All Environment
- German voters follow Merkel down bumpy path to clean energyThe reelection of聽German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a vote of confidence for her ambitious and costly plan to wean Germany off of nuclear and fossil-fuel power. Germany's experiment in a clean-energy transition will have broad repercussions for other countries eyeing a post-carbon future.
- New EPA rules: Coal's future depends on cheap carbon captureThe Environmental Protection Agency's new rules on carbon emissions make carbon capture and storage a make-or-break technology for the coal industry. Ultimately, the fate of the technology and the coal industry lies with market forces, not technical know-how.聽
- Obama proposes cuts in power plant C02 emissions to tackle climate changeThe EPA spoke of the health and other benefits of reining in climate change through reduced C02 emissions, while聽utility industry officials decry a 'war on coal' that will cost jobs and raise electric rates.
- President Obama to press for tougher restrictions on coal power plantsThe president will push forward strict regulations on coal-powered energy that will require plants to limit emissions.
- Colorado flooding puts oil and gas wells underwaterColorado flooding has submerged the state's fracking sites underwater. At least one pipeline has already been confirmed to be broken and leaking, and as the Colorado flooding subsides, it is only expected that more broken infrastructure and leaks will begin to surface.
- Global warming slowing: What does that mean?Global warming is slowing but greenhouse gases keep rising. What's happening? Scientists say the global warming lull is likely due to heat going deep into the ocean and natural climate fluctuations.
- 5.3 earthquake hits Fukushima, near nuclear plant5.3 earthquake in Fukushima did no damage to the prefecture's troubled nuclear plant, according to Tokyo Electric. The 5.3 earthquake hit early Friday morning in Japan.聽
- Alaska dividend: Oil revenue means $900 for each residentAlaska dividend is bigger than last year's payout, but less than half the record Alaska dividend in 2008.
- Officials: No endangered species hurt in Hawaii molasses spillThough more than 26,000 fish, shellfish, and other marine life were killed in the 1,400-ton molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor, health officials say no endangered species were killed.
- The $1.5 trillion oil find in the Gulf of MexicoThe oil industry is quickly mobilizing to make the most of a new play in the Gulf of Mexico said to contain聽15 billion barrels of oil, or more than $1.5 trillion worth based on current prices.
- New twist in Ecuador vs. Chevron caseIn a legal battle that has continued for two decades, the case against Chevron in Ecuador was led by New York lawyer Steven R. Donziger, who is now the target of another lawsuit alleging misconduct and fraud.聽
- Tesla Motors eyes self-driving cars. Are they more efficient?Tesla Motors has jumped into the race to build a self-driving car. Autonomous transport promises greater convenience, safety and energy efficiency than the human-operated vehicles of today. Self-driving cars are the kind futurist, energy-centric issues Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk likes to tackle.聽聽
- Sound and fury over energy nominee Ron BinzRon Binz 鈥 President Obama's pick聽to head an obscure federal agency 鈥 has energy insiders drawing battle lines. Is the聽Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the next flash point in the debate over US energy?
- New climate change map adds a new factor: peopleA new map,聽published this week in Nature Climate Change, assesses the degree to which humans have modified regional landscapes, in addition to how exposed those regions already are to climate change.聽
- Gas prices set record: 1000 days straight above $3 a gallonGas prices averaged more than $3.00 in the US Tuesday 鈥 a record 1,000 days in a row, according to AAA. If we have so much oil in the US, why are gas prices so high?
- Typhoon Man-yi complicates Fukushima nuclear cleanupTyphoon Man-yi brought heavy rain and wind to Japan Monday, raising concerns over the fragile cleanup at the聽Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Workers already struggle to contain contaminated wastewater, and rain from Typhoon Man-yi adds to the complications at Fukushima.
- Antarctic ice sheet melting from below, scientists sayThe Pine Island Glacier, one of the most rapidly melting ice masses in the world, is being rapidly eaten away by warm currents of water below.
- Black swans and the oil market: how to profitBlack Swan events almost always push oil prices higher. Here's why.
- Colorado floods predicted by scientistsColorado, and especially Boulder, Colo., has a history of flash floods. In 2004, the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Center listed a flash flood in Boulder as one of six "disasters waiting to happen" in the United States.
- Can anyone break Russia's hold on Europe's gas?Europeans want cheaper natural gas to jumpstart an economy crippled by high energy costs. The trouble is, alternatives to Russian gas are plenty in theory, but few in reality.