Energy, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 21, 2012

Thousands of Natural Gas Leaks Found in Boston

Beneath the streets of Boston is an aging network of natural gas pipelines that delivers fuel to heat homes and power appliances but also threatens to feed fires and even cause explosions. Highlighting the need for repairs, a new study detected more than 3,300 natural gas leaks throughout the city....

Nov 30, 2012

Dispersant Makes Oil 52 Times More Toxic

For microscopic animals living in the Gulf, even worse than the toxic oil released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster may be the very oil dispersants used to clean it up, a new study finds. More than 2 million gallons (7.5 million liters) of oil dispersants called Corexit 9527A and...

Dec 29, 2012

What Is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

The U.S. Congress is considering legislation that would require 70 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be released to the open market in an effort to drive down gas prices. That would mean pumping oil out from man-made caverns where it is stored. Only...

Mar 28, 2013

Train Derails, Causing Oil Spill in Minnesota

A train carrying crude oil from Canada into the United States derailed in Minnesota, spilling thousands of gallons of oil. Fourteen tanker cars of a 94-car Canadian Pacific Railroad train went off the tracks near Parkers Prairie yesterday (March 27), according to the Associated Press. Three tanker cars were leaking,...

Apr 4, 2013

Beaver Dam Stops Oil Spill

Although they didn't have much of a choice, the beavers saved the day. A beaver dam helped prevent a large quantity of oil from spilling into a reservoir of fresh water in northern Utah. The leak, from a Chevron pipeline, spilled 27,000 gallons (102,200 liters) of crude oil into soil...

May 1, 2013

New Biofuel Possibility in Horse Gut Fungus

This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. At a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society, scientists announced a potential new biofuels source — anaerobic gut fungus (yeast) found in horses' waste and digestive tracts. This news is exciting because the...

May 24, 2013

US Could Grow Enough Algae to Make 1/12 Nation's Fuel

The United States could grow a whole lot more algae, and churn this pond scum into precious fuel, new research shows. A study by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory calculated that the country has enough water resources to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel per...

Jun 14, 2013

We Will Not Run Out of Fossil Fuels (Op-Ed)

Jeffrey Rissman, policy analyst at Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of plants and animals that died hundreds of millions of years ago, buried and transformed by heat and pressure. Since these fuels require...

Jul 8, 2013

Living on 'Gasland:' Q&A with Documentary Filmmaker Josh Fox

When Josh Fox received notice that a natural gas company was interested in drilling a well on his property in exchange for $100,000, he set out to investigate exactly how the towering derricks and squat-looking wells that dot the land in some 34 states affect the lives of those whose...

Jul 12, 2013

Manhattanhenge Tonight: Rain May Spoil NYC Sunset Show

The event occurs four times a year, during which the setting sun lines up with the city's grid layout, bathing the north and south sides of every cross street with warm, orangey-pink light. Tonight's Manhattanhenge will be the second of the year; New Yorkers were previously treated to the pretty...

Jul 25, 2013

Blowout Raises Questions About Tar-Sands Oil (Op-Ed)

Danielle Droitsch is director of the Canada Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This article originally appeared on the NRDC blog Switchboard. She contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As new evidence is revealing that the blowout of a tar-sands well has been causing...

Aug 24, 2013

Fracking is Draining Local Communities (Op-Ed)

Frances Beinecke is the president of NRDC, served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, and holds a leadership role in several environmental organizations. This article is adapted from a recent post to Switchboard. She contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed...

Aug 27, 2013

Arkansans Still Suffering Effects from Seeping Oil Months After Mayflower Spill (Op-Ed)

Rocky Kistner is a communications associate for the NRDC. This post is adapted from one that appeared on the NRDC blog Switchboard. Kistner contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It's been a warm, rain-soaked summer in the small lakeside community of Mayflower, a sleepy residential town...

Aug 29, 2013

New Drilling Rules Reflect Old Problems (Op-Ed)

Briana Mordick is a staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This Op-Ed was adapted from a post to the NRDC blog Switchboard. Mordick contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is at a fork in the road to...

Sep 3, 2013

Arctic Drilling Risks Threaten Inupiat Traditions (Op-Ed)

Frances Beinecke is the president of NRDC, served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, and holds a leadership role in several environmental organizations. This Op-Ed was adapted from a post on the NRDC blog Switchboard. Beinecke contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert...