[Intro]
Yesterday…
(Tomorrow…)
Today…
(Have you ever looked this way?)
Look ahead!
(Look behind!)
Who’s observing?
(Who’s in mind?)
[Verse 1]
I saw tomorrow in a dream last night
It looked like yesterday in a different light
The future came knocking, the past walked in
And the present couldn’t tell where to begin
[Refrain]
The future…
(Is sure…)
Easy to see
(Retrospectively)
Once memory,
(Then what… really?)
[Instrumental: Whistle Solo]
The past…
(Might last…)
Indefinitely,
(But really…)
If there’s no one to see?
[Instrumental: Whistle Solo]
[Verse 2]
The clock keeps ticking, the seconds fly
But what is a moment as it passes by?
A fraction of now that we try to hold
Turns into a story that we’ve often retold
[Refrain]
The future…
(Is sure…)
Easy to see
(Retrospectively)
Once memory,
(Then what… really?)
[Instrumental: Whistle Solo]
The past…
(Might last…)
Indefinitely,
(But really…)
If there’s no one to see?
[Instrumental: Whistle Solo]
[Bridge]
[Instrumental: Guitar Solo]
Is the past still there?
(When nobody knows?)
Does tomorrow exist?
(Before it unfolds?)
Is the present a point?
(That we cannot retain?)
Or a river of change
(That keeps flowing again?)
The observer observes
(But the observer’s involved)
The question keeps turning
(And remains unresolved)
[Instrumental]
(Tick-tock…)
(Who’s watching the clock?)
(Flashback…)
(What do you know?)
(Fast forward…)
(Where will it go?)
(Rewind!)
(What did we find?)
[Breakdown]
The future!
(Will endure!)
The present!
(Experienced!)
The past!
(Passed!)
[Refrain]
The future…
(Is sure…)
Easy to see
(Retrospectively)
Once memory,
(Then what… really?)
The past…
(Might last…)
Indefinitely,
(But really…)
If there’s no one to see?
[Final Refrain]
The future…
(Is sure…)
Easy to see
(Retrospectively)
We knew it all along!
(Or so we believe!)
[Outro]
The past…
(Might last…)
Indefinitely,
(But really…)
What remains of history
(When there’s no one to see?)
[Style: Psychedelic Science-Rock / Progressive Surf-Rock / Full Blown]
[Intro]
Flap…
(Flap, flap)
A little change…
(And what’s the same?)
One little flutter
(One tiny shove)
Can shake the system
(Destroy our love)
[Verse 1]
A whisper in the atmosphere
A ripple traveling far from here
A little change, a distant start
A million pathways come apart
The pieces move, the patterns bend
And where it starts is not the end
[Pre-Chorus]
Millions…
(Billions…)
Trillions in play
Who knows where the ripples go today?
[Refrain]
How is the butterfly effect…
(… affecting you?)
Is there chaos there?
(… chaos in the air)
… chaos everywhere?
A small perturbation
(… can propagate)
As the fleeting teleconnection
(Amplifies at an exponential rate)
[Verse 2]
A cloud shifts over a warming sea
A current changes what winds will be
The ice retreats, the oceans rise
And feedback wakes before our eyes
One system shifts, the next one bends
And round and round the coupling sends
[Pre-Chorus]
Millions…
(Billions…)
Trillions connect
A network with effects we can’t detect?
[Refrain]
How is the butterfly effect…
(… affecting you?)
Is there chaos there?
(… chaos in the air)
… chaos everywhere?
A small perturbation
(… can propagate)
As the fleeting teleconnection
(Amplifies at an exponential rate)
[Bridge]
We count the pieces
(One by one)
But the connections
(Have only begun)
A million pathways
(A billion more)
Trillions of interactions
(We opened the door)
Feedback coupling
(Coming alive)
One change spreads
(Through the whole hive)
[Instrumental]
[Breakdown]
(Flap… flap…)
(Ripple… ripple…)
(Couple… amplify…)
Do you know…
(Where will it go?)
Millions!
(Billions!)
Trillions!
(And counting!)
… still mounting…
(And counting!)
… still mounting…
(And counting!)
[Final Refrain]
How is the butterfly effect…
(… affecting you?)
Is there chaos there?
(… chaos in the air)
… chaos everywhere?
A small perturbation
(… can propagate)
As the fleeting teleconnection
(Amplifies at an exponential rate)
[Outro]
How is the butterfly effect…
(… affecting you?)
Can we see what’s coming?
(We can see some clues)
Feedback coupling
(Connecting the chain)
One small perturbation
(And we changed the game)
Flap…
(Flap, flap)
A little change…
(Travels far)
Millions…
(Billions…)
Trillions of ways…
… still mounting…
(And counting!)
… more by the day
The network shifts
(The feedbacks grow)
Where it ends…
(We don’t yet know)
The butterfly effect…
(It’s affecting you.)
[Fade out]
The butterfly effect…
(It’s affecting you.)
… and you… and you, too
[Silence]
[End]
About the Song
Feedback Coupling
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: A small perturbation can propagate across the entire network.
MILLIONS → BILLIONS → TRILLIONS
POSSIBLE FEEDBACK INTERACTIONS
FEEDBACK COUPLING IS EMERGING
We cannot yet predict how these interactions will propagate and amplify as they unfold.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
A small perturbation can propagate across the entire network.
About the Song
Climate feedbacks are processes in which an initial change in Earth’s climate system triggers additional changes that amplify or dampen the original change. Positive feedbacks amplify the initial warming caused by greenhouse-gas emissions, accelerating climate change beyond what the initial forcing alone would produce.
As Earth’s climate system warms and destabilizes, millions of emerging feedback interactions are becoming active across the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, land, and living systems. Many of these interactions are now being observed for the first time in human history. As individual feedbacks activate, strengthen, and interact with one another, they create new pathways for amplifying climate change and accelerating Earth-system change. There could well be billions of feedbacks. Now they are coupling… combining… amplifying each other… resulting in trillions of combinations.
MILLIONS → BILLIONS → TRILLIONS
FEEDBACK INTERACTIONS
FEEDBACK COUPLING IS EMERGING
We cannot yet predict how these interactions will propagate and amplify as they unfold. As it is unfolding in real time, just look out your window.
Feedback loops amplify climate change and can push interconnected Earth systems past critical tipping points. As tipping points are crossed, they can trigger additional feedback loops and destabilize other climate systems. This cascading “Domino Effect” compresses timescales, accelerates change, and increases the risk of rapid, nonlinear climate transformations.
[Intro]
Round and round…
(Where are we going?)
Round and round…
(What are we showing?)
Tick-tock…
(Watch the clock)
Tick…
(Tock…)
Wait a minute!
(Wait!)
… weight, weight, weight
[Verse 1]
Feedback doesn’t have a beginning
(No, no beginning)
Doesn’t have an end
(Going round again)
A little change
(And another one follows)
Today sets the stage
(For tomorrow’s sorrows)
From the top of the world
(To the bottom of the sea)
It’s all connected
(To you and me)
[Refrain]
Welcome to the present…
At present,
(… the future may be running a little late.)
At any rate…
(We represent:)
The insanity
(Of humanity)
Throwin’ our weight around
(Wait!)
Slowin’ us (slowin’ us)
Down
(From spinnin’ round)
Down
(From spinnin’ round)
[Verse 2]
We’re moving the mass
(From here to there)
Changing the balance
(Everywhere)
Moment of inertia
(What’s that mean?)
How mass is arranged
(Changin’ the spin of our machine)
[Refrain]
Welcome to the present…
At present,
(… the future may be running a little late.)
At any rate…
(We represent:)
The insanity
(Of humanity)
Throwin’ our weight around
(Wait!)
Slowin’ us (slowin’ us)
Down
(From spinnin’ round)
Down
(From spinnin’ round)
[Bridge]
Hold on…
(What’s that you say?)
We’re changing the length
(Of the day?)
Round and round!
(Round and round!)
Shift that mass!
(Watch it pass!)
Land to sea!
(You and me!)
Spin it slow!
(Like we don’t know!)
Weight!
(Wait!)
What’s that rate?
(At any rate!)
… no time to hesitate…
[Breakdown]
(WAIT!)
Who’s got the weight?
(We got the weight!)
Who’s running late?
(The future’s fate?)
Who’s spinning round?
(We’re slowing down!)
Wait!
(Wait!)
At any rate!
(Slight change of date!)
We’re changing the planet!
(Welcome to the present!)
We’re changing the clock!
(Welcome to the present!)
We’re changing the system!
(Welcome to the present!)
And the future…
(May be running a little late!)
[Final Refrain]
Welcome to the present…
At present,
(… the future may be running a little late.)
At any rate…
(We represent:)
The insanity
(Of humanity)
Throwin’ our weight around
(Wait!)
Slowin’ us (slowin’ us)
Down
(From spinnin’ round)
Down
(From spinnin’ round)
[Outro]
Welcome to the present…
(Where tomorrow’s delayed)
Welcome to the present…
(Where the clock’s being played)
The Earth keeps turning
(We’re learning too late?)
The future is coming…
(But it’s running a little late!)
Round and round…
(Still going round)
Down…
(From spinnin’ round)
Wait…
(Weight!)
At any rate…
(The future may be running late)
Welcome…
(Welcome…)
To the present.
The planet’s still spinning.
Just…
(A little slower.)
And the future?
(Please allow extra time.)
About the Song
Feedback coupling doesn’t really have a beginning—or an end. But some of its largest planetary impacts can be traced all the way down to Middle Earth, where our collective girth is literally helping change the length of the day. Humanity is redistributing mass across the planet and, in doing so, altering Earth’s moment of inertia and subtly influencing its rotation.
The slowing of Earth’s rotation is not an isolated curiosity. It is a measurable consequence of the same climate-driven processes reshaping the planet. Melting ice sheets and glaciers redistribute enormous amounts of mass, shifting water from land into the oceans and changing how that mass is distributed relative to Earth’s rotational axis. Although sea levels may rise by only millimeters in a year, the cumulative redistribution of water involves staggering quantities of mass, with consequences that extend throughout the interconnected ocean-atmosphere system.
Viewed in this broader context, changes in Earth’s rotation provide another physical indicator of planetary-scale transformation. The significance isn’t simply that a day can become slightly longer. It’s that climate change can influence processes extending far beyond surface temperatures, connecting melting ice, rising seas, shifting mass, and Earth’s rotational dynamics.
Welcome to the present. The future may be running a little late.
About the Song
The 1.5°C threshold identified in the Paris Agreement—and the roughly 2°C level generally regarded as an even more dangerous boundary—is not important because the difference between 1.4°C and 1.5°C is somehow magical. These numbers matter because increasing global temperatures raise the probability of triggering major climate tipping points.
And once tipping points begin to activate, the question of whether warming ultimately reaches 2°C, 3°C, or even 4–7°C becomes much less relevant for two fundamental reasons:
First, tipping points can initiate self-reinforcing feedbacks that continue driving change even after the original forcing changes.
Second, the impacts do not necessarily increase gradually with temperature. They can accelerate, compound, and cascade as interconnected systems begin to destabilize.
In other words, 1.5°C is not a destination. It is not merely a warning sign or an alarm. It is a tripwire.
[Intro]
Feedback loop and tipping-point network: it starts at the top of the world… and works its way down to Middle Earth, where our girth is actually slowing the planet’s rotation. Welcome to the present.
Starting at the top…
(Top of the world)
Place is changing…
(Things are rearranging)
Down from the poles…
(Into the whole)
A little change
(Becomes something strange)
[Verse 1]
Up where the cold wind blows
(Where the white world glows)
Ice is losing ground
(And the heat comes round)
Pole to pole
(Losing control)
The gradient weakens
(The system awakens)
Difference gets smaller
(The feedback gets taller)
[Pre-Chorus]
Move the mass
(Change the spin)
One more coupling
(Let it begin)
[Refrain]
Starting on top of the world
(Coming unfurled)
Working down to the middle
(Creating an existential riddle)
Are you slowing down
(Spinning round)
Down, down, down
(Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Changing the time of day
[Verse 2]
The equator
(The pole)
Used to have a different role
(For sure)
Hot and cold
(High and low)
Set the gradient
(Watch it go)
That old difference
(Doesn’t last)
Energy moves
(Into different grooves)
And down below
(Feel the water flow)
[Refrain]
Starting on top of the world
(Coming unfurled)
Working down to the middle
(Creating an existential riddle)
Are you slowing down
(Spinning round)
Down, down, down
(Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Changing the time of day
[Verse 3]
Welcome to Middle Earth
(What’s that really worth?)
Our girth
(Has some worth)
Shift the distribution
(Change the rotation)
Tiny little change
The system’s sure strange)
Begin!
(Spin!)
Mass!
(Fast!)
Move!
(Prove!)
Time!
(And time again!)
Top of the world!
(Down to the middle!)
Top of the world!
(Down to the middle!)
[Verse 4]
Atomic clocks
(Watch the rocks)
Earth rotation
(Observation)
A tiny variation
(In the rotation)
Becomes information
(About the whole system)
[Bridge]
One system…
(Many parts)
One pulse…
(Many hearts)
Mass…
(Spin…)
Time…
(Begin!)
A change up there
(Travels down here)
A change over there
(Alter what’s near)
[Refrain]
Starting on top of the world
(Coming unfurled)
Working down to the middle
(Creating an existential riddle)
Are you slowing down
(Spinning round)
Down, down, down
(Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Changing the time of day
Starting on top of the world
(Coming unfurled)
Working down to the middle
(Find a piece of the riddle)
Are you slowing down
(Spinning round)
Down, down, down
(Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Changing the time of day
[Final Refrain]
Starting on top of the world
(Coming unfurled)
Working down to the middle
(Creating an existential riddle)
[Outro]
Are you slowing down
(Spinning round)
Down, down, down
(Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Changing the time of day
Starting at the top…
(Down to the middle)
Feedback coupling…
(It’s all connected)
Round and round…
(The network’s turning)
Day by day…
(Time keeps changing)
Round and round…
(Down, down, down…)
Hey! Hey! Hey!
