Michael Scott Moore
Lowering Flags of Convenience for Fish Poachers
New international measures to end fish poaching on the high seas would enforce laws where the poacher calls, not where their ships are registered.
Something's Fishy About That Red Snapper
Preventing seafood fraud won’t be easy, but a new law has potential to stop fish poaching and laundering, which involves mislabeling fish in restaurants.
Neo-Nazis and ‘Defensive Democracy’
Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, similar to America’s FBI, isn’t doing its job against all the threats its homeland faces.
America Edges to Brink of Armed Police Drones
Europeans are lagging the United States in using aerial drones for police work – and they don’t really mind.
Oklahoma Earthquakes and the Wages of Fracking
European experiences offer hints as to whether high seismicity in the U.S. oil patch is related to new gas extraction methods.
The Icelandic Model of Handling Debt Crises
Iceland did something right in the credit crisis, perhaps offering lessons both for Greece and Occupy Wall Street protesters
More Evidence That MDMA Could Ease PTSD
Researchers advance the idea that ecstasy and other controversial drugs could help treat traumatized combat vets.
Wood Pellets Energizing Europe, Timber Industry
A thriving transatlantic trade in compressed wood scraps is creating New World timber jobs and meeting Old World clean energy requirements.
Falling Cost of Renewables Softens Nuclear Shutdown
As renewable energy sources approach cost parity with traditional sources, phasing out nuclear power might in Germany be economically smart.
Greece, North Africa Promote Their Solar Power Projects
Competing solar projects are vying to supply Germany's renewable desires, each one trying to push the other into the shade.
Germany's Road to Natural Gas Has Coal Detour
Germany's energy revolution makes a shift to natural gas likely all over Europe.
Gas Pipeline From Russia to Germany Comes at a Cost
Doing deals with the Russians to put a pipe under the North Sea gives Germany some flexibility in its post-nuclear future, but at what price?
U.S. Following Europe in Mandating CFLs
The movement to change your incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents completed its successful European Union campaign. The United States is next.
German Conservatives Discover Populism In Euro Crisis
Like the homemakers in the book "Can't Pay, Won't Pay," the bureaucrats running Germany's financial house are saying enough is enough.
Rethinking Nuclear Power Sparks the Greening of Angela Merkel
German Chancellor (and physicist) Angela Merkel did a 180 on nuclear energy after Fukushima, setting off an "energy revolution" in the process.
Germany Crafts Its Nuclear Power Exit Strategy
Phasing out nuclear power around the world is easier said than done; the Germans (and Japanese) are, so far, the most serious about it.
Class of Antipsychotics Ineffective in PTSD Treatment
The future may hold a drug therapy for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, but some of the popular choices of the last few years, like Risperdal, won't be part of it.
PTSD Therapy: Restoring Honor to the Enemy
The golden rule has some effectiveness as a therapeutic tool, even in treating combat stress.
A Brief History of Combat Trauma
Despite its martial traditions, Germany has lagged in coming to grips with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Addressing PTSD With Surf Therapy
"If everybody had an ocean ..." perhaps Western militaries could start addressing cases of combat stress without medication, trading hang fire for hang 10.
Can PTSD Become Hereditary?
A glimpse at the epigenetics of post-traumatic stress disorder suggests that the physical markers for PTSD may show up across generations.
PTSD Brain Studies Look at Hippocampus
The hippocampus, a structure inside the brain, shrinks after psychological trauma, which hints that a pharmaceutical cure may address post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD's Trauma Symptoms Ring Out Through Ages
While the term "post-traumatic stress disorder" hints at a modern invention, the ill effects of combat stress have been documented back to the Iliad and Samuel Pepys.
PTSD Affecting U.S. Soldiers More Than British
Why do so many American and so few British soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress?
High-Speed Rail Will Impact America's Freight Trains
America's very successful freight train system will have to make some compromises to accommodate high-speed rail, but those needn't be the end of the world.
How High-Speed Rail is Dying in America While Thriving in Spain
In the late 1980s, both Texas and Spain proposed high-speed rail systems: Texas walked away from the idea, while Spain leapt in a little too exuberantly.
