In the US, extraction of non-conventional fossil fuels is booming. Investment in extra-heavy and heavy oils, oil shales and sands, tight oil and gas, shale gas and coal seam gas is taking off as companies…
The US remains the most militarily powerful nation on Earth - but will budget cuts bring it back to the fold?
EPA/Zurab Kurtsikidze
The maelstrom surrounding budget cuts that has engulfed the United States over the last twelve months seems no nearer to reaching a satisfactory conclusion. The U.S. Congressional House and Senate currently…
The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a tragedy, but what legacy has it left?
AAP/Bevil Knapp.
It is now two and a half years since the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Both the people and the ecosystem of the Gulf were changed by this massive spill; how well…
The recent death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from cancer comes as no great surprise. The former military leader had rarely been seen in the public eye since December last year when he travelled…
The treatment of Quvenzhané Wallis at this year’s Oscars highlights prejudices that still exist in Hollywood.
Michael Nelson/EPA
Young actress Quvenzhané Wallis was one of many women subjected to derogatory misogynist “jokes” during this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Those directed at her were particularly vicious. When the satirical…
In his Inauguration address on 21 January, Obama placed tackling climate change high on the agenda for his second term. His definitive statement that “we will respond to the threat of climate change” signalled…
A boom in cheap gas is weaning the US off foreign fossil fuels, and that has implications for geo-politics.
EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
Instead of increased reliance on gas imports expected five years ago the US now has an abundance of cheap gas for domestic use, and is even projecting LNG exports. Reliance on oil imports has fallen from…
A sign outside Sandy Hook Elementary School echoes the thoughts of many this week.
AAP/Justin Lane
I have been asked a number of barely concealed variations on the question “What’s wrong with you Yanks?” this week. Lacking anything better, my answer to the American thanatos with guns has been our national…
President Barack Obama hinted at gun reform in his speech at Newtown.
EPA/Olivier Douliery
Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year…
Once the shock of the Connecticut shootings has receded, will US law actually change?
EPA/Justin Lane
It is a form of warfare in urban settings. The recent spate of shootings in the United States have seen the assailants dressed in combat gear – in Aurora, Colorado, an Oregon shopping mall and the latest…
When 20 children - along with six adults - are murdered in cold blood, is there an appropriate response?
EPA/Michael Nelson
There are two ways of responding to deadly violence such as the school shooting in Connecticut. We can respond violently, as a way of protecting ourselves from the fear and anxiety we feel. Or, we can…
Mourners place flowers near Sandy Hook Elementary School after Friday’s shootings.
EPA/Justin Lane
After the mass shooting of children and their teachers in the United States of America a few days ago, some may say it is too soon to make a political point out of a personal tragedy. In reality, it is…
The IEA has made a sketchy prediction that the United States is to be the world’s biggest oil producer within five years.
Zoe52/Flickr
The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil producer by about 2017 and will become a net oil exporter by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) [recently predicted](http://iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/English.pdf](http://iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/English.pdf…
US Marine Corps Camp Schwab: on-site protesters have hindered Japan’s new US airbase construction here to replace the controversial Futenma Air Station.
EPA/Ashimine
Uncle Sam’s military presence in Australia is greater now than ever, and more is on the way. The hundreds of Marines rotational in Darwin since April will grow to 2,500 by 2016, bringing with them more…
Hopes and anxieties: the US’ approach to China’s economy is often tempered by its foreign policy outlook.
AAP
When I taught foreign policy in the United States, my students would often answer one question incorrectly, albeit in a way that speaks to a larger truth about US foreign policy. In lecturing on President…
As New York City firefighters look over two houses struck by trees in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, both Republicans and Democrats worry about the impact on voter turnout.
EPA/Justin Lane
On November 4, 1979 when Jimmy Carter’s presidency depended on gaining the freedom of the US hostages held by Iranian student militants, he was unable to achieve this goal even when it looked like the…
As I write this, Hurricane Sandy remains a very large, powerful hurricane. On Sunday afternoon (local time), Sandy brought winds gusting to 103km/h to coastal North Carolina. Heavy rains are already occurring…
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University