Complex problems like global warming are difficult to solve because there are so many interests involved — most of them hidden agendas. Can we ever reasonably expect individuals and institutions to reconcile their self-interest with a widely acknowledged social or political objective?

Since 1980, at least one candidate in every presidential election has been an incumbent president or vice president. This year's race has broken the pattern of incumbent candidacy, but that's not its only first.

Ask U.S. consumers about their satisfaction with the existing health care system, and up to 80 percent say major fixes or even a complete overhaul are overdue.

Consumers in the United States who dislike $4.00-a-gallon gasoline had better get used to it. Despite 35 years of talking about the United States becoming energy independent, the U.S. is more dependent than ever on foreign oil — and there's no end in sight.

Arizona's policymakers face crucial decisions about how to ensure that future power needs are met for the nation's second-fastest growing state.

Building the infrastructure necessary to meet Arizonans' rising demand for energy will cost between $74 and $87 billion (allowing for inflation) over the next 25 years. But how to pay those costs — and exactly what type of infrastructure to build — is up for debate.

Public policy-makers and voters need sound, relevant data when making decisions, yet accessing information can be difficult, and often costly. But a national trend to use technology and innovative public and private funding is beginning to change all that.

Arizona's population has ballooned from 2.7 million in 1980 to 6.5 million in 2007. By 2032, the state will have welcomed even more new residents — 4.2 million — for a total of nearly 11 million.

The cover of the New York Times magazine last fall showed an old, disabled speed boat lying on a barren, cracked expanse of earth — which used to be covered with water.

The Phoenix economy "could be worse," says Lee McPheters, director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business. And that's the good news.