High-Speed Rail Can Cover Its Operating Costs
While paying for its hefty infrastructure costs may be ambitious, many high-speed rail systems cover their operating costs and even turn a small operating profit.
California’s High-Speed Rail Efforts Have to Start Somewhere
German high-speed trains started in the provinces, too, but now have a fast, efficient and popular system crisscrossing the nation.
Plugging High-Speed Rail Into Germany's Power Grid
Using rail lines for the energy grid may help a suddenly nuclear-shy Germany transition to wider use of renewable sources.
Terrorist Attacks on Railroads Would Be Difficult
Past experiences suggest that terrorists who want to derail a train are facing a much more complex task than just leaving a penny on the rail.
High-Speed Rail's Weak Link Is Security
Keeping trains safe and keeping trains moving has been a balancing act in Germany, and so far all the weights are on the side of no waiting.
Start Slow With Bullet Trains
Will investing in speed and electrification create the "sparks effect" needed to convince Americans to ride high-speed rail?
Fighting Drug War Creates Drug War
When the United States starts talking about illicit drugs, why does the word "war" always makes its way into the conversation?
Where Does Amsterdam's Marijuana Come From?
The Netherlands' netherworld of tolerated-but-still-illegal marijuana has its homegrown critics who argue for outright prohibition or outright legalization.
Is a Dip in Cocaine Use a War on Drugs Victory?
Washington remains optimistic about the war on drugs based on dips in the importation of cocaine. But even the “good news” derived from comparisons with Europe is distressing.
Legalizing Pot: Will It End the Mexican Drug Cartels?
If pot were legal — not decriminalized, but legal — it likely would knock a few props from beneath rampaging Mexican drugs cartels, argues Michael Scott Moore.
Is U.S.A. Drug Tourism Likely After States Drug Legalization?
U.S. drug laws should be loosened, argues Michael Scott Moore, but Holland — where soft drugs are not legal but are tolerated — is probably not the right model.
Drug Courts Reduce Recidivism and Save Tax Dollars
Drug courts can help ease the U.S. prison population and usher America into the civilized world when it comes to prosecuting drug-use offenses.
Portugal Benefits by Treating Drug Abuse as Medical, Not Legal, Issue
Portugal’s example suggests that de-escalating the war on drugs might create a new sort of peace dividend.
'Shooting Galleries' Take Aim at Illicit Drug Market
The idea that governments can reduce both addiction and street crime — and maybe bleed black markets dry — by managing drug distribution has gained momentum.
Afghan Heroin May Spark Russian Version of War on Drugs
European governments have taken two divergent paths in dealing with the resurrected flow of narcotics from Afghanistan, legalization and an American-style war on drugs.
Northern Europe’s Health Insurance Public-Private Combine
Europe has answered that question to its own satisfaction with a mandatory system that treats health care as a social insurance handled by private firms.
Ship Insurers Firing Up Private Armed Escorts
London’s new idea to fight pirates in the Indian Ocean: an insurance-led navy.
European Leaders Refine Stance on Immigration
With Tunisian refugees streaming north, Europe’s vanguard of cultural gatekeepers start to refine their message.
Merkel May Have Rescued the Eurozone
Might Frau Nein's tough love debt limits translate into the U.S. needing German discipline?
Terrorists Don’t Mix off Somalia
The naval stalemate off Somalia has produced one positive — the pirates have so far brushed off getting cozy with terrorists.
Germany Sidles Away from Solar Subsidies
The fine balance in Germany between markets and green energy policy highlights the real-world challenges for moving away from traditional power sources.
Switzerland Holds Referendum on Guns
The relationship may be changing in Europe’s best-armed nation, which next month votes on how to store guns for its standing militia.
Cogeneration Needs to Return to its Birthplace
An old American idea to capture and use waste heat from electricity generation, adopted by Europe, needs to come back home for a visit.
The Politics of a European Pat-Down
Airport security in Europe tends to be more discreet than in the U.S. But an industry group wants to change that.