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 "gas prices" ...
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Drill Dangers
Gas industry-funded geologists announced a new estimate of 4000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath the Marcellus Shale in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland, enough gas to satisfy the needs of the entire U.S. for up to 40 years. That estimate, combined with escalating natural gas prices, has caused a drilling boom in Pennsylvania. The stories discovered that Marcellus Shale drillers are drawing the millions of gallons of water needed for each well from streams, rivers and reservoirs, with no oversight or regulation. our report detailed how that practice has already caused at least two streams to run dry.
Tags: environment; natural gas; drilling boom; Pennsylvania's Right To Know Law; gas well permits; Marcellus Shale wells;
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Gas price Secrets Revealed
Using daily retail prices at more than 700 stations for two months in the Greater Cincinnati area obtained through years of diligent sourcing, we were able to prove or disprove several "myths" about how street prices are set. Some findings include: which chain was the market leader for retail gas; individual retailers lost money on gas even when prices hit $4; the day of the week when gas was cheapest and most expensive; which communities had the most expensive and cheapest gas.
Tags: gas; oil; inflation; gas prices; oil price information service; mapping
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Hot Fuel
While fuel expands when it gets hot, retail pumps are not making a price adjustment to compensate for the energy lost by using hotter fuel. A century ago, the oil industry set a standard of 60 degrees for fuel temperature, and the Star found that gas in the United States is on average five degrees higher than this. At every level of distribution, a price adjustment is made to compensate for the expanding fuel, but not at the consumer pump itself. "The cost to consumers, by not equipping retail pumps to adjust for temperature, is $2.3 billion per year while state and federal governments lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually in fuel taxes."
Tags: Fuel; hot fuel; gas prices; taxes; price adjustments; 60-degree fuel standard
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Natural Gas
The authors investigated the price of natural gas in Mobile, AL and compared it to neighboring communities in Southeast states. They found that the gas in Alabama, particularly in Mobile, was more expensive than other regions, with no clear explanation for the price spike.
Tags: natural gas; energy; power; Public Service Commission; FOIA; Department of Energy; energy pricing
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The Big Squeeze By Big Oil and Coffeyville Plant Brews Oil, Profits
For years, many have suspected that the oil industry has been shutting down refineries for the sake of putting a squeeze on the market. Shutting down refineries and reducing available supplies and materials has helped to drive up gas prices and demolish available jobs. This investigation goes deeper to discover the truth behind rising gas prices.
Tags: oil; refineries; gas prices; refinery capacity; supplies; American Petroleum Institute; Total oil refinery; Coffeyville Plant
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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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Flying Gas Prices: The Shell Game
This investigation uncovered an oil company scandal: Shell Oil Company was planning to close a refinery, even though it was making big profits. The investigation found that, even though Shell Oil claimed the oil field was tapped out, the real motivation for the closure was to fix oil prices.
Tags: oil; petroleum; whistleblower; gas; corporate documents; business reporting; monopoly
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Series of Stories on U.S. Energy Policy
These stories from Time magazine look at an energy crisis that the U.S. is likely to face. The story reveals that for three decades, the government has not adopted or stuck to any significant energy policy. Subsequent government policies have in fact been marked by sharp reversals of the previous ones.
Tags: Energy; Energy crisis; Government policies; energy bills; oil prices; gas prices; consumption of electricity
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Incentives To Burn: How Federal Policies, Industry Shifts Created A Natural Gas Crunch
The WSJ drills into the causes of a natural gas crunch and discovers that the widely popular fuel is fast burning out, thanks to federal policies and industry economics. With prices high, experts estimate that this crisis could last for well close to a decade. Alaska now seems to be a potent back-up resource with producers getting around the problem of lack of shipping by reinjecting the gas into their own wells to boost oil production.
Tags: Natural Gas; Fuel; Environment
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Energy Crisis
CBS News investigates the California energy crisis. The investigation found secret meetings between executives of natural gas companies and pipeline operators, price manipulation by Duke Energy, which bought four power plants after deregulation, and sealed testimony about power plants shut down to keep prices high.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; California energy crisis; whistle-blowers; Federal Energy Commission