Co-Director, Climate Majority Project @CMP_voice | Emeritus Philosophy Prof. …I mute people who compose using AI. Find me more often now @rupertread on Substack
Norfolk
Joined April 2009
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Is THIS civilisation finished? Looks like it. But what comes next? That’s where you come in…
My new short film OUT OF THE ASHES, written by me & @frannyarmstrong and directed by @ageofstupid animation director Martyn Pick.
Please watch and RT!
#Climate #Cop27 #RealityCheck
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
The NSA just told companies to pull their websites offline if they can't patch them right away.
The reason is a bug that's been sitting in the code behind 70% of websites for 14 years. Last Friday a guy found it in one evening by typing five words into an AI.
Those five words were "find bad vulnerabilities in PHP." He's Dan Lorenc, CEO of a security company called Chainguard, and all he had going in was a rumor that something big was coming in PHP.
A small firm called Calif had already found the same flaw back on August 1 using OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol. Wiz, the security company Google bought, found it on its own less than three weeks later with Gemini and GPT. Since then OpenAI, Wiz, Calif and PHP's maintainers have been quietly building a fix that Lorenc himself called "crazy."
You'd think a bug this bad would've gotten caught sometime since 2012. PHP is open source, so anyone on earth could read this code. Wiz says turning the flaw into a working attack took a chain of steps right at the edge of what human researchers could realistically pull off. For 14 years the sheer amount of work was doing most of the protecting.
AI made that work cheap enough to knock out on a Friday night, for anyone who knows where to point it.
And the rumor got out. Bug ID numbers started floating around online Tuesday. Hours later one of the research teams posted a video of the exploit by mistake, and PHP moved its release up a day. Early Wednesday, Chainguard pushed its fix out more than six hours ahead of everyone else, saying people were already getting attacked, and Lorenc says his company's decoy servers caught IP addresses from China and Russia going after the flaw.
Here's why the NSA went straight to "unplug it." VirusTotal counted about 758,000 exposed servers running old PHP versions, 5.4 through 8.1, that don't get security updates anymore. Only around 272,000 are on versions that do. So for roughly three out of four servers that show their version number, there's no patch to install, and pulling the plug is the only fix they've got.
This is happening everywhere at once, too. Microsoft just fixed 1,413 vulnerabilities in a single month, more than in any full year on record. OpenAI says it expects finds like this one to jump sharply over the next few months.
Every company sitting on a secret bug now has until the first rumor leaks and somebody with an AI subscription goes looking.
Effective Immediately, all organizations using PHP for their systems are advised to be prepared for an update addressing two critical vulnerabilities. PHP is widely used for web applications. These vulnerabilities often provide a direct path to the server's file system or database. If an immediate update is not feasible, it is recommend that organizations take the system offline until it can be fully mitigated. NSA will follow up shortly with more specific guidance.
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
🚨This is well worth downloading - it is a v useful guide about the kind of supplies you and your household might need to be self sufficient for 72 hours in the event of an emergency - from a flood or a power cut to war:
beready.campaign.gov.uk/wp-c…
Great to be invited on the @ClimateGENN #podcast to discuss our new #Climate Popularism report. Among other things, we look at the gap between public concern about climate change and the way climate policy is communicated.
genn.cc/climate-popularism-c…
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
Imagine what life would be like today if the majority had been apathetic in WW2! Let's not allow the unthinkable- a future determined by climate stupidity. History shows the critical need for a strategic, adaptive approach to defend ourselves from collapse
youtube.com/watch?v=-pMPAZnY…
This is now where we are at.
Thanks, AI.
…
Check out darkmountainproject.substack… to understand more about what the alternative might look like.
Helpful prompt about what to do if the internet goes down due to a global cyberattack/AI swarm.
This seems less insane with every passing day.
I also bought myself the SAS Survival Guide, which is essentially a bush manual for almost every imaginable outcome.
Money
- Keep cash at home, about two to four weeks of essentials, in small bills.
- Write down your bank, credit card and insurance account details and phone numbers on paper.
Information and contacts
- Print a contact list with family, close friends, neighbors, doctors and the kids’ school.
- Agree on a family meeting point and plan in case phones are down, such as “if we can’t reach each other, meet at X by Y time.”
- Export and print or save offline anything business-critical.
- Download offline maps
- Keep paper copies of passports, IDs, insurance cards and prescriptions.
