All explainers
Explainer

Water for Natural Gas
Producing electricity from natural gas has implications for our water resources.
Explainer

Water for Nuclear
The nuclear power cycle uses water in three major ways: extracting and processing uranium fuel, producing electricity, and controlling wastes and risks.
Explainer

Water for Power Plant Cooling
In the United States, 90 percent of electricity comes from conventional thermoelectric power plants – coal, nuclear, natural gas and oil – that require cooling.
Explainer

The Renewable Electricity Standard
A primer on a national renewable electricity standard, including its mechanisms and the benefits that it can provide.
Explainer

How the News Media Help the Koch Brothers and ExxonMobil
The press routinely cites climate contrarian think tanks without reporting their ties to the fossil fuel industry
Explainer

Environmental Impacts of Hydrokinetic Energy
Hydrokinetic energy includes wave and tidal power and encompasses an array of energy technologies, many of which are still in the experimental stages or in the early stages of deployment.
Explainer

Environmental Impacts of Solar Power
The potential environmental impacts associated with solar power depend on the technology, which includes two broad categories: photovoltaic solar cells and concentrating solar thermal plants.
Explainer

Environmental Impacts of Geothermal Energy
The environmental impacts of geothermal energy vary depending on the technology used to generate electricity and the type of cooling system utilized.
Explainer

Environmental Impacts of Wind Power
Wind power generates electricity without toxic pollution or global warming emissions, but it does have some environmental impacts that should be recognized and mitigated.
Explainer

Environmental Impacts of Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power includes both massive hydroelectric dams and small run-of-the-river plants, both of which have associated environmental impacts.
Explainer

Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies
An overview of the environmental impacts of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass.
Explainer

The US Nuclear Weapons Complex
Facts about eight key facilities in the nuclear weapons complex, where weapons and their component parts are designed, assembled, tested, maintained and disposed of.