Energy

Texas Issues First Lease for Geothermal Energy Exploration and Development along Gulf Coast
Texas has awarded the state's first lease for geothermal energy production to a company planning to explore the renewable energy's potential along seven Gulf Coast counties. >> Read the Full Article
Bush Proposes Large Increase for Parks Leading up to 100th Birthday Bash
National parks would get extra money next year to prepare for a big birthday bash -- their own. President Bush's 2008 budget, unveiled Monday, would give the National Park Service its largest-ever funding increase in preparation for the park system's 100th birthday in 2016. >> Read the Full Article
Bush Seeks Extra U.S. Energy Research Funds in 2008
The Bush administration Monday asked Congress for $4.4 billion in extra research funds in fiscal 2008 for high-tech areas such as supercomputers and turning wood chips into ethanol, even though Congress has not acted on the Energy Department's 2007 request. >> Read the Full Article
Drought Triggers U.S. Water Wars, Pits Montana against Wyoming
For eight years drought has choked the Bighorn River, chopping 30 miles (48 kilometers) off Bighorn Lake in recent summers and prompting tourists to go elsewhere. And now a U.S. senator from Montana -- anxious to tap the reservoir to feed a downstream trout fishery -- could end Lovell's recreational plans for good. >> Read the Full Article
PM Says Australia Must Put Price on Carbon Emissions
Australia must place a price on carbon emissions to fight climate change, Prime Minister John Howard said Monday in an apparent softening on his refusal to join in global carbon trading. >> Read the Full Article
EU Wants Cleaner Fuel to Combat Climate Change
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed requirements to make fuel for transport vehicles cleaner as of 2011 to cut emissions of gasses that contribute to global warming. >> Read the Full Article
Polar Bears Put Alaska Oil Development on Thin Ice
Until now, the Alaskan oil industry and polar bears have coexisted peacefully, but proposals by the U.S. government to list polar bears as endangered by global warming have cast a shadow on oil development on Alaska's North Slope. >> Read the Full Article
California May Ban Conventional Lightbulbs by 2012
A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. >> Read the Full Article
EPA Plan to Tighten Smog Standards Collides with Bush Goal to Cut Gas Use
Federal scientists want to tighten smog standards, a step that would allow tens of millions of Americans to breathe easier. The plan also would run head-on into President Bush's hopes of weaning Americans from gasoline by using more smog-producing ethanol. >> Read the Full Article
USDA Seeks Land Reserve of 6,250 Acres in Arkansas
Federal and state officials will spend $9.4 million to enroll up to 6,250 acres of land in northeast Arkansas into a program to restore hardwood forests, boost animal populations, improve water quality and sequester carbon, federal officials said on Monday. >> Read the Full Article