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Senators Introduce Bill to Modernize America’s Electric Grid

William Attardi on March 9, 2026

A new bipartisan legislation to modernize the nation’s electric grid and meet America’s growing energy demand. This bill cuts permitting delays, incentivizes advanced transmission upgrades, strengthens state grid planning, and accelerates the deployment of innovative grid technologies to lower costs and improve grid reliability for American families and businesses. The REWIRE Act provides a commonsense path forward: rather than building new infrastructure from scratch, it upgrades existing transmission lines with advanced conductors that can double capacity (a process known as “reconductoring”). By reducing congestion and bypassing lengthy permitting requirements, reconductoring could reduce grid costs by $85 billion by 2035 and $180 billion by 2050. Senators Introduce Bill to Modernize America’s Electric Grid – electrifiED

A ‘Crypto Week’ Win: Congress Passes 1st Major Crypto Legislation in the U.S.

William Attardi on July 18, 2025

The House approved the GENIUS Bill with a 308-122 vote with significant Democratic support, adopting regulations for a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins that proponents believe will fundamentally change the world of commerce. It was a remarkable win for the crypto industry — and for President Trump, who campaigned on making the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet.” The GENIUS Bill, which stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoin” now heads to the president’s desk for his signature, since the Senate had already approved it last month. The new legislation will put more formal regulations around stablecoins, which is viewed by many as a safer type of cryptocurrency. That’s because companies selling stablecoins have to hold the equivalent dollars in reserve. So if you buy $1 in stablecoin, the issuer that provided you with one has to keep $1 in reserve. That means that when you want to cash it, you can get paid back promptly. Stablecoins are a hot emerging part of the crypto sector. Key industry players believe stablecoins will allow people and companies the ability to transfer money as digital currency anywhere in the world instantaneously, regardless of borders, without onerous and expensive bank or money transfer fees. They believe that the world of credit cards or wire transfers will be completely upended once they are adopted widely. More crypto legislation is expected to follow the GENIUS Act. A ‘Crypto Week’ win: Congress passes 1st major crypto legislation in the U.S. | WBHM 90.3

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

The Statue of Liberty was made with copper but due to oxidation, it turned green.

When the “Lady in the Harbor” first arrived in New York in 1886, she didn’t look like the mint-green icon we know today. In fact, for the first twenty years of her life, she stood as a towering, metallic beacon of reddish-gold. Designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and engineered by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the statue was a gift from France to America. To build her, Bartholdi chose copper for three practical reasons:

  • Malleability:It could be hammered into elaborate, thin sheets.
  • Weight:Copper is lighter than stone or bronze, making it easier to ship 350 individual pieces across the Atlantic.
  • Durability:It was strong enough to survive a 27-day ocean voyage and the harsh winds of the harbor.

When she was unveiled on October 28, 1886, her skin—made of 300 copper sheets roughly the thickness of two pennies—shone with a bright, metallic brown luster. The transformation from “penny-colored” to “patina-green” wasn’t planned. Bartholdi actually expected the statue to age into a deeper, darker red. However, the unique environment of New York Harbor—a mix of salt air, moisture, and industrial pollution—triggered a process called oxidation.

The Timeline of Change:

  1. 1886–1900:The bright copper dulled into a dark, muddy brown.
  2. 1903:The first hints of a light green crust, or “patina,” began to appear.
  3. 1906:The color change was so controversial that Congress nearly stepped in. They appropriated $62,000 to paint the statue back to its original color, but the public protested, calling the idea “sacrilege.”
  4. 1910–1920:The statue was a patchy mix of brown and green until 1920, when the oxidation was complete, leaving her entirely teal.

While we now view the green color as iconic, it actually serves a vital structural purpose. The layer of verdigris (the green patina) acts as a protective shield. It seals the copper underneath, preventing the metal from further corrosion and weathering.  By the time the color fully changed, a new generation of immigrants had arrived in America seeing a green statue.