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Fukushima radiation was double previous estimates
Japanese officials have admitted that the meltdown at Fukushima released almost twice as much radiation as they had initially allowed. ("Did we say 370,000 terabecquerels? Oops, that should have been 770,000.") They also said that the meltdown at the plant began five hours after the quake/tsunami double-punch. The plant's operator had said earlier the meltdown […]
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Natural gas ‘golden age’ requires government regulation
Natural gas will provide 25 percent of global energy by 2035, up from 21 percent now, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based organization that studies and advises on energy issues. The IEA's report asks if the world is entering a "golden age" of natural gas and answers, more or […]
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Why power plant operators should be forced to eat the fish they kill
Recently the Sierra Club put out an animated short explaining that every year 2.1 billion pounds of fish, crab, and shrimp are killed shredded by power plants that suck up billions of gallons of water from rivers and lakes and don't even re-use it. The following clip nicely summarizes the situation: Here's the thing: it's […]
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Nuclear power is expensive and uninsurable
The world’s beleaguered nuclear industry continues to take a battering. The “nuclear renaissance” juggernaut that once seemed unstoppable now appears dead in its tracks. The cabinet of Germany’s conservative government on Monday voted to take the country out of nuclear permanently by 2022. Not to be outdone on the right, the country’s opposition parties say […]
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Want more cash in your pocket? Live in a neighborhood with good transportation options
A report released Thursday by the House Democratic Livable Communities Task Force recognized that families living in auto-dependent neighborhoods spend significantly more money on transportation, with fewer dollars available for health care, food, and other family expenses. In response, the two dozen representatives proposed a “Freedom from Oil” [PDF] agenda that would reduce oil use […]
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Watch Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., talk mountaintop-removal mining on Colbert
Activist and all-around handsome dude Robert F. Kennedy talked mountaintop-removal mining and The Last Mountain with Stephen Colbert Wednesday night, and taught Stephen about why mountains are not actually renewable resources.
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Is pro-nuke enthusiasm in the U.S. waning?
This is the fourth and final post in a series on the United States and nuclear power. Read parts one, two, and three. Fukushima gave many Americans a sense of déjà vu: In 1979, a threatened explosion at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania caused by venting an explosive gas mixture was just […]
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States fight back against nuclear power, even as the feds remain in its thrall
This is part three in a series on the United States and nuclear power. Read parts one, two, and four. Although Democrats and Republicans in Congress feed at the nuclear industry’s trough in equal measure, Republicans in particular have been trying hard for years to bring about a renaissance of nuclear power in the United States. […]
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Oops: Germany’s nuclear shutdown will cause 100s of million of tons of CO2 emissions
Riding a wave of anti-nuclear sentiment in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster, the German government has decided to phase out all nuclear power plants by 2022. That’ll certainly prevent nuclear meltdowns. On the flip side, though, analyses by experts suggest that eliminating those plants will lead to a short-term increase in coal burning, resulting […]
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Bachelorette contestant, Charlie Sheen add wattage to NYC solar campaign
The Bachelorette‘s Ryan Park. Photo: Karina Marchese of REC Solar What do GE, Charlie Sheen, and the most promising bachelor on The Bachelorette have in common? They all are playing a role in bringing solar to New York. The New York Solar Jobs Act is an effort to bring 5 gigawatts of solar to the […]
