Natural Resources

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Author Interview,
Edward L. Morse

Next week, Edward Morse will answer reader questions about the price of oil and what it means for oil-producing states and U.S. foreign policy. Submit a question

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Postscript,
Scott G. Borgerson

The Arctic is rich in natural resources and lies at the epicenter of a rapidly changing climate -- and it is time the United States paid more attention to the region.

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Response, Sep/Oct 2008
Nicholas Shaxson
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Essay, Jul/Aug 2008
David G. Victor and Sarah Eskreis-Winkler

Oil stocks can help buffer economic shocks, but only if Washington radically reforms its handling of them.

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Comment, May/June 2008
Michael L. Ross

The world has grown much more peaceful over the past 15 years -- except for oil-rich countries. Oil wealth often wreaks havoc on a country's economy and politics, helps fund insurgents, and aggravates ethnic grievances. And with oil ever more in demand, the problems it spawns are likely to spread further.

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Essay, Mar/Apr 2006
Leonardo Maugeri

Prices of crude oil are high these days not because oil reserves are waning -- in fact, they are plentiful -- but because inadequate refining capacity has limited the quantity of crude available on the world market. And high prices come with an upside: they could convince the oil industry to invest in new capacity.

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Essay, Sep/Oct 2005
David Zweig and Bi Jianhai

Chinese foreign policy is now driven by China's unprecendented need for resources. In exchange for access to oil and other raw materials to fuel its booming economy, Beijing has boosted its bilateral relations with resource-rich states, sometimes striking deals with rogue governments or treading on U.S. turf. Beijing's hunger may worry some in Washington, but it also creates new grounds for cooperation.

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Comment, Jul/Aug 2004
Eugene Linden, Thomas Lovejoy, and J. Daniel Phillips

Experience has shown that piecemeal efforts to protect tropical forests cannot do the job. Conservationists must rethink their approach, implementing conservation on a continental scale, and fast.

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Essay, Jul/Aug 2004
Nancy Birdsall and Arvind Subramanian

Of all the pressing questions facing Iraq today, perhaps the most important in the long run is what to do with the country's oil. Vast wealth from natural resources can often be a curse, not a blessing, corrupting a nation's political and economic institutions and impeding the growth of democracy. There is only one way for Iraq to resist the oil curse: by handing over the proceeds directly to the Iraqi people.

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Essay, Jul/Aug 2003
Leonardo Maugeri

Underpinning much of the current thinking on oil are two divisive myths--oil scarcity and energy security. Policymakers must realize that some volatility in oil prices is to be expected and focus instead on promoting better consumption habits, more realistic public expectations, and sounder Middle East policies.

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