Inside Energy

Emails Show Museum Closed Green Energy Exhibit After Complaints From Fossil Fuel Industry by Inside Energy

In every downturn, there are survivors who position themselves for recovery. The price of crude oil is down by more than 70 percent since the summer of 2014. And oil and gas companies once flush with cash have cut exploration...and decommissioned up to two thirds (2/3rds) of their rigs. are out of job. For Inside Energy, Lorne Matalon of Marfa Public Radio reports on strategies for recovery from the Permian Basin of Texas, the nation's largest-producing oilfield.

Nearly a dozen west Texas cities, counties, hospitals and school districts are facing a possible bond downgrade in coming months by Moody's Investor Services, one of the country's "Big Three" ratings firms. That because those local institutions rely on energy-related tax revenue, which has gone way down. And a bond downgrade is a threat facing other oil and gas states as well. For Inside Energy, Lorne Matalon of Marfa Public radio reports.

In the wake of mass layoffs at the country's two biggest coal mines, miners and the State of Wyoming alike are wondering what's next.

New maps released by the US Geological Survey this week reveal that seven million people are now living in areas at high risk for earthquakes. Not naturally occurring earthquakes but man-made - induced by oil and gas operations that pump wastewater deep underneath the ground. At highest risk? Parts of Oklahoma, Texas and even Colorado. Last year Oklahoma had more than 900 quakes, up from 3 in 2007. For Inside Energy, Larry Buhl looks into the challenge facing homeowners there who claim their property is damaged by these quakes.

A steady dip in natural gas and crude oil prices has forced companies drilling all across the country to lay off workers and shut down operations. As Reid Frazier of the Allegheny Front reports for Inside Energy, in drilling hotspots, that means a big change to local economies.

We often hear about the economic costs of environmental regulation on the energy industry But there’s a flip side to that equation - the price society pays for pollution. One scientist has added up those costs and found they’re going down. For Inside Energy, Reid Frazier went to find out why.

Making Up For A Methane Leak Disaster by Inside Energy

Peabody Energy’s senior lenders, recently recommended it file for bankruptcy. If the coal giant goes under, it would be the latest in a string of major producers to file for Chapter 11. But if you drive through one of the country’s most productive coal regions - Wyoming's Powder River Basin, dynamite blasts still shake the earth and miners in gigantic trucks are still scooping up coal. So what does bankruptcy actually mean on the ground? Our Inside Energy reporter Leigh Paterson has more.

The US oil and gas industry was shocked recently by the sudden death of one of its most influential executives. Aubrey McClendon was killed after driving his SUV into a concrete embankment, a day after being indicted on bid rigging and price fixing charges. He was the former CEO of Chesapeake energy, a major producer now floundering under low oil and gas prices. Dan Boyce explores whether Chesapeake’s cautionary tale contains glimmers of hope.

The Oregon legislature passed a bill to phase out coal-fired electricity use in the state, the first state in the nation to do so.

Timing Is Everything When It Comes To Your Future Electricity Bill by Inside Energy

PART TWO: “Senseless Exposures”: How Money and Federal Rules Endanger Oilfield Workers by Inside Energy

PART ONE: How A Journalist And A Doctor Helped Solve The Mysterious Death of 9 Oilfield Workers by Inside Energy

It’s lights out for the solar industry in Nevada. That state is hemorrhaging jobs after a decision to raise rates for customers with rooftop solar panels. The move has jarred the solar industry, especially in other southwestern states like Arizona.

Continuing low oil prices have left tens of thousands of oil workers out of a job. Now, a growing number of them are turning to the courts, saying they weren’t paid fairly when times were good.

An interview by Eric Whitney, News Director of Montana Public Radio, with Al Ekblad, Executive Director of Montana's AFL-CIO, about the future of the coal industry and the workers who depend upon that industry for their livelihoods.

Coal Country Celebrates Clean Power Plan Hold by Inside Energy

PART II: Living On Top Of Forgotten Oil And Gas Wells by Inside Energy

PART I: Living On Top Of Forgotten Oil And Gas Wells by Inside Energy