"Shell Oil had its problems this year drilling off the Arctic coast of Alaska, but on Wednesday it declared success on the final day of operations for the season. (Only a brief autumn exploration season is allowed by regulators because of ice floes.)"

"WASHINGTON -- As Sandy lashed the Eastern Seaboard this week, some environmental groups raised concerns that the superstorm’s brute force could overwhelm feeble storage pits adjacent to fracking sites."

"DETROIT -- In an economically distressed pocket of southwest Detroit known by its ZIP code -- 48217 -- the weekend of September 7-9 was one of the worst, pollution-wise, residents like Theresa Shaw could remember."

"LONDON — BP returned to profitability with a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, prompting the oil giant to raise its dividend."

"LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The idea behind the sculpture that appeared on the University of Wyoming campus about 16 months ago was simple but provocative: a swirl of dead wood and lumps of coal, intended to show the link between global warming and the pine beetle infestation that has ravaged forests across the Rockies."

"THREE RIVERS, Tex. — The refinery business has long been the difficult stepchild of the oil industry, expensive to run, prone to accidents and a low-margin headache for executives who preferred drilling for gushers. But signs of the improving fortunes for the industry can be seen at Valero Energy's Three Rivers refinery here, about 70 miles south of San Antonio at the doorstep of a giant new shale oil field."

"After years of working to obtain permission from the state, Alberta-based U.S. Oil Sands Inc. was given the final go-ahead Wednesday to develop the first commercial oil sands project in the US."

"The hillside vineyards of New York's Finger Lakes region make money producing fine Rieslings and inviting tourists to sip white wine by the water's edge. Now winery owners are worried about the prospect of a grittier kind of economic development: gas drilling."

Fracking has brought economic boom times to some parts of the U.S. As the price of natural gas sinks, the question arises: what will happen when the boom is over?