| I'm Kristen Bellstrom and this is Bloomberg Opinion Today, something more pedestrian than Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. On Sundays, we look at the major themes of the week past and how they will define the week ahead. Sign up for the daily newsletter here. It's mid-August — that time of the year when those of us still sweating away in front of our computers look around at our colleagues' empty desks and the 'out of office' messages clogging our inboxes and think: "What the hell am I still doing here??" And don't try to escape your cubicle reality by going online. If your feed is anything like mine, it's just a FOMO-inducing parade of tanned faces quaffing rosé on the cliffs of Santorini and pedicured toenails wiggling in front of the Mediterranean.
But here's the thing: You and I might actually be ahead of the curve. According to Andrea Felsted, the revenge travel boom that has been packing airplanes and hotels in the wake of the pandemic may be starting to lose its juice.  As you can tell from these somewhat squiggly lines, it's not like travel is bottoming out. But, writes Andrea, "it is a deceleration from the very strong rates of growth as economies reopened to something more pedestrian." So, while some (pricier) locales like Paris and Milan are still seeing plenty of tourists, others — including US destinations — are experiencing less demand. Says Andrea: "There appears to have been some loss of appetite at the lower and middle segments of the market, as consumers balk at higher hotel and airfare prices and become more cautious ahead of the US election."
Another factor influencing how anxious people are to get out of town? Weather, she says. "In Britain for example, the summer had been poor, leading more people to book to go to Mediterranean beach resorts. But temperatures have now risen, perhaps persuading people to stay closer to home." Tyler Cowen got a first-hand look at how weather can make or break your summer vacation on his recent trip to Italy. Temperatures were in the mid-90s and he spent some (presumably!) sticky nights in Siena in a residence with no AC. While we Americans may clutch our pearls at this, Tyler notes it's pretty standard across the pond: "Some 90% of the US has air conditioning, according to one estimate, compared to only 19% for Europe."
Historically, he says, that has been just fine — and when it does get hot, Europeans just take August off, go for a dip, or hop a plane to somewhere cool like Finland or Ireland. And installing more ACs across the Continent would have significant downsides, from cost to energy use to the potential loss of the glorious cafe and public square culture that makes Europe such a unique place to live and visit. But as global warming turns up the heat, Tyler concludes that, as much as it pains him, "when it comes to air conditioning, Europe is likely to become more and more like the US — as indeed it should."
To which I say: OK, crank the AC if you must — but hands off my Barolo! Alas, grapes are almost as finicky as American tourists when it comes to temperature. David Fickling says that's becoming a problem for European wine and food producers, who have "built a complex system of intellectual property around the idea that particular types of food and drink are regionally distinctive, and have names that must be protected under copyright law." These geographic indications mean that only vintages made with certain grapes, grown in certain tiny regions can legally be called, say, Champagne.  But David points to new findings that show rising temperatures have made some of these geographic areas less able to support the grapes that made them famous. So, unless we want these wines to go extinct, the researchers argue that the system "needs to be rethought to allow winegrowers to switch their practices as the climate warms."
I for one am more than happy to allow winemakers to change with the times if it means they can continue their art and livelihood (and, of course, that my own glass remains full). Climate change isn't coming — it's here. If we're going to stick around, that will mean evolving. And I'm doing what I can to get with the program personally. After all, the reason I'm still at my desk this August is not because I'm skipping my usual summer vacation — I just decided cool it down this year by bumping it to the fall. Bonus Hot, Hot, Hot Reading Did you hear that? It's the collective sigh of relief from every parent I know as the school year nears, ending a looong slog of trying to piece together enough camps, play dates, swim lessons and another damn trip to the zoo to keep kids from burning down their houses over the summer. Um, you know what might help? High-quality child care parents can afford without selling an organ. Crazy idea, I know. The thing that makes the debate over how to provide this so maddening (other than JD Vance) is that it's so often painted as a "women's issue" rather than an economic one. But as Sarah Green Carmichael notes, the cost of day care pushed 66% of moms to consider leaving the workforce last year. And it's not just about our current workers. "Kids who attend an attentive, loving child care or preschool show better control of their emotions and are more likely to eventually graduate high school and go to college," writes Sarah. "Some studies suggest the effects are larger for poor children and for boys." Unfortunately, this isn't just a US problem. In Mexico, JP Spinetto says the economy is desperate to get more women working; last year female participation in the labor force clocked in at an anemic 46.8%. There are a host of forces keeping women on the sidelines, he says, but caring for children and other family members is one of the big ones: "According to the World Bank, Mexican women spend 2.5 times as much time on unpaid domestic and care work as men," he writes. And again, what might help with that? I refer you to the previous paragraph. Isn't it time to finally solve this problem? Let's let the women who want and need to work have the opportunity. At the very least, it would mean a few more people could keep me company for the rest of summer vacation season. Notes: Please send Champagne and feedback to Kristen Bellstrom at kbellstrom@bloomberg.net. | 
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