Meanwhile, America has recently reversed a steady decline in domestic gas production, thanks to new technology that allows firms to tap previously inaccessible gas trapped in coal, shale and some types of sandstone.

ECONOMIST: Liquefied natural gas

Some types of partnerships are more prone than others, such as those directly engaged in producing a commodity, like coal.

FORBES: Pump Up Yields In Master Limited Partnerships

There are many types of sulfide minerals, but pyrite and marcasite, the two structural forms of FeS2 that are especially common in coal regions, are the major acid-producers.

FORBES: Fracking With Bad Water

Heartening news rang forth from the renewable energy sector this week as a UN-backed study reported that the building of new renewable energy plants has officially overtaken fossil fuel plants in Europe and the US. We also took a look at two brand new types of power plants -- the world's first hydrogen-driven power plant in Italy and the first hybrid coal-solar power plant in Colorado.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: of mirror cubes and urban icebergs