The Full Belmonte, 4/5/2022
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson cleared an early hurdle on her way to all but certain confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, as three Republicans joined all Democrats in moving her nomination forward Monday night.
Earlier in the day, the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on Judge Jackson’s nomination, with the panel’s 11 Democrats supporting her and 11 Republicans opposed. The tally underscored the intense partisanship that has come to define the Supreme Court confirmation process, and forced another procedural vote later Monday on the Senate floor, where a simple majority, or 51 votes, was needed to advance her nomination. That vote succeeded, 53-47.
All 50 senators who caucus with the Democrats were joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, as well as Mitt Romney of Utah and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in a likely preview of Judge Jackson’s confirmation vote later this week.
Ties in committee are rare, in part because the majority party usually holds more seats on the committee than the minority. But the Senate is divided 50-50 between both parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tiebreaking vote. A power-sharing agreement reached last year between Senate leaders gave Republicans an equal number of seats to Democrats on every committee, while Democrats hold the chairmanships.
The Judiciary Committee vote came after an unusual delay. Shortly after 1 p.m., Chairman Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) moved to recess while Democrats awaited the arrival of Sen. Alex Padilla(D., Calif.), a member of the panel whose absence left them a vote short. Mr. Padilla’s initial cross-country flight had been turned back to Los Angeles for a medical emergency. He arrived in the Senate Monday late afternoon, at which point Mr. Durbin reconvened the committee for the vote.
Earlier, in opening the hearing, Mr. Durbin called the vote a historic moment. ‘It’s the first time that the committee has had the opportunity to advance the nomination of a Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court,’ he said.
He admonished some of his Republican colleagues, saying they had used Judge Jackson’s hearings to grandstand and badger her. During the hearings, some Republicans aggressively questioned her on her sentencing record in child-pornography cases, which they complained were too lenient, and criticized her work as a public defender representing Guantanamo Bay detainees.
‘They repeated discredited claims about Judge Jackson’s record,’ Mr. Durbin said. ‘They impugned her motives and questioned her candor.’
Sen. Dick Durbin looks on as Sen. Patrick Leahy speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Monday.PHOTO: WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said Democrats ‘should be very proud of her achievements,’ but said he couldn't support Judge Jackson because he disagreed with her judicial philosophy and ideology, which he said was too liberal.
‘When interpreting the law and Constitution, understanding the principle of limited government is essential. Otherwise, there would be no checks on the federal government,’ Mr. Grassley said.
Once the full Senate votes to discharge Judge Jackson’s nomination Monday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) will set up another procedural vote for Thursday, followed by a final confirmation vote later Thursday or Friday, both at simple majority thresholds.
All 50 Democrats are expected to support Judge Jackson’s confirmation, along with Republican Sens. Collins, Romney and Murkowski.
Mr. Romney said in a statement shortly before he voted that while he didn’t expect to agree with Judge Jackson’s every decision, he found her to be ‘a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor.’
Ms. Murkowski, who is running for re-election this year, said her choice to support Judge Jackson rested on her qualifications, demonstrated judicial independence, demeanor and the perspective the judge would bring to the court. ‘It also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year,’ Ms. Murkowski said.
She added: ‘The support she has received from law enforcement agencies around the country is significant and demonstrates the judge is one who brings balance to her decisions.’
Since 1870, the Judiciary Committee typically has reported a favorable recommendation for confirmation if a majority of committee members support the nominee. The panel has favorably reported 77 Supreme Court nominations over the past century and a half, and 71 of those went on to be confirmed, according to the Congressional Research Service. Three nominees were reported to the Senate explicitly without recommendation, but went on to be confirmed anyway: two justices in the 19th century and Justice Clarence Thomas, who had been accused of sexual harassment, in 1991. Justice Thomas denied the allegations.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
A Ukrainian volunteer in a van holding the bodies of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, on Sunday.
