Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Scottish Power to Raise Price of Domestic Gas by 19% and Electricity by 10%
June 8th, 2011Via: Guardian: Scottish Power is to raise the price of domestic gas and electricity bills by 19% and 10% respectively from August 2011, blaming the increases on a rise in wholesale energy costs and volatility in global energy markets. The rise, which will affect 2.4m households and add £175 a year – or 48p a […]
Melted Fuel at Fukushima May Have Leaked Through Pressure Vessels
June 7th, 2011Via: Bloomberg: The melted fuel at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station may have leaked through the pressure vessels of the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. The Japanese government will submit a report to the International Atomic Energy Agency that raises the possibility the fuel dropped through the […]
New Flow Battery Technology from MIT
June 6th, 2011Via: Technology Review: A radically new approach to the design of batteries, developed by researchers at MIT, could provide a lightweight and inexpensive alternative to existing batteries for electric vehicles and the power grid. The technology could even make “refueling” such batteries as quick and easy as pumping gas into a conventional car. The new […]
Japan: Green Tea Exports Banned Due to High Radiation Levels
June 4th, 2011Via: Telecom: The Japanese government has banned shipments of green tea leaves in four regions after high levels of radioactive caesium were found. A swathe of Japan’s tea making regions including parts of Tochigi, Chiba and Kanagawa prefecture as well as the whole of Ibaraki were included within the ban, according to the Ministry of […]
Fukushima Residents Will Be Checked For Internal Radiation Exposure
June 2nd, 2011Via: NHK: Fukushima Prefecture has decided to check the internal radiation exposure of residents near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and adjacent areas with high radiation levels. … A device called a “whole-body counter” will be used to precisely measure radiation. But the prefecture currently has only one device and can screen just […]
High Radioactivity Found in Japanese Nuclear Workers
May 30th, 2011Via: AFP: Two workers from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been contaminated by high levels of radioactive iodine, the operator said Monday, prompting fears over their long-term health. The workers, reportedly men in their 30s and 40s, may have already been exposed to radiation levels higher than the recently boosted official annual limit, Japanese […]
Germany Decides to Abandon Nuclear Power by 2022
May 30th, 2011Via: AP: Germany’s governing coalition said Monday it will shut down all the country’s nuclear power plants by 2022. The decision, prompted by Japan’s nuclear disaster, will make Germany the first major industrialized nation to go nuclear-free in years. It also completes a remarkable about-face for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right government, which only late last […]
Fukushima: Tepco Admits That Stabilizing Reactors by Year’s End May Be Impossible
May 30th, 2011Via: Japan Times / Kyodo: Stabilizing the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant by the end of the year may be impossible, senior officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, throwing a monkey wrench into plans to let evacuees return to their homes near the plant. The confirmation of core meltdowns hitting […]
Angry Parents in Japan Confront Government Over Radiation Levels
May 26th, 2011Via: New York Times: The accusations flew on Wednesday at the local school board meeting, packed with parents worried and angry about radiation levels in this city at the heart of Japan’s nuclear crisis. “Do you really care about our children’s health?” one parent shouted. “Why have you acted so late?” said another. Among other […]
China: Yangtze River Drought Crisis Forces Government to Release Five Billion Cubic Meters of Water from Three Gorges Reservoir
May 26th, 2011More iPads! *BOOM* *CRASH* Via: Guardian: The Yangtze – Asia’s biggest river – is experiencing its worst drought in 50 years, forcing an unprecedented release of water from the Three Gorges reservoir. The drought is damaging crops, threatening wildlife and raising doubts about the viability of China’s massive water diversion ambitions. Between now and 10 […]
