The Blob is coming for your commute

Climate change will cost the economy a great deal. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a cult of personality around Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Climate change is [messing up]( the MTA. - [Saltwater blobs]( need to be kept at bay. - Adam Neumann led [WeWork]( astray. - The [Biden-Trump]( face-off is a year away. Sorry, Boss! The Blob Ate My Commute The train station in the Connecticut town where I grew up is kinda weird. It’s the last stop on the line, so there’s not a continual track. Instead, it’s just a nub that ends abruptly in the center of town. But here’s the thing about dead-end train tracks: Occasionally, [the train will derail]( and barrel headfirst onto the sidewalk, like it did this February. Source: Francos Wine Merchants “This is just a thing that happens every 15 years or so,” one of my family friends told me at the time. Sometimes, the conductor overshoots. Or there are technical difficulties. Or the snow makes the rail slippery, which is what Metro-North Railroad officials say happened [in 2011](. No matter the cause, it doesn’t feel good to commute on a train that could potentially derail, even if the chances of it happening are once-in-every-15-years. Plus, there’s no telling what climate change might do to those odds. Just last month, [a mudslide]( wreaked havoc for commuters at Tarrytown’s MTA station. “A retaining wall behind a house in Briarcliff had given way, spilling tons of rocks and earth down onto the tracks,” Liam Denning [explains](. Source: MTA Liam, who uses the Hudson line to get to the office, says the picturesque views of the looming Palisades make his commute rather enjoyable. “But just as northern California’s most Instagrammable spots now [tend to be its most flammable](, the Hudson Line’s chief attraction is also its potential downfall in a warming world,” he writes. Westchester County “is like a sixth borough of New York City. Roughly one-in-seven of the million commuters from surrounding areas live in the county.” Train delays, cancellations and other weather-induced nuisances won’t just be a headache for commuters, it will cost the economy a great deal: “Almost a third of Westchester’s employed residents work in the city and, more importantly, their pay constitutes almost half the county’s wages,” he writes. In 30 years, New York City’s sea levels are expected to rise between 8 inches and 2.5 feet. By 2080, that figure could be anywhere between a foot and almost five feet. “Absent taking action, the MTA expects regular tidal flooding on low-lying segments of the line by the 2050s,” Liam warns. Nobody wants Metro North to own waterfront property, but that’s the way it seems to be headed: If only we could scoop up some of that seawater and toss it into the Mississippi River. Ha just kidding (nobody in their right mind should be drinking the mystery juice of the Hudson). But Mark Gongloff [says]( the Mississippi, “which drains 41% of the continental US, the lifeblood of America’s vast agricultural engine, is in deep trouble … for the second consecutive year, prolonged drought reduced its flow to less than half of normal levels.” As a result, the drinking water of nearly 400,000 New Orleans residents was on the verge of contamination. Mark says a huge “blob” of saltwater — “like something out of a 1950s creature feature” — has floated upriver for months. But thanks to some well-timed rain, the blob has magically [plopped itself]( just outside the city. Still, thousands of Louisianans downriver have been forced to sell their souls to Dasani and Aquafina after the [multi-mile-long mass]( infiltrated their water supply. “A heating planet means such drought conditions are growing more common. Ironically, a new era of supercharged storms means flooding will be more frequent, too, keeping the river swinging from crisis to crisis,” Mark writes. What’s really strange is that nobody is in charge of the Mississippi, even though it’s responsible for hydrating for 20 million people, creating 1.5 million jobs and fueling $400 billion in total annual economic activity. Whether it’s a river or a railroad, it’s more than obvious that climate change will stop at nothing to dry up and derail our livelihoods. We better beat the blob before it’s too late. Bonus Climate Reading: Right-wing [boycotts]( against financial-services companies over their climate policies will harm taxpayers. — Douglas Holtz-Eakin [Wheeeee!!!!]