RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 09/17/23 By Michael Shank and Kate Lee There’s a new movement cropping up in city governments across America. It’s apolitical enough that it can avoid the polarization that comes with other climate initiatives. And it’s easy to incorporate because it spans many aspects of city governance and life, […]
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 03/28/12 By Michael Shank America’s commitment to tackle climate change just suffered setbacks with news that President Barack Obama might weaken the EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions regulations for new power plants, one of the president’s main levers to limit warming, and Science Magazine’s reporting that the earth is […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch 09/16/2008 By Michael Shank The raison d’etre of the row between Russia and Georgia now seems obvious enough to the trained eye. Wading through a geopolitical swamp of post-Cold-War balkanization, this latest conflict was the result of a potent mixture of Russian nationalism, Ossetian-Abkhazian quest for identity and […]
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 08/30/08 By Michael Shank and U.S. Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) To drill or not to drill, that is the question. But is it? Offshore oil reserves, once online — a feat that would come long after the new president’s first term — will garner less than three years […]
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 08/10/08 By Michael Shank and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) In the tradition of politically charged Olympics of the past, the 2008 summer games in Beijing have become an arena to contest some of the world’s most egregious conflicts. From concerns over China’s crackdown on Tibetan rights to the […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch 06/17/2008 By Michael Shank Last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, suffering internal political setbacks and susceptible to overthrow by opposition, hosted a major tete-a-tete on the growing gap between the Muslim world and the West. The prime minister is a moderate; his agenda was […]
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 02/22/08 By Michael Shank and US Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) It’s missing the point to think about the United Nations climate change conference in Bali last December based upon on whether specific targets were agreed upon or not. This point ignores dramatic historical changes in the world concerning […]
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 11/25/07 By Michael Shank and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) The time has come for the world’s leaders to face hard truths concerning the Middle East, specifically the conflict between Palestine and Israel. On Tuesday, President George Bush will provide such an opportunity as leaders of the U.S., Israel, […]
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 09/13/07 By Michael Shank and US Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) Russia, Canada, and the United States are rushing to the North Pole in a pioneer-like land grab for an estimated 25 percent of the world’s unknown oil and gas reserves. One wonders when we will learn. Oil and […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch 08/14/2007 By Michael Shank and Sandra Cheldelin Virginia Tech’s tragedy remains a stark reminder for those working in emergency medical services — particularly in mental health — that existing detection and response systems are dysfunctional. As exemplified all too painfully in the case of Tech’s Seung-Hui Cho, the […]