All Environment
Tesla Motors expects first profit; Fisker Automotive eyes bankruptcyTesla Motors announced late Sunday it exceded its sales target for its Model S electric car and expects to record a profit for the first time in the company's history. Meanwhile, its biggest luxury electric-car competitor, Fisker Automotive, is exploring filing for bankruptcy.
Oil supermajor drops out of Canadian tar sands projectTotal SA, a French oil supermajor, will sell its 49 percent stake in a Canadian oil sands project. The sale聽raises questions about whether the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project is really in the US鈥� interests, Alic writes.
Spread of Antarctic ice: no longer a global warming paradox?While Arctic ice shrinks to record lows, Antarctic ice has been increasing in winter. New study suggests summer melt in Antarctic is creating a surface layer of freshwater that freezes more readily in winter.聽
How high oil prices lead to financial collapseFinancial collapse is related to high oil prices, Tverberg writes, and also to higher costs for other resources as we approach their limits.
Clean fuel regulations: EPA, oil industry vie over effect on gas pricesEPA on Friday proposed new regulations to require refineries to make cleaner gasoline. The cost? EPA says less than a penny a gallon. Oil industry says nine cents a gallon 鈥� and higher gas prices.
Where do you stand on fracking?Few topics in the energy sector generate more debate than the relative merits and demerits of fracking, Stuebi writes.聽
EPA further limits sulfur. Will higher gas prices follow?The Environmental Protection Agency announced new standards on sulfur in gasoline Friday that many say will lead eventually to a hike in gas prices. The EPA expects a 1 cent per gallon increase; industry says it will be much more.
Pipelines can't keep up with North American oil boomThe oil boom in North Dakota and Western Canada is overwhelming pipeline capacity, Graeber writes. Shipping more oil by rail could help ease the glut.
IMF: End energy subsidiesGlobal energy subsidies reinforce inequality by benefiting the wealthiest, largest consumers of energy, the International Monetary Fund says in a new report. But eliminating them is politically difficult, especially in times of economic hardship.
Roads soak up the sun. Could we use that energy?By using special piping technology, scientists are trying to turn roads into giant solar energy collectors, Peixe writes, but the concept is not without obstacles.聽
Oklahoma earthquake: How oil extraction shifts the ground beneath usOklahoma's largest recorded earthquake is the latest epicenter of a debate over the connection between fossil fuel recovery and seismic activity. To what extent does oil and gas production cause earthquakes? In the case of the 2011 Oklahoma earthquake, a new study suggests the connection is strong.
Do high natural gas prices mean the shale boom is ending?High natural gas prices聽seriously undermine the official story that the US has a century of cheap natural gas waiting for the drillbit, Cobb writes.
A look at clean coal technology in the 21st centuryClean coal technologies impact our daily lives, Gates writes. One of those clean coal technologies is dry sorbent injection, which聽removes hydrogen chloride and other acid gases through two basic steps.
Will nanowires provide a breakthrough for solar power efficiency?Nanowire solar cells could absorb more of the sun's energy than theory, the so-called Shockley-Queisser limit, would allow, a new study says. Such a breakthrough could聽go a long way to make solar a more viable alternative to fossil fuels, though it's still years away from production.
Kansas House pushes for approval of Keystone XL pipelineThe Kansas House of Representatives adopted a resolution Tuesday聽urging President Barack Obama and the State Department to approve permits to allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to begin.聽Federal approval is required because the Keystone XL pipeline crosses international boundaries.
Cyprus bailout: Russia misses chance for natural gasGreek Cypriots have shuffled back and forth to Moscow in an attempt to lure Russia into a bailout package that would have given it a stake in the island鈥檚 estimated 60 trillion cubic feet of natural gas offshore, Alic writes, but the Cyprus offer wasn鈥檛 big enough to tempt the Kremlin.
Did climate change cause the Syrian uprising?Climate change played a role in the Syrian uprising, according to a new study.聽Due to the devastating drought and subsequent lack of food and water in rural areas, hundreds of thousands fled to the cities, where existing problems were only exacerbated by the influx of new mouths to feed, Kennedy writes.
Why Google is spending billions on renewable energyGoogle has already invested around $1 billion in alternative power projects with a combined capacity of more than two gigawatts. These investments have not been just for the benefit of the environment, or to increase Google's sense of wellbeing,聽Peixe writes,聽they are investments made with a goal to making a profit in the future.
Endangered giraffe born in Connecticut centerEndangered Rothschild giraffe 'Petal' gives birth to the first calf born at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center. Two other endangered Rothschild giraffes are pregnant at the Connecticut center.- Endangered giraffe born in Connecticut centerEndangered Rothschild giraffe 'Petal' gives birth to the first calf born at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center. Two other endangered Rothschild giraffes are pregnant at the Connecticut center.