Day of the Field, 53rd of Spring, 525 M.E. (Helios): I walked an 8.3-mile Van Buren this afternoon in 80°, sunny weather. On sunny days, people generally report feeling optimistic and positive about their lives more frequently than when asked the same question on rainy or gloomy days. 

Not to deliberately buck that trend with sad news, but scientists are warning the AMOC, a major Atlantic current that helps regulate climate, may be closer to failure than expected. If it goes, it'll mean harsher weather, sea-level rise, food stress, and wider instability. You're not hearing more about it because governments and the wealthy keep minimizing long-term risks to protect short term interests.

As The Guardian explains it, the poor pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the very rich pay lawyers, and the ultra-rich pay politicians. The more money billionaires accumulate, the greater their control of the political system, which means they pay less tax, which means they accumulate more, which means their control intensifies. They reshape the world to suit their demands. 

One of the symptoms of the pathology known as “billionaire brain” is an inability to see beyond their own short-term gain. They would sack the planet for a few more dollars on the pointless mountain of wealth they've accumulated. 

The impending collapse of the AMOC is arguably the biggest news of the year, perhaps of the century. But because billionaires own most of the media, most people never heard it. We might find ourselves suffering a civilization-ending catastrophe before we even learn that such a thing was possible.