by Christopher Mims. Last month a wind turbine in a North Dakota wind farm suffered a “catastrophic failure” when “oversight” and “human error” — features of energy infrastructure which scientists... 

by Christopher Mims. In the wake of severe natural disasters, how is Japan going to get its electrical infrastructure back online? The Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability has an answer, and it's anything but business... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Obama didn’t say much about climate change in his speech yesterday, even as he laid out some ambitious energy goals . This leaves the media and activists guessing at what his next move will be — he’s... 

by Jess Zimmerman. Chart: Seth Godin Relative to watts produced, coal kills 4,000 times more people than nuclear power. Our pervasive sense that nuclear is more dangerous, when the opposite is so clearly true, comes at least in part... 

Dozens of flood survivors desperate for news of missing relatives lined up outside a morgue in the town of Teresopolis on Saturday as criticism grew of authorities’ response to one of Brazil’s worst natural disasters which... 

The worst flooding in the Australian state of Queensland in 50 years could push up the nation’s fruit and vegetable prices by as much as 20 to 30 percent, lifting inflation and potentially dampening retail spending. Economists... 

The natural forces of the planet were in full swing this year, with some spectacular and devastating consequences. From the massive Haiti earthquake to a bevy of explosive volcano eruptions, 2010 saw its share of natural disasters... 

by Agence France-Presse. CANCUN, Mexico — Negotiators on climate change were raising their hopes Sunday after signs of modest progress in Mexico, but a dispute over the future of the Kyoto Protocol threatened to derail momentum.... 

There were no reported hurricane disasters like Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005. So it is somewhat surprising to hear that according to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,) the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season,... 

by Jonathan Hiskes. David’s been writing lately about the intersection of technology and human habits and culture, arguing that energy is a behavioral challenge as much as a technological one. There’s a prime of example... 

Dust storms scour Iraq. Freak floods wreak havoc in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Rising sea levels erode Egypt’s coast. Hotter, drier weather worsens water scarcity in the Middle East, already the world’s most water-short region.... 

Mount Merapi(literally Mountain of Fire in Indonesian/Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly... 

by Brad Johnson. Cross-posted from the Wonk Room . On May 22, 2010, President Obama  Read More →

by Agence France-Presse. WASHINGTON — The federal government’s pointman for the Gulf oil spill said Monday that a separate entity was needed to coordinate government and company responses to such disasters to avoid public... 

by Jonathan Hiskes. Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) made news with a characteristically rash declaration that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was “ an act of God ” and that he had “full confidence”... 

U.S. officials finally declared BP’s broken well in the Gulf of Mexico “dead” on Sunday, five months after the explosion that set off one of the costliest and largest environmental disasters ever. Retired Coast Guard... 

Looking down upon the Earth gives one the big picture. Up high in the sky are many man made satellites that are designed to look down and send information to various places. NASA is currently designing a pair of robotic probes to keep... 

by Agence France-Presse. WASHINGTON — BP on Monday began drilling the final stretch of a relief well that will allow engineers to permanently seal its disastrous Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling stopped more than... 

by Randy Rieland. If you listen really, really hard, you might be able to detect a pulse for a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Congress comes back to Washington this week and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says (I... 

by Jonathan Hiskes. An explosion from a ruptured natural-gas line killed at least four people and destroyed an entire city block in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno on Thursday night. Also on Thursday, a pipeline burst in a Romeoville,...