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Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? Storm clouds on the horizon are threatening efforts to tap natural-gas fields deep within the Earth that some scientists say could fulfill the [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? America's electric utilities are looking for a map to guide them through the multitude of environmental mandates coming out of Washington while they [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? Every petroleum crisis in this country -- whether triggered by foreign suppliers flexing their muscles, a price spike at the gasoline pump, or [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? Elizabeth Moler is a great believer in the power of capitalism. During her 40-year career in Washington, she has promoted government policies that [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Climate change will be the dominant environmental issue in Washington for the rest of 2010, whether or not Congress adopts legislation to control green-house-gas emissions. Last [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more?Related Stories* The Green Old Party?* Outlines Of Climate Bill Emerging* The Climate Bill's Gang Of Three Few industry lobbyists or energy analysts are [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more?Related Stories* The Wages Of Climate Inaction* Outlines Of Climate Bill Emerging* The Climate Bill's Gang Of Three Would climate controls have a better [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson // var nameOfShow = 'interior_sites';// width = '450';// height = '383';// Looking for more? Western Republicans are raising a ruckus over the Obama administration's land-use policies, [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? Odds are diminishing that Congress will complete work on climate-change legislation this year, and success is likely to depend on whether Democrats can [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? Will public outcry over high gasoline prices help resolve the climate-change debate in Congress? Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope thinks so. He [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? Major environmental groups are still wrestling with how to respond to President Obama's sudden interest in reviving the nation's nuclear power industry. The [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? In March, the Sierra Club will begin a new phase as 38-year-old Michael Brune takes over as executive director of the San Francisco-based [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson Looking for more? The electric power industry is awaiting a major decision from the Obama administration that experts say will clear the way for construction of [...]

Byline: Margaret Kriz Hobson A controversial but potentially very lucrative way of extracting natural gas by forcefully shooting liquids into rock formations miles beneath the Earth's surface is triggering a [...]

A key electricity industry compromise that helped Democrats move comprehensive climate change legislation through the House is threatening to unravel as the Senate begins negotiations to write global warming legislation. [...]

The article focuses on the implications of the assessment released by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko on the nuclear power crisis in Japan for the nuclear industry in the U.S. The NRC has agreed to examine the safety of the nuclear power reactors located across the U.S. It cites the challenges facing Jaczko in handling the concerns raised in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster without sacrificing his own credibility.

The article explores a trade embargo with Cuba that are hampering U.S. efforts to ensure the safety of the drilling operations and coordinate spill response plans. Spanish energy company Repsol is set to commence exploratory drilling at a Cuban deep-water site located 50 miles from the Florida Keys. The U.S. is said to be considering options to ensure that drilling is performed safely, but Florida lawmakers claim the White House should use every legal and political tool available to stop Cuba.

The article discusses the eruption of a natural gas well owned by Chesapeake Energy Corp. in northern Pennsylvania in April 2011 which contaminated farmland and forced seven families to evacuate. The U.S. administration is being urged by environmentalists and other states to examine the possibility that fracking wells can lead to the contamination of underground drinking water supplies. Meanwhile, the Republic Party is protesting against the moves being made by the U.S. White House in taking a bigger role in natural gas regulation.

The article reports on the controversy facing Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), involving the escalating battle of the government over the costs and benefits of federal environmental protection laws. The administrator asserts that the debate focused on the support for clean air and clean water. The conflict has emerged after a subcommittee in the House Energy and Commerce held hearings on Republican legislation to stop the EPA from regulating the greenhouse gasses.

The article reports on the latest developments in the environmental policy of the U.S. as of November 2011. It cites the increased attention given to proposed climate change policies as environmentalists and business executives are lobbying for them. According to the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming is adversely affecting the earth's atmosphere. The opinion of the coalition group Ceres president Mindy Lubber on the issue is also cited.

The article discusses challenges to be faced by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu as House Republicans try to investigate his role on the department's loan guarantee to the bankrupt solar-panel company Solyndra. Chu will testify before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee which is investigating whether the federal government interceded on behalf of Solyndra investors. Several people are calling for the resignation of Chu.

The article reports on the selection of tar sands oil as a new opportunity for activism by environmental groups in the U.S. The environmental movement is currently campaigning against the construction of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline. A partnership has been formed by environmental groups with Midwestern farmers, land owners, students, and local activists to fight the 7 billion U.S. dollar project.

The article discusses the complaints of some utilities and states about mandates for a nationwide competitive electricity market in the U.S. in 2011. The decision of Congress to allow entrepreneurs to build power plants in the 1990s marked the commencement of the creation of such a market. All utilities were required to join regional planning organizations under the regulations issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July. The benefits of the rule to the groups are cited.

The article focuses on the search of the U.S. for alternate transport energy sources in the light of increasing gas prices in June 2011. A debate is being held on which alternative energy source should be used to replace gasoline. For Energy Secretary Steven Chu it is the application of electricity in cars while 189 House lawmakers favor the use of the U.S. domestic natural gas on the nation's vehicles. The free market and not Washington should decide on what technology should be used, according to conservatives in Congress and tea party Republicans.