fossil fuels

A vast array of curved mirrors at the Noor Concentrated Solar Power plant near Ouarzazate, Morocco. The massive facility is part of an agressive effort to develop renewable power in Morocco.

Now blooming in the desert: Morocco's grand dream of energy independence

Morocco is building one of the world's largest solar power plants in the desert east of Marrakesh, using a technology that will allow it to generate electricity well past sundown. It's part of an aggressive strategy to become energy independent.

Now blooming in the desert: Morocco's grand dream of energy independence
China says it will invest another $361 dollars in renewable energy over the next four years and create 13 million new jobs in the sector, building on previous massive investments. The country already has the largest capacity of solar p

Donald Trump sees the future in coal. China sees the future in renewables. Who’s making the safer bet?

Donald Trump sees the future in coal. China sees the future in renewables. Who’s making the safer bet?
A gas flare burns at a fracking site in rural Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

Falling natural gas prices are bad news for some US communities

Falling natural gas prices are bad news for some US communities
Protest in Guba, Azerbaijan.

In oil-rich Azerbaijan, people protest. The government responds with arrests.

In oil-rich Azerbaijan, people protest. The government responds with arrests.
Western Antarctic ice sheet

A prominent scientist says the just-reached COP21 target for climate change may be unrealistic

A prominent scientist says the just-reached COP21 target for climate change may be unrealistic
Justin Trudeau

How a new prime minister will reshape Canada's environmental policies

The presidential race is heating up across America, but north of the border a new face from a fabled political dynasty just romped into power with a landslide win that signals considerable change. Gone is the oil-friendly Stephen Harper and taking over as prime minister is Justin Trudeau, son of popular leader Pierre Trudeau, of the left-leaning Liberal Party. What does this mean for controversial energy projects in Canada and the US?

How a new prime minister will reshape Canada's environmental policies
Opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to run from the Alberta tas sands to refineries in the US finally got their wish on Friday when president Obama pulled the plug on the project.

With Keystone down and Exxon under investigation, it's been a tough week for the oil business

On Thursday, word came that ExxonMobil is being investigated for possibly misleading shareholders on the risks climate change poses to its business. On Friday, President Obama killed the Keystone XL oil pipeline to the US from Canada, citing the threat of climate change from burning fossil fuels. The oil business has seen worse weeks, but perhaps not many.

With Keystone down and Exxon under investigation, it's been a tough week for the oil business
Powder River Basin

Activists to Obama: Stop leasing public land to take out oil, gas, coal

Public lands in the United States hold up to 450 billion tons of potential carbon emissions, in places like the Powder River Basin, home to massive coal deposits, or in offshore petroleum. If, over time, all of these emissions are released, it would be catastrophic for the climate. A new campaign is pressing President Obama to keep them in the ground forever.

Activists to Obama: Stop leasing public land to take out oil, gas, coal
Coal power plant

World leaders announce goal of fossil fuel freedom by 2100 at UN Climate Change conference

Big changes came at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. G7 leaders, including those from historically reluctant Japan and Canada, have agreed to call for a full decarbonization of the world's economy by 2100.

World leaders announce goal of fossil fuel freedom by 2100 at UN Climate Change conference
"Kayaktivists" demonstrate in Seattle's Elliot Bay against the arrival last month of the Shell's massive Polar Pioneer oil rig, rising behind them above the city's waterfront. Shell is using Seattle as a staging area for its new offshore drilling operatio

The road to Arctic oil drilling runs through Seattle. People there are trying to block it.

President Obama has given Shell the green light to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean, but activists and politicians in Seattle are throwing up as many stop signs as they can as the drilling rig preps there for its journey north. It's the latest flashpoint in the growing international anti-fossil fuel movement.

The road to Arctic oil drilling runs through Seattle. People there are trying to block it.
Shanghai smog

IMF: 'True cost' of fossil fuels is $5.3 trillion a year

Fossil fuels generate profits in modern economies in part because the costs of their environmental and health damage are not included in their price. As a move rises to divest from fossil fuels, a new report shows we're significantly underestimating the true cost of fossil fuel use worldwide.

IMF: 'True cost' of fossil fuels is $5.3 trillion a year
Divest Harvard Co-Founder Chloe Maxmin became an activist at age 12

Activists go up against Drew Faust as Harvard refuses to divest carbon

The Harvard University president, who skipped midterms to march in Selma 50 years ago, is facing activists who see her as representative of university's refusal to get rid of investments in fossil fuels. Says one Harvard student: "The leaders I’m supposed to look up to have 100 percent failed me.''

Activists go up against Drew Faust as Harvard refuses to divest carbon