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Dreams of a New Atlantic-Pacific Passage

By Edward Tenner

Nicaragua’s legislature has approved a plan for a canal to rival Panama’s. But with challenges including financial viability and seismic stability, the canal may be more valuable as a radiant future than as a reality.

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Essays

  • A Roundup: Myriad, Monsanto, and the Supreme Court

    A Roundup: Myriad, Monsanto, and the Supreme Court

    In recent rulings on patents, the Supreme Court spoke with a rare, single voice, devising a framework that encourages ...

    The Supreme Court giveth, and the Supreme Court taketh away, at least when it comes to patents in the field of biotechnology. Thursday’s ruling by the Supreme Court that life sciences ...

  • Putting the Debt in Context

    Putting the Debt in Context

    The deficit is shrinking, but federal debt is at an all-time high. More importantly, how large is the debt burden?

    The shrinking deficit is making headlines; compared with prior expectations, tax revenues have been higher while spending has been lower. But how can we put the deficit and our federal debt into ...

  •  What a Father Taught Me

    What a Father Taught Me

    He helped me penetrate the mystery of fatherhood, even if it is a bit late.

    Father’s Day always leaves me a bit uneasy. It’s like a pair of really big shoes. Every year, I have to walk up and put my feet in them and look silly because I can never fill them. And ...

  • The ECB Delays at Europe’s Peril

    The ECB Delays at Europe’s Peril

    Without bold action from the European Central Bank, it is difficult to see how the European periphery can avoid sinking ...

    The European Central Bank’s recent behavior is all too reminiscent of the Bank of Japan’s past passivity in addressing that country’s deflation problems, for which Japan has paid a ...

  • A Route to Better Roads: The Case for Public-Private Partnerships

    A Route to Better Roads: The Case for Public-Private Partnerships

    As governments across the United States wrestle with the challenge of providing high-quality transportation ...

    It’s easy to take public infrastructure for granted, but events like the recent Skagit River Bridge collapse in Washington State are a sharp reminder of how important infrastructure is to our ...

  • Benghazi Matters

    Benghazi Matters

    The Benghazi attack raises fundamental questions on how to keep America safe and whether to trust the administration. ...

    In the aftermath of the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Benghazi and three other Americans, the Obama administration did the classic dance of political operatives confronted with an ...

  • ‘Environmental Justice,’ EPA Style

    ‘Environmental Justice,’ EPA Style

    If the EPA wants to help low-income and minority populations, it should stick to promoting technologies that reduce ...

    The elitist environmental movement has always had a problem with its limited appeal to low-income minorities, few of whom identify with the upscale, Volvo-driving profile of environmental ...

  • China and the Cyber Challenge

    China and the Cyber Challenge

    Cyber issues will likely determine the tenor of U.S.-China ties over the coming months, and how the United States ...

    As President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at this weekend’s summit, hopes of their developing a strong rapport may be undermined by China's cyber espionage. Indeed, cyber ...

  • 35 Years after Prop 13, Has It Worked?

    35 Years after Prop 13, Has It Worked?

    Often described as the opening shot in the Reagan-era tax revolt, Prop 13 limited California’s property tax rates, but ...

    Today is the 35th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 13. The California ballot initiative limited the state’s property tax rates and transferred responsibility for allocating local ...

  • Putin’s Petro State Approaching Empty

    Putin’s Petro State Approaching Empty

    Russia faces two challenges that will affect its preeminence as an energy supplier and its ability to wield oil and gas ...

    The centrality of hydrocarbons to Russia’s economy is hardly a new issue, but it is one well worth revisiting today. One of the two largest oil producers in the world, Russia accounts for 12 ...

Datapoints

Benghazi Fallout

More Americans disapprove than approve of the way President Obama handled Benghazi.

Benghazi Fallout

Most Viewed Articles

A Roundup: Myriad, Monsanto, and the Supreme Court By Michael M. Rosen 06/18/2013
In recent rulings on patents, the Supreme Court spoke with a rare, single voice, devising a ...
Dreams of a New Atlantic-Pacific Passage By Edward Tenner 06/19/2013
Nicaragua’s legislature has approved a plan for a canal to rival Panama’s. But with challenges ...
Putting the Debt in Context By Steve Conover 06/17/2013
The deficit is shrinking, but federal debt is at an all-time high. More importantly, how large is ...
What a Father Taught Me By Ralph Kinney Bennett 06/16/2013
He helped me penetrate the mystery of fatherhood, even if it is a bit late.
What to Do With Fannie and Freddie By Alex J. Pollock 05/31/2013
The biggest question with the $10 trillion U.S. housing finance sector is what to do with the ...
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