demise. 🛑

Sooner or later, perhaps within years, certainly within a decade or two, the fragile and tenuous structure of our complex modern industrial society will break down. It won’t take much — overlapping natural disasters, collapse of the marine food web, an even worse pandemic, serious supply chain disruption, a major crop failure — some of these, or maybe all at once, and everything falls apart.

That’s not an outcome we should welcome. It can only lead to widespread suffering and starvation, with millions and possibly billions of human deaths.

If we are to have any hope of avoiding such a catastrophic societal collapse, we must rapidly reduce the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. But that will never happen as long as capitalism remains in charge.

So capitalism must go. The system must be changed.

Those at the top, however, will not give up easily. They will have to be forced to surrender, to step down and relinquish their power. The only way I can see that happening, short of violent revolution, is through a critical mass of people agreeing that it’s time for ACTION, then joining together for coordinated civil disobedience at a level never seen before.

The primary tactic is a prolonged general strike.

But it must be carefully thought out, every step meticulously organized. This would start with activists and neighborhood leaders meeting up and developing practical plans, locating resources, evaluating areas of strength and also of weakness.

Community groups could then begin stockpiling food and basic supplies and organizing voluntary systems of local/regional assistance, whether with transportation, health care, or finances, in preparation for the strike.

And when it begins:

⦿ No one goes to work

 ⦿ No one buys anything

 ⦿ No one pays any bills

If a wide-scale action like this could last at least a month, or even better two or three months, then I think we *might* have a chance of getting our demands met.

We’re at an inflection point, a moment of decision: either stay with capitalism and face disaster, or do whatever is necessary to bring about degrowth.

#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateAction

More than 140 banks worldwide have "pledged" to cut emissions associated with their lending and investments to almost zero by 2050.

But meanwhile...
___________________________________

Less than a hundred miles from where world leaders are discussing how to meet their climate pledges, BP is drilling for gas. The project, a sprawling gas field off the Azerbaijani coast, could inject more than 1 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, striking a major blow to efforts to slow global warming.

BP has said it intends to invest heavily in new oil and gas fields in the coming years. But it would be unable to pursue these dirty projects without billions in support from big banks. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, along with a number of other banks, all helped BP raise more than $5 billion last year.

Since May 2021, global banks committed to "Net-zero" have poured almost $1 trillion into companies pursuing expansion of oil and gas projects that would push the world beyond its survivable limits. Taken together, these projects would produce almost seven times the annual emissions of the U.S.
___________________________________

FULL STORY -- https://grist.org/accountability/net-zero-banks-raised-1-trillion-for-fossil-fuel-giants/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Economics #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

If you're a supporter of Business As Usual — and especially if you're an investor in oil and gas — there's good news! 🙄
_________________________________

One year after world leaders made a splashy promise to shift away from fossil fuels, countries are burning more oil, natural gas, and coal than ever before, researchers said this week.

Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are on track to reach a record 37.4 billion metric tons in 2024, a 0.8 percent increase over 2023 levels, according to new data from the Global Carbon Project.

It’s a trend that puts countries farther from their goal of stopping global warming.
_________________________________

FULL STORY -- https://archive.ph/4zcDX

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange
#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

#BusinessAsUsual with the #SingleTransferableParty.

Tedious.

It’s obvious that a second Trump administration will be worse in almost every conceivable way from what a Harris administration might have been.

But let's not fool ourselves into believing that a Harris victory would have been *good* for our climate and environment. We've been going in the wrong direction for at least 20 years under Presidents from both parties — and there's no reason to think that Kamala Harris would have charted a different course.

SEE ➡️ https://archive.ph/VnlWF

When it comes to our climate and environment, we can't blame either the Democrats or the Republicans. We have to blame both. We have to blame capitalism.

🧵 1/3

#Politics #History #Economics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

In the six years between 2016 and 2021, according to data published in the most recent Circularity Gap Report, the global economy consumed 582 billion tonnes of materials — nearly as much as the 740 billion consumed in the *entire* 20th century.

