Stories related to: energy

Energy Prices Hammer Suburban Housing Market

New York Times  |  Jun 25, 08 8:17 AM CDT

(Newser) - The soaring cost of energy has started the buck the half-century-old trend of migration to suburbs and exurbs, the New York Times reports. The cost of reaching a far-off home, let alone heating and cooling it, is becoming untenable for many. From Atlanta and Philadelphia to San Francisco and Minneapolis, prices of homes outside the urban core have fallen faster than those downtown. More »

Let's Not Kid Ourselves: Oil's Going Higher

Washington Post  |  Jun 18, 08 12:09 PM CDT

(Newser) - Yes, $4 a gallon seems steep, but the worst is surely yet to come, Robert J. Samuelson writes in the Washington Post . Gas is on pace to rise to $7 a gallon by 2012, with oil rising to $225 a barrel, according to one economist. Oil-rich nations are acting as though we’ve already hit “peak oil,” and fast-growing nations in Asia and elsewhere are keeping demand steady. More »

Bush to Push Congress for Offshore Drilling

Associated Press  |  Jun 17, 08 10:07 PM CDT

(AP) - President Bush plans to make a renewed push tomorrow to get Congress to end a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling. Democrats have opposed the move for years, but rising gas prices are ratcheting up pressure to find domestic solutions. "The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time," said spokeswoman Dana Perino. More »

GOP Lawmakers Holding Out on McCain

The Hill  |  Jun 12, 08 2:12 PM CDT

(Newser) - At least 14 GOP lawmakers are refusing to publicly support John McCain’s White House bid, and more than a dozen more are keeping mum about whether they back the senator, the Hill reports. A few say they are supporting their party’s candidate without going so far as endorsing him. Many refused to say why they were holding out, though some offered as reasons differences on Iraq and energy policy. More »

Carville Touts a Convenient VP

CNN  |  Jun 12, 08 6:22 AM CDT

(Newser) - Democratic strategist James Carville thinks Barack Obama should consider someone with a little experience for the vice presidency: like, say, former VP Al Gore. Carville told CNN that choosing the Nobel Peace Prize-winner would drive home the message that America is serious about a new energy policy. A third term would make Gore the longest-serving veep in history, but he's said he'll only run for top spot. More »

GM Gambles All on the Volt

Atlantic Monthly  |  Jun 11, 08 12:38 PM CDT

(Newser) - The Chevy Volt will either revolutionize cars forever and rocket GM back to the top of the automotive world, or it’ll be an embarrassing disaster that will further cripple the giant. And right now, lots of industry types are betting on the latter. GM is so desperate to get the car out by 2010 that it’s developing car and battery simultaneously—a stunning gamble that could easily backfire, the Atlantic reports, in a detailed look at GM's equivalent of the space race. More »

To Fix US Energy Policy, Start Over

Yale Environment 360  |  Jun 10, 08 6:28 PM CDT

(Newser) - The US must overhaul its environmental strategy, alternative-energy advocate Denis Hayes writes in Yale Environment 360 , and here's how: Cap carbon at its source—coal mines, oil fields, pipelines—not where it leaves the atmosphere. Promote renewable energy and buy photovoltaic devices in bulk to drive prices down. More »

GOP Blocks Profit Tax on Oil Companies

Houston Chronicle  |  Jun 10, 08 1:59 PM CDT

(Newser) - Senate Republicans today fended off a Democrat-sponsored bill that would have heaped a 25% tax on the five biggest US oil companies and rolled back other tax breaks for the industry, the Houston Chronicle reports. President Bush had threatened to veto the measure, hailed by Dems as "energy price relief" and for which Republicans predicted "abject failure." More »

High Gas Prices Are Good for Detroit

Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 9, 08 12:25 PM CDT

(Newser) - Sky-high gas prices are finally pushing top US auto-makers to turn out fuel-efficient vehicles, and both Detroit and Washington should keep the pedal down to make a permanent change in how, and what, Americans drive, the US top car salesman tells the Wall Street Journal . "You have to tell the American people the truth," the CEO of AutoNation says. "Energy costs will be higher."  More »

$4 a Gallon? Keep It Coming!

New York Times  |  May 28, 08 5:05 AM CDT

(Newser) - The ideal presidential candidate wouldn’t pledge to cut gas prices—but would promise instead never to let them fall below $4 a gallon, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times . The high prices are finally forcing America to use fuel-efficient cars—and that’s crucial for the environment, and frees us from foreign oil dependence, Friedman notes. More »

Hybrid Owners Put the Pedal to Fuel Efficiency

Washington Post  |  May 26, 08 8:29 AM CDT

(Newser) - Leaving the bad old days of drag-racing in the dust, greenies are now engaging in their own race for fuel efficiency, reports the Washington Post. With hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius giving up-to-the-second feedback on just how much gas passing that little old lady in the right lane is guzzling, many drivers are adjusting their habits to max out their MPGs. More »

New Nuke Plants May Break the Bank

Wall Street Journal  |  May 12, 08 2:16 PM CDT

(Newser) - Nuclear power has come back into favor as a cleaner energy solution, but new plants aren’t going to be cheap, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite efforts to streamline the process and cut costs, the next wave of reactors would cost $5-$12 billion each—prices that would likely translate to higher electricity bills, and a renewed debate on nuclear energy. More »

$7 Gas? Analyst Sees It by 2012