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER OCCHICONE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to hold Russian forces accountable for what he called war crimes. More than 100 civilians were found buried in mass graves in the commuter town of Bucha after Russian troops withdrew last week. President Biden called for a war-crimes trial over Bucha, and said Russian President Vladimir Putin must be held accountable for the war. French President Emmanuel Macron demanded additional sanctions on Russian oil and coal.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Ukrainians were buried in Bucha mass graves amid allegations of war crimes.
The release of Ukraine intelligence represents a new front in the U.S. information war with Russia.
The Ukraine war drives countries to embrace renewable energy—but not yet.
“Ukrainian refugees are finding shelter in private homes. More than four million have fled the country since Russia invaded; they’re mostly staying not in large-scale refugee camps but with Poles, Western Europeans and Ukrainian expats. This massive, informal network—which also can provide food, transportation and jobs—has eased the burden on public services and made the transition easier for many refugees.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Photo: Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports
Kansas guard Christian Braun and forward K.J. Adams celebrate their shock comeback, rocking UNC in the March Madness championship game, 72-69, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
“The Jayhawks erased a 16-point deficit — the largest comeback in national championship history, surpassing 1963's title game, when Loyola climbed out of a 15-point hole to beat Cincinnati at the buzzer, 60-58.” Read more at Axios
In Lawrence, Kansas, Jayhawks fans celebrate on Massachusetts Street. Photo: David Eulitt/Getty Images
Kansas big man David McCormack cuts down the net. Photo: Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Federico Gambarini/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
“The latest UN climate report, published Monday, says the world has the resources to prevent catastrophic climate change, but the global fossil fuel addiction is getting in the way.” [Vox] Read more at CNN / Angela Dewan and Rachel Ramirez
“The report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says to limit warming to 1.5°Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the point at which climate change impacts are irreversible — greenhouse gas emissions have to peak before 2025.” [Vox] Read more at CNBC / Sam Meredith
“Nearly 200 countries, including the US, agreed to the 1.5°C threshold as part of the 2016 Paris Agreement. But to make good on their promises, countries and corporations must stop financing fossil fuel projects and invest three to six times the amount they are currently investing in renewable energy.” [Vox] Read more at Protocol / Brian Kahn
“To bring temperatures back down by the end of the century, countries would need to quickly adopt green energy and carbon dioxide removal technology. That technology is more affordable than it was in 2016, but hasn’t been as widely or rapidly adopted as it should have been.” [Vox] Read more at Guardian / Fiona Harvey
“That means the world is likely headed past 1.5°C of warming, particularly given that numerous new fossil fuel projects are currently underway.” [Vox] Read more at Quartz / Tim McDonnell
Intakes for the Hyatt Powerplant at California’s Lake Oroville in February. Hydroelectric power output has been substantially impacted by the continuing Western drought.
PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
“Native American tribes, environmentalists and the hydroelectric power industry reached a deal that could boost clean energy. The compromise, which would require approval from Congress, is the result of four years of talks. The agreement includes adding hydroelectric power to some existing dams in as little as two years, while speeding the approval of energy storage and giving tribes, instead of the Department of the Interior, more authority over some related details.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Senate has reached a bipartisan deal to provide an additional $10 billion in Covid-19 assistance. While this is less than half of what the White House originally had requested, it would allow the Biden administration to purchase more vaccines, maintain testing capacity and continue ongoing research. But it does not include $5 billion for global Covid-19 aid, nor would it replenish the program that pays for testing, treating and vaccinating the uninsured. As for how it will be paid for, the deal would utilize unspent funds from the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which was enacted in March 2021.” Read more at CNN
“The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday announced plans to revamp itself, with director Rochelle Walensky hiring an outside senior federal health official to conduct a one-month review.
James Macrae, an associate administrator in the Department of Health and Human Services, will join CDC on a one-month assignment from 11 April to listen to and engage with the agency’s Covid-19 response activities, Walensky said in an email to her colleagues.