(The time of day)
About the Song
Feedback loop and tipping-point network: it starts at the top of the world… and works its way down to Middle Earth, where our girth is actually slowing the planet’s rotation. Welcome to the present.
Polar amplification → weakened equator-to-pole temperature gradients → planetary mass redistribution → altered moment of inertia → rotational dynamics → slight rotational slowing → changes in length of day.
About the Song
Feedback loop and tipping-point network: it starts at the top of the world… and works its way down to Middle Earth, where our girth is actually slowing the planet’s rotation. Welcome to the present.
Polar amplification → weakened equator-to-pole temperature gradients → planetary mass redistribution → altered moment of inertia → rotational dynamics → slight rotational slowing → changes in length of day.
Today’s new release, “Feedback Network,” is also tonight’s homework assignment: create a theme-song sound for the next eco-rock album, “Feedback Coupling.”
The song is about a remarkably strange consequence of climate change: humanity is, in a very literal sense, changing the length of the day.
As polar ice melts and mass is redistributed through the Earth system, the planet’s rotation can change slightly. The effect is tiny—but measurable, and large enough to create challenges for keeping highly precise time in scientific and technical applications.
It’s a little like the Y2K problem of 1999. Y2K involved a seemingly tiny detail in computer code—the way years were represented—that became important because modern systems depended on precise timekeeping.
This is different, of course. Here, the problem isn’t a coding convention. It’s the Earth itself changing how it rotates.
And that matters for systems that depend on extremely precise timing and positioning—particularly GPS and other satellite-based technologies.
The irony is pretty remarkable:
We changed the climate.
The climate changed the planet.
And now we’re having to account for the change in the clock.
This song is my attempt to translate that feedback network into sound.
It’s experimental audio science.
The track begins with a clean acoustic/electric guitar signal, running through a digital delay and distortion pedal. The guitar starts relatively clean and acoustic. Then the distortion enters, followed by increasing digital-delay feedback.
Next, a live synthesizer joins the network.
Again, the signal begins clean.
Then it becomes distorted.
Then delayed.
Then the delay feeds back into itself.
And the guitar and synth begin interacting as a coupled system.
The musical system starts behaving a little like the climate system I’m trying to describe: one change feeds into another, which feeds back into the first, creating something larger and increasingly complex.
By the end, we’ve arrived at some serious feedback coupling.
From the mountain
To the valley
Feel the energy flow!
The collapse releases the energy.
The impact transforms it.
Fluidization redistributes it.
Entrainment multiplies the moving mass.
And the flow…
Carries the consequences downstream.
(Whole new scene)
… hole knew seen
Like wet concrete…
(Not quite bitter sweet)
[Final Refrain]
Under strain
(Racks the brain)
Pure potential
(… the inevitable)
Fluidization
(Try to liquefy)
Realization
(It did… solid defy)
Potential…
Kinetic…
Pressure…
Flow…
[Spoken, fading]
Oh, no, no, no
(Realization)
Fluidization.
About the Song: How Is the Climate Energy Hitting You Nepal-Tibet?
Fluidization Physics
Like wet concrete.
The initial fall releases the energy → The impact transforms it → Fluidization redistributes it → Entrainment multiplies the moving mass.
And the resulting flow carries the consequences downstream.
The collapse itself is a gravitational event. Gravity supplies the immediate energy that drives the mass downward. The climate connection lies in how human-caused warming can alter the physical conditions under which that gravitational energy is released.
Heat can accelerate glacier melt. Meltwater can penetrate fractures and accumulate beneath ice. Rain and meltwater can increase pore-water pressure. Permafrost thaw can weaken previously frozen ground. Warming can therefore change the mechanical stability of ice, rock, soil, and sediment. Climate change does not need to physically push a mountain downhill. It can alter the conditions that determine when that mountain becomes capable of moving.
Then gravity does the rest.
Once the mass begins moving, another fascinating piece of physics takes over: water can actually make a moving granular system more mobile.
We generally think of water as something that slows things down. But water under pressure between particles can reduce the friction holding those particles together. In simplified form:
σ′ = σ − u
where σ′ is effective stress, σ is total stress, and u is pore-water pressure.
As pore-water pressure rises, effective stress falls. As effective stress falls, frictional resistance can decrease. That can make a slope or debris mass substantially more mobile.
This is one reason a wet, saturated mass can behave so differently from the dry rock, soil, and ice from which it originated. The material does not literally turn into water. Instead, water becomes part of a coupled solid-fluid system in which fluid pressure can support and mobilize solid particles.
Under sufficiently energetic and saturated conditions, a granular mass can become partially fluidized, allowing it to flow and transport enormous quantities of additional material.
That is the “wet concrete” effect.
The distinction is important. We are not talking about a solid block of ice simply sliding down a mountain. We are talking about a material system whose physical properties can change dramatically as it accelerates, fragments, mixes with water, and incorporates sediment and other debris.
See the crack
(Hear the wack)
See it grow
(Now you know)
[Bridge]
The interesting part…
Isn’t simply
one tipping point.
It’s what happens
when systems
begin talking to each other.
And you know…
(Albedo.)
Oh dear!
(The atmosphere.)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Glue!
(Flew!)
Comes unstuck!
(What the phfff…)
Awe…
(Thaw!)
What the heck?
Feedback finds
Other kinds
Loop dee loop
(That’s the scoop)
Watch the story
Now unfold!
Rock!
(On!)
… on…
Rock!
(On!)
… on…
Slide!
(Slide!)
Flow!
(Now you know!)
See…
1.5°C…
In action.
[Pause]
No satisfaction
[Pause]
No retraction
[Whispered]
And that’s the facts.
[Build]
[Low Drums Enter]
Permafrost… lost
(At what cost)
[Response]
The glue…
… flew
[Response]
(Oh no!)
[Response]
Oh no, no, no
[Response]
(Oh, no know)
[Full Band]
See…
(When the mountains crumble to the sea!)
[Final Pre-Chorus]
Step right this way
(See 1.5°C in Action)
It’s your lucky day
(We’re the main attraction)
[Final Chorus]
What to do
(When the glue)
Comes unstuck
(Out of luck)
But hey
(Say)
You get to see
(Manmade destiny)
See it move
(See it slide)
See it flow
(See it ride)
And the mountains crumble
To the sea…
See?
Destabilizes
(Fluidizes)
Died…
(By liquefied)
The mass begins to move.
(Physics will prove)
And the feedbacks…
Keep walking the walk.
[Final Hit]
No talk, talk, talk
[Outro]
The glue comes unstuck…
[Pause]
What the phhfff…
(Heck!)
[Whispered]
(Introspect)
And the mountains…
Crumble to the sea.
See?
About the Song
See 1.5°C in Action: The Nepal–Tibet Glacial Collapse
The permafrost tipping point—and its feedbacks with other tipping points—is the most interesting part to me. Permafrost was kind of the glue holding everything together… until 1.5°C. Then the coupled feedbacks start feeding each other, and the whole system begins to unravel. And the mountains crumble to the sea… see? 😉
[Verse 1]
Sitting high upon the wall
Didn’t think he’d ever fall
Solid mass
And standing tall
Till gravity
Would have it all
[Refrain]
Humpty Dumpty
(Had a great fall)
Can’t put ’em back together
(After all)
Not a matter of “whether”
Oh, can’t you see
(Humpty Dumpty)
[Verse 2]
Well…
First the shell
Hits the floor
Then comes more
Splattered yoke
Ain’t no joke
[Physics Breakdown]
[Music briefly strips to bass pulse and percussion]
Momentum…
[Spoken]
Mass times velocity.
(Ends in tragedy)
[Instrumental Hit]
[Refrain]
Humpty Dumpty
(Had a great fall)
Can’t put ’em back together
(After all)
Not a matter of “whether”
Oh, can’t you see
(Humpty Dumpty)
[Bridge]
A stationary egg
(On it’s last leg)
[Pause]
Into the valley.
Onto the ground.
Splat!
(Imagine that)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Mass!
(Mass!)
Velocity!
(Velocity!)
Put ’em together
That’s momentum, see!
I meant…
(Movement!)
Coming down!
(All around!)
Impact!
(Not intact!)
And of course…
(Force!)
Stop it!
(Stop it!)
Turn it!
(Turn it!)
Shake it
(Break it)
Moving mass!
(Moving fast!)
Nothing like
A stationary past!
Humpty…
[Whispered]
Had a great fall.
[Pause]
But…
[Low Response]
The fall wasn’t all.
[Pause]
The impact…
[Soft Response]
Splat!
[Build]
Collision…
Collision…
Collision…
[Full Band]
COLLISION!
[Final Refrain]
Humpty Dumpty
(Had a great fall)
Can’t put ’em back together
(After all)
Not a matter of “whether”
Oh, can’t you see
(Humpty Dumpty)
Humpty Dumpty
(Sat on a wall)
Humpty Dumpty
(Had a great fall)
[Final Hit]
HUMPTY DUMPTY!
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
[Pause]
Couldn’t put Humpty together again
(No, nowhere to begin)
Never together
(Again)
About the Song: The Fall Is Only the Beginning
The fluidization of the mass on the way down is remarkable physics. But the energy transfer at the bottom may be even more consequential.
The material did not strike the valley floor all at once.
The leading edge arrived first.
It collided with the valley floor and surrounding terrain, fractured, compressed, deformed, and began spreading. Behind it, enormous quantities of ice, rock, water, and sediment were still moving downhill.
That means the impact was not a single collision.
It was a cascading sequence of collisions.
The first material to arrive effectively became an impact surface for the material immediately behind it. The incoming mass continued transferring momentum into material that had already slowed, while the valley floor resisted the movement from below.
The basic relationship is:
p = mv
where p is momentum, m is mass, and v is velocity.
Changing the momentum of an enormous mass requires an enormous force. The rate at which that momentum is transferred matters as well:
F = Δp / Δt
The shorter the time over which momentum is transferred, the greater the instantaneous force.
This is why the impact of a massive debris flow is fundamentally different from simply placing the same amount of material on the ground. A stationary mountain weighs an enormous amount, but its weight is distributed through relatively stable structures. A mountain in motion has momentum. When that momentum is suddenly redirected, compressed, fragmented, or stopped, enormous forces are generated.
Rough Sees Ahead
[Intro]
Hear that thunder?
(Out beyond!)
Feel the water?
(Rising on!)
Wind is howling through the mast
Dark clouds gathering fast
Captain’s looking to the sky
Something’s coming by and by
[Verse 1]
The barometer is falling
And the pressure’s running low
As each wave is getting taller
Nowhere left to go
[Refrain]
You heard what the captain said:
(Rough seas ahead!)
Oh, can’t you see
(The scenes reality)
Can’t we stave…
(Another tidal wave?)
[Verse 2]
Moisture fills the air
Her anger feeds the storm
There’s energy everywhere
They call it our new norm
[Chorus]
Rough seas ahead!
(Rough seas ahead!)
Hold on tight
(It’s gonna be a night!)
Rough seas ahead!
(Do you hear that dread?)
The forecast isn’t fiction
(It’s the physics up ahead!)
[Bridge]
Can we stave it off?
(Can we change the course?)
Can we slow the rise?
(Can we use the force?)
[Refrain]
You heard what the captain said:
(Rough seas ahead!)
Oh, can’t you see
(The scenes reality)
Can’t we stave…
(Another tidal wave?)
[Final Chorus]
Rough seas ahead!
(Rough seas ahead!)
Can you see?
(The reality!)
[Refrain]
You heard what the captain said:
(Rough seas ahead!)
Oh, can’t you see
(The scenes reality)
Can’t we stave…
(Another tidal wave?)
[Outro]
Keep your eyes upon the horizon
Keep your hands upon the wheel
The storm is not nearly done
The feel is for real
[Intro]
Hear it coming
(Feel the gust!)
Clouds are turning
(Into dust!)
[Verse 1]
The wind was once a servant
We put it to the task
Turned the mills and drove the ships
And never thought to ask
[Pre-Chorus]
From the mountains to the ocean
From the ocean to the sky
She keeps on moving
As the winds begin to fly
[Refrain]
Wind whipped
(A slave of the modern age)
Future shipped
(To the history page)
The wind wails
(The system fails)
The sails ripped…
(… wind whipped)
[Verse 2]
The age has got a story
Written in the pressure lines
Forged with human glory
Building catastrophic signs
[Refrain]
Wind whipped
(A slave of the modern age)
Future shipped
(To the history page)
The wind wails
(The system fails)
The sails ripped…
(… wind whipped)
Hold the line
(Hold the mast!)
Storm is coming
(Moving fast!)
[Bridge]
Who’s the master?
(Who’s the slave?)
Did we build the future
(Or dig our own grave?)
We shipped the future
For another day
Now the wind is sending
That bill… right this way
No more pretending
No more looking back
When the future races at ya…
… feel it in the track
[Breakdown]
Wind!
(Whipped!)
Round and round
The energy flows
Where it ends
Nobody knows!
[Final Chorus]
Wind whipped!
(A slave of the modern age!)
Future shipped!
(To the history page!)
The wind wails!
(The system fails!)
The sails ripped!
(… wind whipped!)
[Outro]
Hear the wind
(Whip!)
Hear the sails
(Rip!)
The future isn’t somewhere
Far beyond the horizon
It’s here… see it happen
(Wind whipped!)
Neptune
[Intro]
Hoist the sail!
(No time to fail!)
Raise the mast!
(It’s a must!)
The tide is turning
(Moving fast!)
Where are we going
(… without knowing?)
[Whistle]
Goin’ to meet Neptune!
[Verse 1]
We thought we ruled the ocean
We thought we ruled the land
Built our cities on the shoreline
With a dollar in our hand
We drew ourselves a boundary
Said, “Water, stay behind!”
