Economic Slowdown Challenges Renewable Energy

By JAMES KANTER

At an industry conference, executives cite benefits of wind and solar energy but acknowledge economic hurdles.

October 26, 2011 6:27 PM ET

Lawmakers Seek Inquiry on Keystone XL Process

Members of Congress ask for a formal review of how the State Department assigned an environmental impact study to a company with business ties to TransCanada.

October 26, 2011 6:15 PM ET

A Coast Guard Challenge: Arctic Drilling

The closest Coast Guard base to a proposed site for offshore drilling in the Arctic is in Kodiak, Ak., more than 1,000 miles to the south.

October 26, 2011 5:15 PM ET

Comment Period Begins on Mining Moratorium

The federal government proposes to allow a small number of existing uranium and other hard rock mining operations in the region to continue while barring all new mining claims.

October 26, 2011 3:05 PM ET

BP to Drill Again in the Gulf of Mexico

Federal regulators gave BP a permit to drill a new well in the Gulf of Mexico, the first time the oil company will be allowed to drill there since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April 2010.

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A crowd shouted down Karen Gentile, from the federal Transportation Department, at a hearing in Greenwich Village last week.

Pipeline Plan Stirs Debate on Both Sides of Hudson

By MIREYA NAVARRO

New York City says a 15-mile natural gas line is needed to augment energy supplies, but there are concerns about safety.

Valsgard Journal

Denmark's state-owned utility chose a pole with arms reaching out on both sides like wings to support wires.

Dressing Up Power Lines Comes With Limits

By JOHN TAGLIABUE

To deal with resistance to new high-tension power lines, the Danes hit on the idea of involving industrial architects in the pylons’ design.

BP Earnings Slip 3.7% on Lower Production

By JULIA WERDIGIER

The British oil company said it planned to sell more assets and increase investment in exploration as it rebounds from the 2010 oil spill disaster.

A plan to begin offshore drilling next year could change the way of life for the Inupiat Eskimos of Point Hope, Alaska.

Arctic Village Is Torn by Plan for Oil Drilling

By WILLIAM YARDLEY and ERIK OLSEN

The residents of Point Hope, Alaska, have long fought outside forces trying to change the nature of the town; now the fighting is from within.

New Technologies Redraw the World’s Energy Picture

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

Unconventional fossil fuels extracted by new technologies should shift geopolitical and economic calculations around the world in the coming decades.

Matt Rogers, left, and Tony Fadell and their new thermostat for Nest Labs, a start-up in Palo Alto, Calif.

Ex-Apple Leaders Push the Humble Thermostat Into the Digital Age

By STEVE LOHR

Nest Labs, a Silicon Valley start-up, is trying to transform the household thermostat into a digital assistant that reduces energy consumption.

A tank of crude oil and an oil rig south of Fort Collins, Colo.

Drilling in Fast-Growing Areas Ushers in New Era of Tension

By KIRK JOHNSON

The still-emerging boom is bringing energy exploration to communities with no experience dealing with it and areas that were once, in rosier times, earmarked for other uses.

NASA Is Considering Fuel Depots in the Skies

By KENNETH CHANG

If NASA can refuel spacecraft in orbit, it might be able to accelerate plans to send astronauts to distant destinations.

Assembling solar panels in China, which called the tariff effort a “lose-lose situation.”

China Charges Protectionism in Call for Solar Panel Tariffs

By KEITH BRADSHER

The Chinese government told the United States that giving in to a request by the American solar panel industry for steep tariffs would hurt the global economy.

Special Section

Energy

New oil and gas discoveries offer hope for plentiful and cheaper fuel but also threaten to blunt the demand for cleaner, renewable alternatives.

I.H.T. Special Report: The Business of Green

A roadside bull advertisement gazes toward a Spanish wind park. Growth in renewable power generation is continuing in China but it has slowed sharply in Europe and the United States.

Drive Toward Low-Carbon Future Stalls

By ANDRÉS CALA

As countries reassess the likely depth and duration of the economic chill, many are rethinking their energy policies.

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I.H.T. Special Report: Energy

A Petrobras oil platform off the Brazilian coast.

In Brazil, Energy Finds Put Country at a Whole New Power Level

By SIMON ROMERO

Brazil, which is maintaining investments to increase oil production even as turmoil hits financial markets, is leading a shift in Latin America’s oil industry.

A nuclear site near Beijing. China has conducted safety reviews of all of its nuclear reactors.

China Marches On With Nuclear Energy, in Spite of Fukushima

By KEITH BRADSHER

Questions abound about whether China will be a savior for the international nuclear power industry or a ferocious competitor.

Despite Lots of Talk, Dollar Still Reigns

By MATTHEW SALTMARSH

Certain countries — including Iran, France and Russia — have periodically floated the idea of transforming the markets by settling crude oil transactions in currencies other than the dollar.

Temperature Rising

A Montana forest under attack by mountain pine beetles. Red trees died recently, others probably several years ago.

With Deaths of Forests, a Loss of Key Climate Protectors

By JUSTIN GILLIS

Trees, natural carbon sponges, help keep heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. But insect and human threats are taking a heavy toll on them.