The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "fuel economy" ...
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The Foreclosure Factory
"Using data analysis and interviews with those inside and outside the mortgage industry, Ron French and Mike Wilkinson revealed the roots of the housing meltdown in Detroit, where 260 homes a day receive foreclosure notices. Presumed to be merely a symptom of Michigan's dismal economy, the foreclosure crisis instead was being fueled by rampant fraud and poor policing of the mortgage industry."
Tags: housing; real estate; foreclosure; landlords; proprietory lending; HUD; state government
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The Ethanol Myth
Although the Bush administration has been stressing the push for ethanol to replace gasoline, economically it isn't ideal. After numerous tests, Consumer Reports found that a person will get 27 percent lower fuel economy by using E85 as an alternative to gasoline. Drivers will pay more on a per-mile basis, and the fuel-flex vehicles are typically large vehicles, like SUVs, so drivers will have to pay more at the pump regardless of their fuel type.
Tags: gasoline; fuel; ethanol; corn; farming; oil; economy; petroleum
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Gold Rush
This story uncovered the tale of cyber-criminals' favorite payment vehicle: e-gold. The story of e-gold -- one of a growing number of obscure, unregulated, Web-based companies issuing their own money, known as "digital currencies" -- shows how cyber-criminals are finding new sources of financial fuel to power their nefarious activities.
Tags: money; internet; hacking; online crime; finance; economy; scandal; e-gold; cyber criminals; digital currencies
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Fuel Economy: Why You're Not Getting the MPG You Expect
U.S. government fuel economy ratings data significantly mislead consumers about the miles-per-gallon they can realistically expect to get from specific new cars and trucks. This is due to flawed and outdated testing methodology, procedures and loopholes used by the EPA, the NHTSA, and automakers.
Tags: cars; automobiles; environment; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Environmental Protection Agency; mileage; gas; fuel economy; mpg
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Fuel economy: Why you're not getting the mpg you expect
With fuel prices rising, Consumer Reports tested actual mpg rates for new cars and compared them with the manufacturers' mpg ratings. They found shortfalls in 90 percent of the vehicles they tested, including hybrids. In some models they found shortfalls of 50 percent. Manufacturers use prototype vehicles to determine mpg ratings and do not drive them the way actual consumers do.
Tags: miles per gallon; fuel economy; hybrid cars; manufacturer ratings; mpg city; mpg highway; gas mileage; prototype vehicles
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Global Apartheid
The Nation looks at the AIDS pandemic fueled by unequal access to medical care, and by social and economic conditions. The article reveals that Bush administration and the corporate interests of the giant American pharmaceutical companies prevents Africans from receiving lifesaving AIDS treatment. The author points out that African countries are "forced to give priority to paying illegitimate foreign debts over making investment in public health."
Tags: HIV; AIDS; patents; international political economy; politics; United Nations; pharmaceuticals; racism; World Health Organization
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Disney's Big California Gamble
The Wall Street journal reports on growing concerns that the California energy crisis, rising fuel costs and slowly economy would hurt the opening ot Disney's California Adventure Theme Park in Anaheim, CA. CEO Michale Eisner balks at this notion.
Tags: Disney; energy crisis; California Adventure
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A Modest Proposal To Stop Global Warming
The Sierra Magazine looks at how "the world's nations squabble over a complex fix too timid to solve" the global warming problem, and concludes that heating the globe can be stopped "by calling an end to the Carbon Age." The story reports on the financial forecasts pertaining to global warming, and warns that "unchecked climate change could bankrupt the global economy by 2065." The author describes the steps that different countries have taken initiate a global energy transition, and to criticizes the unwillingness of the United States to "lead the world in addressing climate change." The reporter finds that "George w. Bush and Dick Cheney, oilmen both, are more inclined to protect the petroleum industry's short-term profitability than to promote its inevitable transformation."
Tags: climate; floods; droughts; storms; fossil fuels; energy; politics; the Kyoto protocol
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Power Source: How Trinidad Became A Major U.S. Supplier Of Liquefied Natural Gas
A LNG plant in Trinidad supplies 40 percent of U.S. imported natural gas, but establishing the plant facility on the small island nation was difficult. BP Amoco and British Gas, the largest producers in Trinidad, were reluctant to back the project proposed by the smaller Boston-based Cabot Corp. Eventually, they did and the $1 billion facility is a huge success thanks to the energy crisis and relatively cheap costs of transportation to New England. Trinidad's overall economy is up 7 percent. Plans are underway to triple the plant's capacity by 2002.
Tags: liquefied natural gas (LNG); pipeline; fuel; energy crisis
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How Federal Policies, Industry Shifts Created A Natural Gas Crunch
The Journal reports that federal efforts to promote clean air have fed a surge in demand for natural gas, but the shape of the domestic oil and gas industry have sharply curtailed U.S. oil and gas exploration, bringing little new gas into the pipeline. The story reveals that as production lags, gas consumption, fueled by gas-fired power plants and a hot economy, is climbing fast. Imports are struggling to fill the gap.
Tags: natural gas; fuel; oil prices; futures