An attorney for General Motors urged a bankruptcy judge Thursday to approve the automaker's sale plan, saying that the only other alternative would be a liquidation of the company's assets.

The Sears Tower will soon have another unique feature: wind turbines sprouting from its recessed rooftops high in the sky.

Markus O. Häring, a former oilman, was a hero in this city of medieval cathedrals and intense environmental passion three years ago, all because he had drilled a hole three miles deep near the corner of Neuhaus Street and Shafer Lane.

A small group of General Motors bondholders formally objected Friday to the automaker's plans for a speedy sale of its assets in bankruptcy court, according to court documents.

If companies commit at the outset to use union labor, they say environmental objections never materialize.

Billionaire oil investor T. Boone Pickens said on Wednesday he doubts a $26 billion natural gas pipeline from Alaska will be built any time soon as abundant new shale gas supplies reduce the need for the expensive project.

Australia's Santos has locked in long-term sales of 2 million tons a year of liquefied natural gas from its Gladstone project, more than half the expected output and half a year ahead of its own deadline.

U.S. capacity to store natural gas may get its first real test this year as excess production, slumping demand and increased imports of liquefied gas combine to push storage fields to their limits.

The rise of wind farms in the Pacific Northwest is seen by some as an opportunity to help save the wild salmon, by removing dams that have impeded their spawning.

Edward Whitacre, former chairman and CEO of AT&T, will become chairman of General Motors when the company emerges from bankruptcy, said interim Chairman Kent Kresa Tuesday.

Three Indiana state pension and construction funds want the Supreme Court to block Chrysler's sale to Fiat so they can pursue an appeal in hopes of getting a better deal.

Consumers should feel comfortable buying a General Motors car even as the automaker battles its way out of its stunning bankruptcy, company CEO Frederick "Fritz" Henderson told CNBC in a live interview Tuesday.

Some of the towns most threatened by GM's woes would not exist without the automaker. The company has been part of everyday life by contributing to orchestras, community colleges and ballparks.

Turnaround specialist Albert Koch is in for perhaps his biggest challenge yet as GM's chief restructuring officer. He'll be GM's primary representative while it is in bankruptcy court protection.

General Motors'  bankruptcy filing on Monday comes at no surprise, said Bob Doll, BlackRock vice chairman.