Blake Clayton says what's really behind New York's epic gasoline lines in the wake of Hurricane Sandy is the problem of getting gas and power to gas stations, with panic buying making things all the worse.
One year after the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Japan is facing a dilemma of how to clean up the disaster and how to meet current and future energy needs, says expert Charles D. Ferguson, even as the global nuclear industry continues to face the accident's aftershocks.
One year after Japan's triple disasters, questions persist about the ability of the world's third-largest economy to rebound and how its struggling political system can mount serious reforms, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.
Almost a year after the Fukushima disaster, fifty-two of Japan's fifty-four nuclear power plants have been shut down. The reactor explosion destroyed the population's trust in nuclear energy. But the atomic lobby--and the country's industrial needs--could block a possible phase-out, writes Wieland Wagner at Der Spiegel.
Damage to Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has reignited debate over the safety of nuclear power and highlighted questions over aging power plants, safety procedures, and waste disposal.
Sheila A. Smith says the short-term prognosis for Japan's electricity supply is uncertain, yet it is the longer term effort to reform energy policy that is vital to resolving the current impasse in Japan's nuclear debate.
Duke Energy's Chairman, President, and CEO Jim Rogers discusses the future of energy in the United States with CFR's Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment, Michael Levi.
Sheila A. Smith says the disasters in Japan must be seen as a catalyst not only for building a stronger Japan but for building stronger systems of regional and global cooperation.
Masaaki Shirakawa, governor of the Bank of Japan, discusses the effects the March earthquake, tsunami, and events surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had on the Japanese economy, as well as the resilience and adaptability of the Japanese people.
Japan's ability to rebound from its triple disaster in March will require more than just rebuilding; it will demand restructuring in areas from energy and farm policy to decentralization of power, write Brian P. Klein and CFR's David S. Abraham.
Nuclear expert John Ahearne says critics should be careful about drawing conclusions when so much remains unknown, but regulators will need to proceed with safety reviews to bolster public confidence.
As Japan struggles to control problems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, it also must grapple with questions about nuclear power in the face of immediate and long-term energy needs.
Before a historic earthquake-tsunami combination killed thousands and triggered a partial meltdown at one of its nuclear power plants, Japan won a reputation around the world for being extraordinarily prepared for disaster. In the aftermath of Fukushima Daiichi, Washington must now evaluate if the United States could do any better than – or even as well as – Japan in similar circumstance.
David S. Abraham says that while the disaster in Japan has brought the nation closer together, it has divided the community of foreigners living there.
In the wake of the accident of Fukushima Daiichi, Davd Biello reports that China will temporarily pause its plan to build the most new nuclear reactors in the world, but it will not halt it.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.