All Entries in the "Energy" Category

U.S. court victories show how to get rid of nuclear plants

Lawyer Tom Twomey knows far more than most of us about the importance of citizen participation in making energy policy. That’s because Twomey has spent four decades keeping a watchful eye on electric power suppliers in New York — and he’s learned that what we don’t know can hurt us.

Certainly, what he’s learned about the hubris and underhand dealings of the U.S. nuclear power industry offers some valuable lessons for Japan. But the most important thing he says he’s come to realize is that the participation of public-interest lawyers and the media is critical to ensure that energy providers prioritize safety. And that applies just as much to Japan as the United States, he insists, even though Japan is a far less litigious society in which citizens shy away from challenging government and big business.

In the following recent interview with The Japan Times, Twomey shares some insights and experiences from his years helping farmers to challenge the U.S. nuclear power industry — and win.

Full Story Here: U.S. court victories show how to get rid of nuclear plants | The Japan Times Online.

Japan to announce new energy program at G8

Prime Minister Naoto Kan will announce Japan’s new project to develop renewable energy at the forthcoming G8 summit in Deauville, France.

In the wake of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, nuclear safety is expected to be featured at the meeting on May 26th and 27th.

On his first trip abroad since the disaster, Kan plans to explain Japan’s response to the nuclear crisis and its new energy policy, dubbed as the Sunrise Program. It is aimed at adding renewable energy to the country’s core energy sources.

Full Story Here: NHK WORLD English.

Minireactor in works at Westinghouse

Lawmakers push bill backing project

Minisize nuclear reactors that power individual neighborhoods — and can be situated near them — could be designed by Westinghouse and licensed within 10 years if legislation introduced by two Pennsylvania congressmen Friday becomes part of an upcoming national energy bill.

Reps. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, joined Westinghouse executives in the company’s Cranberry headquarters for the announcement. It’s part of the politicians’ first move in making Western Pennsylvania a major player in whatever energy legislation moves through Congress later this year.

The lawmakers see an opportunity for companies in Pittsburgh — the “energy capital of the world,” according to Mr. Murphy.

Full Story Here: Minireactor in works at Westinghouse.

OPS: Doubling Down on INSANITY

International Energy Agency Calls for Rise in Oil Output

Expressing “serious concern” about elevated crude oil prices, the International Energy Agency on Thursday called for an increase in world oil production. It was an unusual move that highlighted consumer countries’ frustration at the failure of oil-producing nations to lift output in the face of rising demand and tighter supply.

Analysts suggested that the agency, which usually does not comment on oil producers’ policies, was signaling a shift in stance to become more confrontational toward the main producers over their failure to increase the flow of oil to world markets.

The call for added production also appears to be a move by the agency, which represents 28 developed economies, to distance itself from the period under its departing chief, Nobuo Tanaka. It was seen by many as too accommodating to Saudi Arabia, and too content to accept the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ narrative of blaming speculation, rather than market fundamentals, for high prices

Full Story Here: International Energy Agency Calls for Rise in Oil Output – NYTimes.com.

Fukushima a warning for U.S. plants

Emergency vents failed to prevent hydrogen explosions at Japan’s Fukushima reactors and put the safety of U.S. nuclear plants in question, experts warn.

Documents released by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. this week show the panic that struck the utility when the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit, The New York Times reports.

The venting system, built by General Electric, used the same power source as the rest of the plant, backup generators in basements that were vulnerable to tsunamis. The earthquake also may have damaged the valves, Tepco said.

Full Story Here: Fukushima a warning for U.S. plants – UPI.com.

TEPCO Admits Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor Unit 1 ‘In State of Meltdown’, Fuel Rods Exposed

Radiation said leaking from holes in bottom of container vessel..

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), which operates the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant, on Thursday admitted that a nuclear meltdown occurred at the plant.

With the nuclear meltdown, Tepco said the nuclear fuel rods in the reactor are completely exposed, as large amounts of radiation is being released. The water level at the plant’s No. 1 reactor was much lower than thought – as much as 5 meters (16.4 feet) below the nuclear rods – and clearly not high enough to cover the nuclear fuel.

According to reports, several holes were found at the bottom of the nuclear reactor’s pressure vessel, where the melted nuclear fuel now threatens to leak out of.

On a daily basis, Tepco injects almost 200 tons of water into the pressure vessel, but it is highly likely that the water has been constantly leaking from the vessel and containment chamber, eventually flowing under the reactor building.

Full Story Here: The BRAD BLOG : TEPCO Admits Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor Unit 1 ‘In State of Meltdown’, Fuel Rods Exposed.

OPS: “…a meltdown occured….”  BS! The meltdown IS OCCURING! it’s no where near past tense

The Renewable Future

Re­new­able en­er­gy tri­gg­ers sharp­ly polarized views. For some, it is a co­st­ly white elep­hant; for oth­ers, it is humanity’s savior, pro­mis­ing to em­an­cipate us (and our en­viron­ment) from the “folly” of fos­sil fuels. So a hardheaded, credib­le, and, above all, im­par­ti­al an­alysis, which would pro­vide a much-needed dose of prag­mat­ism and rea­l­ism to the de­bate, is long over­due.

The new re­port by the Uni­ted Na­tions In­ter­government­al Panel on Climate Chan­ge (IPCC), in­volv­ing more than 120 scient­ists, econom­ists, and tech­nology special­ists, pro­vides that long-overdue as­sess­ment. It adopts a glob­al per­spec­tive and re­con­ciles de­veloped and de­velop­ing co­unt­ries’ in­terests, while weigh­ing the broad­er economic, en­viron­ment­al, and soci­al is­sues at stake.

The sum­ma­ry, sig­ned by re­presen­tatives of the more than 190 co­unt­ries meet­ing this week in the Uni­ted Arab Em­irates, con­cludes that re­new­able en­er­gy is an in­creasing­ly pract­ical and high­ly pro­mis­ing opt­ion. Costs are fall­ing – and are li­ke­ly to fall even furth­er as in­nova­tion ac­celerates and glob­al en­er­gy de­mand con­tinues to rise.

Full Story Here: The Renewable Future | Truthout.

“This Is A Ticking Time Bomb!” Michio Kaku

May 13, 2011 CNN

Two Other Nuclear Reactors Suffer Serious Damage

Substantial damage to the fuel cores at two additional reactors of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has taken place, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, further complicating the already daunting task of bringing them to a safe shutdown while avoiding the release of high levels of radioactivity. The revelation followed an acknowledgment on Thursday that a similar meltdown of the core took place at unit No. 1.

Workers also found that the No. 1 unit’s reactor building is flooded in the basement, reinforcing the suspicion that the containment vessel is damaged and leaking highly radioactive water.

The revelations are likely to force an overhaul of the six- to nine-month blueprint for bringing the reactors to a safe shutdown stage and end the release of radioactive materials. The original plan, announced in mid-April, was due to be revised May 17.

Full Story Here: Two Other Nuclear Reactors Suffer Serious Damage – WSJ.com.

Fukushima – One Step Forward and Four Steps Back as Each Unit Challenged by New Problems

Gundersen says Fukushima’s gaseous and liquid releases continue unabated. With a meltdown at Unit 1, Unit 4 leaning and facing possible collapse, several units contaminating ground water, and area school children outside the exclusion zone receiving adult occupational radiation doses, the situation continues to worsen. TEPCO needs a cohesive plan and international support to protect against world-wide contamination.

Nuclear Crisis in Japan

UCS coverage of the March 2011 disaster at Fukushima Daiichi

Within hours of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed tens of thousands along the eastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, the world learned of another casualty of the disaster: the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The Fukushima crisis brought nuclear power safety issues into the spotlight in a way unknown since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The press and public needed clear, accurate explanations of what was going on in Japan and how it might affect the rest of the world. In the weeks following the disaster, UCS experts responded to this need by sharing their analysis of the crisis with the media, policymakers, fellow scientists and the public through a variety of channels:

Full Story Here: Nuclear Crisis in Japan | Union of Concerned Scientists.

A Problem for the Future

A nuclear power plant requires a vast investment of money and resources, it has to be decommissioned after a few decades of useful life– a process so expensive and politically unprofitable that we let plants run beyond their original expiration date, as in Vermont.

Nuclear plants produce radioactive waste, some of which is deadly for thousands of years. A commission set up by the Department of Energy will be offering recommendations, and a close reading of the following article suggests that temporary storage is the most likely outcome…

The quest for a national repository for spent fuel has been a festering issue for decades but gained higher visibility after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. The disaster not only damaged reactors but led to the loss of cooling water in at least one pool of spent radioactive fuel, raising the risk of the release of radioactive materials.

At nuclear plants in the United States, pools of spent fuel are far more heavily loaded. The National Academy of Sciences warned in a study in 2005 that the presence of vast stores of radioactive fuel could make the plants an attractive target for terrorists.

Full Story Here: A Problem for the Future | Kmareka.com.

Fukushima reactor has a hole, leading to leakage

One of the reactors at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has a hole in its main vessel following a meltdown of fuel rods, leading to a leakage of radioactive water, its operator said on Thursday.

The disclosure by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is the latest indication that the disaster was worse than previously disclosed, making it more difficult to stabilize the plant.

The discovery of the leak provides new insight into the sequence of events that triggered a partial meltdown of the uranium fuel in the No. 1 reactor at Fukushima after the plant was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, officials said.

The battle to bring Fukushima under control has been complicated by repeated leaks of radioactive water, threatening both the Pacific Ocean and nearby groundwater.

Full Story Here: Fukushima reactor has a hole, leading to leakage | Reuters.

NHK Reports Fukushima Reactor 1 Is Melting Down

Following up on earlier reports that the fuel rods in reactor 1 were truly exposed, NHK now reports another speculation from long ago, finally confirmed by official sources, namely that the reactor is now melting down. NHK reports that “Tokyo Electric Power Company says the No.1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is believed to be in a state of “meltdown”. The utility company said on Thursday that most of the fuel rods are likely to have melted and fallen to the bottom of the reactor. Earlier in the day, it found that the coolant water in the reactor is at a level which would completely expose nuclear fuel rods if they were in their normal position.” And from Reuters: “The finding makes it likely that at one point in the immediate wake of the disaster the 4-meter-high stack of uranium-rich rods at the core of the reactor had been entirely exposed to the air.” Had been, or are? At this rate of admissions (we claimed precisely this happened in March) the next thing we might get a confirmation of from official sources is that there is actual recriticality going on. Which, of course, will be used by the market as another excuse to BTFD, as under central planning everyone lives happily ever after. Oh, and in the meantime, if we recall correctly, the cores of reactors 2 and 3 have also melted down. But Bernanke will just kiss them and make them better.

