Nicholas Kristof: We Don’t Deny Harvey, So Why Deny Climate Change?

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Saturday, September 2, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Kristof »]( [A flooded home in Spring, Texas.]( A flooded home in Spring, Texas. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times [We Don’t Deny Harvey, So Why Deny Climate Change?]( After Hurricane Harvey, the Trump administration said it would be “misplaced” to talk about climate change. Really? How can we possibly have an intelligent conversation about the catastrophe in Houston and not discuss climate change? I [talk to scientists]( who study hurricanes, and they are clear that we are living in a new normal — and that’s why we have to learn from Harvey, and adjust. [Read!]( It hasn’t received much attention in the U.S., but the Myanmar government appears to be engaging in a brutal counter-insurgency campaign against the Rohingya minority there, with satellite images showing countless villages burning. For those of us who once admired the Burmese leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it has been horrifying to see her complicit in the oppression of the Rohingya. I’ve traveled twice to Rohingya areas to report on their [concentration camps]( and to make [a video]( of them, and it’s so disheartening that world leaders have mostly stayed silent at the crackdown. One great exception: Pope Francis, who plans to visit Myanmar and has tried to raise the issue of the Rohingya. I’m a fan of thrillers generally, and just finished John le Carre’s latest, “[A Legacy of Spies]( which will be published Tuesday (I got an advance copy). Le Carre is, at 85, as brilliant a writer as ever, still managing to make spy fiction a literary genre. And his old character, George Smiley, is back! Michigan could be the first state to have a Muslim governor, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, 32, a public health specialist (conflict alert: also a friend of mine) who would also be the youngest governor since Bill Clinton. The Guardian [calls him]( “the new Obama.” And now [here’s my column]( on what our takeaway should be from Hurricane Harvey, in terms of climate change. [Enjoy]( — and if you’re in the U.S., have a great Labor Day! ADVERTISEMENT I welcome suggestions for what to include in this newsletter. You can connect with me on [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google]( [Instagram]( and [Pinterest](. If you have friends who might enjoy this newsletter, forward this email; they can [sign up here](. Send feedback or tech questions to newsletters@nytimes.com. Recent Columns [The Photos the U.S. and Saudi Arabia Don’t Want You to See]( We’re complicit in the war crimes committed in Yemen by the Saudi-led military coalition. [There Once Was a Great Nation With an Unstable Leader]( This might be a good time for disheartened Americans to remember that Rome survived Caligula. [Several hundred protesters outside the White House on Wednesday chanted, “No hate, no fear, trans students are welcome here.”]( Nicole Sganga [My Blog]( My blog, On the Ground, expands on my twice-weekly columns, sharing thoughts that shape the writing but don’t always make it into the 800-word text. It also features contributions from other writers. [Several hundred protesters outside the White House on Wednesday chanted, “No hate, no fear, trans students are welcome here.”](  [My Columns]( Explore a searchable collection of my previous columns dating back to 2001. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NICHOLAS KRISTOF [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nickkristof]( [Instagram] [nickkristof]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Nicholas Kristof newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018