The New York Times Magazine - USA (2020-08-09)

Illustrations by Giacomo Gambineri 5

Photograph by Meridith Kohut

The Thread

‘I felt love for

the place, the

people and the

culture and

sadness in

thinking about

the history.’

Readers respond to the 7.26.2020 issue.

RE: CLIMATE MIGRATION

Abrahm Lustgarten wrote about how climate

change is leading to a destabilizing migration

of populations.

This was a beautiful piece of writing, and

it explains in great detail the impacts of

the choices we, as a country, make today.

I especially appreciated the graphics and

THE STORY,

ON INSTAGRAM

I started reading this

and stopped, I got

so sad. I will finish it.

@ellejack

sensitive article. I felt love for the place,

the people and the culture and sadness

in thinking about the history, particular-

ly that the Tonga people were forcefully

removed from fertile land and made to

resettle on infertile land that could not

support them. I hope and pray that a

workable solution can be found.

Addy, Michigan

RE: CÓRDOBA PROVINCE

Noah Gallagher Shannon wrote about

the fearsome thunderstorms in northern

Argentina and the scientists who chase them.

Amazing article. We passed through the

area in February, on a double-decker bus

from Mendoza to Buenos Aires. Indeed,

there were powerful storms to the north

of us — in the direction of Córdoba.

Like Patagonia, it is a vast area of open

spaces where one learns to anticipate and

respect the weather.

Dirk Durstein, Wilmington, Del.

I left the front page of the paper feeling

depressed about the world, but this article

has completely reinvigorated me. Science

got us out of the darkness of superstition

and religious overbearing. It will do so

again. Thank you for this wonderful piece!

It is not a contradiction in terms to say,

‘‘Thank God for science.’’

Amy Haible, Harpswell, Maine

Wonderful article. Well researched,

informative and beautifully written. It was

as if I were standing in the pampas look-

ing at a foreboding storm on the horizon.

These dark tempests are an ominous sign

of a changing climate.

Mark, El Paso

how well the writers explained that the

eff ects of climate change go far beyond

sea-level rise.

Marie

RE: KARIBA DAM

Namwali Serpell wrote about the history of

the dam in the Zambezi River Valley.

An amazing article, thanks for doing it.

When I was a boy in Canada in the early

’60s, we watched BBC fi lms featuring the

reclamation of wildlife as the waters rose

on this project. All these years later, as

an adult, it’s good to explore the human

and political past and especially futures

of the area.

John Arthur Feesey, Vancouver

As an electrical engineer who has worked

at Kariba Power Station, I salute the great

engineers for what was then a technologi-

cal marvel. As a Zambian, I salute Namwali

Serpell for a sensitive perspective from

a little-explored angle. She’s an eloquent

advocate for many amorphous historical

misgivings that persist to this day.

Russell, Lusaka, Zambia

Beautifully written. My spouse and I

lived in Zambia for six years, 1972-78. I

enjoyed reading this very informative and

I was part of the RELAMPAGO team

leading the hydrometeorological impacts.

You made me relive this amazing expe-

rience. Beautifully written article and

amazing photographs!

Francina, Champaign

The best I have read on the subject of

‘‘monster storms’’ because of the thor-

oughly diagramed layout of how these

storms form, how meteorologists are

adapting to acquire and expand their

predictive facility and the inclusion of

the eff ects of terrain in storm formation.

The photos perfectly support the article,

to where they merge with it.

Allen, Philadelphia

While I second the positive comments on

the article 100 percent, I’m struck by the

quality of the photography, in and of itself

and in its support of the concepts. Black

and white was the way to go for emphasiz-

ing the sky over the land and for bringing

out the details of the cloud structure. I

love the composition that shows just how

vast the landscape can be — supporting

that scale as part of the equation.

Bruce, Maine

CORRECTION:

An article on July 26 about the Kariba

Dam, on the border between Zambia and

Zimbabwe, misstated an aspect of the dam.

Erosion threatens the foundation; it is not

the case that the foundation is eroded. Th e

article also misstated the location of a future

dam. It will be on a tributary of the Zambezi

River, not on the Zambezi River. And the

trees in Lake Kariba are dead trees; they

do not continue to grow.

Send your thoughts to [email protected].