Full Story Here: NHK Reports Fukushima Reactor 1 Is Melting Down | zero hedge.

Renewable energy can power the world, says landmark IPCC study

UN’s climate change science body says renewables supply, particularly solar power, can meet global demand

Renewable energy could account for almost 80% of the world’s energy supply within four decades – but only if governments pursue the policies needed to promote green power, according to a landmark report published on Monday.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body of the world’s leading climate scientists convened by the United Nations, said that if the full range of renewable technologies were deployed, the world could keep greenhouse gas concentrations to less than 450 parts per million, the level scientists have predicted will be the limit of safety beyond which climate change becomes catastrophic and irreversible.

Investing in renewables to the extent needed would cost only about 1% of global GDP annually, said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC.

Full Story Here: Renewable energy can power the world, says landmark IPCC study | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Changed Nuclear Relicensing Rules

Critics of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the powerful industry it oversees continue to question its process for issuing license renewals at aging plants.

A single document from 1992 might well shed some light on how that process came to be.

It’s worth noting that the NRC’s staff has roughly doubled over the last decade, to some 4,000 employees today. Many have been hired to handle a wave of applications from nuclear power plant operators seeking permission to operate for 20 years beyond the 40 years granted by their original licenses.

A number of those original licenses will be expiring in the next 10 years.

Full Story Here: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Changed Nuclear Relicensing Rules.

Safety Reviewers Raise Questions About Construction of New Nuclear Fuel Plant

In the late 1990s, U.S. policymakers approved a plan to turn plutonium from nuclear weapons into fuel for commercial reactors. The first-of-its kind plant, now being built in South Carolina, was intended to reduce the Cold War stockpile and the threat of nuclear material theft while supplying the country’s energy needs.

More than a decade later, the mixed oxide fuel (MOX) plant is running into mounting troubles, including long delays, soaring costs and the lack of utilities committed to use the new fuel in their reactors.

But there’s another aspect of the story that has received little attention. Two of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s safety reviewers for the project say the NRC has taken shortcuts on safety to avoid delaying the construction. Work on the facility was allowed to begin, they say, before some of the most essential questions were fully answered. They have been particularly concerned about the danger of chemical explosions, the adequacy of the ventilation and radioactive waste disposal systems and the way the plutonium will be tracked as it is processed.

Full Story Here: The Washington Current: Safety Reviewers Raise Questions About Construction of New Nuclear Fuel Plant.

Japan Nuclear Crisis: Government Official Says Country Will Not Abandon Nuclear Power

A top Japanese official says Japan will maintain atomic power as part of its energy policy despite the country’s ongoing nuclear crisis.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said Sunday that Japan will “stick to nuclear power as a national energy policy.” He made the comment on a talk show on public broadcaster NHK.

Full Story Here: Japan Nuclear Crisis: Government Official Says Country Will Not Abandon Nuclear Power.

OPS:  Suicidal.  We’ll, Banzi kids

The Real Cost of Gasoline

The American people are up in arms, rightly so, about the ever-increasing cost of gasoline in this country. In these tough economic times most people find themselves worrying more about how they will make it to the next fill-up.

According to CNNMoney.com, the price of gas nationwide now stands above $4 per gallon. Americans should not expect that to change any time in the near future.

In light of these facts we could all benefit from a bit of perspective. Oil prices are now well above $100 per barrel worldwide. Gasoline prices are now well above $4.00 per gallon here in the United States. However, both gas and oil are still very “cheap” when compared to any other commodity on this planet.

Oil is quite literally the most important resource on the planet. It has been the deciding factor in international military and diplomatic policy making for more than 100 years. The First World War was decided by oil. The Second World War was fought for oil. Most of the jockeying between the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War was centered on gaining access to oil-rich partners.

Full Story Here: The Real Cost of Gasoline | Economy In Crisis.

Dems To Force Vote On Oil Subsidies

Eager to prove that Republicans don’t want to end oil subsidies despite public GOP opposition, House Democrats plan to force a vote Thursday on a measure that would block a major tax break for the five largest oil companies.

As Republicans call for major cuts to domestic spending, Democrats are pushing for tax code changes that would allow the government to bring in more money, particularly from high-profit industries Democrats say do not pay their fair share. President Barack Obama and key Democrats have called for an end to some oil and gas subsidies, arguing gas prices are high enough to sustain industry investment in the United States.

John Hofmeister, the former president of Shell Oil, said in February that major oil companies do not need government help given the high price of gas.

Full Story Here: Dems To Force Vote On Oil Subsidies.

25 Years After Chernobyl – A Bigger Threat Now From Japan?

Americans rank the threat from the post-earthquake and tsunami problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan as equal to or even worse than the accident that took place at Chernobyl exactly 25 years ago. 

Full Story Here: 25 Years After Chernobyl – A Bigger Threat Now From Japan? | YouGov US Opinion Center.

The Peaceful Atom and Other Nuclear Fairy Tales

Will the Nuclear Power Industry Melt Down?

By HARVEY WASSERMAN

“There’s never been a death because of radiation … in a civilian nuclear power plant. … In Texas, if there’s any kind of a serious earthquake or natural disaster, I want to be in the control room at Comanche Peak [Nuclear Power Plant] because that is the absolute safest place to be.”

—Texas Congressman Joe Barton, April 6, 2011

In the wake of the apocalyptic nightmare at Fukushima, the multi-trillion-dollar global nuclear power industry is looking over the abyss at a long-overdue extinction.

But the issue is far from decided. Japan’s horrifying catastrophe has sent the industry’s spin machine into overdrive. Hell-bent on minimizing the dangers of this unprecedented disaster, we’ve been shown the script of what reactor-backers are willing to say and do to save themselves.

It is not a pretty picture. It focuses on the assertion that there are safe doses of radiation, and that atomic energy has harmed few, if any. Three Mile Island “hurt no one.” There were few casualties at Chernobyl. And Fukushima’s long-term damage will be minimal.

Full Story Here: Harvey Wasserman: The Peaceful Atom and Other Nuclear Fairy Tales.

Shareholders call for nuclear plant closures

Some of the shareholders of a Japanese electric power company say they want the utility to close its nuclear power plants.

On Monday, a group of 232 individual stockholders of Tohoku Electric Power Company submitted the documents needed for their proposal to scrap its nuclear power plants.

The proposal is expected to be put to a vote in an annual shareholders’ meeting at the end of next month.

Tohoku Electric Power has 2 nuclear power plants in Japan’s northeastern region, one in Higashidori Village in Aomori Prefecture and another in Onagawa Town in Miyagi Prefecture.

The group is also calling for the company to end its investment in spent nuclear

Full Story Here: NHK WORLD English.

Chief Offshore Drilling Regulator Criticizes Lack of Oversight for Contractors

The top regulator of offshore drilling said this week that his agency is exploring expanding its oversight to include thousands of contractors on offshore rigs. The majority of offshore oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico are contractors and their central role in safety issues came into focus after last year’s Gulf oil spill . BP had leased the Deepwater Horizon rig from the contractor Transocean and relied on the contractor Halliburton to provide casing for the Macondo well.

The government currently regulates only operators of offshore drilling rigs, such as BP, and in turn holds them responsible for any contractors they hire. Experts say that by delegating the supervision of contractors the government is essentially taking the word of rig operators that facilities are safe and comply with regulation.

As Reuters reported, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement , Michael Bromwich, first raised the issue Monday , saying he thinks his agency has the authority to oversee contractors and that he intends to do so.

Full Story Here: The Washington Current: Chief Offshore Drilling Regulator Criticizes Lack of Oversight for Contractors.

Why Older Nuclear Power Plants Remain ‘Cash Cows’ Despite Fukushima

There are no new nuclear plants in the foreseeable future for Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. reactor operator. Old plants, though, are a different story.

Exelon’s proposed acquisition of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, announced yesterday, would add five nuclear reactors at three plants to the 17 reactors at 10 plants that the Chicago-based company already runs. Exelon’s total nuclear capacity would climb from 17,047 megawatts to nearly 19,000 if the projected $7.9 billion deal is completed.

“They can buy them much more cheaply than they can build them,” said Ellen Vancko, nuclear project manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Full Story Here: Why Older Nuclear Power Plants Remain ‘Cash Cows’ Despite Fukushima – NYTimes.com.

Bush Economist Schools Bush, Republicans: Domestic Oil Drilling Won’t Lower Gas Prices

President George W. Bush stepped away from the ranch yesterday to “opine on the issues of the day” with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. First up, a lesson on Texas tea. Bush suggested Americans try to “understand how supply and demand works” and realize that offshore drilling is key solution to rising gas prices. “If you restrict supplies of crude, the price of oil is going to go up and it affects gasoline,” he said.

But, in what is becoming an unfortunate pattern for the ex-president, his own former administration official disagrees. Doug Holtz-Eakin, the White House’s Chief Economist under Bush, joined MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Tuesday to discuss the problem of rising gas prices. When asked whether the conservative “dig, drill” mantra would actually lead to lower gas prices, Holtz-Eakin — who was also the cheif economic adviser for Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) 2008 presidential campaign — offered a simple answer: “no“:

MATTHEWS: If we were taking apart the ANWR and drilling everywhere, would the price of gas be much different? In the world market, since this all fungible, if we were doing all that here in the United States, would the price of gas be much different? I‘m just asking that question.

Full Story Here: ThinkProgress » Bush Economist Schools Bush, Republicans: Domestic Oil Drilling Won’t Lower Gas Prices.

In Nuclear Accident, Risks Extend Beyond Evacuation Zone

The nuclear power accidents at Fukushima this spring and at Chernobyl 25 years ago Tuesday show that radiation releases can endanger people and contaminate land many miles beyond evacuation zones.

