Saleem Ali

Newark, Queensland

Professor and Contributor at National Geographic

Mercurial Professor. @NatGeo E-explorer; team @wef @Yglvoices; Member of @unepirp; Faculty @UDelaware Alum @MIT @Yale @TuftsUniversity - 🇵🇰🇺🇸🇦🇺🇺🇳

Articles

Iran, Israel and the Lost Legacy of Natural Resource Cooperation

1 week ago | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

Drip Irrigation System in Lorestan, Iran. Photo by Saeed YeganehgettyThe current war between Iran and Israel should not prevent us from reimagining a future of peace between these current foes. Indeed, within living memory, there was a time when Iran and Israel cooperated extensively on a range of issues, most notably on natural resources and environmental technologies.
A global minerals trust could prevent inefficient and inequitable protectionist policies

3 weeks ago | science.org | Saleem Ali |Daniel M. Franks |Kaveh Madani |Owen Gaffney

Information & AuthorsInformationPublished In ScienceVolume 388 | Issue 67515 June 2025CopyrightCopyright © 2025 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Article versionsSubmission historyPublished in print: 5 June 2025PermissionsRequest permissions for this article. AcknowledgmentsM. Jastrzebiec-Pyszynski (European Parliamentary Research Service), E.
Perils of “The Precautionary Principle” in Environmental Law

4 weeks ago | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

In a rare show of unity on May 29, 2025, The U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled 8-0 in favor of limiting the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) The court recognized that despite many noble intentions, the law has been misapplied as an ideological stalling tool against not only resource extraction projects but also renewable energy projects.
Alaska’s Moment for Extractive Diplomacy

1 month ago | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

Alaska’s vast wilderness has been a testing ground of human endurance for millennia as the gateway for human habitation of the Americas. It has also been a frontier for natural resource extraction from its time as a Russian territory to its post-purchase period as an American acquisition.
Unlocking Liberia’s Sustainable Development Potential

1 month ago | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

The West African nation of Liberia stands out as a remarkable example of human resilience but also a somber warning regarding the fragility of development outcomes. As the first independent democracy on the African continent, the Liberian flag has one star but is otherwise reminiscent of the American Stars and Stripes banner.
How Mineral Stockpiles from the Ocean Became an American Objective

2 months ago | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

The Trump administration is seriously considering unilateral mining of polymetallic nodules from international waters and stockpiling them as a mineral reserve for strategic technologies. This would subvert more than three decades of international legal efforts to regulate extractive industries through the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
Could Tariffs Improve Environmental Sustainability Outcomes?

2 months ago | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

Amidst the current escalation of a global trade war, ecologist Jonathan Foley humorously noted on the social media platform Blue Sky that perhaps President Trump is secretly a “de-growther” and tanking the economy to help the environment! Jokes aside, a reduction in overall consumerism may well be an inadvertent silver lining to the economic cloud, similar to what happened during the COVID pandemic.
Is The Congo At The Crossroads Of Minerals Diplomacy?

Mar 14, 2025 | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

Given the uncertainty on Ukraine’s mineral potential as well as the prospects of a realistic deal for the United States, the Trump administration has turned its attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Unlike Ukraine, DRC has proven reserves of critical minerals from cobalt to copper to rare earths in massive quantities with functional large-scale mines as well as hundreds of thousands of artisanal miners. However, the country poses a dilemma for Trump as well.
Congo at The Crossroads of Minerals Diplomacy?

Mar 12, 2025 | forbes.com | Saleem Ali

Given the uncertainty on Ukraine’s mineral potential as well as the prospects of a realistic deal for the United States, the Trump administration has turned its attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Unlike Ukraine, DRC has proven reserves of critical minerals from cobalt to copper to rare earths in massive quantities with functional large-scale mines as well as hundreds of thousands of artisanal miners. However, the country poses a dilemma for Trump as well.
How Scientists Might Deal with Elon Musk

Mar 6, 2025 | linkedin.com | Saleem Ali

Peter Diamandis, Founder of X Prize Foundation celebrating Musk's support for Global Learning X Prize in 2019 Photo: Jesse Grant (X Prize Foundation) As the disruptive agony of layoffs in the federal government's science research edifice rocks the nation, I can understand the emotional temptation to lash out at Elon Musk. No doubt he is the architect and executor of the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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