Communication
- Get a battery or hand-crank AM/FM/NOAA radio, which will be your main news source.
- Consider a pair of walkie-talkies or GMRS radios for the family.
- Keep a landline-style backup in mind. Most “landlines” now run over the internet, so don’t count on yours.
Power
- Keep power banks charged, plus a solar charger or a larger portable power station.
- Have flashlights, headlamps and spare batteries.
Water and food (aim for 2 weeks)
- Store about 1 gallon of water per person per day. In a high-rise this matters most, because building water pumps need electricity.
- Stock shelf-stable food the kids will actually eat, plus a manual can opener.
- Keep a camping stove with fuel for outdoor or ventilated use only, or no-cook foods.
Health
- Keep at least a 30-day supply of any prescriptions.
- Have a first aid kit, OTC basics like pain relievers in children’s doses, and hygiene supplies.
Home and offline life
- Learn how to manually open anything electronic, such as smart locks and the building’s garage or entry.
- Keep a paper copy of the building’s emergency procedures and super’s number.
- Download offline entertainment and learning material for the kids: books, games, art supplies.
- Get to know a few neighbors, since local community becomes your network fast.
Digital hygiene (helps before and after)
- Back up photos and documents to an external drive kept offline.
- Use strong, unique passwords with 2FA, and keep printed recovery codes for key accounts.
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
they’re calling it “Black October” and i don’t think people realize how serious this is
in the last 48 hours there have been over 27 major cybersecurity incidents. not in a month. not in a week. in 48 hours
any ONE of these would normally be the biggest story of the year
PHP: critical vulnerability in the software running 80% of the web. severity 9.2 out of 10
Node.js: high-severity flaw letting attackers take over servers remotely. affects versions 22, 24, and 26
Java: also compromised. three of the most used programming languages on earth hit at the same time
GitLab: a perfect 10 out of 10 severity hole in every version since 2014
Railway: hosting platform compromised. API keys for OpenAI, Claude, Stripe potentially exposed
Signal: a bug that could leave your mic and camera on after you hang up
WordPress: hackers stole a plugin maker’s keys and planted backdoors on websites
LiteLLM: an AI tool downloaded 3.4 million times a day was poisoned with a password stealer
and that’s not even half the list
thousands of AI agent swarms are reportedly scanning and attacking vulnerable servers right now. automated. around the clock
security researchers are saying this might be the early stages of a global cyber incident that nobody fully understands yet
if you run a website, use cloud services, store API keys on hosting platforms, or use any software built on PHP, Node.js, or Java you are potentially affected
update everything. rotate your API keys. change your passwords on critical services. enable 2FA everywhere you haven’t already
this is not a normal week on the internet. this is something different
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
Up here in the English Peak District it is pretty wet, hence the reservoirs
But this is what Ladybower looks like now - nearly two-thirds of the way through Autumn
This bodes very badly for summer 2027
Standpipes in the street would be no surprise
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c64g…
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
And here it is in print in this week’s mag! Pick up a copy
🟢 I've written this week's @NewStatesman Politics Column on the Greens' pledge to 'replace Labour' which, though fitting for the moment, was clearly unsustainable.
The problem with this promise might not have been its ambition, but the assumption that the Greens were ready to fulfil it. Events over the past three weeks - the fall out from the Zionism is Racism motion and the Holborn and St Pancras by-election - could all be seen as evidence of that.
And now, exclusive polling by @Moreincommon_ and shared with the NS shows Polanski's personal approval his personal net approval rating has hit a low of -35 per cent and one in four people now think the party has a serious anti-Semitism problem. Some polls have the Greens on 7 per cent, lower than before Polanski was elected.
So, where does the party go next? With Andy Burnham as prime minister, Polanski & the Greens' strategy can no longer be exclusively about criticising an unpopular Labour government - it will need to be about convincing voters they are a realistic alternative. There are figures within the party who are beginning to do this thinking. As several sources told me, for the first time Green factions are likely to form.
Read more online & in this week's magazine:
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
I’m so disappointed.
Last year, Andy Burnham stood alongside Massive Attack and called the #FossilFuelTreaty a “lifeline.”
He urged governments to end coal, oil and gas expansion and hold polluters accountable.
Yesterday, his government approved a new North Sea gas field. 🧵
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
I wrote to the Government with cross-party MPs last night opposing this decision.
Rosebank and Jackdaw won’t cut bills they'll just boost profits of fossil fuel giants.
