The new year brings no shortage of energy concerns, even though oil prices are much lower than last January. Instead of enumerating those that I think merit particular attention, for today I'd like to focus on an over-arching energy policy choice fac... [more]

A year ago, I looked back on 2007 and ahead to 2008, a year that has defied the predictions of most observers. Although I can't claim to have foreseen the possibility that oil would break $140 and $40--from opposite directions--in the same year, I wo... [more]

A month ago an old friend--in fact a former boss and mentor--hinted that the recent collapse of oil prices might lead to revisions of the oil & gas reserves that companies carry on their books. I recalled his suggestion a week ago, when the Wall Stre... [more]

As OPEC's members and friends meet in Algeria to agree on deeper cuts in oil output, the effectiveness of their actions will depend greatly on the nature of the demand slump to which they are responding. If it proves to be merely a dip in the long-te... [more]

2009 is shaping up as the Year of the Stimulus. The consensus for a massive fiscal stimulus of the US economy, in the form of direct government spending and targeted tax breaks, grows daily. The biggest remaining questions focus on how much and how... [more]

The apparent selection of Steven Chu, the Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to be the new Secretary of Energy looks like a good choice. Since he is already employed by the Department of Energy, he understands the organization he w... [more]

President-Elect Obama is expected to name his energy and environmental team shortly. Whoever is nominated as the next Secretary of Energy will be swamped with an array of competing priorities, including modernizing the nation's electrical grid, mana... [more]

So OPEC has kicked the can down the road another two weeks, deferring further production cuts until at least their December 17th meeting in Algeria, when they can better assess the impact of the cuts they've already made--code for observing how badly... [more]

Part of the research for my writing and consulting involves watching for trends or common themes, and one that I've been picking up from diverse sources reflects a growing skepticism about clean coal and the processes for capturing and sequestering... [more]

When Detroit's CEOs return to Washington, DC in early December for further Congressional hearings on a rescue package, the industry's prospects for meeting tougher fuel economy standards are likely exert significant influence on the granting of feder... [more]