Enron was only a prelude to the current market meltdown. In the wake of the Enron bankruptcy—which was briefly the biggest failure in U.S. history—two key lessons were obvious: Financial regulators needed lots more funding and personnel, and derivatives markets that were allowed to operate without proper regulatory oversight and reporting paved the way for financial engineers to privatize profits and socialize costs.
Read moreSince 2006, Duncan MacLeod has served as a global vice president in charge of Shell Hydrogen. MacLeod, with Shell for over three decades, has held positions in Venezuela, the Caribbean, Nigeria, Japan, and the Netherlands.
Read moreThe huge corn ethanol mandates imposed by Congress a few years ago may be the single most misguided agricultural program in modern American history.
Read moreOn August 22, the American Corn Growers Association endorsed Barack Obama for the presidency. It was only the second time in the group’s 21-year history that it has endorsed a candidate for the White House.
Read moreAs part of the fall elections, candidates will claim to be vigorous supporters of “energy independence.” They will tell voters, “I’m the one who can best deliver America from the dangerous habit of relying on foreign oil.”
Read moreDuring the recent World Petroleum Congress in Madrid, Roberto F. Aguilera presented compelling research (conducted with his father, Roberto Aguilera, along with Thomas Harding and Federico Krause, all of the University of Calgary) about the potential endowment of tight gas deposits around the world.
Read moreBack in October 2005, I wrote an article for Salon.com predicting that U.S. diesel prices would hit $4 or $5 per gallon within 18 months.
Read moreMillions of words have been written about the ongoing financial disaster largely caused by the subprime mortgage mess.
Read moreIf you think that the issue of offshore drilling is only a matter of interest to American environmental groups and the U.S. Congress, think again.
Read moreBig nuclear power plants dominate the headlines and the debate. These projects, involving reactors that produce thousands of megawatts of electric power and requiring many billions of investment dollars, are hotly debated due to their huge costs and concerns about nuclear proliferation.
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