BOISE – The Pacific Northwest, on both sides of the Canadian border, is the “Middle East of North America” when it comes to energy resources, participants at a regional conference say, and it eventually will supply both nations with an array of fuels, from wind, geothermal and biofuels to oil, coal and uranium. “The resources are there, and in my opinion, they will get used in the future,” said John Grossenbacher, director of the Idaho National Laboratory. “So let’s do it in a way that 50 and 100 years away, we’re happy with the outcomes.”

The Pacific Northwest, on both sides of the Canadian border, is the "Middle East of North America" when it comes to energy resources, experts say, and it will eventually supply both nations with an array of fuels, from wind, geothermal and biofuels to oil, coal and uranium.

A light bulb with a life of 8,000 hours? Yeah, right! Well, actually, such an idea has just entered the marketplace with the launch of GE's newly remodeled bulbs, the covered Energy Smart Compact Fluorescent Lights.

WASHINGTON – The wind, a favorite power source of the green energy movement, seems to be dying down across the United States. And the cause, ironically, may be global warming – the very problem wind power seeks to address. The idea that winds may be slowing is still a speculative one, and scientists disagree whether that is happening. But a first-of-its-kind study suggests that average and peak wind speeds have been noticeably slowing since 1973, especially in the Midwest and the East.

The hot, humid weather of summer is about to meet Americans' continuing desire to cut costs this cooling season. Room air conditioners are a practical way to cool down when temperatures heat up.

RICHLAND – A quarter century after its ambitious plan to build five nuclear plants crumbled into a punch line for government incompetence, a regional power consortium in the Pacific Northwest is quietly shopping the idea of building another reactor. Energy Northwest, which is already expanding its wind, solar and biomass electricity generation, aims to satisfy increasing demand for carbon-free power in one of the country’s most environmentally conscious regions.