English references

A la hausse constante des prix alimentaires s'ajoutent les effets de plus en plus dramatiques du changement climatique et un monde de plus en plus instable. Serons-nous réellement capables de nourrir une population qui devrait bientôt atteindre 10 milliards. Le professeur Tim Benton, l’un des plus grands experts mondiaux des systèmes alimentaires, estime que notre modèle économique de croissance infinie sur une planète aux ressources finies est voué à s’effondrer. Mais quand cela se produira-t-il ? Qu’est-ce que cela signifie concrètement ? Et enfin, entrons-nous réellement dans une ère de famine ?

Tim Benton, expert reconnu en sécurité alimentaire mondiale, afin de comprendre les causes de l'effondrement de nos systèmes alimentaires et les conditions nécessaires à la construction d'un système véritablement régénérateur. – Pourquoi le système alimentaire actuel est fondamentalement insoutenable – Que signifie concrètement le concept de « limites planétaires » – Le mythe de la croissance verte – Comment nos régimes alimentaires et nos systèmes agricoles doivent évoluer – Les 3 mécanismes qui nous empêchent d'avancer

One of the biggest upheavals in a millennium is on its way, strengthened by the climate crisis. We need leaders who make things better not worse

Climate models simulate a wide range of 21st century warming for a given forcing scenario. Constraining this uncertainty is a central challenge in climate science because of its implications for climate policy and adaptation. The Transient Climate Response (TCR) is a key idealized metric used to quantify future warming in response to an exponentially increasing CO2 concentration. Climate models span a range of 1.3–3 K for TCR. In attempts to constrain this range, emergent constraints on TCR based on historical temperature trends consistently pointed towards TCR values at the lower end of the range of models. However, recent evidence from trends in the short-wave and long-wave components of Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) at the top-of-atmosphere suggests that models with higher TCR lie closer to the observed EEI trends. Here, we reconcile this discrepancy and provide a revised range for TCR of 1.9–2.6 K. Using a statistical variability-filtering approach, we show that previous temperature-based constraints we

In 1999, two colonels in China’s People’s Liberation Army wrote a strategy piece called Unrestricted Warfare. It gives guidance on how China can defeat the United States and the West in general. The 228 pages are a surprisingly easy and entertaining read. They’re also illuminating.

The concepts of Green Growth and Degrowth represent two major narratives in the public and academic debate on socio-ecological transformation. . . Using a comparative analysis of the two research fields, we confirm several findings from previous reviews, including that Green Growth research is highly policy oriented, focuses on practical implementation and builds on empirical research methods, while Degrowth research is highly theory-driven, focuses on the analysis of complex human-nature interrelationships and builds on a sound theoretical and conceptual foundation. Our analysis further reveals that Green Growth and Degrowth are two rather isolated fields of research with little exchange and mutual reference on related topics. However, the topic of social change and transition represents an intersecting and promising future research area. . . .

Whether you’re looking for hands-on strategies, a deeper understanding of the big-picture frameworks underpinning those strategies, or thought-provoking reflections on the current state of the world and its likely future, this book has something for you.

Alarming warnings from industry insiders increase pressure for curbs on artificial superintelligence

What sounds like the overwrought penultimate episode in a sci-fi series about AI doom is now our reality

The term ‘Anthropocene’ was coined in recognition that human activities have ended the relatively stable environment of the Holocene epoch. However, its widespread adoption across the humanities, arts and sciences has led to diverse and sometimes incompatible definitions. In this Perspective, we argue for a stabilized definition of the Anthropocene epoch to help address contemporary environmental challenges, and explore various applications of the Anthropocene across disciplines. The Anthropocene epoch, with a proposed start point in 1952, underscores that human-driven global-scale environmental disruption differs from earlier human impacts of the Holocene, which did not cause such profound destabilization. This clear distinction enables quantitative and qualitative comparisons between the Holocene and Anthropocene epochs, as already utilized, for instance, within the planetary boundaries framework. As the Anthropocene Earth system transformation is systemic, political responses also need be systemic, rather

Chronic exposure to pesticide mixtures through diet is common, yet their combined metabolic effects and interactions with dietary factors remain unclear. We identified four pesticides prevalent in human exposure (imazalil, thiabendazole, boscalid, lambda-cyhalothrin) and assessed their combined impacts on hepatic metabolism and metabolic homeostasis using human liver cells and male mice fed standard chow or western diets. We found that the pesticide mixture induced metabolic perturbations in human hepatocytes. In addition, the pesticide mixture altered hepatic gene expression in chow-fed mice and exacerbated western diet-induced glucose intolerance, fasting hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance without affecting body weight or liver steatosis. These findings reveal that dietary context influences the metabolic consequences of pesticide mixtures, highlighting the need to consider nutritional status when evaluating environmental contaminant risks. Our results suggest that pesticide mixtures at reference doses m

Exclusive: Angela Eagle urges UK citizens to be ‘a bit more resilient’ as they plan for national emergencies.

Les systèmes d'intelligence artificielle sont entrainés sur les comportements humains qu'ils lisent et regardent/écoutent. Dès lors, le mensonge est une partie intégrante de leurs stratégies. Leur capacité (à mentir et à masquer leurs mensonges) risque de nous dépasser assez rapidement.

Lethal temperatures ​and wildfires have exposed a widening gulf between voters demanding ​action and politicians unwilling to confront the long-term choices global heating requires

What places on Earth are most resilient to global catastrophic risk (GCR)? We provide the first study of what locations are more resilient against the impacts of nuclear war, near-Earth objects, large-magnitude volcanic eruptions, large-scale cyberattacks, high altitude electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic storms and pandemics. This shows there is no place on Earth which is resilient against all kinds of GCR. Australia shows resilience across the widest range of GCR scenarios in the literature we reviewed, but even for it, continued international cooperation and trade are essential. Across the different risks, common resilience factors that show up most are geographic isolation (e.g. islands), self-sufficiency (especially in food production), high governance quality (more democratic and lower inequality) and decentralization to mitigate single point catastrophic failures (e.g. impacting trade or food supply). Many of these factors stand in tension with each other and trade-offs are required to balance between d

Exclusive: Economic harm of CO2 pollution from Rosebank and Jackdaw forecast to far outweigh any boost to UK

Historically, the decarbonisation of aviation has lagged behind other modes of transport. However, the technology and policy base for change is finally taking off in Europe, and the region has a real chance to lead. But Europe needs to step on the accelerator, not the brake to maintain its global leadership for a clean transition for the sector.

Climate models simulate a wide range of 21st century warming for a given forcing scenario. Constraining this uncertainty is a central challenge in climate science because of its implications for climate policy and adaptation. The transient climate response (TCR) is a key idealized metric used to quantify future warming in response to an exponentially increasing CO2 concentration. Climate models span a range of 1.3–3 K for TCR. In attempts to constrain this range, emergent constraints on TCR based on historical temperature trends consistently pointed toward TCR values at the lower end of the range of models. However, recent evidence from trends in the short-wave and long-wave components of Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) at the top-of-atmosphere suggests that models with higher TCR lie closer to the observed EEI trends. Here, we reconcile this discrepancy and provide a revised range for TCR of 1.9–2.6 K. Using a statistical variability-filtering approach, we show that previous temperature-based constraints wer

A new study finds two persistent mental shortcuts—not ignorance—are why people keep overrating recycling and underrating flying less.

Exclusive: Federal government court filings claim internal company documents included warnings about products being toxic