We're Toast 41

This post is a collection of links that support my increasingly strong feeling that the human race (or at least our technological civilization) is doomed. It is part of an ongoing series of posts.

Dying branches

• June 2023 was the world’s warmest June on record. "June featured unprecedented Canadian heat and wildfires, record-low Antarctic sea ice, and a strengthening El Niño."
• New disinformation series promotes terrain theory pseudoscience. "So, basically, it's a disinformation extravaganza grounded in "terrain theory," which is a widely debunked ideology that denies that germs cause disease. If you didn't know that there are growing numbers of people who don't believe in germ theory, surprise!" Semmelweis must be spinning in his grave.
• The Rise of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Omicron Subvariant Pathogenicity. "We show that the rise of Omicron pathogenicity is exponential, and we have modeled the case fatality rate of the next major subvariant as 0.0413, 2.5 times that of the Alpha strain and 60% of the original Wuhan strain which caused the greatest morbidity and mortality during the pandemic."
• ‘Frankenstein Chemicals’ Are Even Worse Than ‘Forever Chemicals’. "PFAS get a lot of attention, but there are other compounds in our drinking water that are more dangerous — and much more common."
• We’re Building Things Based on a Climate We No Longer Live In. "NOAA precipitation estimates that engineers and planners use to design bridges, roads and other infrastructure are decades out of date because of climate change."
• Catastrophic climate 'doom loops' could start in just 15 years, new study warns. "Climate "tipping points," such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest or the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet, could come within a human lifetime, scientists have said."
• The hard right and climate catastrophe are intimately linked. This is how. "As climate policy is weakened, extreme weather intensifies and more refugees are driven from their homes – and the cycle of hatred continues."
• ‘Absolutely stunned’: Sperm counts are falling faster than ever. 'Chemicals in tin can linings, cosmetics, nail polish, teflon pans and flame retardants on cushions have been linked to a steep decline in sperm counts and a potential “crisis in human reproduction”, Australian fertility specialists have been warned.'