In one of the more controversial articles I've written, I report on the idea that the way we model the health effects of radiation at low levels may be wrong. This has huge implications for the nuclear energy industry, since they spend so much money trying to get radiation exposures down to zero.
Many environmental groups oppose revising this standard (and have sent me some angry letters about it).
Batteries are constantly improving, but people continue to demand more from their devices, so it's hard to tell. Some researchers are working on new energy storage devices that would leave current batteries in the dust and would be impossible to ignore as an option in vehicles and on the grid.
However, many industry analysts say the technology isn't the limiting reagent. On the grid, regulations are making it hard for batteries to catch on and in vehicles, low fossil fuel prices are moving the goal posts for energy storage.
Many refrigerators and air conditioners use a class of chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons as refrigerants or in insulating foam. These compounds happen to be extremely powerful greenhouse gases, thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide, and their use is going up.
Researchers and some companies are now coming up with ways to use fewer HFCs, if any, in cooling systems. They presented some of their work as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rolled out new rules to keep these gases in check.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy (left) and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz (second from left) speak to a scientist from Oak Ridge National Laboratory about refrigeration research.
Mexico is undergoing an energy revolution, opening up its energy sector to private companies for the first time in more than 70 years. At the same time, the country has set some of the most ambitious climate change mitigation targets in the developing world. Reconciling the two policies may prove difficult.
This story is part of our Greater Expectations series, where we profile different countries and what's at stake for then in the run up to the climate change negotiations in Paris in December.
In diesel engines, you have to balance price, performance and pollution. Most designs can only deliver in two categories, but Volkswagen claimed to win in all three with its turbocharged direct injection diesels. The claim was too good to be true.
Scientists say diesel, with its inherently good fuel economy, could be tweaked to be efficient, quick, clean and cheap, but getting combustion right is a challenge.
Volkswagen's U.S. chief Michael Horn (center left, gray hair), faces cameras before a House hearing on the company's emissions cheating
When funding research, there's a debate over where to place your bets. The long-shot projects stand to make the biggest difference for humanity's problems, but they are expensive, time consuming and rarely pan out. I spoke with some Nobel Prize winners about their work and the need to support curiosity-driven research in an era of austerity.
Every year, Nobel winners gather in Lindau, an island in southern Germany, to talk about their work with young researchers
In one of the most click-baitey articles I've ever written, I talk about some research that investigates how buildings are calibrated for comfort. Most buildings are designed around men in suits, leaving women frigid in offices. However, some places are experimenting with less air conditioning and looser dress codes, moves that can drastically save energy.