Almost Worthless.

Rivers running dry.

1. It has been a summer of heat and drought across Europe, affecting nearly every part of the economy and even its normally cool regions, a phenomenon aggravated by man-made climate change. France has been scarred by vast wildfires, and its Loire Valley is so dry the river can be crossed in places on foot. The Rhine in Germany is inches deep in parts, paralyzing essential commerce and stranding riverboat cruises. Italy is drier than at any time since 1800, and the growers of its iconic rice used for risotto now risk losing their harvest. But perhaps the drought’s most surprising impact can be found in Norway’s usually drenched south, where sheep have gotten stuck in exposed mud banks and salmon have lacked enough water to migrate upriver. Hydropower reservoir supplies — responsible for 90 percent of Norway’s electricity as well as electricity exports to several of its neighbors — have sunk to the lowest point in 25 years, causing shortages that have driven up both prices and political tensions. The summer’s extreme heat and devastating drought, coming on top of Russia’s weaponization of natural gas exports — in response to European Union sanctions for its war in Ukraine — have all combined to expose the vulnerabilities of Europe’s energy system in unexpected places and unanticipated ways. (Source: nytimes.com)