In 1934, Hammerschmidt showed that the formation of gas  hydrates  was responsible for blocking pipelines. Considering the significant economic risks in the gas and oil industry, much of research has been conducted by the petroleum industry in order to inhibit this phenomenon.

European producers of Wind energy demand billion investment in wind planted at sea for production.

First Solar Inc. said Tuesday it has received initial approval from the Chinese government to build what may become the largest solar field in the world.

First Solar, which makes more solar cells than any other company, said it struck a tentative 10-year deal to build in China's vast desert north of the Great Wall. The project would eventually blanket 25 square miles of Inner Mongolia — slightly larger than the size of Manhattan — with a sea of black, light-absorbing glass.

Scientists worry that rising global temperatures accompanied by melting permafrost in arctic regions will initiate the release of underground methane into the atmosphere. Once released, that methane gas would speed up global warming by trapping the Earth's heat radiation about 20 times more efficiently than does the better-known greenhouse gas, Carbon dioxide.