Here’s a thought, says Tim Harford in The Financial Times: environmentalists should buy more coal mines. A colliery in West Virginia has reserves that could belch out about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide – and it’s on the market for just $8m. Snapping that up and keeping the coal in the ground is “an insanely good deal” for anyone serious about fighting climate change. Likewise, if you drive, but only a little, there’s much to be said for buying an ageing gas-guzzler. “Better for a thirsty old car to do 1,000 miles a year in your hands than 10,000 miles a year in someone else’s.”

Pandemics tend to make politics more “turbulent”, says Robert Guest in The Economist. When the Black Death wiped out a third of Europeans in the 14th century, the surviving labourers were able to negotiate higher pay. When influenza killed millions of Indians in 1918-19, the resulting misery helped kick-start Mahatma Gandhi’s campaign to end British colonial rule. A study of 133 countries between 2001 and 2018 found that political unrest tends to peak two years after an epidemic starts. “If so, 2022 will be a bumpy year.”