By William Close Behind closed doors in the Saudi capital Riyadh, consultants and government officials are developing policies to prepare the country for what until recently seemed unthinkable: an economy without oil. For decades, Saudi Arabia has been the world’s...
Crude oil is arguably the most important traded commodity. Despite efforts to switch to other energy sources, most countries — particularly in the West — still rely heavily on oil to fuel transport, heating and industry. In the past, industrial nations had...
By Marilyn Smith The price of oil has plunged to its lowest level in over a decade. The cost of natural gas is down 50% in the past year. Energy is suddenly cheap and it has never been easier to heat your home, right? Not quite. Despite the drop in global oil...
By Sue Landau With the ink barely dry on a global accord to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, the price of oil has resumed its staggering slump. What does this mean for efforts to wean our civilization off fossil fuels and move to renewable, sustainable energy...
By Girish Gupta When Hugo Chávez came to power in Venezuela in 1999, U.S. Ambassador to Caracas John Maisto said the U.S. government should watch what Chávez did, not listen to what he said. Chávez’s rhetoric was indeed fiery. Seven years after coming to power, he...