The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to announce that Senior Fellow Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr. is the new Chair of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. Dr. Moore, a member of the WSSC Commission representing Montgomery County since 2008, was elected to the position during today’s Commission meeting. He will serve until June 2012. He succeeds Antonio L. Jones, a Commissioner from Prince George’s County. Dr. Moore said: “I look forward to support from my fellow commissioners to continue our oversight of a utility that is respected for its fairness in business dealings, its efficiency and competency in operations, and its considerations of decisions designed to keep the utility in step with technological innovations and providing excellent service to our customers.” Please click here to read more on the WSSC website.

Prof. James Giordano, PhD, is a neuroscientist, Vice President for Academic Programs and Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. In a letter published in The New Yorker magazine, he commented on a recent article on bioengineered meat.  The subject is closely related to the topic of a recent CCNELSI conference on ethical animal research held at the Institute, which addressed the reduction and replacement of animals in farming and industrial applications.  Click here to read the New Yorker letter. Click here to watch a video of the CCNELSI animal research symposium.     

James Tate, Jr, PhD, is the Institute's Program Director for Ecological Economics and Ethics and a Senior Fellow of the Institute. Dr. Tate, who served most recently as Science Advisor to the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, is a recognized senior executive and leader in natural resource science and policy.  In a recent letter printed in The Washington Post, he commented on a Post article describing former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's campaign to strengthen conservation laws.  Click here to read the Post Letters page including Dr. Tate's letter.

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow Amb. David Smith, (Ret.), is the Director of the Georgian Security Analysis Center in Tbilisi, Georgia. In a recent column for the Georgian publication Tabula, he writes that the US and allies' determination to pursue a "reset" policy with Russia has resulted in severely hobbling the Georgian military.  Western nations' reluctance to provide supplies amounts to "an undeclared near-total arms embargo on Georgia," he writes, leaving Georgia more vulnerable to future attack.  Click below to read the article in full.