But the ocean never signed it
And the tide don’t read the lines
[Pre-Chorus]
Round and round
(The waters flow)
Up and down
(The currents go)
What goes up
(Must come down)
[Refrain]
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Soon, soon, soon)
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Whistle the tune)
Sing a sea shanty
(Whistle the tune)
Gone is our vanity
(Goin’ to meet Neptune)
[Verse 2]
Morning air is warming
The ocean takes the heat
Her crying loads the sky
And the reign fall will complete
[Refrain]
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Soon, soon, soon)
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Whistle the tune)
Sing a sea shanty
(Whistle the tune)
Gone is our vanity
(Goin’ to meet Neptune)
Nowhere to hide
(Nowhere to hide!)
We thought we owned the ocean…
But Neptune’s got the ride!
[Refrain]
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Soon, soon, soon)
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Whistle the tune)
Sing a sea shanty
(Whistle the tune)
Gone is our vanity
(Goin’ to meet Neptune)
[Bridge]
Oh, Neptune, mighty Neptune
King of all the blue
We sailed upon your waters
And thought we conquered you
[Sea-shanty Breakdown]
Yo ho!
(Yo ho ho ho!)
Down we go!
(Down we go!)
Watch ‘er rise!
(Watch the flow!)
High tide!
(No surprise!)
Neptune’s hummin’…
Let it ride!
Ohhh…
Ohhh…
Hey!
[Refrain]
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Soon, soon, soon)
Goin’ to meet Neptune
(Whistle the tune)
Sing a sea shanty
(Whistle the tune)
Gone is our vanity
(Goin’ to meet Neptune)
[Outro]
Goin’ to meet Neptune…
(Soon, soon, soon…)
Gone is our vanity…
Goin’ to meet Neptune!
(… to see god of the sea)
The Energy
[Verse 1]
Where does it go
When the fire dies?
Can you follow the flow
To where the energy rides?
[Pre-Chorus]
Heat in the pavement
Wind in the trees
Water keeps moving
Across the seas
The world keeps turning
Round and around
Energy shifting
As thoughts keep drifting
[Refrain]
Oh can’t you see…
(The energy)
Can’t be created
(Or destroyed)
Exasperated
Annoyed
(… or…)
Revitalization
Deployed
[Verse 2]
A mountain holds it
High in the air
Gravity’s waiting
Potential there
Then comes the falling
Down comes the stone
Potential transforms
Into motion alone
Heat from the friction
Sound from the crash
Light from the lightning
Energy in a flash
[Pre-Chorus]
Exasperation
Can turn into drive
Annoyance can signal
That something’s alive
A setback can become
A reason to try
A spark can become
A fire in the sky
[Refrain]
Oh can’t you see…
(The energy)
Can’t be created
(Or destroyed)
Exasperated
Annoyed
(… or…)
Revitalization
Deployed
[Bridge]
You can’t make it
Out of nothing
You can’t make it
Disappear
Can you redirect it
Transform it a bit
Just to be clear…
Can you make it useful here?
[Spoken]
Anger…
Into action.
Frustration…
Let it become invention.
Exhaustion…
A beacon… a signal
that something needs to change.
(Rearrange)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Energy!
(Transforming me!)
Moving through the system!
(Yes, “I am”)
Heat!
(To the beat!)
Motion!
(Notion!)
Potential waiting
For promotion!
Stored!
(Roared!)
Released!
Changed!
(Rearranged!)
Reconfigured!
(Go figure)
Nothing lost!
(Nothing gained!)
Just not… quite the same!
… keeps
Moving on!
(And on and on and on)
Exasperated!
(Annoyed!)
Turn it into motion!
Revitalization!
(Deployed!)
Set the energy
In a new direction!
Change the form!
(Change the norm!)
Change the direction!
(Change the introspection!)
Take the frustration…
And make it…
REVITALIZATION!
[Final Refrain]
Oh can’t you see…
(The energy)
Can’t be created
(Or destroyed)
Exasperated
Annoyed
(… or…)
Revitalization
Deployed
The question isn’t…
Where did the energy go?
The question is…
What form did it take?
(What impression did it make)
And what will we do…
(I’m asking you)
[Final Hit]
THE ENERGY!
(Certainty)
Can’t be created…
Can’t be destroyed…
Only transformed…
Redirected…
And…
Deployed.
About the Song
🌎⚡ ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED OR DESTROYED
So where does all that extra energy in the climate system go?
It doesn’t disappear.
It moves. 🌊💨💧🌀🧊🌱
The oceans absorb enormous amounts of heat. The atmosphere transports energy and moisture. Evaporation moves latent heat. Storms redistribute energy through intense precipitation. Ocean currents carry heat across the planet. Ice melts. Land heats and dries. Ecosystems respond.
And the greenhouse effect changes the planet’s energy balance—leaving more energy within the Earth system before it can ultimately escape to space.
450–500+ ZJ
🌡️ Accumulated excess energy
14–16 ZJ / YEAR
⚡ Approximate additional energy absorbed annually
The important question isn’t simply “How much has the temperature risen?”
It is: How is the increase in energy hitting you with extreme weather events?
When energy moves through steep temperature, pressure, and moisture gradients,
the climate system can unleash:
🌧️ Violent Rain
🌊 Floods
💨 Atmospheric Rivers
🔥 Heatwaves
🏜️ Flash Droughts
🔥 Wildfires
🌪️ Microbursts
💨 Straight-Line Winds
🧊 Hailstorms
Different events. Different mechanisms.
But the underlying story is the same: energy is moving, transforming, and being redistributed
through the Earth system.
The energy doesn’t disappear — IT MOVES.
Backyard Experiments How Is the Climate Energy Hitting You? is a collection of backyard experiments conducted in conjunction with you—the reader. The goal is simple: to look at how the increased energy in the climate system is showing up in our everyday lives.
Is it becoming more extreme, more frequent, and more persistent? Are the changes becoming stranger—or even disturbing?
[Verse 1]
Started as a snowflake
Falling from the sky
The pressure… he couldn’t take
Dying to fly
[Refrain]
Where did it go
(Do you know?)
Sing the refrain:
(Down the drain!)
Does any remain
(Are you insane?)
Down the drain!
[Verse 2]
Water runs downhill
Flowin’, flowin, flowin’… till
Doesn’t want to stay
No, not another day
[Chorus]
[Refrain]
Where did it go
(Do you know?)
Sing the refrain:
(Down the drain!)
Does any remain
(Are you insane?)
Down the drain!
(Down the drain!)
[Pause]
Can’t ever go back.
(Time travel we lack)
Can’t ever go back…
[Refrain]
Where did it go
(Do you know?)
Sing the refrain:
(Down the drain!)
Does any remain
(Are you insane?)
Down the drain!
[Bridge]
Down the drain
(Gone insane)
Down the drain
(Who will remain?)
[Breakdown]
(Down the drain)
Where did the ice go?
(Down the drain)
Down, down, down
(Down!)
Where do we go?
(Down!)
(Down the drain)
Where did the energy go?
Oh, no, no
Drip!
(Drip!)
Drop!
(Drop!)
Flow!
(Flow!)
Go!
(Go!)
Plop!
[Final Refrain]
Where did it go
(Do you know?)
Sing the refrain:
(Down the drain!)
Does any remain
(Are you insane?)
Down the drain!
Oh, no…
Watch ‘er go!
(No whoa oh oh!)
Oh, no, no, no…
(Just woe, woe, woe!)
Down…
The…
Drain!
[Outro]
Gone insane
Cannot remain….
Hitting Me
Did you see…
(The energy)
Comedy…
(Or tragedy?)
[Verse 1]
The energy is everywhere
Moving through the air
Heat is rising
Winds are flying
Water’s going who-knows-where
[Refrain]
The energy
(Is hitting me)
From every side
(Both far and wide)
A climate primate
(Getting hit)
… quite a bit.
[Chorus]
How is it hitting you?
(How is it hitting me?)
Energy
(Dramatically)
[Verse 2]
Evaporation till saturation
Pulling the heat high
(Way across the sky)
How long will it stay…
Waiting for the day
[Refrain]
The energy
(Is hitting me)
From every side
(Both far and wide)
A climate primate
(Getting hit)
… quite a bit.
[Bridge]
Energy… transformed!
[Response]
TRANSFORMED!
Energy… transported!
[Response]
TRANSPORTED!
Store, store store!
(Some more)
[Response]
STORE!
RELEASED
(Doesn’t cease)
[Spoken]
Never created.
Never destroyed.
[Pause]
So…
Where does it go?
[Whisper]
(You’ll soon know)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Hit!
(Hit!)
From the side!
Wide!
(Wide!)
Far and wide!
Where it goes
Nobody knows?
(Feel the flows)
Pour!
More!
(More!)
Knocking at the door!
Extreme…
(Know what I mean?)
Primate!
(Irate!)
Climate!
Getting hit
Quite a bit!
The question…
Is no longer…
Whether the energy exists.
[Pause]
It does.
[Pause]
The question is…
How…
Is that energy…
Hitting you?
(Tell me do)
The energy…
Synergy…
HITTING!
[Final Refrain]
The energy
(Is hitting me)
From every side
(Both far and wide)
A climate primate
(Getting hit)
… quite a bit.
Energy cannot be created.
Energy cannot be destroyed.
Not the norm… not the mean
(Mean extreme)
[Pause]
And eventually…
Destructively
[Final Hit]
HOW IS CLIMATE ENERGY HITTING YOU?
(Tell me, do)
The energy…
Is hitting me.
Quite a bit.
(Feel the hit)
About the Song
Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
But it can be transformed.
It can be transported.
It can be stored.
And it can be released.
The climate system is doing all four.
The question is no longer whether the energy exists.
The question is: How is that energy hitting you?
How Is Climate Energy Hitting You?
Melt My Heart
[Verse 1]
You melt my heart
Right from the very start
A little warmth
A little spark
A little change
Can leave a mark
[Pre-Chorus]
Falling rain
Melting snow
Where the warm winds
Choose to blow
Something frozen
Starts to move
Something solid
Finds its groove
[Refrain]
You melt my heart
(Right from the very start)
When it rains
(It pours)
Oh, the strains
(No one ignores)
You melt my heart
(In the flow)
… you know…
(It will depart)
[Verse 2]
Six thousand two hundred
And five gigatons gone
Hold on, hold on
… for how long?
(Same ole song)
[Pre-Chorus]
Foehn winds blow
Warm and dry
Down the mountains
From the sky
[Refrain]
You melt my heart
(Right from the very start)
When it rains
(It pours)
Oh, the strains
(No one ignores)
You melt my heart
(In the flow)
… you know…
(It will depart)
[Bridge]
When the foehn blows
And the river flows
The ice sheet feels
What the atmosphere knows
Warm air!
(Warm air!)
Moist air!
(Moist air!)
Meeting over Greenland
Changes everything there
And those combined events
Have become more frequent
In the twenty-first century
Foehn
(Keeps blowin’)
Melt is felt.
[Rap Vocal Break]
Melt!
(Felt!)
Heart’s
(Part)
Right from the very start!
Reign!
(Pain!)
Pour!
(Poor)
At the door!
Flow!
(Whoa, oh know)
Watch it go
(Go, go, go)
Gigatons!
(Gigatons!)
Gone!
(Rise!)
Changing shores
Before our eyes!
You melt my heart…
And I wonder…
How much can a heart take?
[Pause]
For goodness sake
[Pause]
How much can we take…
When it rains…
(It pours.)
[Final Refrain]
You melt my heart
(Right from the very start)
When it rains
(It pours)
Oh, the strains
(No one ignores)
You melt my heart
(In the flow)
… you know…
(It will depart)
Oh, I fear…
(It does not simply disappear.)
See the sea…
(Getting near)
… changing forms
(Our new norms)
… the energy…
(What a tragedy)
[Final Hit]
YOU MELT MY HEART!
When it rains…
It pours.
(Poor, poor, poor)
Till no more.
About the Song
GEUS estimates that Greenland lost approximately 6,205 Gt between 1986/87 and 2025/26, contributing approximately 17.4 mm to global mean sea level.
Near low-elevation outlet glaciers, researchers found that 80–100% of extreme melt occurred during foehn conditions, while 50–75% occurred during atmospheric-river conditions. The researchers also found that these combined AR-foehn events have become more frequent during the 21st century.
[Intro]
Up from the ocean…
(Down from the snow!)
Round and round…
(Here we go!)
[Verse 1]
She has a memory
Of every place she’s been
Mountain top to riverbed
And back around again
[Refrain]
So we’ve come to know…
(Know the flow)
There’s no saying no
(To where she’ll go)
Oh, no, no, no
[Verse 2]
Rain can fall
(Rain can pour!)
Runoff races
Out the door!
[Refrain]
So we’ve come to know…
(Know the flow)
There’s no saying no
(To where she’ll go)
Oh, no, no, no
[Chorus]
Know the flow!
(Watch it go!)
From the mountain
To the river
To the ocean down below
Know the flow!
(Round we go!)
[Bridge]
Understand:
(She commands the land0
Flow!
(Flow!)
Go!
(Go!)
Round and round!
Flow!
(Flow!)
Go!
(Go!)
[Breakdown]
Where did it go?
(Down the drain!)
Where will it go?
(Down the plain!)
Where does it flow?
(We gotta know!)
[Full Band]
FOLLOW THE FLOW!
[Final Refrain]
So we’ve come to know…
(Know the flow)
There’s no saying no
(To where she’ll go)
Oh, no, no, no
Know the flow!
(Know the flow!)
Know the flow!
(Watch her go!)
[Outro]
Drip…
Drop…
(She won’t stop)
Here we go again
(She’ll always win)
Granular
[Intro]
Piece by piece
Grain by grain
Rock and ice
In the rain
What was solid
Won’t stay still
Down the slope
Against its will
[Verse 1]
Get down to the smallest pieces
That’s where the story starts
Pebbles, sand and broken stone
Scattered parts of parts
[Refrain]
When you get down to the nitty gritty
(Granular)
Is it grand or is it a pity
(Spectacular)
A concoction
(Of debris)
Fluidization
(Headin’ for the sea)
[Verse 2]
Rock comes crashing down all around
Guess she’s breaking free
Infiltrate the fractures
Lubricate liquidity
[Refrain]
When you get down to the nitty gritty
(Granular)
Is it grand or is it a pity
(Spectacular)
A concoction
(Of debris)
Fluidization
(Headin’ for the sea)
[Breakdown]
Rock!