REPORT ➡️ https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024

That’s very bad! But I wonder, do you think the world has been doing better since 2021? 🤔

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that global consumption has NOT declined during the past three years. In fact, the level almost certainly has increased. But let’s just say it has remained steady.

If that’s true, it means another three years of the world annually consuming ~97 billion tonnes of materials. So the total over the past nine years is now at least 873 billion tonnes — or about 18% MORE than all the materials consumed in the entire 20th century!

Driven by capitalism’s incessant demand for profits at any cost, we are consuming ourselves to death. But who cares about that? As long as billionaires keep getting richer, that’s all that matters, right?

Business As Usual must go on.

#History #Economics #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

The United Nations — founded by and controlled by the world’s most powerful capitalist countries — will NOT save us from climate and environmental collapse.

All we’ll ever get from them and our so-called leaders is a lot more “blah, blah, blah.” Words, not actions.

What our biosphere will get is more chemicals poisoning the land and sea, more plastic waste, more cars, more roads, more forests chopped down, and more droughts...
_________________________________

The Amazon Basin is responsible for around 15% of all fresh water discharged into the oceans and 13% of the planet’s biodiversity. But the rivers in the world’s largest tropical rainforest are drying up. Their waters have dropped to record lows this year.

This is all happening, scientists warn, at a point when the biome has lost 18% of its forest cover, reducing its capacity to absorb and store carbon. The Amazon is now approaching the point of no return, while global temperatures are set to break the annual heat record for the second consecutive year.
_________________________________

FULL STORY -- https://sumauma.com/en/infografico-o-terrivel-ressecamento-da-amazonia/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

What do you think happens when a UN climate conference is hosted by a petrostate — a country like Azerbaijan whose economy relies heavily on oil and gas?

Turning over a new leaf? Acknowledging it’s time for capitalism to end? Mea culpa?

Ha-ha, no.
_________________________________

A senior official at the COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan appears to have used his role to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.

A secret recording shows the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor.

"We have a lot of gas fields that are to be developed," says Soltanov.

As well as being chief executive of COP29, Soltanov is also the deputy energy minister of Azerbaijan and is on the board of Socar, Azerbaijan's state energy firm.
_________________________________

FULL STORY -- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmzvdn9e18o
SEE ALSO -- https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-gas/cop-is-for-oil-deals/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #COP29

Below is an excerpt from an absurdly hopeful article about plans for developing “green concrete” to keep up with the AI-driven data center building boom.
_________________________________

The United States is home to more than 5,000 data centers today, and the Department of Commerce forecasts that number to grow by around 450 a year through 2030.

Concrete is a major ingredient in data center construction — and is also a major contributor to climate change, accounting for around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Data centers use so much concrete that the AI building boom is wrecking tech giants’ commitments to eliminate their carbon emissions.

Last year, Microsoft’s carbon emissions jumped by over 30%, primarily due to the materials in its new data centers. Google’s greenhouse emissions are up by nearly 50% over the past five years. As data centers proliferate worldwide, Morgan Stanley projects that data centers will release about 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 each year by 2030 — or about 40% of what the United States currently emits from all sources.
_________________________________

In a masterpiece of greenwashing, the article tries to put a happy face on everything, with section headings like these:

😃 “1,000 Companies Working on Green Concrete”

😃 “Better Cement Through Chemistry”

😃 “Software Takes on the Hard Problem of Concrete”

😃 “Cement Plants That Capture Carbon”

😃 “A Sustainable Foundation for the Information Age”

And somehow, oblivious to the crazy irony, this article actually touts AI itself as part of the solution!! 🤦‍♂️

➡️ https://spectrum.ieee.org/green-concrete

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Greenwashing

They are the worst, scariest monsters you can possibly imagine. And they’re real.

#Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #JustStopOil