El Niño and global warming are mixing in alarming ways
Havoc in poor countries and commodities markets is inevitable
AFTER YEARS of praying for more rain, Californians unexpectedly found themselves wishing for less this week, when tropical storm Hilary blew in from Mexico on August 21st. Rainfall records were smashed in Los Angeles and San Diego. Death Valley, farther inland, was deluged with as much rain in a day as it normally receives in a year. Inundated roads completely cut off the nearby city of Palm Springs (pictured) for a time.
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This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “A problem child”
Briefing
August 26th 2023
From the August 26th 2023 edition
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Why can’t stinking rich Ivies cope with losing a few hundred million?
Their huge endowments are not easy to cash in
Donald Trump is battling America’s elite universities—and winning
The Ivy League sees little point in fighting the federal government in court
An unrestrained Israel is reshaping the Middle East
Its quest for hegemony will strain domestic cohesion and foreign alliances
Dreams of improving the human race are no longer science fiction
But the “enhancement” industry is still hobbled by out-of-date regulation
If it comes to a stand-off, Europe has leverage over America
But pulling some of those levers would be so damaging as to make them unusable