Tesla's decision to remove Autopilot and Autosteer as standard features in North America initially struck me as a step backward for safety, a cash grab for the Full Self Driving monthly subscription and as such an attempt to boost TSLA stock price. That reaction was almost automatic. I've used and ... [continued]

The post Tesla Removed Autopilot. The Data Says Safety Wasn't Lost appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The US concentrating solar power startup GlassPoint has its sights set on ripe solar markets in the US Southwest as well as southern Europe, the Middle East, and South America. 

The post Here Comes Concentrating Solar Power To Decarbonize Industrial Heat appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Updated Tool Could Help Marine Energy Developers Save Time, Money, and Effort A team of national laboratory researchers recently released version 1.0 of the Marine Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT)—a free, publicly available software tool used to process, analyze, visualize, and standardize marine energy data. Marine energy—energy generated from ocean and river waves, currents, ... [continued]

The post From Beta to Data: Marine Energy Analysis Tool Is Now Stable & Ready appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Drop-In Solution Benefits From Laboratory Expertise Through Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator To Cut Electric Bills and Strengthen Grid Reliability A smart home battery and energy management platform by Chicago startup Blip Energy is advancing through the 14th cohort of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), launched in November 2024 and based ... [continued]

The post NLR & Blip Energy Collaborate on Smart Home Battery System appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Compact Thermomagnetic Generator Delivers Continuous Electricity Using Natural Temperature Differences Between Ocean Water and Air The key to future technologies can sometimes be found in the past. What Ravi Kishore is working to perfect, for example, has its origins in the 19th century imaginations of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. ... [continued]

The post NLR Advances Battery-Free Power for Remote Maritime Sensors and Navigation Aids appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The CdTe thin film solar manufacturing industry has an opportunity to grow to 100 gigawatts per year in the US as soon as 2030, according to an US industry-academic research team.

The post 100 Gigawatts Of CdTe Thin Film Solar By 2030, But How To Get There? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Communities, local officials, and business oppose planned offshore drilling expansion WASHINGTON, D.C. — Friday, January 23rd, marked the close of the 60-day public comment period on the Trump administration's draft offshore drilling plan, which proposes an unprecedented expansion off of Alaska, Gulf, and California coastlines. Nearly 300,000 Americans submitted comments in ... [continued]

The post Hundreds of Thousands of People Across U.S. Voice Opposition to Trump's Plan to Expand Offshore Drilling appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Donald Trump continues his assault on climate change awareness and climate action while pushing more fossil fuel extraction and use. Well, in this case, it's not a post on antisocial media that looks 50 years out of date or a mind-bogglingly stupid statement in front of world leaders. However, his ... [continued]

The post Trump Admin Fast-Tracks Oil & Gas Drilling in National Forests, Removes Signage on Climate Change & Native American History appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With an increased prize fund of US $7.2 million, the Zayed Sustainability Prize supports enterprises, nonprofit organisations and schools delivering transformative solutions. Entries are now open, with applicants invited to submit innovative, scalable sustainability solutions. Now in its 18th year, the Prize has positively impacted over 400 million people by expanding ... [continued]

The post Zayed Sustainability Prize Opens Global Call for Submissions for 2027 Cycle appeared first on CleanTechnica.

So far this month, we have seen global trade start to realign on multiple fronts. Past relationships are failing. New alliances are forming. Canada created an opening for Chinese EVs. The UK is headed to China to repair the relationship between the two countries. Finland is also looking for a ... [continued]

The post Could Trade Routes That Once Oppressed Now Liberate The Atlantic From Fossil Fuels? (Skipping the US?) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Why particulate matter … matters. PM 2.5 (n.): Air pollution consisting of particles less than 2.5 microns across A year after New York put its congestion pricing program into place, requiring vehicles to pay a fee to enter the central business district of Manhattan, city dwellers noticed changes. The sounds of car honking had ... [continued]

The post The Particulars of PM 2.5 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

One of the big hopes for the US electric car market is the Rivian R2. This is the vehicle from Rivian that could really pull the brand into the mass market. It's a bit like the Model 3 was for Tesla (but, of course, quite different since the Model 3 ... [continued]

The post Rivian R2 Close to Production! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A British grandmother moved to Portugal and bought a plot of land in a rural area with a friend. She then built a cob home out of mud and straw for less than $2,300. She learned about cob building from watching YouTube and reading a book on the subject, "The ... [continued]

The post This Grandmother Built A Home For Less Than $2,300 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The key to political power in the United States is through corporations. Those corporations are vulnerable to consumer pressure.

