Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has established a 10-year 30% tax credit for installing solar panels on your roof.It is a worthwhile thing to do if someone is planning on being in their house for the long term. And it isn’t only the panels themselves that the IRA subsidizes through […]
Archives for August 2022
Even a ‘limited’ Nuclear War would starve Hundreds of Millions of People, new Study Reveals
By Ryan Heneghan, Queensland University of Technology | – Even a relatively small nuclear war would create a worldwide food crisis lasting at least a decade in which hundreds of millions would starve, according to our new modelling published in Nature Food. In a nuclear war, bombs dropped on cities and industrial areas would start […]
Why Cryptocurrencies Are No Digital Cure-All For Iran, Russia, Other Sanctioned States
By Michael Scollon | – ( RFE/RL ) – Cryptocurrencies are being eyed by Iran, Russia, and other sanctioned states as a way to evade punitive barriers to international trade — but the dependence of “crypto” on banking systems makes it anything but a safe haven for illicit payments. Crypto enjoys a reputation of being […]
Opening of shipping Routes from Ukraine will not Lessen Commodity and Food pressure on the Middle East and North Africa
By Roman Shemakov | – Russia and Ukraine are two of the most essential pillars of the global food trade, producing 25 percent of the global wheat supply. More than 160 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, food, commodity, and energy shortages have plunged many economies across the world into recessions, particularly in the Middle East, […]
Why the Iran Nuclear Deal would benefit America, regardless of whether Tehran is in other ways a Bad Actor
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – There appears to be some movement in the indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States over the reentry of the United States into the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and a return to full compliance with it by Iran. The European countries directly talking to Iran presented what they called […]
“The Elbe River Gasps for Breath:” Rivers’ ecosystems across Germany threatened by low Water, O2 Levels and high Temperatures
Citing Hamburger Abendblatt / Süddeutsche Zeitung / Rheinische Post ( Clean Energy Wire ) – German rivers are suffering from extreme heat and drought, ringing the alarm for the stability of their ecosystems all over the country. Like many other parts of Europe, Germany has seen recurring heatwaves since late spring, which coupled with little […]
Final ISIS Kidnapper sentenced to Life for Role in Kayla Mueller’s Death
By Ryan Knappenberger | – ( Cronkite News ) – ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A second ISIS militant was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the kidnapping and killing of Prescott native Kayla Mueller, a relief to her parents who pledged to continue fighting for her memory. “Now we can set this behind us,” Carl […]
The Samaritans of “Good Samaritan” Fame still Exist, caught between Israelis and Palestinians
By Terry Giles, Gannon University | – “Good Samaritan” is a label often used to describe someone acting selflessly to benefit others, even if a total stranger. Some may recognize that the phrase has its origin in a biblical story, one of Jesus’ parables recounted in the Book of Luke, Chapter 10. In this story, […]
19 Years ago America Really Wanted Iraq’s Basra for its Oil, which is now Making it Uninhabitable
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Poet Robert Frost asked if the world would end by fire or ice. It turns out that it is both, the fire of global heating and the melting of earth’s surface ice and resultant biblical floods. Nowhere is this more clear than in Iraq. Not everyone will suffer equally from […]