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2 months ago | 
city-journal.org | Arnab Datta |James Coleman
President Donald Trump has identified permitting reform as a top priority. Unlike many of his administration’s goals, fixing the infrastructure-permitting process will be of interest to some Democrats. The most significant reforms will require not only legislative action in the House but also a bipartisan 60 votes in the Senate, rather than a simple majority via the budget reconciliation process.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
ifp.org | Tim Fist |Arnab Datta
This is the second piece in Compute in America: Building the Next Generation of AI Infrastructure at Home, examining the computing infrastructure buildout needed to support next-generation artificial intelligence systems. The series analyzes the technical challenges of constructing massive AI data centers, projects future computing needs based on AI development trends, and proposes policy solutions to ensure this critical infrastructure is built securely in the United States.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
chinatalk.media | Jordan Schneider |Arnab Datta
Critical minerals! The world needs more of them, and the US government can help.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
chinatalk.media | Jordan Schneider |Arnab Datta
To discuss Trump’s VP pick, ChinaTalk chatted with Employ America’s Arnab Datta and economist Matt Klein, who writes the excellent Overshoot newsletter. We get into…Vance’s beliefs about the economy - from dollar hegemony to tariffs and industrial policy,Psychological dynamics at play within the Trump-Vance ticket,The case for weakening the US dollar, and how the executive could make that happen.
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Aug 14, 2024 | 
cfr.org | Arnab Datta |Ashley George
Last month, Ganfeng Lithium, China’s largest lithium producer and refiner, announced plans to establish a $1.1 billion trading desk, to “risk of market fluctuations” associated with its growing portfolio of international mining investments. By injecting liquidity into a Chinese market infrastructure, the move will likely deepen the country’s already dominant grip in the market and could threaten the US’ attempts to build a resilient supply chain for critical minerals.
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Jul 18, 2024 | 
statecraft.pub | Santi Ruiz |Arnab Datta |Alex Williams
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world’s largest emergency supply of crude oil. In huge underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico, the American federal government can store up to 714 million barrels, more than what the country uses in one month. Historically, the SPR has been tapped at the discretion of the president when natural disasters or crises cause the price of oil for consumers to spike.
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Jun 10, 2024 | 
ifp.org | Tim Fist |Arnab Datta |Brian Potter
Broadly capable AI systems are poised to become an engine of economic growth and scientific progress. The fundamental insight behind this engine is “the bitter lesson”: AI methods that can independently learn by better taking advantage of massive amounts of computation (or “compute”) vastly outcompete methods that are hand-crafted to encode human knowledge. Nowhere is this more evident than in today’s large language models.
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May 29, 2024 | 
ifp.org | Arnab Datta |James Coleman
This piece was originally published in Slow Boring on April 28th. A federal judge recently to block the approval of a power line that would have connected 161 renewable energy projects to the electric grid, providing more clean energy to consumers in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. This is the second time this project, known as the Cardinal-Hickory transmission line, has been blocked by an injunction in the past five years.
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May 28, 2024 | 
ifp.org | Arnab Datta |Aidan Mackenzie
Infrastructure How do different reform proposals stack up? NEPA needs reformReforming judicial review is vital for fixing the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. Litigation of NEPA reviews has become an avenue for abuse and obstruction. Lawsuits can target these procedural reviews to block the construction of important infrastructure projects.
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May 10, 2024 | 
instituteforprogress.substack.com | Jassi Pannu |Arnab Datta |Patrick Collard
Is it too late to say Happy New Year? Probably. Regardless, we hope you’re having a good start to 2024. A few announcements we’re really excited to share: Jassi Pannujoined our team as a Senior Biotechnology Fellow with a focus on policies and technologies that improve health and prevent disease. Jassi is a licensed physician and completed her M.D. and medical residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
