Energy
Japan 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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CONTINUE READINGDim Bulbs (The Sequel)
I did a post last November about the surprising tea party anger regarding energy-efficient light bulbs. The furor seems to be continuing. Here are some quotes from Republican Senators courtesy of EE News: “People in Idaho are just astonished that the federal government is telling them what kind of light bulb to put in their …
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CONTINUE READING2010 U.S. Solar Market: $6 billion
In 2010, the U.S. solar market grew 67% to $6 billion. PV installations doubled to 878 megawatts. And still, the U.S. continues to be outpaced by the Germans and Italians, with U.S. market share of PV installations falling to 5% of the global market in 2010. (These facts and figures are from the Solar Energy …
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CONTINUE READINGPeak Oil Prices?
Oil prices are currently being pushed up by uncertainty about supply from the Middle East. Well before that crisis, Deutsche Bank was predicting $175/barrel oil five years from now. Predicting future oil prices is a tricky venture, and the track record for past predictions has been mixed. The two factors that foretell price increases over …
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CONTINUE READINGMichele Bachmann’s Unconstitutional Light-Bulb Bill
Congress can repeal the light bulb requirement (or not). It can mandate that an executive agency like DOE or EPA decide the three issues specified by Bachman. But Congress can’t make the validity of the light bulb requirement turn on a determination by GAO.
CONTINUE READINGDesigning City Streets That Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In the U.S., city planners have typically designed streets to enhance the comfort of the driver. Unfortunately, the very qualities that serve this goal tend to discourage foot traffic, bicycles, and transit use. The result is that standard street design tends to encourage activities that increase greenhouse gas emissions, and discourage more efficient ways to …
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