Topic: Alternative Energy

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Where gas prices are highest

Gasoline is a very visible price, and closely watched by many drivers. Petroleum prices impact many products, from food to industrial production. While the cost of crude is the major factor in gasoline price volatility, some countries levy taxes on fossil fuels. Here are ten countries where high gas prices are the norm, according to British insurance firm Staveley Head.
10 best Avengers of all time

Many Avengers have come and gone over the years. But, in my opinion, here are the 10 best.
Top 5 nations that use renewable energy

Here are the top users of renewables, not counting biofuels or hydroelectricity. Numbers indicate country percentage of total global renewable usage.
China's leadership shakeup: Bo Xilai and 4 other names to watch

Five names to keep an eye on as China prepares for a once-in-a-decade leadership change.
Gas prices fact check: Six ideas in Congress, but can they work?

Soaring gas prices have also shown a consistent and significant ability to push members of Congress over the deep end. Here's the experts' take on 6 ideas floating through Congress.

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Consumer Energy Report
Plug-in solar panels: Worth the cost?

At this stage, plug-in solar panels are so early in their development that their quality and effectiveness are questionable. But the idea has potential.
Modern Parenthood
US Navy uses new online game to gather energy security solutions

A new online game developed by the US Navy creates a platform for older kids to contribute ideas on how the military can lessen its dependence on oil, supplementing its current research on energy security.
Where gas prices are highest

Gasoline is a very visible price, and closely watched by many drivers. Petroleum prices impact many products, from food to industrial production. While the cost of crude is the major factor in gasoline price volatility, some countries levy taxes on fossil fuels. Here are ten countries where high gas prices are the norm, according to British insurance firm Staveley Head.
Readers Write: Natural gas won't save America

Letters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of May 21, 2012: Natural gas is a stopgap at best. What are the long-term risks of fracking? The real issue is the huge quantity of water used and chemically contaminated in the fracking process.
Green Economics
Anti-dumping policies can have environmental consequences

Anti-dumping laws don't protect the environment in every industry. In some cases, such restrictions can actually do harm.
China rails at 30 percent tariff on solar panels

China says the US is "deliberately provoking trade friction in the clean energy sector." The US says Chinese exporters were dumping cut-price solar panels in the US market.
US imposes tariff on Chinese solar panels, a victory for US manufacturers

US manufacturers had sought the ruling by the Commerce Department that Chinese firms were dumping solar panels, but the dispute is likely to aggravate US-China relations.
Change Agent
Solar-powered phones recharge Kenya's conversations

An inexpensive solar cell phone made of recycled materials opens new opportunities for people in rural Kenya.
10 best Avengers of all time

Many Avengers have come and gone over the years. But, in my opinion, here are the 10 best.
Private Empire

Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Coll takes a close look at secretive behemoth that is Exxon Mobil.
EPA official resigns over 'crucify' flap

Al Amerdariz, the top EPA official for Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, has drawn fire for referring to Roman crucifixions in saying he'd make examples of environmental offenders.
Don't believe the headlines. Wind farms do not cause 'global' warming.

A recent study published in Nature Climate Change suggests that large wind farms could be pulling down hot air at night, raising the average temperature of the local region. The results of the study, however, have been widely misconstrued in the news media.
How wind farms could cause local (but not global) warming

The atmospheric turbulence caused by large wind farms could cause local temperature increases, a new study indicates.
The Race for What's Left

It's not just oil and gas, warns Michael T. Klare in this first-rate wake-up call. Planet Earth is now in danger of running out of just about everything.
Humongous rogue European satellite spotted hurtling through space

Envisat, a massive European satellite that lost contact with the ground earlier this month has been photographed by a French satellite.
Earth Day technology: the spray-on solar panel?

New firms are challenging conventional rooftop solar by using thin-film technology on windows and even indoors. On this Earth Day, conventional Chinese companies are the cost leaders. But US firms have the technical edge.
Cover Story
With all this natural gas, who needs oil?

It's home-grown, plentiful, and touted as the best way to wean the US off Mideast oil. But there are limits to how far the US can tilt toward a natural gas economy.
Gulf oil spill: Two years later, safety lessons ignored

In its rush to pump more oil, America is ignoring the key lesson of the Gulf oil spill two years ago. Complex drilling, wherever it occurs, comes with unknowable risks.
Natural gas: Should America export its surplus?

A new liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana just received federal approval. But the demand for more export permits has some industrial consumers worried they'll pay higher prices.
Latin America Monitor
Challenges facing Argentina after oil firm nationalization

Retaliation from Spain and a foray into fracking are some of the challenges Argentina may have to navigate, writes a guest blogger.
Consumer Energy Report
Wind power: America's future?

Wind power is currently the largest nonwater source of renewable energy in the US, and its use has grown by 350 percent since 2006.
Germany's solar woes dim the promise of green jobs

Global competition and cuts to government subsidies have plunged Germany's solar-energy industry into disarray. As another manufacturer goes bankrupt, green job growth is in jeopardy.
Report cites fracking-related activities as potential suspect in minor quakes

The rate of minor earthquakes from Colorado to Ohio has quickened in the past decade. But the report doesn't make a direct link between fracking and quakes, notes an Interior official.
Green Economics
Do energy restrictions raise electricity prices?

Do statewide mandates requiring a certain percentage of wind, solar, and other non-carbon resources be used as power sources drive up the cost for consumers?
Change Agent
Three ways Africans are making cheap do-it-yourself electricity

In countries like Kenya and Tanzania, most people lack access to electricity. Wind turbines made from local scrap and a 'Netflix' model for distributing batteries may be solutions.