Commentary
The River of Doubt, Rio da Duvida, now known as the Roosevelt River, is a tributary of the Aripuanã River, which, in turn, via the Madeira River, flows into the Amazon. It nearly killed Theodore Roosevelt after he was the first white man to explore it following his loss during the 1912 presidential election. It’s a treacherous river, rarely traveled, and unforgiving.
Today, there are several “rivers of doubt,” but in Europe, North America, and Asia, all the doubts are about how drought will affect the advanced industrial economies on those three continents. As we shall see, like the original River of Doubt, drought in these rivers will cause treacherous consequences, are only rarely seen, and the effects are unforgiving….