Center for Climate and Security / University of Maryland
Member of the Advisory Board at the Center for Climate and Security and Professor of Engineering at the University of Maryland's Center for Disaster Resilience; Brigadier General (Retired) in the US Army
Reality check: Climate change The promises of candidates during political campaigns are often made to be broken, but they do provide clues for voters who want to know what government might look like once the election is over. Hillary Clinton describes global warming as an "urgent threat." Donald Trump once called it "a hoax created by the Chinese." He's tried to back off a bit, but their differences are still profound, with dramatic consequences for energy policy and the environment. Clinton says she'll increase reductions in fossil fuel and build on the Obama legacy — which Trump promises to obliterate while he restores the coal industry. We hear the implications for the Paris climate accords — just approved by the European Union — and for national security.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
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.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?