Finite Climate Change & Environment

Chris and Charlie try to figure out what energy source is best to replace fossil fuels, but things go off the rails immediately…and they wind up with an extended discussion about mining waste? ____________________________________ Issue 2: Green energy & electric cars Intro: Why does green energy produce so much toxic waste? Chapter 1: Comparing wind, solar, nuclear & geothermal energy; mining waste Chapter 2: The human and environmental costs of green energy mining Chapter 3: Phasing out cars (even electric ones) to save the planet Chapter 4: Your life would be way better if we phased out cars Bonus 1: Planet-saving green energy technology we foolishly never developed Bonus 2: How did Congo (the world’s leading cobalt producer) get the way it is? Bonus 3: The Congo Wars (1996-2003) and its millions of victims _____ Issue 2 is available in written and podcast format __________

After finding that green energy has a worse radioactive waste problem than nuclear energy, Chris lays out green energy deal with the devil: to save the planet from climate change, it will be necessary to sacrifice parts of the planet with mining waste. Two tables are referenced in this episode: ____________________________________ Issue 2: Green energy & electric cars Intro: Why does green energy produce so much toxic waste? Chapter 1: Comparing wind, solar, nuclear & geothermal energy; mining waste Chapter 2: The human and environmental costs of green energy mining Chapter 3: Phasing out cars (even electric ones) to save the planet Chapter 4: Your life would be way better if we phased out cars Bonus 1: Planet-saving green energy technology we foolishly never developed Bonus 2: How did Congo (the world’s leading cobalt producer) get the way it is? Bonus 3: The Congo Wars (1996-2003) and its millions of victims _____ Issue 2 is available in written and podcast format __________

If you’re in the Milwaukee area on Monday, October 13, don’t miss the Finite launch party! Grab some free snacks, meet the editors and cohosts, peep a sneak preview of future issues, and get a discounted subscription! Anyone who attends will get a free set of bonus chapters! If you have never been to the Vulture Space community bike workshop, it is worth the trip just to look around. You can support the Vulture Space mission of protecting the planet by helping ordinary Milwaukeeans repair and maintain their bikes: https://www.vulturespace.org/donate See you there! Monday, October 13, 20256-8pm651 N Plankinton Avenue, Milwaukee

Chris and Charley conclude Issue 1 by discussing how mainstream economists and climate scientists can look at the same data and reach wildly different conclusions. How can mainstream economists predict small dents to the economy when climate scientists see existential threats to civilization itself? Perhaps Sahelian desertification and climate change can only be solved if we stop listening to mainstream economists. ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________ Images from Chapter 4 How mainstream economists and climate scientists estimate our climate risk: Slide from William Nordhaus’s Nobel Prize for Economics lecture summarizing his work calculating that 4 degrees is “optimal” warming: Exponential increase in fossil fuel consumption: President Reagan and Ahmaduo Ahidjo: President Obama and Paul Biya:

Why did Ahidjo suddenly resign in 1982 at the height of his power? How did Paul Biya wrest power from a seemingly all-powerful Ahidjo? Chris and Charley explore the mystery of Cameroon’s 1983 succession. Subscriber link to bonus chapter: https://www.finitemag.org/2025/04/ahmaduo-ahidjo-paul-biya-cameroon-dictator-transfer-of-power/ Not a subscriber? Subscribe here: https://www.finitemag.org/shop/ ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________

Chris and Charley cover the darkly fascinating cloak-and-dagger story of Ahidjo’s rise to power – with help from the French, of course. Subscriber link to bonus chapter: https://www.finitemag.org/2025/04/rise-of-ahmaduo-ahidjo-dictator-cameroon-france-neocolonialism/ Not a subscriber? Subscribe here: https://www.finitemag.org/shop/ ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________

Chris and Charlie discuss the global scandal of debt and structural adjustments, how it came to Cameroon and contributed to poverty, underdevelopment, and desertification. Then, they compare IMF structural adjustments to a proven anti-desertification model: how the American New Deal beat the Dust Bowl. To end, they discuss the dire situation of rural Cameroonians, and why desertification can’t be beat without addressing poverty. Remember: land degradation is responsible for a quarter of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions. We can’t stop catastrophic climate change without fixing the Sahelian desertification crisis. ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________

Chris and Charley relate the gripping story of the Cameroonian Independence Movement 1945-1957, covering parts we didn’t have time for in Chapter 2. Subscriber link to bonus chapter: https://www.finitemag.org/2025/03/cameroon-independence-upc-france-um-nyobe-ahmaduo-ahidjo-pierre-messmer/ Not a subscriber? Subscribe here: https://www.finitemag.org/shop/ ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________

Chris and Charley discuss the incredible story of how Cameroon’s independence movement took on the French Empire and almost won. Then, they trace the sad story of how the French fought back, installed a dictator, and continue to exploit an “independent” Cameroon. Both agree that with France’s dark influence from independence to today, it is no surprise that Cameroon is one of the poorest countries on earth. Poverty is no accident; it’s exploitation. ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________

Chris and Charley discuss the Sahel’s desertification crisis, and how this has led to the collapse of Lake Chad. Then, they try to decide whether global poverty statistics characterize poverty or are an exercise in concealing the severity of the problem before reviewing those statistics for Cameroon. Then they turn to and water infrastructure in Cameroon with more obfuscating statistics. Finally, we meet some of the villains of the story. ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________

Chris explains the stakes of Issue 1. We begin with atrocious statistics on humanity’s access to drinking water and uncover some shocking examples of the collapse of freshwater resources. We cover the source of a quarter of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions — a source you may never even have heard of. ____________________________________ Issue 1: Climate Change and Freshwater Intro: Why did Lake Chad collapse and why are Cameroonians so thirsty? Chapter 1: Desertification of the Sahel and Cameroon’s water infrastructure Chapter 2: Cameroon gains “independence” from France Chapter 3: Poverty, structural adjustments, and dictators Chapter 4: The US New Deal’s Soil Conservation Service is a proven model Bonus 1: More on Cameroon’s independence movement Bonus 2: How did Ahidjo make himself a dictator? Bonus 3: How did Biya take control from Ahidjo? _____ Issue 1 is available in written and podcast format __________