Energy

You'd never know it from the hype on rising gas prices, but the U.S. is moving toward that elusive goal of oil independence due to the convergence of two factors: falling oil consumption and increasing domestic production over the last half-decade.

March 26, 2012 - The New York Times

New York Times economics writer and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman analyzes two major reasons for increasing oil drilling - reducing unemployment and lowering gas prices, and describes why it does neither.

March 20, 2012 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

A new report attributes a 9% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's power plants in 2009 to the relatively cheap price of generating electricity from natural gas versus coal.

March 19, 2012 - Homeland Security News Wire

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Kaid Benfield profiles the sustainable practices of the most Irish of emblems, Guinness Beer.

March 17, 2012 - Switchboard

Jeffrey Spivak reports on the federal government's pioneering efforts in net-zero building design and construction.

March 12, 2012 - Planning

In this second and final look at how to achieve Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's promise of $2.50 gas, Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal reports on a subsidy strategy discussed in The Atlantic. Earlier he presented a price controls approach.

March 11, 2012 - Marketplace (American Public Media)

The Economist reports on what Europe's tanking carbon market means for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the continent.

March 8, 2012 - The Economist

The short answer is yes, according to this NPR report that includes interviews with energy experts. The boom in shale fracking for oil and natural gas and the zeal of small energy companies is to credit. But UC Berkeley's Don Kammen has his doubts.

March 7, 2012 - NPR

Having just returned from a United Nations-led tour of disaster-ravaged areas of Japan, Warren Karlenzig reports on efforts across the region to rebuild along smart growth and green economic development models.

March 6, 2012 - Common Current

After not partaking heavily in wind power, New York is advancing plans to generate wind power on several fronts, reports Mireya Navarro.

March 4, 2012 - The New York Times

In one of the countries leading the world in green energy adoption, a program to support solar energy has become a victim of its own success, reports Bjørn Lomborg.

February 28, 2012 - Slate

February 27, 2012 - Jonathan Nettler

More than a century after it was first introduced, Sarah Laskow examines the many advantages of using, and reusing, energy in cogeneration power plants, a technology whose time has come.

February 25, 2012 - Good

In what may turn out to be a landmark ruling, the right of Dryden, a New York township adjacent to Cornell University to use its zoning code to ban the controversial drilling technique known fracking was upheld by the N.Y. State Supreme Court.

February 23, 2012 - Pro Publica

Apparently the payroll tax agreement reached on Friday in congress did not extend all tax provisions being considered. The deal allowed a number of tax breaks, including those for wind and solar energy producers, to expire, reports Brad Plumer.

February 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Over the past two years, German funding and Israeli philanthropy led to the construction of solar installations for Palestinians living in "Area C" in the West Bank. Now Israel says the panels are illegal and wants them demolished.

February 18, 2012 - Spiegel Online

An independent analysis insists that Fishermen's Energy's 30-megawatt wind farm project could cause a statewide economic disaster, writes Tom Johnson.

February 8, 2012 - Next American City

Julie Cart writes about the solar power compromises being forged in the deserts of the American Southwest, where the landscape is being sacrificed on the altar of alternative energy.

February 7, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

The new exhibit at Toyko's Mori Art Museum will be the first architecture showcase since the 2011 earthquake, and displays a movement central to the country's history of building and rebuilding.

February 7, 2012 - The New York Times

A new interactive map produced by researchers at Columbia University reveals the energy use of nearly every building in New York City. Besides being an interesting curiosity, the map is a crucial first step in improving energy efficiency.

February 3, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist