The looming rice crisis, Brahms lying in honor, Vietnam's export surge & hiding from the Hueys
Great links, reading and images from Chartbook Newsletter by Adam Tooze
Trưóng Hiếu, 1973. “Soldier in field on radio.” Ink on paper.
Vietnam’s export surge
Moving up the supply chain, the surge in Vietnamese electronic exports had been remarkable.
Source: The Economist
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The looming rice crisis
And no crop is as vulnerable to global warming as rice, say scientists at irri. A study in 2004 found that a 1°C increase in minimum temperatures leads to a 10% decline in yields. Rising sea levels, another result of warming, are already causing salt intrusion in low-lying areas of the Mekong delta, eroding rice yields there. Massive floods last year in Pakistan, the world’s fourth-biggest rice exporter, are estimated to have destroyed 15% of its harvest. Rice’s contribution to global warming represents an underappreciated feedback loop. Irrigating paddy fields starves the underlying soil of oxygen. This encourages methane-emitting bacteria to flourish. Consequently, rice production is responsible for 12% of total methane emissions—and 1.5% of total greenhouse-gas emissions, comparable to aviation. Vietnam’s paddy fields produce more carbon equivalent than the country’s transportation.
Rice yields are stangating.
If it is to meet 30% rise in rice demand by 2050 global agriculture needs a greener revolution.
Source: The Economist
European food prices are continuing to surge
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“Hiding from the Hueys.”
Trưóng Hiếu, 1970, Củ Chi district, northwest of Saigon, Ink on machine-made paper.
Vietnam’s coal boom
For subscribers only
Sun Yat-Sen’s 1919 vision for China’s industrial development
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Brahms lying in honor
Is this a bent and patched nuclear bomb?
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America’s Chinese population in 1870
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More on America’s shocking life expectancy numbers
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An Oxford University college can accept a proposed £155m donation from a Vietnamese conglomerate after the government closed an investigation.
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Trưóng Hiếu, 1972, Mỹ Tho Province