The post The Great American Boycott! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

There's a lot of pullback on EV progress in the United States following Republicans taking control of the country and doing what they can to slow down the transition to EVs. GM hasn't exactly been a saint on that matter either, siding with the Trump administration on efforts to kill ... [continued]

The post GM Makes EV Charging Easier appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Claims about wind turbines and solar panels filling landfills are circulating again, often framed as a rediscovered flaw in clean energy that somehow offsets its benefits. The argument is familiar. Wind turbine blades are large, solar panels contain glass and metals, and at the end of their lives these materials ... [continued]

The post Landfill Panic vs System Reality: What Wind & Solar Actually Displace appeared first on CleanTechnica.

This would destroy deep-sea habitats and the ecosystems they support. By Rebecca Loomis, Staff Attorney, Nature, NRDC The Trump administration is supporting a new and highly destructive deep-sea mining (DSM) industry in our ocean, despite immense environmental risks and broad international opposition. Early in his second term, President Trump issued ... [continued]

The post The Trump Administration Is Racing to Launch the Deep-Sea Mining Industry, Despite Huge Risks and Broad Opposition appeared first on CleanTechnica.

By Jake Schmidt, Senior Strategic Director, International Climate, International, NRDC Following its previous announcement withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, the Trump administration announced it intends to also withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—the foundational international climate agreement adopted in 1992 that the United States joined in 1994. In ... [continued]

The post Quitting & Rejoining Global Climate Agreements: What's at Stake for the United States appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Natural gas daily spot prices at the benchmark Henry Hub rose sharply over the past week, reaching nearly $8.15 per million British thermal units on January 22 as colder weather increased demand for space heating across the country. Higher wholesale natural gas prices generally contribute to higher wholesale electricity prices. ... [continued]

The post Severe Winter Weather Across Large Portions of the Country, Natural Gas Prices Increasing appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Australian light vehicle market is dominated by "utes" — short for utilities, or utility vehicles. These have evolved from sedans fitted with a tray back to monstrous mini trucks. The big sellers are the Ford Ranger and the Toyota HiLux, followed by strong contenders like the Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi ... [continued]

The post KGM Musso — A Ute You Can Use appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Deutschland hat kürzlich den ersten rund 400 km langen Abschnitt seines nationalen Wasserstoff-Backbones fertiggestellt und unter Druck gesetzt. Die Leitungen liegen im Boden, die Verdichter funktionieren, und das System ist technisch betriebsbereit. Es gibt nur ein Problem. Es sind keine nennenswerten Wasserstofflieferanten angeschlossen und keine relevanten Abnehmer vertraglich gebunden. Es ... [continued]

The post 400 km Wasserstoffpipeline ohne Nutzer wird Deutschlands Strompreise erhöhen* appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Kia America has announced pricing on the 2026 Niro EV, a fully electric compact crossover that delivers modern design, tech-savvy performance, and everyday functionality. With a blend of real-world range, advanced driver assistance systems, and thoughtful interior features, the Niro EV continues to redefine what drivers can expect from an ... [continued]

The post Kia Announces Pricing for 2026 Niro EV appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The federal government has pulled the rug out from under Puerto Rico again by cancelling funding for distributed solar.

The post Energy Department Cancels Solar Program For Low Income Residents Of Puerto Rico appeared first on CleanTechnica.

There's growing attention on microplastics as a human health concern. Autopsy studies are showing an increasing body burden of plastics accumulating in us, with a study published earlier this year by showing that the average person now has a credit card and a half's worth of plastic…in their brains. The ... [continued]

The post Which Water Filters Reduce Microplastics? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Using satellite data, Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers reported the first statistically significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide linked to zero-emissions vehicles. When California neighborhoods increased their number of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) between 2019 and 2023, they also experienced a reduction in air pollution. For every 200 vehicles added, ... [continued]

The post Adoption of Electric Vehicles Tied to Real-World Reductions in Air Pollution, Study Finds appeared first on CleanTechnica.

