Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Richard Murphy points out the stark contrast between the UK Cons' attempt to pretend that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and the tens of thousands of excess deaths still resulting from it. Mary Van Beusekom discusses a new study showing that Ontario's infection levels were likely 19 times higher than reported at the peak of the Omicron wave. And Kai Kupferschmidt interviews new WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar about the multiple global public health challenges which demand action (even if governments prefer to ignore and minimize them). 

- Alex Himelfarb warns against prematurely declaring the death of neoliberalism when it still serves as the default ideology underlying our society despite its unpopularity. And Brooke Kruger reports on the Saskatoon Food Bank's observation that people are increasingly reliant on it to ensure a source of food (even as Scott Moe continues to pretend that everyone's doing just fine). 

- Niels-Jakob Hansen, Frederik Toscani and Jing Zhou discuss how corporate profiteering is the main driver of ongoing inflation in Europe. And Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on the flood of corporate lobbying as businesses look to take over health care services in Ontario. 

- Robin McKie discusses Bill McGuire's conclusion that we're past the point of averting some level of climate breakdown - though it's still vital to do what we can to reverse the damage. And Moran Cerf, Sandra Matz and Malcolm MacIver find that people who participate in prediction markets (and thus have a reason to pay close attention to climate issues) are more concerned about the climate. But Carbon Brief reports on the Climate Change Committee's recognition that the UK government is falling ever further behind its climate commitments, while Reuters reports on CDP's research showing the same to be predictably true for fossil fuel giants. And Taylor Noakes offers a reminder that hydrogen fuels and carbon capture and storage serve more as delay tactics for carbon polluters than as remotely useful solutions. 

- Finally, Kelly Kimball discusses how existing wildfire models are being overtaken by the reality of far more severe fires. And news.com.au reports on the immense tracts of tropical forest being lost both to fire and to deforestation.  

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ben Beckett interviews Max Desbris about the role a climate breakdown plays in exacerbating natural disasters, while Grace Livingstone and Ellen Tsang report on thousands of indigenous islanders in Panama who have lost their home and community to the environmental disruptions we've seen so far. Leslie Hook and Chris Campbell write about the dangerous and unexplained surge in methane levels which is increasing the pace of global warming. Mia Rabson reports on the hydrogen supply agreement between Canada and Germany - including the firm recognition by a country facing short-term supply issues that fossil-fuel-based energy isn't a viable option, even as the Trudeau Libs try to keep money flowing to the oil patch. And Chantal Hebert discusses how the Cons' leadership contenders are looking to make Canada's already confused and ineffective climate policy even worse. 

- Meanwhile, Crawford Kilian reviews Serhii Plokhy’s Atoms and Ashes as an important reminder that nuclear "accidents" are both entirely predictable and caused in part by deliberate choices. 

- Jessica Corbett discusses how profiteering by grain giants is a classic example of disaster capitalism. 

- Jose Jimenez et al. study the historical reasons explaining the deadly resistance to accepting that COVID-19 is airborne. And Science Daily reports on new research showing a connection between increased blood clotting and long COVID. 

- Finally, John Smith writes about the opportunity lost when Jeremy Corbyn's leadership - with its potential to offer hope to massive numbers of otherwise disenfranchised people - was undermined by establishment resistance (including within his own party).

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your long weekend reading.

- David Macdonald writes that if there's a risk of a recession being caused by interest rate hikes, it's because people with wealth and power have chosen to engineer one on purpose. And Ken Klippenstein and Jon Schwarz report on an internal Bank of America memo stating that the hope is to undercut labour strength at a point when people are in a position to demand higher wages and better treatment.

- Zeke Hausfather discusses how we're on track for yet another summer of record-breaking heat as a result of a worsening climate breakdown, while Robin McKie writes about Bill McGuire's observations on both how much had gone awry already and how much worse matters will get if we don't reverse course immediately. And Julia Conley reports that catastrophic flooding in Kentucky represents another extreme weather event traceable to the climate crisis.

- Justin Mikulka writes about the hopeful signs that the gas industry won't lock us into methane-dependent "blue" hydrogen due to the lower cost of renewable alternatives - though we still need to be wary of fossil fuel sector lobbying to have governments put a thumb on the scale. And Paris Marx writes that a shift to electric vehicles alone won't be anywhere near enough to make a dent if it's not paired with policies to reduce car dependence.

- Meanwhile, Paul Dechene offers a reminder of the City of Regina's broken promises to address people's core needs eventually after funneling money toward shiny megaprojects - as it's now looking at a new round of sports and entertainment spending after doing nothing to work on the housing and revitalization which was supposed to be paired with the construction of a brand new Mosaic Stadium.

- Finally, Andrea Hsu discusses the millions of Americans suffering from long COVID, and the ripple effects of their being unable to work as before in an environment where employers don't bother offering required accommodations.