COP27 CLIMATE SUMMIT IN EGYPT DISCUSSES GLOBAL WARMING
You’d think most global attention right now would be on the closing talks of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Global warming is an ever more dangerous fact of our lives.
La Nina
Have a look at our new interactive on La Niña, for example, tracking how shifting wind and temperature patterns in the Pacific cause deadly havoc (floods, drought, fires) in many continents. This is a part of our package looking ahead to events and trends in the year ahead. It’s both strange and worrying to observe that La Niña, which is usually over within a year or at most two, will stretch into its third year in 2023.
QATAR|FIFA World Cup 2022
Should sports be excused for humanitarian violation?
Instead there will be more interest, I suspect, in a rival gathering in the Middle East. Yesterday the football FIFA World Cup 2022 kicked off in Qatar (and, for the first time, the host team lost the opening game). We haven’t joined in the global hand-wringing about an autocratic and illiberal place getting to host a sporting event. After all, remember that China hosted the winter Olympics earlier this year, and that Russia held the last World Cup. Unless the world wants the tournament to rotate between Finland, Norway and Sweden, it will be impossible to find blameless spots.
Not so Thankful Thanksgiving. Courtesy, Elon Musk.
It’s a big week for birds. Friends in America will be tucking into turkeys as they celebrate Thanksgiving. I’ll miss being there: this was always my favourite day of the year, back when we lived in Chicago. (After all, what’s not to like as friends and family gather for a feast and good conversation?). Meanwhile there’ll be much tweeting of outrage as Elon Musk continues his seemingly bizarre efforts to remake Twitter. Some predict the social media company will close, or go bust soon. I doubt it, but Mr Musk is ruffling so many feathers he may have inflicted long-term harm. If you’re looking for an alternative place to tweet, we considered your options last week.
CRYPTIC CRYPTO
Are problems of cryptocurrency much real than crypto itself?
Talking of downfalls, there’s no doubt more to watch in the world of crypto. Our cover story last week assessed how the collapse of FTX has damaged the crypto scene. Real benefits from the blockchain no doubt still exist, but the prospects for digital currency have taken a painful dive. Have a read, too, of this fascinating piece about a related ethical movement, Effective Altruism. Much of EA was heavily funded by crypto donors—so the collapse of one is going to hurt the other.
Putin’s menace!
Finally, have a read today of our latest piece on Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin’s war drags on. We have a report on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which now sits dangerously close to the front line of fighting. Look, too, at our call last week for the West to redouble its support for Ukraine in defying Russian aggression. This is not the time to let up.