We're Toast 45

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.

Fading daisies

• We're Disrupting Another Major Earth Cycle, And No One's Talking About It. "Human activity is heating up the planet, putting wildlife in danger, and even altering Earth's spin. Now it appears we're also having a seriously detrimental effect on the planet's natural salt cycle, a new study reveals."
• Climate change has toppled some civilizations but not others. Why? "The link between environmental disasters and societal collapse, explained." If inequality and polarization are major factors in social collapse, as research suggests, then we are in deep trouble.
• The Other Group of Viruses That Could Cause the Next Pandemic. "Flu viruses and coronavirus started the last few pandemics. Could the next one be a paramyxovirus?" Nipah, spread by aerosols and with a 50 percent mortality rate, could be a serious problem.
• How gas utilities used tobacco tactics to avoid gas stove regulations. "The documents show that natural gas utilities and their powerful trade group, the American Gas Association (AGA), focused on convincing consumers and regulators that cooking with gas is as risk-free as cooking with electricity. As the scientific evidence grew over time about the health effects from gas stoves, the industry used a playbook echoing the one that tobacco companies employed for decades to fend off regulation. The gas utility industry relied on some of the same strategies, researchers and public relations firms."
• Scientists call out rogue emissions from China at global ozone summit. "Researchers confirm a powerful greenhouse gas is being emitted from eastern China, despite reports to the contrary."
• If You Didn’t Care About Antarctica’s Icy Belly, You Will Now. "Scientists are getting an ever-clearer picture of the undersides of deteriorating glaciers. It’s not looking good."
• Can we still avoid 1.5 degrees C of global warming? "Global temperatures are approaching a crucial threshold."
• As Extreme Heat Increases, Heart Attacks Will Rise. "Dangerously hot days are becoming more common. That will trigger heart attacks and strokes in people made vulnerable by age, race, and the layout of cities."