All Environment
Why Shell nixed a $20 billion gas-to-liquids projectWhen Royal Dutch Shell pulled the plug on its US gas-to-liquids project recently, the company said it was because it saw opportunities elsewhere. But abandoning the gas-to-liquids plant speaks much more loudly about shale gas than what Shell is saying in public, Cobb writes.
A Tesla Motors electric car for everyone?Tesla Motors has plans to release a Model E – 'E' for everyone – sometime in 2015. With a price estimated to be around $35,000, the Tesla Motors Model E would in theory offer the average American a long-range electric car for half the price of the current Model S.
Small nuclear reactors get boost from US Energy DepartmentThe US Department of Energy has awarded up to $226 million to support the development of small modular nuclear reactors. Small nuclear reactors can be constructed in factories and shipped to site, cutting costs and avoiding construction delays, but their benefits remain unproven.
Climate change: The warmest November worldwide since 1880How hot was November? NOAA says average global temperature, for water and land surfaces combined, was 56.6 degrees F (13.7 Celsius). It was the 37th consecutive November with above-average temperatures.
Mexico gears up for an oil boom of its ownMexican legislators have passed a reform ending the 75-year state grip on the energy sector in overwhelming fashion. The move is aimed at reversing the decline of Mexico's oil output and attracting outside investment into its considerable natural resources.
Australia approves coal port near Great Barrier ReefA vast new coal port and "shipping super-highway" near Australia's Great Barrier Reef has environmentalists worried.
Cleantech in 2014: reasons to be optimistic for wind, solarCleantech industry-watchers should take heart, Kachan writes. A quiet recovery is already underway in cleantech, a process that should gain even more momentum through 2014.
Grizzly bear comeback? Feds move to delist as a 'threatened' speciesGovernment scientists have recommended that grizzly bears in the Yellowstone area no longer need listing under the Endangered Species Act. But environmentalists warn of a potentially declining bear population tied to climate change.
Budget deal opens new swaths of Gulf for oil, gas drillingThe budget deal working its way through Congress includes provisions that will open up vast new territories in the western Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling. The budget deal allows for the development of oil and gas reserves that cross national boundaries, and sets up a framework for their joint development.
Is the world ready for Iran's oil?Changing energy portfolios are factoring into oil supply and demand equations in the future. The potential for Iran to return to oil markets could particularly shake up OPEC and the global outlook.
Green crude oil from algae gets a boostPhillips 66 and green crude oil pioneer Sapphire Energy, Inc., have agreed to work together to develop crude oil derived from algae to the commercial level. The project offers the promise of a renewable form of domestic oil, but development will take decades.
In Ukraine, an energy balancing actUkraine's recent natural gas deals show that Ukraine will continue to flirt with both East and West, Belinksi writes, and, most of all, move toward energy independence.
Clean energy's rise fuels push for better batteriesAs the use of intermittent energy sources like sun and wind continues to rise, battery storage is increasingly entering the conversation about the nation's electrical grid. A new energy storage mandate in California is pushing the issue further.
Clock is ticking on Midwest coalTrouble for coal is playing out across the country, Cunningham writes, but the results will be particularly important in the Midwest, which will be ground zero for the fight over the changing electricity mix in the coming years.
How much can one state pollute another's skies? Supreme Court to hear case.In a landmark case, the Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday from downwind Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states who want Southern and Midwestern power plants to cut coal-plant emissions.
Russia eyes a shale oil boom of its ownRussia hopes to mimic the success of shale oil in the US with the development of its own hard-to-reach oil reserves. Russia holds the largest deposits of technically recoverable shale oil at around 75 billion barrels of oil.
Nuclear energy: buying local and creating jobsNuclear energy creates onsite jobs and brings millions of dollars into local communities each year, Tuller writes. AREVA TN, a subsidiary of nuclear energy company AREVA North America, has a philosophy of buying and sourcing locally whenever possible.
Can US solar energy compete with Germany's low prices?The growth of the US solar energy industry is impressive, Calhoun and Morris write, but so-called 'soft costs' keep solar prices high in the US, compared to countries like Germany, a champion of solar development.
Shanghai smog hits extremely dangerous levelsShanghai smog closed schools and halted construction Friday as China's financial hub suffered one of its worst bouts of air pollution. The Shanghai smog is attributed to coal burning, car exhaust, factory pollution and weather patterns.
Energy firms push deeper, farther offshore in search of oilMore than three years after 2010's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, energy companies are pushing into deeper waters offshore in search of oil. Consistently high oil prices, the decline of conventional oil fields and new drilling technologies have fostered big investments in ultra-deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