Macrae will provide Walensky insight into how CDC’s programs can be strengthened.
She has also asked three senior officials at CDC to gather feedback on the agency’s current structure and solicit suggestions for strategic change.
The review follows criticism for its response during the pandemic, from delays in developing a coronavirus test initially to its guidance over masking, isolation and quarantine being called confusing.
‘As we’ve challenged our state and local partners, we know that now is the time for CDC to integrate the lessons learned into a strategy for the future,’ Walensky said in a separate statement.
Walensky said the review will allow CDC to develop new systems and processes, with a keen focus on the agency’s core capabilities like public health workforce, laboratory capacity and rapid response to disease outbreaks.” Read more at The Guardian
People attended a rally to call on the Biden administration to cancel federal student loan debt in Washington, D.C., this week.PHOTO: STEFANI REYNOLDS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
“WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is planning to extend until the end of August a pause on federal student-loan payments, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The extension could be announced as soon as Wednesday, the person said. The moratorium on payments was set to expire on May 1.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Three Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration over the decision to end Trump-era pandemic restrictions at the US border. Former US President Donald Trump effectively blocked migrants from entering the US using a public health authority known as Title 42, which cited pandemic concerns to stop many migrants from crossing the border and seeking asylum in the US. The restrictions had been criticized by immigrant advocates, public health experts and even officials within the Trump administration who believed it to be driven by political motivations. On May 23, the Biden administration will lift the policy, teeing up a major battle with Republican lawmakers. In the meantime, the three states that filed the suit Sunday -- Missouri, Arizona and Louisiana -- said ending the Trump-era policies would result in ‘unmitigated chaos and catastrophe’ at the border.” Read more at CNN
“The Oklahoma House on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for a Republican bill that would make performing an abortion illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The vote was 70 to 14 after lawmakers added it to the agenda Monday night, catching some by surprise. There was little discussion or debate.
The bill, which passed the Senate last year, would make performing an abortion a felony. Anyone convicted would face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The measure heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who has signaled his openness to signing antiabortion legislation into law.
The law makes an exception if the life of the mother is in danger.
If it is not blocked by the courts, the bill is scheduled to take effect this summer when the Oklahoma legislature adjourns. Unlike several other abortion bans proposed in Oklahoma this session, it does not include the emergency clause that allows a bill to take effect as soon as it’s signed by the governor.” Read more at Washington Post
“A man who allegedly assaulted seven Asian women in New York City in February has been indicted on multiple hate crime charges, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced yesterday. During the attacks, Steven Zajonc, 28, allegedly injured six victims, resulting in bleeding cuts and bruises to their faces, and one victim was knocked unconscious and treated for a concussion, prosecutors said. Hate crimes against Asians increased so much during the Covid-19 pandemic that the New York Police Department created an Asian Hate Crime Task Force. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said it has 27 open cases related to anti-Asian crimes, while the NYPD has recorded 158 incidents of hate crimes against Asians between March 2020 and December 2021.” Read more at CNN
“A suspect who was arrested in connection with the shooting in Sacramento that left six people dead and 12 others injured is set to appear in court Tuesday. Dandrae Martin, 26, is scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court, according to jail records. Martin was taken into custody Monday in connection with the shooting and faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and illegal firearms possession, Sacramento police said. Martin is the lone suspect arrested thus far and is being held without bail, jail records show. More than 100 rounds were fired early Sunday in downtown Sacramento amid a chaotic altercation outside the city's entertainment district, which was packed with people leaving bars.” Read more at USA Today
“A judge struck down a state law that requires California-based public companies to have at least one board director from underrepresented groups. The board diversity quota, enacted in 2020, was the first of its kind in the U.S. and followed a similar California measure two years earlier that mandated female directors on all boards of the state’s public companies. The California Secretary of State didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Elon Musk disclosed a 9% stake in Twitter. The Tesla chief executive’s intentions aren’t publicly known. The surprise move sent Twitter’s stock up 27% Monday, its largest one-day percentage gain on record. The power tweeter turned largest shareholder has more than 80 million followers. In a securities filing, he reported owning almost 73.5 million shares as of March 14, representing a stake valued at $2.9 billion based on Friday’s closing price. That gives Musk more Twitter shares than company co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Shoppers are cutting back on staples as inflation rages. They’re trying to afford the basics by buying fewer items, switching to cheaper, store-name brands and hunting more aggressively for deals. Inflation rose to 7.9%, a four-decade high, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“In June, the Supreme Court of the United States is expected to issue a ruling that could decide the future of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a legal right to an abortion. The Court heard a challenge to a restrictive Mississippi abortion law in December, and, if some predictions prove correct, the conservative-majority court is likely to uphold the law, thereby weakening Roe’s protections or overruling them entirely. Many more states could respond by passing laws like Mississippi’s, as Texas has already done.
