Energy & Fuel

As the first of the new wave of electric cars begin hitting the market, both hype and doubt are in plentiful supply.

"Battle lines have been hardening over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline over the last couple of weeks. The pipeline, which will stretch from Alberta in Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast, would nearly double the United States' capacity to import oil made from Canadian oil sands. Canadian oil sands are a plentiful and secure source of oil, but the extraction process is high in carbon dioxide emissions and takes a toll on pristine Canadian forest ecosystems."

"A tightening congressional race in upstate New York could become the first public referendum on shale-gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing."
 

Many Navajo families face a choice between burning coal, which can threaten the safety of their homes and their respiratory health -- or burning propane, which they may not be able to afford.

People in Bokoshe, Oklahoma, say they are sick because the state and EPA have failed to regulated fly ash from a nearby coal-burning power plant.

"Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania signed an executive order on Tuesday effectively banning further natural gas development on state forest lands."

"Members of President Barack Obama's Oil Spill Commission said this week that they were shocked to learn during their months of investigation that federal drilling rig inspectors generally know little or nothing about the process of safely lining and sealing an offshore oil well."

"The federal government announced the first national emissions and fuel economy standards for heavy vehicles on Monday, one of a series of regulatory steps that the Obama administration is taking to increase energy efficiency and reduce atmospheric pollution in the absence of Congressional action on climate change."

"Health and environmental concerns have become a factor in next Tuesday’s Navajo Nation presidential election."

"The U.S. Interior Department on Monday approved a permit for the world's biggest solar power project that will provide electricity to up to 750,000 homes."