Stories by Melissa C. Lott

Art Rosenfeld was an energy-efficiency pioneer whose work served as the foundation for numerous state and federal regulations to save energy across the U.S. 

Earlier this month, four self-driving cars raced a 3.2-kilometer (two-mile) track in Northern California

The pollution coming out of your tailpipe could be recycled into high-quality ink according to a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The future of coal country and the cost of national infrastructure plans—here are two podcast episodes for those looking for additions to their weekend playlist.

This month, researchers from six continents gathered in London to discuss health and climate change - including how the energy system can evolve to improve public health around the globe.

Replacing the U.S. power grid could cost almost $5 trillion. But new technologies can bring us power at a lower cost. What does this mean for the future of the electric system?

A series of nuclear power station shutdowns and low hydro reservoirs in France are highlighting energy security concerns this winter

Energy sectors job growth is significant, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Energy. But this growth is unevenly distributed across the 50 states due to shifts in the industry

Televisions and their peripheral equipment account for about 6% of total electricity consumption in U.S. homes. But, the average number of televisions in U.S. households is on the decline, according to the DOE’s most recent Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).

The inventor of the lithium-ion battery introduces fast-charging, noncombustible battery design in a new paper published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science

Researchers at The Ohio State University have discovered a way to improve the performance of turbine engines, including those used for transportation and in electricity generation

In a new episode of the BBC World Service’s podcast “CrowdScience,” listener Michael in Kingston, Jamaica, asks the question, “Why can’t we use energy from the waves of the sea to create all the electricity we need?”

Utilities are expected to bring another 36 GW of natural gas power plants online by the end of 2018. This expansion will follow five years of declining coal power plant capacity in the U.S. as low natural gas prices continue to challenge the coal fleet

Scientists at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed a “better way” to make hydrogen using renewable energy, according to a paper published this month in Nature Energy

A bolt of lightning can light up the sky—but can its energy be captured to power the lights in our homes? This was the first question explored in the new podcast “CrowdScience” from the BBC World Service

Here are our readers' favorites from “Plugged In” in 2016

Offshore Wind Now Online in the United States as Federal Leases BoomAs Block Island Wind Farm comes online, U.S. Department of Energy 

How can we change the way we think about water and energy to secure long-term sustainability of both previous resources?

There are many reasons to not let those Thanksgiving leftovers go to waste, including the energy savings

Scientists have created a technology capable of turning wet sewage into bio-crude - achieving in minutes something that takes Mother Nature millions of years - according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

How much electric energy storage would it take to run the average home for 24 hours? When will it be economical to locally store several days of electric energy for our homes? These two questions were explored earlier this month on the new “CrowdScience” podcast by the BBC World Service.

“The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change” was launched at the COP 22 climate talks in Marrakesh. This multidisciplinary research initiative brings together experts from around the globe to track and analyze the impacts of climate change on public health

In her 2016 TED talk on the Paris Agreement, UNFCCC** Executive Chairman Christiana Figueres discusses how she turned her skepticism following the COP15 in Copenhagen into optimism