A network of activists, some out in the open and many others covert, are planning for a future where access to an abortion may be signficantly curtailed. The network includes ‘midwives, herbalists, doulas, and educators,’ Jessica Bruder reports in our latest cover story. ‘When necessary, they are often willing to work around the law.’ They are cautiously sharing information on matters such as how to end a pregnancy using pharmaceuticals and how to stay safe—both medically and legally—in the process.
Abortion access in the United States may come to be defined more by this underground than by organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Paul Blumenthal, a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University, told Bruder.
‘Whatever the laws may say, history has shown that women will continue to have abortions,’ Bruder writes. ‘The spread of pills and devices like the Del-Em—discreet, inexpensive, and fast—could, if nothing else, help ensure that abortions are done safely and, because of their accessibility, on average earlier in a pregnancy than is the norm today.’” Read more at The Atlantic
“Forbes' 36th annual World's Billionaires List, out today, reveals 2,668 billionaires, including 236 newcomers — down from last year's record 2,755 billionaires, with 493 newcomers.
The total net worth of the world's billionaires is $12.7 trillion, down from last year’s $13.1 trillion.
329 people dropped off the list this year — the most in one year since the 2009 financial crisis, Forbes said.
‘The tumultuous stock market contributed to sharp declines in the fortunes of many of the world's richest,’ Kerry Dolan, Forbes' assistant managing editor of wealth, said in a release. ‘Still, more than 1,000 billionaires got wealthier over the past year.’
Elon Musk tops the list for the first time, with an estimated net worth of $219 billion. He unseated Jeff Bezos, who drops to No. 2 after spending the past four years as the richest person in the world.
Bernard Arnault of LVMH (luxury brands Christian Dior, Moët & Chandon, Louis Vuitton) remains No. 3, followed by Bill Gates. Warren Buffett is fifth.” Read more at Axios
“Soaring food and fuel prices are starting to rattle governments around the world, showing the widespread political consequences of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Inflation has buffeted leaders since the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic showed signs of easing. Now it’s rampant, and the pressures are in many cases becoming intolerable.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo ordered a curfew in the capital, Lima, today to quell violent protests spearheaded by bus drivers who hold informal jobs without fixed salaries. Consumer prices in March rose the most in 24 years, prompting farmers to shut down highways and looters to raid mini-markets.
Key Reading:
Peru Orders Curfew in Capital Over Violent Inflation Protests
Sri Lanka Parliament Meets Amid Calls for Rajapaksa To Step Down
Fuel Shortages in Kenya as Government Delays Subsidy Payment
Zimbabwe Keeps World’s Highest Interest Rate; Raises It to 80%
Turkish Inflation Climbs to New 20-Year High on Energy, Lira
Follow the latest with our rolling coverage
The two countries with the fastest inflation in Asia — Pakistan and Sri Lanka — are both facing political upheaval that could bring the opposition to power.