The advocacy group Physicians for Nuclear Responsibility, which opposes nuclear power, said Tuesday that the U.S. 10-mile evacuation plan was inadequate and should be extended to 50 miles. One-third of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of nuclear power plants.

In Japan, much of the radiation plume went over the Pacific Ocean in the early weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but wind’s and rain drove some of it onto land. The release of radioactive materials raises the risk of cancer, especially for children, who are more vulnerable than adults, Ira Helfand, a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, said at a news conference.

Full Story Here: In Nuclear Accident, Risks Extend Beyond Evacuation Zone | Common Dreams.

Chernobyl Survivor Warns of ‘Bombshell’ in Japan | Common Dreams

A survivor of the Chernobyl disaster says people exposed to radiation from Japan’s crippled nuclear plant will spend the rest of their lives fearing the “bombshell” of cancer and other dire illnesses.

Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear calamity and coincides with efforts to stop radiation seeping from the Fukushima plant after its cooling systems were knocked out by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11

“The Fukushima accident is like the twin brother of Chernobyl,” said Pavel Vdovichenko, 59, who had already accepted an invitation from Japanese anti-nuclear groups to join a rally marking a quarter-century since Chernobyl.

Full Story Here: Chernobyl Survivor Warns of ‘Bombshell’ in Japan | Common Dreams.

U.S. investigates elevated radiation readings at Ohio nuclear power plant

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has launched an investigation into an incident at a nuclear power plant in Ohio on Friday in which elevated radiation readings were detected.

The incident happened on Friday at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Cleveland. Details of the incident were not publicly disclosed until Tuesday afternoon.

According to the NRC, the issue involved the removal of a source range monitor from the reactor core while the plant was shut down for a refueling outage. A source range monitor measures nuclear reactions during start up, low power operations and shutdown conditions.

Full Story Here: U.S. investigates elevated radiation readings at Ohio nuclear power plant » Breaking News | Wire Update News | News Wires -.

How did Japan’s nuclear industry become so arrogant?

What has stood out at the countless press conferences by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Cabinet Office’s Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) of Japan that I’ve attended in covering the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, is the rampant use of cliches such as “unanticipated state of affairs” and “unprecedented natural disaster.”

The excuses made by the organizations involved go to show that so-called nuclear power experts have no intention to self reflect or admit their shortcomings. It was this self-righteousness — evidenced over the years in the industry’s suppression of unfavorable warnings and criticisms, as well as in their imposition of the claim that the safety of nuclear energy was self evident — that lay down the groundwork for the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

At press conferences, TEPCO officials repeatedly express their “deep apologies” for the trouble caused to the Japanese people. However, as soon as reporters’ questions turn to the actual safety of nuclear power stations — about which they had long boasted a multilayered safety system referred to as “defense in depth” — they begin to act coolly. Their speech may feign civility, but they never admit to any wrongdoing and merely keep insisting the righteousness of their own claims. When particularly unflattering questions are posed to them, some TEPCO executives glower at the reporters who dared to ask and give only a brusque response.

Full Story Here: How did Japan’s nuclear industry become so arrogant? – The Mainichi Daily News.

OPS: Answer: same way US and every other Country’s Nuke industry’s did

A Debate on the Future of Nuclear Energy

The crisis in Japan has refueled the global debate about the viability of nuclear power. Democracy Now! hosts a debate today about the future of nuclear energy between British journalist George Monbiot and Dr. Helen Caldicott. Nuclear energy remains a controversial topic in climate change discourse, as environmental activists argue how to best reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere—often the debate pits one non-renewable energy against another as renewable energy technology and research remains underfunded.

Monbiot has written extensively about the environmental and health dangers caused by burning coal for energy, and despite the Fukushima catastrophe, stands behind nuclear power. Caldicott is a world-renowned anti-nuclear advocate who has spent decades warning of the medical hazards posed by nuclear technologies, and while agreeing about the dangers of burning coal, insists the best option is to ban nuclear power.

For the video/audio podcast, transcript, to sign up for the daily news digest, and for Democracy Now!’s vast news archive on reporting on climate change, visit http://www.DemocracyNow.org.

Part2

Natural Gas Drilling Is at a Crucial Turning Point

ProPublica has been covering gas drilling since 2008. When The Guardian asked us to participate in a series it is running about hydraulic fracturing and natural gas, we wrote this analysis of how Europe might learn from the problems we’ve uncovered in the United States.

First, a wave of new natural gas drilling swept across the United States. Mountain and pastoral landscapes were transformed into landscape-scale factories that optimistically promised a century’s worth of clean-burning fuel and a risk-free solution to dependence on imported oil. In 2008, it seemed the ultimate win-win in an era of hard choices.

Later, more sobering facts began to complicate things. The drilling relies on an invasive process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that uses brute force and dangerous chemicals to crack open the Earth and extract the gas from previously unreachable deep deposits.

Full Story Here: The Washington Current: Natural Gas Drilling Is at a Crucial Turning Point.

Warnings of nuclear disaster not heeded, claims former governor

The former governor of Fukushima province has spoken of his frustration at the failure of the Japanese authorities to heed his warnings over the safety of the power plant that was stricken by the country’s recent earthquake.

The story of Japan’s epic disaster comes with a generous cast of Cassandra figures, the seismologists, conservationists and whistle-blowers ignored by the national nuclear planners. But 71-year-old Eisako Sato may be pre-eminent among them.

As governor of Fukushima Prefecture from 1988-2006 – “roughly half the life of the plant”, he told journalists at Tokyo’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club earlier this week – he was initially an enthusiastic supporter of nuclear power, swayed like his predecessors after the government and utility giant Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) brought his prefecture jobs, subsidies and a chance to contribute to the national good.

Full Story Here: Warnings of nuclear disaster not heeded, claims former governor – Asia, World – The Independent.

Nuclear dilemma: Adequate insurance too expensive

From the U.S. to Japan, it’s illegal to drive a car without sufficient insurance, yet governments have chosen to run the world’s 443 nuclear power plants with hardly any insurance coverage whatsoever.

Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, which will leave taxpayers there with a massive bill, highlights one of the industry’s key weaknesses — that nuclear power is a viable source for cheap energy only if plants go uninsured. The plant’s operator, Tepco, had no disaster insurance.

Governments that use nuclear energy are torn between the benefit of low-cost electricity and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe, which could total trillions of dollars and even bankrupt a country.

Full Story Here: The Associated Press: Nuclear dilemma: Adequate insurance too expensive.

UN Chief Issues Nuclear Warning on Chernobyl Visit

The head of the UN warned on a landmark visit to Chernobyl on Wednesday that the Ukrainian tragedy and the recent accident in Japan prompted “painful questions” about the future of atomic power.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon visited the site of the Chernobyl disaster a day after world donors pledged 550 million euros ($800 million) towards a permanent shelter to secure the ruined reactor, which exploded on April 26, 1986.

Speaking in Kiev afterwards, he warned that the recent quake damage to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant showed that accidents like Chernobyl were likely to occur again in the future.

Full Story Here: UN Chief Issues Nuclear Warning on Chernobyl Visit | Common Dreams.

BP’s Secret Deepwater Blowout

Only 17 months be­fore BP’s De­ep­wat­er Horizon rig suf­fered a de­ad­ly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, an­oth­er BP de­ep­wat­er oil plat­form also blew out.

You’ve heard and seen much about the Gulf dis­ast­er that kil­led 11 BP work­ers. If you have not heard about the ear­li­er blowout, it’s be­cause BP has kept the full story under wraps. Nor did BP in­form Con­gress or US safety re­gulators, and BP, along with its oil in­dust­ry partn­ers, have pre­fer­red to keep it that way.

The ear­li­er blowout oc­cur­red in Sep­temb­er 2008 on BP’s Centr­al Azeri plat­form in the Cas­pian Sea.

Full Story Here: BP’s Secret Deepwater Blowout | Truthout.

How nuclear apologists mislead the world over radiation

George Monbiot and others at best misinform and at worst distort evidence of the dangers of atomic energy

Soon after the Fukushima accident last month, I stated publicly that a nuclear event of this size and catastrophic potential could present a medical problem of very large dimensions. Events have proven this observation to be true despite the nuclear industry’s campaign about the “minimal” health effects of so-called low-level radiation. That billions of its dollars are at stake if the Fukushima event causes the “nuclear renaissance” to slow down appears to be evident from the industry’s attacks on its critics, even in the face of an unresolved and escalating disaster at the reactor complex at Fukushima.

Proponents of nuclear power – including George Monbiot, who has had a mysterious road-to-Damascus conversion to its supposedly benign effects – accuse me and others who call attention to the potential serious medical consequences of the accident of “cherry-picking” data and overstating the health effects of radiation from the radioactive fuel in the destroyed reactors and their cooling pools. Yet by reassuring the public that things aren’t too bad, Monbiot and others at best misinform, and at worst misrepresent or distort, the scientific evidence of the harmful effects of radiation exposure – and they play a predictable shoot-the-messenger game in the process.

Full Story Here: How nuclear apologists mislead the world over radiation | Helen Caldicott | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

GE to Build Solar Panel Production Facility

The head of president’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, Jeffrey Immelt, who is also CEO of General Electric, announced plans to build a major solar panel production facility in the U.S.

After catching bad press last week about its tax situation, this announcement marks a welcome turn from GE’s usual policy of offshoring manufacturing and tax revenues. Due to convoluted financial math, despite making a $5 billion profit in 2010, GE paid no taxes because of capital and stock losses.

While a specific site has not been selected yet, it is confirmed that the plant will be in America, and that it will develop a 400 MW thin film solar panel production facility. GE estimates the solar cells will power 80,000 homes a year.

Full Story Here: GE to Build Solar Panel Production Facility | Economy In Crisis.

Why Commercial Solar Hot Water Lags Behind It’s Potential

We have been carrying out a Performance Research Project on Commercial Solar Hot Water for approximately four months. In that time, we have noticed some very interesting facts. Though not the direct goal of our research, we have noticed some very interesting bits of information, which from a ‘business standpoint’, we believe are the reasons why commercial solar hot water has lagged so far behind it’s huge potential.

