2021
April
15
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

April 15, 2021
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Mark Sappenfield
Senior global correspondent

Chloe Maxmin saw a climate emergency. Like many 20-somethings, she saw climate change as something that demanded immediate action. What’s interesting is what she did next. 

Running for the Maine state Senate in a Republican district, Ms. Maxmin started going door to door, talking not just to supportive Democrats but also to supporters of President Donald Trump. And a remarkable thing happened. 

“I had all these preconceptions about Republicans, and all of that was completely broken down,” she tells The Nation. “Because when I took the time to listen to people, and really respect where they were coming from, I did find that I have way more in common with them than I thought that I did.”

The result? She beat the Republican minority leader and learned to talk about climate differently to get others on board. “The climate movement is pretty privileged and urban-centric, and that plays out in what policy looks like,” she adds. “So I wanted to start a new conversation in the statehouse about a different type of climate policy rooted in rural and working places, and really [homing] in on a just transition, especially for rural places.”

Maybe that kind of politics holds a lesson for all politics – and the climate debate, she says. “The power of local politics is you can have the kind of conversations that can humanize politics again.”    


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

For decades, Democrats feared being labeled as the party of “tax and spend.” But now, many believe that shifts in society are leading more Americans to embrace the idea.

Japan has been an underappreciated U.S. ally. But with a White House invitation, President Joe Biden is underlining the two countries’ common principles as a crucial counterweight to China.

Patterns

Tracing global connections

In the coverage of Prince Philip’s passing – and the reaction to it – is a dawning realization. People are less likely to accept symbols of unity. Forging a new sense of unity is today’s challenge.

Bettina Stoess
Bass-baritone Seth Carico sings in Mozart’s "Don Giovanni" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin prior to the pandemic, tormenting a seated Jana Kurucová as Donna Elvira. Mr. Carico, as a native Tennessean, notes the contrast between the United States and Germany in their support for the arts.

Public spending reveals what a society thinks is important. With native sons like Bach and Beethoven and a history of prioritizing the arts, Germany is making sure opera singers still get their paychecks.

Film

Darcy Heusel/Courtesy of NEON
“Gunda,” a documentary that was shortlisted for an Oscar, features this scene in which piglets enjoy the rain.

Can a documentary about farm animals be as captivating as a movie about people? In this Oscar-shortlisted film, the pigs steal the show.


The Monitor's View

Iran and the United States resumed talks in Vienna on Thursday, and from news reports, one might think the Middle East’s future rests on a result that restrains Iran’s aggression and nuclear ambitions. Yet other negotiations are afoot that may have far more impact on the region. They are not over weapons but over water.

In March, Bahrain signed a $3 million deal with the Israeli state water company Mekorot to tap its knowledge on water desalination. That follows a similar deal in which Israeli startup Watergen will provide Al Dahra Agricultural Co. of the United Arab Emirates with technology to produce drinking water from humidity in the air. Both deals come after Bahrain and the UAE normalized relations with Israel last year.

In fact, it may be that the two Arab states decided to recognize Israel in part to get help in coping with the effects of climate change on water supplies. The Middle East is heating up faster than any other region. Forecasts indicate parts like Bahrain and the UAE may not be livable in 30 years. The World Bank predicts the Middle East and North Africa will see the highest economic losses from climate-related water scarcity.

That makes collaboration over water issues far more appealing than conflict over religion, Israel, or other traditional issues. “Climate change is a faceless enemy that knows no borders and building fences will not be enough. We need regional cooperation,” Michael Herzog, a former Israeli general and fellow at the Washington Institute, told The Times of Israel.

In particular, Iran has struggled with acute droughts, resulting in regular protests by farmers over water supplies. About 85% of the country is arid or semiarid, and now higher temperatures have forced the regime to improve water management. Iran’s Department of Environment estimates about 70% of the population will be forced to leave the country by 2050. Such a possibility could push Iranian leaders to seek cooperation from their Arab neighbors – the very neighbors now cooperating with Israel on water solutions.

Environmental cooperation already exists between Iran and the Gulf states. Since 1978, they have worked together on protecting their shared marine areas from pollution. Expanding that collaboration to water resources could result in a potential for “environmental peacemaking.”

They have models to follow. For nearly three decades, Israel and Jordan have cooperated on water supplies with the help of the nonprofit group EcoPeace. Another example is the Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, which brought archrivals Pakistan and India together to cooperate on the Indus water basin.

History has many examples of nations deciding to cooperate rather than compete over natural resources, leading to periods of peace. Faced with a common foe like climate change, the Middle East might be next. Weapons have helped divide the region. A shared thirst in a parched land might bring it together.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Faced with a problem that made it difficult to stand or walk without pain, a woman found that looking to God, rather than matter, as the source of our health brought permanent healing.


A message of love

Ian Langsdon/AP
French President Emmanuel Macron (center) and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (right) visit the reconstruction site of Notre Dame de Paris on April 15, 2021. Two years after a fire tore through Paris' most famous cathedral, President Macron visited the site to show that French heritage has not been forgotten, despite the pandemic.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. Please come back tomorrow when we look at how President Joe Biden is turning back the clock on Mideast relations in one important way. But have things changed too much to go back?

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