The island nation of Sri Lanka, already struggling to manage its external debt, has seen power cuts stretching to 13 hours, food shortages and long lines at gasoline stations. The finance minister resigned today 24 hours into the job.
Turkey’s inflation also hit a two-year high in March, with a 61% jump in consumer prices over last year representing some of the fastest gains in the world apart from Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Argentina and Lebanon — all countries that have seen bad financial situations become worse. Kenya has also seen long fuel lines over panic buying of gasoline.
So far, the sharp price increases are mostly affecting governments that have long struggled to get their finances in shape, but warning signs are also flashing in more developed economies.
U.K. gasoline and diesel costs have risen at their quickest rate on record since March, and inflation is becoming a key issue ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.
While citizens in some countries may be fine with paying more if it helps pressure Russia to stop the war, plenty of others will simply blame whoever is in charge.
That’s a risk for all world leaders, no matter what they think of Putin.” — Daniel Ten Kate Read more at Bloomberg
“South African President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday ended the state of disaster he declared more than two years ago to manage the coronavirus pandemic.” Read more at Bloomberg
“More than 80 organizations pulled out of the U.K. government’s international LGBTQ conference due to be held in June after Boris Johnson dropped a plan to ban so-called conversion therapy for transgender people.” Read more at Bloomberg
Protesters clash with riot police outside Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s home on March 31. Photographer: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images
“New investments flooding partisan media platforms are starting to restructure America's internet business around the nation's deepening political divide, Axios' Sara Fischer and Scott Rosenberg write.
Why it matters: For years, internet theorists warned of the ‘splinternet’ — a breakup of the global internet into regions governed by different laws. Something like that is now starting to happen within the U.S., splitting the online world into red and blue sectors.
The Daily Wire, a conservative digital media company, plans to invest ‘a minimum of $100 million’ over the next three years in kids' entertainment in response to Disney's opposition to Florida's recently passed Parental Rights in Education Bill — dubbed the ‘Don't Say Gay’ bill by critics.
The Daily Wire, co-founded by Ben Shapiro, has been at the forefront of building products that provide conservatives with alternatives to mainstream brands they feel don't support their views, including movies and razors.
The big picture: Red and blue America have reacted to the current information environment in radically different ways.
Progressives are focused on making sure existing media and online platforms crack down on misinformation.
Conservatives increasingly feel disenfranchised by media, from mainstream news outlets to social platforms, and have begun to invest in alternatives.
Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela. Photo: Patrick Pleul/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
What to watch: Billionaires are throwing ever-larger sums of money at both of these efforts.
Elon Musk yesterday disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter, worth roughly $3 billion, a few weeks after he polled his Twitter followers on Twitter's support for free speech and implied that the vote would have ‘consequences.’
On the right, Donald Trump's new social network, which is struggling to launch, has reportedly raised $1 billion for its blank check IPO. Conservative tech billionaire Peter Thiel is backing a conservative rival to Facebook, called Rumble, and a conservative rival to Tinder, called The Right Stuff. Conservative billionaire Rebekah Mercer co-founded and funded conservative Twitter alternative Parler.
On the left, billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros and others are backing a new public benefit corporation that aims to tackle disinformation by funding left-leaning local news sites. Other billionaires — including Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff and Laurene Powell Jobs — have bought up venerable media properties.
Between the lines: Media companies and online platforms thrived in the past by serving as big an audience as possible.
As the business model for internet media shifts toward direct relationships with paying customers, companies are placing less value on scale for its own sake — and more on products that engage true believers.” Read more at Axios
Data: UNESCO, World Bank. Re-created from McKinsey. Chart: Axios visuals
“A new McKinsey study found that the loss of learning due to the pandemic could translate to annual GDP losses of $1.6 trillion worldwide by 2040, reports Axios' Noah Garfinkel.
Latin America and the Caribbean could lose 2.2% of annual GDP by 2040, the report estimates.
South Asia could lose 1.6%.
