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What’s geopolitically important today.

May 11, 2016 This is a map of the United States at night. As you can see, the eastern part of the United States is filled with lights, and the western part is much darker, except for the Pacific Coast. The line we’ve drawn marks the point where the lights dim. And it also marks the line where annual rainfall tapers off. There is more rain to the east of the line, less rain to the west. The line marking the edge of the heavily lit area is also the point where rain declines below what is needed for high density populations. The two lines converge in the same spot and define a vital dimension of American geopolitics: the difference between the East and the West.