natural gas

U.S. pauses build-out of natural gas export terminals to weigh climate impacts

5:30am January 27, 2024

by Halle Parker

The Biden administration announced Friday it's temporarily freezing any new natural gas export facilities while the Department of Energy reviews the implications on climate change.

Image shows pipeline construction in West Virginia

Politics & Government

Revisions to pipeline extension project raise concerns

3:55pm January 26, 2024

by Paul Garber

Developers of a natural gas pipeline from Virginia into Rockingham County have submitted significant revisions to federal regulators. Critics of the plan, including members of Congress, say the changes raise new concerns.

Ian Billick, a field biologist and the mayor of Crested Butte, Colo., led a push to ban natural gas hookups in new construction as part of an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment

How a utility company fought to keep two Colorado towns hooked on fossil fuels

1:34pm December 21, 2023

by Sam Brasch

Environmental advocates worry natural gas providers are using customer dollars to block local action on climate change. Colorado is one of a handful of states trying to limit the practice.

Queue Listen Now

A 1992 analysis by Duke University and EPA researchers found that children in a home with a gas stove have about a 20% increased risk of developing respiratory illness. A 2022 analysis showed 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. can be attributed to gas stove use in homes.

How gas utilities used tobacco tactics to avoid gas stove regulations

10:21am October 17, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Gas stoves emit potentially harmful pollutants, but utilities and their trade group avoided regulation with tactics perfected by the tobacco industry to cast doubt on science showing health problems.

a section of downed trees that sit atop a ridge near homes along the route of the proposed Mountain Valley pipeline

Environment

NC Gov. Cooper opposes natural gas pipeline extension

3:28pm July 26, 2023

by Bradley George, WUNC

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has joined his Democratic colleagues in opposing a natural gas pipeline that would run through Rockingham and Alamance counties.

The natural gas production and supply system leaks the powerful greenhouse gas methane during drilling, fracking, processing and transport.

Natural gas can rival coal's climate-warming potential when leaks are counted

5:46pm July 14, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Climate-warming greenhouse gasses from natural gas could be as damaging as those from coal, according to a new analysis.

An interview with a federal official set off a culture war fight after he suggested regulators might put stricter scrutiny on gas cooking stoves due to health concerns.

Gas stoves became part of the culture war in less than a week. Here's why

10:06am January 21, 2023

An interview with a federal safety regulator quickly became fodder for outrage, viral social media content and political fundraising.

PRODUCTION - 23 November 2022, Hessen, Frankfurt/Main: Three candles burn in a dark room. (to dpa "Glimmer of hope in the crisis: demand for candles has been booming for years") Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa (Photo by Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Facing an energy crisis, Germans stock up on candles

6:31am December 20, 2022

by Willa Rubin

Germans are on a mission to transform their energy economy and reduce their consumption, including by — apparently — using lots of candles.

The empty assembly line at the Duralex glassware factory in Orléans, France, on Nov. 15.

Europe fears its industries will jet to the U.S. as energy costs force plant closures

5:00am November 25, 2022

by Eleanor Beardsley

Duralex glassware maker is just one company that's suspended operations over spiking energy costs after a cutoff of Russian natural gas.

Workers in Germany construct a new pipeline for transporting natural gas imports from a nearby liquified natural gas facility. European countries are seeking new sources of natural gas, as they wean themselves off imports from Russia.

Environment

Are climate change emissions finally going down? Definitely not

5:01am November 11, 2022

by Lauren Sommer

World leaders are discussing how to get climate change under control, but new reports show the post-pandemic rebound and war in Ukraine are driving emissions even higher.