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August 22, 2012 In Colorado and Iowa, two states considered up for grabs in the presidential race, a battle over alternative energy policy is playing a growing role in the debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney.

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August 16, 2012 High oil prices and technological advances have made it economically viable to ramp up oil production from Canada's tar sands. The oil pulled out of the ground is so thick and sticky that it needs complex, energy-intensive processing just to get it into a pipeline.

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August 16, 2012 What could be worse than a ruptured pipeline of crude oil? A ruptured pipeline of tar sands oil — a thick, sticky substance. Cleanup of a 2010 spill in Michigan's Kalamazoo River took much longer and was far harder than anyone had anticipated. It's now a cautionary tale for people in the middle of the new Keystone pipeline's path.

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• Infographic: How Tar Sands Oil Is Produced

August 16, 2012 WITFThe price of gas has been on a roller coaster this year. After a brief dip in early summer, the average price per gallon is back on the upswing. That's left many consumers wondering if prices will go even higher, but some analysts expect the most recent spike to be relatively short-lived.

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August 14, 2012 In a state with huge coal reserves, both presidential candidates are trying to show their support with competing ads. It's an issue that could make a difference in winning the key swing state.

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August 14, 2012 KJZZThe Arizona city already logs more days over 100 degrees than any U.S. city, and climate researchers predict Phoenix will grow hotter still in the coming decades. Planners are taking the projections seriously, and are looking for ways to adapt the city and its residents to a hotter, drier reality.

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August 14, 2012 Germany has announced plans for a total nuclear phaseout in 10 years and an ambitious transition to renewable energy. But one big challenge is distribution, and new power lines are planned. Opposition is growing among Germans who say the power-grid expansion will hurt their homes, land and lives.

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August 8, 2012 Chesapeake Energy is still a leader in America's "fracking"-fueled natural gas boom, but low natural gas prices are making the company less profitable. Now the company is selling some of its assets and shifting more of its efforts into oil and other energy sectors to try to boost its bottom line.

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August 7, 2012 India's massive power outage last week points to a major problem for developing nations: supply is struggling to keep up with the growing demand — an imbalance that can affect the reliability of electric grids. Grid catastrophes are rare, but blackouts can be an everyday feature of life.

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• Pakistan Blackouts Power Frustration At Government

August 4, 2012 The power outage in India this week, which darkened the lives of nearly 700 million people, brings to mind the time I spent there. It was nearly 50 years ago, when India was still a young democracy and power outages were as common as enjoying a cup of dark, sweet Indian tea.

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August 3, 2012 A bipartisan group of governors is pushing U.S. automakers to build a sedan that runs on compressed natural gas. The states say they will buy them in large quantities as they replace their current fleets. The governors say the cars would cost less to run, cut pollution and create jobs. And it would boost demand for natural gas, which has seen a plummet in price.

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