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Can New York City's infrastructure handle climate change's consequences?
Mayor Michael Bloomberg sets up a panel of experts to examine whether NYC can cope with flooded subway tunnels, rising sea levels, intense heat, and other consequences of climate change
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Global warming will reduce frequency but increase intensity of hurricanes
Two variables — ocean temperature and wind shear — are considered to be the two most important factors in predicting hurricane activity, both in operational forecasting and in consideration of climate change; new research shows that global warming will likely reduce the frequency of hurricanes, but increase their intensity
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Russia-Georgia conflict shows new frontier in war
Internet attacks on Georgia highlight a key flaw for more than 100 nations: most of these nations’ external connections go through other countries, and there is a lack of internal connections called Internet exchange points
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Aussies to create private-public partnership to strengthen infrastructure
The Australian federal government has established a $20 billion Building Australia Fund to help finance critical infrastructure projects; trouble is, the country’s tender process is erratic and complicated; new measure aims to correct this
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Kiwis plan for critical infrastructure investment
New Zealand’s government plans massive increase in investment in infrastructure; Finance Minister Michael Cullen: “We will deliver more investment…. You will be hearing a lot more about infrastructure from the Labor-led government in the months ahead”
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Hackers hacked at DefCon gathering
The tens of thousands of networks handling traffic on the Internet are programmed to trust each other for the best routes for data; a bad idea — since a hacker can hijack traffic to and from Web sites of choice by adding enough numbers to computer addresses to have his or her network automatically deemed the best path for the data
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Nuclear fuel cycle echnology R&D, $15 million awarded
U.S. Department of Energy awards funding ranging in value from $200,000 to $2,000,000 to 34 organizations to do reasearch into spent fuel separations technology, advanced nuclear fuel development, fast burner reactors, and advanced transmutation systems, advanced fuel cycle systems analysis, advanced computing and simulation, safeguards, and advanced waste forms
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AuthenTec offer scanners for fingerptint-enabled phones
AuthenTec has shipped more than seven million AuthenTec-enabled phones powered by the Symbian OS, comprising 14 mobile phone models using AuthenTec’s fingerprint sensors
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U.S. military launches war on global warming
The U.S. military wants to make a contribution toward reducing oil dependence and grann-house emmissions; the military has set a goal that 25 percent of its energy should come from renewable sources by 2025 and aims to create machines and methods to help Main Street America reach similar targets
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Using kites to generate electricity
The amount of power available from wind is related to the cube of its speed; blades at higher altitudes could thus generate up to five times the amount of electricity as at lower altitudes; why, then, not place blades at higher altitudes?
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Social networking sites are target-rich opportunity for hackers
Social neyworking sites — Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn — are becoming more popular for both users and hackers; the biggest danger from social networking sites is that they embed powerful features that only few subscribers actually use, such as digital image or media files with the ability to download content from third-party Web sites, which expose users to risk
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Smart Grid would contribute to U.S. energy security and sustainability
New report from the Reform Institute examines benefits of a next generation electric power grid for national resilience and energy efficiency
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House's measures strengthen cybersecurity
House passes eight measures intended strengthen cybersecurity, promote greater sharing of unclassified information, and prevent the over-classification of information
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Hacker of U.S. defense computers about to be extradited to U.S.
Seven years ago Gary McKinnon, a U.K. citizen, hacked into 92 computer systems at the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, and NASA; he said he was hoping to uncover evidence of UFOs; his string of appeals exhausted, he is to be extradited soon
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Hackers' attacks on U.S. government systems are frequent, serious
U.S. government computer systems under frequent and serious attacks by other governments and organizations; James Finch, assistant director of the FBI’s cybercrime division: “We’re not worried so much about the noisy attacks as we are about the quiet ones”
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The long view
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.
Water Is the Other U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis, and the Supply Crunch Is Getting Worse
The United States and Mexico are aware of the political and economic importance of the border region. But if water scarcity worsens, it could supplant other border priorities. The two countries should recognize that conditions are deteriorating and update the existing cross-border governance regime so that it reflects today’s new water realities.
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.