Choking China: The struggle to clear Beijing's air
As pollution levels return to normal in China's capital after a record-breaking month of smog, what can be done to banish the smog?
New Scientist
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Methane mining could trigger killer gas cloud
A rush to extract methane from the depths of Africa's Lake Kivu could trigger a huge upwelling of suffocating gas, potentially affecting over 2 million people.
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Subterranean microbes revive tired old gas fields
Engineers are brimming with ideas of how to extract every last tonne of fossil fuel: one company is now showing that all it takes is common fertiliser.
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Solar superpower: Should Europe run on Sahara sun?
Giant electricity plants in the Sahara desert could provide 15 per cent of Europe's power. But there may be better solar solutions closer to home.
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US bets $150m on renewable energy
Bags of cash are being thrown at high-risk, high-reward research by the Department of Energy. New Scientist takes a look at the lucky recipients.
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Plenty more oil, but use it wisely
Cheap oil has been the driving force behind the phenomenal economic growth of the past century, at least in the west. Oil is the lifeblood of the modern world. If we were to remove it tomorrow, it is no exaggeration to say that civilisation would collapse. (Editorial)
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Extreme oil: Scraping the bottom of Earth's barrel
Eighty-five million barrels. That's how much oil we consume every day. It's a staggering amount - enough to fill over 5400 Olympic swimming pools - and demand is expected to keep on rising, despite the impending supply crunch.
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Hybrid fusion: the third nuclear option
There is a way of returning to nuclear while overcoming safety and waste concerns: hybrid nuclear fusion. The concept has been around for decades, and has been discussed in the technical literature and at the International Atomic Energy Agency. But it has not yet been explained to governments, industry, researchers and the public.
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Tidal power? No thanks
The north of Scotland has been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power
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Plenty of wave energy to be harvested close to shore
Conventional wisdom says that wave farms must be more than 2 kilometres away from the coast, but a new analysis suggests otherwise.
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Wonderfuel: Welcome to the age of unconventional gas
We've found lots of it, we're learning how to get it and we think we can clean it before we burn it. Is natural gas the secure answer to our energy woes?