One of the enormous risks of the Ukraine crisis is that the one of the opposing parties will accidentally trigger a nuclear war. Should that happen, an article in the Atlantic notes, it could trigger a planet-wide climate disaster.
This of course is not new(s).
But as author Robinson Meyer writes: “even a relatively ‘minor’ exchange of nuclear weapons would wreck the planet’s climate in enormous and long-lasting ways…if 100 small nuclear weapons were detonated, a number equal to only 0.03 percent of the planet’s total arsenal, the number of “direct fatalities due to fire and smoke would be comparable to those worldwide in World War II.”
Unfortunately, that would only be the the short term impact.
“Within months, the planet’s average temperature would fall by more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit; some amount of this cooling would persist for more than a decade. But far from reversing climate change, this cooling would be destabilizing. It would reduce global precipitation by about 10 percent, inducing global drought conditions. In parts of North America and Europe, the growing season would shorten by 10 to 20 days.”
The scenario envisioned by Meyer unfolds from there, with a global food crisis, massive radiation-related deaths and other impacts speeding up the long-term catastrophe already predicted by scientists without any nuclear war.
From any rational perspective we simply cannot allow this to happen — as a species. Human existence already is imperiled — this would likely seal our fate.
As unbelievable as it is that I am writing this, we are just a hair-trigger away right now from this becoming our reality.
TODAY’s NEWS (56)
Russia announced a new ceasefire in Ukraine to let civilians flee besieged cities, but there were only limited signs of progress providing escape routes for hundreds of thousands of people trapped without medicine or fresh water. (Reuters)
Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails (AP)
Ukraine says Russia bombed children's hospital in besieged Mariupol (Reuters)
Children buried under rubble at Mariupol hospital after Russian airstrike, Zelenskiy says (Guardian)
VIDEO: W.H.O. Condemns Russian Attacks on Ukrainian Medical Services
(Reuters)
Pentagon says Russia appears to be hitting Ukrainian civilians with ‘dumb bombs’ (WP)
'Surprise move': U.S. stunned by Poland's fighter jet offer (Politico)
Any supply of fighter jets to Ukraine must be done through NATO, top Polish officials said, after Washington rejected Poland's offer to fly all its MIG-29 jets to a U.S. airbase with a view to them being supplied to Kyiv. (Reuters)
Harris' trip to Poland and Romania turns fraught after US rejects Polish plan to get jets to Ukraine (CNN)
Blinken: U.S. focused on providing Ukraine jets ‘in the right way’ (Politico)
Ukraine sees risk of radiation leak at Chernobyl (Reuters)
Chernobyl nuclear plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine calls for urgent repairs (WP)
Chernobyl fighting stokes Ukraine fears over safety of nuclear sites (Financial Times)
On Top of Everything Else, Nuclear War Would Be a Climate Problem — Even a “minor” skirmish would wreck the planet. (Atlantic)
VIDEO: U.S. Intelligence Officials Say Putin Underestimated Ukraine’s Strength (AP)
Russia warned the West that it was working on a broad response to sanctions that would be swift and felt in the West's most sensitive areas. (Reuters)
Russia bars purchases of dollars by citizens in sign of hard-currency pinch (WP)
White House sweats over its growing entanglement in Ukraine (Politico)
Loss of Russian Oil Leaves a Void Not Easily Filled, Straining Market (NYT)
U.S. ban on Russian oil: What this means for Americans at the gas pump (NBC)
Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis (WSJ)
More than 200 major companies have withdrawn from Russia in response to the country's unprovoked war on Ukraine. You can see a list here, and it spans a range of industries. McDonald's in particular is "hugely symbolic" — the company arrived in Moscow in 1990 and became an iconic symbol of American capitalism as the Soviet Union collapsed. [HuffPost]
Kremlin: US is waging 'economic war' (NHK)
Russia soon unable to pay its debts, warns agency (BBC)
Young Ukrainian dancers, trapped abroad, get Paris residency (AP)
Putin’s always wanted to weaken the West. He’s done the exact opposite (CNBC)
West’s Response to Ukraine Invasion Likely Unsettled China, U.S. Spy Chief
s Say (WSJ)
1 million children leave behind lives, friends in Ukraine (AP)
Russia is close to sabotaging the Iran nuclear deal (Financial Times)
Democrats embrace politically risky strategy on rising gas prices (WP)
It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading (NYT)
The Coronavirus’s Next Move — Here are four shapes that the next variant might take—which will also dictate the shape of our response. (Atlantic)
First person to receive heart transplant from pig dies, says Maryland hospital (Guardian)
White House issues executive order on cryptocurrency (CNBC)
Bitcoin Price Surges on Biden’s Crypto Executive Order (WSJ)
Health tech leaders ponder the future of digital health (Politico)
Why LinkedIn's Career Break Feature Is So Needed Right Now — LinkedIn is being praised for adding a new feature to its website, enabling users to proudly list career breaks in their work history. (HuffPost)
Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s Lost Ship, Found in Antarctica After 107 Years (WSJ)
The $100 billion Western rental car industry, flush with cash from a profitable pandemic, is gradually getting its electric show on the road, and Chinese-made vehicles are poised to play a starring role. (Reuters)
Researcher finds 'stunning' rate of COVID among deer. Here's what it means for humans (NPR)
Redlining means 45 million Americans are breathing dirtier air, 50 years after it ended (WP)
Biden officials signal they might extend student loan payment freeze (Politico)
Emerging Tech Scenes Bring Jobs to Cities Outside Silicon Valley (WSJ)
How Maori Stepped In to Save a Towering Tree Crucial to Their Identity (NYT)
Thousands to protest against Brazil’s ‘death combo’ of anti-environment bills (Guardian)
London Breed-Chesa Boudin spat in San Francisco takes a strange turn (SFGate)
Are the Bay Area’s wealthiest cities being hit by ‘burglary tourism’? An international crime ring out of South America is targeting the Peninsula’s wealthiest ZIP codes, smashing windows, grabbing designer bags and jewelry.(SFC)
The hidden billion-dollar cost of repeated police misconduct — More than $1.5 billion has been spent to settle claims of police misconduct on behalf of thousands of officers repeatedly accused of wrongdoing. Taxpayers are often in the dark. (WP)
Australia declared a national emergency in response to devastating floods along its east coast, and designated catastrophe zones in towns swept away by swollen rivers. (Reuters)
Senate passes $107 billion overhaul of USPS, lauding mail agency’s role in pandemic response (WP)
Sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew formally dismissed (AP)
Taiwan's military strategists have been studying Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the country's resistance, for the island's own battle strategy in the event its giant neighbour China ever makes good on its threat to take them by force. (Reuters)
Nuanced Political Opinion Whispered To Trusted Friend (The Onion)
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