Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabian reserves overstated by 40 percent, global production plateau imminent
That we are close to a peak in global oil production should not be a surprise to anyone, but some leaked documents have made the situation even clearer, as the Guardian reports: The U.S. fears that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential […]
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Why do states break down?
They can’t stop what’s coming.Photo: Al Jazeera EnglishUprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and across the Middle East at the start of 2011 have reminded the world just how politically fragile some countries are. But the focus of international politics has been shifting for some time now. After a half-century of forming new states from former colonies […]
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What Obama should know about ending oil subsidies
This post originally appeared on the Great Energy Challenge blog, in partnership with National Geographic and Planet Forward. Despite my seriously mixed feelings about the State of the Union speeches, I tuned in to this year’s speech for the first time in several years. Like many, I was disappointed if not surprised that President Obama […]
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Leaked cables reveal Saudi minister of petroleum helped craft toothless Copenhagen climate accord
Trying to get Saudi Arabia to sign on to an international climate accord is like asking a drug dealer to start a rehabilitation clinic.
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Bicycling to Mecca
"You get an opportunity that traveling by plane or car you don't get. And you learn much more, you discover much more about yourself. It was an existential experience."
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China antes up, bets, and bluffs in the new world oil game
Future historians may well agree that the 21st century Silk Road first opened for business on Dec. 14, 2009. That was the day a crucial stretch of pipeline officially went into operation linking the fabulously energy-rich state of Turkmenistan to Xinjiang Province in China's far west.
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Saudi oil cheaper than American oil
To offshore drilling advocates, the oil-soaked birds washing up on the Gulf shore are a regrettable sacrifice in our pursuit of a higher calling: energy independence. Oil is a nasty business, they admit, but to them, offshore drilling is better than continuing to buy our oil from hostile countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. […]
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Data highlights on the global food supply
World agriculture today faces pressure from many sources. On the production side, the amount of unused arable land worldwide has dwindled. Overworked soils are becoming eroded and degraded, and overpumped aquifers are being depleted. Meanwhile, as the global population grows and increasing biofuel production converts grain into fuel for cars, demand for food continues to […]
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Saudis want aid if world cuts oil use
Let’s call it The Audacity of hOPEC. AP reported last week: Saudi Arabia has led a quiet campaign during these and other negotiations — demanding behind closed doors that oil-producing nations get special financial assistance if a new climate pact calls for substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels. That campaign comes despite an […]
