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Texas Regulators Limit Oil and Gas Disposal Wells in Bid to Reduce Earthquakes in West Texas
Injecting saltwater back into the ground “is likely contributing to recent seismic activity,” the Railroad Commission of Texas has said.
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How Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea Threaten Global Shipping
Houthi attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea have upended global shipping. The disruptions could soon ripple through the global economy.
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Ethiopia and Somalia: Conflict Intensifies Over Port Deal
Ethiopia’s agreement with breakaway region Somaliland, seeking port access in exchange for potential sovereignty recognition, could cause upheaval in the Horn of Africa. Somalia views it as an attack on its sovereignty.
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2023’s Billion-Dollar Disasters List Shattered the U.S. Record with 28 Big Weather and Climate Disasters Amid Earth’s Hottest Year on Record
The U.S. set an unwelcome record for weather and climate disasters in 2023, with 28 disasters that exceeded more than US$1 billion in damage each. While it wasn’t the most expensive year overall – the costliest years included multiple hurricane strikes – it had the highest number of billion-dollar storms, floods, droughts and fires of any year since counting began in 1980, with six more than any other year, accounting for inflation.
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Extreme Weather Cost $80 Billion in 2023. The True Price Is Far Higher.
The U.S. saw 25 billion-dollar weather disasters in 2023 — more than ever before. 2024 could be worse. Congress has long punted on reforming FEMA and the nation’s disaster relief policy, but it’s only a matter of time before there’s a disaster bad enough that legislators feel pressure to act. That catastrophe didn’t arrive in in 2023, but it is surely coming.
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Identifying Types of Cyberattacks That Manipulate Behavior of AI Systems
AI systems can malfunction when exposed to untrustworthy data – what is called “adversarial machine learning” — and attackers are exploiting this issue. New guidance documents the types of these attacks, along with mitigation approaches. No foolproof method exists as yet for protecting AI from misdirection, and AI developers and users should be wary of any who claim otherwise.
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The True Dangers of Long Trains
Trains are getting longer. Rail companies had recently adopted a moneymaking strategy to move cargo faster than ever, with fewer workers, on trains that are consistently longer than at any time in history. Railroads are getting richer, but these “monster trains” are jumping off of tracks across America and regulators are doing little to curb the risk.
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Australia Should Learn from Canada and Take a Truly Global Approach to Critical Minerals
Canada and Australia are key players in the global supply chain for critical minerals. Simultaneously the top two nations for receiving minerals investment and for providing minerals investment, they are perfectly placed to use critical minerals to facilitate the global energy transition, foster innovation and build their security capabilities.
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Vietnam Isn’t North Korea—and 50 Years of Australian Aid Has Helped
How have Australia and Vietnam, two countries with extremely different political systems, built such a successful partnership? It was done through long-term investment across all the tools of statecraft—including diplomacy, trade and defense—with development cooperation as a key element. This enabled a progression from battlefield enemy to major economic and development partner in a surprisingly short period.
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Congress Bans Pentagon from Using Chinese Port Logistics Platform
The U.S. Congress has passed legislation that would ban the Pentagon from using any seaport in the world that relies on a Chinese logistics platform known as LOGINK. LOGINK, by tracking cargo and ship movements, lets Beijing monitor America’s military supply chain, which relies on commercial ports.
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How Verified Accounts on X Thrive While Spreading Misinformation About the Israel-Hamas Conflict
With the gutting of content moderation initiatives at X, accounts with blue checks, once a sign of authenticity, are disseminating debunked claims and gaining more followers. Community Notes, X’s fact-checking system, hasn’t scaled sufficiently. “The blue check is flipped now. Instead of a sign of authenticity, it’s a sign of suspicion, at least for those of us who study this enough,” said one expert.
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Tainted Applesauce Pouches May Have Been Intentionally Contaminated: FDA
Cinnamon applesauce pouches available at Weis, WanaBanana, and Schnucks have been pulled from shelves after they were found to be contaminated with lead. The FDA says it currently believes the adulteration is “economically motivated.”
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Red Sea Attacks: Why Arab Nations Won't Join Naval Coalition
The U.S. has announced a naval coalition to protect shipping from Houthi attacks, but only one Middle Eastern country has joined. Why have others — like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt — not done so? Each of these states has its own reasons, but analysts say that the one thing the three powers have in common is the fact that they don’t want to be seen as working in defense of Israel.
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Red Sea Houthi Attacks: Implications for Global Trade
After a rise in attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, the world’s largest shipping firms are staying away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Will we see another supply chain crisis?
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U.S.-Led Taskforce Deploys in Red Sea as Middle East Crisis Threatens to Escalate Beyond Gaza
The world economy is strongly dependent on the global maritime supply chain. About 80% of international trade by volume is transported by sea. It does not take much to disrupt the global maritime supply chain. Intentional disruptions of the maritime supply chain by pirates or terrorists pose a challenge that goes beyond simple logistics. Attacks on civilian shipping directly affect insurance premiums and deter operators from transiting through certain areas for financial and security reasons.
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The long view
Economic Cyberespionage: A Persistent and Invisible Threat
Economic cyber-espionage, state-sponsored theft of sensitive business information via cyber means for commercial gain, is an invisible yet persistent threat to national economies.
Nuclear Has Changed. Will the U.S. Change with It?
Fueled by artificial intelligence, cloud service providers, and ambitious new climate regulations, U.S. demand for carbon-free electricity is on the rise. In response, analysts and lawmakers are taking a fresh look at a controversial energy source: nuclear power.
Calls Grow for U.S. to Counter Chinese Control, Influence in Western Ports
Experts say Washington should consider buying back some ports, offer incentives to allies to decouple from China.
Exploring the New Nuclear Energy Landscape
In the last few years, the U.S. has seen a resurgence of interest in nuclear energy and its potential for helping meet the nation’s growing demands for clean electricity and energy security. Meanwhile, nuclear energy technologies themselves have advanced, opening up new possibilities for their use.