The last time I was here, we were embedded in the Green Zone security bubble of the African Union peacekeeping operation at the edge of the Somali capital, with its Ugandan and Burundian troops, its heavy mortars and armoured convoys.

BBC: Welcome to tough, unpredictable Mogadishu

But the U.S. lead on what is repeatedly described as a "Green New Deal" will have its strength sapped without worldwide co-operation.

CNN: Can a 'smart grid' turn us on to energy efficiency?

The 500-lawyer firm, which serves the pharmaceutical industry and other corporate clients, said it hired Scott Green, a former executive director of WilmerHale, to run the entire operation.

FORBES: Pepper Hamilton Hires Non-Lawyer As CEO

Sledge described the operation generously: the rooms teeming to the scrolled plaster ceilings with bud-heavy green stalks, the floor cabled with sprinklers, the walls lined with foil reflectors to maximize the ripening effects of the solar-spectrum lamps, the stereo chattering NPR talk radio to cover the drone of the daytime light banks, and classical music to give the plants a cultural heritage through the cool damp night.

NEWYORKER: Lostronaut