>>> THE 400-METER-LONG CARGO
SHIP, THE "EVER GIVEN" IS STUCK
IN THE SUEZ CANAL AND IT IS
FOULING UP GLOBAL TRADE AND IT
IS ALSO APPARENTLY FOULING UP
TELECOMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO
TV HOSTS WHO JUST WANT TO TALK
ABOUT THE 400-METER-LONG "EVER
GIVEN" SHIP STUCK IN THE SUEZ
CANAL, BUT I THINK MY FRIEND,
CHRIS HAYES, HOST OF "ALL IN" WE
HAVE YOU BACK UP ONLINE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME, CHRIS?
>> I CAN HEAR YOU AND I
APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, ALTHOUGH A
BIT OF A MICROCOSM METAPHOR OF
THE DIFFICULTIES OF ALL THE
THINGS THAT RUN IN THE
BACKGROUND IN MODERN LIFE AND
THEN WHEN THEY MESS UP, THEY
MESS UP.
>> YEAH, AND ACTUALLY IT BRINGS
US BEAUTIFULLY TO THE, YOU KNOW,
FIRST POINT I WANTED TO TALK TO
YOU ABOUT THIS, WHICH IS, I
THINK, THE "EVER GIVEN" REMINDS
US OF THE, JUST, SORT OF THIN
LINE WE ARE WALKING, AT LEAST
FROM A BUSINESS ECONOMICS
RESOURCES STANDPOINT.
I THINK MOST OF US AREN’T
MOST OF US AREN’T AWARE OF JUST
HOW MUCH GLOBAL TRADE HANGS BY A
THREAD.
THE FACT THAT THIS SHIP BEING
STALLED IN THE SUEZ IS COSTING
THE GLOBE BILLIONS OF BILLIONS
OF DOLLARS BY THE HOUR IS A
REMINDER THAT THE SYSTEMS WE
HAVE IN PLACE ARE NOT
PARTICULARLY RESILIENT.
>> YEAH.
IT’S A GREAT POINT.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE LEARNED
DURING THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT, IS
HOW MUCH THESE SUPPLY CHAINS,
HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN GET
STRESSED.
THE BROADER LESSON WE’RE SEEING
WITH THIS SHIP STUCK ACROSS THE
CANAL IS THERE IS A TRADE-OFF
BETWEEN EFFICIENCY AND
RESILIENCY.
THE LESS SLACK THERE IS, THE
LESS RESILIENCY.
THE IRONY IS THE NOW DICTATOR OF
EGYPT’S PROJECT WAS TO BUILD A
DOUBLE CHANNEL WHICH THEY HAVE
ACTUALLY DONE FOR HUGE PARTS OF
THE CANAL, NOT THIS PART.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE, WHY DO YOU
NEED TWO?
THIS IS THE ANSWER WHY YOU NEED
TWO.
THAT’S TRUE FOR HUGE PARTS OF
WHAT WE THINK OF AS A JUST IN
TIME GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN.
TOILET PAPER WHICH WAS PART TO
GET DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE ERA
OF CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCY
BECOMES A PREMIUM.
WE JUST SAW THIS IN TEXAS AS
WELL.
>> FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN’T
FAMILIAR WITH WHAT JUST IN TIME
MANUFACTURING IS, IT’S BASICALLY
RELYING ON THE INTERNET AND OUR
GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN TO GIVE US
THE THINGS WE NEED WHEN WE WANT
THEM AS OPPOSED TO MANUFACTURING
A BUNCH OF THEM AND STORING THEM
IN WAREHOUSES.
I THINK EVERY AMERICAN
UNDERSTANDS THE DOWNSIDE OF THAT
FORM OF JUST IN TIME
MANUFACTURING IN THE COVID
PANDEMIC, RIGHT?
AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS, THERE
WERE NO GOWNS.
THERE WAS NO PPE.
WE HAD JUST IN TIME
MANUFACTURING FOR WHAT WOULD
BECOME LIFE SAVING SUPPLIES IN
THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
I WONDER IF YOU THINK, YOU KNOW,
AS THE LAYMAN BETTER UNDERSTANDS
THE IMPLICATIONS OF ALL THIS
WHETHER WE’RE GOING TO SEE THE
SYSTEMS CHANGE, OR IS IT JUST
KIND OF BACK TO, YOU KNOW,
BUSINESS AS USUAL?
>> IT’S A GREAT QUESTION, RIGHT?
SO WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE SHOULD
JUST SAY THAT YOU NEED THE SUEZ
CANAL UNBLOCKED NO MATTER WHAT
SYSTEM OF GLOBAL TRADE YOU HAVE.
I MEAN, SO I DON’T WANT TO
OVERBEAR THE METAPHOR, WHICH IS
TO SAY THE SUEZ CANAL IS VERY
IMPORTANT.
WE’VE GOT SHIPS GOING AROUND THE
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE RIGHT NOW LIKE
THEY WERE IN THE 17th CENTURY.
SO YOU NEED THAT AT ANY GIVEN
MOMENT.
THE QUESTION, THOUGH, BECOMES
AND IT GOES BACK TO THIS IDEA OF
DREDGING A SECOND CHANNEL THERE,
RIGHT?
DO YOU MAKE THE CAPITAL
INVESTMENTS IN DREDGING A SECOND
CHANNEL IN THE SUEZ CANAL OR IN
WEATHERIZING GENERATORS IN TEXAS
FOR SEVERAL STANDARD DEVIATIONS
OF, YOU KNOW, OF WEATHER EVENTS
OR DO YOU CREATE A PPE WAREHOUSE
FOR A ONCE-IN-A-CHEN SUR
PANDEMIC.
THOSE ARE ALL DIFFICULT
CALCULATIONS TO MAKE.
PLAN FOR TAIL RISK EVENTS.
WE KEEP SEEING THAT OVER AND
OVER AGAIN AS WE LIVE THROUGH
THIS YEAR.
THAT’S THE BIGGEST TAIL RISK
EVENT WE’VE LITERALLY HAD IN 100
YEARS.
WHAT DO POLICYMAKERS AND
GOVERNMENTS AND GOVERNING GLOBAL
INSTITUTIONS DO TO PREPARE FOR
THAT STUFF ABSENT IMMEDIATE
PRESSURE FOR IT BECAUSE OFTEN
THERE ISN’T ONCE THE CRISIS
DISSIPATES.
>> WELL, BUT I WOULD ALSO SAY WE
ARE ENTERING A CENTURY OF
VIOLENT CHANGE.
AND I MEAN THE CLIMATE, RIGHT?
>> YEP.
>> THIS SHIP WAS BLOWN AROUND BY
A SAND STORM.
THESE SAND STORMS HAPPEN.
AND I’M NOT GOING TO DRAW A LINE
BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE SUEZ.
BUT WE KNOW THE WORLD WILL GET
DRIER, THE STORMS WILL GET MORE
VIOLENT.
THE PATTERNS THAT WE HAVE BUILT
SHIPPING ROUTES AROUND, THAT WE
HAVE BUILT TRADE ROUTES AROUND,
THEY ARE ALL CHANGING.
>> YEP.
>> WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT
RESILIENCE, PART OF FIGURING OUT