Technology

"There was no shortage of red flags at Oroville Dam. It was a matter of knowing where to look."

"As the moon's shadow raced across the U.S. yesterday, 1,900 utility-scale solar power plants and many thousands of rooftop solar cells dozed off or shut down, one after the other, their electric currents disappearing from power networks from coast to coast. ... From the standpoint of the overall North American grid, nothing much had really happened."

"Environmental group the Sierra Club sued the U.S. Energy Department on Monday in hopes of forcing it to reveal the groups it has consulted in conducting an eagerly awaited study on the electricity grid."

"LAS VEGAS -- The robust and agressive takedown of part of Ukraine’s power grid by hackers served as a wakeup call for cyber experts and exposed just how much America does not know about foreign operatives’ ability to strike critical U.S. infrastructure."

"President Trump on Wednesday nominated Sam Clovis, a former college professor and talk radio host who has challenged the scientific consensus that human activity has been the primary driver of climate change, to serve in the Agriculture Department’s top scientific post."

"The top Democrats on the Senate and House energy panels are seeking an assessment of the cyber and physical security protections for natural gas, oil and other hazardous pipeline infrastructure, warning of increased cyberthreats from foreign state-backed and criminal hacking organizations."

"MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On his first official visit to this coal-seam state that voted overwhelmingly for Donald J. Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry praised the work of the scientists at a federal laboratory devoted to figuring out how to burn more coal with less pollution."

"McMURDO STATION, Antarctica — The American research station on the edge of this frozen continent may look like a mining camp in the wilderness, but it is actually one of the glories of American science."

"Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries."

"It’s the holy grail for biofuel developers hoping to coax energy out of algae: Keep the organism fat enough to produce oil but spry enough to grow quickly. J. Craig Venter, the scientist who mapped the human genome, just helped Exxon Mobil Corp. strike that balance, with a breakthrough that could enable widespread commercialization of algae-based biofuels."