Julian Cribb
Julian Cribb AM is an Australian science writer and author of six books on the human existential emergency. His latest book is “How to Fix a Broken Planet” (Cambridge University Press, 2023)
Julian's articles (118 total)
Humanity is trapped between mad warlords and greedy scoundrels
The danger of nuclear war does not begin and end with Donald Trump, but with a failing system of nation states, militarised power and corporate oligarchy.
Our poisoned chalice
Unsafe water already kills millions, while scarcity, PFAS, endocrine disruptors, industrial waste and AI’s thirst are turning clean water into a global crisis.
A nature-based food revolution
Forget AI. The technological advance that will save the most human lives is being led by two million Indian farmers, who are pioneering advanced natural food production in a revolutionary movement that is spreading almost by the hour.
The madness of King Oil
Most governments remain hooked on oil instead of making the vital changes humans and the planet need for global energy transformation.
Artificial stupidity...and the well-worn road to technicide
The allure of AI creating boundless productivity may lead, perversely, to zero demand and the death of society because it is too dependent on a technology. It has happened before.
Who will release the next pandemic?
The next pandemic may emerge from wildlife trade, intensive farming, land clearing, laboratories, global travel or antibiotic resistance, as human behaviour continues to multiply the risks of another major disease outbreak.
Man the desert maker; woman the healer
The solution to the desertification of the planet may well rest with women – since it is men who do most of the destroying.
When the Earth's well runs dry
Beneath our very feet, a silent crisis is unfolding. Unseen, unheeded, the Earth is running out of freshwater.
A man-made comet is striking the Earth
From climate change and extinction to groundwater depletion and chemical pollution, human activity is now transforming the Earth on a geological scale with potentially catastrophic consequences for civilisation and life itself.
The coming famine
The short-term world food crisis caused by the conflict in West Asia is superimposed on a far graver, deeper and longer-running risk of a collapse in global food production caused by the remorseless combination of climate change and losses of soil, water and biodiversity.
The real war is misinformation – and it’s blocking climate action
A global disinformation campaign is undermining climate action, weakening democracy and posing a direct threat to human survival, according to new security analysis.
Turning waste into wealth
A vast “circularity gap” is driving resource depletion and risk, but closing it could unlock trillions in value and reduce pressure on the planet.
We're soaking in it
Human waste is overwhelming rivers, oceans and ecosystems worldwide, driving pollution, disease and ecological breakdown on a planetary scale.
Overpopulation is pushing Earth past breaking point
Scientific evidence shows humanity has exceeded Earth’s long-term carrying capacity, placing growing strain on the systems that sustain life and increasing the risk of global instability.
A ‘small’ nuclear war would still be global catastrophe
There is no such thing as a “small” nuclear war. Even limited use would trigger mass death, famine and global collapse.
Plastic is poisoning the planet – and us
Plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental issue – it is entering the human body at scale, with growing evidence of serious health risks.
Does Iran already have a nuclear deterrent?
Iran may already have the materials and delivery systems to deter a nuclear strike – raising the stakes in an escalating conflict.
The greatest danger is not war – it is planetary breakdown
Human activity is pushing Earth beyond safe planetary limits, raising the risk of climate breakdown, ecological collapse and systemic global failure.
The Age of Lies and the threat to civilisation
A global surge of misinformation – amplified by social media, AI fakery and organised disinformation campaigns – is corroding the foundations of democratic decision-making and public trust.
Rising seas could menace a billion people this century
Accelerating sea level rise driven by warming oceans and melting ice threatens coastal cities worldwide, placing up to a billion people at risk before the end of the century.
As the planet warms, more girls are being born
New research suggests rising temperatures may be skewing birth ratios towards females in overheated regions. At the same time, declining fertility and male-dominated industries driving climate change raise deeper questions about leadership and humanity’s future.
Is algae smarter than politicians?
The world’s coral reefs are undergoing a fourth mass die-off, driven by rapidly accelerating global heating. As Julian Cribb explains, the science is clear – and the political failure to respond is not defensible.
Water bankruptcy is no longer a future threat
Across large parts of the world, water demand now permanently exceeds supply. This is not a temporary crisis but a condition of irreversible scarcity driven by overuse, climate change and population pressure.
When ecosystems fail, civilisation follows
A new UK security assessment warns that ecosystem collapse is no longer an environmental issue alone – it is a direct threat to global security, prosperity and human survival. Without urgent action, the consequences will intensify well beyond climate change.
