Energy & Fuel

"Federal investigators' findings in the San Bruno pipeline explosion probe suggest that thousands of miles of long-buried and untested natural gas pipelines across the United States are at far greater risk of failure than the industry and government regulators have long maintained, experts say."

"'Revolutionary action' is needed to achieve sustainable development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today told the government and business leaders at World Economic Forum in Davos."

"President Obama visits green-energy companies in Wisconsin as battles brew over spending cuts back in Washington. The day takes on a football theme as Obama, a Chicago Bears fan, receives a Packers jersey and, in a factory visit, quotes Vince Lombardi."

"Democratic senators from the California, Oregon and Washington state launched a new drive Tuesday to ban drilling off the Pacific coast but face long odds of getting the bill past the House’s new Republican majority, especially at a time of high gasoline prices."

"President Obama’s call for Congress to pass a mandate that includes both traditional renewable energy sources like wind and solar as well as GOP favorites nuclear and 'clean coal' may be the driver needed to bang through the most aggressive and politically feasible means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions on Capitol Hill this Congress."

"The United States is poised to bet its energy future on natural gas as a clean, plentiful fuel that can supplant coal and oil. But new research by the Environmental Protection Agency -- and a growing understanding of the pollution associated with the full 'life cycle' of gas production—is casting doubt on the assumption that gas offers a quick and easy solution to climate change."

The oil and gas industry is slurping up available groundwater in parts of South Texas where population growth is exploding and global warming may diminish rainfall. There may be a serious crunch ahead.

"Talisman Energy has resumed its Marcellus drilling operations in Pennsylvania, a week after one of the company's gas wells experienced a blowout that caused an uncontrolled discharge of sand and fracking fluids onto state forest lands in Tioga County."

"A massive feat of engineering by any measure, the Keystone pipeline expansion project would transport crude oil close to 1,700 miles from "oil sands" in the icy reaches of Hardisty, Alberta, down through the Great Plains to the refineries of Port Arthur, Tex. In doing so, the giant pipe also promises to allay some fears about U.S. energy security: The oil will come from a trusted ally, and its cross-continental path avoids visions of another deep-sea drilling disaster."