Not only posing significant risks for Earth’s natural systems, the effects of global warming on humans and human systems have only recently begun receiving the expanded attention they critically require. From hazardous effects causing potential loss of life, injury, or other negative health impacts, to the potential exposure of social, economic, and infrastructure assets to […]
Releasing this exclusive freely in the public interest, best-selling author Dr. Nafeez Ahmed is offering a unique view of the critically significant impact that climate change is having on our lives, our livelihoods, and even our likelihood of survival on this planet. Dr Nafeez Ahmed is an international security scholar and investigative journalist, currently serving as a […]
Storing solar energy in a battery in Spain is more criminal than spilling radioactive waste. That’s the implied message written between the lines of a recently drafted law poised for fast-track approval by the government of Spain. Proposed fines for residential and SME use of solar energy self-consumption will be as high as €60 million […]
The recent drop in gas prices in the US, while a boon to consumers, is no indication of the viability or longevity of fossil fuels, and continuing to bet on coal, even so-called “clean coal,” or on seemingly-abundant natural gas, isn’t a good move for anyone except the coal power industry. With all that we […]
Cherry blossoms in the foreground of Mount Fuji (image: ladyadventurer.co.uk) So far, at least, the famed blossoming cherry trees of Japan don’t discriminate geographically. This time of year, they grace even the surroundings of nuclear power generators shaken by earthquake, tsunami, and meltdowns three years ago. Otherwise, though, the Fukushima landscape remains desolate. Despite widespread […]
For this little Fukushima irony, many thanks to Fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com!
Though we try to keep a very positive focus here, PlanetSave isn’t just a blog about the wonders of the natural world and the glory of Mankind’s inventions. It also offers knowledge and a caution about our failures as individuals and as a species. We’ve all made mistakes before, big and small. By acknowledging anthropogenic […]
Construction of the Advanced Liquid Processing System at TEPCO’s ruined Fukushima nuclear power complex (photo: TEPCO, via mainichi.jp). Still dealing with the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and three meltdowns at its Fukushima I nuclear power complex, Tokyo Electric Power Company had more bad news yesterday about its Fukushima ALPS cleanup efforts. […]
The issue of where we will get our energy from in the coming decades is becoming ever more urgent. CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere at alarming rates, and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently stated that the majority of known reserves of fossil fuels will need to be left in the ground if we […]
Bad news from the annual American Geophysical Union’s Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu. Researchers there announced today that radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, when three reactors melted down after the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake and subsequent mega-tsunami, have finally reached the West Coast. John Smith, a research scientist at Canada’s Bedford Institute […]
A diver in California’s kelp forest. A new study will explore possible radioactive contamination from the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns (Wikimedia Commons/Ed Bierman). Biology professor Steven L. Manley of California State University, Long Beach, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Head of Applied Nuclear Physics Kai Vetter have set up monitoring off the state’s coast throughout […]
It’s not too late to catch America Tonight‘s exclusive four-part series, Return to Fukushima. The television special delves into real-world impacts of the nuclear disaster, industry and government efforts to mitigate the damage done, and how any ongoing fallout could affect the safety of Americans. Last night’s installment dealt with the ghost towns the Japanese […]
NHK World reports the beginning of Fukushima Reactor Unit 4 fuel rod transfer. (Screenshot of NHK broadcast, video released by TEPCO.) The ticklish operations involved in decommissioning Tokyo Electric’s ruined nuclear power plant at Fukushima began on Monday. Workers at the plant began removing unused nuclear fuel from the fourth-floor storage pool at the damaged […]
If you’ve ever wondered about the composition of the electricity delivered to your home (most of us have no clue), there’s one quick and easy way to find out. The EPA’s ‘Power Profiler’ tool has apparently been around for at least 2 years, but I only discovered it recently. Although the data used to generate […]
The San Onofre nuclear plant has been shut down for over a year, and may stay that way permanently. The reason for the current closure is a problem with new steam generators. They experienced some kind of rapid degradation which compromised the plant’s safety. The plant is operated by Edison International, the parent company of […]
Here’s one of my favorite videos ever. It’s an ad for ECOtricity, which is a clean energy utility company in the UK. Check it out and share it: http://youtu.be/FLlczvGNVvU (Those are coal and nuclear power plant towers coming down in the video.) Thanks to NewEnergyNews for sharing it recently and bringing it back onto my […]
