Grid ResilienceMicrogrids May Hold the Key to Grid Resilience Published 3 December 2021 The aging energy grid is being pushed to the breaking point. Power outages from extreme weather alone cost anywhere from $2 billion to $77 billion per year. And some isolated communities still rely on diesel generators for electricity, since powerlines don’t reach

The Russia ConnectionNATO Has Warned Russia, but Will NATO Defend Ukraine? By Teri Schultz Published 2 December 2021 NATO warns Russia not to make any further moves against Ukraine. But NATO allies have been unable to formally agree on what the Russian military activity represents, much less how to respond to it. “Any future Russian aggression against

Children & COVID-19 VaccinationCOVID: Will the U.K. Vaccinate Children Under 12? By Paul Hunter Published 2 December 2021 The U.K. Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunizations (JCVI) will help decide whether the U.K. should follow other countries – the U.S., Israel – in offering COVID-1 vaccines to all children aged five and over. When the

Children & COVID-19 VaccinationCovid Is Less Risky to Children than Covid Vaccines Published 2 December 2021 We should be careful about vaccinating children against the COVID-19 because it is likely that more children will die from the effects of the vaccine than from Covid itself. The emergence of a new COVID variant may have intensified the

Water SecurityGroundwater in California’s Central Valley May Be Unable to Recover from Past and Future Droughts Published 2 December 2021 Groundwater in California’s Central Valley is at risk of being depleted by pumping too much water during and after droughts. Water resources could be pushed beyond recovery in a region that provides about a quarter

Grid ResilienceNew Generation of Grid Emergency Control Technology Published 2 December 2021 Grid operators face big challenges and big opportunities when it comes to managing through emergency conditions that disrupt power service. The increasing number of power outages in the United States cost an estimated $30-50 billion and affect millions of customers each year. A

CybersecurityUsing Math to Prove Computer Security Published 2 December 2021 An academic mathematician thought maths was boring, but he now relies on it to secure critical systems like those of the Australian Department of Defense against hackers. Eureka prize winner and University of Melbourne Associate Professor Toby Murray thought math was boring, but he now relies

TerrorismFormer Islamic State Member Found Guilty of Genocide in German Court Published 30 November 2021 A German court has found a former Islamic State member guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity for the 2015 killing of a 5-year-old girl, sentencing him to life in prison. The Frankfurt case is the first in the world

Taliban forces in Afghanistan have summarily executed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former police and intelligence officers in just four provinces since taking over the country on 15 August 2021, despite a proclaimed amnesty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Tuesday, 30 November 2021.  The 25-page report, “‘No Forgiveness for People Like You,’ Executions and

ExtremismSines v. Kessler: Reckoning and Weaponization Published 30 November 2021 On 23 November 2021, a jury returned guilty verdicts against the organizers of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. But while the trial put the defendants’ bigotry, antisemitism and racism on full display, it also provided them a stage to share