Help power Marketplace this winter when you support the show today. Donate Now!

Fossil fuel demand could peak within a decade, the IEA predicts

Oct 28, 2022
Here's what that might mean for investment in fossil fuels and clean energy.
Getty Images

Study finds persistent coal ash pollution in lakes

Oct 3, 2022
Climate events like more intense hurricanes are spreading the byproduct of burning coal to water used for drinking and recreation.
The coal ash left behind when coal is burned for electricity contains carcinogens and neurotoxins. Wind turbines, like the one above, are favored as an alternative by advocates of battling climate change and reducing pollution.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Fracking flourishes as era of net-zero carbon looms

Aug 15, 2022
The energy industry is emphasizing the controversial technique over traditional drilling, partly for its shorter timetable.
David McNew/Getty Images

Some African countries are benefiting from EU members' search for new energy sources

Jul 19, 2022
South Africa has seen a boom in coal exports. But critics say European countries shouldn't keep feeding their coal habit.
The European Union will stop importing Russian coal in August. Above, coal storage for the coal-fired power plant of the German energy supplier Steag in Duisburg, Germany.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Alaska Airlines, Microsoft and carbon capture firm join forces to develop sustainable fuels

Jul 14, 2022
Sustainable aircraft fuel is tricky — electric batteries and biofuels have big drawbacks. A startup is converting carbon dioxide into jet fuel.
Most existing sustainable fuel options are biofuels, which are made out of animal fat or used cooking oil. Those present their own sustainability challenges.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

It takes a long time to get from a federal drilling lease to actual oil

Jul 6, 2022
Companies have to evaluate their prospects, then come up with a budget and manage crew and equipment logistics.
While the Biden administration has reopened federal land and offshore sites to oil and gas leases, it can take months or years to actually start pumping oil. Above, an oil well in Garden City, Texas.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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

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

For public good, not for profit.

For Europe, quitting Russian coal will be easier than quitting Russian natural gas

Apr 5, 2022
Russia supplies more of the EU's oil and gas than it does coal.
A storage site for a coal-fired power plant in Duisburg, Germany, on April 5. The European Union recently banned imports of Russian coal.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Oil execs ponder a future without oil as they gather in Houston

Dec 7, 2021
We won't stop using fossil fuels right away, but the transition to renewable energy could be tricky.
A poster of an offshore drilling station at the World Petroleum Congress, where the oil industry is discussing its role in the future of energy.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images

Coal prices are high as stockpiles hit new lows

Nov 30, 2021
Coal producers are reluctant to ramp up production because it takes a lot of money. And who knows how long demand will last?
A labor shortage is, in part, limiting a ramp up in coal production.
George Frey/AFP via Getty Images