Published on July 19th, 2009
There is a controversial decision to be made in Maryland soon regarding a nuclear reactor that might be built there. Similar to reactors being built in Finland that British and Finnish regulators are finding problems with, this reactor would be built largely by a French nuclear technocratic elite who are operating in a questionable and risky way.
The project in Maryland is a 4.5 billion dollar deal that is trying to skirt public service regulation. Thanks in part to a regional coalition, the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition (CSEC), and their ability to get 650 petition signatures sent to the Public Service Commission (PSC), the nuclear business elite are running into responsible and practical decision-making that will give more public accountability.
An in-depth report of the history of nuclear technology in France that leads into the situation today was completed by international nuclear expert and consultant Mycle Schneider in May of this year. There are many issues put forth in this paper that are discussed in great detail and with appropriate connection to various global issues (i.e. issues regarding political conflict and the environment). Six key points from the report are introduced below:
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Tags:
AREVA,
Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition,
clean energy,
Constellation Energy,
EDF,
Electricite de France,
Maryland,
Mycle Schneider,
Niger,
nuclear energy,
nuclear reactors,
nuclear technology,
uranium mining
Published on July 18th, 2009
The first big victory against coal power plants in Virginia came a few days ago in a town of about 300. In a statement of independence, environmental justice, and the power a few people can have on the biggest issues facing our environment today, town councilors voted 3-2 to retain their zoning rights regarding a coal power plant proposal and essentially prevent the plant from being built (at least for now).
Big coal brought in all their artillery of propoganda, promises for jobs and a better living environment, and tax revenues for the town, but small groups of informed and regional activists, along with residents willing to listen and think for themselves, helped to stop this process from moving forward in its normal way in the small town of Dendron, VA. They came up with clever tactics and got enough support from the people in the area to make the decision-makers not only listen but vote in a significant and landmark way.
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Published on February 13th, 2009
The common toad is becoming much less common in England due to a sharp increase in traffic- and road-related deaths, but with the help of Google Earth, some conservationists hope to reverse the trend.
Froglife, an amphibian conservation group, has mapped 700 crossings throughout the United Kingdom with a tweaked Google Earth application. The data returns live results on toad fatalities and crossings so that the group can notify the public of areas where the animals tend to cross.
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Published on January 12th, 2009
While deforestation is clearly visible from satellite imagery, selective logging of rainforests is much harder to track. A team of some of the best scientists across the world have developed estimates of the severity of human logging in tropical regions, but say they really have no idea how accurate they are.
At today’s symposium “Will the Rainforests Survive? New Threats and Realities in the Tropical Extinction Crisis” at the Smithsonian Institution, Gregory Asner from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology explained the results of an extensive study on the extent of rainforest destruction worldwide.
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Published on January 7th, 2009
In October, Steve Jobs issued this statement in response to Greenpeace’s call to stop using toxic PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants:
Last year we announced the unprecedented goal of eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from Apple products by the end of 2008. I’m proud to report that all of Apple’s new product designs are on track to meet our 2008 year-end goal.
As it turns out, Macworld came around and this promise has been broken. And Greenpeace is pissed.
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Published on October 19th, 2008
Environmentalists across the nation argue that too many fish get sucked up and killed in the cooling systems of nuclear power plants each year.
As the presidential election draws near, Americans will be voting on a number of key issues, among the most important, I think we all agree, is energy. Will we choose John McCain, the nuclear candidate, or Barack Obama, the wind, solar, and fuel-efficient car candidate?
One issue that ties in to this debate: the significant loss of lake, river & marine life that gets sucked into the cooling systems of many older nuclear power plants, battered against the sides of pipes, and heated to death by steam.
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Published on October 8th, 2008
Dean Kamen wants you to drink your pee…or sewage, or toxic, disease infested water.
But not until after his Slingshot has worked its magic!
The Super-Inventor unfortunately most known for the failure of his Segway has segway-ed into world-changing inventions. His latest, the Slingshot, can turn any collection of water-containing cocktails (ie. urine, ocean water, toxic sludge, sewage etc.) into pure, distilled drinking water. The Slingshot does all this without the use of filters or reverse-osmosis membranes. It purifies the water-containing source using vapor compression distillation, and can run on cow manure! And as if that weren’t enough, the manure-powered Slingshot generates enough electricity to light 70 energy-efficient light bulbs.
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