(Rock!)
Mix it up!
(Mix it up!)
Shake it loose!
(Shake it loose!)
[Final Chorus]
Granular!
(Down to the grain!)
Spectacular!
(Here comes the rain!)
A concoction
(Of debris)
Fluidization
(Headin’ for the sea!)
Granular!
(Nitty gritty!)
Grandiose or a pity?
(Spectacular failure)
[Refrain]
When you get down to the nitty gritty
(Granular)
Is it grand or is it a pity
(Spectacular)
A concoction
(Of debris)
Fluidization
(Headin’ for the sea)
[Outro]
Grain by grain
Stone by stone
Water finds
It’s way home
Granular…
(Granular!)
Down to the nitty gritty…
(Headin’ for the sea!)
Shocking!
[Intro]
Did you hear that?
(Zap!)
Did you see that?
(Flash!)
Whoa…
(Wake from your nap)
(It’s time to dash!
It’s shocking!
[Verse 1]
It’s happening in the atmosphere
You can feel it in the air
Heat is building
Moisture rising
Energy is everywhere
[Refrain]
I’m talking…
(Shocking!)
There’s no denying…
(It’s electrifying)
…and terrifying
[Verse 2]
On September one
The storm was far from done
Thousands of strikes
Lit up the night sky
(Yikes!)
Feel the sky cry
[Refrain]
I’m talking…
(Shocking!)
There’s no denying…
(It’s electrifying)
…and terrifying
[Bridge]
Science has a warning
Written in the storm:
For every degree of warming
The lightning risks transform
Zap!
(Zap!)
Flash!
(Flash!)
Boom!
(Boom!)
Again!
Zap!
(Zap!)
Flash!
(Flash!)
Boom!
I’m talking…
(Shocking!)
There’s no denying…
(It’s electrifying)
…mystifying
[Full band]
WATCH THE SKY!
(CRY!)
[Refrain]
I’m talking…
(Shocking!)
There’s no denying…
(It’s electrifying)
…and terrifying
[Outro]
[Thunder rolls]
Where there’s heat…
(There’s energy.)
It comes to be…
(Oh, you’ll see)
[Lightning crack]
ZAP!
About the Song: How Is the Climate Energy Hitting You?
Chester County, It’s Shocking
How is a warmer and increasingly moisture-loaded atmosphere changing the conditions under which severe thunderstorms develop?
Over the past decade, the number of lightning strikes in Chester County, PA, has increased dramatically, rising from approximately 18,200 in 2016 to more than 30,500 in 2026.
During the peak of the September 1 storm, Chester County was bombarded by thousands of lightning strikes. The broader storm line was averaging more than 400 lightning strikes every 15 minutes as it moved through the region.
Peer-reviewed atmospheric research published in Science has projected that cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the contiguous United States could increase by approximately 12% for every 1°C of global warming.
Lightning strikes in Chester County during September 1–2, when two extreme storm systems passed through the region, are estimated at 4,361 strikes. In 2016, there were approximately 18,200 strikes. Assuming there are no additional storms for the remainder of 2026, the estimated total would reach 34,861 strikes—representing approximately a 91.5% increase over the 2016 total, or nearly double the number of strikes recorded ten years earlier.
Listen to the water
(Do you hear it rise?)
Look across the valley
(See it with your eyes?)
Something’s moving
(Coming fast)
Something’s changing
(From the past)
[Verse 1]
Rain comes down
The ground can’t take it
Every channel fills
Who knows if we’re gonna make it—
To the bank
(Hope sank!)
Then another surge
(Splurge)
… who’s to thank?
[Pre-Chorus]
Up the creek
(Without a paddle)
Guess we’re about…
… to find out…
(There’s no way out)
[Refrain]
More surprises
(As the river rises)
Over the bank…
(Who’s to thank)
Rising higher
(Getting dire)
Higher, higher
[Verse 2]
Load it up
(Yup, up, up, up!)
Then let it pour
(Raging roar!)
[Refrain]
More surprises
(As the river rises)
Over the bank…
(Who’s to thank)
Rising higher
(Getting dire)
Higher, higher
[Bridge]
Higher than yesterday
Higher than before
Water at the doorstep
Water through the door
Surprise!
(Rise!)
Higher!
(Dire!)
More!
(Than before!)
… coming through the door?
Higher…
Higher…
Higher…
[Final Refrain]
More surprises
(As the river rises)
Over the bank…
(Who’s to thank)
Rising higher
(Getting dire)
Higher, higher
More surprises
(More surprises!)
River rises
(River rises!)
Higher…
Higher…
Higher!
[Outro]
Watch the water…
(Watch it rise)
Watch the water…
(Before your eyes)
Higher…
Higher…
Dire!
Float an Idea
Float it out
(Out it goes)
Let it drift
(Where it flows)
Too late to hold tight
(Despite your might)
A little thought
(Hey! Why not?)
[Verse 1]
A tiny spark of possibility
Before the work is ever done
Let the question find some daylight
Incite insight
[Refrain]
However remote
(Float!)
An idea
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Merrily, merrily
(Our dream is but a stream)
The scene seen
(Floats… sing the note)
Float!
An idea
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
[Verse 2]
Down the stream of consciousness
Thought are gatherin’ speed
Ride as ideas collide
And becomes a different breed
[Chorus]
Float an idea!
(Let it fly!)
Float an idea!
(Reach the sky!)
Merrily, merrily
(Go with the flow)
You never know
(Where it will go)
Float an idea!
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Float!
[Refrain]
However remote
(Float!)
An idea
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Merrily, merrily
(Our dream is but a stream)
The scene seen
(Floats… sing the note)
Float!
An idea
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
[Bridge]
What if?
(What if?)
Why not?
(Sought)
Could it be?
(Reality?)
Let it float!
(Hit that note!)
Float…
Float…
Float!
[Breakdown]
A thought becomes a question
(A question becomes a dream)
A dream becomes a vision
(A vision becomes a stream)
And when the stream is flowing
(You follow where it goes)
One little idea
Can change the way it flows
[Final Chorus]
Float an idea!
(Let it fly!)
Float an idea!
(Reach the sky!)
Merrily, merrily
(Our dream is but a stream)
The scene seen
(Floats… sing the note)
(Ahh, ahh, ahh!)
[Final Refrain]
However remote
(Float!)
An idea
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Merrily, merrily
(Our dream is but a stream)
The scene seen
(Floats… sing the note)
[Outro]
Float!
An idea
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Float!
[Soft whistling]
As we go…
(Into the flow…)
Don’t need a boat…
(Float!)
An idea.
(Ahh, ahh, ahh)
Let ‘Er Roll
[Intro]
Here we go!
(Whoa, oh, oh)
Down the line!
(Faster than divine)
Water moving
All the time
Catch the current
(In the present)
Let it roll!
(Roll, roll, roll)
[Verse 1]
There’s a current underneath us
It’s present… are you aware
Drips drop on a journey
Moving here and moving there
[Pre-Chorus]
(Don’t fight the flow)
You can’t stop the river
(You already know)
[Refrain]
Let ‘er roll!
(Rolling down the river)
Roll, baby, roll
(The thrill will deliver)
[Verse 2]
Rain comes down upon the watersheds
Reign comes down upon our heads
Pebbles, sand and clay
Will make their way
[Chorus]
Let ‘er roll!
(Rolling down the river)
Roll, baby, roll
(The thrill will deliver)
Round the bend
(Energy send!)
Down the way
(Into yesterday!)
Let ‘er roll!
(Let ‘er roll!)
Can’t fight the tide
(Better step aside!)
… or go along for the ride
[Bridge]
Where’s it going?
You know:
(Down below!)
Down low
(Go, go, go)
[Breakdown]
Roll!
(Roll!)
Roll!
(Roll!)
Down the river
See the sea!
[Final Refrain]
Let ‘er roll!
(Rolling down the river)
Roll, baby, roll
(The thrill will deliver)
Let ‘er roll!
(Let ‘er roll!)
Let ‘er flow!
(Let ‘er flow!)
Down the river…
To the sea!
[Outro]
Roll…
(Roll…)
Baby, roll…
(Rolling down the river…)
Let ‘er roll!
(Hope? … a sliver)
Dam!
[Intro]
Hold back the water
(Hold it back!)
Build up the wall
(Build up the wall!)
Think you’ve got nature
Right where you want her?
Then comes the rainfall…
(Reign fall)
And down comes it all!
[Verse 1]
Stack up the concrete
Pile up the stone
Tell the river
“Stay in your zone”
(Yeah, leave us alone)
[Pre-Chorus]
Water keeps rising
(The water keeps rising)
Water keeps rising
(The water keeps rising)
… ain’t that surprising
[Refrain]
Dam!
(So there “I am”)
Or so I thought
(Therefore I was?)
Damn!
(I mean gosh darn!)
… unneeded harm
(Should cause alarm)
Washed away
(Back to yesterday)
[Verse 2]
A wall of water
A wall of mud
A wall of debris
Coming like a flood
The river remembers
The path to the sea
You can change its direction
But not her destiny
[Refrain]
Dam!
(So there “I am”)
Or so I thought
(Therefore I was?)
Damn!
(I mean gosh darn!)
… unneeded harm
(Should cause alarm)
Washed away
(Back to yesterday)
[Bridge]
Dam!
(Damn!)
Dam!
(Damn!)
One little word
Two meanings collide
One holds the water
One asks us why
Thought we could trust it?
(Watch our actions bust it?)
[Breakdown]
Hold!
(Hold!)
Back!
(Back!)
Rise!
(Rise!)
Crack!
(Crack!)
Then—
Whoosh!
[Final Refrain]
Dam!
(So there “I am”)
Or so I thought
(Therefore I was?)
Damn!
(I mean gosh darn!)
… unneeded harm
(Should cause alarm)
Washed away
(Back to yesterday)
[Outro]
Yesterday…
(Yesterday…)
The dam was there
(The damn unaware)
Today…
(The dam gave way)
Today…
(The damn came to stay)
Dam!
Rainman
[Intro]
Clouds are gathering
(Here they come)
Thunder’s rattling
(What have we done?)
[Verse 1]
Man walked out beneath the sky
Thought he knew the way
(Not really knowin’ why)
Built a world of steel and stone
(All alone… on his throne)
And harmed ‘er day by day
[Refrain]
Man,
(You brought the reign)
You bought the rain
Man, oh, man
(That ain’t no plan)
… ya can’t start over again
Man,
(You brought on the pain)
You bought the rain
[Verse 2]
Rainman, Rainman
What did you expect?
You changed what was clear
To doom and fear
[Chorus]
You bought the rain!
(Bought the rain!)
You brought the pain!
(Brought the pain!)
Round and round
The energy goes
Down it falls
And up it flows
Rainman!
(Oh, Rainman!)
Look what you’ve done!
The reckoning has started
And the runoff’s on the run
[Bridge]
Reign or rain?
(Rain or reign?)
Who’s in control?
(What’s your role?)
You changed the game
(It’s not the same!)
… a heavy toll
[Breakdown]
Man!
(Oh, man!)
Round and round
The world turns
Yet, we’re hellbound…
To burn
(Burn, burn, burn, burn)
[Final Chorus]
Rainman!
(You brought the reign!)
You bought the rain!
(Bought the rain!)
Rainman!
(Oh, can’t you see?)
The energy
(Is coming down on me!)
Man, oh, man
(That ain’t no plan)
You changed the atmosphere
(To one of tears and fear)
[Refrain]
Man,
(You brought the reign)
You bought the rain
Man, oh, man
(That ain’t no plan)
… ya can’t start over again
Man,
(You brought on the pain)
You bought the rain
[Outro]
Rainman…
(Rainman…)
Look to the sky
(Now, you know why)
No more denial
(You can’t hide)
You bought the rain.
(Now it’s your ride)
Stick in the Mud
[Intro]
Well, the water came down
And the river ran wide
Mud in the middle
And nowhere to hide
[Verse 1]
I was standing on solid ground
Or so I thought I was
Then the rain came pounding down
And changed the way it does
[Refrain]
Oh, oh, oh
(Just a stick in the mud)
Don’t you know
(Stuck here after the flood)
Oh, oh, oh
(Just a stick in the mud)
There I go
(Down with the rising flood)
[Verse 2]
Grain by grain
Stone by stone
Raise the strain
Submerged home
[Bridge]
You can call it mud
You can call it flow
You can call it trouble
When you see it go
[Breakdown]
Stick!
(In the mud!)
Slip!
(Into the flood!)
Roll!
(Here we go!)
Goal?
(Do you know)
[Refrain]
Oh, oh, oh
(Just a stick in the mud)
Don’t you know
(Stuck here after the flood)
Oh, oh, oh
(Just a stick in the mud)
There I go
(Stuck here after the flood)
[Outro]
Oh, oh, oh…
(Just a stick in the mud)
Don’t you know…
(Stuck here after the flood)
Just a stick…
(Just a in the thick…)
Just a stick in the mud.
[Verse 2]
Gravity pulls
The mountain down
Fragments scatter
All around
Particles that held together
Lose a little of their tether
Effective stress
Begins to fall
And suddenly
The mass can crawl
Then it flows
(There it goes!)
Taking everything
It knows
[Instrumental]
[Heavy Progressive-Rock Instrumental: Distorted Guitar, Tremolo Synth, Deep Bass, Tom-Heavy Drums and Metallic Percussion; Rhythm Accelerates as the Mass Begins to Move]
[Bridge]
… the mountain…
(Becomes a flow)
Begin!
(Go!)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Potential!
(Potential!)
Waiting up high
Gravity!
(Gravity!)
Can’t quite fly
Pressure!
(That’s for sure!)
Changes the scene
(Know what I mean?)
Everything moving
With incredible ease
(Jeeze!)