The big picture: South Asia and Latin America had schools closed for far longer, with fewer resources for distance education.
‘[S]tudents globally are eight months behind where they would have been absent the pandemic,’ the report says.” Read more at Axios
“Wax cylinders are the earliest mass-produced way people could both listen to commercial music and record themselves. Surviving cylinders from the 1890s haven't been heard because they're so fragile — until now.
Listen to how the New York Public Library is preserving this audio, or read the story.” Read more at NPR
“Construction at a site in Utah has damaged dinosaur and other animal tracks dating back more than 100 million years. Little can be done to reverse the damage to the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite.” Read more at NPR
“Lives Lived: Tommy Davis won consecutive National League batting titles and led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series championship in 1963. But an injury derailed his career and he fell short of the Hall of Fame. He died at 83.” Read more at New York Times
Darwin’s seminal Tree of Life sketch, headed with the words ‘I think’. Photograph: Cambridge University Library/PA
“The plot was worthy of a Dan Brown thriller – two Charles Darwin manuscripts worth millions of pounds reported as stolen from Cambridge University library after being missing for two decades.
The disappearance prompted a worldwide appeal with the help of the local police force and Interpol. Now, in a peculiar twist, the notebooks – one of which contains Darwin’s seminal 1837 Tree of Life Sketch – have been anonymously returned in a pink gift bag, with a typed note on an envelope wishing a happy Easter to the librarian.
The bag was left on the floor of a public area of the library outside the librarian’s office on the fourth floor of the 17-storey building on 9 March, in an area not covered by CCTV. Who left them and where they had been remains a mystery.
Dr Jessica Gardner, who became director of library services in 2017 and who reported the notebooks as stolen to police, described her joy at their return as ‘immense’. ‘My sense of relief at the notebooks’ safe return is profound and almost impossible to adequately express,’ she said. ‘I, along with so many others, all across the world, was heartbroken to learn of their loss.’
“The notebooks can now retake their rightful place alongside the rest of the Darwin archive at Cambridge, at the heart of the nation’s cultural and scientific heritage, alongside the archives of Sir Isaac Newton and Prof Stephen Hawking.”
Advertisement
It was back in 2001 that the notebooks, which represent some of Darwin’s first inklings of his radical theory of evolution by natural selection, were originally found to be missing. They had been removed from storage to be photographed, and work was recorded as completed in November 2000. But during a subsequent routine check made in January 2001, it was found they had not been returned to their proper place. At the time staff believed they may have been mis-shelved.
A fingertip search of key areas in the library, which houses about 10m books, maps, manuscripts and other items, proved to be unfruitful, and the books were eventually reported as stolen to the Cambridge constabulary in 2020.
The police force then launched an investigation and notified Interpol, with the university making a global appeal for information. Their return, almost a year and a half later, has both stupefied and delighted authorities.” Read more at The Guardian
A general view of the Greenland landscape. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“Archaeologists have generally assumed it was the little ice age that put an end to Greenland’s Viking colonies, which had been established in the 10th century. New research suggests another culprit: a gradual drought that forced the Scandinavians to retreat.
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts noted that the data used to reconstruct conditions at the Norse settlements came from ice cores taken from 620 miles (1,000km) to the north of the occupied area. They sought to get a better picture of conditions at the actual settlements from samples of nearby lakebed sediments.
In the study the researchers looked not just at temperature but also the pattern of moisture by studying the waxy coating of plant leaves. They found that temperatures remained more or less constant but the area had gradually become drier. The farmers relied on sheep, goats and cattle, which grazed on pasture. Worsening conditions meant less fodder could be stored over winter. According to historical accounts, sometimes the animals were so weak they had to be carried to the pasture when the snow finally melted.
The Norse farmers were eventually forced to abandon Greenland altogether. When Europeans returned in the 18th century the only inhabitants were Inuit who lived by sealing and whaling and did not depend on rainfall.” Read more at The Guardian