( Work “Disappointing.” That’s the word Adam Neumann used to [describe]( the company he founded — WeWork — filing for [bankruptcy]( yesterday. But is “disappointing” really the best he could do? In his statement, he went on to say that “it has been challenging” for him “to watch from the sidelines since 2019 as WeWork has failed to take advantage of a product that is more relevant today than ever before.” Personally, I would have preferred something along the lines of, “My-Bad-Guys-I-[Spent](-Masa-Son’s-Money-On-A-Mansion-With-[A-Room](-Shaped-Like-A-Guitar.” Or hmmm, how about: “I-Doomed-A-Perfectly-Fine-Idea-Because-I-Got-Distracted-By-My-[Artificial-Wave-Startup](.” That’d be more fitting. The thing is, WeWork was a good idea. “In a world of startups and post-Covid flexible work, it makes sense for companies to rent office space in units of less than ‘a whole floor for many years,’ ” Matt Levine [says](. But that’s not what WeWork did at all! Instead of making sensible business decisions, Adam “[State of Consciousness](” Neumann loaded up on lease liabilities and basically told the world, “I WANT TO ENCOMPASS [ALL ASPECTS]( OF YOUR LIVESSSS!” And when WeWork’s woo-woo founder got the ear of SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, who “[appreciated how he was crazy]( — but thought that he needed to be crazier,” a billion-dollar recipe for complete and utter chaos was born. WeWork’s model depended on the promise of insane growth. Chris Bryant [says]( it “failed because it doesn’t make money — it has lost almost $17 billion since 2010 — but since Neumann’s departure in 2019 it has dramatically slimmed down, while amending hundreds of rental contracts.” He goes on to explain its bankruptcy plan, which “paves the way to cancel US leases that management thinks have little chance of profitability.” In other words, WeWork’s sizable real estate footprint in New York, Boston, San Francisco and London will be microwaved until it’s the size of a [Shrinky Dink](. “Not that long ago, if the chief executive officer of WeWork was talking about ‘pulling the future forward,’ he would have meant, like, renting out office space on Mars,” Matt writes. “Now he just means [shrinking](.” Bonus Work Reading: The [corporate nanny]( is back. Companies that offer their employees free food, gym memberships and flu shots are unstoppable. — Adrian Wooldridge Crash Course If China “had a different kind of leader — somebody who doesn't seem as inclined as Xi Jinping is to build this cult of personality around him — what kind of country would that be? Would that nation be more willing to cooperate and collaborate with the US?" Karishma Vaswani Columnist and political analyst On [the latest episode]( of Crash Course, Tim O’Brien [speaks]( with two Bloomberg Opinion columnists about China’s past, present and future. Telltale Approval Charts Happy Election Day to all those who did their patriotic due diligence! This morning, I held my chin high as I scribbled on the Scantron bubbles like a proud American. There was a lady eating a glazed donut in the corner of the polling place who looked like she was posing for a painting. Maybe I’ll see her next year — with a new donut I hope. In case you’re bad at math, “in exactly a year from now, the US will elect a new president (who is almost certain to be someone who’s already served a term in the office),” John Authers [says](. And things aren’t looking too promising for Democrats: “Biden is slightly behind where Trump was at the same point in his term,” he writes, noting that confidence is somehow below where it was at during the height of the pandemic. At least Biden isn’t doing as poorly as Japan’s prime minister. “Fumio Kishida has seen his popularity [plummet]( to worrying new lows in every major poll,” Gearoid Reidy [writes](. Such widespread disapproval is strange, considering the premier wants to hand back 40,000 yen ($267) to each taxpayer next year in a one-time reimbursement. “When the public doesn’t even want free money, you know you’re in trouble,” he writes. Further Reading Engaging with Venezuela’s [Maduro regime]( is in America’s interest. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Free read: Here’s why [my recession indicator]( could be wrong this time. — Claudia Sahm Oh, please. Warren Buffett’s [$157 billion cash pile]( isn’t an ominous sign. — Jonathan Levin Contrary to what you may have heard, Gazans can’t just “[rise up](” against Hamas. — Bobby Ghosh It’s time to create [a single QR code]( to rule all the world’s payments. — Andy Mukherjee UBS needs to figure out how to generate some [extra revenue](. — Paul J. Davies ICYMI Trump’s net worth [has climbed]( since he left the White House. New York City’s Jewish schools are [hiring]( armed guards. A ton of actors are launching their own [businesses](. TikTok is ending its [creator fund]( after criticism. Elon Musk’s [new AI chatbot]( is “anti-woke,” whatever that means. Businessweek launched [a new podcast]( about the Tesla CEO. Kickers There’s a frat-boy [crime ring]( in the South. “Central Park Karen” [still lives]( in hiding. Embrace the [gravy boat’s]( ridiculousness. Julia Child is guilty of gas industry [sponcon](. Zimbabwe’s [dead elephant]( mystery has been solved. Notes: Please send gravy boat heirlooms and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. 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