It’s not just energy-hungry pot farms: the ties between energy and drugs run deep. Can we develop a national drug policy drawing on the lessons of the domestic oil and gas boom?
Florida’s unique geology means alternative fracking methods would be used, but can aquifers be safely separated from injection wells?
jsjgeology/flickr
There’s a debate over whether fracking should be introduced into Florida, a state with a unique geology and hydrology that introduces a long list of environmental concerns.
Energy empire? A Gazprom facility in Moscow.
imagesbywestfall/flickr
Russia’s energy exports are expanding far beyond oil and gas to include coal, nuclear and refined petroleum products, a trend with far-reaching geopolitical consequences.
Could better regulations have persuaded Woodside not to mothball its Browse gas project?
AAP Image/Richard Wainwright
Woodside’s decision to shelve its $40 billion Browse project off Western Australia’s north is not a disaster, but it does highlight some areas where the gas industry needs to get much smarter.
Dormant: oil rigs in North Dakota stand idle due to a crash in global oil prices.
Andrew Cullen/Reuters
Cheap gas is traditionally a boost for the U.S. economy but this time the economy could be badly hurt because of the domestic drilling boom and financial bets made by the oil & gas industry.
The next president will have little power to slow the growth of renewable energy, sliding oil prices or coal’s decline.
Looking for relief: Southern California Gas Company and outside experts work on a relief well at the Aliso Canyon designed to stop the ongoing natural gas leak.
Dean Musgrove/Reuters
The Aliso Canyon methane leak in California is bad, but it’s only a small portion of the methane leaked from the natural gas industry’s sprawling pipeline and storage infrastructure.
Going down: Prices in Texas in November 2015.
saintseminole/flickr
With cheaper gas, consumers are buying fewer fuel-efficient vehicles – a step backwards on climate, energy security and upkeep of our highway and bridges.
Even oil and gas companies have now started calling for a global carbon tax.
Reuters/Stephane Mahe
An analysis of social media shows climate activists have seized on the Paris climate talks to spread the word, but dialogue with oil and gas industry is absent.
Even if Exxon eludes charges in New York, the attorney general’s investigation sends a message on corporate accountability.
mortaupat/flickr
Until now, the legal system has tolerated corporate deceptions of the public but New York state’s investigation into Exxon on climate could start to rewrite the rules.
What would an environmental economist do?
iip-photo-archive/flickr
Environmental economists have long argued a carbon price is the best way to factor in the social cost of climate change. Did Obama effectively use a carbon price to nix the Keystone XL pipeline?
A fracking well in Pennsylvania, which saw rapid and sometimes-problematic spread of natural gas development.
wcn247/flickr
Fracking fluids in Marcellus shale have contaminated groundwater but new study finds that the source is likely from surface spills, not leaks from underground wells.
Time to move on: Shell’s Kulluk rig being rescued by Coast Guard in 2013.
US Department of Defense
Shell has abandoned oil exploration offshore Alaska for now but a variety of trends are driving the energy industry to take a fresh look at Arctic drilling.
Africa’s rural population benefits very little from the exploitation of oil and gas but often rural people bear the brunt of environmental damage resulting from oil spills.
Reuters/Tife Owolabi
Oil and gas exploration could transform economies and improve lives in Africa, but this is not happening. People living in rural areas are the most excluded from the benefits.