Our Uncertain Future Archives

No one goes to war over a solar panel

Fossil fuels aren’t a shield against chaos. They are a conduit for it. Iran’s daily strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure didn’t just set oil terminals ablaze. They have also torched one of the most persistent myths in modern energy politics: that oil and gas are the irreplaceable foundation of “energy security.” It’s a myth

What a ‘super El Niño’ could mean for your weather forecast in 2026

The ever-shifting, interconnected system of global air and ocean currents dictates the weather we experience daily. This year, however, scientists are warning that a particularly potent version of one of Earth's most infamous climate phenomena, El Niño, could dramatically alter these patterns. Climate scientist Daniel Swain recently posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating: "Whew. All

Point of no return’ for Earth is getting closer as our ‘hothouse planet’ boils

A team of scientists has warned we could be reaching a number of tipping points that might trigger runaway heating and a devastating and 'disruptive' future for humanity Earth is teetering on the brink of a climate “point of no return” and scientists reckon we may be far closer than anyone thought. If global

Why is the UK so rainy this year and how is the climate crisis making matters worse?

It has rained in parts of the country every day of the year so far and downpours are expected to continue this week In a “miserable and relentlessly wet” start to the year, rain has fallen somewhere in the UK every single day for weeks on end. With more than 100 flood warnings in

I’m a prepping expert – this is how I’m getting ready for water shortages

From the age of 16, Tom Blakey was in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment. After 25 years of regular service, he spent another eight years as a reservist. The regiment’s motto, Utrinque Paratus – Ready for Anything – remains front of mind in his daily life, even though he’s now 54 and no longer

The UK government didn’t want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I’m not surprised

It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication I know it’s almost impossible to turn your eyes away from the Trump show, but that’s the point. His antics, ever-grosser and more preposterous, are designed to keep him in our minds,

What happens when the taps run dry? England is about to find out

You get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the

Fatal delusions and the curse of ‘maximum power’

‘When spectacular success spells calamitous failure’ What is real? One of humanity’s more curious traits is an unlimited capacity for self-delusion. And if you don’t think you are delusional, you are doubly deluded. There are numerous causes of this enigma, many springing from basic human nature. Perhaps the most obvious is that human groups

Flooded and forgotten: the UK’s waters are rising and we’re being kept in the dark

Rescue operations in Wales, submerged railway lines in Cornwall – these events are ever more common. So why have we utterly failed to prepare? As autumn blurs into winter, the news is once again filling up with a familiar story: overflowing rivers, inundated streets and overwhelmed infrastructure. Since Friday, England, Wales and Ireland have

Our hunter-gatherer future: Climate change, agriculture and uncivilization

Highlights The stable climate of the Holocene made agriculture and civilization possible. The unstable Pleistocene climate made it impossible before then. Human societies after agriculture were characterized by overshoot and collapse. Climate change frequently drove these collapses. Business-as-usual estimates indicate that the climate will warm by 3°C-4 °C by 2100 and by as much as

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