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Energy

Energy plays a vital role in the global economy: fossil fuel dependency, the stability of the supply chain, and the prospects for harnessing previously untapped resources affect a range of policy concerns, from national security and international affairs to economic development and climate change. RAND's energy research covers the spectrum from energy conservation and security to emerging technologies and energy use by the U.S. armed forces.

Testimony
Refinery Process Safety Performance and Models of Government-Industry Relations
U.S. safety performance at refineries has not been good by international standards. However, Cal-OSHA inspections of refineries typically find so few hazards that they contribute relatively little to refinery safety.
Jun 12, 2013
Report
Key Trends That Will Shape Army Installations of Tomorrow
Assesses how future trends external to Army installations may affect the Army's ability to provide quality installation services and infrastructure.
Jun 6, 2013
Commentary
Paying for Infrastructure, a Taxing Issue
If the “user pays” idea is worth saving, the United States needs a different calculation, writes Liisa Ecola. Some states are looking at mileage fees. With mileage fees, you pay based on the number of miles you drive, rather than the number of gallons of gas used.
May 16, 2013
Testimony
The Relationship between Natural Resources and China's Maritime Disputes
Media and policy sources often cite natural resources as a primary driver of tensions in the South and East China Seas. In reality, the region’s hydrocarbon potential is moderate. Resource issues function primarily as focal points for more powerful underlying drivers of domestic political legitimacy, popular nationalism, and regional order.
Apr 4, 2013
Commentary
A Gradually Escalating Carbon Tax Would Allow Businesses and Consumers Time to Prepare
A conservative, cost-efficient response to climate change involves sending price signals to people and businesses now so that they take steps to reduce emissions, writes Keith Crane.
Mar 29, 2013
Commentary
Why China’s Suntech Might Not Be Alone in Heading Toward Bankruptcy
As solar power remains more expensive than conventional sources of electricity in most parts of the world, demand for photovoltaic solar panels still primarily depends on government subsidies, says Keith Crane.
Mar 28, 2013
Commentary
Prices Will Still Be Dictated by World Markets and the Middle East Will Continue to Bedevil Policymakers
Even if the United States no longer imports oil from the Middle East, the United States will still be vulnerable to oil price shocks driven by developments in the Middle East, writes Keith Crane.
Mar 27, 2013
Multimedia
An Energy-Independent United States
Energy expert Keith Crane discusses shifts in U.S. energy markets, their economic implications and effects on gasoline and electricity prices, and how these developments might affect climate change.
Mar 20, 2013
Report
The Industrial Base for Carbon Dioxide Storage: Status and Prospects
If policies aimed at large reductions of carbon dioxide emissions are enacted, more carbon capture and storage will be needed. RAND researchers explored the ability of the industrial base to support the expansion of carbon storage.
Mar 18, 2013
Commentary
Transitioning to a Carbon Tax Credit
Instead of setting an arbitrary Production Tax Credit value for producers of renewable energy, we could provide a tax credit based on the social value of clean electricity generation, writes Constantine Samaras.
Feb 20, 2013
Report
Capabilities-Based Planning Can Enhance Energy Security at DoD Installations
Energy security strategies are needed because DoD installations rely on the U.S. commercial electricity grid which is vulnerable to disruption from natural hazards and actor-induced outages, such as physical or cyber attacks.
Feb 20, 2013
Commentary
The Environmental Costs of Emissions from Shale Gas Extraction
Further study, including primary data collection in regions where extraction is occurring, will be important to track the magnitude of emissions and to ensure that Pennsylvania's permit requirements are adequate to protect human health and the environment, writes Aimee Curtright.
Feb 14, 2013
Blog
The State of the Union 2013
The 2013 SOTU address will be remembered for its impassioned call for greater gun control just two months after Sandy Hook. But President Obama's second-term agenda can be characterized by its sheer breadth, reflecting the broad range of policy challenges facing the U.S. today.
Feb 13, 2013
Commentary
Global Methane Initiative: Converting Harmful Emissions to Usable Energy
Carbon dioxide has garnered the most attention in the climate change debate because it accounts for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. But there is good reason to worry about methane, say Nicholas Burger and Noreen Clancy.
Feb 6, 2013
Multimedia
Estimating Regional Air-Quality Damages from Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction in Pennsylvania
RAND physical scientist Aimee Curtright describes RAND research that provides a first-order estimate of air emissions, and the monetary value of the associated damages, from the extraction of shale gas in Pennsylvania.
Jan 31, 2013
Commentary
The Motivations Behind the Amenas Terrorist Attack
An attack of this complexity would have required months of reconnaissance, planning, recruiting of inside confederates, and training of participants. France's intervention in Mali was used to “justify” an attack that would likely have taken place anyway, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Jan 29, 2013
News Release
Examining Different Forms of Organizations for Managing and Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive ...
A federal government corporation and an independent government agency are the two most promising models for a new organization to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.
Jan 11, 2013
Report
Examining Different Forms of Organizations for Managing and Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste
A federal government corporation and an independent government agency are the two most promising models for a new organization to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.
Jan 11, 2013
Research Brief
Options for an Organization to Manage and Dispose of Radioactive Materials
RAND researchers describe the attributes of potential organizational models and the steps needed to choose the form of a new organization charged with managing and disposing of commercial and defense high-level radioactive materials.
Jan 11, 2013
Commentary
The Mirage of the Arab Spring
Like it or not, the United States counts among its allies a number of authoritarian Arab countries, and they are essential partners in protecting its interests, writes Seth G. Jones. The normative hope that liberal democracy may flourish in the future must be balanced by the need to work with governments and societies as they exist today.
Jan 3, 2013

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