Ed Hancox

Bio

Currently working in the risk management sector, focusing on energy-related issues. In my spare time I write about issues in international affairs on several sites, including The Mantle (mantlethought.org) and my blog on international affairs, A World View (edsworld365.blogspot.com/)
China Air Pollution: Airmageddon Will Force China to Curb Greenhouse Gases
By Ed Hancox
Just how bad is the air getting in Beijing? Readings on the Air Quality Index scale peaked at over 700 one day last month; to put that in context, the version of the AQI scale used in the United States doesn't even go above 500. Sales of indoor air…
'Downton Abbey' Season 3 Finale Shockers: Top 5 Most Surprising Moments
By Ed Hancox
Americans have long held a special fascination with Great Britain's royalty and class-structured society, and the latest example of this fetish is the huge ratings racked up by British import, Downton Abbey. The show, which focuses on the interplay…
U.S. Has Lowest Greenhouse Gas Levels Since 1994 — But That Doesn't Mean Much For Global Warming
By Ed Hancox
Surprise! The United States is actually doing far better in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions than you may have realized.  That is the takeaway from a report issued to little fanfare late last week. The Sustainable Energy Factbook report…
The Simpsons Season 24: 6 Greatest Guest Star Appearances Of All Time
By Ed Hancox
When it first launched as an animated featurette on the now long-forgotten Tracy Ullman Show, The Simpsons was subversive. Here was an unabashedly dysfunctional family; a counterpoint to the quirky-but-perfect nuclear families that were a staple of…
The Top 5 Overlooked Foreign Policy Stories of 2012
By Ed Hancox
It is fair to say that with multiple 24-hour cable news channels, social media sites like Twitter and smart phone apps that keep us in constant contact with the internet, Americans are voracious consumers of information. You would assume that,…
TIME Person of the Year: Naming Pussy Riot Will Hurt Russian Freedom of Expression
By Ed Hancox
The names Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alyokhina may not seem familiar, though you have probably heard of their post-feminist punk protest band, Pussy Riot.  The three women were arrested following a guerrilla…
UN General Assembly 2012: Reforming Security Council Should Be Top Priority
By Ed Hancox
This week marks the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Along with round after round of speeches by the world's diplomats, there will be debates on the functioning of the United Nations itself. One of the longest-running of those…
John Christopher Stevens: US Ambassador's Murder Raises Some Uncomfortable Questions
By Ed Hancox
In breaking news on Wednesday morning, the U.S. learned that one of the Americans killed in Tuesday's attack on the United States consular office in Benghazi, Libya was none other than U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Stevens was apparently…
The Romney Ryan Energy Plan Will Not Make America Energy Independent
By Ed Hancox
On Thursday, the Romney/Ryan campaign released “Mitt Romney’s Plan for a Stronger Middle Class: Energy Independence,” a comprehensive plan (as opposed to President Obama's “hodgepodge” approach to energy) that they claim will make America energy…
Romney Energy Plan is Woefully Lacking
By Ed Hancox
No modern first-world nation can function without stable and secure supplies of energy; therefore you would assume that energy policy would be a key issue in any electoral campaign. But is it? In this three-part series, I will take a look at what…