As the world mourns those who died in Paris last week in a killing spree for which the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility , reporters and commentators have been discussing the motivations behind the attacks. I’m not sure that any so far has considered whether one can draw a straight line from a severe drought in Syria to these mass killings. My own answer is that the if the line is there–and I think it is–then it has taken many twists and turns before arriving in Paris. Even so, it might be worthwhile for those who will soon be gathering in this bereaved city in order to negotiate a new worldwide climate treaty to understand any such connection. For in the background behind these events, there is a Syria starved of water almost surely because of climate change. A study released earlier this year […]