Energy

Wisconsin hospital is powered by beer and cheese

Gundersen Lutheran Hospital, in La Crosse, Wis., aims to be energy independent by 2014. Hospitals use a ton of energy, so that’s a tough goal to meet. But Gundersen is getting there by piggybacking on Wisconsin’s best-known industries: beer and cheese. Beer and cheese, while delicious, both slough off a lot of gas while they’re […]

Sarah Laskow Energy

Peabody Coal buys coal from U.S. taxpayers for cheap, sells it abroad for huge profit

The feds just sold 400 million tons of mineable coal at bargain-basement prices to a company that's now going to strip-mine public land and screw the climate.

David Roberts Energy

Department of Commerce slaps large tariffs on Chinese solar panels

The U.S. Commerce Department plans to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on Chinese-made solar panels imported into the U.S.

Stephen Lacey Energy

A national clean energy standard is good policy — and good politics

Americans support a clean energy target for this country. So why is the Senate dragging its heels on the Clean Energy Standard Act?

Richard W. Caperton Energy

The answer to our fuel woes might be monster sweet potatoes

Corn ethanol is a good idea in theory — what’s more renewable than a fuel source you plant and harvest every year? But corn is such an inefficient energy source that if we wanted to meet our biofuel goals with corn ethanol alone, they’d have to shoulder out every other crop. You know what yields […]

Jess Zimmerman Energy

Brooklynites: Don’t frack our beer! [VIDEO]

Environmentalists warn New York beer might become a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

Tim McDonnell & James West Energy

Don’t believe the hype: Five things you should know about clean energy investments

As Republicans hold yet another hearing questioning government investment in clean energy, here's what you should know about how that investment supports the U.S. economy.

Stephen Lacey Energy

Power in numbers: Crowd purchasing brings clean energy within reach

Buying wind power or giving your house an energy efficiency facelift can be an expensive proposition. But it’s less so if you team up with a bunch of like-minded friends.

Rebecca Messner Energy

Turbine that looks like a piece of art will fit right in at your yacht club

There are some who believe that those behemoth white wind turbines are beautiful and some (Donald Trump) who believe that they’re a blight on the landscape. Well, here is a wind turbine that will win over both groups. It’s like the Frosted Mini-Wheats of wind energy: The penny pincher in you loves the efficiency, but […]