In The News

Hurrah! Oil Profits Are Up

Carl Mortished May 2, 2008
Climbing oil prices contribute to higher costs for food and anything else that requires transport. But the higher prices also spark debate over oil dependence and the need for alternative fuels. People who want greater conservation and a cleaner environment should celebrate the high prices, argues Carl Mortished, because those change behavior. It’s no surprise that fossil fuels are a limited...

Clock Running Out on Irreversible Climate Change – Part I

Jim Hansen April 16, 2008
The goal of slowing climate change takes on urgency with growing populations, increasing emissions and melting polar ice that would irrevocably change the global environment. Energy suppliers often fend off worries about climate change by suggesting that the facts are not all known. The same could be said about industry estimates on oil, gas and coal reserves, suggests Jim Hansen, director of...

Outpacing Resources

Nayan Chanda April 15, 2008
In 1798, economist Thomas Malthus predicted that population growth could lead to declining resources and catastrophe. The global population was then less than a billion, and critics dismissed his concerns. Now, the human population has grown more than sixfold, and is estimated to reach 9 billion in less than 50 years. Shortages of basic resources, including oil, food and water are not uncommon in...

Labor Pains in the Middle East

April 1, 2008
Oil-rich states in the Middle East have long depended on migrants from countries such as India and Bangladesh to fill the demand for labor in capital-intensive projects and protected indigenous labor by promoting large civil service classes. But global inflation has reduced real wages while increasing the price of goods, with effects magnified for those countries with currencies pegged to the...

Regulating the Global Commons – Part II

Michael Richardson March 28, 2008
As public pressure builds to curb climate change, every industry that relies heavily on fossil fuels can expect new regulations. This two-part series examines the challenges of regulating global waters and skies. So far, the shipping and aviation sectors of the transportation industry have kept a low profile, because they crisscross national borders and governments do not want to increase the...

Oil May Not Grease Friendship

Amity Shlaes March 24, 2008
Researchers have long pointed to some correlations in international affairs: Oil countries tend not to be entrepreneurial; nations dependent on one industry, such as oil extraction, tend to be hostile with the US; and entrepreneurial nations tend to befriend the US. But such observations were based largely on anecdotal evidence. In a study for the Council of Foreign Relations, Amity Shlaes and...

Carbon Prices, Not Quotas

Ernesto Zedillo March 11, 2008
For now, while oil and coal are still relatively plentiful, burning fossil fuels is the least expensive method in harnessing energy for transportation, heating, electricity and industrial development. Controlling emissions carries extra costs, and few countries want to take that step on their own – even though the global strategy of procrastination means putting the burden on future generations....