Why the Doomsday Clock still underestimates the risk of civilisational collapse
The Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight than ever before, but its latest warning still leaves out many of the forces pushing civilisation towards collapse.
De-icing the Earth: a fatal decision
Global ice is melting fast, with major sea level rise and extreme heat locked in unless emissions fall sharply. The window to act is closing.
Ten threats, one emergency: how to become Earth Citizens
Humanity is facing a compounding crisis driven by population growth, consumption, pollution and power. These interconnected threats cannot be addressed one by one if civilisation is to endure.
Welcome to BunkerWorld – home of the rich and fearful
From luxury bunkers to billionaire boltholes, the world’s richest are planning for collapse rather than preventing it. Julian Cribb argues this fear reveals a deeper failure of our economic system – and a stark choice for humanity’s future.
The wisdom of the elders, the greed of the rich
As the planet spirals toward environmental collapse, elders like Attenborough, Earle, Hansen and Suzuki have spent decades warning us – and offering hope. But the billionaires in bunkers aren't listening. They are too busy getting rich off our destruction.
Stealing the breath of life
When you suffocate or drown, every fibre of your being cries out for the breath of life, oxygen. It is the body’s ungovernable response to the extinguishing of your flame.
The black work of big oil
Now is the sinister time of year when the Barons of Big Oil gather together, under the auspices of the United Nations and with the blessing of most world leaders, to celebrate the 350 million needless deaths they plan to cause between now and 2050 in the name of profit.
Death by plastic
“Mummy...Daddy, what are clouds made of?” Almost every parent has fielded the innocent, eager question, perhaps explaining about mist, fog, water vapour, raindrops. Today, if you said that, you’d be wrong.
Tipping, tipping, tipping... the dominoes fall
Dying reefs, shrinking icesheets, withering forests and collapsing currents are the latest symptoms of an Earth system enduring dangerous trauma, according to the Global Tipping Points Report 2025.
Climate change causing oceans to decline at alarming rate
Climate change and human activity are causing the health of the world’s oceans to decline at an alarming rate, the UN has warned.
The Earth uncloaked – A catastrophe in slow motion
Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! In youth it sheltered me, And I'll protect it now. – GP Morris 1837
World water in crisis
Almost two-thirds of the world’s rivers are in a dire condition, either drying up or supercharged with floodwaters, according to the latest report on the emerging global water crisis by the World Meteorological Organisation.
'Died of a delusion' – the fate of modern civilisation?
The collapse of modern human civilisation is inevitable. Anyone who doesn’t accept that knows no history.
Devouring the earth may decide our future
Every day, the food you eat and resources you use cost the planet at least 12 kilos of lost topsoil.
Australia issues ‘terrifying’ climate warning
More intense global warming will bring terrifying impacts to human health, infrastructure, the environment, national security and the economy, the Australian Government has warned.
Can we save a 'livable Earth'?
In reshaping the world for prosperity, humanity has undermined the very foundations of progress.
Military experts warn of climate wars
“Accelerating climate disruption is the greatest threat to the human future: our safety and well-being, our homes and communities, and how and where we live and work,” a group of leading Australian military and security experts says.
The next pandemic is 'an epidemiological certainty'
The next pandemic disease outbreak is already on the way. Only its identity remains a surprise.
The Earth is under chemical attack
The largest of the 10 catastrophic threats now facing humanity is global poisoning, yet it receives less attention from science, government and society than all the others.
The great dying
The heedless march of man has now laid waste to 60% of the planet’s land surface area, putting humanity’s own future at risk, the latest science reports.
The great waste
Each person on the planet now uses an average of 12 tonnes of materials a year. The problem is, Earth can only renew about seven tonnes of that prodigious consumption in a 12-month period.
The great human brain fade
Evidence is piling up that the human brain can no longer keep up with the overshoot crisis which human greed has engendered.
The end of jobs?
By the 2040s, half to three-quarters of human society may be out of work, replaced by AI and sleepless robots.
When technology enslaves humans
The future of humanity will no longer be determined by humans – that much is already clear. Technology has taken charge of our destiny. The question is: can anything be done?
Humanity is ‘risking catastrophe’: UN
The full spread of the impending crisis facing humanity is, at long last, emerging into daylight with the publication by the United Nations of its 2025 Global Risks Report.
Why the world needs renewable food
The future well-being and survival of civilisation rests upon a single, fragile assumption: that there will always be enough food.