Thomas W. Lippman examines a looming food and water crisis in Saudi Arabia.

Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post presents a round-up of views on Obama's recent reversal of the ban on offshore drilling.

Peru has avoided the development problems seen in other extraction-dependent economies, but experts say the country faces governance hurdles, especially on the environment.

Buoyed by high oil prices, Russia finds itself embroiled in a number of disputes with foreign firms looking to tap its underdeveloped oil fields and with its neighbors that grew used to subsidized gas.

Jeffrey Mankoff discusses the oil dispute between Russia and Belarus, and its ramifications for greater Europe.

Ben Casselman and Guy Chazan report on offshore drilling by big oil companies that is made possible by their technological and financial advantages.

Loss of forests is a major contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions. Plans to devise a policy tool for using trees for carbon dioxide sequestration are now under way.

Biodiversity and urban forests can thrive with concrete and people, writes Jared Braiterman, pointing to Tokyo as a city that can serve as an example for sustainable, post-industrial, growth.

The Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing was signed on November 22, 2009.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua's efforts to reform the oil and gas industry have the potential to upset the fragile Nigerian internal political balance among the regions, ethnic and religious groups, and patronage networks, writes John Campbell.

David Victor and Richard Morse examine the economic and political challenges of managing global reliance on coal and reducing coal emissions, and suggest a three-front focus for new global warming policies.

This International Crisis Group brief examines the exploitation of oil revenues in Chad and recommends establishing stricter control and oversight over the oil revenues management mechanism.

Daniel Senor argues, "there is pressure building within the Pentagon to cut forces in Iraq even faster than planned to send more troops to Afghanistan."