national security
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SOS trumps NSA (Hillary Clinton trumps Gen. Jones)
Some enviros are annoyed that PEBO chose a national security adviser (NSA), retired Marine Gen. James Jones, who has emphasized energy security concerns over global warming — see, for instance, this lame transition report on energy (PDF) Jones just oversaw for the US Chamber of Commerce. The Politico actually just interviewed me on this very […]
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Reading the tea-leaves on Obama’s national security staffing
There’s a lot of commentary flying around about Obama’s security team, announced this morning. I recommend Spencer Ackerman. Everybody’s wrestling with the same questions. On natsec, just like with the economic team, Obama is appointing relatively centrist, establishment figures. What are we supposed to make of this? One interpretation is that Obama is abandoning the […]
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‘Show me a 50-foot wall, and I’ll show you a 51-foot ladder’
CNN is reporting that Janet Napolitano is Obama’s choice for secretary of homeland security. That’s great news for the imperiled wildlife and landscape of America’s desert southwest. Napolitano’s record shows that she’s the ideal candidate to fulfill Obama’s pledge to tear down (most of) the Bush administration’s border wall now dividing Arizona from Mexico. She’s […]
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Cut defense spending in favor of clean-energy investing
Conventional wisdom, that dour specter, seems to be saying we don’t have enough money to fix many of our biggest problems, such as global warming or shifting to carbon-free energy. But wait! The Pentagon itself has determined that there are plenty of resources that the Defense Department could do without, according to the Boston Globe: […]
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Physics For Future Presidents twists facts on electric vehicles and nuclear blasts
The following post is by Earl Killian, guest blogger at Climate Progress. —– Part 1 of this book review looked at the (mis)handling of climate science in two books by Professor Richard A. Muller — his textbook and general public book, which, confusingly, are both named Physics for Future Presidents. Here I turn to portions […]
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Reduced dominance is predicted for U.S.
While its conclusions won’t surprise Grist readers, this unusually savvy new intelligence forecast reported in today’s Post ought to serve as a wake-up call for the largely clueless “Establishment“: An intelligence forecast being prepared for the next president on future global risks envisions a steady decline in U.S. dominance in the coming decades, as the […]
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Where climate/energy issues stand in the Democratic Party
Being an "issue" journalist can be frustrating for a number of reasons (most of which I’ll reserve for a future post). One is the persistent temptation to fall into trainspotting mode — waiting around for politicians or pundits to mention your issue. "He said the words ‘climate change’! He mentioned solar power!" This stuff (which […]
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National Intelligence Assessment finds that climate change poses national security threat
A National Intelligence Assessment of the security challenges presented by climate change, which Congress requested last year, has been completed, and the intelligence community has come to the same conclusion that many have before: Climate change poses a threat to national security. The report looks at the national security implications of climate change through 2030, […]
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Bushism will endure
“There has occasionally been voiced the misimpression that a future administration will take a significantly different attitude towards climate than this administration.” — deputy national security adviser Dan Price
