natural gas

A well on the outskirts of LA has been spewing natural gas into the air for months. Once it's sealed off, regulators say, it can never be tapped again. Other new restrictions are also being imposed.

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.

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.

Europe has extracted natural gas from organic waste for about a decade, and now it's spreading to the U.S. In Colorado, efforts are under way to produce natural gas from human waste and food scraps.

The U.S. economy turned up encouraging signs for most Americans. Workers can now find more jobs, and drive to them using cheaper gas. And retirement accounts are getting a boost from rising stocks.

Montana has one of the heaviest lifts of any state to comply with the EPA's plan to reduce carbon emissions. But the state is also rich in renewable energy, and the regulations may be a boon to some.

Driven by new regulations and fracking, more coal power plants are retiring for cheaper, cleaner-burning natural gas. But scientists have yet to work out the fossil fuel's imperfect climate footprint.

New York state has banned fracking, but it is considering a plan to allow fracked gas to be stored under Seneca Lake — which isn't sitting well with residents of the state's Finger Lakes region.

When it comes to improving the standard of living for Americans, the middle class could use some help. One Harvard economist says the help is underground, in the form of oil and natural gas.

The report says there are few incidents of tainted water given the number of wells. Energy companies agree. Environmentalists accuse the industry of undue influence over the study.

While lower oil and natural gas prices are great for the wallet, they've led to layoffs. NPR visits Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region, which is still seeing growth in high-paying natural gas jobs.

Anti-fracking activists say they're being targeted by law enforcement agencies that work with the oil and gas industries to monitor threats to infrastructure.