Journal of International Studies

The United States is entering an era of oil and gas abundance. Its new resources will increase U.S. energy security, but they may also undermine climate security—as fossil fuel combustion increases, so too does global warming. Unless Washington enacts a plan to simultaneously advance its competing energy and climate security objectives, it risks squandering the benefits of its new resources and suffering the disastrous effects of climate change. Key Themes New technologies have unlocked vast reserves of fossil fuels in the United States. This abundance will improve U.S. energy security by providing the country with reliable, affordable access to the resources required to meet its development needs. Fossil fuels like those now accessible in the United States account for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are already at alarming levels and will rise further if Washington develops its new resources without reference to their consequences ...

What We Got Wrong About OPEC's Oil Embargo A worker turns a valve to release drilled oil near the Dead Sea, October 9, 2006.  (Eliana Aponte / Courtesy Reuters) T he first U.S. energy secretary, James Schlesinger, observed in 1977 that when it comes to energy, the United States has “only two modes -- complacency and panic.” Today, with the country in the middle of an oil and gas boom that could one day crown it the world’s largest oil producer, the pendulum has swung toward complacency. But 40 years ago this week, panic ruled the day, as petroleum prices quadrupled in a matter of months and Americans endured a traumatic gasoline shortage, waiting for hours in long lines only to be greeted by signs reading “Sorry, no gas.” The cause of these ills, Americans explained to themselves, was the Arab oil embargo -- the decision by Iran and the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut off oil exports to the United States and its allies as puni...