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Snapshot,
July 12, 2011
Why Food Price Volatility Doesn't Matter
Christopher B. Barrett and Marc F. Bellemare

In proposing measures to curb erratic swings in food prices, global leaders have conflated high prices with unstable ones. That's a mistake. In fact, the real problem is expensive food, so policies aimed at curbing volatility -- such as export bans, price stabilization schemes, and subsidies for farmers -- won't help those who need it.
Essay, JUL/AUG 2011
The Crisis in Clean EnergyPremium Article available to subscribers and site license holders.
David G. Victor and Kassia Yanosek

Clean energy was supposed to create jobs while reducing energy insecurity, global warming, and the U.S. trade deficit. But Washington's policies have encouraged quick and easy projects that cannot compete with conventional carbon-based sources.
Essay, JUL/AUG 2011
A Crude Predicament
Robert McNally and Michael Levi

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have long maintained large oil reserves to limit volatility in oil prices. But with key states now refusing to maintain such expensive buffers, the world must learn how to cope with big price swings in the years ahead.
Snapshot,
March 23, 2011
Let Them Eat Bread
Annia Ciezadlo

For years, Arab dictators used food subsidies -- and cheap bread -- to keep their subjects quiet. But when prices rose, the very thing that regimes used to ensure obedience became a symbol and a source of revolution.



This article appears in the Foreign Affairs/CFR eBook, The New Arab Revolt.
Snapshot,
March 21, 2011
Preventing the Next Nuclear Meltdown
Victor Gilinsky

As Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis shows, older reactors are the most vulnerable to failure. Aging nuclear plants pose a risk in the United States as well, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must enforce up-to-date safety standards more forcefully -- or risk the possibility of a disaster.
Snapshot,
March 19, 2011
Japan's Rebound
Christian Caryl

The twin disasters of this month's earthquake and tsunami have pushed Japan close to national crisis. But just as it has in the past, Japan can turn this moment of devastation into an opportunity for growth and reform.
Snapshot,
March 8, 2011
Oil and Unrest
Edward L. Morse

As political upheaval spreads across North Africa and into the Persian Gulf, 2011 may turn out to be as momentous a year for global oil markets as 1971, the year when the nature of the region's petro-states first took shape.
Snapshot,
January 30, 2011
The Psychology of Food Riots
Evan Fraser and Andrew Rimas

The connection among rising prices, hunger, and violent civic unrest seems intuitively logical. But there was more to Tunisia's food protests than the logic of the pocketbook. The psychological element -- a sense of injustice that arises between seeing food prices rise and pouring a Molotov cocktail -- is more important.
Essay, Jan/Feb 2011
The Good News About GasPremium Article available to subscribers and site license holders.
John Deutch

Thanks to technological advances, in the past few years, vast amounts of natural gas -- particularly shale gas -- have become economically viable. This development is an unmitigated boon for consumers interested in affordable energy and for governments hoping to reduce their countries' dependency on foreign oil.
Essay, Nov/Dec 2010
Globalizing the Energy Revolution Premium Article available to subscribers and site license holders.
Michael Levi, Elizabeth C. Economy, Shannon O'Neil, and Adam Segal

Clean-energy technology is expensive and the United States is spending far too little on developing it. The U.S. government must do more to promote cross-border innovation and protect intellectual property rights.
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