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Energy and the environment

EPA: Decline in carbon pollution from power plants
Heat-trapping gases from U.S. power plants fell 4.6 percent in 2011 from the previous year as plants burned less coal, the biggest source of ...
Solar development absorbing Calif. farmland
There's a land rush of sorts going on across the nation's most productive farming region, but these buyers don't want to grow crops. They want to ...
Energy Secretary Chu to step down
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who won a Nobel Prize in physics but came under questioning for his handling of a solar energy loan, is stepping down.
Dutch court rejects most of Shell spill case
A Dutch court has ruled that a subsidiary of international oil giant Royal Dutch Shell should be held responsible for a pipeline leak poisoning ...
Ford, Daimler, Nissan to research hydrogen cars
Ford is joining with Daimler and Renault-Nissan to speed development of cars that run on hydrogen, with hopes of bringing a vehicle to market in as ...
Halliburton 4Q tops Wall Street expectations
Halliburton's net income for the fourth quarter fell 26 percent because of a decline in North America, where drilling activity slowed and the company ...
Court says EPA overestimates biofuels production
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency is overestimating the amount of fuel that can be produced from grasses, ...
Toyota, BMW working on new battery technology
Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW Group are working together on next-generation batteries for green vehicles called "lithium-air" as their collaboration, ...
In crisis, Greeks turn to wood-burning - and choke
Fireplaces were long a status symbol for Greece's up-and-coming middle class, like the second car and the flat-screen TV. Now, they are increasingly ...
Obama's lofty inaugural ideals run into reality
President Barack Obama's lofty ideals from his inaugural address ran smack into reality Tuesday on the first working day of his second term.
Obama climate pledge faces test on oil pipeline
Environmental groups say President Barack Obama's warning about climate change will soon be tested as he decides whether to approve the Keystone XL ...
Algeria scours Sahara for 5 missing foreigners
Algerian forces scoured the Sahara Desert on Tuesday, searching for five foreign energy workers who vanished during a chaotic four-day battle with ...
Obama pledges to deal with climate change
President Barack Obama pledged in his inaugural address Monday to respond to the threat of climate change, saying the "failure to do so would betray ...
New documentary targets critics of fracking
"FrackNation" is a new documentary that attacks opponents of fracking for oil and gas, but it also raises a bigger question: Is it possible to ...
Government again delays proposed 'fracking' rule
The Interior Department is again delaying a proposed rule that would require companies drilling for oil and natural gas on federal lands to publicly ...
Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon tour Pa. gas drilling sites
Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and Susan Sarandon spoke out against fracking Thursday during a tour of natural-gas drilling sites in northeastern Pennsylvania, ...
Obama to confront oil pipeline, climate change
President Barack Obama's second-term energy agenda is taking shape and, despite the departure of key Cabinet officials, it looks a lot like the first: ...
PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama curbs ambition this time
Despite a relentless workload ahead, President Barack Obama is lighter on his feet in one sense as he opens his second term. Gone are the hundreds of ...
EPA changed course after gas company protested
When a man in a Fort Worth suburb reported his family's drinking water had begun bubbling like champagne, the federal government sounded an alarm: A ...
Interior chief Salazar stepping down in March
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who oversaw a moratorium on offshore drilling after the BP oil spill and promoted alternative energy sources ...
Army's largest solar array dedicated in New Mexico
The U.S. Army dedicated its largest solar energy-producing system on Wednesday at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. The $16.8 million ...
Warplane sale on French agenda in UAE
France's president opened talks with top leaders in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in hopes of pushing ahead efforts to sell up to 60 Rafale fighter jets to the ...
NH $700M case against 2 oil companies begins
Day one of what is expected to be a marathon pollution trial over the gasoline additive MTBE ended Monday with lawyers for the state of New Hampshire ...
Auditor chides EU over energy efficiency funds
The European Union's auditor says that some €5 billion ($6.7 billion) in funds specifically targeted at energy efficiency projects over the past dozen ...