National Infrastructure Safety Foundation
Head of the National Infrastructure Safety Foundation, a nonprofit geared toward ensuring safety of all infrastructure; Managing Director of Nouveau; first acting administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (2003-2007)
Will Obama Say 'Yes' or 'No' to the Keystone XL Pipeline? The Keystone XL Pipeline would bring oil from Canadian tar sands to North Dakota. There, it would connect to an existing pipeline that runs to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. Because it would cross an international border, the State Department must file a statement on the environmental impact. That report came down last week, and while it downplays the impact on global warming, it's just uncertain enough to add fuel to both sides. Republicans see a green light for energy independence. Environmentalists warn of climate disaster. Democrats are divided, with the President caught in the middle -- and control of the Senate might be at stake. Where would the pipeline go? Who would be affected along the route? How has it come to symbolize the conflict between global warming and the economy?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?