Although it is too soon to tell how the second half of 2008 will be featured in history books, it certainly signifies a critical opportunity for the discipline of economics.

Energy is a large and critical component of the economy. Getting energy policy wrong and adopting unnecessarily costly, economically inefficient policies will negatively affect our standard of living.

If natural resources are unowned, users have little incentive to protect them; if they are owned, long-term stewardship will follow.