All Environment
- Florida gas plant explosion rocks central FloridaA Florida gas plant explosion聽sent 'boom after boom after boom' through the central Florida neighborhood around it early Tuesday.聽Several people were injured in the Florida gas plant explosion, with at least three critically injured.
- Quebec train crash: Will oil shipments by rail fall?The Quebec train crash has sparked a flurry of emergency directives to increase railway safety, but there is no sign of shipments of oil by rail slowing as a result, Burgess writes. Indeed, the oil-by-rail industry is set to grow despite the catastrophic derailment, and amid a criminal investigation that has resulted in a raid on the offices of the train鈥檚 operator.
- Philadelphia explosion blamed on gas leakPhiladelphia explosion was caused by a gas leak, officials said Monday. The Philadelphia explosion injured eight people and toppled an unoccupied row house.
- Tropical storm Flossie: Hawaii braces for first direct hit in 20 yearsTropical storm Flossie is weakening as it heads toward Hawaii, but its torrential rains could be 'life threatening.' It would be the first tropical cyclone to make landfall on the islands since 1992.
- BMW i3: With electric car, BMW eyes an urban futureThe BMW i3 is the German automaker's聽first mass-production electric car and offers a panoply of high-tech doodads aimed at an urbanizing global population.聽But it's too soon to tell if the BMW i3, or any electric car, will win wide appeal from a public slow to warm to alternative-fuel technology.聽
- Samet Island coast marred by oil spillSamet Island, a popular tourist destination in Thailand's eastern sea, was in the path of an oil spill that washed up black waves of crude oil on its beaches over the weekend. The Samet Island oil spill came聽from a leak in the pipeline operated by a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company PTT Plc.聽聽
- Earthquakes: Another source of global-warming gas, scientists sayA team of scientists has linked a major earthquake in southwest Asia in 1945 to the ongoing release of methane gas from the Arabian seafloor.
- EU, China settle solar-panel trade disputeChinese companies agree not to sell their solar panels below a specified price in the EU market. EU officials say new agreement will stabilize solar-panel market after steep losses and job cuts by European manufacturers.
- New lake at North Pole? More of a pond, reallyIs the buzz warranted over a new "lake" at the North Pole thanks to global warming? Mostly no. But the Arctic ice is melting.
- Halliburton spill probe resolved. Will BP contractor cut another deal?Halliburton has agreed to pay a fine for its role聽in the 2010 Gulf oil spill, thereby resolving聽a U.S. Justice Department criminal probe. Still, Halliburton, the cement contractor involved in the spill,聽has a powerful incentive to cut another deal with businesses and residents.
- Could Alaska end tax breaks for Big Oil?Republicans in Alaska have long argued that only a massive tax break would give oil companies the certainty necessary to ramp up production to bolster the state economy, but citizens backed by Democrats feel this was a simple giveaway of the state鈥檚 oil wealth and that they won鈥檛 see much in return.
- Tropical storm Dorian: Will it fall apart or head for Puerto Rico?Tropical storm Dorian is projected to weaken over the next 24 hours, only to gain a bit of that strength back four days from now. The center of the storm is currently about 1,500 miles east of Puerto Rico.
- On the road in Texas, where oil is king againThe increase in US oil and gas production buys some time in terms of resource scarcity and depletion concerns, Warren writes. The windfall also brings with it time to wisely reflect about what America鈥檚 energy landscape should look like for the generations that follow.
- Gulf oil spill: Halliburton to plead guilty to destroying spill evidenceGulf oil spill: Halliburton Energy Services has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence in connection with the 2010 Gulf oil spill, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
- Tropical storm Dorian loses strength in Atlantic OceanTropical storm Dorian continued to weaken in the Atlantic Ocean, centered off the coast of west Africa late Thursday, as Flossie spun far from land in the Pacific Ocean.聽Both tropical storm Dorian and Flossie are expected to weaken further over the coming days.
- Gulf rig fire: How safe is offshore natural gas drilling?A Gulf rig fire off the coast of Louisiana underscores the dangers of offshore natural gas and oil drilling.聽Though no sheen was reported during initial surveys after the Gulf rig fire, federal officials said it was time the industry address safety issues in offshore natural gas and oil projects.
- World will use 56 percent more energy by 2040Developing countries are driving the consumption of inexpensive fossil fuels, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Government intervention and international exchanges of low-carbon technology could help mitigate the effects of climate change, experts say.
- Tropical storm Dorian moves west across AtlanticTropical storm Dorian grew stronger Thursday morning as it moved west across the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of west Africa.聽Currently, there are no land threats from tropical storm Dorian.
- Does fracking lead to earthquakes?There is mounting evidence that fracking can cause seismic temblors thousands of miles from the site, King writes. The fracking is not the culprit but rather the disposal of the brine used to do it.
- FocusAs Poland's fracking future turns cloudy, so does Europe'sIf any European country could have a US-like fracking boom, it's Poland. But optimism has waned.