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Higgenbotham wrote: Fri Jan 02, 2026 4:33 pm

Chemical production outpacing world’s ability to understand the risk, study warns
Feb 16, 2022

With global chemical production increasing 50-fold since 1950 — and projected to triple again by 2050 compared to 2010 — its aggressive pace may outstrip society’s ability to adequately assess and monitor the risk, pushing the planet to the brink, a new study suggests.

There are an estimated 350,000 chemicals or mixtures on the global market, with nearly 70,000 registered in the past decade, and another 30,000 that have only been registered in emerging economies where chemical production has jumped beyond adequate disposal capacity, warns a team of 14 international researchers in the study published by the American Chemical Society.

The emergence of more and more new chemicals that aren’t fully understood puts humanity out of a “safe operating space,” the authors say.

“Chemical pollution has the potential to cause severe ecosystem and human health problems at different scales, (but also to alter vital Earth system processes on which human life depends),” begins the study’s introduction in the scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Plastic production alone increased 79% between 2000 and 2015, the team found.

The range of manufactured chemicals, from plastics to pesticides, industrial chemicals, antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, has pushed Earth beyond one of what scientists interpret as nine planetary boundaries that act as markers for the Earth’s health. These boundaries include greenhouse gas emissions, the ozone layer, forests, freshwater and biodiversity. However, chemical pollution may have breached the boundary referred to as “novel entities,” or things made by humans and introduced into the environment.

The new study, in part, reviews the evolution of the scientific discussion related to the planetary boundary for novel entities. The scientists acknowledged the data was sparse in many areas, but said the weight of evidence indicated a breach of the planetary boundary.

https://esemag.com/hazardous-materials/ ... boundaries

Novel entities: Technological developments introduce novel synthetic chemicals into the environment, mobilize materials in wholly new ways, modify the genetics of living organisms, and otherwise intervene in evolutionary processes and change the functioning of the Earth system. The amount of synthetic substances released into the environment without adequate safety testing places novel entities in the high-risk zone.

Is a decline in societal standards and lack of accountability characteristic of a society on the cusp of a new dark age?

AI Overview

Yes, a decline in societal standards, particularly regarding ethical behavior, and a widespread lack of accountability are frequently identified as hallmarks of a society on the verge of significant, if not "dark," transformation. Historically and in contemporary analysis, these trends are often linked to institutional decay, the breakdown of social cohesion, and a crisis of leadership.

Key Indicators of Societal Decline & "Dark Age" Conditions

Based on historical precedents (like the fall of Rome) and current analysis, the following characteristics suggest a society at risk:

Accountability Crisis: A 2025 study highlighted an epidemic-level crisis of accountability, where 82% of people find it difficult to hold others responsible, often mirroring a lack of accountability among leadership.

Erosion of Standards: A rise in "decadence," described as cultural exhaustion and institutional decay despite high material prosperity, is a common indicator.

Knowledge & Truth Undermined: A "Digital Dark Age" is cited as a threat due to the degradation of information quality, attacks on science/journalism, and the replacement of knowledge with performative outrage.

Institutional Decay: When institutions (like government, academia, and libraries) fail to produce reliable knowledge or services, societal bonds rupture.

Loss of Trust & Social Bonds: A, often perceived, decline in morality and kindness can weaken the trust required for a functional society.

Contextual Nuances

The "Illusion" of Decline: While many believe moral decline is happening (54% of Americans in a recent poll), studies suggest this feeling may be a persistent, psychological illusion. People tend to focus on negative information in the present while forgetting the negative aspects of the past.

Dark Ages Are Not Always Total Collapse: Historically, "Dark Ages" are characterized by a loss of centralization (like in Rome) rather than total human eradication. They often involve a shift to smaller, more localized, and sometimes more egalitarian communities.

Opportunity for Renewal: Some research suggests that the collapse of a complex, top-heavy society can actually lead to a better quality of life for the majority of people, as systems become more localized and sustainable.

