ASIA: "Kashmir's environment: How green was my valley? Climate change will only intensify problems in Kashmir," The Economist, 25 October 2008. ASIA: "Water in Australia: The dry last ditch; A controversial plan to save Australia's largest river system," The Economist, 25 October 2008.

There is a big glacier whose melting defines Kashmir's greenery, a prime reason why India and Pakistan have long fought over the place. But so long as both sides prefer to fight over the land versus deal with this emerging reality, the place is somewhat doomed. Speaking of another apparently doomed place, Queensland in SE Australia continues to suffer its mega-drought, leading the gov there to buy up water entitlement rights from local farmers and ranchers--in effect, de-agriculturizing the river basin. Yet another reason why Russia matters to our collective global future.