Elie Mystal

 In News Unrelated to the Current Chaos

Earth’s oceans once again shattered heat records last year. It’s difficult to understand just how much extra heat the oceans absorbed in 2025. Here’s how Hawaii-based reporter Jeremy Yurow put it: “The amount of heat the oceans soaked up last year is difficult to comprehend: 23 zettajoules more than 2024. That’s roughly the same amount of energy the entire world uses in 37 years.”

That’s 37 years of Earth’s total energy output being sunk into our oceans in one year.

People will die: Hotter oceans lead to worse storms.

People will starve: Hotter oceans kill coral reefs, which devastates coastal fishing.

People will drown: Hotter oceans lead to more ice melting and rising sea levels.

Oh, and at some unknown tipping point, desalinated ice water will interrupt the Gulf Coast current and turn coastal North America, which is heated by warm water coming up from the Gulf OF MEXICO, into an icebox.

But none of this will bother Elon Musk or any of the tech bros who are consuming as much power as possible to produce AI-generated child porn. None of this will bother Joe Manchin or any of the coal bros who make billions off of greenhouse gas–producing power. None of this will bother Donald Trump, who can’t blame rising sea temperatures on Somali immigrants in Minnesota.

This should be urgent news, but nobody in power in our country is doing a damn thing to stop it. That’s why I’ve classed this unmitigated existential horror as  “unrelated to the current chaos.” It’s not even a real issue to the people with the political power to do anything about it.

Like I said, I’m pretty gripped by despair right now. I’m part of a failed party, a failed country, and a failed species. No matter how wide I open the aperture of the lens to let the light in, everything appears bleak.

I won’t give up, though. I have children. I have to properly model “fighting despite unwinnable odds,” because that is going to be their whole life.