By George Harvey Zachary Shahans’s CleanTechnica articles, “How Russian Attacks On Democracy & The USA Relate To Cleantech,” and “Where Does US Democracy Go From Here?” moved me to examine … [Read full article]
Category: Nuclear
House Republicans Fight Clean Energy, Clean Air, Clean Water, Human Health With New Bill
If anyone needed proof that the US Congress is now a whipped puppy that slavishly obeys the orders of its masters — Charles and David Koch — the House last … [Read full article]
Effects of Global Warming on Humans – From 2015 IPCC SYR Data
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. … [Read full article]
Climate Change-Induced Collapse of Civilization by 2040 Reports UK Foreign Office
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 … [Read full article]
In Spain, Solar Energy Storage is Worse Than Nuclear Spillage
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 … [Read full article]
Our Epic Future: Which Energy Future Will You Choose?
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 … [Read full article]
Drone Captures Fukushima Desolation Amid Cherry Blossoms
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 … [Read full article]
No control at FukUShima (cartoon)
For this little Fukushima irony, many thanks to Fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com!
Review: The Long Shadow Of Chernobyl
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 … [Read full article]
All 3 Fukushima ALPS Nuclide Scrubbers Shut Down Tuesday
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, … [Read full article]
Canada Water Tests Positive For Fukushima Cesium-134
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 … [Read full article]
Academic, Government Researchers Watch Coastal Kelp For Fukushima Contaminants
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 … [Read full article]
TEPCO Begins Relocating Fuel At Fukushima Unit 4
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 … [Read full article]
How Clean Is Your Electricity? Ask The EPA
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 … [Read full article]
Nuclear Plant In California May Close
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 … [Read full article]
Opera Of Power Plants (Video)
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 … [Read full article]
Nuclear Disaster In France Would Cost 20% Of France's GDP, France's Institute Of Nuclear Safety Finds
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 … [Read full article]
A Huge Purchase You Make Without Thinking
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 … [Read full article]
Brits Love Renewable Energy, Hate Fossil Fuels, Divided on Fracking
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 … [Read full article]
Japan Green Tea Exports Banned Due To High Radiation Levels
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. […]
Japan's Last Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down
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 … [Read full article]
Cheap Solar Energy Threatening Fossil Fuel & Nuclear Lobby in Germany
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 … [Read full article]
Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, & Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown Anniversary
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, … [Read full article]
Clean Energy Needed (NOW) to Stop Global Warming (.. Natural Gas Not a Good Option)
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. … [Read full article]
Green News of the Day (VIDEO)
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, … [Read full article]
Top Clean Energy News: World's Largest Offshore Wind Farms Going Up; Solar PV Reduces Price of Electricity; 70% of New Power in Europe from Renewable Energy…
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 … [Read full article]
Official Meme of 2011: Meltdown (Cartoon)
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 … [Read full article]
Green (& Not So Green) News of the Year (2011 Top 10 List)
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 … [Read full article]
80 Taiwan Environmentalists Protest Outside Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear power isn’t popular anywhere (well, except in nuclear industry board rooms, I guess). And it is something that gets people motivated enough to physically protest. The latest such … [Read full article]
More Activism News: Masked Anti-Nuclear Activists, Occupy in El Salvador, Sea Shepherd,..
Some top activism news from the past week or so: 1. Masked Activists in Germany Sop Transport of Nuclear Waste As the title indicates, some activists in Germany are fed … [Read full article]
Over 200 Anti-Nuclear Activists Block UK Nuclear Power Plant
Over 200 anti-nuclear activists blocked the Hinkley Point power plant in Somerset, UK yesterday. While the effort is now over, the activists consider the event to have been a wonderful success.
Current Extremism and it's Toll on the Environment
A few weeks ago we were sorely reminded of the extremism of the majority of the current Republican candidates. Among many other alarming things said, Republicans suggested eliminating or privatizing: FEMA, NASA, the EPA, the Federal Labor Relations Board, Medicaid and food stamps. Herman Cain promised not to appoint any Muslims who want to kill Americans to his cabinet. Michele Bachmann supports states’ rights on gay marriage, but also supports a constitutional amendment outlawing it. Rick Santorum wants to “a system of discipline” to “punish” gay soldiers, which suggests that his problem with pornographic Google results is not likely to abate. Tim Pawlenty views Iraq as “one of the shiniest examples of success in the Middle East.”
