fukushima
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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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Japanese workers wear Hawaiian shirts to save energy
To prevent rolling blackouts as a result of the failure of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, the Japanese government is mandating that all offices set their thermostats at 82 degrees F this summer. Combined with the usual salaryman armor — a dark business suit — that sounds a little like the eighth circle of hell (the […]
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Critical List: Christie ditches climate initiative; France opens huge solar farm
New Jersey governor Chris Christie has jumped ship from a regional greenhouse gas program, because "it's a failure." The owners of the Fukushima nuclear plant provided regulators with only a one-page memo on its tsunami and earthquake preparedness. One page. A decade ago. In Japan, the country that invented the word “tsunami.” Green tech companies […]
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Even the Swiss hate nuclear now
In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, it seems nobody can stay neutral on nuclear power, not even Switzerland. The country has abandoned plans for new nuclear reactors, and while the five existing reactors will be allowed to keep operating, they won't be replaced. Nuclear in Switzerland will be entirely phased out by 2034, and […]
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Critical List: U.S. imported less than 50 percent of its oil in 2010
We're off foreign oil! More or less. One price we'll pay for that: ads with blue skies and green fields and a man with a reassuring voice saying that natural gas is totally, totally safe. The price of renewable energy will go down. So naturally, you should bet against its success. Unless you're a venture […]
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Authorities finally admit that all three reactors at Fukushima melted down
It's official: All of Fukushima's working reactors saw drops in their water levels sufficient to melt their radioactive cores. (Experts have been telling us this for months, but Japanese power company TEPCO wouldn’t acknowledge it.) The only way the self-immolation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex could get any worse would be a large […]
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Critical List: Bike to work today; Amazon deforestation rate rose this year
It's Bike to Work day. Now all you bike commuters know how secretaries feel on Administrative Professionals Day: “One DAY? I’ve been doing this day in and day out all year!” The rate of Amazon deforestation has been declining in recent years; this year, it climbed again. The Brazilian government is — rightly — freaking […]
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A look inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
This video shows the status of restoration work at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, two months after the plant's safety systems first failed (and a week after the TEPCO power company officially confirmed that the plant was in meltdown). Offices are still littered with debris from the earthquake damage, and workers wear gas masks and […]
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Japan (shockingly!) gives up on further nuclear power
Once irradiated, twice shy: Japan is giving up on plans for future nuclear reactors after the disaster at Fukushima. The country had planned to build 14 more reactors by 2030, aiming to provide 50 percent of its electricity supply with nuclear power. Now, those plans are off the table, says Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. […]
