All Environment
Arctic temperatures reach 44,000-year high, scientists sayNew research shows that average summer temperatures in the Canadian Arctic are the highest in at least 44,000 years.
Oil prices fall below $100. Still good for US economy?Strong inventories have pushed US oil prices down into double digits, after three months above the $100 range. It's a lift for the US economy, even though the suddenly booming US energy industry will take a small hit.聽
Pakistan looks to Iran to help keep the lights onPakistan may be caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between Iran and Washington, Graeber writes. But given the bilateral interests on the Asian side, it's Washington that may be the odd man out.
Americans taken from oil ship near Nigeria. Why pirates are moving west.Two US citizens were kidnapped from an oil supply vessel off the coast of Nigeria. The incident highlights piracy's shift westward from East Africa 鈥� tighter security and the promise of new oil have made the continent's western coast an increasing target for pirate attacks.- False widow spiders force school in Britain to closeFalse widow spiders, often confused with black widow spiders, have forced the closure of a school in Britain a week before Halloween.聽No one has been bitten by the false widow spiders, according to the school, but local health authorities have advised it to close for the day to deal with the infestation.
Global climate investment hits plateauGlobal climate financing hit $349 billion in 2012, just shy of the 2011 total, according to a new report. But the pause may be just a blip on the screen.
Can Africa dodge 'curse' of new oil wealth?Technology and geology are converging to unlock billions of barrels of oil across much of Africa in the coming decade. Can Africa avoid a 'resource curse' and leverage its mineral wealth to fuel economic development?
Will Europe pass on a shale gas revolution?Europe appears to be hesitant to tap its shale natural gas resources on concerns over fracking, a controversial drilling technique, and continued emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.- Bob Barker spends $1 million for elephants' road tripBob Barker paid for three African elephants to be moved to a sanctuary in California. Bob Barker hosted "The Price Is Right" for 35 years and has long been an animal-rights advocate.
- Alligator snapping turtle discovered in OregonAlligator snapping turtle, native to the Southeast but an invasive species in Oregon, was discovered by the聽Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife last week.聽The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America and can grow up to 250 pounds.聽
Train vs. pipeline: What's the safest way to transport oil?The public debate about the trade-offs between rail and pipeline transportation is relatively new, Johnston writes, but most evidence thus far has found聽that pipelines are safer but have a higher leak-rate than rail.聽
US carbon emissions fall to 18-year low. What's behind it?US carbon emissions fell in 2012 鈥� again 鈥� after peaking in 2007. The Great Recession and a boom in cleaner natural gas are widely credited as driving the reduction, but broader, longer-term shifts are also changing the way Americans use energy.
The age of oil will not last foreverThe oil age may not be over yet, Cobb writes, but projections of shale gas and oil fueling US energy independence are vastly overblown.聽We are wasting precious time being lulled to sleep by the oil optimists when we should be preparing for a post-peak-oil world.
Is the next oil boom under water?Snarled by safety concerns just three years ago, deepwater oil drilling may take deep pockets but it could come with deep rewards, Graeber writes.
Japan nuclear plant radiation cleanup delayed up to three yearsJapan nuclear plant:聽Nobody has been allowed to live in the zone again yet, though the government has allowed day visits to homes and businesses in some places after initial decontamination.
Gas prices: Will they fall to $3 a gallon?Gas prices have plateaued in the past week, but analysts expect fall's broader downward trend to pick up pace again as cooler weather prevails and demand for gas dwindles. National gas prices are likely to get tantalizing close to 鈥� but not quite at 鈥� $3 a gallon. 聽
Architecture meets energy efficiency in future of solar homesHow do you design an attractive, effective, and energy-efficiency solar-powered house? Victor Olgyay, director of Rocky Mountain Institute's building practices, offers some tips.
Kenya: the future of African oil?Kenya is on a fast track to be the聽darling of East Africa from an oil investor鈥檚 perspective, Stafford writes.聽Kenya is set to soar past Uganda, which discovered oil much earlier, but is now having a hard time getting it out of the ground and into the market.聽
How the 1973 oil embargo saved energyForty years ago this month, Arab members of the OPEC oil cartel cut off oil exports to the West. In the decades that followed, the US saw a dramatic boom in energy efficiency.聽Amory B. Lovins, chief scientist and cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, reflects on how it happened.
Dammed, dirty, drained by war: can Iraq's Tigris River be restored?Nature Iraq wants to restore the Tigris, which contributed to the birth of agriculture about 7,000 years ago, to its free-flowing, clean former self. The environmental group is swimming upstream.
