As the efficacy of environmental laws has waned, so has their durability. What was once a broadly shared goal – protecting Americans from environmental harm – is now a political football, with rules that whipsaw back and forth depending on who’s in charge.
The Federation of American Scientists supports the Critical Materials Future Act and the Unearth Innovation Act.
The Trump administration has an opportunity to supercharge American energy dominance through MESC, but they must come together with Congressional leaders to permanently establish MESC and its mission.
DOE is already very well set up to pursue an energy dominance agenda for America. There’s simply no need to waste time conducting a large-scale agency reorganization.
BLM’s right-of-way application materials should require applicants to address how solar arrays will be planned, designed, and operated to support traditional ranching practices and surrounding rural economies.
The energy transition underway in the United States continues to present a unique set of opportunities to put Americans back to work through the deployment of new technologies, infrastructure, energy efficiency, and expansion of the electricity system to meet our carbon goals.
Increasingly, U.S. national security priorities depend heavily on bolstering the energy security of key allies, including developing and emerging economies. But U.S. capacity to deliver this investment is hamstrung by critical gaps in approach, capability, and tools.
While the National Labs have a strong workforce, they also face challenges that make it difficult to recruit and retain the people they need to continue leading the world’s scientific research.
If FESI is going to continue to receive Congressional appropriations through DOE, it should be structured from the start in a way that allows it to be as effective as possible while it receives both taxpayer dollars and private support.
The current planned capacity for lithium processing in the U.S. is on track to meet demand from domestic battery factories. However, current planned capacity for nickel, cobalt, and graphite still fall well short of future demand.
As emerging clean energy technologies move along the innovation pipeline from first concept to commercialization, they encounter hurdles that can prove to be a death knell for young startups.
As ‘Friends of FESI’ we want to see this new foundation set up from day one to successfully fulfill the promise of its large impact.