Kevin McCarthy’s quest to become Speaker of the House ended after 15 votes with many concessions granted to the hardline, America first, Freedom Caucus within the GOP House delegation that prevented his unchallenged ascent. The extent of these concessions took weeks to emerge and drew controversy. Notably, Marjorie “Jewish space lasers” Taylor Greene received seats on the powerful Homeland
Category Archives: Energy Security
The Future Battlefields: Rare Earth Elements
Sweden’s state-owned mining enterprise LKAB may have given the West hope in its quest for energy independence and containing China. Two weeks ago, LKAB announced it had discovered nearly one million metric tons of rare earth elements (REE). Read more here.
African Energy May Save Europe
After 2022-2023’s unusually warm winter, Europe may be winning its energy struggle with Russia, but a lasting solution for energy-hungry Europe has not arrived yet. While Europe’s ad-hoc responses to Russian embargos have succeeded in changing one of the cornerstones of its economy, they are neither systematic nor sustainable. Read more here.
Congress Pushes US Energy Transition Through Tax Credits — But Will It Work?
If left to market forces, commodities and industries tend to be more efficient and grow faster. This Economics 101 maxim now enjoys solid bipartisan support rejuvenating the supply chain, manufacturing, and utilization of solar panels in renewable power plants to fuel the energy transition of the 21st century. Read more here.
Europe Is Winning The Energy War Against Russia
The invasion in Ukraine was supposed to be long over by now – by Kremlin’s count. After the first three days, Russia’s “short victorious war” would end with a Quisling government in and a parade through Kyiv which would have cemented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s legacy and the Russian empire redux of Eastern Orthodox Slavs:
Ukraine Crisis Highlights Security Needs Of Civilian Nuclear Power
On November 27-28 a conference in Paris addressed a broad spectrum of challenges humanity is facing. Renowned thinkers, including Nuriel Roubini and Jacob Frenkel, the former Chairman of JP Morgan International, and three central bankers from Iceland, Tunisia, and Armenia, warned about inflation and the growing mountain of debt threatening the global economy. The panel
China’s Saudi Trip More Than Niceties
China has again taken center stage with a string of groundbreaking events that will define its policy course for years to come – both domestically and internationally. The CCP’s 20th Party Congress bequeathed Xi Jinping a historic third term as President, but extreme economic turmoil and COVID protest have resulted in a chink in his political armor.
Europe’s Energy Outlook Imperiled By Policy Myopia
Europe’s winter – likely to be warmer than average – is a welcome relief for a continent that was facing existential energy supply problems a few months ago. Those problems still exist, and many Europeans are suffering due to the avoidable problems associated with overreliance on Russian gas. Thankfully, the window in which Russia could have leveraged its energy
Peak Oil: The Perennial Prophecy That Went Wrong
Peak oil, a hypothetical point when global oil production maximizes and enters an irreversible decline, has been the holy grail of resource economics for decades: prized and just as elusive. Recently, technological development including increased digitization has altered conventional understandings associated with “peak oil”. Like other consumable resources, peak oil is grounded in reality: Oil
Windfall Tax Will Worsen Energy Crisis
The midterm elections’ “red trickle” has not curbed some Democrats’ enthusiasm to begin proposing controversial legislation. One of the most divisive and consequential is the proposed windfall tax on energy companies. Proposals from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) have gained the tacit support of President Joe Biden but are unlikely to pass congress. Washington