nuclear power
The (VERY) Uneasy Case for Nuclear Power
Anyone who is serious about combatting climate change must be serious about considering nuclear power. Fission generation produces virtually no emissions, and given the difficulties we will have in reducing the world’s carbon footprint, to ignore nuclear power is to my mind irresponsible. But “considering” nuclear power hardly means adopting it. Nuclear power plants are …
Continue reading “The (VERY) Uneasy Case for Nuclear Power”
CONTINUE READINGTwo tales of environmental ignorance
Citizens in Tokyo have discovered patches of radiation that are comparable to some of the evacuated areas near Chernobyl, radiation that presumably came from the recent nuclear power plant accident. The EPA has recently reported that the number of waterways in California that exceed water quality standards are 170 percent higher today than in 2006. …
Continue reading “Two tales of environmental ignorance”
CONTINUE READINGBut Will You Love My Energy Source in the Morning?
In the wake of cataclysmic energy disasters occurring on opposite sides of the globe, some interesting regional and national reflections are currently underway that may–or may not–alter long-term energy futures in the U.S. and abroad. One development this week that drew surprisingly little public attention is that no less a personage than the Prime Minister of …
Continue reading “But Will You Love My Energy Source in the Morning?”
CONTINUE READINGConcerned about nuclear power safety? Be not ashamed.
Should an individual state be able to decide whether or not there will be an active nuclear power plant within its borders? And whether it should or not, would federal law allow it? These are questions that I am left with after a recent trip to Vermont. Any day now, a federal judge will decide …
Continue reading “Concerned about nuclear power safety? Be not ashamed.”
CONTINUE READINGRethinking NRC Policy
An NRC task force seems to be heading for some significant policy shifts in light of the Fukushima reactor failures, including tighter requirements for re-licensing and reduced reliance on voluntary guidelines. The two commissioners on the task force seem to be reassessing the Commission’s previously nonchalant attitude toward extreme events. ClimateWire reports: NRC policy has …
Continue reading “Rethinking NRC Policy”
CONTINUE READINGSome Intriguing Statistics
I was recently paging through the new 2011-2012 Statistical Abstract of the United States (strange folk, we professors), and came up with some intriguing tidbits that I wanted to pass on: In the past fifty years, total water withdrawals have increased by 150% Carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen dioxide all declined from …
Continue reading “Some Intriguing Statistics”
CONTINUE READINGWorse Than We Thought
Apparently, the Japanese nuclear crisis was worse than we thought. The Guardian reports: Molten nuclear fuel in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant is likely to have burned through pressure vessels, not just the cores, Japan has said in a report in which it also acknowledges it was unprepared for an accident of …
Continue reading “Worse Than We Thought”
CONTINUE READINGTough Political Choices On Climate Are Hardly Unique to U.S: The Case of Germany and Nuclear Power
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made headlines this week when she announced that the country would phase out its nuclear power plants by 2022. The Fukishima nuclear crisis in Japan led Germany to review its reliance on nuclear power and the result of that review was Merkel’s decision to shut down the country’s existing plants. Here’s …
CONTINUE READINGThe story of the Price-Anderson Act: how Congress made nuclear power financially viable in the U.S. by eliminating accountability for risk
Ever wonder how nuclear power plants have been able to get financial backing in the U.S. despite the huge, and largely uncertain, potential risks they pose? Or why there are nuclear plants within a few hours’ drive of major population centers such as Los Angeles and New York? Or who will pay the costs that …
CONTINUE READINGA Modest Proposal for Increasing Nuclear Safety
The N.Y. Times has a revealing, lengthy article about the NRC that raises disturbing questions about the agency’s oversight of the industry. Here are three points that are especially disturbing: First, the NRC has weakened requirements for relicensing to the point where the process involves expensive red-tape but the result is a forgone conclusion. For …
Continue reading “A Modest Proposal for Increasing Nuclear Safety”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
