ebishirl

The decision by 28 International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries to release 60 million barrels of oil in the coming month to compensate for supply disruptions caused by the conflict in Libya has had an immediate effect on crude's trading price. However, don't look for it to result in any meaningful long-term benefits to energy security.

Coal consumption: up. Oil consumption (and prices): up. Hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and biofuel consumption: all up. Carbon dioxide emissions: up.

An improving (though it didn't feel like it in some places) global economy last year caused growth in all things energy-related as well ...

Large-scale solar energy projects are all well and good, but they shouldn't be underwritten at the expense of households that want to add solar panels to their rooftops, British officials have decided.

As part of their strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the US Marines are turning to solar power to provide energy for airfield lighting in Afghanistan.

The "internet of things," as the smart grid is often called, shares a lot of characteristics with an unlikely person: "celebutante" Paris Hilton:

They've both ...

Imagine a future city where the water company can pinpoint a water main burst ... before it happens. Where residents can turn to their mobile phones or laptops to find out which routes to avoid on the way home from work later in the day because of predicted traffic congestion. Where video analysis software can alert officials to someone about to commit a property crime.

A solar power plant in the Middle East is proving that large-scale sun energy is a viable option in the region ... but it's just a warmup for a much bigger solar plant of a different kind soon to come.

Faced with the growing reality that energy insecurity threatens national and international "regular" security, military organizations around the world are working to conserve energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adopt alternative fuels. In the US, the Department of Defense is waging an increasing aggressive "green war" that encompasses everything from solar panels and geothermal heat to synthetic bio-based jet fuels and LEED-certified buildings.