A Government Just Quietly Announced The Collapse of Civilization
A news update.
We know our so-called “leaders” will never just come out and say the collapse has started, but they’re giving us a lot of hints.
Sometimes, you run across a piece of news that perfectly sums up the state of the world. This one comes from Matthew Gault over at 404 Media, reporting on the British government’s latest efforts to combat the country’s worst drought in nearly 50 years. So, are they finally suing Big Oil?
No, not quite.
Are they going to regulate tech companies that destroy the environment with their reckless pursuit of artificial intelligence? Are they going to overhaul their economic system to prioritize equilibrium?
Also, no.
Instead, they’ve issued requests for their citizens to delete old photos and emails from their computers to “reduce pressure” on the grid.
What a bold move…
Of course, we could run through the ample documentation showing what data centers are doing to the planet—but you probably know. It’s been covered by almost every news source, from The Washington Post to Forbes. Just over the last two years, AI has motivated tech companies all over the world to ditch their climate pledges while rebooting coal plants and nuclear reactors.
If you live near a data center, you might already see what they do to your utilities. It’s not pretty. So, if things weren’t bad enough, many of us can also look forward to technocrats triggering brownouts and water shortages, on top of record droughts and heatwaves. Not only do corporations not care, they’re dumping every penny they can into more data centers while telling us to take shorter showers and delete our Facebook albums, like it’s our fault.
It’s an interesting clue to the future.
If you follow the science, you know water scarcity was already becoming the norm. Even consulting giants like McKinsey have been quietly telling us that water is on track to become the most valuable resource on the planet. Other companies and consulting firms have been advising their clients to invest in things like water, energy, and air conditioning. They know what’s happening. As we’ve discussed here more than once, they have no intention of stopping it.
They plan to profit.
Ironically, my family was just talking about our longterm plans to eventually install a rain catchment system. It’s not exactly a simple thing to do in the suburbs, especially if you have a conventional shingle roof. They don’t produce potable water, at least not without an extensive filtration system. Even then, your city might not approve it for connection to conventional indoor plumbing tied to the grid. Companies that install rain catchment systems might not even do it.
None of this means you shouldn’t try. It means you should anticipate it becoming a big project, not something you can knock out in a weekend. If you don’t have a lot of knowledge or skill in this area, plan to budget a significant chunk of time and/or money. I’ve been digging into rain catchment systems for a couple years now, and we’re still not quite ready to dive in.
If you had the means, you could conceivably install a rain catchment system on a backyard shed. You could design an off-grid tiny house in your yard with its own potable water source. Tack on some solar panels, and you’ve got a little survival nook that doesn’t have to be a whole house. It’s not a bad idea, especially for anyone who has reservations about going totally off-grid. In the meantime, a few rain barrels and a couple of good water filters will have to do.
Long before the famines, many of us can expect data centers to move next door and make our lives a huge pain. As Gault warns us, these things can kill your water pressure. They can introduce contaminants. They can throttle your breaker box. They can bring brownouts to your neighborhood.
This update fits with our ongoing theme: If you were thinking about a rain catchment system, if you were thinking about solar panels, if you were thinking about just collapsing now and moving to the country, this would be yet another indication that you’re not paranoid for considering any of these things. If you think you have the means, then stop second-guessing yourself.
Go ahead and start working on it.
What else can you do?
You can start bugging your local officials about keeping data centers out of your area. Maybe some of them will listen. At the local level, democracy still kinda works. It’s also not a bad way to start building community and suss out who’s collapse aware. Your neighbors might not care about collapse just yet, but they might when they know it starts with personal inconvenience.
When our governments start telling us to conserve water by deleting photos and emails, you know things are getting pretty bad. It’s a sign of so many problems, including our society’s screwed up priorities. If they’re blaming us for water shortages now, in 2025, imagine what 2030 will look like.
Anyway, that’s how a government announces collapse.
By telling us to delete emails…
To save water.
We have friends in a Northern Ca. town who have a privatized water utility. They were told that home water reclamation and collection is illegal (including rain water) because that water “belongs” to the water company! I guess you only rent water now, then you have to return it!
We have a section of tin roof over our patio, as well as a tin shed. I need to set up another water barrel or two using them.
In a related thought: Do you think a sheet of tin creased into the right shape and held up by a few 2 x 4s , emptying into a barrel work for those who don't have tin roofs? 🤔