Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Irene: Utilities Bracing for Widespread Power Outages
August 26th, 2011Via: AP: Hurricane Irene’s strong winds and heavy rains threaten to deliver long-lasting power outages to millions of customers along the East Coast, utility officials and weather forecasters say. An unusually large number of people may be affected by Irene because it is forecast to stay just offshore — and thus retain much of its […]
Japan Triples Airborne Radiation Checks as ‘Hot Spots’ Spread
August 24th, 2011Ok, so a diabolical regime with no credibility at all is going to step up monitoring efforts. That’s nice. Via: Bloomberg: Japan will more than triple the number of regions it checks for airborne radiation as more contaminated “hot spots” are discovered far from Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power station. The government […]
German Village Produces 321% More Energy Than It Needs
August 22nd, 2011Via: Inhabitat: Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it […]
Large Zone Around Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Plant Will Be Declared Uninhabitable for Decades
August 22nd, 2011Via: New York Times: Broad areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could soon be declared uninhabitable, perhaps for decades, after a government survey found radioactive contamination that far exceeded safe levels, several major media outlets said Monday. The formal announcement, expected from the government in coming days, would be the first official recognition […]
Japanese Researchers Trying to Find Rice Varieties that Absorb Less Cesium from the Soil
August 22nd, 2011Grim. Via: Kyodo: A research agency in Fukushima Prefecture recently began examining some 110 varieties of rice from in and outside Japan in search for strains that absorb less radioactive cesium from soil. The project, which the Fukushima Agricultural Technology Center initiated in the wake of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, […]
China Claims Fukushima Disaster Has Contaminated a 252,000-Square-Kilometer Area of Pacific Ocean
August 20th, 2011Via: Asahi: Radioactive substances that leaked from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have spread over far broader areas of the sea than Japan has acknowledged, according to the State Oceanic Administration of China. An Aug. 15 article in the electronic version of Science and Technology Daily, a Chinese newspaper, cited an ocean […]
For First Time, More Corn Used for Ethanol Than Livestock
August 18th, 2011Via: The Gazette: For the first time ever, more of the corn crop may go into gas tanks than into the stomachs of cattle and poultry destined for kitchen tables. The prediction drew little response last week when it was released by the USDA in its Crop Production and Supply/Demand Report for the 2011 crop […]
Single Seat Electric Vehicle Sets 1,000 Miles-Plus Record on Single Charge
August 17th, 2011Via: PhysOrg: An experimental electric vehicle called “Schluckspecht” (“boozer,” or “tippler” in German) has set the record for achieving the longest drive in a battery-powered vehicle on a single battery charge. Its record-breaking distance was 1,013.8 miles (1,631.5 km). The trip lasted 36 hours and 12 minutes. The Schluckspecht E, as the winning machine is […]
Shell Finds Second Oil Leak in North Sea
August 16th, 2011Via: Guardian: A second oil leak has been discovered from an offshore platform in the North Sea. An estimated 216 tonnes (1,300 barrels) has already spilled into the sea after the initial spill, which began at the Gannet Alpha platform 112 miles east of Aberdeen last Wednesday. Glen Cayley, technical director of platform operator Shell’s […]
Japanese Burning Radioactive Materials Causing ‘Rainouts’ Around Japan and Elsewhere in Northern Hemisphere
August 15th, 2011Via: Washington’s Blog: Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says in a new interview that the Japanese are burning radioactive waste from Fukushima. This ends up not only in neighboring prefectures, but in Hawaii, British Columbia, Oregon, Washington and California. Radioactive rain-outs were documented recently in British Columbia and Oklahoma with geiger counters. Gundersen is working with […]
