"Fossil fuels are reaping $550 billion a year in subsidies and holding back investment in cleaner forms of energy, the International Energy Agency said."

"A Senate subcommittee on investigations will hold a two-day hearing when Congress returns from recess on Wall Street banks' involvement with physical commodities like oil, natural gas and metals."

"The benchmark American oil price fell below the symbolic $80-a-barrel threshold on Monday, swooning to two-year lows, after Saudi Arabia aimed to shore up its dwindling exports to the United States by cutting its selling price for the American market."

"Expanded U.S. liquefied natural gas exports would mean a modest price increase for domestic consumers, but those higher costs would be outweighed by a boost to the economy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday."

"Scott Kidwell, a top executive for Concho Resources Inc., came to Capitol Hill in July to urge senators to pass a bipartisan bill to expedite drilling permits on public lands."

"After Hurricane Sandy roared across the Northeastern United States, many homeowners on Long Island — even those who escaped the most damage — often lost their property insurance. The same thing happened in coastal Virginia after Hurricane Katrina, which hit hundreds of miles away along the Gulf Coast."

"Oil prices sank again on Monday, giving consumers more of a break and causing a split among OPEC leaders about what action should be taken, if any, to halt the slide."

"At the annual SXSW Eco, a conference in Austin, Texas, you'll find a lot of serious discussion of the rapid decline of the Earth's ecosystems."