Energy
Japan Update
Not good, on a number of fronts: The official death count is now past 7000, as reported by CNN. Another ten thousand are still missing. The NY Times reports that the Japanese government has finally raised the level of the event to 5, the same level as Three Mile Island. Here’s a really scary statement …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Do People Care So Much About Nuclear Accidents?
Well, for obvious reasons. But Ann, citing Will Saletan, raises a good question: why are people so much more concerned about nuclear accidents than, say oil spills or other environmental disasters? If we accept Saletan’s figures of “direct fatalities” being 18 times more dangerous for oil production per energy unit (and there are reasons not …
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CONTINUE READINGJapan: Growing Nuclear Problems
More trouble, according to the Washington Post: All but about 50 workers were evacuated from the plant, where at least three reactor cores are believed to be imperiled, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan hailed those who remained, saying they “are putting themselves in a very dangerous situation.” Explosions destroyed the tops of two buildings housing …
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CONTINUE READINGJapan Nuclear Crisis — Another Worry
As at many plants in the U.S. and around the world, the Japanese plants have on-site storage for spent fuel rods. The reason is that no one has come up with a working permanent storage solution. These spent fuel rods are now beginning to pose a serious risk at the Japanese plants, according to the …
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CONTINUE READINGJapan’s Nuclear Reactors, Risk Assessment & Accident Theory
In the wake of Japan’s developing nuclear crisis, people have begun questioning the future of US nuclear policy. Here is Sen. Lieberman, cautiously arguing for a review of nuclear power safety: I think it calls on us here in the U.S., naturally, not to stop building nuclear power plants but to put the brakes on …
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CONTINUE READINGJapan Nuclear Crisis Update
The situation continues to be very dangerous. How bad are things? From the NY Times: The risk of a meltdown spread to a third reactor at a stricken nuclear power plant in Japan on Monday as its cooling systems failed, exposing its fuel rods, only hours after a second explosion at a separate reactor blew …
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CONTINUE READINGJapan Nuclear Update
The situation is continuing to deteriorate. The Washington Post’s coverage seems to be exceptionally good. Here’s their summary of the current situation: Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant haven’t found a way to stabilize overheated reactors and feared the possibility of partial nuclear meltdown, which could potentially cause a further release of radioactive material, …
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CONTINUE READINGFrom the Department of Bad PR
From the Washington Post; “Obviously, any time you have an incident at a nuclear plant that involves any kind of damage or an explosion, it’s not good,” said Mitch Singer, spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s lobbying arm. “But in the scheme of things, is it a disaster? We don’t think so.” It …
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CONTINUE READINGExplosion at Fukushima Daiichi No. 1
The Washington Post reports on an explosion at a Japanese nuclear reactor: In what may become the most serious nuclear power crisis since the Chernobyl disaster, the explosion followed large tremors at the Fukushima Daiichi No. 1 reactor Saturday afternoon, injuring four workers who were struggling to get the quake-stricken unit under control…. The full …
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CONTINUE READINGPublic Policy and Those Pesky Smart Meters
The controversy over “smart” electric meters doesn’t want to go away. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the President of the California Public Utilities Commission has directed the Pacific Gas & Electric Company to come back within two weeks with a plan for allowing customers to pay some additional “reasonable” amount for the privilege of …
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