| The Climate Historian | https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com |
Humans can make the world an ugly place, but nature is always here to remind us that beauty still exists.
This photograph, which won the 2026 British Wildlife Awards, captures a toad gliding through the clear waters of a Sheffield lake, beneath the quiet shelter of bare treetops - a small, still moment of grace in an imperfect world.
The weekend is here. Take a moment to slow down and hold close the people and things that matter most.
El Niño is likely to return in 2026, and push global temperatures into uncharted territory. Whether it arrives with a roar this year or quietly builds toward 2027, one thing is no longer in doubt.
The planet is on a trajectory where records exist to be broken. We once treated each new temperature record as an anomaly. We are now learning that anomaly can evolve into routine.
And when the anomaly becomes the routine, it’s the routine you should be afraid of.
Sam Altman: “We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.”
Meaning: We stole all your knowledge , writing, and art, and now we’re gonna put a meter on it and sell it back to you. You’re welcome.”
China plans a 10% increase in its science and technology budget this year and at least 7% annual growth in R&D spending over the next five years— a boost that translates to billions of extra dollars each year.
This is in sharp contrast to the US under President Trump's administration, which has tried to cut federal science funding since early 2025.
China now employs more researchers than the U.S. and the entire EU combined.
New article: How humanity is exhausting the planet’s water while arguing about everything else.
We imagine that the greatest dangers arrive dramatically, carried by armies, ideologies, or sudden catastrophe.
But the biggest crises usually build quietly until they reshape ordinary life. Water scarcity is one of them.
It grows because we ignore it, because we assume things will sort themselves out, keep believing nature’s limits can always stretch a little further.
In case you missed it, the Epstein story is still very much alive.
One of the many allegations resurfacing involves a victim who said she was 13 years old and working for Epstein when she was sexually abused by Donald Trump.
The DoJ has released 16 more pages from the case file, while keeping 37 pages still and millions of other files still secret, illegally withheld from the public.
Perhaps if he bombs another 3 or 4 countries, the issue will be forgotten.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/05/nx-s1-5737562/justice-department-missing-epstein-files-trump
In the US an entire industry of legal “advisers” has blossomed with the sole purpose to provide a very exclusive service to a very specific clientele. Wealthy individuals convicted of serious crimes.
These intermediaries sell what they generously describe as “access” to the President, where the right fee can secure a favour, often resulting in early release from prison and relief from outstanding fines.
A remarkable example of how incentives can drive innovation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/us/politics/schwartz-trump-pardon-industry.html
"If you only have time to read one article about the war in Iran, amid the current barrage of information, this should be this week’s editorial in The Economist, titled “Donald Trump Must Stop Soon.”
The rational course, it argues, is to degrade Iran’s military capacity and stop. A wounded regime is survivable. A region in chaos & a global recession, are not.
The greatest risk now is not Iran’s resilience. Trump’s impulsiveness is the real danger."
The iceberg, known as A23a, was once the largest on Earth, covering an area more than twice the size of Greater London. Now it has just weeks left.
A23a is nearly 40 years old, ancient for an iceberg, and all icebergs eventually melt.
Climate change isn’t blamed for this specific berg’s demise, though it shapes the broader environment — warmer Southern Ocean waters, more intense summer melt, shifting currents — are all influenced by a warming planet.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-20f878f1-f4af-4022-9f62-b0515b9f4b20
Who do you think will win the AI race?
Info: AI needs power.
China ended 2025 with 3.89 TW of installed power capacity.
the U.S. sits at roughly 1.3TW total, less than what China added since 2021.
Trump's solution? The tech giants to build their own generators so "no one's prices will go up."
Bold strategy from a man who loves drilling, while governing a grid that tries to keep pace with a country that installed more solar in the first half of 2025 than America has ever built in total.
