According to Google’s news search, the media has published over 10,000 stories this year on Phillip Schofield, the British TV presenter who resigned due to an affair with a younger colleague. Interestingly, Google also highlights that there have only been five news stories about a recent scientific paper on crop losses caused by climate breakdown. This discrepancy reveals the skewed priorities of the media, where celebrity gossip outweighs the importance of addressing existential risks.
The scientific paper focuses on the impact of stuck meanders in the jet stream, which cause extreme weather patterns. To simplify, if a kink in the jet stream gets stuck to the south of a northern hemisphere region, it experiences cold and wet weather. Conversely, if the kink gets stuck to the north, the region suffers from heat and drought. These stuck weather patterns, exacerbated by global heating, have severe effects on crop production in major growing regions like North America, Europe, India, and East Asia. If these regions experience extreme weather simultaneously, it can have a devastating impact on their harvests.
The paper emphasizes the importance of global smoothing in our food system. Normally, if one region has a bad harvest, it can be balanced out by good harvests elsewhere. However, even small crop losses occurring simultaneously pose a significant risk to the entire system. Regional climate shocks have already contributed to a rise in global chronic hunger, reversing the previous trend of decline. This is not due to a lack of food, but rather the loss of resilience in the global food system. When complex systems lose resilience, they tend to amplify shocks instead of dampening them. Consequently, poor nations relying on imports are particularly vulnerable to local price spikes.
Other papers have been published on similar themes, highlighting the increasing frequency of flash droughts and concurrent heatwaves in grain-producing regions, as well as the overall impact of global heating on food security. Unfortunately, these papers have largely been ignored by the media.
What we are facing is the convergence of two existential threats: environmental breakdown and food system failure. There are signs that the global food system is approaching a tipping point, similar to what caused the financial sector’s collapse in 2008. Once a system becomes fragile and resilience is not restored, it’s just a matter of time before it collapses.
So why isn’t this crisis dominating the headlines? Why are governments failing to take action despite being fully aware of the existential risks? The answer lies in the failure to address wealth accumulation and the concentration of power among the ultra-rich. As the rich become richer, their political power grows, leading to extreme demands that favor their own interests. The problems are further exacerbated when politicians prioritize attending parties hosted by the wealthy rather than crucial environmental summits.
The ultra-rich are invested in sustaining and expanding the economic system that benefits them, using various tactics to protect their interests. They buy media outlets, influence political parties through donations, and create new laws to suppress protests. This power imbalance is deeply problematic, as those working to protect the Earth and its systems do so with limited resources, while the wealthiest and most powerful individuals actively work against them.
The struggle to prevent systemic failure is ultimately a battle between democracy and plutocracy. Throughout history, power has always played a role in thwarting the interests of humanity. However, the stakes are higher than ever, and it’s crucial that we address these issues before it’s too late.
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