Climate and Energy

THE CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT. Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic, October 2009, var. pp. "California hasn’t solved all the puzzles associated with replacing fossil fuels. And its successes cannot necessarily be easily replicated. But the state is grappling with every major energy-related issue that currently faces the country. Its experience doing so is also likely to shape an intensifying national debate, because so many key players have roots in the state, from Barbara Boxer and Henry Waxman, who chair the Senate and House committees that are considering climate change, to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. California’s story illuminates some of the obstacles the nation will need to overcome as it seeks cleaner forms of power. But more broadly, California demonstrates how sustained political leadership can reshape how we produce, sell, and use energy—can “bend the curve,” as they say in Silicon Valley." READ MORE

WIND POWER’S WEIRD EFFECT. Jonathan Fahey, Forbes Magazine, September 7, 2009, var. pp.  "The news about wind power is mixed, notes the author. The good news is that, thanks to cheap wind energy, in some parts of the country when there is too much power on the grid, wholesale power prices are now dropping to zero or below at certain times of the day. The bad news is that wind turbines spin the most at night when demand is low and least during afternoons when power is needed. Some power plants are hard pressed to power down when wind power is at its highest. In the long run, the wind power boom could push daytime prices higher. To balance out fickle wind turbines, utilities will need electricity during peak times from gas-fired plants; that intermittent power will be expensive." READ MORE

THE BIG HEAT. Corey Powell, Discover, June 2009, pp. 38-43. "Global warming is at once the most alarming challenge and the most controversial. Despite the potential for catastrophic environmental outcomes, a large segment of the U.S. public still doubts that climate change will cause major harm, or that it is occurring at all. Discover Magazine editor-in-chief Powell moderates a discussion between four prominent climate scientists, who discuss the evidence that climate change is occurring. For them, the number of different events that are all happening simultaneously would be very hard to explain if not for global warming -- such as the loss of ice mass in both polar regions, the increasing acidification of the oceans, and the potential for widespread crop failures in many equatorial regions where crops are already being raised at temperatures close to their photosynthetic limits. They fear that it may be too late to make the needed changes if humanity waits until there is international cooperation; what is needed is leadership by the U.S. and Europe, and other nations will follow." READ MORE

Military Strategy & Security Issues

MILITARY ENGAGEMENT, STRATEGY, AND POLICY. Derek S Reveron, Orbis, Summer 2009, pp. 489-505. "Many states increasingly rely on the U.S. for either the actual provision of security or the training and equipment necessary to perform security functions. By 2008, the United States was providing security assistance to 149 countries. Under the global war on terrorism banner, the Bush administration stepped up Clinton-era programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. All of a sudden, the military found itself building militaries in Georgia, Rwanda, Yemen, the Trans-Sahara, and the Philippines, providing disaster relief in Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Gulf Coast, and leading reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here, Reveron talks about the US military engagements, strategies and policy. He narrates that because there are so few institutional alternatives for insuring stability and security in developing states, the US military increasingly will find itself in non-warfighting roles." READ MORE

LEARNING UNDER FIRE: PROGRESS AND DISSENT IN THE U.S. MILITARY. Philipp Rotmann, David Tohn and Jaron Wharton, Survival, Aug/Sep 2009, pp. 31-48. "The Pentagon’s shift to a counter-insurgency posture was catalysed by junior leaders responding to tactical problems and senior institutional dissidents driving deep, controversial changes in doctrine and culture." READ MORE

TO BOMB OR NOT TO BOMB: AIR SUPPORT IN AFGHANISTAN. Lt Col. Eugene L. McFeely, Strategy Research Project, Aug. 30, 2009, var. pages. "Civilian casualties associated with coalition air support activities have strained U.S. Afghan relations and forced the CENTCOM Commander to review the use of this valuable asset in theater. This AY2009 USAWC resident student paper addresses how the U.S. can balance the kinetic effects of airpower with strategic objectives in counterinsurgency." READ MORE

EUROPE'S NEW SECURITY DILEMMA. Lorenzo Vidino. Washington Quarterly. October 2009, var. pp. "Authorities in most European countries are faced with the same dilemma: can nonviolent Islamists be engaged and used as partners against violent radicalization? The debate goes to the heart of how to identify the enemy." READ MORE

