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21. Integrating Approaches to Food, Water, Energy, and the Environment

Author:
Katherine E. Bliss and Katryn F. Bowe
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
On October 27, 2010, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the federal Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality (SWAQ) cohosted a participatory workshop on domestic and international water issues entitled “Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Water Management.” The event convened federal agency experts and influential thinkers from academia, nonprofit organizations, and local communities to share insights across sectors and develop practical, actionable recommendations regarding the management of and access to food, water, and energy both domestically and abroad. A keynote address, two expert panels, and a break-out session structured the day's discussion. David Zetland, senior water economist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, delivered the keynote address. In his remarks, Zetland critiqued the political process through which water and other resources are managed in the United States. His speech set the stage for a rigorous assessment of the challenges in conserving and using water resources efficiently. The first panel focused on identifying research and education gaps that pertain to water, as it relates to food, energy, and the environment. Allan Hoffman of the U.S. Department of Energy moderated the session, which featured speakers Piet Klop of World Resources Institute (WRI), David Reed of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ed Link of the University of Maryland. On the second panel, representatives of the energy industry, academia, and think tanks shared their perspectives on bridging the knowledge gaps identified during the first session. Katherine Bliss of CSIS moderated the second panel, which included Reagan Waskom of Colorado State University, Kirsten Thorne of Chevron, and Paul Faeth of CNA.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Food
Political Geography:
United States, Netherlands, and Colorado

22. China—Leader or Laggard on the Path to a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Future?

Author:
Sarah O. Ladislaw and Jane Nakano
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
There has been a great deal of talk about whether and how China will manage its need to provide enough energy to ensure continued economic growth while avoiding the local and global environmental impacts of its energy production and use. To listen to the political discourse, China is either a global leader on clean energy technologies and transformation or the largest source of emissions with serious, systemic local environmental degradation. How can it at once be a low-carbon leader and a laggard?
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
China

23. Managing the Challenge of Russian Energy Policies

Author:
Keith C. Smith
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the leaders of Russia, including then-President Boris Yeltsin, searched for new methods of continuing to exert influence over the former Soviet-controlled region. The Kremlin at first used an energy blockade to the Baltic States in 1990 in an attempt to prevent their breakaway from the Soviet Union. After that failed, it then focused on the growing opposition in the former republics of the Soviet Union and in East Central Europe to its foreign and economic policies, and in particular on demands that Russian military forces withdraw from the newly independent states. The Kremlin leadership quickly recognized that short of military action, its major foreign policy tool was the denial or threat of denial of access to Russia's vast oil and gas resources. The economies of East European and Central Asian countries, and especially their rail and pipeline infrastructures, had been hardwired by Soviet leaders to assure total dependency on Moscow for their raw materials, including oil, gas, coal, and nuclear fuel.
Topic:
Cold War, Economics, Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, and Oil
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Central Asia, and Soviet Union

24. Crossing the Natural Gas Bridge

Author:
Matthew Frank, Jenna Goodward, Sarah Ladislaw, and Kate Zyla
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
While natural gas can play a critical role during the transition to a secure, low-carbon economy, there are both climate and energy security risks associated with a dramatic shift to natural gas. This paper explores the current role of natural gas in the United States' energy mix, reasons that climate change and energy security policies might increase demand for natural gas, and the implications of such a shift. It concludes with several recommendations for policymakers looking to craft a rational role for natural gas in the U.S. energy sector.
Topic:
Economics, Energy Policy, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
United States

25. Canada as a Minor Ally: Operational Considerations for Relations with the United States

Author:
Christopher Sands
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Good morning. I want to thank the organizers of this year's Canadian Crude Oil Conference for bringing me out here to join you today. Albertan hospitality is hard to beat, and for a kid from Detroit, I am happy to say that I had the chance to live here as a temporary Albertan one summer. My Dad is a professor of geography and urban planning, and one summer our family relocate d to Alberta while he researched a book on the patterns of suburban development in four cities: Edmonton, Calgary, Phoenix, and Houston. It was a great adventure for me, especially camping and hiking in Banff and Jasper. You will get a sense of how long ago this was when I tell you that my souvenir from that summer was a t-shirt with Chewbacca, C3PO, and R2-D2 posing with a bear.
Topic:
Energy Policy and Environment
Political Geography:
United States, Canada, and North America

26. From B2B to G2G: Re-engineering the Canada-United States Relationship

Author:
Christopher Sands
Publication Date:
01-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The new century is marked by a transformation in the economy that is changing the environment in which the United States makes policy regarding Canada, which is already a complex and diffuse process. First: what is new about the new economy? Second, how does the U.S. approach Canada in its policy processes. Third, how does Canada attempt to manage its relations with the United States? Fourth, how can business models help both countries to improve relations?
Topic:
Energy Policy and Environment
Political Geography:
United States, Germany, and North America

27. Managing the Global Nuclear Materials Threat: Policy Recommendations

Author:
Sam Nunn and Robert E. Ebel
Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Despite the end of the Cold War, nuclear weapons continue to pose the most devastating security threat to Americans. Although the risk of a nuclear war destroying civilization has virtually disappeared, the risk that a single nuclear weapon might be used to destroy a major city has increased, particularly given the erosion of control over nuclear material with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nothing could be more central to international security than ensuring that the essential ingredients of nuclear weapons do not fall into the hands of terrorists or proliferant states. Effective controls over nuclear warheads and the nuclear materials needed to make them are essential to the future of the entire global effort to reduce nuclear arms and stem their spread. At the same time, ensuring protection of public health and the environment in the management of all nuclear materials—from nuclear weapons to nuclear wastes—remains a critical priority. Appropriate management of both safety and security worldwide will be essential to maintaining nuclear fission as an expandable option for supplying the world's greenhouse-constrained energy needs in the twenty-first century.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States and Soviet Union

28. Disposing of Weapons-Grade Plutonium

Author:
Robert E. Ebel and John Taylor
Publication Date:
03-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
This panel report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies considers an issue of critical importance to U.S. national security interests: Is the United States now pursuing a well-conceived and effective program of working with Russia to dispose of the vast amounts of separated plutonium that have become excess to the nuclear weapons needs of the two countries?
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia and United States