All Environment
Solar garden: Model T of renewable energy?Renewable energy law in Minnesota requires utilities to get 1.5 percent of their power from solar. By Monday, Xcel Energy has to show how it would manage rollout of neighborhood solar gardens. Rather than an expensive home retrofit for renewable energy, solar gardens allow residents to buy shares of solar power.
- Solar garden: Model T of renewable energy?
Renewable energy law in Minnesota requires utilities to get 1.5 percent of their power from solar. By Monday, Xcel Energy has to show how it would manage rollout of neighborhood solar gardens. Rather than an expensive home retrofit for renewable energy, solar gardens allow residents to buy shares of solar power.
UN panel: 'Extremely likely' that human activity behind most global warmingThe UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that the past decade has been the warmest on record and, with medium confidence, that the last three decades are the warmest in 1,400 years.
- UN panel: 'Extremely likely' that human activity behind most global warming
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that the past decade has been the warmest on record and, with medium confidence, that the last three decades are the warmest in 1,400 years.
Progress WatchCleanest air in 50 years! How did New York do it?Air quality in New York and many other US cities has been getting better since the 1970s. One factor in New York's recent improvement: a phase-out of heavily polluting heating oil in older buildings.
Colorado flooding exposes risk to state's oil and gas drillingThousands of gallons of oil have spilled as a result of mass flooding across the state of Colorado. The state has recently experienced a boom in oil and gas drilling and production due to the development of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies.
Energy dilemma: What will Mexico do as it runs low on natural gas?Mexico is not producing enough natural gas to match consumption, despite large reserves.
Global warming: UN climate report warns on emissions, but some signs of progressA UN climate report sounds the alarm on rising greenhouse gas emissions fueling global warming. While the developed world shows some progress in smarter energy use, surging growth in emerging economies threatens to overwhelm that progress, prompting the renewed warning from the UN climate report.
Is Russia's economy running out of gas?With Europe finding new sources of natural gas, and Asian economies looking at Canadian markets, the Russian economy is starting to retreat behind the former Iron Curtain, Graeber writes.
Burmese python trap: Will it work?Federal wildlife officials will test a new trap designed to capture Burmese pythons. The Burmese pythons have overrun the Florida Everglades because they have no natural predators.
Brazil and the future of oil in the AmericasAttention in the run-up to Brazil’s inaugural pre-salt auction has been strikingly dissimilar to the tectonic-shifting announcements of the pre-salt several years ago, Arthur writes. Yet with a mix of emerging market and European players, the list of bidders is perhaps a reflection of the nature of exploration and production in the Americas today.
In US vs. Iran, oil boom gives US an edgeChanging global energy dynamics loom large over the latest attempt to reconcile differences between the US and Iran. Production in the US and Saudi Arabia has boomed in recent years, eroding any leverage Iran might have in the ongoing debate over its nuclear ambitions.
Living in a flood zone? Check your insurance. It may be about to go up.A new federal flood-insurance reform law requires maps to take account of projected sea level rise in designating flood zones, as federal subsidies for properties in flood zones fade to zero.
Azusa fire burns in Southern California mountainsAzusa fire erupted shortly before 6 p.m. Monday and was mostly burning in the Angeles National Forest, away from populated areas. Smoke from the Azusa fire spread over the eastern foothill suburbs of Los Angeles.
Rouhani at UN: Is Iran driving oil markets?Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the UN General Assembly Tuesday in speech that may have wide-ranging repercussions across the global energy sector. Rouhani's speech may be heralded as a sea change for the Islamic Republic, its nuclear work, and the oil market's reaction, Graeber writes.
Japan slow to contain Fukushima leak, says former US regulatorJapan acted too slowly to contain leaks of contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, according to a former US nuclear regulatory chief. Gregory Jaczko said he was surprised how long it took Japan to start tackling the problem at Fukushima.
Keystone pipeline: Five years later, a changed energy dynamicThe Keystone pipeline was first proposed five years ago. A lot has changed since then and the Canadian economy is starting to ponder a future that's less coupled to the US energy market, Graeber writes. TransCanada, with its domestic pipeline proposal, is already hedging its bets on the Keystone pipeline.
Oh deer! Eagle kills deer in startling glimpse of alpha bird behavior.A trip camera in Siberia caught images of a golden eagle attacking a deer. The images are surprising to scientists, but golden eagles in that part of the world are known to hunt larger prey.
Keystone pipeline, climate change, and the problem of fossil fuel demandKeystone pipeline protests are aimed at highlighting the need to address the causes of climate change by reducing our use of carbon-based fuels, Cobb writes. But advocating for a carbon tax might be a better way to spur innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energy production.
Gas prices dip to eight-month low despite Middle East tumultGas prices are at the lowest they've been since late January despite continued unease across the Middle East. Much of the decline in gas prices is part of the seasonal change in supply and demand, but it also reflects a shifting global oil market.