US energy policy notwithstanding, China is seeking new opportunities to accelerate the global energy transition among Gulf states.

The post Earth To Trump: China Is Winning The Renewable Energy War, Bigly appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Ten European nations this week signed a new agreement to promote more than $11 billion in North Sea wind investments.

The post Ten Nations Commit $11 Billion To Make The North Sea A 100 GW Powerhouse appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Although American GDP might be doing reasonably well, many of us non-economists have a tendency to look at our personal costs of living as more indicative of how the economy is doing. Inflation, the cost of food, electricity, housing, if people are losing or retaining their jobs, and so on. ... [continued]

The post $400 Million Facility Closed By Exus Renewables North America appeared first on CleanTechnica.

California continues to celebrate strong ZEV sales despite the efforts of President Trump, and his Republican enablers in Congress, to throttle down the vehicle electrification movement.

The post California Takes A ZEV Sales Victory Lap Around Trump, And His Enablers appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Above, Jeff Berardelli shows us the setup that will bring another cold blast across the Eastern US. Below, Fox Weather report on the resultant storm conditions expected in the Southeast, including beach erosion and power outages. Prep now.

Will Westmoreland is a (God help him) Progressive farmer, consultant, and organizer in Missouri. His website, The Back Forty, is a resource for rural community organizers, and he is active across just about every media platform. Will is well informed on issues, and is the kind of fact based community advocate we need to follow … Continue reading "The War on Rural Renewable Energy"

Above, Texas Governor Abbott neglects to mention what the biggest additions to the Texas grid have been since the Valentine's Day Blackout of '21.Solar, and batteries. Lots of batteries. Also, ERCOT knocked a few heads and got some power plants winterized. Catherine Boudreau for Latitude Media: Winter Storm Fern, which swept through the U.S. over … Continue reading "How Texas Weathered Weekend Storm"

Restoring "Truth and Sanity". Washington Post: Trump officials have ordered national parks to remove dozens of signs and displays related to climate change, environmental protection and settlers' mistreatment of Native Americans in a renewed push to implement President Donald Trump's executive order on "restoring truth and sanity to American history." Park staff have interpreted Trump's … Continue reading "Trump Administration Once Again Demonstrates link between Racism, Climate Denial"

A number of lawsuits are currently in process aimed at holding the fossil fuel industry responsible for climate change.The main approaches so far fall into two buckets - either that the fossil industry spread climate disinformation and created uncertainty about the issue, or those that hold the industry directly responsible for climate impacts.The newest suit … Continue reading "Affordability at Heart of Swing State Lawsuit against Oil "Cartel""

We can accelerate the energy transition not just by building more clean energy, but by making grids work more efficiently.Jigar Shah knows more about this ongoing process than anybody, and had a good thread discussing. Jigar Shah on X: The U.S. grid isn't "full."It's underutilized. Less than half of existing grid capacity is used on … Continue reading "The Grid is not "Full""

Neil Young Archives: I'm honored to give a free year's access to neilyoungarchives.com to all of our friends in Greenland. I hope my Music and Music Films will ease some of the unwarranted stress and threats you are experiencing from our unpopular and hopefully temporary government. It is my sincere wish for you to be … Continue reading "Neil Young Gives the Gift of Music to Greenland"

Clearly a resonance with today. History does not repeat, but it rhymes.

Growing list of lawsuits against fossil fuel companies now includes a suit by the Attorney General of Michigan.Particularly relevant in that, due in part to the propaganda from fossil fuel interests, the Detroit Auto industry is now at existential risk due to the postponement and suppression of EV technology. The Hill: The state of Michigan … Continue reading "Key State Brings Lawsuit - Blames Big Fossil for Blocking Clean Energy, EVs"

Nashville also badly hit.Storm still ongoing.

Global water bankruptcy, India scrambles to contain a pandemic, train crashes in Spain, international rivalries, gang warfare, and a UK vision of future Collapse…

Last Week in Collapse: January 18-24, 2026

This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, soul-crushing, ironic, amazing, or otherwise must-see/can't-look-away moments in Collapse.