What started small
Can multiply
As the moving mass
Carries the mountain by!
[Verse 3]
Entrainment!
(Entertainment?)
Pulling more in
Sediment
Joins the spin
[Breakdown]
[Music Drops Suddenly to Deep Bass, Sparse Piano and Pulsing Low Synth]
Under strain…
[Whispered]
Racks the brain.
Pure potential…
[Pause]
Inevitable.
[Low Vocal]
Then…
Gravity.
[Percussion Enters]
Falls freely
[Drums Enter]
Then…
Flow.
(Watch it grow!)
[Full Band Explosion]
FLUIDIZATION!
(Realization)
[Final Refrain]
Under strain
(Racks the brain)
Pure potential
(… the inevitable)
Fluidization
(Try to liquefy)
Realization
(It did… solid defy)
From the mountain
To the valley
Feel the energy flow!
[Climactic Instrumental]
[Extended Electric Guitar and Synth Solo: Massive Progressive-Rock Build; Bass and Drums Accelerate; Layered Percussion Mimics Rockfall, Water and Debris]
[Spoken Over Instrumental]
The collapse releases the energy.
The impact transforms it.
Fluidization redistributes it.
Entrainment multiplies the moving mass.
And the flow…
Carries the consequences downstream.
(Whole new scene)
… hole knew seen
[Final Refrain]
Under strain
(Racks the brain)
Pure potential
(… the inevitable)
Fluidization
(Try to liquefy)
Realization
(It did… solid defy)
[Outro]
[Instrumental Outro: Deep Bass Pulse, Slow Guitar Feedback, Hammond Organ and Fading Water-Like Synth Textures]
Potential…
Kinetic…
Pressure…
Flow…
[Spoken, fading]
Oh, no, no, no
(Realization)
Fluidization.
About the Song: How Is the Climate Energy Hitting You Nepal-Tibet?
Fluidization Physics
Like wet concrete.
The initial fall releases the energy → The impact transforms it → Fluidization redistributes it → Entrainment multiplies the moving mass.
And the resulting flow carries the consequences downstream.
The collapse itself is a gravitational event. Gravity supplies the immediate energy that drives the mass downward. The climate connection lies in how human-caused warming can alter the physical conditions under which that gravitational energy is released.
Heat can accelerate glacier melt. Meltwater can penetrate fractures and accumulate beneath ice. Rain and meltwater can increase pore-water pressure. Permafrost thaw can weaken previously frozen ground. Warming can therefore change the mechanical stability of ice, rock, soil, and sediment. Climate change does not need to physically push a mountain downhill. It can alter the conditions that determine when that mountain becomes capable of moving.
Then gravity does the rest.
Once the mass begins moving, another fascinating piece of physics takes over: water can actually make a moving granular system more mobile.
We generally think of water as something that slows things down. But water under pressure between particles can reduce the friction holding those particles together. In simplified form:
σ′ = σ − u
where σ′ is effective stress, σ is total stress, and u is pore-water pressure.
As pore-water pressure rises, effective stress falls. As effective stress falls, frictional resistance can decrease. That can make a slope or debris mass substantially more mobile.
This is one reason a wet, saturated mass can behave so differently from the dry rock, soil, and ice from which it originated. The material does not literally turn into water. Instead, water becomes part of a coupled solid-fluid system in which fluid pressure can support and mobilize solid particles.
Under sufficiently energetic and saturated conditions, a granular mass can become partially fluidized, allowing it to flow and transport enormous quantities of additional material.
That is the “wet concrete” effect.
The distinction is important. We are not talking about a solid block of ice simply sliding down a mountain. We are talking about a material system whose physical properties can change dramatically as it accelerates, fragments, mixes with water, and incorporates sediment and other debris.
[Refrain]
Demand
(Destruction)
Demand!
(The solution)
[Verse 1]
Money moves where money goes
That’s the way the market flows
Another purchase with a choice
Sends a signal, finds a voice
[Chorus]
Demand
(Destruction)
Demand!
(The solution)
Vote with dollars
(Every day)
Change the market
(Change the way)
Don’t just wait
(For the date)
Change the force
(That drives the rate)
Demand
(Destruction)
Demand!
(The solution)
[Verse 2]
You don’t have to win a fight
You can change the market’s light
When enough consumers choose
Fossil fuels have more to lose
Not production
(Demand!)
Not prediction
(Demand!)
Don’t rely on supply
[Breakdown]
You don’t need all…
… just enough…
Demand will fall
(Hang tough)
And again…
(And again.)
[Final Refrain]
Demand
(Destruction)
Demand!
(The solution)
[Final Chorus]
Demand
(Destruction)
Demand!
(The solution)
Vote with dollars
(Vote each day)
Change the market
(Change the way)
Demand
(Destruction)
Demand!
(The solution)
[Outro]
Demand…
(Destruction…)
Less demand…
(Less extraction…)
You are the solution
[Spoken, fading]
Demand destruction…
That’s the transition.
About the Song
As both a climatologist and an economist, I’m less concerned with setting a specific date for eliminating fossil fuels than with changing the economic forces that sustain fossil-fuel demand. I’m unlikely to change the minds of the roughly 20% of Americans who are ideologically committed to policies that accelerate climate change. But that leaves roughly 80%—and economics can do much of the work.
Integrated Climate Stewardship begins with reducing unnecessary consumption. Consumerism drives energy demand, resource extraction, pollution, and habitat destruction. The less we consume, the less pressure we place on the climate and the ecosystems that sustain us.
Today, perhaps only ~0.5% of Americans are seriously pursuing a structured net-zero lifestyle through continuous behavioral reductions and intentional balancing. But when people discover that reducing their climate impact can save them thousands of dollars a year while leaving a healthier environment for their children and grandchildren, behavior can change.
When the remaining ~79.5% begin voting with their dollars, fossil-fuel demand falls. That demand destruction reduces the economic incentive to produce fossil fuels.
Demand destruction is the transition away from fossil fuels.
[Spoken Vocal]
You don’t need to read the whole book…
Just watch the pages turn…
(… and you’ll learn…)
[Refrain]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
… all you need to know
[Verse 1]
The old Earth keeps a ledger
Written slowly in the stone
Layer after layer
A thousand years to turn a page
Mountains move like sleeping giants
Rivers carve their names
Ice remembers ancient winters
Buried deep beneath the frame
But now the hands are spinning
And the pages start to fly
As the lights are dimming
(… hear the calendar sigh)
[Pre-Chorus]
Look!
(Look outside)
See!
(See the signs)
Slow!
(Way back then)
Fast!
(Past the past.)
[Chorus]
You know
(All you need to know)
The old clock’s running faster
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
Watch the river change its frame
(Watch the seasons lose their names)
[Refrain]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
… all you need to know
[Verse 2]
Once upon a deeper time
A stone came from the sky
One instant split the story
And the ancient giants died
The world remembers that moment
Like a scar beneath the skin
A flash across the darkness
And the long night closing in
[Pre-Chorus]
No crater
(No need to ask why)
No thunder
(Screaming from the sky)
Just a little more
(A little more)
Until the little becomes folklore
[Chorus]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
All you need to know
(All you need to know)
Is watch the hands
(One understands)
[Bridge]
Deep time
(Deep, deep time)
Human time
(Our time)
We crawled
(Now watch us run)
Coming undone…
[Rap Vocal Break]
Read the rings
Read the rock
Read the ice
Watch the clock
See the window
Look outside
No need to hide
No need to theorize
Watch the coast
Watch the sky
Watch the seasons passing by
The planet isn’t standing still
(We’ve moved ‘er with our freewill)
[Breakdown]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast like a dyin’ dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster as a dino)
… all you need to know
[Final Refrain]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
… all you need to know
All you need to know
(All you need to know)
[Outro]
Look out your window…
Watch the water…
Watch the sky…
Watch the seasons…
Watch the hands…
Moving…
Moving…
Moving…
[Faint Vocal]
Faster than a dino…
All you need to know.
About the Song
Human CO2 Climate Change: All You Need to Know
by Daniel Brouse
Human CO2 Climate Change: All You Need to Know
An unprecedented rate of Earth-system change.
The Geological Society of London (the UK’s expert association of professional geologists since 1807) says:
” ….the current speed of human-induced CO2 change and warming is nearly without precedent in the entire geological record, with the only known exception being the instantaneous, meteorite-induced event that caused the extinction of non-bird-like dinosaurs 66 million years ago” (H/T Rocky Rex)
We’ve arrived at a very similar observation in our own work, but I don’t think I’ve seen it stated this clearly—or published elsewhere. Thanks, Rocky, for helping to illuminate it.
Juxtapose the two and let me know whether the comparison can be communicated more effectively.
Multiple climate indicators now point to rates of warming-related disruption far beyond those observed during the modern instrumental era.
There is no well-established geological analog for a sustained, multi-variable, decade-scale pattern of accelerating change across the full Earth system at the resolution available in contemporary observations. If sustained, this may represent one of the most abrupt large-scale climate transitions in Earth’s geological history.
The climate system is not simply warming—it is changing how it responds to that warming. Coupled climate feedbacks are becoming one of the most consequential dimensions of climate risk in the 21st century because they amplify changes and connect individual tipping-point pathways into larger cascading effects.
The longer warming persists, the more climate feedbacks become active. As these feedbacks interact, we are already observing nonlinear responses, amplification, and cascading impacts across the climate system. Hundreds of feedback mechanisms have been identified, and many can couple and reinforce one another, contributing to the accelerating pace and increasing magnitude of climate change—The Domino Effect.
Rise or Fall
[Intro]
After all…
What did we build?
What did we leave behind?
And when the dust settles…
Will we heed the call?
Or will we fall?
[Verse 1]
Brick by brick
We built the wall
Higher, higher
Till we couldn’t see at all
Steel and glass
Across the land
Progress written
In the palm of our hand
We learned to fly
We learned to burn
We learned the lesson
But forgot to learn
What is progress
If we lose
What we need
To choose?
[Refrain]
After all…
(Will we rise or fall)
Up or down
(King or clown)
Come to the realization
(About civilization)
[Chorus]
Rise!
(Rise!)
Or fall!
(Fall!)
What are we
After all?
Build!
(Build!)
Or break!
(Break!)
How much more
Can we take?
King or clown
(Crown or ground)
Up or down
(Round and round)
[Verse 2]
We measured wealth
In things we own
Measured power
By the deeds we’d blown
[Bridge]
Realization!
(Realization!)
Civilization!
(Civilization!)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Look at the numbers
Look at the trend
Look at the road
We’re willing to bend
More consumption
More extraction
More pressure
More reaction
Change the signal
Change the plan
Start with what
A person can
Dollar!
(Dollar!)
Choice!
(Choice!)
Voice!
(Voice!)
After all…
Will we rise or fall?
Up or down…
King or clown…
[Whispered]
Come to the realization…
About civilization.
[Final Refrain]
After all…
(Will we rise or fall)
Up or down
(King or clown)
Come to the realization
(About civilization)
[Final Chorus]
Rise!
(Rise!)
Or fall!
(Fall!)
The future
Calls us all
King or clown
(Crown or ground)
Up or down
(We turn around)
Civilization
(Our creation)
Is the realization
(If we arrive alive)
[Outro]
Piano Note]
Rise…
Or fall…
Up…
Or down…
[Spoken, fading]
King…
Or clown…
The choice…
Raise your voice.
It’s Reigning. It’s Pooring.
[Intro]
It’s raining…
It’s pouring…
But who’s paying?
(Scales weighing)
[Verse 1]
Clouds roll in
The streets turn gray
Water finds
Another way
Pipes fill up
Rivers rise
Another warning
In disguise
The old song says
The old man snores
But outside
The water pours
[Refrain]
It’s raining. It’s pouring.
(The old man is snoring)
It’s reigning. It’s pooring.
(I’m saying:)
… the young man is paying
Oh, boy!
(Boys and girls)
Lost joy
(Our thrill kills)
You can ignore some more?
(Aint’ no use in praying)
… who’s paying?
[Outro]
Rain…
Reign…
Pour…
Poor…
It’s raining. It’s pouring.
(The old man is snoring)
It’s reigning. It’s pooring.
(I’m saying:)
… ain’t no use praying
(The thrill to…)
Kill!
(Joy)
Enjoy?
About the Song
This is where the bleeding edge begins.
Clouds are arguably the largest remaining uncertainty in our understanding of climate sensitivity. They can both reflect incoming solar radiation and trap outgoing heat. Which effect dominates—and how that balance changes as the planet warms—is one of the great questions in climate science.
My expectation is that the climate system could eventually approach a new equilibrium around +4°C above the preindustrial baseline, perhaps over the course of a couple centuries. That would imply roughly +2–3°C this century, with additional warming continuing into the next.
But that remains uncertain.
The important point is that climate change is not a simple linear equation. It is a massively interconnected system in which changes in one component can alter another, which then feeds back into the first. Ice affects albedo. Albedo affects heating. Heating affects clouds. Clouds affect radiation. Radiation affects ocean temperatures. Ocean temperatures affect evaporation and atmospheric moisture. And the cycle continues.
Everything is nonlinear.
Yet uncertainty about the exact trajectory does not mean uncertainty about what we should do.
The clearest lever we have is still the same: reduce CO₂ emissions and slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
And while the long-term equilibrium matters, there is a much more immediate question.
What happens to you over the next five years?
We are already seeing rainfall becoming more intense and, in many places, more destructive—violent. A warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor, increasing the potential for extreme precipitation. The question isn’t simply how hot the planet might become over the next 50 years.
The more immediate question is:
What is the violent rain going to do to your home, your community, your infrastructure, your insurance—and you—over the next five years?
That is where climate change stops being a distant projection and starts becoming a personal reality.
Rule
[Intro]
Who makes the rules?
(Who will choose the fools)
Who follows them?
(Where, why, when?)
And who gets to decide…
(How far and wide?)
