Energy crisis news stories on Newser

40% of Americans Think Jesus Will Return by 2050

Jane Yager — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:09:04 CDT

More than 40% of Americans believe Jesus will return to earth by the year 2050, according to a Pew Research Center poll. The poll also found that Americans are optimistic about the future, but less so than a decade ago: 64% expect a rosy future for themselves and their families,...

Greenies Dim Bright Lights in Big City

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:54:17 CST

A dimmer switch looms over Manhattan's bright nighttime skyline, as concerns over conservation and energy costs have prompted skyscraper owners to abandon the practice of blazing all lights at all hours. New York scores a 9 out of 9 on a light pollution scale, and legislators are considering official incentives...

Pickens' 'Energy Plan' Lacking in Actual Detail

Jim O'Neill — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:44:00 CDT

T. Boone Pickens has plenty of ideas about making the US less dependent on oil, and he has plenty of reasons why. But broad generalizations about using wind power to generate electricity and natural gas to power cars doesn’t offer enough “how-to-get-it-done” detail to make it an actual plan, Holman...

Obama: Time to Tap Oil Reserves

Kevin Spak — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:49:01 CDT

Barack Obama called for a release of some of the strategic petroleum reserve today, dubbing the current energy crisis “one of the most dangerous and urgent threats this nation has ever faced.” Campaigning in Michigan, Obama outlined his energy plan, which he says will create 5 million “green” jobs, and...

Bush is Botching $4.11, Just Like He Did 9/11

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:05:37 CDT

If a "crisis is a terrible thing to waste," then George Bush's reactions to 9/11 and the $4.11 average gas cost make him a doubly terrible leader, writes Tom Friedman in the New York Times . Instead of using rising gas costs to spur the nation to energy independence, "Our...

Fuel Crisis a Boon for Rickshaw Business

Kevin Spak — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:32:18 CDT

New Delhi had fallen out of love with rickshaws. Here, as in many modernizing Asian capitals, the bicycle-drawn cabs are seen as embarrassing, street-clogging third-world throwbacks. They’ve even been banned from the city’s older, walled section—but with gas at $7 a gallon, rickshaw peddlers are touting their services once...

Future Sunny for Solar Power

Kevin Spak — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:26:44 CST

Don’t sweat the energy crisis, say scientist Ray Kurzweil and Google co-founder Larry Page, who predict that within 20 years we’ll be getting 100% of our energy from the sun, based on current solar technology and growth trends. Kurzweil’s fortune-telling record is pretty good: He foresaw the fall of the...

$100 a Barrel Oil Triggers Crisis

Peter Fearon — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:11:59 CST

The planet is headed for the third major energy crisis in a generation, but this one may be more serious and last longer than the others, the New York Times reports. Energy crises in the '70s and '80s were triggered by interruptions in supply from the Middle East. This time...