This is the 213rd weekly newsletter. The January 11-17, 2026 edition is available here if you missed it last week. These newsletters are also available (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox by signing up to the Substack version.

——————————

Civilization has entered an age of "water bankruptcy", a term which scientists stress is more urgent than the commonly misused term "water crisis." They write that:

"a crisis is usually understood as a temporary departure from normal conditions, triggered by an acute shock (such as a drought, flood, storm, hurricane, wildfire, or contamination event) and followed by some form of resolution….The system is no longer oscillating around a stable baseline temporarily disrupted by shocks; instead, the baseline itself has shifted because critical natural capital—perennial river flows, groundwater storage, lakes, wetlands, snowpacks, glaciers, forests, and other water sources and water-related ecosystems—has been consumed or degraded. In many basins, even a sequence of many wet years cannot restore the lost functions within any reasonable human time frame….{some scientists have} been using the term water bankruptcy to capture it: a state in which a human-water system has spent beyond its hydrological means for so long that it can no longer satisfy the claims upon it without inflicting unacceptable or irreversible damage to nature….Crisis has a psychological function that has been exhausted….Surface water is the checking account….Groundwater is the savings account….Water expenditure exceeds the renewable water budget for a long time….The rights of water creditors can no longer be fulfilled….The business model requires urgent transformation….The system will not bounce back…..Climate change does not, by itself, "cause" water bankruptcy, but it interacts with and amplifies it. In other words, water bankruptcy is the outcome of past unsustainable choices and climate change is a risk multiplier that catalyzes water bankruptcy." -excerpts from the study

"Water bankruptcy is the persistent post-crisis condition or the state of failure in a human-water system in which: 1. Long-term average human withdrawals from surface and groundwater—the checking and savings accounts of the system—exceed the system's renewable freshwater inflows and the safe limits of depletion of strategic water reserves and pressure on water-dependent ecosystems; and. 2. The resulting depletion and degradation of water-related natural capital cause partially irreversible damages on societally relevant time scales, such that historical levels of water supply and ecosystem function cannot be restored without disproportionate social, economic, or environmental costs." -the definition of water bankruptcy

Related to this, the UN released a 72-page report on Global Water Bankruptcy on Tuesday. As about 75% of the world lives in "water insecure" areas, surface water is generally shrinking, wetlands have been dried out, and often developed on, groundwater is being depleted, earth has lost 30% of its glacier mass in the last 55 years, breadbasket regions are undergoing water stress & soil erosion, and governments of all shapes and sizes are not stepping up to meet the challenge, we are heading for difficult times. For many, those times are already here.

"Water bankruptcy is not only about the 'insolvency' of the system but also about its 'irreversibility'....water-related risks are now systemic rather than marginal….In many basins and aquifers, long-term overuse and degradation mean that past hydrological and ecological baselines cannot realistically be restored….the truly usable fraction of available water is shrinking, even where total volumes may appear stable…..Around 6.1 billion people live in areas that are water-insecure or critically water-insecure….In many regions, what used to be an occasional drought has morphed into a near-permanent deficit: a humanmade condition in which water shortages persist even in years with "normal" rainfall, because demands and expectations have outgrown the hydrological carrying capacity, i.e., what the system can sustainably provide…" -selections from the report

"The degrading natural capital is further intensifying environmental and climatic changes through reinforcing feedback loops….a hallmark of water bankruptcy: what appears on the surface as a crisis is, in fact, a new baseline….Groundwater now supplies about 50% of domestic water use and over 40% of irrigation water worldwide….Over 50% of global agricultural land is already moderately or severely degraded, undermining soil moisture retention and accelerating the transition of drylands toward desertification….Globally, more than 6.3 million square kilometers, nearly 5% of the global land area, including 231,000 square kilometers of urban and densely populated areas housing nearly 2 billion people, almost 25% of the global population, are experiencing significant subsidence rates linked to excessive groundwater extraction….drought and water scarcity are now implicated in a growing share of internal displacement events and are an important driver of projected internal water and climate-related migrations….Even as evidence of overshoot and damage accumulates, institutions and decision makers remain organized around the assumption that the old normal will return…." -more selections from the UN report

A landslide killed 2+ in northern New Zealand, with a few others missing. Chile declared a state of emergency in two of its regions, due to wildfires affecting about 200 sq km of land (twice the size of Paris), which have killed 20+ people, displaced tens of thousands, and eliminated several villages. Researchers say that the integrity of Balkan Rivers has declined in the last 13 years, especially in Bosnia ("the proportion of intact rivers decreased by 23%") and Albania (28% decrease). Scientists are warning about future large seaweed blooms in the ocean, accelerated by a combination of fertilizer runoff and oceanic warming.

