The U.S. produced more petroleum than it consumed in 2020, and the numbers were essentially in balance in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration. The surge in oil prices taking place in 2022 has radically different implications for the U.S. economy — and for key geopolitical relationships in the Read more…
No province is too small or remote for Beijing’s careful attention. Chinese technology and money have helped build one of Latin America’s largest solar energy plants in Jujuy (pronounced hu-HUY), where hundreds of thousands of panels coat the desert like giant dominoes. Chinese security cameras guard government buildings across the Read more…
Virgin Galactic announced that it’s opening ticket sales to the general public for its spaceflight system, “letting you become an astronaut if you’re willing to pay $450,000 and put down a $150,000 deposit,” reports Engadget. For that $450K, you’ll get a 90-minute ride to the edge of space including the Read more…
Shrunk reservoirs. Depleted aquifers. Low rivers. Raging wildfires. It’s no secret that the Western U.S. is in a severe drought. New research published Monday shows just how extreme the situation has become. The Western U.S. and Northern Mexico are experiencing their driest period in at least 1,200 years, according to Read more…
France president Emmanuel Macron “has announced a ‘renaissance’ for the French nuclear industry,” reports the Guardian, with plans to build at least six new reactors by 2050 and as many as 14, “arguing that it would help end the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and make France carbon neutral by Read more…
The first images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have been released, according to Space.com. The main photo, which doesn’t even hint at the power Webb will bring to the universe once it’s fully operational, shows a star called HD 84406 and is only a portion of the mosaic taken Read more…
This true story of a hammer, a feather, the Apollo 15 mission, and the answers to humanity’s oldest questions about how stuff falls. Does a falling object move at a constant speed, or does it speed up? If you drop a heavy object and a light one at the same Read more…