Pressing this button will not cancel the oncoming shitshow

In times of climate catastrophe, the phrase “faster than expected” has become a meme - one that’s not even funny anymore. I wanted to be optimistic, to believe that humanity would finally find a way to prevent further crisis and destruction of our environment. Honestly, I give up. This isn’t just doomsaying from doomscrolling; it’s the harsh reality. I think we’re beyond fucked, and I don’t even know what to do anymore. It makes me sad and depressed to watch, in real time, as everything goes to shit:

• The latest study I read was about rainwater and soils polluted by PFAS worldwide.¹ Rainwater is now not safe to drink, and filtering it from groundwater is possible but expensive. Yet there are still voices claiming PFAS isn’t an issue. We have clear studies showing we’re already contaminated from PFAS in frying pans, for crying out loud.² You can’t tell me this is harmless. As if microplastics in supermarket products weren’t enough.³
• The Arctic is warming four times faster than expected.⁴
• The Brazilian environmental protection authority IBAMA has approved further expansion of the BR-319 federal highway, which cuts through the largest intact rainforest area in the heart of Amazonia. Its completion could lead to a fivefold increase in rainforest deforestation by 2030 and the collapse of the Amazonian ecosystem.⁵
• The drought in Europe. I wonder if we’re seeing the start of aridification⁶ - the worst case, where things don’t “go back to normal” because this is the new normal. That means less water infiltrating the soil, less groundwater recharge, and more conflicts, which are already happening in Berlin and Brandenburg.⁷
• Forest fires and the usual money grab. Forests in Brandenburg are burning, but we still don’t get mixed forests with birch or oak as reforestation. Instead, it’s pine again, because more than half the Brandenburg forests are privately owned and it’s just a financial issue.⁸ Even if we decided to plant mixed forests, the soil is so barren from drought that new trees just wither from the stress.
• The fish deaths in the Oder river.⁹ The whole thing is a clown show. First results: an unusually high salt load was measured, possibly related to the fish kill. Low water, low flow, and high temperatures may have played a role. State labs are still checking for heavy metals and mercury. Meanwhile, the PiS party has already managed to blame local authorities, Germans, and Donald Tusk for the disaster, and the Polish police are offering a reward for identifying the culprit.
• The energy crisis with corroding French nuclear power plants.¹⁰

“Frankreich wird auch in der kommenden Woche unter Temperaturen um 40 Grad stöhnen.”

But you’re not 100% sure about climate change, right?

“Über einigen Flüssen hängt schon der zarte Duft von Fischkadavern, da man früher Gewässer eigentlich zum Schutz von Flora und Fauna nicht über 25 Grad erwärmen durfte. Das wurde schon nach der ‘Canicule’ 2003 geändert – und nun weiter aufgeweicht.”

But with “green” nuclear energy, everything will be fine again.¹¹

“Denn zwölf Uraltmeiler sind wegen massiver Korrosionsprobleme abgeschaltet, und können auch im Winter nicht wieder angeschaltet werden. (…) Aus dem Protokoll des Gesprächs geht also hervor, dass man – wie in Frankreich – russisches Roulette spielen muss, um die Meiler weiterlaufen zu lassen.”¹²

Well, that gives Russian Roulette a new meaning.

And so on… Business interests, short-term goals, maximizing shareholder value, and ignoring long-term consequences still rule. The wealthy carry on with business as usual and secure their privileges. If I’m really gloomy, I think we’ll see more populist and fascist resurgence,¹³ with protectionist policies and actions against climate refugees, while the rich laugh at the local poor working for a pittance just to survive. Also, proxy wars over clean water and arable land.¹⁴¹⁵

Well… yeah, clicking a button won’t fix that. Seriously, fuck this shit.