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In 2000 a Saudi oil geologist named Sadad I. Al Husseini made a startling discovery. Husseini, then head of exploration and production for the state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, had long been skeptical of the oil industry's upbeat forecasts for future production. Since the mid-1990s he had been studying data from the 250 or so major oil fields that produce most of the world's oil. He looked at how much crude remained in each one and how rapidly it was being depleted, then added all the new fields that oil companies hoped to bring on line in coming decades. When he tallied the numbers, Husseini says he realized that many oil experts "were either misreading the global reserves and oil-production data or obfuscating it."

Energy utility Exelon Corp. spent nearly $1.2 million in the second quarter to lobby on tax credits for renewable energy sources and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report. The Senate on Tuesday passed a broad tax package providing more than $17 billion in renewable energy tax incentives that the solar and wind industries say are crucial if they are to become significant energy sources in the near future. But the legislation faces obstacles in the House, where three separate bills are on the schedule Wednesday.

It wasn't the variable of available sunshine in their suburban Chicago neighborhood that inhibited Sarah and Kiril Lozanov from going solar. Rather, it was the challenge of cost - and of earning homeowner's association approval for the new construction solar would warrant on their condominium rooftop.

The City of Los Angeles has more Energy Star buildings than any other U.S. metropolis with 262 buildings, according to a new ranking issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Los Angeles and 24 other cities were recognized Tuesday by the EPA for using engineering and construction techniques that reduce energy consumption. Four California cities made the Top 25 Energy Star Buildings List. San Francisco ranked second with 194 buildings, while Sacramento and Riverside also made the list.

Biologists and botanists are particularly excited by the project; they believe that close study of the flora and fauna in this artificial environment will improve our understanding of the delicately balanced ecological systems of the earth. But the many applications of Biosphere two are not just earth-bound; lessons learned from the project could have profound implications by paving the way for the creation of future colonies in space.

Animal researches have long been puzzled by certain aspects of elephant behavior. In particular they have wondered how apparently random group of elephants, sometimes separated by miles, can manage to move in a cohesive, coordinated manner toward the same destination. Equally mysterious is how, without any discernible means of communication, male elephants are able to track down a female in heat even if she is many miles away.

For every creature a home is an important factor. It provides protection from predators and affords shelter from the elements. Birds, in particular, devote considerable time to creating a suitable abode. The vast majority build their own nests, although there are some exceptions. For example, some owls use a hollow in a tree , and most falcons and nightjars dispense with a nest altogether and lay their eggs on bare earth.