fossil fuel news stories on Newser

20 Most Toxic States

Sarah Whitmire — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:40:05 CDT

Ohio accounts for more air pollution than any other state, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council spotted by LiveScience . The state's power plants pumped out 44.5 million pounds of chemicals in 2009, or 12% of all US industrial air pollution. Overall, US power plants...

US Military Ditching Fuel for Solar Energy

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:52:46 CDT

The US military may be an unlikely poster child for green energy, but with its fuel supply convoys increasingly under attack in Afghanistan, it's working hard to ditch its dependence on fossil fuels—and source its energy from the sun. Last week saw the arrival of portable solar panels and...

As Long as We Use Oil, We'll Spill Oil

Harry Kimball — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:21:37 CDT

The Exxon Valdez oil spill is still wreaking havoc on Prince William Sound 20 years later, and an increased push for drilling in Alaska has conservationists and fisherman girding for a repeat, Yale Environment 360 reports. The decimation of the sound’s herring population has affected everything from seabirds to killer...

Ammonia + Corn = Energy Independence

Harry Kimball — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:09:01 CDT

Feeding cows parts of corn plants that farmers currently discard could eventually lead to American energy independence, Wired reports. An ammonia treatment applied to corn “stover” could make it palatable to cattle, freeing up more land for the production of ethanol, a Michigan State researcher says. That could, in turn,...

Geothermal Energy Hopes Are Booming

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:15:41 CST

Hot rocks beneath the Earth's surface hold much promise for the nation's energy needs, but it's going to take big money to make the science work, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With $1 billion investment over the next 15 years, experts say geothermal power could provide 10% of the nation's...

NASA Launching First Satellite to Map CO2

Harry Kimball — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:22:25 CST

NASA will soon launch a satellite that can measure carbon dioxide concentrations near the surface of the Earth, giving scientists an accurate picture of where the gas is produced and absorbed, the BBC reports. "This is NASA's first spacecraft specifically dedicated to mapping carbon dioxide," said a project leader. The...

Slump May Doom Clean Energy Initiatives

Sarah Quinn — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:25:01 CST

Just as global warming initiatives were gaining serious momentum around the world, the financial crisis looks like it's undermining both the political will and the math that support them, the New York Times reports. With gas prices plummeting, US automakers may be scaling back investment in new technology. In Europe,...

India's Effort to Boost Biofuel Encounters Growing Pains

Clay Dillow — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:36:02 CDT

Just months after India’s finance minister called converting food crops to biofuels “a crime against humanity,” the government has launched a program that aims to get 20% of India’s diesel from plants by 2017, relying heavily on hardy plants that won’t keep rob needed land. But the biofuel crops take...

Drilling Boom Sends Natural Gas Supplies Soaring

Jim O'Neill — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:55:00 CDT

The US is ramping up natural gas production in a manner not seen since the post-World War II boom—scoring a nearly 9% increase through the first five months of 2008, reports the New York Times . The drilling boom comes as new technology is able to release gas long believed...