Quite frankly, nuclear reactors already costs too much even if they don’t run into any problems. The financial risk of nuclear power plants means that they are never funded by the private sector. If a new nuclear power plant is to get funded, is must do so through considerable governmental or utility support and subsidy. But […]
Generally speaking, we compare products when shopping. We look for the cheapest, greenest, most socially responsible options we can find. It’s quite common for us to do this when it comes to food, clothing, electronics, and even cars. However, there’s one huge expense we pay for regularly without even thinking (or hardly thinking), and […]
I’ve been on the “there’s hardly any difference between Republicans and Democrats” line. I’ve campaigned for people on that line. But that simply isn’t the story today. There are now HUGE differences between Democrats and Republicans (the most backwards group of politicians I’m aware of in U.S. history), and that includes some huge differences […]
A new survey conducted by UK pollsters YouGov has shown that support for renewable energy remains consistently strong in Britain whilst support for fossil fuels continues to decline. However, the same survey shows that there is division over whether large scale fracking in the north of England should go ahead, and most people continue to […]
The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. While green tea has so many healthy benefits, consumers need to be wary if their tea comes from certain parts of Japan. […]
The last nuclear reactor in Japan was shut down today. The last of 50 nuclear reactors, this will be the first time in 40 years that Japan doesn’t generate any electricity with nuclear power. Last year on March 11, an earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plants, causing enormous human, […]
Yep, times have changed. Aggressive renewable energy (especially solar) policies have made rooftop solar power more competitive than fossil fuels or nuclear energy in Germany. And that has the fossil fuel and nuclear industry pulling all the strings they can to try to kill this democratized electricity revolution in Deutschland. [repostus hash=515137636ca1caa273dbc6674e6767bf title=German%20Solar%3A%20Mission%20Too%20Well%20Accomplished%2C%20from%20Perspective%20of%20Fossil%2FNuclear%20Lobby%20(Reader%20Comment) host=Clean%20Technica […]
Tomorrow, March 11, is my birthday, which makes the date of one of the worst disasters the world has ever seen quite easy to remember. On March 11, 2011, a tremendous earthquake and series of aftershocks struck the country of Japan. For days to follow, but especially that entire birthday, I was feverishly following […]
A couple days ago, over on sister site CleanTechnica, I reposted a Grist piece on a new study by former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold and climate scientist Ken Caldeira. The post and new study were about what energy transition is needed to address global warming this century. The basic conclusions of it all (also […]
Top clean, green energy news of the day; global warming news of the day; and a bit more: Clean, Green Energy Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012 Introduced How Wind Turbines Work GE Doubled Global Solar Power Investments in Last Year New Solar & Wind Power Projects (Largest Wind Power Project in Washington, Largest PV […]
Some top green news from around from the past day or so: Global Warming Heartland associate taught ‘biased’ climate course at Ottawa university An associate of the Heartland Institute, the thinktank devoted to discrediting climate change, taught a course at a top Canadian university that contained more than 140 false, biased and misleading claims about […]
Top green & animal activism news of the day from around: Lucy Lawless & Greenpeace Activists Arrested Lucy Lawless (XENA) and 6 other Greenpeace activists were arrested yesterday for climbing a Shell oil rig headed to the Arctic. Greenpeace Activists Climb Mt Fuji to Call for Nuclear-Free Japan Greenpeace activists elsewhere, meanwhile, were preparing yesterday […]
David Roberts of Grist has done a great job helping House Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) expose some of his party’s (rather odd) ideologies and, in particular, energy agenda. In the post below (reposted from Grist) exposes the (ok, not so hidden) fact that the GOP is not opposed to government supporting/subsidizing industry or playing […]
I want to start covering clean energy news much more here on Planetsave, but as they say, “so much to do, so little time.” Also, since we cover that extensively on sister site CleanTechnica, I just sort of assume you all can easily pop over there and subscribe to that page for news on this […]
Via DailyKos, here’s the “official meme of 2011“: Seems spot on to me. We certainly covered the Japan nuclear meltdowns, Arctic ice cap meltdown, and multiple (Republican-driven) Congressional meltdowns repeatedly here on Planetsave. Though, decided that the Charlie Sheen and other meltdowns were outside our jurisdiction, somewhat thankfully. What will 2012 bring?
2011 was a big year for the environment, in some good ways and some bad ways. Here’s a quick run-down of the top 10 stories of the year, in my opinion: 1. Tremendously high levels of carbon emissions continue to warm Earth. Despite efforts to switch to clean energy, increase energy efficiency, and use more […]