Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

Averting crisis: leveraging the energy transition to revitalize the coal belt

By Craig Hart

America is undergoing an energy transition away from coal that will leave coal-producing communities in crisis in the absence of policy action to help transition these regions to new and cleaner industries. Until leadership at the federal level arrives, local initiatives and regional coordination will be critical to leading this effort.

Beirut’s port explosion reveals underlying problems in energy supply

By Aki Peritz

The cataclysmic explosion at Beirut’s port on August 4th could not have come at a worse time. The nation was already reeling from multiple catastrophes such as a collapsing currency, an environmental disaster on its shores, 1.5 million refugees from Syria, and a healthcare system pushed to the brink by the COVID-19 pandemic. The explosion has only exacerbated one of Lebanon’s core calamities: the lack of stable electricity.

The legacy Brent Scowcroft leaves behind

By Frederick Kempe, Jeffrey Lightfoot

With Brent Scowcroft’s passing yesterday at age ninety-five, the United States lost one of the central players in the transatlantic community’s success in bringing a peaceful end to the half-century-long Cold War with the Soviet Union, in the remaking of the European map to include a reunified Germany, and in providing the opportunity for the spread of democracy and freedom to Central and Eastern Europe.

#DFRLabCoffeeBreak with Bellingcat Lead Investigator Christo Grozev

Christo Grozev is Lead Russia investigator for Bellingcat focusing on security threats, extraterritorial clandestine operations, and the weaponization of information. He and Senior Fellow Jakub Kalensý discuss the incredible conspiracy and propaganda surrounding the downing of flight MH 17 over Ukraine in 2014 and its ongoing trial. The DFRLab Coffee Break is a video series […]

Event recap | The future of trust and sensemaking

By Hannah Biggs

On July 30, 2020, the GeoTech Center hosted a discussion on ways to best increase trust and sensemaking in our communities as we further integrate our digital and physical lives.

#DFRLabCoffeeBreak with Investigative Reporter, Jared Holt

The DFRLab Coffee Break is a video series meant to discuss how disinformation and digital change affect industries, policy making, and society with a community of experts, academics, and leaders from around the world. Our guest for this conversation is Jared Holt, investigative reporter for Right-Wing Watch and host of the SH!TPOST Podcast. With DFRLab […]

Western Balkans Partnership Summit: Chair’s conclusions

Leaders from the Western Balkans Six met to agree on bold, practical actions to help the region emerge stronger together from the impact of COVID-19 with greater regional economic development opportunities. Specifically, they agreed to accelerate free movement of goods, services, capital, and people in the region, eliminating barriers that have hindered economic growth; and to pursue an investment plan to attract new foreign direct investment in the region and accelerate the deployment of committed COVID-19 recovery funds, with a focus on infrastructure and energy.

What world post COVID-19?: A conversation with Dr. Joe Mascaro

By Peter Engelke, Anca Agachi

Dr. Joe Mascaro, director of education and research at Planet, discusses the effects of the pandemic on the environment, and its implications for energy transitions and earth sciences research.