India has suffered the largest electrical blackout in human history, with about 700 million people without power. The effects of the blackout have been less than catastrophic given that many Indians have for years learned how to cope with periodic blackouts, but it is instructive to think about what would happen in a country like the US under such conditions (where very few individuals have their own back-up generators). The collapse, however, speaks volumes about the state of infrastructure in India and the episode is a blow to India’s aspirations to be regarded as a great power. Those who would make such judgments, however, should assess how decrepit the electrical power grid of most countries is right now–India is certainly not alone.
One of the most prominent skeptics of human-induced climate change has changed his position. After a careful review of all the relevant evidence, Professor Richard Muller, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, now believes that “‘the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct,’ and that humans are ‘almost entirely the cause’ of that warming.” What is most interesting, however, about the Business Insider report is that it nowhere mentions that Muller’s research was partially funded by “$150,000 from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, which, along with its libertarian petrochemical billionaire founder, has historically backed groups that deny climate change.”
Stephen Walt, my favorite realist, has an interesting take on the Romney visit to Israel. The domestic politics argument is a familiar one, but more nuanced than usual. What is most interesting is Walt’s observation about Presidents Carter and H.W. Bush. There is likely a lesson to be learned, but it is utterly unlikely that anyone will learn that lesson soon.
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