Energy

U.S. Stocks Fall Sharply As Oil Prices, China Spook Investors

6:42pm January 15, 2016

by John Ydstie

China's slowdown and plummeting oil prices have investors spooked, and some are heading for the exits. There's concern the selloff in stocks signals tougher times ahead for the U.S. economy.

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This photo taken Nov. 3, 2015, shows SoCalGas crews and technical experts attempting to safely stop the flow of natural gas leaking from a storage well at the utility's Aliso Canyon facility in Los Angeles. Efforts to plug the well appear to have destabil

Gas Company Understated Benzene Exposure From California Leak

3:23pm January 15, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

SoCalGas wrote about two air samples with high levels of the carcinogen — but not about 12 others, the AP reports. And the LA Times writes that efforts to cap the well appear to have destabilized it.

The federal government will stop issuing new coal leases on some 570 million acres of federal land, under a new plan being released Friday. In this photo from 2013, coal is loaded onto a truck at a mine built on federally controlled land in Montana.

U.S. Announces Moratorium On New Coal Leases On Federal Lands

11:05am January 15, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The change won't affect existing leases, which generated nearly $1.3 billion for the federal government's coal program last year.

Environment

Solar Firms Stop Selling Panels In Nevada To Protest State Rule Change

6:25pm January 13, 2016

by Jeff Brady

The latest battle over state subsidies for the solar industry is in Nevada. Regulators ruled against solar companies and they are closing operations in the state and laying off hundreds of employees.

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U.S. Weather Wet And Wild In 2015, Though No Big Hurricanes

1:25pm January 08, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

The U.S. had 10 weather events in 2015 that cost $1 billion or more in damage, with December the warmest and wettest month on record. Climate scientists blame a warming climate and strong El Nino.

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Is Obama's Hope For Better Fuel Economy Sputtering Out?

1:24pm January 08, 2016

by Scott Horsley

For a while, the president's plan for increasing vehicles' fuel efficiency worked; he said it would save money and reduce carbon pollution. Then came cheap gas, and the improvements have stalled.

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Crews work on a relief well at the Aliso Canyon facility above the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles in early December. A leak has allowed tons of methane to escape into the surrounding neighborhood; stopping it is taking months because of pressure from th

California Declares State Of Emergency Over Months-Long Gas Leak

7:39pm January 07, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Since October, a natural gas storage well near Los Angeles has been spewing hundreds of tons of methane gas each day. The leak isn't expected to be fixed for months.

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Boom Town Presses Pause Amid Dramatic Drop In Oil Prices

4:13pm January 07, 2016

by David Kestenbaum

Two years ago, in January 2013, oil was about $100 dollars a barrel. At that time, towns near new oil fields expanded rapidly, filling up with workers and overflowing revenue. But how are those towns doing now that oil is worth about half what it was then? The Planet Money team checks in with oil workers and residents in Williston, N.D.

Prices, as seen at a gas station in Woodbridge, Va., on Tuesday, are 21 cents a gallon cheaper than this time last year. The drop violates the historic rule that tension such as that currently between key producers Saudi Arabia and Iran causes the cost of

Troubles Are Up In The Middle East, But Oil Prices Are Down. Huh?

7:27pm January 05, 2016

by Marilyn Geewax

In the past, when political tensions increased, oil prices went up too amid supply risks. But now OPEC's power is down and U.S. oil supplies are much greater, helping hold prices steady.

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Volkswagen Over Emissions Software

2:52pm January 05, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

On Monday, the Department of Justice, acting on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed a civil complaint in federal court in Detroit against Volkswagen. The DOJ alleges that nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles had illegal defeat devices installed that impaired emission control systems and caused emissions to exceed EPA's standards, resulting in harmful air pollution.

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