When the rule becomes the ruler
[Verse 1]
Rule the road
Rule the land
Rule the market
Rule by hand
Draw the line
Set the frame
Give it power
Give it a name
[Refrain]
The rule of rule
(Over the overlord)
Need to school the fool
(Before going overboard)
[Chorus]
Rule!
(Rule!)
Don’t let the rule
(Confuse and fool)
Power!
(Power!)
Don’t let power
Devour
[Verse 2]
When the rule becomes
The reason for the rule
The servant becomes master
And the master becomes fool
[Bridge]
School the fool
(Teach the fool)
Not with force
(With a course)
Knowledge!
(Choice!)
Reason!
(Voice!)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Rule this
Rule that
Put another rule on the mat
Sign here
Stand there
Don’t ask why
Just beware
But wait!
Who wrote it?
Who profits?
Who pays?
Who gets the power
When the rule stays?
Think for yourself
Read the fine print
Follow the evidence
Don’t follow the hint
A rule should serve
The people who live
Not become a throne
For the power it gives
[Breakdown]
The rule of rule…
Over the overlord…
Need to school the fool…
Before going overboard.
[Final Refrain]
The rule of rule
(Over the overlord)
Need to school the fool
(Before going overboard)
[Final Chorus]
Rule!
(Rule!)
Let reason rule
Lead!
(Lead!)
But don’t become the fool
Teach!
(Teach!)
Before demanding obedience
Choose!
(Choose!)
With knowledge and experience
[Outro]
The rule…
Of rule…
Who rules…
The ruler?
[Spoken, fading]
The rule of rule
(Over the overlord)
Need to school the fool
(Before going overboard)
Middle Man
[Intro]
The middle man…
(Upstanding in the middle…?)
Taking a little
from both ends.
(On whatever another spends)
But what happens…
Will you weather…
(… when the ends come together?)
[Verse 1]
Buy it here
Sell it there
Add a little
None to spare
Move the money
Move the goods
Make a margin
While you could
[Pre-Chorus]
Top end!
(Down!)
Bottom!
(Up!)
Meet in the middle
(Shake it up!)
No more layers
In between
See what happens
When we’re seen
[Refrain]
The middle man
(Eliminated)
Top end down
(King to clown)
No need
(For greed)
Concede.
Won’t be long
(Till the middle man’s gone)
And whether
(The ends come together)
[Verse 2]
One more hand
One more fee
One more layer
Roots in greed
[Bridge]
Top end down
(Bottom up)
King to clown
(Shake it up)
Greed gives way
(To efficiency)
Less between
(More transparency)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Middle man
In the middle
Making money
Off the riddle
Buy low
(Sell high)
Add a fee
(Ask why)
Cut the chain
(Change the weather)
Cut the pain
(Change the whether)
One less step
One less cost
One less layer
That gets lost
[Breakdown]
The middle man…
Eliminated…
Top end down…
King to clown…
[Whispered]
No need…
For greed…
Concede.
[Final Refrain]
The middle man
(Eliminated)
Top end down
(King to clown)
No need
(For greed)
Concede.
Won’t be long
(Till the middle man’s gone)
And whether
(The ends come together)
[Outro]
The middle man
(Eliminated)
Top end down
(King to clown)
No need
(For greed)
Concede.
Won’t be long
(Till the middle man’s gone)
And whether
(The ends come together)
Insane in the Methane
[Intro]
You can’t see it.
You can’t smell it.
But you can measure it.
(If you’re sane)
Methane…
[Verse 1]
Coming out of pipes
Coming out of wells
Coming from the places
Nobody wants to tell
[Pre-Chorus]
Leak!
(Leak!)
Seek!
(Seek!)
[Refrain]
Are you insane
(In the membrane?)
Leaking methane
(Problem’s plain)
Are you insane
(In the membrane?)
Leaking methane
(Problem’s plain)
[Chorus]
Methane!
(What’s the game?)
Invisible
(But not tame)
Methane!
(Feed the flame)
Short-lived
(But climate-changing)
… rearranging…
[Verse 2]
Drill it up
Pump it out
Move it down
Move it out
[Bridge]
It’s not just
What we burn
(It’s what we churn)
Production
(Transmission)
Emission
(Distribution)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Methane in the pipeline
Methane at the well
Methane in the atmosphere
You can’t see it well
Quick hit
(Heat trap)
Big effect
(Check that)
Carbon dioxide
Sticks around
Methane comes
And turns it up now
(Wow!)
Cheap solutions
Big reductions
That’s the kind of change we make
Don’t wait
For perfect
Don’t wait
For later
If you can stop the leak
Why would you feed the vapor?
[Breakdown]
Are you insane?
(In the membrane?)
Leaking methane…
(Problem’s plain.)
[Whispered]
Find it…
Fix it…
Stop it…
[Final Refrain]
Are you insane
(In the membrane?)
Leaking methane
(Problem’s plain)
Are you insane
(In the membrane?)
Leaking methane
(Problem’s plain)
[Final Chorus]
Methane!
(What’s the game?)
Invisible
(But not tame)
Methane!
(Feed the flame)
Seek the leak
(Stop the game)
[Outro]
Are you insane
(In the membrane?)
Leaking methane
(Problem’s plain)
[Spoken, fading]
Problem’s plain.
Oil
[Intro]
Black gold…
(Is getting old)
Liquid energy…
(Lacks transparency)
A good thing?
(For absolutely nothing)
[Refrain]
Your oil
(Sure does spoil)
A good thing
(Sing:)
Oil
(A slippery slope)
… don’t be a dope
[Verse 1]
Pulled from deep beneath the ground
Black and slick and flowing round
Powered engines, trucks and trains
Built an age of fuel and flames
[Final Chorus]
Burn!
(Burn!)
But we can choose
Burn!
(Burn!)
What we refuse
Burn, burn, burn
(When we gonna learn?)
Burn, burn, burn
Fire!
(Higher)
Higher!
(Fire!)
Fire, fire, fire
[Outro]
Burn…
Fire…
Higher…
[Spoken, fading]
When we gonna learn?
(The situation’s dire)
Fire
(Fire)
Free Sample
[Intro]
Free sample…
Free lunch…
Free ride…
(Until there’s no place to run…)
… no place to hide
[Verse 1]
Forests in the mountains
See oceans (sea to sea)
Sunlight in the morning
(So the days begin)
[Pre-Chorus]
Free!
(Free!)
Sample!
(Sample!)
Take!
(Take!)
Some more!
[Refrain]
Has Earth’s free sample
(Been ample?)
Has her free lunch
(Made much)
Well…
(Do tell, do tell)
… ohhh well….
[Chorus]
Free sample!
(Take a taste)
Free lunch!
(Goes to waste)
The bill comes later
(Later!)
When the cupboard’s bare
(Eating’s rare)
Free sample!
(What a deal)
Free lunch!
(How does it feel?)
[Verse 2]
We burned the ancient sunlight
We mined the buried past
We pulled from deep reserves
And thought that would last
Mother keeps the ledger
Though nature doesn’t send
A bill upon the table
She settles in the end
[Bridge]
Free lunch?
(No… more than a hunch)
Free ride?
(Won’t slide)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Take it
(Free!)
Make it
(Free!)
Use it
(Free!)
Waste it
(Free!)
But the soil gets soiled
And the rivers run low
The greens gets thinner
As the extinctions grow
The atmosphere (oh my dear)
A record of the cost
Someone’s getting lost
No one sent an invoice
No one rang the bell
But the climate keeps
The ledger well
(All the way to hell!)
Yell!
(All the way to hell!)
[Breakdown]
Has Earth’s free sample…
Been ample?
Has her free lunch…
Made much?
[Whispered]
Well…
Do tell…
Do tell…
Ohhh well…
[Final Refrain]
Has Earth’s free sample
(Been ample?)
Has her free lunch
(Made much)
Well…
(Do tell, do tell)
… ohhh well….
[Final Chorus]
Free sample!
(Free sample!)
Take a taste
But don’t let her waste
Free lunch!
(Free lunch!)
What did we do?
Maybe now
It’s time to give
Something back.
(Instead of lack, lack, lack!)
Let’s hear you yell:
(All the way to hell!)
Then, again…
(You can choose heaven)
[Outro]
Let’s hear you yell:
(All the way to hell!)
Then, again…
(You can choose heaven)
[Spoken, fading]
Birth (heaven on Earth)
Livin’ in heaven
(Birth) Heaven on Earth
Money
[Intro]
Money…
You can count it.
(Rarely lend it?)
You can spend it.
(Goin’ into debt?)
[Refrain]
Money!
(It’s plain to see)
Money!
(What’s you’re doin’ to me)
Money,
(You’re gettin’ too funny)
Time to set me free
(Free from meeeeee….)
[Verse 1]
Numbers dancing on the screen
Chasing after what they mean
More and more becomes the game
Different numbers, same old name
Want!
(Need!)
More!
(Feed!)
[Chorus]
Money!
(It’s plain to see)
Money!
(What’s you’re doin’ to me)
Money!
(You’re gettin’ too funny)
Time to set me free
(Free from meeeeee….)
[Verse 2]
Money moves and money talks
Follows roads and follows stocks
Turns a want into a need
Then convinces you to bleed
Price can hide the deeper cost
What you gain is what you lost
When the chase becomes the goal
Money starts to take control
[Bridge]
Money!
(It’s plain to see)
Money!
(What’s you’re doin’ to me)
Money,
(You’re gettin’ too funny)
Time to set me free
(Free from meeeeee….)Use it!
(Don’t serve it!)
Choose!
(Deserve it!)
A dollar is a tool
(Not a rule)
A number on a page
(Not a cage)
[Breakdown]
Money…
Funny…
Honey…
Why are we chasing
Something we can’t take with us?
[Rap Vocal Break]
Count it up
Add it down
Money makes the world go round
Buy it
Sell it
Trade it
Tell it
Price tag
Paycheck
Credit
Debt
More stuff
More stress
More wanting
Less rest
Stop!
(Think!)
Look!
(Choose!)
What do you really need
To live the life you choose?
[Final Refrain]
Money!
(It’s plain to see)
Money!
(What’s you’re doin’ to me)
Money,
(You’re gettin’ too funny)
Time to set me free
(Free from meeeeee….)
[Final Chorus]
Money!
(It’s plain to see)
Money!
(What’s you’re doin’ to me)
Let it work
(Don’t let it rule)
Let it serve
(Don’t be the fossil fuel fool)
Money!
(You’re gettin’ too funny)
Time to set me free
(Free from meeeeee….)
[Outro]
Money!
(It’s plain to see)
Money!
(What’s you’re doin’ to me)
Money,
(You’re gettin’ too funny)
Time to set me free
(Free from meeeeee….)
[Spoken, fading]
Set me free…
(Free from me…)
About the Song
The song is about how easily greed and self-interest can blind us to an economic reality hiding in plain sight. Instead of reducing unnecessary consumption and saving thousands of dollars each year, many people continue spending in ways that lock them into a fossil-fuel-intensive lifestyle.
Transitioning away from fossil fuels is not simply an environmental argument. It is an economically rational—and, I would argue, financially sane—strategy.
And it doesn’t require top-down control or forcing 80% of the planet to do anything. Demand destruction works through economics. When people discover cheaper, healthier, more efficient alternatives, they adopt them because those alternatives make financial sense—not because someone is forcing them to “go without.”
We can already see demand destruction happening in the real world. Over the past four months, oil demand has declined by approximately 1.6 million barrels per day.
And there is no “doing without” in my case. I live a better, healthier lifestyle with zero sacrifice—and I’m saving roughly $10,000 a year in the process.
Here’s the economic reality: climate change (AGW) costs the average U.S. household approximately $94,600 annually for a family of four. That represents an enormous economic burden associated with the fossil-fuel-intensive system we have built—and one that can be reduced through demand destruction.
For an individual, the choice is straightforward: continue paying an additional $23,650 per year in climate-related costs while leaving $10,000 in potential savings on the table—or effectively gain $33,650 per year by adopting Integrated Climate Stewardship.
That isn’t sacrifice.
That’s economics.
So why aren’t you already doing it?
Follow-up to Resistance
I’m both a climatologist and an economist. I mention the economics deliberately because this isn’t simply an environmental argument. I’ve done the math, applied the economics to my own life, and saved approximately $100,000 over the past 10 years.
And that is only the money I actually saved. If those savings had instead been invested and compounded at roughly a seven-year doubling time, the opportunity cost of continuing a more consumption-intensive lifestyle becomes substantial.
That calculation doesn’t even include the broader benefits of reducing pollution, resource consumption, climate risk, and environmental damage. Those benefits accrue not only to individuals, but to society as a whole.
This should not be framed as something that has to be forced. That misses the entire concept of demand destruction. If people can improve their quality of life while saving money, why would coercion be necessary?
The question isn’t whether everyone will adopt exactly the same lifestyle. They won’t. The question is how many people will voluntarily make economically rational changes once they recognize the financial benefits.
I don’t need 100% participation. I need enough people to create sustained demand destruction—and we are already seeing evidence that this process is beginning to happen.
Demand destruction is not about doing without. It is about discovering that, in many cases, you can have more by consuming less.
It’s an obscene
(Scene)
Please, let’s save a life
(Less strife)
Rife with life
[Chorus]
A little rope
(A little hope)
A simple ring
(Life saving)
[Verse 2]
My father knew
The danger well
Water doesn’t always tell
(If it’s bringin’ on hell)
Oh… (Well, well, well)
If someone comes
Knocking hard
We would have
A place to start
(Start a heart)
[Bridge]
Give someone
A little heart
(That’s a start!)
Have a heart
[Rap Vocal Break]
Flood comes fast
Water moves
You don’t get
To choose
(Win or lose)
Get back
(Back, back, back)
Reach out
(Use hope)
Point of view
(Scope)
Throw the buoy
(Boy!)
Throw the buoy
(Boy!)
Give the person
Something to hold
Don’t become
Another victim
Trying to make
A rescue mission
Call for help
Keep your head
Keep the line
Keep the time
See!
