Breeding controversy
A Downing Street aide, believed to have been recruited as a result of Dominic Cummings’s advert for ‘weirdos and misfits’, resigned after it was revealed he had spoken favourably of eugenics in the past. Where did eugenics come from?
— The term was coined in 1883 by Francis Galton, a half-cousin of Charles Darwin. As well as studying meteorology and introducing the first weather map to the Times, he proposed experiments to test the heredity of intelligence — including the somewhat unethical proposal of separating twins at birth. The weak, he proposed, should be prohibited from breeding. Galton himself failed to have any effect on the gene pool because, in spite of 43 years of marriage, he never fathered a child.
Right as rain?
Environment Secretary George Eustice said that he was ‘happy’ with how flood defences had operated during Storm Dennis and blamed the flooding of homes in Wales and the West of England this week on climate change. Is that fair?
— On the wettest day, last Sunday, the highest rainfall was recorded at Tredegar: 62.6mm in a 24-hour period.
— This is less than a third of the record in Wales, which was 211mm at Lluest-Wen Reservoir on 11 November 1929.
— It is less than a quarter of that recorded at Martinstown, Dorset, on 18 July 1955 – still the record amount of rain measured in a 24-hour period anywhere in Britain.
All at sea
Around 3,700 passengers and crew were stuck on a cruise ship quarantined off Japan. Who wants to go on a cruise?
— Cruise liners carried 25.8m passengers in 2018, up 4.3% in a year and 20.5% in five.
— An additional 50 cruise liners are due to be delivered by 2025.
— The nationalities who make up the most passengers are the US (11.5%), China (2.1%), Germany (2%) and the UK (1.9%).
Source: Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association
Green money
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he will give $10 billion of his own money to fight climate change. Who’s promised the most?
— Bill Gates set up a $1bn fund, but that’s not all his own money – it involves others including, in fact, Jeff Bezos.
— Leonardo DiCaprio was reported in 2017 to be donating $20mto fight climate change. A year later this rose to $100m.
— Michael Bloomberg promised $4.5m in 2018. A year later he said he would give $715m towards closing US coal plants.
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