Israel’s deepest well targets 1.5 billion barrels of oil
Bloomberg
The deepest oil well drilled in Israel’s 65-year history may be the most important. Houston’s Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) will probe 6,500 meters (4 miles) below the Mediterranean seabed later this year, targeting as much as 1.5 billion barrels of crude, equal to about 15 years of Israeli demand.
Kurdish-Islamist fighting spreads to Syrian oil fields
Erika Solomon and Jonathon Burch / Reuters
Kurdish fighters have seized control of a Syrian town on the border with Turkey and are battling Islamist rebel groups linked to al Qaeda for control of oilfields in the northeast of the country.
Softbank, Bloom Energy Team Up in Japanese Fuel Cell Venture
Jacob Adelman / Bloomberg
Softbank Corp., the Japanese majority owner of Sprint Corp. (S), formed a joint venture with Bloom Energy Corp. to market and distribute the California startup’s fuel cell technology in Japan.
The Costs of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Are Passing the High-Water Mark
Bryan Walsh / Time
Hurricane Sandy cost the U.S. some $70 billion in direct damages and lost economic output. This is, obviously, a lot of money — Sandy was the second most expensive hurricane in U.S. history after a small tropical storm called Katrina.
Cuban baseball star Misael Siverio ‘defects to US’
BBC
A baseball player from Cuba’s national team has reportedly defected to the United States ahead of five matches against a US college stars team.
NASA: Globally, June Was Second Warmest on Record
Joe Romm / Think Progress
How hot was it in June? So hot that NASA reports the only warmer June in the global temperature record was 1998, a year juiced by both global warming and a super El Niño.
Tokyo Electric: Steam Rising from Building Housing Fukushima Daiichi No.3 Reactor
Mari Iwata / The Wall Street Journal
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday that steam appears to be coming from the upper part of the building that houses the No.3 unit of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
BGen Steve Cheney Participates in Launch of Climate Week NYC
BGen Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.)
On July 16, I took part in the kickoff of Climate Week NYC, an event to publicize a series of major events on climate change set to take place in New York from September 23-30. Now in its fifth year, the launch event hosted by The Climate Group was a great success.
Challenges to U.S. Public Diplomacy in North Korea
Christian Mull
As the traditional avenues of diplomatic relations remain closed, the U.S. has been forced to focus its efforts more towards influencing public opinion within North Korea itself, hoping to garner more change in the long term. But this is no easy task.
Event Recap – Gen. Cheney at NASDAQ for Climate Week NYC
William Joyce
On Tuesday, July 16, The Climate Group kicked off Climate Week NYC, the annual global summit that convenes the world’s top business, government, and thought leaders to discuss clean technology innovation.
Rowing Through Troubled Waters: Sports Diplomacy in the Middle East and South Asia
Katrina Trost
Sports diplomacy is a common form of public diplomacy, and has long been used to bridge tense relations between international powers. For example, Iranian athletes wrestled Americans this May in a bilateral effort to save wrestling as an Olympic sport.
Crafting a new policy for the crisis in Egypt (No, not the political one)
Ollie Engebretson
The political crisis in Egypt requires a reorientation of U.S. foreign policy, the first step being to acknowledge that the true crisis exists in the country’s imminent economic collapse.
ASP in the News
ASP’s Andrew Holland Quoted in Law360
ASP’s Andrew Holland offered his take on the recent selection of Adm. McGinn to lead the Navy’s energy efficiency efforts.
The National Defense Magazine recently published an article reviewing ASP’s American Competitiveness Day Panel Discussion. The article quotes Dr. Michael Porter and Dr. Jan Rivkin of the Harvard Business School as well as ASP Board Member Mr. Norman R. Augustine.
Dr. Michael Porter Quoted at ASP’s American Competitiveness Panel
Harvard Business School professor Dr. Michael Porter’s remarks at the American Security Project’s Capitol Hill Panel, “Restoring American Competitiveness: A National Security Crisis” were quote by the Washington Free Beacon.
Upcoming Events
Yemen’s Political Transition and National Dialogue: Progress and Challenges
Yemen is currently in a historic period of political transition following the 2011 revolution and the end of former President Saleh’s regime. At the mid-point of its National Dialogue process, Yemen faces many challenges. Please join us on Tuesday, July 30th from 12:00 until 1:00pm at 1100 New York Ave, 7th Floor West Tower. Lunch refreshments will be served between 11:30am and 12:00pm. If you wish to attend, please RSVP by July 28th to: events@americansecurityproject.org.
How will a free trade zone with unified standards that comprises nearly half of the world’s GDP affect China? Is this the beginning of an economic cold war between East and West? Or is it an opportunity for establishing standards that will become globally recognized? Join us for a panel discussion on the implications of the TTIP on Wednesday, July 31st from 8:30 until 9:30 am. Location: 1100 New York Avenue, NW 7th Floor West. Breakfast refreshments will be served from 8:00 until 8:30 am. If you wish to attend, please RSVP by July 29th to: events@americansecurityproject.org
