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Trump Expands Critical Minerals List to Copper, Met Coal, Uranium

William Attardi on November 8, 2025

The Trump administration on Thursday added 10 minerals to a list it deems essential for the U.S. economy and national security, including copper, vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, and metallurgical coal, used to make coke fuel for steel production.  The Interior Department’s critical minerals list guides federal investments and permitting decisions and helps shape the government’s broader minerals strategy. The administration is expanding the list amid efforts to boost domestic mining and cut reliance on imports, particularly from economic rival China.  Trump expands critical minerals list to copper, met coal, uranium | Reuters

How the United States Can Enhance Critical Minerals Supply

William Attardi on July 21, 2025

An action plan could help reduce the risk of market disruptions, enhance competitiveness, and reduce reliance on imports, fostering supply chain resilience. Of the 50 elements deemed critical to the American economy and national security by the U.S. Geological Survey,  the United States is 100% dependent on foreign suppliers for 12 of them and is more than 50% reliant on non-domestic sources for another 29.  The Trump administration has made critical minerals security a key component of its energy-focused strategy, evident by several recent executive orders. By following a targeted strategy and working with industry toward the achievement of a set of common objectives, the U.S. government can make tangible and measurable progress toward its goal to promote U.S. critical mineral security and move from being a primary consumer and price-taker in a nontransparent market to being a supply maker in a transparent and resilient market. How the United States Can Enhance Critical Minerals Supply – WSJ

NEMA Urges Passage of Critical Mineral Legislation

William Attardi on May 2, 2025

A Senate committee unanimously approved the Critical Mineral Consistency Act, legislation aimed at boosting the development of reliable critical mineral supply chains. NEMA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Spencer Pederson thanked the committee for quickly advancing the legislation and urged lawmakers and President Trump to turn the bill into law. “The advancement of [the bill] through Committee brings us one step closer to reaching our goals by removing dependence on unreliable foreign sources like China for the raw materials that are essential to the electroindustry and will help bolster supply chains,” Pederson said. NEMA urges passage of critical mineral legislation

It’s Back to School – How Some of Our Most Acknowledged Universities Got Their Name – Who were the true visionaries who would donate half of their estate to sculpting the minds of the future. These stories are monuments to history and culture. Let’s take a stroll through academia’s memory lane and uncover the origins of these storied university names!

  1. Ah, Harvard! The Ivy League giant was once a small college in the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement called New Towne. But where did “Harvard” come from? Enter John Harvard, a clergyman who, in 1638, decided to bequeath half his estate and his library (a whopping 400 books!) to the fledgling college. Grateful for this generous gift, they promptly named the institution after him.
  2. A gem of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is another Ivy League powerhouse known for its prestigious law and drama schools. It owes its name to Elihu Yale, a wealthy merchant who, in 1718, donated a modest shipment of goods (including portraits, books, and textiles) to a struggling collegiate school. Those goods were auctioned off, raising a much-needed £562 –a small fortune at the time.
  3. Dartmouth is renowned for its beautiful rural setting, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire. It was named after the Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, a British nobleman who supported the college’s founding –despite never actually setting foot in America!
  4. Brown, this Rhode Island Ivy University, known for its open curriculum and emphasis on student choice, was founded with a mouthful of a name – the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed in 1704 for Nicholas Brown, Jr., a prominent merchant whose family donated generously to the school.
  5. Perched atop a hill overlooking Ithaca, New York, Cornell is celebrated for its diverse academic programs and its stunning natural surroundings. Founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, this university was unique for its commitment to practical education, allowing students the freedom to choose their own course of study. It was a revolutionary notion at the time, which would guide a curricular reform across the country.
  6. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and its close ties to the tech industry. But this California powerhouse has a touching origin story. Leland Stanford, Jr., the founder’s son, tragically died young from typhoid fever. His father Leland Sr., railroad magnate and former state governor, and his mother Jane, founded the university in his memory, ensuring his legacy lived on through the pursuit of knowledge.
  7. This North Carolina research giant, known for its strong medical and law schools, underwent a bit of a name change in its history. Originally called Trinity College, it was renamed Duke University in 1924 after James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power industrialist who founded the American Tobacco Company. He established The Duke Endowment, to which he donated throughout his life and left half his estate after his death.
  8. Nestled in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a renowned research university with a vibrant campus life. It owes its name to “The Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, who provided the initial gift to establish the university.
  9. Texas businessman William Marsh Rice provided the initial funding for this Houston university, but did not live to see its opening. He was murdered by his valet as he slept, in a plot to forge the man’s will. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rice University flourished through the years, becoming an institution known for its strong engineering and science programs.
  10. Who was Harvard named after? Origin of university names