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…
GOP Campaign Rocked By Revelation That Mitt Romney is a Disney Robot
By Ed Hancox
In a stunning announcement today, imagineers from Disney World in Orlando, FL have confirmed that presidential candidate Mitt Romney is in fact one of the theme parks' animatronic creations. Disney's animatronics are the lifelike creations that have…
Putin Pussy Riot Problem is Nothing Compared to Volatile Oil Prices
By Ed Hancox
Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin was in London to take in one of his favorite events, judo, at the London Olympics. But the cheerful visit to the Games masked some serious problems for Putin at home; no, I'm not referring here to the…
Pussy Riot: Vladimir Putin Turns Punk Rockers Into Political Martyrs
By Ed Hancox
A trial is underway in Russia that will likely redefine the limits of speech and expression in that country. Five months after their arrest, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina – members of the feminist Russian punk…
China and US Battle for Control of Canadian Oil Sands
By Ed Hancox
Did a Canadian business deal just derail hopes that the United States could become energy self-sufficient? Last week, China's state-run oil conglomerate China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has put in a bid to buy Canadian firm Nexen,…
A New Report on Fracking Can Change the Debate On US Energy Practices
By Ed Hancox
A new report out of Great Britain is sure to add more fuel to the hydrofracking debate. The report by the United Kingdom's Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering concludes that hydrofracking of Great Britain's domestic natural gas reserves…
Gas Prices Summer 2012: Why the Price of Gas is Lower Than Usual
By Ed Hancox
Rising gasoline prices seem to be as much of a summer tradition in the United States as baseball games and fireworks, but this year is different: gas prices have actually been falling, and projections are that we will likely get through the summer…
Hydrofracking Fact and Fiction: What You Need to Know About the Controversial Practice
By Ed Hancox
There is likely no more controversial topic in energy today than the technique of hydraulic fracturing, a.k.a. “hydrofracking.” Supporters point out that hydrofracking has provided the United States with an overabundance of cheap fossil fuel and…
Fracking and Oil Boom Will Reshape American Energy Policy
By Ed Hancox
While American politicians often make it seem like the U.S. is in the midst of an energy crisis, a different picture is being offered by energy industry executives: one where the U.S. finally becomes energy self-sufficient as the world enters into a…
Chris Christie Gets It Wrong On Cap-and-Trade Emissions Reduction Plan
By Ed Hancox
When New Jersey's Chris Christie abruptly pulled his state out of a regional greenhouse gas reduction agreement, his supporters hailed it as another example of bold leadership by the pugnacious governor. Unfortunately, a new study shows just how…
Earth to Newt Gingrich: Oil Shale Won't Solve the U.S. Energy Crisis
By Ed Hancox
Newt Gingrich has rebounded from his embarrassing presidential campaign to take to the op-ed pages to slam President Barack Obama's energy policy. With domestic oil production rising and natural gas prices falling to levels not seen in a decade,…