National security

Here’s a peak at what might be the second most cost-effective natural gas resource in the world — and it doesn’t involve hydraulic fracturing. Technically, it is a conventional gas play in Russia but not in the customary use of the word, and it does not involve Gazprom. It’s not conventional because it will take…

For all the advances with hybrid and pure electric vehicles and the attention they are grabbing, personal, commercial and government vehicles around the world will be using enormous volumes of gasoline and diesel fuel for decades to come. Investors and innovators know there is a lot of money to be made improving the efficiency of…

To hear Republican Lisa Murkowski, the ranking Republican  on the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, agree with President Barack Obama on a major plank of blueprint initially outlined by a forward-thinking coalition of business and military leaders — the Energy Security Leadership Council — could lead one to think maybe a rock peeled…

Whether one believes in the threats of a changing climate, or not, businesses are sticking their heads in the sand if they don’t at least acknowledge some degree of risk and manage it accordingly. I find it almost impossible to believe how corporate officers, policymakers, insurers, many investors and coastal property owners – to name…

Call it a coincidence but there are undeniable linkages. Crude oil has risen once again is flirting with $100 a barrel. Meanwhile, legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens is ratcheting up his push for legislation that would boost the development of U.S. shale natural gas reserves and deploy the cleanest burning fossil fuel to supplant products…

The shallow debates and partisan bickering even with the Republican Party does not bode well for a thoughtful, forward-looking evolution of U.S. energy policy after President Obama’s first term. With his administration scaling back commitments to cleaner energy and falling far short of substantive steps to end the “tyranny” of crude oil as he put…

Defenders of the environment and some clean energy advocates are growing more outraged by the week as Barack Obama reverses course on proposed ozone pollution rules amid signals he will approve the application for the massive Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline ready for construction by TransCanada Corp. Figuring he’s got his political ‘bases’ covered…

While the U.S. Congress, President Obama and the Tea Party wrangle over debt ceilings and deficit spending, a far more potent threat looms as a growing number of intelligence experts warn of how a massive solar flare or a nuclear missile detonated above the United States could kill wipe out the power grid, disable consumer…

For the first time, “energy” is a distinct military program or capability at the Pentagon — on par with troops, weapons and cyber skill sets. And with its just unveiled “Operational Energy Strategy” there is hope this ambitious blueprint could trigger significant new efficiency innovations in vehicles and deployment of onsite renewable sources of electricity….

The paucity of information and data available to U.S. citizens about the economic, environmental and health risks, consequences, costs and benefits of all forms of energy is a major impediment to an energy-literate society. More data and more information accessible on the Web and mobile devices almost certainly can help address this conundrum. Comes now…