Paramount in those bits of information has been the fact that most small-to-medium-sized commercial solar hot water system designers and installers, have NOT included monitoring and data-logging capabilities in their systems.

We find this curious at the least, and dangerous at the worst. Let me draw a parallel or two: “Would you build a house and stop short of putting the doors on it?” “Would you purchase a pre-owned car if the odometer read, 000000.0?” Would you believe the sales person if he told you it was a great car purchase because he/she said so? I think not.

Full Story Here: Why Commercial Solar Hot Water Lags Behind It’s Potential | Northern States Solar Services LLC.

Dirty Energy’s Dirty Deeds

When it comes to energy there are no easy answers. This was painfully evident last week when President Barack Obama gave a speech on “America’s Energy Security” at Georgetown University.

“We’ve known about the dangers of our oil dependence for decades,” Obama told the audience, explaining that every president since Richard Nixon has talked about “freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil,” without delivering anything of the sort. Already a member of that club, he doubled down, telling the crowd that in ten years: “[W]e can cut our oil dependence by a third.”

The speech was destined to be a loser and the caveats came on fast and furious. America needed to cut its reliance on foreign oil, Obama told the crowd of politicos and college students, and drilling at home was one avenue toward that goal. He proudly announced, “we’ve approved 39 new shallow-water permits; we’ve approved seven deepwater permits in recent weeks. When it comes to drilling offshore, my administration approved more than two permits last year for every new well that the industry started to drill.” While embracing a “drill, baby, drill” ethos, the president was forced to admit it was not a long-term solution. He not only acknowledged that there isn’t nearly enough domestic oil to meet the country’s needs, but the specter of disaster loomed so large that he had to address it as well. “I don’t think anybody here has forgotten what happened last year, where we had to deal with the largest oil spill in [our] history,” he said, according to the White House’s official transcript.

Full Story Here: Tomgram: Ellen Cantarow, Dirty Energy’s Dirty Deeds | TomDispatch.

NRC: 3 U.S. Nuclear Plants Need Increased Oversight

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says three U.S. nuclear power plants need increased oversight from federal regulators, although officials stressed that all are operating safely.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko (YAHT’-skoh) says the three plants – in South Carolina, Kansas and Nebraska – need more intensive review than other plants because of problems with safety systems or unplanned shutdowns.

Jaczko told a House subcommittee Thursday that the plants “are the ones we are most concerned about” among the 65 U.S. nuclear power plants in 31 states.

Jaczko did not identify the plants, but an agency spokesman said they are the H.B. Robinson nuclear plant in South Carolina, Fort Calhoun in Nebraska and Wolf Creek in Kansa

Full Story Here: NRC: 3 U.S. Nuclear Plants Need Increased Oversight.

All of humanity could shift to solar, wind energy in less than 25 years, policy study group claims

Humankind has the technology, resources and capabilities to adapt to and help avert serious climate change and the crunch of a dwindling energy economy, if only the political will can be mustered — and it’s not just idealistic progressives who are saying so anymore.

In a recent report, the British non-profit Institute for Policy Research & Development (IPRD) claimed that, with targeted investments by world governments, solar power could become humanity’s main source of portable energy in 25 years or less.

The catch: “Spending priorities” must change — something that seems remarkably difficult even in the U.S., ostensibly one of the world’s most advanced democracies.

Full Story Here: All of humanity could shift to solar, wind energy in less than 25 years, policy study group claims | The Raw Story.

Obama Doubles Down on Dirty Energy, Continues to Call Nukes ‘Clean,’ Ignores Clean Air Act

In response to President Obama’s speech today on the subject of energy security, as well as supporting documentation released by the White House, Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Director Damon Moglen had the following statement:

“This speech was more about polluting the future than winning it. President Obama today doubled down on his support for dirty energy sources including the nuclear, corn ethanol, oil, natural gas, and coal industries, while going AWOL on a crucial fight over the Clean Air Act.

“Given the escalating radiation disaster in Japan, it’s dumbfounding that President Obama believes it’s justifiable to call nuclear energy ‘clean.’ After such misguided nuclear boosterism, in addition to the multibillion dollar bailout guarantees for the nuclear industry that the President supports, it’s easy to see why Duke Energy was willing to offer the President’s party a $10 million line of credit for the 2012 Democratic convention.

Full Story Here: Obama Doubles Down on Dirty Energy, Continues to Call Nukes ‘Clean,’ Ignores Clean Air Act | Common Dreams.

“Safe” Radiation is a Lethal Lie

There is no safe dose of radiation.

We do not x-ray pregnant women.

Any detectable fallout can kill.

With erratic radiation spikes, major air and water emissions and at least three reactors and waste pools in serious danger at Fukushima, we must prepare for the worst.

When you hear the terms “safe” and “insignificant” in reference to radioactive fallout, ask yourself: “Safe for whom?” “Insignificant to which of us?”

Full Story Here: “Safe” Radiation is a Lethal Lie | BuzzFlash.org.

Nuclear Radiation ‘The Greatest Public Health Hazard’

Helen Caldicott says it is impossible to have a safe nuclear power plant

When she was an adolescent, Helen Caldicott says, she read the nuclear apocalypse novel “On the Beach.” The story was set in the aftermath of an atomic war; the protagonists must await the arrival of a deadly fallout cloud.

It was a formative event, she says, and later, in medical school, the connection between health and nuclear energy would galvanize her. “I learned about genetics and radiation in first-year medicine and became acutely aware of nuclear weapons, nuclear war and the damage radiation does to genes and all life forms.”

Caldicott went on to become one of the most vocal, ubiquitous and controversial opponents of nuclear power during the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s and 1980s.

The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, severely damaged after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, has given a fresh urgency, she says, to a “medical problem of vast dimensions,” highlighted by reports that emerge daily on the spread of radiation.

Full Story Here: Nuclear Radiation ‘The Greatest Public Health Hazard’ | Common Dreams.

Senators question nuke experts

Zion Nuclear Power plant - on the shores of Lake Michigan

In light of the crisis in Japan, Illinois needs to review the size of evacuation zones around its six nuclear power plants and ensure there is a sufficient stockpile of potassium iodide pills, U.S. Sens. Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin said Friday during a forum on nuclear safety in the state.

“Illinois is the most nuclear state in the country. We have the largest fleet of 11 reactors and we need to make sure in light of what happened at Fukushima that they’re run safely. I think there are some lessons learned,” Kirk said.

The forum in a Chicago federal courtroom resembled a congressional hearing with the two Illinois senators on a raised judge’s bench quizzing four nuclear experts from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Argonne National Laboratory and Exelon Corp. Exelon operates the reactors in the state, including the Braidwood plant in Braceville and the Dresden plant in Morris.

Full Story Here: Senators question nuke experts – Naperville Sun.

Americans Favor Moratorium On New Nuclear Reactors

While a drop in public support for nuclear power would be expected after an incident like the Fukushima reactor crisis, the nuclear disaster in Japan has triggered a much stronger response among Americans.

Inside America’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Plant

Bad Times at Indian Point

By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR

These are desperate days for Entergy, the big Arkansas-based power conglomerate that owns the frail Indian Point nuclear plant, located on the east bank of the Hudson River outside Buchanan, New York—just twenty-two miles from Manhattan.

First, a scathing report issued in 2005 by a nuclear engineer fingered Indian Point as one of the five worst nuclear plants in the United States, and predicted that its emergency cooling system “is virtually certain to fail.”

This disclosure was hotly followed by the release of a study conducted by the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that ominously concluded that the chances of a reactor meltdown increased by a factor of nearly 100 at Indian Point, because the plant’s drainage pits (also known as containment sumps) are “almost certain” to be blocked with debris during an accident.

Full Story Here: Jeffrey St. Clair: Inside America’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Plant.

Japan Radioactive Iodine Releases May Exceed Three Mile Island by 100,000 Times

Institute Calls for More Intensive Contingency Planning by Japanese Authorities; U.S. Should Move as Much Spent Fuel as Possible to Dry Storage to Reduce Most Severe Risks, Suspend Licensing and Relicensing During Review

TAKOMA PARK, MD – March 25 – The damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactors in Japan continue to release radioactivity into the atmosphere. So far, the accident has released far more radioactivity than the 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. While Chernobyl had one source of radioactivity, its reactor, there are seven leaking radiation sources at the Japanese site. Together, the three damaged reactors and four spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi contain far more long-lived radioactivity, notably cesium-137, than the Chernobyl reactor.

The French radiation protection authority, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), estimates the radioactive releases of iodine-131 in Japan had reached about 2.4 million curies by March 22, 2011. That is about 160,000 times the best estimate of the amount released during the TMI accident in Pennsylvania (15 curies) and about 140,000 times the maximum estimate of 17 curies. It is about 10 percent of the estimated amount released during the Chernobyl accident, according to the IRSN. Combined cesium-134 (half-life: about 2 years) and cesium-137 (half life: about 30 years) releases from Fukushima are estimated at about half-a-million curies, about 10 percent of estimated Chernobyl cesium releases. The TMI accident did not emit measurable amounts of radioactive cesium, according to the presidential commission that investigated the accident.

Full Story Here: Japan Radioactive Iodine Releases May Exceed Three Mile Island by 100,000 Times | Common Dreams.

Oldest US nuclear reactor: a ‘disaster’ in waiting?

A sleepy New Jersey town has popped onto people’s radar screens because it has the oldest running nuclear power plant in the United States — and, some say, the most dangerous.

Named for a Revolutionary War general, Lacey is the kind of American town that few from outside the seaside settlement knew much about before the earthquake and tsunami in Japan triggered a nuclear crisis.

Down the road from the 1950s-style diner and across from the bridge that locals use as a fishing pier stands the Oyster Creek nuclear plant.

Full Story Here: Oldest US nuclear reactor: a ‘disaster’ in waiting? | The Raw Story.

The Nuclear Myth Melts Down

The world is exploding. TomDispatch can’t cover it all. Still, a comment is in order on our Libyan intervention. As a start, it could be the first intervention that actually escalated before it even began. It went from no-fly-zone to no-fly-no-drive-zone before a U.S. cruise missile was launched or a French jet took off. Within two days, it seemed to be escalating even further into a half-baked, regime-change(ish)-style operation. (As of Wednesday, 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles had already been sent Libya-wards, most of them from American vessels, at more than $1 million a pop.) To make the intervention even stranger, it was initially opposed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon, and counterterrorism chief John O. Brennan, as well as many conservatives. Instead, the (not very) liberal warhawks of the administration — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Council senior aide Samatha Powers, and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice — were evidently in the lead on this one (along with various neocons in full hue and cry).