Conclusion

While a decline in standards and accountability is a strong indicator of a societal "rocky patch," it is not a guaranteed, one-way ticket to a "new dark age." It is, however, a critical warning sign that institutions and cultural norms are failing to adapt to new challenges.

Higgenbotham wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 12:17 pm These are my top 3 general characteristics of a civilization that is on the cusp of entering a dark age/has just entered a dark age (in other words, where I think we are right now):

1. Decline in societal standards
2. Functional failure of government
3. Lack of accountability

Pediatric Nephrologist
Updated Dec 20

Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?


I quit after a write-up.

Their concern wasn’t that I was impolite or harsh to junior co-workers. The concern was that these juniors feared that I was about to do so. I was a 63-year-old male veteran (retired Colonel). The co-workers are 20–30 year-old women. I give direct answers, where others sometimes say, “it seems…” or “I feel….” While I’m careful to adhere to expectations for tone of voice, vulgarity (etc), my face will (wordlessly) tell you when I think you’re right or wrong. The differences that caused tension with the younger staff always concerned attention to the patient’s needs. When I trained, my own inconvenience matters less than that of the patients. That seems to be a less common point of view, lately. Lest you assume I’m socially inept, I’ll mention that this organization (like two prior) named me “Teacher of the Year”.

I realized that it’s an issue of culture. I’m not going to get younger, nor distance myself from the meritocracy in which I thrived. They’re not going to become less socially sensitive. In other words, they’re not going to tolerate the differences connected with being male, 63, or coming from the military. It was my time to go.

Because I practice a medical specialty that’s in short supply, my departure left them with one. She didn’t want to work solo so she left, leaving them with none. They now pay me twice my prior income, to remain ‘on call’ and answer questions from other doctors over the phone. I have no further contact with the 20–30 year-olds, and it has cost the organization about $1M over the last 3 years. That’s a ‘per diem’ salary, not to include the cost of losing their transplant program and sharply cutting back a dialysis service. Folks say it’s expensive for an organization to ignore cultural differences. I can tell you exactly how expensive.

Higgenbotham wrote: Sat Feb 28, 2026 5:26 am The US and Israel have attacked Iran, just as a Puetz crash window is opening up early next week.

aeden wrote: Sun Jul 28, 2019 6:07 am As we know H we cover it all, well we try, and really this is simply a gut check to what others could care less about or basically cannot.
Several years back, a cycle watcher named Steve Puetz attempted to see if eclipses and market crashes were somehow related.
He studied eight of the greatest crashes in financial history, from the Holland Tulip Mania of 1637 to the Nikkei of 1990. He found that market crashes tend to occur near full moons, and that the greatest number of crashes start after the first full moon after a solar eclipse, when that full moon is also a lunar eclipse. Puetz found that all eight crashes occurred six days before to three days after a full moon that occurred within six weeks of a solar eclipse. The odds of that being a coincidence, Puetz calculated, are less than 1 in 127,000. Puetz was not saying that so-called "Puetz windows" always lead to crashes, but that if a crash is going to occur, a Puetz window would be the likely time frame in which it would happen.

The brunt of the crash happens after the lunar eclipse passes. The coming lunar eclipse is March 3.

aeden wrote: Sun Jul 28, 2019 6:07 am As we know H we cover it all, well we try, and really this is simply a gut check to what others could care less about or basically cannot.
Several years back, a cycle watcher named Steve Puetz attempted to see if eclipses and market crashes were somehow related.
He studied eight of the greatest crashes in financial history, from the Holland Tulip Mania of 1637 to the Nikkei of 1990. He found that market crashes tend to occur near full moons, and that the greatest number of crashes start after the first full moon after a solar eclipse, when that full moon is also a lunar eclipse. Puetz found that all eight crashes occurred six days before to three days after a full moon that occurred within six weeks of a solar eclipse. The odds of that being a coincidence, Puetz calculated, are less than 1 in 127,000. Puetz was not saying that so-called "Puetz windows" always lead to crashes, but that if a crash is going to occur, a Puetz window would be the likely time frame in which it would happen.