We don’t just watch the news; we watch the undercurrents.
Do you know why the Spartans actually died out? Their society was built on the image of militaristic prowess, but at the high levels, they became “all talk.” They were overrun because their storytelling outpaced their actual survival systems.
Today’s sustainability culture is at the same crossroads. If we only talk about the “transition” while ignoring the active sabotage in the undercurrents, we are going to be overrun by the very forces doing harm to the world we’re building.
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January’s Active Harm Report
2025 was one of the hottest years on record, yet the “Design of the Fail” is in full swing. And we’re in an Era of Global Water Bankruptcy.
- The Urban Plastic Cloud: This recent study reveals microplastics in city air are orders of magnitude higher than we thought. Yet, France just postponed its plastic cup ban until 2030, citing “technical difficulties.” Reminder: Plastic is a fossil fuel byproduct. Delaying these bans is protecting the oil industry.
- The Energy Grab: The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) is subsidizing fossil fuels to the tune of $40 billion and the administration is asking to sink $100 billion into crude oil infrastructure in Venezuela.
- The Kill Switch: Renewables are under fire. Federal solar tax credits now have a “start construction” deadline of July 4, 2026 and, luckily, US Federal Court System called bullsh*t on the cancelled clean energy grants in democratic states.
- The Science Crashout: The EPA will no longer consider the economic cost of harm to human health from air pollution. By removing the dollar amount from lives saved, they’ve made human health invisible on the balance sheet.
- There’s a move to dismantle NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research)
- Even the endangered species list is… endangered.
The Rest of the World is Doing Science
- China and India saw their first coal power decrease since the 70s.
- And the breakthrough science in 2025 was that renewables surpassed coal globally.
- The EU launched its “Independence Moment,” doubling down on circularity and electrification to escape the US/Russia energy tug-of-war.
- Stingless Bees in the Amazon were granted legal rights—the first insects to be rights-bearing subjects.
Can We Do It Without the USA?
The US is currently acting as the global bully, undermining resilience to keep the title of being the ‘most powerful’. As Ashley the Baronness points out, The US is doing a classic US thing right now, closing ranks and patrolling for people of color. I don’t think they’re coming into the climate fold any time soon.
Do I think the transition works without them? No. But we can make them not matter by leaving them out of the plans for now.
The change is coming. So let’s build infrastructures that work, so that when the US doesn’t have a choice anymore, there are solutions to step into.
Here at Dandelion, we’re all for sowing the seeds of dissent from within. Wanna join? Go to the Dandelion Branding YouTube and subscribe.