Deal averting railroad strike has potential to fall apart.
TheHill.com article.
Pre-election strike could cause problems for Democrats with swing voters. ““I
would be surprised if the bargaining committee misread what the rank and file
would support. That doesn’t mean that it will pass with supermajorities,” Bruno
said. “That will signal a level of continuing grievance on the part of the
membership. It wouldn’t surprise me if a fairly substantial number of members
voted ‘no’ in part because of how genuinely abused they feel.””
China has returned helium-3 from the moon, opening door
to future technology. TheHill.com opinion
piece. Somewhat simplistic look at US-Chinese moon competition. Pull quote:
“Many reasons exist for returning to the moon: science, commerce and the
bragging rights that translate into soft political power. However, China’s
return of helium-3 suggests that the moon could become the Persian Gulf of the
mid to late 21st century. Clean and abundant fusion energy would change the
world in ways that can barely be evaluated.”
Better Human-Machine Coordination to Thwart Growing
Threats to the U.S. Power Grid. HomelandSecurityNewsWire.com
article. Pull quote: “The U.S. grid is far more complicated than
it was a few decades ago, something Srivastava attributes to the competitive
electricity market created in the late 1990s and to the rise in small-scale
power sources like home solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations,
both of which have tangled the paths power takes from plant to substation to
consumer.”
The Inflation Reduction Act Is the Start of Reclaiming
Critical Mineral Chains. HomelandSecurityNewsWire.com article.
Pull quote: “China refines 68 percent of the world’s nickel, 40 percent of its
copper, 59 percent of its lithium, and 73 percent of its cobalt. More
importantly, China holds 78 percent of the world’s manufacturing capacity for
EV batteries, the bulk of the world’s production of solar panels, and
three-quarters of the world’s lithium-ion battery factories.”
Building a Robust Drone Security Framework for Safer UAS
Integration into National Airspace System. HSToday.us article. FAA puff
piece. Pull quote: “The FAA continues to work extensively with our security
partners to build a robust drone security framework that will enable safe and
secure drone integration into the NAS, and the National Action Plan is part of
that. Further, mandatory registration, remote identification, critical
infrastructure protection, and drone detection and mitigation testing are vital
steps forward to ensure the safe and secure integration of these systems into
our nation’s airspace.”
Whisky Boom Stresses Remote Scottish Island. WSJ.com
article. Pull quote: “While its thriving distilleries mean it has more jobs
than many of its island neighbors, locals say young families often leave the island
because they can’t afford houses. People from the British mainland can afford
to pay more, while tourism—most of it whisky related—has swallowed up much of
Islay’s housing stock for use as vacation rentals.” And what happens when the
taste for scotch drops off for the next new fad?
Private Drillers Are Hitting Their Limits. WSJ.com article.
More problems in the oil patch. Pull quote: “The constraints will likely lead
many private producers to level out activity or sell themselves to larger
companies that would temper their growth, executives and analysts say. A
pullback could crimp overall U.S. oil production. Private producers hold around
one-fifth of the Permian’s most valuable acreage, analysts say.”
EPA OIG: CSB Continues to Struggle. LinkedIn.com article.
Nice, short review of CSB’s troubled past. Pull quote: “The EPA OIG’s review
will serve as additional ammunition for the agency’s critics. It also will most
certainly shape the early tenure of CSB Board Member Steve Owens who joined the
agency earlier this year. Owens presently serves as the agency’s Interim
Executive Authority. President Joseph Biden recently nominated Owens to serve
as CSB Chair. If Owens is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he will be taking the
helm of an agency that profoundly struggles to carry out its important
statutory mission.”
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