Natural Resources

Diamonds May Be Forever, Natural Resource Wealth Is Not

Otaviano Canuto | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: Natural Resources, World Bank, Natural Resources Poor Countries, Africa-Diamonds, Poor Countries Natural Resource, World News
Otaviano Canuto

As we and others have argued in the past, the misallocation and mismanagement of natural resource wealth are often associated with weak governance at the domestic level.

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Kirchner Joins the Resource Wars

The European Magazine | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Nationalism, Natural Resources, Argentina, Argentina Repsol, Argentina Shale, Argentina Energy, World News
The European Magazine

Argentina, Bolivia, Egypt: Countries around the world embrace resource nationalism and pursue the nationalization of oil and gas companies.

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Michael Klare's The Race for What's Left

Lawrence Wittner | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Tar Sands, Resources, Natural Resources, Military, Michael Klare, Fossil Fuels, Africa, Oil, Environment, Hydrofracking, Siberia, British Petroleum, Niger, China, Arctic, Renewable Energy, The Race for What's Left, Clean Energy, Books News
Lawrence Wittner

Is it possible to cope with the immense dangers posed by the rapid consumption of the world's resources? In The Race for What's Left, Michael Klare claims that it is -- but only through a significant change in behavior.

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Transparency and Your Natural Resources

Marcelo Giugale | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Transparency, Multinationals, Government, Poverty, Natural Resources, Africa, Developing Countries, Underdeveloped Countries, Oil, Eiti, Cultural Change, Global Warming, World News
Marcelo Giugale

Wouldn't you want to know how much money your government gets from the companies that exploit your country's oil, gas or minerals?

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What BP Owes Americans

Jackie Savitz | Posted 05.06.2012

Read More: Bp, Dudley, Natural Resources, Environmental Policy, Green, Environmentalism, Obama, Pollution, Legal, Gulf Oil Spill, Lawsuit, Politics, Settlement, Contamination, Environment, BP Oil Spill, Toxic Chemicals, Gulf of Mexico, Ocean, Politics News
Jackie Savitz

Given the extreme carelessness of BP and the vast scope of the resulting damage done, a low-end settlement would send the wrong message to BP and the other companies that are drilling in our oceans, telling them that they may not have to pay for future damages they cause.

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In Praise of Inefficiency

Carl Safina | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Farming, Efficiency, Natural Resources, Downsizing, Economics, Inefficiency, Economy, Agriculture, Law of Thermodynamics, Democracy, Music, Fish Hooks, Junk Food, Facebook, Culture, Art, Unemployment, Jobless Rate, Long-Lining, Nature, Fish, Robber Barons, Logging, Dance, Gardening, Fishing, Boats, Fisheries, Green News
Carl Safina

Some people get rich by creating good things, and they support many people. But some people -- they used to be called robber barons -- succeed at others' expense. So just as wealth isn't necessarily bad, "efficiency" isn't necessarily good.

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Grassroots Advocacy at Its Best

Stefanie Penn Spear | Posted 04.04.2012

Read More: Josh Fox, Michael Brune, Natural Resources, Grassroots Activism, Fracking, Big Oil, Anwr, America Environment, Green News
Stefanie Penn Spear

The choice is ours. Do we want to continue to pollute the planet, kill ourselves and have no regard for anything wild, or will more people join the grassroots environmental movement and take a stand against corporations that put profits first?

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Republican Candidates and Congress Quit Climate Change; Private Sector Counters, Creating Consumer Label

Michael Shank | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Violence, Durban, Institute for Economics and Peace, Democratization of Energy, Energy Security, Republican Candidates, Sustainability, Presidential Campaign, Climate Change, Natural Resources, Michael Shank, Usda, South Africa, WindMade Lable, Organic, Companies, Energy, Green News
Michael Shank

We need more of this kind of innovativeness and initiative. The climate isn't cooling anytime soon and it's clear that climate talks will continue to be inconclusive. So companies and consumers, the ball is in your court.

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Smart Resource Management: Good for Nature, People and Business

Mark Tercek | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Energy, The Nature Conservancy, Population Growth, Natural Resources, Water, Green News, Davos 2012, Conservation, Mark Tercek, World Economic Forum, Food Security, WEF 2012, Davos, Wef, World Economic Forum 2012, Business News
Mark Tercek

Rising incomes, of course, are a good thing. But a rapidly growing and more affluent population are straining the natural systems on which natural diversity, human health and prosperity depend.

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Beyond the Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Mark Tercek | Posted 03.26.2012

Read More: Green News, Conservation, Natural Resources, Natural Capital, Davos, Mark Tercek, World Economic Forum, Davos 2012, Green News
Mark Tercek

Water, food and energy security are chronic impediments to economic growth and social stability. But now we need to take the next step, and look at what underlies that nexus.

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Blessed by Nature, Cursed by Politics

Marcelo Giugale | Posted 03.13.2012

Read More: Social Justice, Commodities, Gas, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Norway, Natural Resources, Budget, Rule of Law, Africa, Oil, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Alaska, Minerals, Fiscal Policy, World News
Marcelo Giugale

The evidence is as strong as it is puzzling: countries that have a lot of natural resources -- things like oil, gas and minerals -- tend to be poorer than those that don't.

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Education Is the Answer to Sustainable Development

Kazuhiko Takemoto | Posted 01.21.2012

Read More: Population, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Natural Resources, 7 Billion People, United Nations, Green News
Kazuhiko Takemoto

Changing behaviors now will benefit the rights, health and well-being of future generations to come. It is our shared responsibility to make sure this happens.