If every country pursues its own deluded self interest the costs of climate breakdown will be unbearable.
Energy Secretary @Miatsf has agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at the licensed Jackdaw field.
Gas from Jackdaw is expected to start reaching British homes and businesses as early as the end of this month.
ALT Jackdaw gas field gets green light to begin production
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
You can see how close things are below, using an MRP. On the left is the same result as the model in the Standard report - no Green gains in London.
On the right, roughly one in six current Labour voters in London switch to the Greens - and the Greens win ten seats, named below.
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
This is a much needed initiative - been very striking over last 12 months that the English left intellectual infrastructure is too oriented on Labour and its Your Party spin out. If Greens aspire to build mass party they need also some spaces to develop thinking.
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
It’ll go higher… big driver is fossil fuel prices but that has yet to fully pass through everywhere. And we should expect food prices to start picking up into the new year as El Niño and some poor harvests start to play out.
CPI at highest annual rate since October 2025.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026, up from 3.1% the previous month.
Read more➡️ ons.gov.uk/economy/inflation…
ALT Rotated bar chart showing transport, particularly motor fuels, made the largest upward contribution to the change in CPI annual inflation.
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
Two years ago - alongside @ZackPolanski, Carne Ross & other Green colleagues - I heard an early version of CLIMATE POPULARISM
Glad to see how @CarolineLucas & @GreenRupertRead have brought this new climate agenda to fruition.
WATCH youtu.be/Px_02snTrkg
#EcoPopulism
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
AS FEARED: "The world’s clouds are changing. They are covering less overall area and are dimming, with the effect that they reflect less solar radiation back into space. This increase in solar absorption is a major cause of the accelerating warming we are now experiencing."
ALT To determine how close the relationship between Earth’s surface air temperature and cloud area is, we can look at the monthly comparison of temperature versus CAF. Figure 2 below shows that relationship, and it shows it being remarkably linear. This strongly suggests that there is a direct feedback between global mean surface temperature and cloud cover. This is the cloud-temperature feedback. It suggests that as we continue to warm, cloud cover will continue to diminish, pushing up the absorbed solar radiation and continuing to accelerate warming. It doesn’t support the theory that the recent acceleration is temporary and will exist over a limited time period of aerosol adjustment, this feedback is here to stay.
Great piece by Tom Harris on cloud feedback
The world's cloud cover is reducing, which makes the planet hotter
This may be why Miocene Climatic Optimum temperatures were 7 - 8C up on pre-industrial for CO2 levels of just 400 - 600ppm
Very, very, scary
substack.com/home/post/p-220…
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
🟢 I've written this week's @NewStatesman Politics Column on the Greens' pledge to 'replace Labour' which, though fitting for the moment, was clearly unsustainable.
The problem with this promise might not have been its ambition, but the assumption that the Greens were ready to fulfil it. Events over the past three weeks - the fall out from the Zionism is Racism motion and the Holborn and St Pancras by-election - could all be seen as evidence of that.
And now, exclusive polling by @Moreincommon_ and shared with the NS shows Polanski's personal approval his personal net approval rating has hit a low of -35 per cent and one in four people now think the party has a serious anti-Semitism problem. Some polls have the Greens on 7 per cent, lower than before Polanski was elected.
So, where does the party go next? With Andy Burnham as prime minister, Polanski & the Greens' strategy can no longer be exclusively about criticising an unpopular Labour government - it will need to be about convincing voters they are a realistic alternative. There are figures within the party who are beginning to do this thinking. As several sources told me, for the first time Green factions are likely to form.
Read more online & in this week's magazine:
We need a #Thrutopian attitude to our current plight - a way of getting through the awful situation we are in. As author, podcaster and Thrutopian teacher Manda Scott says, our new Climate Popularism report shares examples of how to do that. Do give it a read.
climatemajorityproject.com
Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 retweeted
Shaming that our Foreign Secretary had truck with Israel's stab at shutting down his country's East Jerusalem consulate, but things could have turned out a lot worse. Had the Brits shut up shop entirely in illegally occupied-by-Israel East Jerusalem - which is what Bibi's bullyboys demanded - Jewish settlers would have stolen the consulate in a flash, the British owned site declared eternally Israel's and evicted British consular refugees refused any right to return. As it is - crucially - Bibi has conceded that a handful of British staff remain at the consulate's barricades and that Britain keeps the land deeds, and settler bulldozers remain at bay. At least until he wins the upcoming election.