As on so many issues, where exactly the president was, other than blowing in the wind, remains unclear. Congress played no significant role — neither advice nor consent — in the decision. It now seems almost quaint, if not exceedingly retro, even to suggest that the people’s representatives have anything to do with American war-making. And it goes without saying that the people themselves, who seemed to be deeply unenthusiastic about a Libyan intervention before it happened according to the polls, were in no way consulted. Gates spoke of a “spirited debate” within the administration — just nowhere else.

Full Story Here: Tomgram: Chip Ward, The Nuclear Myth Melts Down | TomDispatch.

Report Underscores Ticking Time Bomb of US Nuke Power Plants

A timely report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, based on data from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), contains troubling news about the state of America’s vast network of nuclear power plants.

The report, which examined serious incidents at 14 U.S. nuclear power plants nationwide from New York to California in 2010, finds fault with both plant operators and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which is supposed to oversee them.

“Many of these significant events occurred because reactor owners and even the NRC tolerated known safety problems,” states the report, entitled: “The NRC and Nuclear Power Plant Safety in 2010: A Brighter Spotlight Needed.”

Full Story Here: Report Underscores Ticking Time Bomb of US Nuke Power Plants | This Can’t Be Happening.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu: Indian Point Nuclear Plant Near New York City Will Be Reviewed

Energy Secretary Steven Chu weighed in on Sunday on a controversial nuclear reactor located near New York City, saying that the administration needs to look at whether it should stay where it is.

At issue is the Indian Point Energy Center, located just 34 miles from New York City. The nuclear plant supplies approximately 25 percent of the city’s power, and it has the backing of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I). As WNYC notes, “Reactors two and three were built in the 1970s and were slated for a 40-year-life. As in the rest of the country, plant operators are hoping to get an additional 20 years of productivity [out of] their reactors.”

But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is calling for the plant to be shut down. His comments came after MSNBC recently reported that Indian Point’s No. 3 reactor has a high risk of earthquake damage, based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Full Story Here: Energy Secretary Steven Chu: Indian Point Nuclear Plant Near New York City Will Be Reviewed.

Nuclear Nightmare

Ralph Nader: :

The unfolding multiple nuclear reactor catastrophe in Japan is prompting overdue attention to the 104 nuclear plants in the United States—many of them aging, many of them near earthquake faults, some on the west coast exposed to potential tsunamis.

Nuclear power plants boil water to produce steam to turn turbines that generate electricity. Nuclear power’s overly complex fuel cycle begins with uranium mines and ends with deadly radioactive wastes for which there still are no permanent storage facilities to contain them for tens of thousands of years.

Atomic power plants generate 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. Over forty years ago, the industry’s promoter and regulator, the Atomic Energy Commission estimated that a full nuclear meltdown could contaminate an area “the size of Pennsylvania” and cause massive casualties. You, the taxpayers, have heavily subsidized nuclear power research, development, and promotion from day one with tens of billions of dollars.

Full Story Here: Nuclear Nightmare | Common Dreams.

U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Had 14 ‘Near-Miss’ Problems In 2010

The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following the tragic earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan has turned the public conversation toward nuclear power and its potential risks in the U.S. A new report reveals that 14 “near-miss” problems prompting investigation at 13 power plants in 2010 may have been the result of poor oversight.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a report Thursday examining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) — the government agency tasked with enforcing safety regulations at U.S. nuclear plants — and 14 investigations it launched in 2010 in response to “troubling events, safety equipment problems, and security shortcomings.”

When an event occurs at a nuclear reactor, or NRC inspectors discover damaged or deteriorating equipment, the commission reviews the risk to the reactor. According the UCS report, over 200 such reviews were conducted by the NRC in 2010. Most incidents discovered at nuclear plants are low risk, but when an event or condition increases the risk of reactor core damage by a factor of 10, the NRC likely dispatches a special inspection team (SIT). When the risk increases by a factor of 100 or more, an augmented inspection team (AIT) may be sent to investigate, and an incident inspection team (IIT) is sent if the risk increases by a factor of 1,000 or more. While no IITs were dispatched in 2010, there were 14 instances, known as “near-misses,” when the NRC had to dispatch inspection teams, including one AIT.

Full Story Here: U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Had 14 ‘Near-Miss’ Problems In 2010: UCS Report (PHOTOS).

U.S. nuclear plants store more spent fuel than Japan’s

U.S. nuclear plants use the same sort of pools to cool spent nuclear-fuel rods as the ones now in danger of spewing radiation at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, only the U.S. pools hold much more nuclear material. That’s raising the question of whether more spent fuel should be taken out of the pools at U.S. power plants to reduce risks.

Workers in Japan have been struggling for days to get water into the spent-fuel pools at the plant, so that the fuel rods won’t be exposed to the air, burst into flames and set off a large radiological release.

Experts are debating whether America’s spent fuel pools would fare as badly or worse in an accident, and whether they could be made safer.

Full Story Here: U.S. nuclear plants store more spent fuel than Japan’s | McClatchy.

At California Nuclear Plant, Emergency Response Plans Don’t Include Earthquakes

As the world’s attention remains focused on the nuclear calamity unfolding in Japan, American nuclear regulators and industry lobbyists have been offering assurances that plants in the United States are designed to withstand major earthquakes.

But the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which sits less than a mile from an offshore fault line, was not required to include earthquakes in its emergency response plan as a condition of being granted its license more than a quarter of a century ago. Though experts warned from the beginning that the plant would be vulnerable to an earthquake, asserting 25 years ago that it required an emergency plan as a condition of its license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fought against making such a provision mandatory as it allowed the facility to be built.

Officials at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, did not respond to calls seeking comment before the story was published. After publication, a spokesman for the company said the plant does have an earthquake procedure that had been implemented during a 2003 earthquake near the facility, and that staff are trained to respond. The company did not provide further details upon request.

Full Story Here: At California Nuclear Plant, Emergency Response Plans Don’t Include Earthquakes.

In Fuel-Cooling Pools, a Danger for the Longer Term

Even as workers race to prevent the radioactive cores of the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan from melting down, concerns are growing that nearby pools holding spent fuel rods could pose an even greater danger.

The pools, which sit on the top level of the reactor buildings and keep spent fuel submerged in water, have lost their cooling systems and the Japanese have been unable to take emergency steps because of the multiplying crises.

By late Tuesday, the water meant to cool spent fuel rods in the No. 4 reactor was boiling, Japan’s nuclear watchdog said. If the water evaporates and the rods run dry, they could overheat and catch fire, potentially spreading radioactive materials in dangerous clouds.

Shigekatsu Oomukai, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said the substantial capacity of the pool meant that the water in it was unlikely to evaporate soon. But he said workers were having difficulty reaching the pool to cool it, because of the high temperature of the water.

Full Story Here: In Fuel-Cooling Pools, a Danger for the Longer Term – NYTimes.com.

Fukushima’s Spent Fuel Rods Pose Grave Danger

Four atomic reactors in Fukushima, Japan, seem to be in partial meltdown. One of them, reactor No. 2, seems to have ruptured. The situation is spinning out of control as radiation levels spike. The US Navy has pulled back its aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, after seventeen of its crew were exposed to radiation while flying sixty miles off the Japanese coast.

But despite three major explosions—at reactor No. 1, then No. 3, then No. 2—the Fukushima containment vessels seem to be holding. (Chernobyl lacked that precaution, having only a flimsy cement containment shell that collapsed, allowing the massive release of radioactive material.)

But there is another, potentially far more dangerous problem: the spent fuel rod pools that sit right next door to the reactors. The storage pools are packed with radioactive uranium, rise several stories above ground and are always close to the reactor, thus facilitating easy transfer of the fuel rods. Their name—especially “spent” and “pool”—conveys calm dissipation. But spent fuel rod pools are actually highly radioactive, very unstable, extremely dangerous and, compared with reactors, not well supported, contained or looked over.

Full Story Here: Fukushima’s Spent Fuel Rods Pose Grave Danger | The Nation.

Leaked cable: Japanese lawmaker pointed to cover-up of nuclear accidents

As engineers and scientists struggle to control six Japanese nuclear reactors, three of which are in near-meltdown status, the world watches with horror.

But even as efforts continue in earnest across Japan, the search for why this is happening has already begun.

At least one man might have some theories.

His name is Taro Kono, a liberal Democrat and member of Japan’s DIET, or parliament. Kono’s father was the president of the liberal Democrats. He’s been an outspoken critic of the country’s nuclear program, and once resigned a high-ranking post in the House of Representatives in protest of the Iraq War.

Full Story Here: Leaked cable: Japanese lawmaker pointed to cover-up of nuclear accidents | The Raw Story.

Germany and Switzerland freeze development of nuclear reactors

Germany and Switzerland said Monday that they would be the first industrialized nations to freeze development of nuclear power facilities while they reassess safety procedures, in the wake of Japan’s ongoing nuclear crisis following last week’s devastating earthquake.

Despite assurances, six of their reactors are said to be melting down or in near-meltdown status at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, following last week’s massive earthquake and tsunami. All of the reactors were constructed in the 1970s.

As a result, the Swiss said they would suspend three forthcoming nuclear sites and launch an in-depth study of how Japan’s crisis was created and whether their own reactors posed a similar threat.

Full Story Here: Germany and Switzerland freeze development of nuclear reactors | The Raw Story.

Nuclear Power Madness

Norman Solomon: :

Like every other president since the 1940s, Barack Obama has promoted nuclear power. Now, with reactors melting down in Japan, the official stance is more disconnected from reality than ever.

Political elites are still clinging to the oxymoron of “safe nuclear power.” It’s up to us — people around the world — to peacefully and insistently shut those plants down.

There is no more techno-advanced country in the world than Japan. Nuclear power is not safe there, and it is not safe anywhere.

