Energy
34 stories
Fracked Into a Corner? »
Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have given us a natural gas boom—and a whole lot of questions.
October 2012 by Nate Blakeslee
Here’s the Drill »
As hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. fracking) has unlocked untold reserves of natural gas, it has also unleashed a wave of concerns about pollution and, for one family in the Barnett Shale, a long nightmare.
October 2011 by Saul Elbein
A Mighty Wind »
The unlikely story of how a handful of dreamers, schemers, and (all too often) failures made oil-and-gas-rich Texas the leading wind power state in the country.
August 2011 by Kate Galbraith and Asher Price
Three Generations of Texas Wind Men
Jay Carter Sr., Jay Carter Jr., and Matt Carter—the first family of Texas wind power—have lived through nearly four decades of boom and bust, boom and bust, and, for now at least, a boom with no end in sight.
August 2011 Produced by Brian Birzer
Wind Instruments »
From the old-style models to the three-story turbines, windmills are a part of Texas history. The machine's evolution is on display in Lubbock at the world's largest windmill museum.
August 2011 by Kate Galbraith
T. Boone Pickens’s Office Cabinet »
T. Boone Pickens’s office cabinet.
July 2011 by Kristie Ramirez
Oil Night Long »
Amid all the drink tickets, bikini-clad hostesses, and outrageous displays of wealth at the world’s largest expo for independent oilmen, I was determined to get some answers about the future of the business.
May 2011 by Mimi Swartz
Spills and Bills »
The BP oil spill hit the small world of Houston’s oil and gas business hard. So now that the well is plugged, who’s up and who’s down?
October 2010 by Mimi Swartz
That’s Oil, Folks! »
Forget the Outer Continental Shelf. There’s a good old-fashioned boom happening in Midland, thanks to a crafty drilling technique that unlocked the secret reserves of the Permian Basin and revived the late, great West Texas oilman.
September 2010 by Skip Hollandsworth
Drill, Midland, Drill
A slide show of images from the Permian Basin, from black crude and petroleum engineers to oil wells and geologists. Photographs by Bryce Duffy
September 2010
Made in Midland »
Skip Hollandsworth talks about rigs, the trickle-down effect, and the new generation of oilmen.
September 2010 Interview by Kaitlin Miller
The Ups And Downs And Ups of The National Car of Texas »
When GM declared bankruptcy last year and moved all production of large SUVs to a single plant in Arlington, it looked like the end was near for the Suburban and its brethren. Instead, they came roaring back to life.
July 2010 by S. C. Gwynne
Oil and Water »
The spill in the Gulf is just the latest in a string of catastrophic regulatory failures that prove how incompetent government is. And how important it is.
July 2010 by Paul Burka
T. Boone Pickens »
Amarillo
June 2010 As told to Brian D. Sweany
Enroncore! »
The debut of Enron, the play, on Broadway might be the perfect time to settle a question that’s been bothering Houston: Does Jeff Skilling need a new trial?
May 2010 by Mimi Swartz
Cap and Tirade »
Especially in Texas, the fight over carbon restrictions might make health care reform look like, well, a tea party.
November 2009 by Paul Burka
Below the Surface »
In 1996 a powerful South Texas ranching clan accused ExxonMobil of sabotaging wells on the family’s property. Thirteen years, millions of dollars in legal fees, and one state Supreme Court opinion later, the biggest oil field feud of its time is still raging.
November 2009 by Mimi Swartz
Green Star State »
How Texas can become the world’s clean energy leader.
May 2009 by Michael Webber
What’s the Big Idea?
How to make the Lone Star State even better.
May 2009
Shed a Little Light »
Buying into energy efficiency, one electric bill at a time.
April 2009 by Jena A. Williams
Downsizing Houston »
If the crash that followed the boom hasn’t exactly been our fault, the result has been that same sad sense that maybe we’ll never have fun again.
February 2009 by Mimi Swartz
This Old House »
Jim Atkinson changes out his insulation.
April 2008 by Jim Atkinson
Joe Wayland »
Oilfield worker.
April 2008 As told to Paul Burka
Susan Hovorka »
55, geologist, Austin
February 2008
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