Analysis of the Developing States in the MENA Region Seeking Civilian Nuclear Energy, with a Primary Focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The comprehensive analysis presented here attempts to ana­lyze “newcomer” states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), primarily the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Unit­ed Arab Emirates (UAE), seeking to implement civilian nuclear energy according to their political and economic situations. By investigating their motivations and funding resources for fu­ture nuclear projects, this analysis provides guidance for these states in terms of their nuclear infrastructure and nonprolifera­tion. The overall approach of this analysis relies on the factors for the success of civilian nuclear energy programs identified in experiential studies conducted since the Atoms for Peace speech in 1953.This study also attempts to reduce the gap between developing and developed states by clarifying the ma­jor challenges involved in nuclear cooperation and technology transferal. Since the 1980s, the MENA region has experienced vari­ous crises, including the Iraq-Iran War, the Gulf War, terrorist attacks, the Arab Spring, and the Islamic State (IS).However, the two states analyzed here have maintained stable politi­cal environments without disturbances to their governmental systems. Moreover, from an economic viewpoint, both states have high revenue from oil and gas production and high oil reserves (more than 20 percent of the world’s proven oil re­serves).Regarding their motivation for seeking civilian nuclear energy, these states are attempting to address their estimated 8-9 percent annual increase in electricity demand, rapid popula­tion growth, and the need for more desalination plants. By im­plementing nuclear energy programs, these newcomer states will face challenges related to their nuclear strategy, roadmap, infrastructure, and human resources. To address these chal­lenges, the newcomer states will have to secure intense for­eign cooperation by signing nuclear agreements with devel­oped states and showing a clear record of compliance with nuclear nonproliferation commitments, such as the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements (CSA), and the Additional Protocol (AP), which will raise the transparency of the civilian nuclear program

Shelter Scape 7: Combining Regenerative and Earth Sheltered Practices for a New Housing Community in Massachusetts

Global Climate is projected to change significantly over the next decade. Given the potential impact of these changes, human relationships with the landscape will change. We as a people will have to re-evaluate our behaviors, activities and aesthetics; and our communities might have to re-assess and re-classify their current land use designations; as is the case potentially for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Massachusetts. Under the projected climatic changes, the future snow making and sustaining ability of this mountain is of question and at potential risk; and these questions therefore beg the discussion of what to do instead with similar sites, and on a broad scale, of how to best respond to the changes. Landscape design and architecture will be at the forefront of responding to this new environment, and a subsequent holistic integration of these two fields presents an effective way forward. Landscape designs will have to do more than appeal visually, and they will be judged by their capacity to support and sustain a strong level of species biodiversity and food habitat. Supporting these needs are regenerative landscapes which work with nature rather than in contradiction to, and as a result, seek to help ensure our lasting survival. Earth sheltered housing communities offer the most holistic integration of human shelter needs and landscape ecology. The union of a regenerative community with earth sheltered housing represents the best effort of sustainability that we humans have so far built; and at this point it has not been notably achieved. The proposed designs of Shelter Scape 7 embody that union. On sixty acres of Wachusett Mountain, Shelter Scape 7 captures resources; collects the community; cultivates food security; and contributes sustainable habitat for all species. Shelter Scape 7 shelters us, and it shelters nature from us, for our generation but also for seven generations in the future

New Mexico Tribal Cannabis: Policy, Politics, & Guidance for Government-to-Government Cooperation in State-Tribal Cannabis Compacting

The purpose of this article is three-fold. First, it aims to provide a systematic review of international, United States, state, and federal Indian law and policy surrounding cannabis cultivation, possession, and use in Indian Country. Second, it argues that the 2017 New Mexico tribal medical cannabis bills (SB 345 & HB 348), which were introduced in the first regular session of the New Mexico State Legislature and would have permitted the state to enter into intergovernmental agreements (or compacts) with tribes who choose to implement the state’s medical cannabis program on tribal lands, contained legal vulnerabilities likely to hinder their effectiveness if passed into law. Third, and as a result of this legal and political environment, this article serves as a tribal cannabis policy resource for New Mexico legislators and as a proposal of model legislation and compact terms for the drafting of effective tribal medical cannabis legislation and state-tribal cannabis compacts. Part I provides a historical and legal overview of international and United States federal controlled substances law and policy. Part II explores the issues arising in federal Indian cannabis law and regulation, including: state criminal jurisdiction over non-Public Law 280 tribal lands, state taxation in Indian Country, tribal sovereign immunity, and state-tribal dispute resolution. Part III covers New Mexico cannabis law, including a discussion of the state medical cannabis regulatory apparatus and policy analysis of the 2017 New Mexico tribal medical cannabis bills. Part IV closely analyzes the pros and cons of the 2017 New Mexico tribal medical cannabis bills and provides recommendations for future effective tribal medical cannabis legislation and compact drafting. Finally, Part V puts forward a model tribal medical cannabis bill and state-tribal cannabis compact terms reflecting the legal conclusions drawn herein, which may serve as constructive guidance in a future legislative session or compact negotiations between New Mexico and the Indian nations, tribes, and pueblos within the state

Engineering Division

The objectives of the Engineering Division are to provide an association for those having an interest in library and information science as they apply to engineering and the physical sciences and to promote the use of materials and knowledge for the benefit of libraries and other educational organizations