The future economic security of Iraq rests upon the management of its natural resources, but a festering dispute between the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and the central government in Baghdad threatens to destabilize more than just Iraq’s economy, according to an article published in The Majalla last week on “Oil’s Divisive Influence: The Case [...]  More »

Recent estimates from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) show that emissions of air pollutants that harm human health in the Houston region are falling dramatically.  More »

This post was written by Lavanya Sunder, who worked as an at the Baker Institute Energy Forum and is now a senior at Lamar High School. One of the most prominent arguments against expanded oil and natural gas drilling and major infrastructure projects like Keystone XL is that the United States should for environmental reasons [...]  More »

The recent announcement of the discovery of oil off the coast of Liberia has spurred widespread public interest and international engagement. Re-elected for her second term in January 2012, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the first female president in Africa and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. Much is at stake for [...]  More »

I participated last week on a panel at the New York Times Energy For Tomorrow conference in New York City. My session, the Closing Plenary, which you can watch here, focused on the issue of energy subsidies. Our session chair, Joe Nocera, queried whether it made sense to subsidize all of our different energy sources. [...]  More »

This post was written by Kathleen Barker, intern at the Baker Institute Energy Forum The days of free parking may be numbered. In a world where rapid urbanization and climate change are raising awareness of the high costs of traffic congestion, Citibank and IBM announced this week that they are joining forces to provide financing [...]  More »

This post was written by James Coan, Research Associate at the Baker Institute Energy Forum. Americans under 40 are driving dramatically less, according to data from the National Household Travel Survey. The question is: Is car culture in America waning generationally or is this a temporary phenomenon linked to the recession? The recession hit younger [...]  More »

On gasoline prices, President Obama is starting to learn the lesson of his predecessors. The quickest way to lower gasoline prices is by calling on Saudi Arabia. For three decades, US presidents have called on Saudi Arabia to get them out of an oil price bind. Saudi Arabia helped President Ronald Reagan get a leg [...]  More »

Reports that the French gunman responsible for this week’s heinous terrorist crime was wearing a video camera raise disturbing new questions about the future of ongoing symbiotic links between terrorism and media. In her play Our House, the playwright Theresa Rebeck (creator of the new hit show Smash) offers a bold and possibly insightful explanation [...]  More »

This post was written by James Coan, Research Associate at the Baker Institute Energy Forum Gasoline prices may be edging up to $4/gallon but that is not how Americans “experience” the hike. Along with the Brookings Institution, the Baker Institute found that a $70/month increase in gasoline costs corresponded to a decline in American feelings [...]  More »

This post was written by Lavanya Sunder, who interned at the Baker Institute Energy Forum and is a student at Lamar High School Wind power is being squeezed on two fronts. Natural gas prices remain low, limiting the financial incentive to install wind capacity. Meanwhile, the Chinese government continues limit the supply of rare earth [...]  More »

This post was written by Keily Miller, Research Associate at the Baker Institute Energy Forum. Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi’s statement in mid-January that $100 constitutes a “fair” price for a barrel of crude appears to have been met with uncharacteristic agreement across OPEC member states. In an interview with Austrian newspaper Kurier at the [...]  More »