A calculation by Nature looked into the large cuts to science & research resulting from the first year of Donald Trump's second presidency. NASA, cancer research, infrastructure, public health, pandemic research & prevention, climate funding, NIH, EPA, FDA, and more. U.S. Government funding for all things unrelated to defense (as understood by Nature editors, anyway) has dropped to 33-year lows.

The EU's Copernicus Programme released its 39-page 2025 Global Climate Highlights two weeks ago. In it, they confirm that 2025 was the third warmest year on record, and they expect to hit 1.5 °C warming (over a 20-year average) by 2030. When the Paris Agreement was made in 2016, professionals from Copernicus believed earth would hit 1.5 °C warming by early 2045.

"2025 had a global average temperature of 14.97 °C, 0.59 °C above the 1991‑2020 average….Annual air temperatures over land reached record highs over the western United States, eastern Greenland, northern Europe, western Russia, central Asia, eastern China, and Antarctica. The annual air temperature averaged over all global land areas was the second warmest on record, at 0.86°C above average….In the Arctic, the monthly sea ice extent began reaching record lows for the time of year in December 2024 and remained at record‑low levels through the first three months of 2025. The annual maximum in March was the lowest in the 47‑year satellite record…" -excerpts from the report

A sandstorm in Libya killed one, injuring 15+ others. U.S. Republicans are pushing to remove protections for Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, near the Canada border; the idea is to open up mining nearby for various metals. Flooding in Java killed at least five people.

New Caledonia hit a new all-time hottest night at 27.2 °C (81 °F). The U.S. Virgin Islands saw its hottest January day. Arctic sea ice hit a new low again for this time of the year. Other tropical locations saw new January records drop.

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In Dhaka (metro pop: 37M; expected by some to be the most populous metro area by 2050), thousands of people are organizing to clean up the city, where, on average, 3+ people die from pollution-related causes every hour—27,000+ per year. However, efforts to handle the city's vast waste (more than 50% of daily trash is not collected) have also exposed volunteers to mosquitoes carrying dengue & chikungunya.

Gold hit a new high at $4,966 per troy ounce; silver and platinum prices spiked to new records as well. India's rupee hit a record low. A number of huge tech companies, many involved deeply with AI, are planning IPOs for 2026 at valuations above $100B, perhaps to cash in before the tech/AI bubble pops. Some noteworthy investors say the economy has hit a dilemma: either let a debt crisis collapse the economy, or continue printing money and suffering inflation? To most policymakers, the choice is obvious: the show must go on.

Oxfam released a 69-page report on global poverty & inequality last week, indicating that the world has reached a record number of (known) billionaires: over 3,000. Billionaire wealth in 2025 also grew at a near-record pace.

"The super-rich have built their political power in three main ways: by buying politics, investing in legitimizing elite power, and directly accessing institutions….Billionaires and the super-rich increasingly dominate media and AI….Some super-rich individuals are cashing in on global crises such as unprecedented trade tensions, shrinking freedoms, wars and climate change….Since 2021, food prices have risen more sharply than the price of other goods and services, far outpacing wage growth….EVery day, people across the world spend 11.8 billion hours (over one million years combined) consuming content on social media platforms founded by billionaires…" -selections

Google has now begun scanning/feeding your Gmail inbox for those in a beta test for its AI model, Gemini—in theory, to summarize your emails…including this newsletter, if you receive the Substack version every week. Google claims the data won't be used to train their AI models……but I haven't read the terms & conditions. Meanwhile, our attention spans have been hacked and fragmented by various apps & technologies.

Wildfires in Victoria, Australia have pushed insurance premiums to record highs. A map visualizer shows a number of pollution-affected watersheds, flood zones, landfill locations, and more. However, the NGO behind the program has apparently exceeded its expectations for website visitors, and their monthly maps have been exhausted, and are not available at the moment.