As the New York Times reported on Monday, “most of the nuclear plants in the United States share some or all of the risk factors that played a role at Fukushima Daiichi: locations on tsunami-prone coastlines or near earthquake faults, aging plants and backup electrical systems that rely on diesel generators and batteries that could fail in extreme circumstances.”

Full Story Here: Nuclear Power Madness | Common Dreams.

Nuclear Hubris: Could Japan’s Disaster Happen Here?

| The Nation: :

The “impossible” is underway in Japan. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake has badly shaken up several “indestructible” nuclear plants. Reactor No. 1 at the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is in partial meltdown, and reactor No. 3 may soon join it. In an act of naked desperation, plant officials are blindly pumping seawater into reactor No. 1 in an effort to cool its fuel rods.

In all, four nuclear plants across northeast Japan are damaged, with a total of six reactors now having trouble cooling their radioactive uranium fuel rods. One major problem is that the quake destroyed all backup electrical power systems, so there is now very little juice to run equipment.

The worst off is the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where the No. 1 reactor containment building exploded on Saturday when radioactive hydrogen gas was vented from the containment vessel inside it. Mixing with oxygen, the hydrogen ignited. More venting is due at reactor No. 3, thus a second such explosion is feared imminently (and may have occurred by the time you read this).

As day three of this disaster drew to a close, I reached former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford by phone at his home in Peru, Vermont. Now an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School, Bradford was a Carter-appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and was on duty for the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.

Full Story Here: Nuclear Hubris: Could Japan’s Disaster Happen Here? | The Nation.

OPS: Answer is not “could” but “When”

Tokyo Electric to Build US Nuclear Plants in Texas

Greg Palast »

The no-BS info on Japan’s disastrous nuclear operators

I need to speak to you, not as a reporter, but in my former capacity as lead investigator in several government nuclear plant fraud and racketeering investigations.

I don’t know the law in Japan, so I can’t tell you if Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) can plead insanity to the homicides about to happen.

But what will Obama plead?  The Administration, just months ago, asked Congress to provide a $4 billion loan guarantee for two new nuclear reactors to be built and operated on the Gulf Coast of Texas — by Tokyo Electric Power and local partners.  As if the Gulf hasn’t suffered enough.

Here are the facts about Tokyo Electric and the industry you haven’t heard on CNN:

The failure of emergency systems at Japan’s nuclear plants comes as no surprise to those of us who have worked in the field.

Full Story Here: Greg Palast » Tokyo Electric to Build US Nuclear PlantsThe no-BS info on Japan’s disastrous nuclear operators.

Thousands form human chain in protest against nuclear energy in Germany

The explosion at the Japanese nuclear power plant has given new fuel to a long-running dispute in Germany, where tens of thousands demonstrated on Saturday against plans to extend the life of the country’s nuclear power stations.

According to the police, some 50 000 people took part in the protest which saw a human chain spread from a nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim to the city of Stuttgart.

Those participating in the demonstration said it was time for the German government to move away from nuclear power.

Full Story Here: Thousands form human chain in protest against nuclear energy in Germany | euronews, world news.

Japan Earthquake, ‘Chernobyl in The Making’ Nuclear Dangers Discussed by Dr. Michio Kaku

Nuclear Power Plants:

According to the Associated Press, Japan has declared a state of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Officials say there has been no leak of radiation or radioactive material.

One facility in Fukushima developed a mechanical failure in the reactor cooling system after it was shut down and emergency power supply failed but there was no radiation leak. Past midnight local time, it was reported that The Tokyo Electric Power Company was considering venting out superhot gas from the reactor vessel into the atmosphere, which could result in the release of radioactives. The core of the reactor remains hot however, so cooling is still required. Unnamed officials at the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported that due to lack of electricity the emergency cooling system is currently powered by a battery, which lasts about eight hours. Another six batteries have been secured, and the government may use military helicopters to fly them in. A precautionary state of emergency has been declared. More than 2,000 residents living within a 3-kilometer (1.9 mi) radius of the plant were evacuated, while residents living within a zone 3 to 10 kilometers (1.9 to 6.2 mi) away were asked to evacuate.

YouTube – Japan Earthquake, ‘Chernobyl in The Making’ Nuclear Dangers Discussed by Dr. Michio Kaku, 12/03/2011.

U.S. issues second post-spill drilling permit in Gulf

The government has given BHP Billiton the second new permit to drill in the Gulf of Mexico since the Macondo oil spill, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said on Saturday.

A BHP spokesman confirmed that the new permit has been issued for resumption of drilling of a production well at Shenzi.

“We are very pleased to be resuming work,” BHP spokesman Ruban Yogarajah said.

The well was being drilled in waters 4,234 feet deep, 120 miles off the Louisiana coast south of Houma, at the time BP’s Macondo well blew out in April 2010. The Macondo blowout, about 150 miles northeast of Shenzi, triggered the worst U.S. marine oil spill. Eleven workers died.

Full Story Here: U.S. issues second post-spill drilling permit in Gulf | The Raw Story.

Japan scrambles to avert nuclear meltdown

Japan fought on Sunday to avert a disastrous meltdown at two earthquake-crippled nuclear reactors as estimates of the death toll from the tsunami that charged across its northeast rose to more than 10,000.

Broadcaster NHK, quoting a police official, said more than 10,000 people may have been killed as the wall of water triggered by Friday’s 8.9-magnitude quake surged across the coastline, reducing whole towns to rubble.

Officials worked desperately to prevent the fuel rods in the damaged plants from overheating after radiation leaked into the air. The government said a building housing a second reactor was at risk of exploding after a blast blew the roof off a different plant the day before.

Full Story Here: Japan scrambles to avert nuclear meltdown | The Raw Story.

IAEA: 170,000 evacuated near Japan nuclear plant

The U.N. nuclear watchdog says Japan is evacuating 170,000 people from the area near a nuclear power plant damaged in the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, based in Vienna, says the people were ordered out of a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.

Full Story Here: IAEA: 170,000 evacuated near Japan nuclear plant.

OPS: Japan has 54 of these time bombs

Video of blast at Fukushima nuke plant, radiation leak reported

An explosion at a Japanese nuclear power station tore down the walls of one building on Saturday as smoke poured out and Japanese officials said they feared the reactor could melt down following the failure of its cooling system in Friday’s powerful earthquake and tsunami.

Demanding cheaper oil is disastrous

The most popular cry in politics today is a pledge to deny reality and cut petrol prices. Give us our fix! Make it cheap! Make it now!

Johann Hari: :

My name is Johann Hari, and I am an addict. If you restrict the supply of my drug, as has happened over the past month, I become panicky and angry. If you cut it off entirely, my life will fall apart. I want my fix, I want it cheap, and I want it now. My drug is called oil. I eat it: my food is driven to me. I wear it: my clothing is shipped and flown to me. I travel with it: on every bus, train and plane. But if I don’t go to rehab soon, this addiction is going to ruin me. This is the inaugural meeting of Petroleum Anonymous. We’re all going to need it now. There are four major symptoms to my addiction and yours, and in 2011 they are all getting worse.

Symptom one: unpredictable convulsions. There is a revolution happening all around the world’s biggest oil-fields, and it is getting closer to the deepest pools every day. For 60 years our governments have armed, funded and fuelled tyrants in return for them pointing the petrol pump in our direction. Just as junkies will rob their mothers and mug their grannies, we have abandoned the most basic values of our societies in pursuit of cheap oil. Initially, this created the virus of jihadism. Now some of the local populations are finally rising up in a democratic spirit against their tyrants. They are being shot at by soldiers trained at Sandhurst and with weapons stamped Made in America.

Full Story Here: Johann Hari: Demanding cheaper oil is disastrous – Johann Hari, Commentators – The Independent.

Invest in America’s Clean Energy Future

Congress Should Embrace the DOE Loan Guarantee Program

The United States stands at a crossroads between two clean energy futures.

In one future scenario several dozen companies will develop clean energy projects in more than 30 states. These projects will create thousands of jobs in manufacturing, technology research, construction, and operations. They will put America back to work and help us meet President Barack Obama’s goal of “winning the future.” They also will help maintain America’s status as the world’s scientific leader, ensure our future global competitiveness, and protect our national security—all while reducing harmful pollution from fossil-fuel-based energy that’s dirtying our air and water.

But in the other scenario—the one the House of Representatives is embracing in their budget proposal of February 17—we lose our technological edge to other countries, valuable jobs, and new energy infrastructure that could make this country stronger and more secure.

The House budget takes us down this dark path by dramatically cutting funding for the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program. This program provides an essential financing tool for bringing emerging technologies to market scale. If the budget passes with these cuts, all the projects currently within the application process will be in jeopardy along with any future energy projects.

Full Story Here: Invest in America’s Clean Energy Future.

The Collapse of the Old Oil Order

How the Petroleum Age Will End

Whatever the outcome of the protests, uprisings, and rebellions now sweeping the Middle East, one thing is guaranteed: the world of oil will be permanently transformed. Consider everything that’s now happening as just the first tremor of an oilquake that will shake our world to its core.

For a century stretching back to the discovery of oil in southwestern Persia before World War I, Western powers have repeatedly intervened in the Middle East to ensure the survival of authoritarian governments devoted to producing petroleum. Without such interventions, the expansion of Western economies after World War II and the current affluence of industrialized societies would be inconceivable.

Here, however, is the news that should be on the front pages of newspapers everywhere: That old oil order is dying, and with its demise we will see the end of cheap and readily accessible petroleum — forever.

Full Story Here: Tomgram: Michael Klare, Oilquake in the Middle East | TomDispatch.

First Deepwater Drilling Permit Since BP Spill Goes to … a Well Co-Owned by BP

Offshore drilling regulators this week approved the first deepwater drilling permit since BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, and as many have pointed out, it’s going to a well owned and operated by Noble Energy.

But here’s a lesser-noticed fact, which Reuters reported today: BP co-owns the well—46.5 percent of it, to be exact. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the revamped offshore drilling agency, made no mention of BP’s ownership of the well in its press release, which touted the newly approved permit as a “an important step towards safely developing deepwater energy supplies offshore.”

(BP confirmed with us its stake in the well, but referred further questions about its involvement in operating the well and its expected revenue to Noble Energy.)

