Canada last week expanded its claims in the Arctic, enticed by the region’s oil and gas riches. Russia isn’t taking that laying down—Putin ordered his military to beef up bases in the region, and sharpen its focus on Arctic goings-on.

The Mexican Senate passed an historic energy reform bill late last night. The bill now heads to the lower house, where it is expected to pass. The reforms could kick-start the country’s stagnating oil and gas production and help it realize its goal of becoming the world’s “new Middle East.”

The Ukrainian government seems to have blinked in a showdown with protesters last night, and, maybe more significantly, the country’s leading churches seem to be backing the people against Yanukovich. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church doesn’t appear to be longing for a closer relationship with Moscow, and that substantially enhances the chances that Ukraine will eventually look west.

The European Parliament voted to fix its broken carbon market today by “backloading” new carbon permits. Brussels is hoping the move will inflate the bargain-basement price of carbon to a level that will actually encourage firms to reduce emissions, but it risks hurting Europe’s industry’s ability to compete.

China’s omnipresent toxic smog isn’t all bad. It obscures potential missile targets, bolstering the country’s military defense, and it…helps affected citizens’ sense of humor? OK, you lost us. Both of those odd claims were championed by Chinese state-backed media on Monday, in what, if we’re being charitable, could be seen as some misguided attempt to make the best out of an untenable situation.

Wind farms are now free to kill eagles. That’s according to the Department of the Interior, which on Friday outlined a process for issuing 30 year permits for wind farms to allow the accidental deaths of federally protected eagles at the hands of wind turbines.

America’s shale boom is boosting our petrochemicals industry, and it’s coming at the expense of European firms. Natural gas liquids are used as a feedstock for many chemicals, and thanks to fracking, the US is flush with the stuff.

What a week it’s been for the blog. We launched a new site, so be sure to let us know what you think. Here’s a roundup of posts well worth your time that you might have missed over the past week.

Gauthier Toulemonde was fed up with his commute, so he decided to start teleworking this fall. The decision was unremarkable by itself—telework is gaining momentum as people around the world are starting to realize that that odious daily chore of traveling to and from the office isn’t always necessary. So why focus on Toulemonde? Because he chose to telework from a desert island.

Bulgaria is the latest European country to take action in cutting rising electricity costs due to the over-subsidization of green energy. The Bulgarian parliament voted today to levy a 20 percent tax on income generated from green energy production.