“We should draw a sharp distinction between oil as a cause of war and oil as an instrument in warfare,” says Dag Harald Claes.

He is a professor of political science at the University of Oslo and has researched oil, energy, and international politics for many years.

Claes has recently published a new book examining the role of energy and oil in wars and conflicts.

Oil has come to symbolize modern war and conflict, he explains.

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When the Strait of Hormuz first closed at the start of the 2026 Iran war, the world braced for the “largest energy crisis in history.” Before the conflict began, almost 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passed through the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran’s blockade of the strait effectively erased 15 million barrels per day from circulation overnight. 

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Will a warming climate and changing weather patterns lead to more grid blackouts and other energy disruptions? Answering that question requires studying both regional climate forecasts and local energy systems, including emerging renewable generation, storage, transmission lines, and demand forecasts. The lack of such studies is one reason why energy developers and grid operators rarely consider climate change when deciding where to build their next project.

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Wind turbines can confuse radar systems on ships and aircraft. Their massive rotating blades create a “blade flash” on radar screens, while their steel bases reflect electromagnetic waves, making it difficult to distinguish the turbines from aircraft or other objects. That’s a problem for the military, which relies on radar for threat detection and navigation. For over a decade, the Pentagon has used a permitting program to review proposed projects and mitigate the effects on radar.

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China has achieved a major milestone in its pursuit of commercial nuclear fusion, with two domestically developed superconducting magnets designed for a fusion reactor successfully passing technical acceptance and full-load testing.[1] This is an important step towards building more efficient and scalable nuclear fusion energy systems.

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President Donald Trump has shown the immense power of the executive branch to stymie offshore wind development, as nearly all projects are in waters where federal agencies operate as the landlord.

Now, as the feds block new permits and dangle billion-dollar buyout offers to convince developers to walk away from their projects, state leaders are hoping some companies share their conviction that the industry can be revived after Trump leaves office.

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