I always thought that #JRRTolkien's #Smaug was a metaphor for the #IndustrialAge and #WealthHoarding. It seems I'm not alone! #Tolkien was actually an #environmentalist and possibly a #socialist (though he describes himself as an #anarchist). Does that mean #LOTR will be banned by #Fascistic #Capitalists? Hmmmm...

#Dragonomics: Smaug and #ClimateChange

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Richard Fahey

Excerpt: "Today, we talk about dragons. I refer specifically to the greedy, northern (often fire-breathing) variety as described in Beowulf and featured in Tolkien’s #Hobbit, and I will consider how these monsters present #EnvironmentalCatastrophe as a direct result of #hoarding and #greed.

"My discussion of dragons and climate change continues my recent series of blogs interested in placing medieval literature (and in this case also modern medievalism) in conversation with current crises. This blog develops an earlier argument made in a paper at a 'Tolkien in Vermont' conference (2014), titled 'Dragonomics: Smaug and #Pollution on Middle-Earth,' in which I argue that pollution in Tolkien’s Hobbit is linked to both the literal destruction by the dragon, and the rampant greed that motivates Smaug and ultimately initiates the plunder and violence at the Battle of Five Armies."

Read more:
https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/2019/02/22/dragonomics-smaug-and-climate-change/#:~:text=I%20would%20argue%20that%20for%20Tolkien%E2%80%94whose%20environmentalism,promised%20wealth%20but%20delivered%20also%20ecological%20catastrophe.

#MiddleEarth #Capitalism #ClimateCrisis #Oiligarchy #Oligarchy #CapitalismMustDie

Well that is disturbing. The results of this year's #BugsMatter survey are in, and show a continued decline in flying insect populations in the UK.

Down by 59% since 2021. Now I'm no insect ecologist, but that sounds like a scarily large decline to me.

https://www.buglife.org.uk/news/new-data-suggest-that-insect-life-continues-to-decline-despite-a-hot-summer/

#EnvironmentalCatastrophe #Buglife #Bugs #Insects

If anyone in the #UnitedStates is trying to make an effort to reduce microplastics and plastics in general, I have been using this company:

https://www.grove.co/

for about a year now. This IS an endorsement of their products and their shipping procedures which use paper tape, paper packing materials, and metal containers, all of which are way more recyclable than plastic. I realize that individual actions won't get us out of this mess we have created, but this makes me feel good that there is a company out there with this ethos. I have no idea how their labor relations are, how sleazy the CEO is, or anything else, but this an endorsement of their products and their shipping procedures.

#EnvironmentalCatastrophe
#plastic
#microplastics
#ecocide

17mins 41secs of your important time on important, current dangers and what is to come.
If you are bewildered, concerned, embracing of or indifferent to AI, please watch this intelligent, no nonsense TED talk by Carole Cadwalladr
Worthwhile looking up on the nets!
some wiki 👇 on Carole

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_Cadwalladr

Link to Tedtalk thank you @Kjaerulv 👇

https://mastodon.social/@Kjaerulv/114318374706967751

#AI #caroleCadwalladr #yourKidsKidsKids #environmentalCatastrophe
#world #thisIsNow #broligarchy #ausPol #worldPol

OnlineFirst - "Natality as world-building in Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind's In Vitro (2019)" by Norma Musih:

#politicalimagination #HannahArendt #Art
#environmentalcatastrophe #sciencefiction
#Palestine #Exile

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/25148486251329845

#Russia suffering '#EnvironmentalCatastrophe' after #OilSpill in #KerchStrait

Joshua Cheetham, Olga Robinson & Matt Murphy, January 23, 2025

"Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify have shown a major oil slick spreading across the Kerch Strait that separates Russia from annexed #Crimea, a month after two oil tankers were badly damaged in the #BlackSea.

"Oil has leaked into the strait from two ships which ran into trouble during bad weather on 15 December. Volgoneft-239 ran aground following the storm, while Volgoneft-212 sank.

​​"Up to 5,000 tonnes of oil has now leaked, and media reports and official statements analysed by BBC Verify suggest the spill has spread across the Black Sea and the #SeaOfAzov.

"A senior Russian scientist called the spill the country's worst '#EnvironmentalCatastrophe' of the 21st Century.

"'This is the first time fuel oil has been spilled in such quantities,' Viktor Danilov-Danilyan - the head of science at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) - said in a 17 January interview with a Russian newspaper.

"Russian scientists said in December that this spill could be more than twice the size of a similar disaster in the strait in 2007, which saw up to 1,600 tonnes of #HeavyOil leak into the sea. #Ukraine's ministry of #ecology has estimated that the clear up from the latest spill could cost the Russian state up to $14bn (£11.4bn).

"#PaulJohnston, a scientist at #GreenpeaceResearchLaboratories, said 'there's always an element of uncertainty around oil spills', but a lack of timely information has heightened this uncertainty further.

"'I'm not entirely optimistic we'll ever know the full extent of the problem,' he added.

"Satellite images reviewed by #BBCVerify on 10 January - the most recent available high-resolution photos - showed a #MassiveOilSlick running through the strait, measuring at least 25km (15 miles) long. A second, smaller slick measuring around 5.7km (3.5 miles) long is also visible."

Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23ngk5vgmpo
#WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalDestruction #OilSpill

EPA has cut communication with all outside agencies. Draw downs of regulations are expected in rapid order.

#EnvironmentalCatastrophe #Trump #EPA #TerminalStageCapitalism

‘Nobody ever saw anything like this before’: how #methane emissions are pushing the Amazon towards #environmentalCatastrophe

#climateCrises

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/17/methane-climate-crisis-amazon-peat-permafrost-vegan-heat-pumps?CMP=share_btn_url

De Schutter submitted a report to the United Nations that warns humanity’s obsession with #growth is enriching elites and killing the planet. We need an #economy based on #humanrights, the report argues. It goes on to say #economicgrowth allows the few to grow ever wealthier and that ending #poverty and #environmentalcatastrophe demands fresh thinking. Here is the introduction to that report

Our Obsession With Growth Is Killing The Planet — UN Report - CleanTechnica
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/07/04/our-obsession-with-growth-is-killing-the-planet-un-report/

Obsession with #growth is enriching elites and killing the planet. We need an #economy based on #HumanRights

#EconomicGrowth allows the few to grow ever-wealthier. Ending #poverty and #EnvironmentalCatastrophe demands fresh thinking
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/02/obsession-with-growth-is-enriching-elites-and-killing-the-planet-we-need-an-economy-based-on-human-rights-olivier-de-schutter

#AfterTheElection #GE2024 #UK #ClimateCrisis #Inequality