Energy

Laws have banned plastic bags in some places, but taking the next steps requires overcoming some pretty major hurdles.

Fracking has led to a large increase of hydrocarbon emissions in rural areas, reversing some regional air trends.

After decades of stresses, the lesser prairie-chicken faces a brand-new threat: Oklahoma’s wind farms.

Oil surveys in the Atlantic Ocean could harm marine life without benefiting the US economy.

Chronic neglect of energy infrastructure increases vulnerability to extreme weather.

This month brings new books about elephants, energy and an all-too-real mythic figure.

Just two weeks after France said it will no longer allow the sale of gas- and diesel-powered autos after 2040, the United Kingdom has followed suit. In addition, the UK announced it is also exploring ways to tax the dirtiest vehicles on the road as a way to lower current air pollution levels in the most-affected local areas. About half of all cars registered in the UK each year are diesel-powered; electric and hybrid vehicles, although a growing market, still represent a tiny fraction of all new cars sold there. Experts predict that should start to shift in the mid-2020s as prices become more competitive. 

Increases in battery storage capacity will soon transform renewable energy. Battery manufacturing is expected to more than double by 2021, with China leading the charge in building new factories. US states, meanwhile, are already investing in battery storage to support the growth of wind and solar power. This battery boom will help utility-scale energy and individual consumers: a new study finds that batteries could allow solar households to start “defecting” from the power grid in a little over a decade. Just one question remains: where are we going to get the lithium for all of these batteries? 

A new report finds that malnutrition, unsafe water, drought, floods and other environmental dangers affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Citizens of the Silver State may soon be able to go solar once again. A bill going to Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s desk next week would restore net metering, which the state’s utility regulators phased out in 2015. Net metering allows households to sell their excess solar energy back to utilities, making solar panels more affordable. Several solar companies stopped adding new Nevada customers after net metering was shut down. Now Tesla and Sunrun say they plan to come back if the bill is signed.