It’s an obscene
(Scene)
Please, let’s save a life
(Less strife)
Rife life
[Final Chorus]
Ring buoy!
(Ring buoy!)
Life saver
(Savior!)
Throw it out
(Reach it out)
Give hope
(Help them cope)
Ring buoy!
(Ring buoy!)
When the water rises high
Hold on!
(Hold on!)
Don’t let go
(Stay alive)
[Outro]
Oh, boy…
Ring buoy…
Life saver…
Savior…
[Spoken, fading]
Be ready.
You never know
when someone will come knocking.
(Knockin’ on heaven’s door)
Once more…
(You never know)
when someone will come knocking.
(… on your door)
and there’s more
(More in store)
Oh, way much more
About the Song
When I was about six or eight years old, we experienced high water and flooding conditions in front of our house on Riverview Road. A young girl had been swept into the river about a half-mile upstream. We didn’t know what had happened at first.
Someone came running down the road, pounding on our door, but kept going—running downstream alongside the road and river. Within moments, people were coming out of their houses. There was a canoe store across the river, and several men launched into the raging water, paddling out to the girl and bringing her to the bank about a quarter-mile downstream.
Soon the ambulances arrived. My parents kept me from going down to see what was happening. I later learned that she had drowned, right there in front of our house.
My father was the executive director of the YMCA. He was a nationally ranked swimmer, swim-team coach, and aquatic director specializing in water safety. After that day—and for the rest of my childhood—there was always a life buoy with plenty of rope attached to the wall next to our door.
It was there for a simple reason: if someone ever came knocking again, we might be able to save a life.
That memory has stayed with me. People who experience violent rain and flooding can be left with lasting trauma. As extreme rainfall becomes more extreme, more people will experience events that can change the way they see water, storms, and the places they call home.
How do you prepare for something like that? How do you cope when the rain becomes something you fear?
Obscene scene. Know what I mean?
The Consumption Function
[Intro]
Consumption…
(Mass assumption)
It’s not just what you buy.
(It’s when your buying makes us cry.)
[Verse 1]
Want becomes a number
Number becomes a need
Need becomes a purchase
Purchase plants the seed
More becomes the measure
Bigger feels like more
More becomes the habit
Habit becomes the score
[Pre-Chorus]
Add it up
(Multiply)
One more thing
(Justify)
Round and round
(The function grows)
Where it ends
(Nobody knows)
[Refrain]
The consumption
(Function)
Funks us up
The consumption
(Function)
Multiplies…
(The do or dies)
[Chorus]
Consume!
(Consume!)
Demand!
(Demand!)
The function keeps on growing
As the spending keeps on flowing
Consume!
(Consume!)
Demand!
(Demand!)
[Refrain]
The consumption
(Function)
Funks us up
The consumption
(Function)
Multiplies…
(The do or dies)
[Verse 2]
Economics can tell you
How the cycle starts
Income turns to spending
Spending turns to parts
Energy feeds production
Production feeds the sale
Sales create the demand
Demand drives the scale
But the function isn’t fate
We can change the input stream
Change the choices at the bottom
Change the shape of the dream
[Bridge]
What if less
(Could be more?)
What if need
(Isn’t whore?)
What if saving
(Saves the day?)
What if spending
(Changes the way?)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Consumption function
Running in your head
Want it!
(Buy it!)
Need it!
(Get it!)
Click!
(Ship!)
Pack!
(Flip!)
Use it once
Then then throw it way
Spending the savings
For a rainy day
Multiply the demand
Multiply the flow
Multiply the energy
Where does all that go?
Stop!
Recalculate!
(Recalibrate)
What if your dollar
(Could vote n’ holler?)
What if your choice
Could change the boat?
Less demand
(Less extraction)
Less demand
(Less pollution)
Change the function
Change the game
You don’t have to
Stay the same
[Breakdown]
The consumption…
Function…
Input.
Output.
Demand.
Supply.
[Whispered]
Change the input…
Change the outcome.
[Final Refrain]
The consumption
(Function)
Funks us up
The consumption
(Function)
Multiplies…
(The do or dies)
[Outro]
Consumption…
Function…
Multiply…
Or simplify.
[Spoken, fading]
Change the function.
Change the damned demand.
Supply a new knew high.
The Damned Demand
[Intro]
Demand…
It doesn’t just happen.
It’s learned.
It’s fed.
(By where it’s led)
When… then…
It feeds itself
(Off your wealth)
[Refrain]
The damned demand
(Destroy! Destroy!)
Employ command
(Over how you enjoy)
Get on the habitat habit
(Try it for a bit)
… a habit you won’t quit
[Verse 1]
Want it now
Need it fast
Buy the future
Spend the past
Bigger house
Bigger ride
Something missing
Deep inside
Fill the cart
Fill the tank
Never stop to question why
Round and round
(The system turns)
Feed the fire
(Watch it burn)
[Chorus]
The damned demand
(Destroy! Destroy!)
Keeps taking land
(Employ! Employ!)
Extraction
(Production)
Consumption
(Destruction)
[Verse 2]
The market hears
The money moves
Choices make
The system choose
Buy a little
Buy a lot
Every dollar
Finds a spot
[Refrain]
The damned demand
(Destroy! Destroy!)
Employ command
(Over how you enjoy)
Get on the habitat habit
(Try it for a bit)
… a habit you won’t quit
[Instrumental]
[Bridge]
Destroy!
(Destroy!)
Not the planet!
Destroy!
(Destroy!)
The demand!
[Rap Vocal Break]
Don’t be useless
(Use less)
Useless
(… or use less)
[Breakdown]
The damned demand…
Isn’t damned by fate.
(Built on greed and hate)
It’s damned by habit
(For the habitat)
[Whispered Vocals]
Try it…
For a bit…
(Learn to quit)
[Final Refrain]
The damned demand
(Destroy! Destroy!)
Employ command
(Over how you enjoy)
Get on the habitat habit
(Try it for a bit)
… a habit you won’t quit
[Final Chorus]
The damned demand
(Destroy! Destroy!)
Doesn’t have to command
(You decide! You decide!)
[Outro]
Acoustic Guitar]
Demand…
Destruction…
Habitat…
Habit…
[Spoken, fading]
(Destroy the damned demand…)
Vote
[Intro]
Vote out
(The fossil fuel fools)
Find out about
Your vote at the ballot box…
But that’s not the only place
(The herd can be heard.)
[Refrain]
Vote!
(With your dollar)
Let’s hear ya holler:
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
They hear what you say
(That way)
Voice your choice!
(Vote with your dollar)
[Verse 1]
Pick it up
(Put it down)
Look around
(What’s around?)
Read the label
(Check the claim)
Where it came from
(Who made the game?)
Money moves
And markets hear
What you support
Becomes real clear
[Chorus]
Vote!
(With your dollar)
Let your choices speak
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Strong enough
To move the week
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Make the market hear
Voice your choice!
(Vote with your dollar)
Make your values clear
[Refrain]
Vote!
(With your dollar)
Let’s hear ya holler:
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
They hear what you say
(That way)
Voice your choice!
(Vote with your dollar)
[Verse 2]
Want a future
Worth the cost?
Put your money
Where your hope is
(Before all is lost)
Demand rises
(No surprises)
Supply follows
(The flow goes)
[Bridge]
It’s not magic
It’s damned demand
(Enough to make you sick)
Tell the fossil fuel fools
(The herd can be heard.)
The market knows…
(Where the money goes)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Swipe it
(Tap it)
Click it
(Track it)
One dollar
One vote
One signal
One note
[Refrain]
Vote!
(With your dollar)
Let’s hear ya holler:
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
They hear what you say
(That way)
Voice your choice!
(Vote with your dollar)
[Breakdown]
Let’s hear ya holler:
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
[Final Refrain]
Vote!
(With your dollar)
Let the crowd get loud:
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
They hear what you say
(That way)
Voice your choice!
(Vote with your dollar)
[Final Chorus]
Vote!
(With your dollar)
Let your choices speak
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Strong enough
To move the week
Vote!
(Vote with your dollar)
Make the market hear
Voice your choice!
(Vote with your dollar)
Make your vision clear
[Outro]
Vote!
With your dollar…
(Holler!)
Vote!
With your choice…
(Make sense with your cents)
Money’s your voice
(Create scenes of dreams)
[Spoken, fading]
Where your money goes…
The market knows.
Vote with your dollar.
MEGA
[Intro]
Make Earth…
Earth again.
Not someday.
Begin.
[Verse 1]
Look around
(What do you see?)
A living world
(That set us free)
Sky above
(Ground below)
Still alive
(Do we know?)
But the signal
Has been clear
Change is moving
(Fast n’ near)
[Refrain]
Make Earth
(Earth again)
Start your heart…
(Begin)
Make Earth
(Earth again)
Start your heart…
(Begin)
Put love…
(Above)
Love, love, love
[Verse 2]
We don’t need
A perfect plan
Just a different
Undamned demand
Exclamation:
(Reclamation!)
[Chorus]
MEGA!
(Make Earth Great Again)
Not by looking backward
But by moving forward
MEGA!
(Make Earth Great Again)
Start with what you do
Start with what you choose
[Bridge]
Make Earth
(Earth again)
Start your heart…
(Begin)
Put love…
(Above)
Love, love, love
[Rap Vocal Break]
Earth isn’t waiting
For somebody else
It’s sitting right here
Under your feet
Your dollar
Your choices
Yo! Holler:
Your voices
[Breakdown]
Start your heart…
Begin.
No grand permission.
No perfect moment.
Just begin.
[Final Refrain]
Make Earth
(Earth again)
Start your heart…
(Begin)
Make Earth
(Earth again)
Start your heart…
(Begin)
[Final Chorus]
Make Earth
(Earth again)
Start your heart…
(Begin)
Put love…
(Above)
Love, love, love
It’s a choice
(It’s a choice)
It’s a voice
(It’s a voice)
[Outro]
Make Earth…
Earth again…
Start your heart…
Begin.
[Spoken, fading]
Make Earth.
(Lovin’)
Begin.
Me, My, Mine
[Intro]
Me…
My…
Mine…
Three little words.
(A pretty small world…)
[Refrain]
Do you do
(“Me, my, mine”)
… all the time
Does the world
Turn around you
(Is that your point of view?)
[Verse 1]
My way, my day, my point of view
My wants, my needs, my “I” comes through
My plans, my place, my piece of pie
My reasons why, my reasons why
Mine to keep and mine to claim
Mine to win and mine to name
… somewhere in the “me” and “my”
A bigger world is passing by
[Pre-Chorus]
Me!
(My!)
Mine!
(All the time!)
Look!
(Outside!)
See!
(The other side!)
[Chorus]
Me, my, mine
(That’s the line)
Me, my, mine
(All the time)
What about us?
(What about we?)
Too much fuss?
(Can’t you see?)
[Refrain]
Do you do
(“Me, my, mine”)
… all the time
Does the world
Turn around you
(Is that your view?)
[Verse 2]
One small circle, one small view
Can become a cage around you
When the mirror is the only frame
The wider world can lose its name
There’s a difference between self-care
And believing no one else is there
Take care of what you call your own
But don’t mistake the world for home alone
[Instrumental]
Me!
(My!)
Mine!
(But…)
You!
(Your!)
Ours!
(Us!)
If the world
(Turns around)
Maybe turn
(And look around)
[Breakdown]
Me…
My…
Mine…
Then…
You…
Your…
Yours…
And maybe…
Ours.
[Final Refrain]
Do you do
(“Me, my, mine”)
… all the time
Does the world
Turn around you
(Is that your point of view?)
[Final Chorus]
Me, my, mine
(That’s the line)
But life is bigger
(Than your side)
Me, my, mine
(Think again)
Make some room
(For “we” and “when”)
Does the world
(Turn around you?)
Look around
(And see the view)
Me, my, mine
(Can change the rhyme)
From “me” and “mine”
(To “ours” in time)
Here we go!
(Tippin’ like a domino)
Ho! Ho! Ho!
(Fallin’ over… ya know?)
[Verse 1]
One little push can start a sway
One small shift can change the way
Can you see the sea…
(Saw) …
A changing world changes me
(Jaw dropping awe)
One turns two
(Two turns three)
Linked together
(You and me)
Amplify
(Amplify)
Accelerate
(Accelerate)
Tip!
(Tip!)
Cascade!
(Cascade!)
Here we go!
(Tippin’ like a domino)
Ho! Ho! Ho!
(Fallin’ over… ya know?)
[Outro]
One…
Two…
Three…
Tip…
Fall…
Feedback…
Coupling…
[Spoken, fading]
Once they start talking…
(Too late for walking.)
About the Song
Coupled climate feedbacks are becoming one of the most consequential dimensions of climate risk in the 21st century because they amplify changes and connect individual tipping-point pathways into larger cascading effects.
The longer warming persists, the more climate feedbacks become active. As these feedbacks interact, we are already observing nonlinear responses, amplification, and cascading impacts across the climate system. Hundreds of feedback mechanisms have been identified, and many can couple and reinforce one another, contributing to the accelerating pace and increasing magnitude of climate change—The Domino Effect.
Bye Buy
[Intro]
Mass…
Consumption…
Buy…
Buy…
(Maybe it’s time to say goodbye?)
[Refrain]
Mass
(Consumption)
Bye buy
Pass
(Resumption)
Bye buy
Sigh…
You know…
(You’ve gotta go)
[Verse 1]
Walk into the store
See a little more
Something catches your eye
Another reason why
Got to have it now
Don’t ask yourself how
Fill the cart and pay
Then toss it all away
[Pre-Chorus]
Want it!
(Buy it!)
Need it!
(Do I?)
More!
(Give me more!)
Stop!
(What’s it for?)
[Chorus]
Bye buy
(Bye buy)
Wave it goodbye
(Bye buy)
Mass consumption
(Moving fast)
Feeds the habit
(Does it last?)
