In The News

East Asia: Stop Squabbling, Start Drilling

Will Hickey December 14, 2012
Large oilfields often don’t fall neatly within national boundaries. Intent on securing underground or undersea reserves, nations contest territorial claims. China battles Japan for the Diaoyu/Senkakku Islands and ASEAN members for large sections of the South China Sea. Settling disputes quickly is in the interest of all claimants, particularly those with less technological expertise, suggests...

As Arctic Melts, Business As Usual

Will Hickey October 10, 2012
The compulsion to use dangerous substances dominates routines at an addict’s peril. And such is the case with global dependence on burning fossil fuels, as they irreparably ruin the planet, argues Will Hickey. An example is melting Arctic ice, already changing global weather patterns. Still, governments and oil companies are impatient to head to the Arctic and drill for more fossil fuels. As data...

East Asia’s Free for All

Frank Ching August 30, 2012
More than half a century has passed since Japan occupied China or Korea. Mistrust and bitterness linger, with intense nationalism and territorial disputes flaring over two sets of small islands in the East China Sea – Senkakus/Diaoyu and Takeshima/Dokdo. The value of the islands extends beyond land and reputation, with deposits of oil and natural gas possibly resting in the nearby seabed. The...

Time to End Fuel Subsidies?

Will Hickey June 7, 2012
Subsidies distort markets and discourage development of substitutes. Subsidies for fuel are especially problematic, because energy is a backbone of any economy. In terms of energy production and consumption, the world is an uneven playing field in terms of reserves, taxes, regulations, public versus private ownership and income availability. An abrupt end to fuel subsidies would crush the poorest...

China Courts the Middle East

Dilip Hiro January 30, 2012
The advantage is mutual: The Middle East has great reserves of oil, and China’s foreign-policy based on non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs is popular with the region’s authoritarian regimes. So China rejects Western efforts to impose sanctions to stop the Iranian nuclear program. Beijing is the largest buyer of Iranian petroleum, accounting for 20 percent of Iran’s exports,...

From Micro-Algae to Blue Oil

December 30, 2011
Microalgae, among the Earth’s earliest life forms, come in tremendous diversity, and scientists are making groundbreaking discoveries with what ParisTech Review calls the “tiny biochemical factories.” Some microalgae are rich in fats and fast to grow – these are the targets for new biofuels and expensive health products like beta-carotene and fatty acids like omega 3. “The vast majority of the...

Nuclear Power Goes Rogue

Henry Sokolski November 30, 2011
The Fukushima nuclear accident has imposed immense ripple effects throughout the global nuclear power industry. Fukushima presents a clear example of the dangers and costs of nuclear power – Japanese officials have pegged the cost of the Fukushima accident at $64 billion. As many in the developed world are reconsidering nuclear power as part of their energy strategy, nuclear suppliers turn to the...