All Knowledge & Insights By Date

Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran are reverberating far beyond the immediate theater of armed conflict. Energy markets have responded quickly, with oil and gas prices rising amid concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. But as recent commentary underscores, this moment is not simply another geopolitical flashpoint. It reflects a deeper structural reality: the global economy is caught in a molting phase of an incomplete energy transition. Against this backdrop,...

Recent geopolitical developments in the Middle East are reverberating far beyond the region, affecting global energy markets, fertilizer supply chains, and -- ultimately -- the economics of American agriculture. The turbulent and fluid situation illustrates how quickly foreign policy decisions and international conflicts can cascade through interconnected commodity markets, leaving U.S. farmers caught between rising input costs and volatile crop markets. Modern agriculture is deeply dependent on...

Recent headlines have declared that the Olympics have “banned PFAS,” with athletes reportedly disqualified after testing revealed the presence of so-called “forever chemicals” on their equipment. The reality is more nuanced, and that nuance matters. The policy at issue does not originate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but with the International Ski Federation (FIS), which governs ski and snowboard competitions under its International Competition Rules (ICR). FIS has...

Current gyrations in foreign policy under the Trump Administration raise potential unintended impacts on the U.S. chemical industry, particularly at the intersection of international regulatory cooperation, global toxics governance, and trade policy. While chemical regulation is often viewed as a domestic exercise, it is shaped materially by international alignment, mutual recognition, and trade-related obligations. Fractures in U.S. relationships with allies and multilateral institutions could...

As 2025 draws to a close, one of the most consequential, but least publicly discussed, shifts in federal environmental governance has been the quiet expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) behind the scenes across multiple federal agencies. AI tools are not new in federal science programs, but 2025 marked a turning point: agencies began integrating machine-learning models into routine workflows in exposure modeling, surveillance, enforcement targeting, and environmental monitoring. The White...

The U.S. soybean industry remains a focal point in the intersection of American agriculture, global trade policy, and federal regulatory action. Ongoing trade tensions -- particularly between the United States and China -- have reshaped the global soybean value chain, while rising input costs, labor constraints, and regulatory uncertainty create additional pressures for farmers. In recent months, attention has turned toward how the reopening of the federal government -- after extended funding...

In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has taken a series of actions to curtail federal support for offshore wind development. The most visible step was the U.S. Department of Transportation’s cancellation of roughly $679 million in funding for 12 offshore wind projects across 11 states. In addition, the Administration halted construction of the nearly complete $4 billion Revolution Wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, citing national security concerns. An earlier executive...

On May 9-11, 2012, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) will hold a workshop entitled “Safe Management of Nanowaste.” According to the draft agenda, the objectives of the workshop are to get a better understanding of the potential risks posed by nanowaste and waste containing nanomaterials; to exchange information about existing initiatives/approaches addressing...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on December 28, 2011, proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 17 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). Of particular interest, seven of the PMN substances’ reported chemical names include the term “carbon nanotube” (CNT) or “CNT.”  EPA states that because of a lack of established nomenclature for CNTs, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory names for CNTs are...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) posted on May 5, 2010, two reports concerning nanomaterials: Report of the Workshop on Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials in a Regulatory Context: This is the Report of the September 2009 Workshop on Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials in Regulatory Context, which was co-hosted by the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) and the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). According to OECD, the Workshop...