Climate & infrastructureMost Buildings Were Designed for an Earlier Climate – Here’s What Will Happen as Global Warming Accelerates By Ran Boydell Published 12 July 2021 Architects and engineers design buildings and other structures, like bridges, to operate within the parameters of the local climate. The structures are built using materials and following design standards

WildfiresWildfires Threaten California’s Power Grid Published 12 July 2021 Wildfires blazed through California, Arizona, and Oregon, driven by winds and a lack of humidity.. Death Valley in California’s Mohave Desert hit 128 degrees Fahrenheit. Utility officials in Oregon were keeping a weary eye on the Bootleg Fire which is raging out of control in southern

Energy securityCan Europe Escape Gazprom’s Energy Stranglehold? By Andrey Gurkov Published 12 July 2021 When it comes to gas supplies to the EU, Russia’s state-owned corporation Gazprom steps on the brakes, and natural gas reservoirs are unusually low. Is Russia building up political pressure in order to push through the operation of the Nord Stream

Supply chain resilienceCreating More Resilient Supply Chains Through Nature-Inspired Design Published 12 July 2021 Supply chains work a lot like food webs in natural ecosystems, in which biodiversity allows for adaptation during disruptions. The analogy turned out to be relevant particularly in looking at “black swan” events, which are unpredictable and hard to protect against—and

China watchU.S. Military Urges Washington to Heed Warnings on China By Jeff Seldin Published 8 July 2021 For much of this year, officials with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned about the threat from a rising China, from its growing military might to what they describe as Beijing’s ever

AfghanistanTaliban Advances in Afghanistan Give Kashmir Militants a Boost By Gowhar Geelani Published 8 July 2021 As NATO troops continue their withdrawal from Afghanistan, experts fear that a spike in armed insurgency in India-administered Kashmir could follow. After the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan in the late 1980s, an anti-India armed insurgency erupted

GunsNew York Defines Illegal Firearms Use as a “Public Nuisance” in Bid to Pierce Gun Industry’s Powerful Liability Shield By Timothy D. Lytton Published 8 July 2021 New York will soon test that notion that calling the illegal use of firearms a “public nuisance” could bring an end to the gun industry’s immunity from civil

Coastal challengesAccurately Predicting Impact of Storms, Sea-Level Rise on Coasts Published 8 July 2021 The combination of extreme storms and rises in sea levels as a result of global climate change are posing serious threats to coastal communities. The Forecasting Coastal Evolution (ForCE) model has the potential to be a game-changing advance in coastal evolution science.

Climate challengesWestern North American Extreme Heat Virtually Impossible without Human-Caused Climate Change Published 8 July 2021 During the last days of June 2021, Pacific northwest areas of the U.S. and Canada experienced temperatures never previously observed, with records broken in many places by several degrees Celsius. Using published peer-reviewed methods, an international team of scientists

Our picksCan a Kansas Lab Stop the Next Epidemic? | 2020 DHS Memo on Pandemic & Violence | The Search for Covid-19 “Patient Zero” Published 8 July 2021 ·  When the Next Animal Plague Hits, Can This Lab Stop It? ·  Justice IG: Badly Depleted U.S. Prison Chaplain Corps ‘Impairs’ Safety; Terror Inmates Leading Religious Services  ·