North America News
The Shale Gas Revolution: Implications for U.S. and Canadian Energy Policy and Asian Energy Security
Sep 06, 2012
North America is enjoying a greater wealth of energy resources, with new technology making it easier to extract natural gas from dense shale rock formations. This increase in supply has caused gas prices to plummet in the United States to approximately $3 per thousand cubic feet, compared to $16 per thousand cubic feet in Asia. With Asia struggling to meet its growing energy demand, countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan are looking toward North America to help diversify their energy imports.
Many in the United States and Canada are interested in fulfilling Asia’s need for gas in order to help diversify trade and boost the economy. Others fear that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will hurt North America’s energy security and that LNG exports may raise domestic gas prices. NBR recently spoke with James Slutz, President and Managing Director of Global Energy Strategies LLC, to better understand this debate and the implications for U.S. energy and foreign policy.
U.S. Drought, Climate Change Could Lead to More Food Crises
Aug 16, 2012
As the world’s largest exporter of corn, soybeans, and wheat, the United States is vital to the global food market. But this summer has seen the country’s worst drought since 1956, and several other key grain-producing regions have been affected by abnormal weather this year as well.
Politics Aside, Debt Fix Is Clear
Aug 03, 2012
The formula to avoid the “fiscal cliff” is simple write Jane Harman and Vin Weber: a bipartisan compromise including spending cuts, entitlement reform and changes to the tax code that was outlined nearly two years ago in The Simpson Bowles Act. “No party can solve these knotty issues alone or without compromise,” the former members of Congress write for Politico.
Negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
Jul 24, 2012
The only major current trade negotiation that the U.S. is engaged in at this time is the negotiation for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement with eight other nations in Asia and the Americas.
CNOOC Buys Alberta's Nexen for $15.1 billion
Jul 23, 2012
On July 20, 2012 Chinese oil corporation CNOOC closed a deal to buy Alberta's Nexen priced at $15.1 billion. This is the largest oversea's purchase by a Chinese company and signals Canada's openness to foriegn investment in the country.
Stephen Clarkson wins APSA Prize for “Does North America Exist?”
Jul 23, 2012
Former Wilson Center fellow Stephen Clarkson awarded with Seymour Martin Lipset Award for best book on Canada politics by the American Political Science Association.
In Search of a Budget Hero
Jun 20, 2012
With the threat of another partisan standoff over the federal budget looming, Senator Mark Udall (D-Colorado) hosted a group of constituents to play a round of Budget Hero. The “serious game” is a fantastically effective tool that should be further deployed to the public, says Udall.
"U.S.-Russian Relations: The Legacy of Jackson-Vanik" Collection Now Available
Jun 05, 2012
A landmark achievement for human rights, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 makes favorable trade status conditional on the freedom of emigration. Almost 40 years later, the amendment is still in effect for certain nations, including Russia, which has complicated the U.S.-Russia trade relationship.
New National Poll: Americans Still Want to be Homeowners
May 22, 2012
Three years after the 2008 financial crisis, America’s housing market still languishes and millions of families are losing their grip on “The American Dream.” A new survey by the Wilson Center finds that despite the bursting of the housing bubble, an overwhelming majority of Americans still feel that homeownership is both important to them and a part of the American Dream. A majority also said homeownership should be a national priority.