One researcher of plastics claims that half of all global plastic was produced since 2007, in the last 18 or 19 years. Some 15 billion kilograms (33B pounds) of plastic find their way into the ocean every year. From there, it's a roundabout journey before becoming microplastics, and finding their way back up the food chain—into our bodies.

The U.S. left the WHO, one year after Trump announced they would—but without paying a reported $260M USD debt they owe the organization. Scientists found that 20+ years of air pollution increases the chance of various muscle diseases.

Five cases of the Nipah virus—CFR: 40-75%—have been confirmed in India, and about 100 people quarantined around Kolkata (metro pop: 21M). Nipah is a zoonotic virus, generally transmitted through pigs or bats; there is no vaccine and no cure. It is human-to-human transmissible once animals spread it to humans. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, severe headaches, respiratory problems, dizziness, and encephalitis, among other maladies. Cases are usually found in southern Asia. The incubation period ranges from 4-21 days, making contact tracing difficult.

Scientists say you can catch COVID (again) while suffering from Long COVID, since immunity fades over time and new variants may be able to bypass whatever immunity you have. Other scientists say PTSD may be linked to higher likelihoods of Long COVID.

A 14-page report from the British government claims "Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten UK national security and prosperity." The report identifies several stress zones that could lead to Collapse: "crop failures, intensified natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks….geopolitical instability, economic insecurity, conflict, migration and increased inter-state competition for resources….All countries are exposed to the risks of ecosystem collapse within and beyond their borders."

"There is a high degree of uncertainty around the timing and pathways of ecosystem collapse….The drivers of ecosystem degradation are approaching the known thresholds for collapse - for example, the Amazon is likely to collapse at 20-25% deforestation when combined with temperature rises and forest fires; it is currently at 17%. 9-13 But the thresholds for collapse could be higher or lower than the science has been able to identify: we could be closer to, or further away from, the thresholds than we think; and there could be additional thresholds that we do not know about yet. There is a realistic possibility that trends to date mean we have unknowingly crossed thresholds already and irreversible collapse of some ecosystems is inevitable (for example coral reefs), though we may not see the impacts for several years….Serious and Organised Crime will look to exploit and gain control over scarce resources…..Non-state actors including terrorist groups will have more opportunities resulting from political instability….A one percentage increase in food insecurity in a population compels 1.9 percent more people to migrate….Political polarisation and instability will grow in food and water insecure areas and as populations become more vulnerable to natural disasters. Disinformation will increase. Conflict and military escalation will become more likely, both within and between states, as groups compete for arable land and food and water resources. Existing conflicts will be exacerbated….The UK is unable to be food self-sufficient at present, based on current diets and prices…..Collapse of production in two or more breadbasket regions would almost certainly significantly drive up global food prices, potentially limiting the UK's ability to import food, impacting household food security and restricting diets…." -cheerful selections from the report

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A train crash in Spain left 42+ dead, and 150+ injured on Sunday. Two days later, another train crash killed one person, wounding dozens more. Then another train crashed into a crane on the next day, though none died here.

Uganda's President won a rigged election and conducted raids on some political opponents, whom he has labeled as terrorists. The main opposition candidate escaped before police raided his home, and is currently in hiding. Meanwhile, Myanmar ran the second phase of their parliamentary elections; the final round will be held on 25 January.

Guatemala's President declared a "state of siege" for 30 days, following the hostage-taking of several prison guards at the hands of enraged inmates across three prisons. A series of associated attacks on Guatemalan police officers left 9+ dead and more wounded. All police officers, and some army soldiers, have been activated to perform patrols.

M23 fighters have allegedly withdrawn from the DRC city Uvira (pop: 800,000?), allowing Congolese army forces, as well as local militias, to recapture the territory. It is estimated that the M23 fighters have killed about 1,500 people since December. They remain encamped about 30km away, and civilians in the area remain on edge. There are also complex ethnic dimensions to the retreat, and to local militias and reprisals.