Buy buy
(Bye buy)
Another thing goes by
(Bye buy)
Less can be more
(That’s the score)
Leave a little
(For the future)
[Verse 2]
A bargain isn’t free
When the cost is hard to see
From the factory to the shelf
From the shelf to someone else
Resources leave the ground
Then they travel all around
Energy goes into the chain
Then the leftovers remain
[Bridge]
Pass!
(Resumption!)
Pass on!
(The temptation!)
Use what you’ve got
(Use it again)
Fix it!
(Repair!)
Share it!
(Be fair!)
Want less
(Need less)
Waste less
(Live more)
… for sure!
[Breakdown]
Sigh…
You know…
You’ve gotta go…
Away from the habit.
(How ’bout it)
[Rap Vocal Break]
Buy buy
Click click
Swipe swipe
Add it to the cart real quick
New new
More more
What was the old one for?
Make it
Ship it
Wrap it
Flip it
Use it once
Then forget it
Mass consumption
Running the show
But we can slow it
We can say no
Bye buy
(Bye buy)
That’s the move
(That’s the groove)
Choose what matters
Change the rules
(Fools!)
[Final Refrain]
Mass
(Consumption)
Bye buy
Pass
(Resumption)
Bye buy
You can ignore some more?
(Aint’ no use in praying)
… who’s paying?
[Outro]
[Instrumental Outro: Garage Guitar, Bouncy Bass, Organ, Toy Piano and Rain Percussion; Gradual Fade]
Rain…
Reign…
Pour…
Poor…
[Spoken, fading]
It’s raining. It’s pouring.
(The old man is snoring)
It’s reigning. It’s pooring.
(I’m saying:)
… ain’t no use praying
(The thrill to…)
Kill!
(Joy)
Enjoy?
About the Song
This is where the bleeding edge begins.
Clouds are arguably the largest remaining uncertainty in our understanding of climate sensitivity. They can both reflect incoming solar radiation and trap outgoing heat. Which effect dominates—and how that balance changes as the planet warms—is one of the great questions in climate science.
My expectation is that the climate system could eventually approach a new equilibrium around +4°C above the preindustrial baseline, perhaps over the course of a couple centuries. That would imply roughly +2–3°C this century, with additional warming continuing into the next.
But that remains uncertain.
The important point is that climate change is not a simple linear equation. It is a massively interconnected system in which changes in one component can alter another, which then feeds back into the first. Ice affects albedo. Albedo affects heating. Heating affects clouds. Clouds affect radiation. Radiation affects ocean temperatures. Ocean temperatures affect evaporation and atmospheric moisture. And the cycle continues.
Everything is nonlinear.
Yet uncertainty about the exact trajectory does not mean uncertainty about what we should do.
The clearest lever we have is still the same: reduce CO₂ emissions and slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
And while the long-term equilibrium matters, there is a much more immediate question.
What happens to you over the next five years?
We are already seeing rainfall becoming more intense and, in many places, more destructive—violent. A warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor, increasing the potential for extreme precipitation. The question isn’t simply how hot the planet might become over the next 50 years.
The more immediate question is:
What is the violent rain going to do to your home, your community, your infrastructure, your insurance—and you—over the next five years?
That is where climate change stops being a distant projection and starts becoming a personal reality.
Here we go!
(Tippin’ like a domino)
Ho! Ho! Ho!
(Fallin’ over… ya know?)
[Verse 1]
One little push can start a sway
One small shift can change the way
Can you see the sea…
(Saw) …
A changing world changes me
(Jaw dropping awe)
About the Song
Coupled climate feedbacks are becoming one of the most consequential dimensions of climate risk in the 21st century because they amplify changes and connect individual tipping-point pathways into larger cascading effects.
The longer warming persists, the more climate feedbacks become active. As these feedbacks interact, we are already observing nonlinear responses, amplification, and cascading impacts across the climate system. Hundreds of feedback mechanisms have been identified, and many can couple and reinforce one another, contributing to the accelerating pace and increasing magnitude of climate change—The Domino Effect.
[Intro]
[Instrumental Intro: Fast Analog Synth Pulse, Driving Bass, Tight Drums, Electric Guitar Riff, Rising Atmospheric Pads]
[Whispered Vocal]
(All You Need to Know)
[Spoken Vocal]
You don’t need to read the whole book…
Just watch the pages turn…
(… and you’ll learn…)
[Refrain]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
… all you need to know
[Verse 1]
The old Earth keeps a ledger
Written slowly in the stone
Layer after layer
A thousand years to turn a page
Mountains move like sleeping giants
Rivers carve their names
Ice remembers ancient winters
Buried deep beneath the frame
But now the hands are spinning
And the pages start to fly
As the lights are dimming
(… hear the calendar sigh)
[Pre-Chorus]
Look!
(Look outside)
See!
(See the signs)
Slow!
(Way back then)
Fast!
(Past the past.)
[Chorus]
You know
(All you need to know)
The old clock’s running faster
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
Watch the river change its frame
(Watch the seasons lose their names)
[Refrain]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
… all you need to know
[Verse 2]
Once upon a deeper time
A stone came from the sky
One instant split the story
And the ancient giants died
The world remembers that moment
Like a scar beneath the skin
A flash across the darkness
And the long night closing in
[Pre-Chorus]
No crater
(No need to ask why)
No thunder
(Screaming from the sky)
Just a little more
(A little more)
Until the little becomes folklore
[Chorus]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
All you need to know
(All you need to know)
Is watch the hands
(One understands)
[Instrumental]
[Electric Guitar Solo: Expansive, Melodic, Gradually Accelerating; Bass and Drums Build Beneath It; Synth Swells Like a Rising Horizon]
[Bridge]
Deep time
(Deep, deep time)
Human time
(Our time)
We crawled
(Now watch us run)
Coming undone…
[Rap Vocal Break]
Read the rings
Read the rock
Read the ice
Watch the clock
See the window
Look outside
No need to hide
No need to theorize
Watch the coast
Watch the sky
Watch the seasons passing by
The planet isn’t standing still
(We’ve moved ‘er with our freewill)
[Breakdown]
[Music Drops to Acoustic Guitar, Low Piano, Distant Synth]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast like a dyin’ dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster as a dino)
… all you need to know
[Final Refrain]
You know
(All you need to know)
Moving fast as the dino
What else do you need to know
(Look out your window)
See how fast we go
(Faster than a dino)
… all you need to know
All you need to know
(All you need to know)
[Outro]
[Instrumental Outro: Acoustic Guitar Arpeggios, Warm Piano, Deep Bass, Distant Electric Guitar, Synth Slowly Accelerating]
Look out your window…
Watch the water…
Watch the sky…
Watch the seasons…
Watch the hands…
Moving…
Moving…
Moving…
[Faint Vocal]
Faster than a dino…
All you need to know.
About the Song
Human CO2 Climate Change: All You Need to Know
by Daniel Brouse
Human CO2 Climate Change: All You Need to Know
An unprecedented rate of Earth-system change.
The Geological Society of London (the UK’s expert association of professional geologists since 1807) says:
” ….the current speed of human-induced CO2 change and warming is nearly without precedent in the entire geological record, with the only known exception being the instantaneous, meteorite-induced event that caused the extinction of non-bird-like dinosaurs 66 million years ago” (H/T Rocky Rex)
We’ve arrived at a very similar observation in our own work, but I don’t think I’ve seen it stated this clearly—or published elsewhere. Thanks, Rocky, for helping to illuminate it.
Juxtapose the two and let me know whether the comparison can be communicated more effectively.
Multiple climate indicators now point to rates of warming-related disruption far beyond those observed during the modern instrumental era.
There is no well-established geological analog for a sustained, multi-variable, decade-scale pattern of accelerating change across the full Earth system at the resolution available in contemporary observations. If sustained, this may represent one of the most abrupt large-scale climate transitions in Earth’s geological history.
The climate system is not simply warming—it is changing how it responds to that warming. Coupled climate feedbacks are becoming one of the most consequential dimensions of climate risk in the 21st century because they amplify changes and connect individual tipping-point pathways into larger cascading effects.
The longer warming persists, the more climate feedbacks become active. As these feedbacks interact, we are already observing nonlinear responses, amplification, and cascading impacts across the climate system. Hundreds of feedback mechanisms have been identified, and many can couple and reinforce one another, contributing to the accelerating pace and increasing magnitude of climate change—The Domino Effect.
About the Song
The new release of the day, “Acceleration,” comes from the album Rush. It’s a retro-futuristic garage-rock track infused with elements of dubstep, before transitioning into experimental electronic glitch.
The song explores climate acceleration—the way warming, feedback activation, feedback coupling, and amplification can push the climate system into increasingly rapid change. The progression is much like water cascading over a waterfall: once the flow accelerates, each successive drop carries the system faster toward the next.
“Acceleration” features an Ibanez electric/acoustic guitar alongside a mix of analog and synthesizer keyboards, blending organic instrumentation with increasingly chaotic electronic textures.
The climate system is not simply warming—it is changing how it responds to that warming. Coupled climate feedbacks are becoming one of the most consequential dimensions of climate risk in the 21st century because they amplify changes and connect individual tipping-point pathways into larger cascading effects.
The longer warming persists, the more climate feedbacks become active. As these feedbacks interact, we are already observing nonlinear responses, amplification, and cascading impacts across the climate system. Hundreds of feedback mechanisms have been identified, and many can couple and reinforce one another, contributing to the accelerating pace and increasing magnitude of climate change—The Domino Effect.
Bottom line:The question is no longer how warm the planet becomes, but how life on Earth can endure when change outpaces our ability to adapt.
We cannot control the laws of physics, but we can control our pollution. The most effective action is to stop burning fossil fuels.
Lapse-rate feedback
(Changes the game)
Land and atmosphere
(They’re not the same)
[Outro]
[Instrumental Outro: Pulsing Bass, Echoing Guitar, Layered Synth, Slow Heavy Drums]
Lapse-rate feedback
(Feed back, back, back)
What is perplexing
(Sure needs fixing)
Can’t be a denier
(Of the amplifier)
Feed back…
Back…
Back…
[Final spoken vocal]
The ice changes the surface.
The atmosphere changes the response.
And the feedback…
Keeps feeding back.
(Back, back, back)
In a loopty loop loop
About the Song
How Lapse-Rate and Ice–Albedo Feedbacks Couple to Create a Powerful Self-Reinforcing Warming Loop
The Two Dominant Drivers of Arctic Amplification
Arctic amplification is not produced by a single climate feedback. It emerges from the interaction of several processes that redistribute, trap, and amplify energy within the Arctic climate system.
Two of the most important are the lapse-rate feedback and the ice–albedo feedback. They operate through different physical mechanisms, but they are tightly coupled:
Lapse-Rate Feedback → Traps Heat Near the Surface
Ice–Albedo Feedback → Converts More Sunlight Into Heat
Together, they create a reinforcing loop:
Warming → Atmospheric Stabilization → Surface Heat Retention → Ice and Snow Loss → Lower Albedo → Greater Solar Absorption → More Warming
This coupling helps explain why the Arctic can warm substantially faster than the global average.
1. Lapse-Rate Feedback: The Primary Atmospheric Amplifier
The Arctic atmosphere behaves very differently from the atmosphere of the tropics.
In the warm tropics, intense solar heating produces strong convection. Warm air rises, expands, mixes vertically, and transports energy high into the atmosphere. This vertical mixing helps distribute surface heating through a deep atmospheric column, where energy can ultimately be radiated to space.
The Arctic atmosphere is often much more stable.
During periods of strong surface cooling—especially over snow- and ice-covered surfaces—cold, dense air can accumulate near the ground while warmer air remains above it. This creates a temperature inversion, in which temperature increases with height rather than decreasing.
The result is a strongly stratified atmosphere with limited vertical mixing.
When greenhouse gases and other processes add energy to the Arctic system, that energy is therefore more readily retained near the surface rather than rapidly redistributed upward by convection.
This produces a critical asymmetry:
Tropical warming → strong vertical mixing
Arctic warming → weak vertical mixing and enhanced near-surface warming
The lapse-rate feedback therefore changes how efficiently the Arctic atmosphere can respond to additional radiative energy.
As the Arctic warms, the vertical temperature structure changes. The characteristic lapse rate—the rate at which temperature changes with altitude—affects the amount of infrared radiation escaping to space. Because the Arctic surface and lower atmosphere can warm disproportionately, the region’s radiative response differs substantially from that of warmer, more convective regions.
The result is an atmospheric environment particularly favorable to near-surface warming and Arctic amplification.
2. Ice–Albedo Feedback: The Solar Amplifier
The lapse-rate feedback is only part of the story.
The Arctic is covered by highly reflective surfaces—especially snow and sea ice—that normally reflect a substantial fraction of incoming sunlight back toward space.
Ice and snow therefore act as a planetary-scale solar shield.
But warming begins to remove that shield.
As snow and ice melt, they expose darker surfaces:
Bright snow and ice → dark ocean and land
Dark surfaces absorb much more solar radiation than bright, reflective surfaces.
That additional absorbed energy warms the surface and surrounding environment, which promotes additional melting.
The loop becomes:
Warming → Ice/Snow Loss → Lower Albedo → More Solar Absorption → More Warming
This is the classic ice–albedo feedback.
Unlike the lapse-rate mechanism, which primarily alters the vertical distribution and radiative behavior of atmospheric energy, the ice–albedo feedback changes the amount of incoming solar energy absorbed by the surface.
The two mechanisms therefore attack the climate system from different directions.
3. The Coupling: When Two Feedbacks Reinforce Each Other
The real significance emerges when the feedbacks are considered together.
The lapse-rate feedback helps concentrate warming near the Arctic surface.
The ice–albedo feedback increases the amount of solar energy absorbed by that same surface.
That creates a powerful coupling:
Greenhouse Forcing
↓
Atmospheric Stability / Lapse-Rate Effects
↓
More Near-Surface Heat Retention
↓
Warmer Surface
↓
Snow and Ice Loss
↓
Lower Surface Albedo
↓
More Solar Energy Absorbed
↓
Additional Surface Warming
↓
Further Snow and Ice Loss
The result is not simply two independent feedbacks operating side by side.
