Musical interlude

Metric - Speed the Collapse

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Rachel DuRose writes about the rise of the Eris COVID-19 variant, while Esther Choo notes that health care workers are bracing for another fall wave even as the ongoing risks have been disappeared from any public attention by authorities looking to squelch any mitigation efforts which might affect immediate profit-seeking. And Madeline Miller offers a personal warning as to the devastating effects of long COVID. 

- Gergana Krasteva reports on Antonio Guterres' stark warning that we're reaching an era of global boiling, while Catrin Einhorn discusses how coral is being exterminated by unprecedented ocean temperatures. And Justine Calma offers a reminder that promises to suck carbon pollution out of the air at some unspecified point in the future based on nonexistent technology will do nothing to ameliorate the damage that's already been done to our living environment. 

- Meanwhile, Todd Miller reports on new research showing that the effects of exposure to small particulate air pollution include increased risks of heart disease. 

- Trillian Reynoldson reports that Regina's food bank usage has reached another all-time high as people's real-world deprivation and stress continues to stand in stark contrast to the Sask Party's obstinate denial of reality. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses the value of interoperability as a counter to the systematic enshittification of social media. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jennifer La Grassa reports on the impending wave of the EG.5 COVID-19 variant, even as Phil Hahn warns that what little and belated data we have on COVID infections in the form of wastewater analysis may soon be cut off. And Ed Yong writes about the difference between ordinary tiredness and the fatigue triggered by long COVID.  

- Matthew Rosza discusses the reality that July was the hottest month in recorded human history. The Guardian publishes accounts from climate experts about the fact that where we stand now is both predictable and disastrous, while Andrew Mitrovica recognizes that future generations should see our destruction of our living environment as unforgivable. And Dimitris Dimitriadis, Joey Grostern and Sam Bright report that fossil fuel corporations are predictably using new social media to keep up their longstanding pattern of disinformation to enable continued carbon pollution. 

- Giulia Carbonaro examines how work may change in the course of a climate breakdown. And Vanessa Balintec reports on the success of four-day work week which has led many employers who tried it as a pilot project to make it a permanent feature. 

- Liam O'Connor writes about the history of streetcars in Saskatchewan, along with the prospect that a similar model could be a key element of future development. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow highlights how fighting junk fees and abusive corporate practices should be a key element of the progressive political project. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Floored cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Hanwen Zhang highlights yet another rise in COVID cases - albeit paired with obviously-unwarranted minimizing of the risks involved. 

- Jessica Wildfire pushes back against the establishment demand that people somehow evolve to become cacti in order to survive a climate breakdown, which Michael Mall similarly challenges the claim that adaptation is a substitute for averting catastrophe. And Nicholas Frew reports that the damage caused by carbon pollution-driven extreme weather events are turning SGI into a burden rather than a boon. 

- Meanwhile, in case anybody was under the illusion that climate calamity was the only readily-avoidable consequence of allowing fossil fuel operators to run rampant, Daisy Brickhill warns that new drilling licenses in the North Sea are threatening sensitive wildlife habitats. And Sharon Lerner reports on the Trump EPA's choice to green-light a Chevron boat fuel ingredient which is virtually certain to cause cancer in anybody exposed to it over a lifetime. 

- Emily Leedham reports on the Globe and Mail's belated and begrudging changes to its much-trumpeted "Canada's Top 100 Employers" advertorial based on their repeatedly providing free publicity to corporations responsible for workers' deaths. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses how AI is being used by for-profit health care providers to deny needed treatment.