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Current Natural Disasters Offer Glimpse Of Future Government Challenges

Posted 12.21.2011

Read More: Video, World Resources Report, Natural Resources, World Resources Institute, World Resources Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Climate Change Policy, Climate Change, Third World Climate Change, Energy Policy, Green News

A new report released this week suggests that world governments need to prepare for the likelihood of climate change in the coming decades, especially...

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Africa's Emergence -- Part II

Marcelo Giugale | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Population Growth, Commodities, Poverty, Agriculture, Africa, Free Trade, Technology, China, Natural Resources, Middle Class, Peace, World News
Marcelo Giugale

Nobody knows how rich Africa actually is -- how much oil, gas, minerals and other resources lie beneath its surface. Less than half of the continent has been geologically surveyed.

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As Central Asia Fragments, Could English Be the Answer?

Cleo Paskal | Posted 11.15.2011

Read More: India, Natural Resources, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, English, Military Bases, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, US, Anglosphere, Kazakhstan, World News
Cleo Paskal

On Christmas Day, 1991, five new countries were born. This year Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan turn 20. A lot has changed.

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Curtis M. Wong

Saving The Rainforest By 'Going Beyond' Fair Trade

HuffingtonPost.com | Curtis M. Wong | Posted 10.25.2011

Read More: Natural Resources, Eliot Logan-Hines, Rainforest, Ecuador, Eliot Logan-Hines Rainforest, Greatest Person of the Day, Good News, Deforestation, Runa Foundation, Fair Trade, Amazon, Ecuador Rainforest, Guayusa, Impact News

Eliot Logan-Hines promised himself he'd save the rainforest at just 6 years old. "I remember watching this creek behind my house [in Austin, Texas...

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Bad News: History Repeats Itself

Pat LaMarche | Posted 10.15.2011

Read More: Lithium-Ion Battery, Native Americans, Washington State, Afghanistan, Natural Resources, Imperialism, Afghanistan War, Politics News
Pat LaMarche

Washington state has a lot in common with Afghanistan. Both are rich in natural resources and both were -- for centuries -- populated by tribal peoples.

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PHOTOS: Nations Most Exposed To Natural Disasters

Posted 10.12.2011

Read More: Floods, Natural Disasters, Japan Earthquake, Natural Resources, Japan Tsunami, Pakistan Floods, Hurricane Katrina, Joplin Tornado, World News

The United States may have to grapple with the highest overall costs for natural disasters, but other emerging nations face other social and economic ...

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Tanana -- Tiny City in Yukon Takes a Giant Renewable Step

Bill Chameides | Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Alaska, Natural Resources, Wood Biomass, Economics, Economy, Renewable Energy, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Duke University, Diesel, Nicholas School of the Environment, Energy Efficiency, Biomass, Bioenergy, Fossil Fuels, Renewables, Duke Alumni, Energy Independence, Recovery Act, Department of Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Forests, Tanana, Garns, Green News
Bill Chameides

In DC, our leaders are arguing over how much of our Alaskan wilderness we should open up for oil and gas extraction. In the meantime, some enterprising folks, with a lot less clout but a lot at stake, have decided to go their own renewable way.

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We Don't Really Know How to Stimulate Sustainable Economic Growth

Steven Cohen | Posted 10.08.2011

Read More: Population Growth, Sustainability, Economic Recovery, Natural Resources, National Debt, Unemployment, Green News
Steven Cohen

How much do we really understand? To what extent are we in new, uncharted territory, where we really do not know the answers? Let's start by reviewing a few new realities that are the reason the old answers may not be sufficient.

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Curtis M. Wong

Fighting To Protect America's Drinking Water

HuffingtonPost.com | Curtis M. Wong | Posted 10.04.2011

Read More: Natural Resources, Mark Ruffalo, Water, Citizens for Water, Greatest Person of the Day, Water Conservation, Hydraulic Fracturing, Joe Levine, Drinking Water, Impact News

Though he's frequently called an activist, Joe Levine would much rather be known as a family man who's simply concerned about the environment and, mor...

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Green With Envy

Eddie Fernandez | Posted 10.04.2011

Read More: Sustainability, Natural Resources, Global Warming, Recession, San Francisco News
Eddie Fernandez

Living in San Francisco, my perception of sustainability and social norms may not quite mirror the rest of the nation, but it has heightened my awareness of many often-debated environmental issues.

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Dan Froomkin

Dodd-Frank Provision: Human Rights Groups Call On SEC To Finalize Rule

HuffingtonPost.com | Dan Froomkin | Posted 09.13.2011

Read More: Corruption, Anti-Corruption, Natural Resources, Extraction, Dodd-Frank, Oil Drilling, International Business, Section 1504, Mining, Africa, Drilling, Ghana, Resource Extraction, Securities and Exchange Commission, Politics News

A major international anti-corruption provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation remains stalled at the Securities and Exchange Commissi...

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Beyond Growth: The Importance of Inclusion

Antoinette Sayeh | Posted 09.06.2011

Read More: Uganda, Social Justice, Natural Resources, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Millenium Development Goals, Low Income Countries, Jobs, Growth, Liberia, Mozambique, Income, Ethiopia, Virtuous Growth Cycle, Inclusive Growth, Education, Tax Regimes, Social Safety Nets, Health, Oil, Tanzania, Income Inequality, Rwanda, Business News
Antoinette Sayeh

An increasing number of African countries have been growing robustly for more than a decade. But while growth is a necessary condition for poverty reduction and employment creation, is it also sufficient?

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Give Africans a Stake in Their Own Wealth

Marcelo Giugale | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Oil, Gas Prices, Alaska, Commodities, Dividends, Africa, Corruption, Natural Resources, Biometrics, Environment, Accountability, Direct Dividend Transfer, Developing Economies, World News
Marcelo Giugale

For a lot of sensible people, natural resource wealth is actually a "curse," not a blessing. Is there a way to avoid the curse?

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