Alexander C. Kaufman

2 weeks ago | canarymedia.com | Alexander C. Kaufman

Seven factories still use blast furnaces — and worsen pollution in the cities they are located, according to an analysis by climate research group Industrious Labs. The United States hasn’t built a new coal-burning steel mill in nearly half a century. Stricter environmental regulations shifted some of that production overseas, while the latest steel plants adopted newer and cleaner technologies.

2 weeks ago | latitudemedia.com | Alexander C. Kaufman

Yet another corporate titan is betting big on America’s surging electricity demand. On Monday, Blackstone’s infrastructure division announced an $11.5 billion deal to buy TXNM Energy, the Albuquerque-based utility that serves 800,000 customers across New Mexico and Texas.

1 month ago | canarymedia.com | Alexander C. Kaufman

The Industrial Demonstrations Program would create thousands of jobs while helping modernize U.S. industries like steelmaking. It’s on Trump’s chopping block. President Donald Trump vowed to bring industrial manufacturing back to the United States. But in the coming weeks, his administration plans to gut a key program at the Department of Energy that promised to rapidly revitalize domestic production of materials such as cement, aluminum, and steel.

1 month ago | sherwood.news | Alexander C. Kaufman

In January, the tariffs the United States charged on foreign-made goods averaged out to about 2.5%. By April, that figure soared to 27% — the highest levels since 1903. Chaos ensued. Markets rollercoastered. Not even islands solely populated by penguins were spared. To Wilbur Ross, 87, the billionaire investor who served as the secretary of the Department of Commerce during President Donald Trump’s first administration, it was a clear signal in the noise.

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Alexander C. Kaufman

Resources have always determined power. The British empire’s command over coal helped expand the realm to the ends of the earth. The United States entered World War II as a dominant oil power and for decades consolidated control over global supply. This century, power could be built on batteries, solar panels, and artificial intelligence. And China has a grip on the minerals—rare-earth elements, lithium, graphite—needed to make them.