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November 15, 2012 Eleven people were killed and one of the largest environmental disasters in history happened after an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in 2010.

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November 14, 2012 U.S. foreign policy and military commitments in the Middle East have long been tied to U.S. dependence on oil from the region. But imports from the Persian Gulf have actually declined sharply in recent years, which may lead to a realignment of policy priorities and an easing up of U.S. presence there.

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November 13, 2012 WITFThe state estimates that about 325,000 wells have been drilled since the mid-1800s, but the locations of 200,000 of them are unknown. This proves problematic when new wells occasionally intersect abandoned ones, and gas rockets up to the surface in a geyser.

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November 10, 2012 Back in the 1970s, U.S. drivers faced two separate oil crises that led to long lines at gas stations. Many Americans feared it would be a recurring nightmare, but gas lines have been rare over the past three decades.

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November 2, 2012 An army of electrical workers is squirming through the tunnels beneath New York City, checking transformers, cables and power systems. And though it'll likely take days to get everything back online, experts say the storm would have damaged aboveground infrastructure even more drastically.

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October 30, 2012 Sandy, which knocked out power to some 8 million people in 18 states, painted a bull's-eye on the oldest and most fragile part of the nation's power grid. Engineering experts say the grid is inherently vulnerable even as damaging weather events seem to be occurring more frequently.

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October 26, 2012 The world's most powerful laser beams are going to be built in Europe. Scientists say that a blast from them could destroy nuclear waste in seconds — meaning it wouldn't have to be stored for centuries.

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October 26, 2012 If you don't believe me, just ask Canada. They produce more oil than they can use — and they pay just as much as we do.

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October 24, 2012 An oil boom, spurred in large part by hydraulic fracturing, could boost U.S. production next year to more than 11 million barrels a day, which would nearly equal Saudi Arabia's current output, according to Energy Department projections. The spurt is expected to boost U.S. energy jobs.

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October 18, 2012 Stymied by Congress early on in his term while trying to advance his climate policies, President Obama has resorted to taking incremental actions that don't need congressional approval. Mitt Romney doesn't mention climate change in his energy plan, and favors cheap energy sources like coal.

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