CONTINENTAL DRIFTS. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The National Interest, March/April 2009, 39-47. "Wheatcroft, a British journalist and author, notes that the Israeli incursion into Gaza at the beginning of 2009 highlighted the growing gulf between the U.S. and Europe. As judged by media coverage, the gap between American and European perceptions of the conflict was wider than ever, as if Gaza “might be two entirely different stories.” Despite sharing a common heritage, America and Europe have long diverged on matters of politics, war, religion and the social contract. The Cold War concealed a number of differences, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the author writes that “we should not be surprised to see the rifts turning into chasms.” A major point of contention was the disparity in sharing the cost of the NATO alliance, an arrangement that fueled unprecedented economic prosperity in Western Europe, while the U.S. shouldered debt from military spending.” READ MORE

HARNESSING THE FINANCIAL FURIES: SMART FINANCIAL POWER AND NATIONAL SECURITY. Juan C. Zarate. The Washington Quarterly. October 2009, var. pp.  The former U.S. deputy national security adviser explains the new paradigm of smart financial power, which is targeted, effective, and central to national security, as well as the challenges facing its application in Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere in the years to come. READ MORE

A GLOBAL PROBLEM: CYBERSPACE THREATS DEMAND AN INTERNATIONAL APPROACH, (Maj.) David Wilson, Armed Forces Journal, July 2009.  var. pp. "Cyberspace has changed the way people communicate forever, the author writes, but with that change comes a host of new problems including identity theft, computer viruses, the defacement of websites and network intrusions. He says cyberspace has become “an entity unto itself, not controlled by anyone, but affecting all in one form or another.” Nations need to establish agreed-upon standards to help resolve problems plaguing cyberspace, including cybercrime. Wilson, who is chief of cyberlaw at the Army’s U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command, advocates setting up an international organization comprised of cyber-faring nations to oversee the borderless domain of international cyberspace. Such an organization would promote collaboration by governments and industry on software and filtering standards needed to block viruses and create an international firewall. He also calls for the creation of an international cyberspace convention to monitor the health of cyberspace and to deal with problems. Within that context, the author says an international Computer Emergency Response Group must be created." READ MORE

WORLD WAR 3.0: TEN CRITICAL TRENDS FOR CYBERSECURITY. Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies, The Futurist, September/October 2009, pp. 40-49  "Cybersecurity is the soft under-belly of the US, outgoing US National Intelligence director Mike McConnell declared in a valedictory address to reporters in mid-January. He rated this problem equal in significance to the potential development of atomic weapons by Iran. Repeated reports that Chinese computer specialists have hacked into government networks in Germany, the US, and other countries show that the threat is not limited to relatively unsophisticated lands. Here are some trends for cyberwar: 1. Technology increasingly dominates both the economy and society. 2. Advanced communications technologies are changing the way people work and live. 3. The global economy is growing more integrated. 4. Research and development play a growing role in the world economy. 5. The pace of technological change accelerates with each new generation of discoveries and applications. Cyberweapons may kill fewer people, but they can have enormous economic impact. A particularly clever opponent might even carry out a devastating attack without ever being identified or facing retribution." READ MORE

GOP's Future

IF SARAH PALIN IS THE ANSWER...Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The National Interest, Sep/Oct 2009, pp.68-78. "Conservatism is once again facing an identity crisis. The recent passing of William F. Buckley, Jr., offers a perfect opportunity to look back at the movement, with its antecedents, its birth, its triumphs and now its potential demise. From Lincoln’s preservation of the nation to Reagan’s cold-war victory, the Republicans have long ruled the American political scene, making some nasty compromises along the way. The GOP, now fractious, demoralized and baffled, searches for its soul. READ MORE

THE TORIES AND THE GOP: LESSONS IN LOSING. Rupert Darwall, Policy Review, Aug/Sep 2009, pp. 3-14. As the catharsis of electoral rejection gives way to the long march of opposition, Republicans might reflect on the experience of Britain’s Conservative party, which in 1997 suffered its worst poll defeat since 1832. Two further defeats followed. By the next election, due by June 2010, the Conservatives will have been out of office longer than they have been at any time since the middle of the 19th century. READ MORE