All Energy Voices
Happy Halloween! But ... what's powering your pumpkin?Happy Halloween: Trick or treat? Solar or oil? Even Halloween jack-o'-lanterns have joined the energy debate. When the Department of Energy promoted clean energy and efficiency as pumpkin-carving suggestions, the US oil and gas lobby served up its own Halloween ideas.
Obama Boston speech interrupted by Keystone XL protestersKeystone XL protesters used President Obama's Wednesday speech on health care to put the Canada-Texas pipeline back in the spotlight. Attention has shifted away from Keystone XL in recent months as fiscal debates and health care have overshadowed climate change in Washington.
Walmart: the next clean energy giant?The retail giant Walmart currently has 89 megawatts of solar power at 215 locations and in 2012, Walmart reached a goal of a 20 percent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions.
How 'smart parking' could save a million barrels of oil every daySmart parking uses low-cost sensors, real-time data collection, and mobile-phone-enabled automated payment systems that help drivers quickly find a parking spot, Rucks and Guevara-Stone write. The system reduces car emissions in urban centers by reducing the need for people to needlessly circle city blocks searching for parking.
US extends crackdown on coal overseasThe US will end financial support for new coal projects overseas, except in narrowly defined circumstances, to address rising greenhouse-gas emissions. Can clean energy alone alleviate energy poverty?
Pacific states push for price on carbon. Is it effective?Three western states have joined British Columbia in a regional scheme to put a price on carbon and implement other emissions-reducing policies. If successful, it could be a model for other regions, but questions remain over the efficacy of taxing carbon.
Morocco in spotlight amid Libya oil disruptionsOil companies operating in the once-mighty Libya are reviewing their commitments more than two years after the revolution there. Further west, however, sits Morocco, where some oil companies are eagerly laying the groundwork for what could be a major oil and gas bonanza.
Why tight oil won't make US energy secureThe US is relying less and less on foreign suppliers to meet its energy needs, but US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says lauding those gains may be misguided in the drive for energy security.
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.
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 – tighter security and the promise of new oil have made the continent's western coast an increasing target for pirate attacks.
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.
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 that pipelines are safer but have a higher leak-rate than rail.
US carbon emissions fall to 18-year low. What's behind it?US carbon emissions fell in 2012 – again – 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. 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.
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 – but not quite at – $3 a gallon.
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 darling of East Africa from an oil investor’s perspective, Stafford writes. 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.
