In case you thought that the battle between Big Oil and alternative fuel had cooled down, Hollywood has proved that the debate is hot enough to inspire soap opera–style drama. The central conflicts in the new reboot of the TV …
Energy
Drawing Battle Lines Over American Coal Exports to Asia
The Powder River Basin in southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming can be as beautiful as its name suggests, but that’s not why mining companies call it home. The region has one of the richest deposits of coal in the …
Why the Shale Gas Industry Needs Regulations for Fracking
You’ll rarely find a business in America—and especially one in the fossil-fuel industry—asking for more regulation. The default mode of industry groups like U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute (API) …
Two Years After the Gulf Oil Spill, Why We Won’t Stop Drilling
It was two years ago today that the Deepwater Horizon—a top-of-the-line offshore drilling rig owned by BP and run by Transocean—experienced a sudden burst of gas from a three-mile long well its crew was drilling in the Gulf …
Clean Tech Support Is About to Fall Off a Cliff. Here’s One Way to Save It
Debt-ridden and sclerotic Japan hasn’t been the go-to example of smart foreign governments since about 1991—that slot is now occupied by China—but there’s one program from Tokyo that the U.S. would be wise to copy. It’s …
Your Time 100 Energy and Environment Influencers
It’s that time of year again—and no, I don’t mean International Jugglers Day, or even worse, Newspaper Columnists Day. It’s the annual unveiling of the TIME 100 list, our roundup of the most interesting and influential people …
Nearly Two Years On, Did the BP Oil Spill Have to Happen to BP?
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill seems to divide people into two categories: those who can’t forget, and those who refuse to remember. In the first camp are Gulf Coast residents and environmentalists who say the region still …
Under Pressure from High Gas Prices, Obama Looks to Streamline Domestic Oil Production
Whenever President Obama isn’t talking about cracking down on subsidies for Big Oil, he’s usually hyping all the work his own Administration has done to support domestic oil production. He has a point—U.S. oil production has …
Crude World
Every day, the world burns through more than 87 million barrels of oil—and every year, that number gets bigger and bigger. We use oil to power our cars, planes and trucks; our tanks, bombers and rockets. Oil is irreplacable, …