What's Behind The Recent Hike In Gas Prices?
Oil prices have jumped sharply in the past two weeks, and the price of gasoline has followed suit. Experts are pointing to everything from the tensions with Iran to a decrease in supply as a possible cause. One expert even thinks the rise in fuel prices could be good for the economy.
How Hackers Could Target Power Plants
Gen. Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency, has warned administration officials that Anonymous - the loosely organized, computer-hacking collective - could have the ability to knock out power stations within the next few years, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Pounding Pavement In Search Of A Smoother Drive
As many of the nation's highways continue to deteriorate, the funds to fix them are dwindling. In California, researchers are developing next-generation pavements that are quieter, more durable and more fuel-efficient, all on a tight budget.
Desert Military Bases Could Be Boon To Solar
Military bases in the California desert could host seven gigawatts of solar power installations--roughly equivalent to the output of seven nuclear plants--according to a study commissioned by the Department of Defense. Study director Robert Kwartin discusses the report.
Approved Reactors Could Power Up Nuclear Industry
Federal regulators signed off on the construction and operation of two nuclear reactors at a Georgia plant. It's the first license to be granted for a new reactor in the U.S. since 1978. Nuclear expert Per Peterson discusses the reactors' design, safety features and what this means for the future of nuclear power.
From Waterfall To Lavafall: Yosemite's Fleeting Phenomenon
If you head to Yosemite National Park this time of year and stop by Horsetail Fall at just the right time, you might see something awesome: As the sun sets, the waterfall glows with streaks of gold and yellow - and it looks just like molten lava.
'If A Tree Falls' Traces Earth Liberation Front's Rise
In the documentary If A Tree Falls, director Marshall Curry tells the story of the rise and fall of the Earth Liberation Front, a group that the FBI once described as America's number one domestic terrorism threat. The film has been nominated for an Academy Award.
'If A Tree Falls': The Earth Liberation Front's Rise
In the documentary If a Tree Falls, director Marshall Curry tells the story of the rise and fall of the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmentalist group that the FBI once described as America's No. 1 domestic terrorism threat. The film was nominated for an Academy Award.
Air Pollution Ups Risk Of Stroke, Impaired Memory
Two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest short and long-term exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of stroke and cognitive declines. Study author Jennifer Weuve discusses the results, and why particulate matter and gases like ozone may harm the body.
Japanese Whalers Lose Bid To Block U.S.-Based 'Sea Shepherd' Activists
A group of Japanese whalers has failed to win an injunction against U.S. anti-whaling activists, as a federal judge refused their request for protections from boats owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The ruling was made in Seattle, where the whalers, known as the Institute for Cetacean Research, had filed suit.
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How Biggest Power Plant In Texas Will Use Pollution To Pump Oil
Texas leads the nation in making and using electricity. Which also means Texas is a leader in the air pollution from all those power plants. But now, there may be a way to reduce some of that pollution by making it disappear — underground.
Keystone Pipeline Sparks Property Rights Backlash
While the White House and Congress continue to hold their ground over the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, the Canadian company that wants to build it is still using its land seizure powers to get property easements for the ambitious project. And it's causing some hard feelings in a politically conservative patch of Texas.
CenterPoint Breaks Ground In East End
CenterPoint Energy will build a new facility in the East End of Houston to house its regional natural gas services.
Waiting For The Next Spicewood Beach
When Spicewood Beach in Burnet County became the first town to run out of water in the current drought, it raised a lot of questions. How could a town perched on the shores of Lake Travis run dry? And which town could be next?
Controlling Iran's Control On Oil
Tensions between Iran and the United States are growing — with Iran threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz which carries oil supplies from the Middle East to the rest of the world. One Houston professor suggests a method for diffusing the situation while providing stability to the oil shipping industry.
Keystone Pipeline's Latest Opponents: Texas Landowners
The Keystone pipeline is again under protest in Houston. This time, critics are challenging how the pipeline company is using "eminent domain" to buy property in order to run the pipeline across the state. It would bring crude oil from Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Pipeline Companies Fight For Right To Take Property
The Texas Supreme Court is expected to decide in coming days whether it made a mistake. A big mistake, according to pipeline companies. The court will decide whether to change an opinion it rendered on the rights of land-owners and whether pipeline companies can force their way onto private land.
Texas Border Battle Over Mexican Company's Coal Mine
A brawl is brewing in South Texas, but this one has nothing to do with cartels or drug smuggling — it's an environmental battle over a proposed surface-mining site that some Eagle Pass residents worry will ruin their way of life
Environmental Experts Gather To Discuss A Cleaner
For the first time, the Houston area's leading environmental organizations have come together to discuss the future of clean air and water over the next few years. The unique summit, hosted by the Citizens' Environmental Coalition, focused on an array of challenges facing the Houston-Galveston region, and ways to fix the problems.
Texas Coal, Mexican Strip Mine
At first glance it looks like good news. Carbon emissions in the U.S. have been on the decline in recent years. Texas, the country's biggest CO2 polluter has started turning away from coal as a source of electricity. But that doesn’t mean the coal is staying in the ground. For the StateImpact Texas project, Mose Buchele reports on the growing export of U.S. coal and how it’s affecting one small Texas town.
The City of Houston is once again the top purchaser of green energy among local governments in the United States. Houston also ranks in the top ten renewable energy consumers in both the public and private sectors.
Drilling's Dangers: What Might Reduce Worker Deaths
We all know about the boom in oil and gas drilling. It's been great for the Texas economy. But it's coming at a price. A disturbing number of the people who do the dirty work are getting injured, or worse. Our StateImpact reporter Dave Fehling has been investigating this.
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