All Environment
- Tesla battery fires get NHTSA probeThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into battery fires in聽Tesla聽Model S electric cars. The Tesla聽fires broke out in two of the cars in the U.S. after the undercarriage hit metal road debris.聽
- Elk euthanized for being too people-friendlyElk euthanized after video of playful head-butting with photographer goes viral. Officials at Great Smokies National Park said elk was euthanized because he was a threat to people.
- UN climate chief gives coal CEOs verbal smackdownThe U.N.'s chief climate diplomat told coal industry CEOs they need to curb CO2 emissions that cause global warming. She said high-polluting coal plants must be closed and new plants should use technology that trap emissions.
- Eager to change subject, Obama touts healthy energy progressPresident Obama toured a steel plant in Cleveland to highlight job growth in the auto industry and pointed to one area where the US is making advances: energy.
- Typhoon Haiyan: Is an era of super storms upon us?Both the number and intensity of tropical cyclones are likely to rise by the end of the century, as global warming continues to produce fundamental changes in the atmosphere. But that influence on single events such as typhoon Haiyan cannot be seen yet.
- Texas pipeline explosion: Town evacuated, no injuriesTexas pipeline explosion caused by drilling crew that punctured an LNG pipeline. Chevron says controlling the fire and capping the Texas pipeline involved in the explosion could take 24 hours.
- Missing trees: Interactive map shows global deforestationA new map of deforestation reveals that the planet has lost 888,000 square miles of forest since 2000.
- Can Brazil and Iraq sustain world's growing thirst for oil?Unstable Iraq and deep-water Brazil are projected to make up more than half of the global increase in oil production over the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency. It's not impossible, Cunningham writes, but it鈥檚 quite a risky bet.
- Tesla CEO says no recall necessary after Model S firesTesla CEO Elon Musk dismissed concerns over a third battery fire Tuesday, saying the Tesla Motors Model S electric car is among the safest cars on the road. The outspoken Tesla CEO is using his high profile to counter worries about the safety of electric car batteries.
- For US motorists, it's Christmas in November. Gas prices hit 33-month low.Gas prices are the lowest they've been in 33 months in the US, and are projected to approach the $3 mark as the year comes to an end. A combination of ample domestic supplies and light demand are keeping gas prices low, but it may not be enough to boost holiday spending.
- US to be No. 1 oil producer, but it won't lastThe US will lead the world in oil production for two decades starting in 2015, according to a new report. After that, OPEC will reassert its dominance in oil production.
- Snowstorm brings early winter to MichiganSnowstorm drops up to 6 inches in northern parts of Michigan Tuesday. The pre-winter snowstorm caused accidents and was a factor in at least one fatal crash.
- Oil is tearing Libya apartOne of Africa's leading oil states is tearing apart at the seams defined largely along the divisions suppressed during Moammar聽Gadhafi's autocracy, Graeber writes. With 48 billion barrels of proven oil reserves at stake, what's next for Libya may have less to do with political reform than it does with who controls the oil spigots.
- US energy future is a risk management problemThe practiced confidence of oil and gas industry executives, captive Wall Street analysts and fake think tank academics has convinced the public that there is nothing to worry about when it comes to America's energy future, Cobb writes.聽But, the realities of our energy situation suggest that we should have little confidence in such pronouncements, especially given their self-interested nature.聽
- Veterans Day 2013: Why energy jobs are good fit for vetsThe job skill parallels between the military and the civilian energy industry allow veterans to translate their experience into a rewarding career with great opportunities for advancement, Rencheck writes. Our military veterans have the training and leadership skills necessary to tackle the needs of a society with a growing demand for energy.
- What's causing Nigeria's oil spills?Hundreds of oil spills reported in Nigeria every year are ruining the environment and putting human lives at risk. A new report from Amnesty International says spills in the Niger Delta are the result of pipeline corrosion, maintenance issues, equipment failure, sabotage and theft.
- China smog: Can energy efficiency stop 'airmageddon'?China is facing pollution challenges today similar to what Los Angeles faced during the 1980s, a problem that energy efficiency helped mitigate. In China,聽combining cleaner heating fuels with better-insulated buildings is one concrete measure that would support cleaner skies in northern China and beyond, Stranger writes.
- Nuclear fuel: How to store it safelyThe technical aspects for safe and effective used nuclear fuel management are well understood, Franch writes.聽We know in astounding detail the characteristics of used nuclear fuel, and how to design systems and protections to assure proper containment and safeguards.聽
- Will Shell return to the Arctic to drill for oil?Shell has not decided whether it will proceed with Arctic exploration operations next year, Cunningham writes, but the oil major wants to keep its options open.聽Shell鈥檚 Arctic campaign, closely watched by the oil industry around the world, has thus far been tormented by setbacks and controversy.
- Clean energy in big business: How to make it happenMajor companies more than ever before are driving the transition to renewable energy, but that effort is not without hurdles. Seif and Baker offer lessons learned from overcoming the challenges of making big business go green.