The Evening: World’s Oceans, Iran Spurs Talks, Scarlet Fire and More
September 25, 2019
World’s Oceans Are in Danger
Earth’s oceans are under severe strain from climate change, a major new United Nations report warns, which threatens everything from the ability to harvest seafood to the well-being of hundreds of millions of people living along the coasts, as the NYT’s Brad Plumer reports.
Iran Spurs Talks
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would engage in no new negotiations with the U.S. until Washington lifted its punishing economic sanctions, while signaling that Tehran was open to a new, broader deal if that condition were met, as the WSJ’s Michael Gordon and Laurence Norman report.
Dive Deeper : “On Iran, Trump Needs UN Help. He May Even Know It,” by CSIS’s Jon Alterman for Defense One.
“Iran Is Testing the Trump Administration,” by the Washington Institute’s Dennis Ross for Foreign Affairs.
Netanyahu Tapped
Israel’s president tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday with assembling a new government after power-sharing talks with his strongest rival, Benny Gantz, failed following an inconclusive election, as Reuters’ Jeffrey Heller reports.
CSIS Executive Education
Join CSIS October 15-18 for our course, Understanding Washington. Explore how formal entities and informal networks interact to impact policy decisions. Open to professionals who are new to D.C. or those seeking a better understanding of the policy ecosystem.
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!
In That Number
3.6 mm
While sea level has risen globally by around 15 cm during the 20th century, it is currently rising more than twice as fast – 3.6 mm per year – and accelerating.
Source: UN Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
Critical Quote
“It is virtually certain that the global ocean has warmed unabated since 1970 and has taken up more than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system.”
— Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
iDeas Lab
If you were representing the United States or China in a trade war, what decisions would you make? CSIS's Simon Chair has developed a U.S.-China Trade War simulator to accompany their latest report, Beyond the Brink.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.
Optics
(Photo credit: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images). The Nats are in the playoffs!
Recommended Reading
“The Arctic Spring,” by CSIS’s Heather Conley for Foreign Affairs.
This Town Tomorrow
At 9:30 a.m., the Woodrow Wilson Center will host a panel discussion with experts on militarism, Japan’s constitutional security challenges, and the U.S. presence in East Asia.
And, at 10:00 a.m., CSIS will hold a panel discussion on the evolving role of Taiwan in promoting growth and development in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a presentation by Timothy Hsiang, Secretary General of Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF).
Later, at 3:00 p.m., CSIS will host a discussion with leading China economists Loren Brandt and Thomas Rawski, who present their findings from their latest book, Policy, Regulation, and Innovation in China’s Electricity and Telecom Industries.
Video
This year’s Schieffer Series kicked off with Bob hosting a panel discussion about the Iran-Saudi crisis with CSIS experts Seth Jones and Jon B. Alterman and New York Times journalist David Sanger. Watch the event here.
Podcasts
Bob and I bring in nonpartisan legal expert Bradley Moss to explain the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and how the process may move forward.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
Smiles
“Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”
As Robert Hunter’s family so eloquently said, “In this time of grief please celebrate him the way you all know how, by being together and listening to the music. Let there be songs to fill the air.”