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How California’s Farmers Can Recharge the Aquifers They’ve Drained
Agriculture requires a lot of water. In the drought-stricken Central Valley, researchers have found a win-win for growers.
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Deep Sea Mining is the New Front in Pacific Competition
Recent developments reflect the rise of renewed great-power resource rivalry and the race for critical minerals, which underpin digital infrastructure and green energy.
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Exploring New Frontiers in Mineral Extraction
The minerals found in the deep ocean are used to manufacture products like the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles, cell phones, or solar cells. In some cases, the estimated resources of critical mineral deposits in parts of the abyssal ocean exceed global land-based reserves severalfold. Professor Thomas Peacock’s research aims to better understand the impact of deep-sea mining.
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‘The West Will Lead’: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming Team Up on Nuclear Energy Development
Utah state leaders are taking the next steps in their efforts to make Utah a major nuclear energy development hub and a “national leader” in developing next-generation energy technology, reaching beyond state lines to do it.
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Reinvigorating Naval Shipbuilding: Meeting the President's Challenge
To respond to the Trump administration’s call for the reinvigoration of the U.S. shipbuilding industry, policymakers should examine past failures, seek an improved shipbuilding workforce, and consider enlisting the help of close allies like Japan and South Korea.
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The Trump Administration Says It Wants a “Nuclear Renaissance.” These Actions Suggest Otherwise.
For nuclear advocates, it’s an open question whether the Trump administration’s energy officials recognize the scale of the effort that would be required to achieve their purported ambition for a nuclear revival. In fact, some of the actions the administration has taken, such as tariffs and a shake-up at the Tennessee Valley Authority, could be getting in the way of such revival.
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The U.S. Trade Deficit: How Much Does It Matter?
President Trump has made reducing U.S. trade deficits a priority, but economists disagree over how much they matter and what to do about them.
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As Wildfires Intensify, Utilities Want Liability Protections. But Then Who Pays?
As climate change drastically increases the frequency and severity of wildfires, power companies say they’re facing growing risk for payouts that could bankrupt them or require massive rate hikes on customers.
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Trying to “Bring Back” Manufacturing Jobs Is a Fool’s Errand
Advocates of recent populist policies like to focus on the supposed demise of manufacturing that occurred after the 1970s, but that focus is misleading. The populists’ bleak economic narrative ignores the truth that the service sector has always been a major driver of America’s success, for decades, even more so than manufacturing. Trying to “bring back” manufacturing jobs, through harmful tariffs or other industrial policies, is destined to end badly for Americans. It makes about as much sense as trying to “bring back” all those farm jobs we had before the 1870s.
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Trump Touts Manufacturing While Undercutting State Efforts to Help Factories
Tariffs, spending cuts and the winding down of state-based manufacturing aid could hurt small factories.
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Need for National Information Clearinghouse for Cybercrime Data, Categorization of Cybercrimes: Report
There is an acute need for the U.S. to address its lack of overall governance and coordination of cybercrime statistics. A new report recommends that relevant federal agencies create or designate a national information clearinghouse to draw information from multiple sources of cybercrime data and establish connections to assist in criminal investigations.
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Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries
Last week DOJ took steps to move forward with implementing a program to prevent China, Russia, Iran, and other foreign adversaries from using commercial activities to access and exploit U.S. government-related data and Americans’ sensitive personal data to commit espionage and economic espionage, conduct surveillance and counterintelligence activities, and otherwise undermine our national security.
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A Guide to the 4 Minerals Shaping the World’s Energy Future
Ending our dependence on fossil fuels and adopting this new, greener technology requires a whole lot of metal. Especially important are rare earth elements and lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. Just as the 20th century was defined by the geography of oil, the 21st century could be defined by the new geography of metal.
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For-Profit Immigration Detention Expands as Trump Accelerates His Deportation Plans
The Trump administration is moving quickly to dramatically expand the nation’s capacity for detaining immigrants who do not have legal authorization to be in the United States. States may not be able to limit or block new contracts with private companies.
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The Potential Impact of Seabed Mining on Critical Mineral Supply Chains and Global Geopolitics
The potential emergence of a seabed mining industry has important ramifications for the diversification of critical mineral supply chains, revenues for developing nations with substantial terrestrial mining sectors, and global geopolitics.
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The long view
Need for National Information Clearinghouse for Cybercrime Data, Categorization of Cybercrimes: Report
There is an acute need for the U.S. to address its lack of overall governance and coordination of cybercrime statistics. A new report recommends that relevant federal agencies create or designate a national information clearinghouse to draw information from multiple sources of cybercrime data and establish connections to assist in criminal investigations.
Trying to “Bring Back” Manufacturing Jobs Is a Fool’s Errand
Advocates of recent populist policies like to focus on the supposed demise of manufacturing that occurred after the 1970s, but that focus is misleading. The populists’ bleak economic narrative ignores the truth that the service sector has always been a major driver of America’s success, for decades, even more so than manufacturing. Trying to “bring back” manufacturing jobs, through harmful tariffs or other industrial policies, is destined to end badly for Americans. It makes about as much sense as trying to “bring back” all those farm jobs we had before the 1870s.
The Potential Impact of Seabed Mining on Critical Mineral Supply Chains and Global Geopolitics
The potential emergence of a seabed mining industry has important ramifications for the diversification of critical mineral supply chains, revenues for developing nations with substantial terrestrial mining sectors, and global geopolitics.
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”