All Environment
Was the fish you had for dinner caught by slaves? New report raises alarm.A new report out by an Environmental Justice Foundation documents widespread use of Burmese forced labor in the Thai fishing industry.聽The US is one of the largest importers of Thai fish products.
US energy in five maps (infographics) America has a lot of energy. Saxum, an Oklahoma City-based advertising and communications firm, has developed a portrait of the country's vast oil, gas, coal, solar, wind, and other resources (click each image for a larger version):
Apple taps former EPA head Lisa Jackson for clean-energy boostApple's hiring of former EPA head Lisa Jackson comes as Apple and other high-tech firms try to 'green' their energy-intensive operations.聽Silicon聽Valley has been a target of criticism in recent years for聽electricity-draining data centers and pollutants in electronics.
Exxon鈥檚 $100 million algae biofuel investment comes up shortExxon Mobil invested聽$100 million on algae biofuels only to find that it couldn鈥檛 achieve commercial viability, Alic writes. The company had hoped聽to exploit algae as a source of oil that could be converted in existing refineries into transportation fuels on a commercially viable scale.聽
Los Angeles River: Kayaking, fishing come to downtown L.A.Los Angeles River: The river is best known as a concrete backdrop for Hollywood films, but now one portion has been reclaimed as a recreation area 鈥� with perhaps more to come.- Los Angeles River: Kayaking, fishing come to downtown L.A.Los Angeles River: The river is best known as a concrete backdrop for Hollywood films, but now one portion has been reclaimed as a recreation area 鈥� with perhaps more to come.
Senator Boxer calls for probe on California nuclear plantSen. Barbara Boxer (D) of California charges that Southern California Edison intentionally misled regulators in order to avoid an extensive safety review of upgrades to its San Onofre nuclear plant. Senator Boxer has called on the Justice Department to investigate.
Has Canada bet too much on oil?Oil pipelines like Keystone XL and Northern Gateway could help Canada's economic cause in the long term, Graeber writes, but opposition to those projects, and growing interest in renewables, leaves the Canadian economy vulnerable.
Germany pushes to settle EU-China solar trade rowAs China asserts itself as a global leader in photovoltaic manufacturing, the European Union and United States have grappled with how to respond. German聽Chancellor Angela Merkel is leading a cohort of EU member states hoping to negotiate a settlement to a long-simmering trade row over cheap Chinese solar panels.聽
Iran's new president unlikely to reverse tightening sanctionsLast week, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution that would tighten economic sanctions on Iran even further by focusing on oil exports.聽With sanctions tightening on Iran, it's unlikely that any in the pool of candidates for president of Iran have a chance to turn things around, Graeber writes.聽
3 feet of snow for Memorial Day? Yes, in NY.3 feet of snow fall over Memorial Day weekend on Whiteface Mountain in New York. Authorities forced to close mountain highway after 3 feet of snow.
Global protests target Monsanto, genetically modified foodOrganizers say 'March against Monsanto' protests held in 52 nations and 436 cities. Anti-Monsanto rallies sparked by a Facebook page in February.
Energy economics: What's next for gas prices?Mark Thoma, a macroeconomist and time-series econometrician at the University of Oregon, discusses the future of gas prices and clean energy in an interview with OilPrice.com.
Memorial Day travel: myth-busting tips to save gasMemorial Day weekend means taking to the road for many Americans and an estimated $1.4 billion spent to fuel up. Here are tips on how to save gas on your Memorial Day travel.
Energy secretary calls for review of US natural gas exportsErnest Moniz was officially sworn in as secretary of the Department of Energy Tuesday and called for a further review of the proposals before making any final decisions on liquefied natural gas exports. This has somewhat dampened the momentum following the Department of Energy鈥檚 (DOE) decision last Friday to conditionally approve a Texas liquefied natural gas export project, Alic writes.
Hurricane forecast: Three to six 'major' storms could emerge this yearWarm sea-surface temperatures and the long-reaching effect of conditions in the tropical Pacific are among the factors that could mean above-normal activity during the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season.
The race against time for liquefied natural gasDespite substantial gains in US oil and natural gas production, there are restrictions in place on how much of those reserves can reach foreign markets, Graeber writes. Some suggest聽the liquefied natural gas race is going to be a race against time.
Google kite? Tech giant buys 'flying windmill' firm Makani.Google X, the company's secretive research and development arm, has acquired Makani Power, a California-based developer of airborne wind power. Google's purchase of Makani Power reflects the company's interest in renewables and energy innovation.
Tesla repays $465 million loan. Will Energy Department lend to more firms?Tesla $465 million loan is no more. As the Department of Energy gets back its Tesla $465 million loan, the new Energy secretary will have to decide whether to make more such controversial clean-energy loans.聽
Keystone XL: Hot topic in D.C. Ho-hum in rest of US.The House of Representatives issued another symbolic vote Wednesday in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline. But after years of debate, a new poll shows half of Americans have never heard of it. Is anyone listening to the Keystone XL pipeline debate?