Full Story Here: The Washington Current: First Deepwater Drilling Permit Since BP Spill Goes to … a Well Co-Owned by BP.

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Nuclear power is dangerous, dirty and extraordinarily expensive. That’s why nuclear utilities can’t find private money to build new reactors. So they want you to lend them the money for new reactor construction.

Unfortunately, President Obama wants you to lend them the money too. His FY 2012 budget proposes tripling the nuclear loan program, adding $36 Billion to the $18.5 Billion approved in 2007–$10.2 Billion of which is still unspent. He also wants to spend $500 million over the next five years to develop new “small modular reactors.” But if those reactors were commercially viable, they would be developed on their own. The nuclear industry is wealthy–it could spend that money if it wanted to. After all, the industry has spent more than that ($650 million) just on lobbying and campaign contributions over the past decade.

President Obama made the same $36 Billion proposal for new reactor loans last year. And, thanks to public opposition, he didn’t get one dime of it. Let’s make sure the nuclear industry doesn’t get one more penny this year. Send your letter to Congress below.

Full Story Here: Nuclear Information and Resource Service – NIRS.

Joule Unlimited Claims It Can Make Diesel Fuel With Sun, Water & CO2

A Massachusetts biotechnology company says it can produce the fuel that runs Jaguars and jet engines using the same ingredients that make grass grow.

Joule Unlimited has invented a genetically-engineered organism that it says simply secretes diesel fuel or ethanol wherever it finds sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based company says it can manipulate the organism to produce the renewable fuels on demand at unprecedented rates, and can do it in facilities large and small at costs comparable to the cheapest fossil fuels.

What can it mean? No less than “energy independence,” Joule’s web site tells the world, even if the world’s not quite convinced.

“We make some lofty claims, all of which we believe, all which we’ve validated, all of which we’ve shown to investors,” said Joule chief executive Bill Sims.

Full Story Here: Joule Unlimited Claims It Can Make Diesel Fuel With Sun, Water & CO2.

Link Confirmed Between Warming and Heavy Storms | Common Dreams

Human-induced heating of the planet has already made rainfall more intense, leading to more severe floods, researchers announced Wednesday.

Two new studies document significant impacts with just a fraction of the heating yet to come from the burning of fossil fuels. Fortunately, another new report shows the world can end its addiction to climate-wrecking fossil-fuel energy by 2050.

“Warmer air contains more moisture and leads to more extreme precipitation,” said Francis Zwiers of the University of Victoria.

Extreme precipitation and flooding over the entire northern hemisphere increased by seven percent between 1951 and 1999 as a result of anthropogenic global warming. That represents a “substantial change”, Zwiers told IPS, and more than twice the increase projected by climate modeling.

Full Story Here: Link Confirmed Between Warming and Heavy Storms | Common Dreams.

Award-Winning Inventor Makes Fuel from Plastic Bags

What most of us see as the ubiquitous blight of modern convenience consumerism, i.e., littered plastic shopping bags, Japanese inventor Akinori Ito sees as the “fuel of the future”. Like most sensible inventions, Ito’s began with the simple realization that plastic bags are made from oil. Thus, it should be possible, he theorized, to revert these same items back to their original form.

His invention is actually a non-polluting, fully contained process that heats up the plastic, traps the vapors and channels them through an intricate system of pipes and water chambers. These, in turn, cool the vapors and condense them back into crude oil. This crude oil can be used in generators and even some stoves. An additional refinement step converts the crude oil into gasoline.

The carbon-negative system — now offered by Ito’s Blest Corporation, founded in early 2010 — is a highly-efficient technology, converting 1 kilogram (about 2 lbs.) of plastic into 1 liter (about a quart) of oil using just 1 kilowatt of power (cost: about .20 cents). However, the current cost of this system is just under 10,000 USD. Ito hopes to bring this price down through ramping up the production process as the word gets out and demand increases.

Full Story Here: Award-Winning Inventor Makes Fuel from Plastic Bags – CleanTechnica: Cleantech innovation news and views.

White House Seeks $53 Billion For High-Speed Rail

The Obama administration called on Tuesday for Congress to authorize a significant new investment in high-speed passenger rail systems, at a cost of $53 billion over six years.

Appearing at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, Vice President Joe Biden pitched the proposed infrastructure program as a needed dose of stimulus at a time when states are looking for cheap sources of jobs. The proposal would spend $8 billion in its first year, the first step in what the White House projects would be a 25-year shift to modern, speedy railways able to reach 80 percent of the United States and offering thousands of jobs.

That first round of money would be a drop in the bucket relative to the price tag needed to complete a national system, even on top of the approximately $11 billion that the administration has already spent.

Full Story Here: White House Seeks $53 Billion For High-Speed Rail.

A Giant Pipeline Carrying Dirty Oil From Canada to Texas. What Could Go Wrong?

Last year was quite a year for oil and gas disasters. In addition to the BP blowout, there was a leak on BP’s TransAlaska pipeline, a million-gallon oil spill in Michigan, and a gas explosion that destroyed 37 homes and killed eight people in California. So it would seem like a lousy time for a Canadian company to propose building a pipeline, the Keystone XL, right through the middle of the continent—especially one that may be unnecessary and that even some oil companies think is overpriced.

Several environmental groups have recently raised concerns about the ties between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the lead lobbyist for the international oil services company TransCanada.

Friends of the Earth, Corporate Ethics International, and the Center for International Environmental Law are seeking a record of all communication between Clinton’s office and that of Paul Elliott, who served as the national deputy director in her 2008 campaign and now serves as the director of government relations at TransCanada. The initial Freedom of Information Act request was denied. A new request was submitted in late January.

Full Story Here: A Giant Pipeline Carrying Dirty Oil From Canada to Texas. What Could Go Wrong? | Mother Jones.

Chernobyl: 25 Years After The Nuclear Disaster (PHOTOS)

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. At 1:23am on April 26th, 1986, operators in the control room of Reactor #4 botched a routine safety test, resulting in an explosion, and a fire that burned for 10 days. The radioactive fallout spread over tens of thousands of square miles, driving more than a quarter of a million people permanently from their homes. It remains the world’s worst nuclear disaster to date.

Since 1993, renowned National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig has visited the site several times, creating an in-depth look at the many consequences of tragedy. The thawing of bureaucratic barriers in Ukraine enabled him to move freely within the Exclusion Zone and delve deeper into contaminated reactor than any other Western still photographer. “I know that my explorations are not without personal risk. However,” he says, “I do this on behalf of otherwise voiceless victims who allow me to expose their suffering solely in the hope that tragedies like Chernobyl may be prevented in the future.”

Full Story Here: Chernobyl: 25 Years After The Nuclear Disaster (PHOTOS).

Obama: Let’s fund clean energy by stripping giveaways to oil companies

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama called for investments into clean energy, declaring they should be paid for in part by cutting federal subsidies and tax breaks for the oil industry.

Obama said the United States should get 80 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035, though he included nuclear power, “clean coal,” and natural gas as part of that standard, in addition to wind and solar.

“With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” Obama said, calling also for investments in high speed rail to cut fossil fuel consumption.

Full Story Here: Obama: Let’s fund clean energy by stripping giveaways to oil companies | Raw Story.

Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated

The United States is poised to bet its energy future on natural gas as a clean, plentiful fuel that can supplant coal and oil. But new research by the Environmental Protection Agency—and a growing understanding of the pollution associated with the full “life cycle” of gas production—is casting doubt on the assumption that gas offers a quick and easy solution to climate change.

Advocates for natural gas routinely assert that it produces 50 percent less greenhouse gases than coal and is a significant step toward a greener energy future. But those assumptions are based on emissions from the tailpipe or smokestack and don’t account for the methane and other pollution emitted when gas is extracted and piped to power plants and other customers.

The EPA’s new analysis doubles its previous estimates for the amount of methane gas that leaks from loose pipe fittings and is vented from gas wells, drastically changing the picture of the nation’s emissions that the agency painted as recently as April. Calculations for some gas-field emissions jumped by several hundred percent. Methane levels from the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas were 9,000 times higher than previously reported.

Full Story Here: On The Hill: Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated.

100 Percent Renewable Energy Achievable By 2030: Study

Could the world reach a 100 percent renewable energy goal in less than 20 years? New research says we can.

A report published in the journal Energy Policy claims that by 2030, the world can achieve 100 percent renewable energy if the proper measures are taken.

What exactly are these measures? According to PhysOrg, over 80 percent of our world’s energy supply currently comes from fossil fuels. We would need to build approximately four million wind turbines, nearly 2 billion solar photovoltaic systems, and about 90,000 solar power plants. The 5 MW wind turbines needed are up to three times the capacity of most of our current wind turbines. Doable? Perhaps. Formidable? Most certainly.

Full Story Here: 100 Percent Renewable Energy Achievable By 2030: Study.

Energy Adviser Leaving White House

Carol Browner, energy and climate change policy adviser to President Barack Obama, plans to leave her post at the White House in coming weeks, Politico reports.

MSNBC’s Savannah Guthrie wrote in a tweet on Monday night that there’s no word yet on whether Browner’s position “will be filled or eliminated.”

This is a developing story… More information to come…

Full Story Here: Carol Browner Leaving White House: Report.

Gas Prices Will Go Up This Spring

Gas pump prices that are around $3 a gallon now may seem like a bargain by the time your kids are on Easter egg hunts.

Pump prices have risen nearly 9 percent since Dec. 1 and topped $3.10 a gallon this week. That’s the highest level since October 2008. The price may rise or fall a little over the next few months, but analysts expect it to range between $3.20 and $3.75 gallon by March and April ahead of the summer driving season.

The national average for regular gasoline about $3.12 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That’s nearly 12 cents more than a month ago and 38 cents above a year ago.

Full Story Here: Gas Prices Will Go Up This Spring.

Evergreen Solar to close new plant at Devens

Evergreen Solar Inc., which received $58 million in state aid to open a factory in 2008 at the former military base in Devens, announced today it would shut the plant and let go 800 workers by the end of this quarter.

The solar-panel plant is a cornerstone of Governor Deval Patrick’s efforts to make Massachusetts a hub for the emerging clean-energy industry.

