Breaking Down: Collapse Daily Episode 139 - $1B disasters, and the State of the Global Climate Report
Mar 25, 2026
Coverage of a new $1 billion climate-driven disaster and how such events are tracked as collapse indicators. Detailed look at Hawaii flooding, evacuations, dam risks, and corporate neglect. Discussion of Earth’s growing energy imbalance, the oceans buffering heat, and WMO findings on record warmth and red-flag climate indicators.
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Hawaii Floods Reveal Corporate Neglect Of Dam Safety
- Kory recounts Hawaii's flooding where saturated soils and heavy rains led to evacuations, damaged homes, and a threatened 120-year-old dam.
- Dole neglected Wahiawa Dam for decades, received minor fines, then offered to donate it while shifting repair costs to taxpayers.
Dam Failure As A Symbol Of Catabolic Collapse
- Kory frames the dam story as emblematic of catabolic collapse: decaying infrastructure, corporate profit motives, and deferred public costs.
- He highlights decades of ignored warnings, tiny fines, and state-funded fixes as a pattern of systemic degradation.
Oceans Buffer A Massive Global Energy Imbalance
- Kory explains Earth's energy imbalance: incoming solar energy now exceeds outgoing energy, largely due to greenhouse gases, and oceans have buffered much of the heat.
- He quantifies the scale as roughly the equivalent of 12 Hiroshima bombs of heat added every second, absorbed mainly by warming oceans.