Overview For decades, oil prices have influenced the outlook for alternatives to oil and policies that support those alternatives. Expensive oil makes substitutes more appealing; cheap oil makes t…

Overview Ukraine faces two severe and immediate challenges: armed pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country and a sharp, nationwide economic deterioration stemming in no small par…

Overview Deforestation is a major man-made source of greenhouse gas emissions, and is especially significant in countries with large tropical forests, including Brazil and Indonesia as well as cou…

Overview In 2010, when China's economy was expanding at an annual rate of more than 10 percent, the world pondered the ripple effects of what many observers thought would be another decade of spec…

Overview Global food prices have spiked several times in recent years, most notably in 2007–2008 and again in 2010–2011. A sharp increase in food prices, especially in staple grains such as corn, …