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Energy

A Warmer World

Coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, is in high demand

by Lily Jamali
Apr 26, 2022
While coal is having a resurgence as a fuel source, the spike in its use may not last.
People line up for ice cream in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, near a coal-burning power station. Existing coal plants in the U.S. are being used more, though that’s likely only temporary.
Jeff Swenson/Getty Images
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I've Always Wondered ...

Why do oil companies call themselves “energy” companies? 

by Janet Nguyen
Apr 22, 2022
Over the past several decades, several corporations have tried to distance themselves from being known as oil and gas companies.
A view of a Chevron gas sign in Houston, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Cryptocurrency mining and the environment

Crypto miners use natural gas "stranded" in wells to power energy-hungry rigs

by Andy Uhler
Mar 25, 2022
Usually the gas is burned off at the well. Environmentalists say using it for mining incentivizes more drilling.
If natural gas from oil wells can't be used or sold, it's sometimes flared, as above, or vented into the air. Some cryptocurrency miners see it as a potential energy source.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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A Warmer World

As Lake Powell's water level drops, some in the West must turn to more expensive energy sources

by Savannah Maher
Mar 23, 2022
Hydropower is a diminishing resources in a megadrought.
"The way that we're defining this...is not just about those water volumes, it's also about water quality, and also about access to water for the poor," Pacific Institute President Jason Morrison said about the business-led Water Resilience Coalition.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Cryptocurrency mining and the environment

Crypto miners came to upstate New York for cheap energy. Some regret letting them come.

by Lily Jamali
Mar 11, 2022
The miners have blown through one town's allocation of cheap power, while another has put a moratorium on new mining operations.
Coinmint is using an old aluminum smelting plant as a cryptocurrency mining facility. The plant comes with its own electrical substation with direct hookups to the grid.
Lily Jamali/Marketplace
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As oil companies divest from Russian oil and gas, what happens to their assets?

by Andy Uhler
Mar 1, 2022
The decision by big oil companies like BP and Royal Dutch Shell to walk away from Russian energy puts the industry into uncharted territory.
Royal Dutch Shell, BP and other energy companies are shunning Russian oil and gas in what experts are calling an unprecedented stance.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Why it's tough to wean the West off Russian oil and gas

by Andy Uhler
Feb 24, 2022
For 15 years the EU has been talking about decreasing its dependence on Russia's gas and oil, but it didn't do it intime.
Russia is the main supplier of natural gas and oil to the European Union. Above, oil tank cars on rail tracks near the Siberian town of Tobolsk.
Andrei Borodulin/AFP Getty Images
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What does hitting pause on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline mean for Europe's energy supply?

by Justin Ho
Feb 23, 2022
Europe is trying to pivot away from coal and crude oil, and has limited capacity for liquified natural gas.
Workers building a section of the wall of the Nord Stream 2.
Carsten Koall/Getty Images
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What would it take to reach net-zero global emissions by 2050?

by David Brancaccio and Rose Conlon
Feb 10, 2022
A new report from McKinsey says that achieving net zero by the middle of the century will require over $9 trillion in annual spending between now and then.
A new report from McKinsey says the transition to net zero by mid-century would require over $9 trillion in annual spending.
Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images
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Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline complicates Russia-Ukraine tensions

by David Brancaccio , Meredith Garretson and Rose Conlon
Jan 21, 2022
As Russian troops accumulate at the Ukrainian border, some fear the country could withhold natural gas to Europe in the event of military conflict.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was recently constructed along the Baltic Sea to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe, circumventing Ukraine.
John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
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