A jailbreak in a Syrian prison resulted in the escape of 120 prisoners, many with alleged ties to ISIS; 81+ were recaptured. Syrian government forces made solid gains in the northeast before their President declared a 4-day ceasefire on Tuesday. 130,000+ Syrians were displaced by the recent fighting. Eight Palestinians were slain in Gaza on Wednesday, a mix of artillery and shots from soldiers & tanks. A number of mostly authoritarian states are joining the "Board of Peace", Trump's coalition for peace & monitoring in "postwar" Gaza. Israeli settlers seized about 170 acres in the West Bank for another settlement.

Iran's Ayatollah said thousands have been killed in the latest wave of protests; estimates range from 3,000+ to more than 36,000, almost all protestors. The internet is still down across the country, and observers expect a gradual re-opening for selected apps, people, and purposes. A full reconnection may never happen. Meanwhile, a U.S. aircraft carrier is heading to the Middle East...

Russian strikes continue to blast Ukraine's infrastructure, also killing 4 (and wounding 33) on Monday & Tuesday. The remaining infrastructure in Ukraine-held Donetsk oblast has been obliterated by Russian attacks. Strikes continued into Saturday, mostly in Kyiv & Kharkiv, while negotiators met for peace talks in the UAE. Ukraine is shifting their drone production away from China's Mavic drones to their own Ukraine-made alternatives. Chernobyl lost all power on Tuesday, though officials say there is no danger at the moment. Although Chernobyl's reactors have not operated since 2000, spent fuel must be continually cooled to prevent large radiation releases.

Gang warfare surges in South Africa, and the government has admitted its forces are not capable of eradicating the threat. Last winter, an average of 60+ people were killed each day. That's even more than Haiti, where an average of about 25 people were killed by gangs each day in 2025; the UN is planning on sending more forces by the summer. A bombing in Yemen killed five Saudi-allied soldiers.

U.S. ICE agents in Minneapolis shot dead a second protestor, reportedly armed with a handgun; protests followed, as well as the activation of Minnesota's National Guard. President Trump is allegedly drawing up plans to mount a regime change in Cuba before the year is through. U.S forces seized a seventh oil tanker off Venezuela's coast. The U.S released its 34-page 2026 National Defense Strategy, the first such document since 2022; this one emphasizes prioritizing the Western hemisphere, "burden-sharing" more with allies, and turbocharging technological innovations. Trump also threatened 100% tariffs on Canada if Canada pushes forward with a proposed trade deal with China.

Trump repeated his intention to acquire Greenland, despite fears that a Greenland seizure might tank the global economy—and shatter NATO. Some say that the credibility is already lost. Canada's PM said we have moved irreversibly into "a system of intensifying great power rivalry where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion." The U.S. appeared to have made a deal that will allow more defenses and U.S. infrastructure on Greenland, without taking the island. But will it last?

——————————

Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:

-Domestic politics in the U.S. may trigger a global Collapse—if this self-post from last week comes to pass. With the comments, it's a lot of text to take in.

-Complacency bias is real, and we might not recognize Collapse when it comes. This weekly observation from Washington DC reflects on crime, decades of history of DC, break-ins, rats, and more.

-You might be missing something on your prep list, if you live in part of the U.S. that's bracing for a strong winter storm, bringing serious snow & ice from Oklahoma through Maine from Saturday to Monday. This thread from r/preppers collects practical advice for preparing for a winter storm.

Got any feedback, questions, comments, upvotes, winter storm wisdom, focus exercises, book recommendations, etc.? Last Week in Collapse is also posted on Substack; if you don't want to check r/collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to an email inbox every weekend. As always, thank you for your support. What did I miss this week?

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The agency says the permits it issued to the conservation organization no longer align with its 'production-oriented' goals for grazing on public lands

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During my first months in prison I wrote a book.

It came out of my experience in four Crown Court trials and what they taught me about the state of the law, the criminalisation of truth, and the depth of denial in modern Britain.

While I was inside, the journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges came to visit me. He later wrote the foreword.

The book is called Suicide and it's being released today.

A group of volunteers and my friend Robin Boardman have spent over a year self-publishing it for me while I was locked up. Any money it makes goes back into the work of telling the truth and resisting a system that punishes those who do.

So if you're able to, please grab a copy and help fund the movement. http://rev21.earth/product/suicide

If you can't afford it right now, drop me a email at roger@rev21.earth for the digital version.

Thanks.

— Roger

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