Top Activism Stories
Some top activism news of the past few days:
Earthquake Shuts Down Virginia Nuclear Plant {Video}
The North Anna nuclear power plant, located 20 miles from the epicenter, is shut down and in a safe condition, a company official and the Louisa County public information office report. There has been no release of nuclear material, Louisa County spokeswoman Amanda Reidelbach said
Fukushima Radiation So High, Geiger Counter Can't Register It! {Video}
TEPCO reported that radiation levels are over 10,000 millisieverts per hour on the second floor of reactor one. The problem with that report is that Geiger counters can’t measure past 10,000 millisieverts per hour. So how high is the radiation level on the second floor of reactor one?
Renewable Energy vs Nuclear Energy Infographic
We have featured a number of WellHome’s infographics on our site and, as a result, the folks there decided to ask us what matters we thought were most important at the moment and worth creating infographics about. I supplied them with my feedback and they’ve gone ahead and made an infographic on some of the topics I thought was hot and worthy of their time.
Activism Stories {Weekly Round-Up}
Some top environmental, climate, animal activism news from the past week or so….
Nebraska Nuclear Situation Gets Worse
Well, it’s no Fukushima, but the concerning news from Nebraska, where one (Calhoun) nuclear power plant is shut down and waiting for flood waters to recede to start up again (something that may not be until the Fall) and another (Cooper nuclear power plant) has mostly been in operation but is under threat as well now. The news is that, yesterday, a dam (or AquaDam) built around the Cooper nuclear power plant and other flood protection systems broke. And that may just be a sign of things to come….
Obama Administration Ordered a “total and complete” News Blackout Regarding Near Catastrophic at Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant — Don't Think So
One of our most popular stories over the past week was about a Nebraska nuclear power plant (or two, actually) at risk of some serious problems. A ton of people have been coming to our site via Google searches related to that for days. Normally, with such big news, we have to compete with other leading news sites for such views and may get a lot fo traffic for awhile, but generally not for several days. But, that didn’t seem to happen this time. Turns out, there may have been an obvious reason for that.
Electrical Fire Knocks Out Spent Fuel Cooling Pool at Nebraska Nuclear Plant
A fire in an electrical switch room on Tuesday briefly knocked out cooling for a pool holding spent nuclear fuel at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant outside Omaha, Neb., plant officials said….
Environmental Activism News of the Week
Some top green activism stories form the past week or so (that we didn’t cover,.. or pieces of them we didn’t cover)….
Italian Activists Hang Anti-Nuclear Banner from Stadium Ceiling for Italian Soccer Final {VIDEO}
Check that out! Some Greenpeace activists in Italy dropped a huge anti-nuclear banner 20 minutes into a huge Italian soccer match (and you know Italians are huge soccer fans). Furthermore, the banner stayed up for the whole game!
The game was apparently the Italian league finals for the Coppa Italia — the Italian Cup. The two teams playing were renowned Palermo and Internazionale (Inter) Milan.
Mississippi River Gets Radioactive Water Dumped into It from Nuclear Plant
That’s not the kind of thing you want to hear, especially not with the flooding going on. But, reportedly, Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant workers in Mississippi “accidentally released water from an abandoned unit into the river.” A large amount of tritum, a cancer-causing radionuclide, was in the water according to sensors.
Mock Evacuation & Rally Against Nuclear Expansion in Florida Tomorrow {VIDEO}
One of our loyal readers (the creator of the environmental music film above) passed on to me that Florida Power & Light (FPL) wants to put two new nuclear reactors on the shores of Biscayne Bay and the South Florida Wildlands Association is organizing a mock evacuation and rally for tomorrow (Saturday) in opposition to such a plan. Here’s more….
Busby: 400,000 to Develop Cancer in 200-km Radius of Fukushima {VIDEO}
The title above comes fro the YouTube page. For more, watch the video
Japan's Nuclear Agency Raises Crisis Severity Rating to 'Chernobyl Level'
After a month of partial and failed fixes to three of the Dai-ichi Fukushima nuclear plants, the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NISA) has just now raised the level of severity to ‘7’ — the same rating ascribed to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Its previous rating of the disaster’s severity had been ‘5’.
Radiation Infographic
Here’s an interesting infographic for you — all you wanted to know about radiation and more. A nice follow-up to the radiation dose chart I shared last week.
Offshore Wind Power Cheaper than Nuclear Power, EU Climate Chief Emphasizes
I wrote a short piece last week on onshore wind energy being cost-competitive with coal in some regions. Now, EU climate chief Connie Hedegaard has added that offshore wind energy is cheaper than nuclear.