But Evergreen has been struggling in face of weak prices and competition from cheaper operations in China, where the government has offered solar companies generous subsidies to locate there. Evergreen itself has a partnership with a company based in China and previously announced plans to shift some work to the overseas location.

Massachusetts officials noted the state may have the opportunity to recover some of the funds Evergreen received.

Full Story Here: Evergreen Solar to close new plant at Devens.

Cape Wind Gets Permit For Offshore Wind Farm Clean Water Act Compliance

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted a long-sought permit to the nation’s first offshore wind farm, moving it a step closer to starting construction.

The decision wasn’t a surprise, but the permit was needed for Cape Wind to begin building a planned 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound. It clears Cape Wind to work in navigable federal waters and ensures it’s complying with the Clean Water Act.

Cape Wind is still waiting for one more permit, from the U.S. Environmental Protection agency for air emissions during construction. Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers said he was confident they would receive it shortly.

Full Story Here: Cape Wind Gets Permit For Offshore Wind Farm Clean Water Act Compliance.

Fmr. Shell president ‘predicting’ $5-a-gallon gas in 2012

The former president of Shell Oil said he believes Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon a gas by 2012.

“I’m predicting actually the worst outcome over the next two years which takes us to 2012 with higher gasoline prices,” John Hofmeister said in a recent interview with Platts Energy Week television.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service, agreed that Americans would see $5 a gallon gas but told CNN that he did not believe it would happen in 2012. “That wolf is out there and it’s going to be at the door…I agree with him that we’ll see those numbers at some point this decade but not yet.”

“The demand is still sluggish enough in some of the mature economies,” he said.

Full Story Here: Fmr. Shell president ‘predicting’ $5-a-gallon gas in 2012 | Raw Story.

Gasoline Prices Rise to 2-Year High

Gasoline prices have hit a two-year high heading into the Christmas holiday, producing a strain for shoppers trying to stretch their dollars.

Retail gas prices have been rising briskly over the last month, tracking crude oil prices, which rose on surging imports by China and a weakening of the dollar.

The average national price of gas rose over the last week to $2.98 a gallon, up from $2.90, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Although specialists say prices have probably peaked for the month, the price at the pump is now 35 cents a gallon higher than a year ago.

The Oil Price Information Service has estimated that consumers will pay $34 billion this month for gasoline, up from about $27.6 billion in December 2009 — money that might have been spent on holiday shopping.

Full Story Here: Gasoline Prices Rise to 2-Year High – NYTimes.com.

Remember $4 gasoline? Oil speculators are back

Despite weak demand in the U.S. and Europe, oil prices climbed this week to near $90 a barrel and gasoline prices have passed $3 a gallon on the West Coast and parts of the Northeast.

Why? If demand is down and supplies are plentiful — and they are — why would prices be going up?

Because Wall Street speculators are driving up oil and gasoline prices again — just in time to dampen holiday cheer.

Full Story Here: Remember $4 gasoline? Oil speculators are back | McClatchy.

Rep. Inslee Attacks Anti-Innovation GOP: Move To Clean Energy ‘Or China Is Going To Eat Our Lunch’

In an interview that aired last night on Fox News, Sarah Palin pushed the GOP’s anti-innovation meme and attacked those in Congress who oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Palin called them “extreme politicians over on the left who want to buy into” arguments against drilling from “extreme environmentalists.” The former GOP half-term Alaska governor argued that the U.S. needs “to drill and fill up the pipeline again.”

But in a separate interview later in the program, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) noted that drilling in the Arctic refuge really won’t solve America’s energy problems, won’t have much impact on the price of gasoline, and most importantly, moves the United States away from the direction of moving to a clean energy economy. Then, appearing to borrow a phrase from his GOP colleague Rep. Bob Inglis (SC), Inslee noted that China will outpace the U.S. if it doesn’t focus more on a clean energy economy:

INSLEE: The fact of the matter is, if we’re going to grow our economy, if we are going to seize the jobs of the next century, we have to get busy focusing our national debate and our national investment on the new clean energy technologies, or China is going to eat our lunch.

Full Story: ThinkProgress » Rep. Inslee Attacks Anti-Innovation GOP: Move To Clean Energy ‘Or China Is Going To Eat Our Lunch’.

OPS: No Shit Sherlock.  Even some in the Reich are starting to wake up.  If it wasn’t for Republicans we would have had this by now.  Let’s not forget that Carter had us on the path over 30 years ago!  Reagan, and the Republican ‘revolution’ killed it.

Environmental Protection Agency Set to Lower Target for Cellulosic Biofuels

Union of Concerned Scientists:

:In the next few days, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) expects the Environmental Protection Agency to dramatically lower the amount of cellulosic biofuel companies are required to purchase under the federal renewable fuel standard.  x

This would be the second time the EPA reduced the required amount of cellulosic biofuel, which is derived from perennial grasses, waste and other sources. Cellulosic biofuel is cleaner than corn ethanol and is not made from food crops.

“This is a clear sign that current federal policies don’t work, and won’t deliver the environmental, economic and energy security benefits cellulosic biofuels could provide,” said Jeremy Martin, a senior scientist in UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program. “If we’re ever going to get the cellulosic biofuel industry off the ground, we’re going to have to reform biofuel policies.”

Full Story: Environmental Protection Agency Set to Lower Target for Cellulosic Biofuels | CommonDreams.org.

Eco-cars gear up

Video:

Offshore Wind Power Permits Will Be Expedited To Spur Atlantic Coast Projects

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar vowed Tuesday to spur offshore wind projects in the Atlantic Ocean by expediting permits and identifying promising areas for wind power.

At a speech in Baltimore, Salazar said he will institute a “smart permitting process” that could result in leases issued within two years, instead of seven years or more.

Salazar said he and other federal officials will work with governors in 11 Atlantic Coast states to identify promising areas for wind development. If no serious problems are identified, leases could be issued late next year or in early 2012.

Full Story: Ken Salazar: Offshore Wind Power Permits Will Be Expedited To Spur Atlantic Coast Projects.

Georgia Nuclear Power Plant to Be Made In China

The Obama administration is working to encourage domestic energy production, but the machinery and parts required may not be from domestic sources.

A major benefit of further nuclear power production would be the need to manufacture the machinery required to operate these power plants. However, many companies are considering importing these parts from Japan and China.

“Combining outsourcing with nuclear safety is dangerous chemistry – and risky politics,” American Alliance of Manufacturing Executive Director Scott Paul said. Fortunately, United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard has filed a complaint with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the matter.

Full Story: Georgia Nuclear Power Plant to Be Made In China | Economy In Crisis.

OPS: It’s just suicidal.

Electric cars are charging into the marketplace

With the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf available by year’s end, shoppers will for the first time be faced with choices that include whether they want a gas-powered car.

Stalled for nearly a century, electric cars are about to move into the fast lane when the first of a new generation of vehicles reaches dealer showrooms next month.

Every major automaker plans some sort of electric or plug-in hybrid offering over the next several years, a wave of competing technologies reminiscent of the beginning of the automobile age.

General Motors Co. this month will start shipping its Chevrolet Volt, which uses a gas engine to generate electricity when the batteries run out. It will be available for sale in December. By year’s end, Nissan Motor Co. will launch its Leaf, which is powered only by batteries. Ford will come out with an all-electric version of its Focus compact car next year.

Full Story: Electric cars are charging into the marketplace – latimes.com.

Oil to run out 100 years before replacements become viable, study claims

The world will run out of oil around 100 years before replacement energy sources are available if oil use and development of new fuels continue at the current pace, a US study warns.

In the study, researchers at the University of California, Davis (UC-Davis) used the current share prices of oil companies and alternative energy companies to predict when replacement fuels will be ready to fill the gap left when oil runs dry.

And the findings weren’t very good for the oil-hungry world.

If the world’s oil reserves were the 1.332 trillion barrels they were estimated to be in 2008 and oil consumption was some 85.22 million barrels a day and growing at 1.3 percent a year, oil would be depleted by 2041, says the study published online last week in Environmental Science and Technology.

Full Story: Oil to run out 100 years before replacements become viable, study claims | Raw Story.

Has the World Already Passed “Peak Oil”?

New analysis pegs 2006 as highpoint of conventional crude production

The year 2006 may be remembered for civil strife in Iraq, the nuclear weapon testing threat by North Korea, and the genocide in Darfur, but now it appears that another world event was occurring at the same time—without headlines, but with far-reaching consequence for all nations.

That’s the year that the world’s conventional oil production likely reached its peak, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Vienna, Austria, said Tuesday.

According to the 25-year forecast in the IEA’s latest annual World Energy Outlook, the most likely scenario is for crude oil production to stay on a plateau at about 68 to 69 million barrels per day.

In this scenario, crude oil production “never regains its all-time peak of 70 million barrels per day reached in 2006,” said IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2010.

In previous years, the IEA had predicted that crude oil production would continue to rise for at least another couple of decades.

Full Story: Has the World Already Passed “Peak Oil”?.

New GOP Governors Kill $1.2 Billion In High-Speed Rail Jobs

Republicans who were elected on Tuesday are beginning to deliver on their campaign promises to kill America’s future. Within hours of declaring victory, the incoming tea-party governors of Wisconsin and Ohio stood fast on pledges to kill $1.2 billion in funding for high-speed rail in their states. The funding, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will revert to the federal government for investment in other states — unless Republicans in Congress are able to kill that, too. Walker warned he would fight President Obama to keep the Milwaukee-Madison link killed “if he tries to force this down the throats of the taxpayers.” Kasich — who called the high-speed rail project linking Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati “one of the dumbest ideas” he’s ever heard — used his victory speech to announce, “That train is dead“:

Scott Walker, the incoming governor of Wisconsin, for instance, vowed on Wednesday to carry out a campaign pledge to kill a proposed high-speed rail link between Milwaukee and Madison, part of a larger project to create a high-speed rail corridor across the upper Midwest, from Minneapolis to Chicago. The project was to be fully paid for with $810 million in federal stimulus funds. Mr. Walker said he wanted the money spent on roads, although under the terms of the grants, such a use of the funds is prohibited.

Full Story: ThinkProgress » New GOP Governors Kill $1.2 Billion In High-Speed Rail Jobs.