Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Japanese Government Raises ‘Safe’ Radiation Limits So Children Can Legally Attend Schools That Have Been Covered in Fallout from Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
May 4th, 2011Via: Guardian: Furious parents in Fukushima have delivered a bag of radioactive playground earth to education officials in protest at moves to weaken nuclear safety standards in schools. Children can now be exposed to 20 times more radiation than was previously permissible. The new regulations have prompted outcry. A senior adviser resigned and the prime […]
Japan: Kan, “Will Study the Possibility of Setting Up an Alternative Capital to Take Over Tokyo’s Role in an Emergency”
May 2nd, 2011Via: NHK: Kan said measures were not taken despite previous accidents and warnings, and that he must admit that the utility and the government failed to fully deal with the situation. He also suggested that he will study the possibility of setting up an alternative capital to take over Tokyo’s role in an emergency, saying […]
Britain: Wind Power Companies Paid to Stop Producing Electricity
May 2nd, 2011Via: BBC: Six Scottish windfarms were paid up to £300,000 to stop producing energy, it has emerged. The turbines, at a range of sites across Scotland, were stopped because the grid network could not absorb all the energy they generated. Details of the payments emerged following research by the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF). The REF […]
Japan: Radiation Leaks from Fuel Rods Suspected at Tsuruga Plant
May 2nd, 2011Via: Kyodo: Leaks of radioactive substances from fuel rods are suspected to have occurred at a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, the Fukui prefectural government said Monday, citing a rise in the level of radioactive substances in coolant water. The operator, Japan Atomic Power Co., will manually shut down the No. 2 reactor of the […]
Muammar Gaddafi’s Son, Grandsons Killed in NATO Assassination Attempt
May 1st, 2011Via: Guardian: A Nato air strike in Tripoli has killed the youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a Libyan government spokesman has said. Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, 29, was killed along with three of Muammar Gaddafi’s grandsons, according to reports. The Libyan leader was in the building at the time of the strike, but was […]
Nuclear Emergency Sirens Conk Out in Storm
April 30th, 2011Via: Times Free Press: TVA safely shut down its Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama with emergency backup power this week, but power outages across the Tennessee Valley still left the utility without enough emergency sirens to warn nearby residents of potential safety problems at both Browns Ferry in Alabama and the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant […]
The Plan to Contain the Chernobyl Disaster for the Next One Hundred Years
April 29th, 2011Via: Scientific American: French construction company Novarka is working on a replacement, the New Safe Confinement (NSC), which Schmieman helped to design. Because the reactor is still radioactive, architects designed the NSC with worker safety in mind. The arch will not be built over the sarcophagus but will be assembled nearby from prefabricated segments. Workers […]
Oil Near 31-Month High on Weak Dollar, Unrest
April 29th, 2011Via: Reuters: Oil prices hovered near 31-month highs as a weak dollar and violence in North Africa and the Middle East outweighed concerns about slowing growth in top consumer the United States. On its last trading day of April, U.S. crude was heading for an eighth consecutive month of gains, the longest run of monthly […]
Radiation Readings in Fukushima Reactor Rise to Highest Since Crisis Began
April 28th, 2011Update: Look At The URL On This One Reader TO mentioned this: www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-27/tokyo-water-radiation-falls-to-zero-for-first-time-since-crisis.html ??? —End Update— Via: Bloomberg: Radiation readings at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi station rose to the highest since an earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems, impeding efforts to contain the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. Two robots sent into the reactor No. […]
MIT: GM Virus Produces Structures That Will Improve Solar-Cell Efficiency by Nearly One-Third
April 28th, 2011Via: MIT News: Researchers at MIT have found a way to make significant improvements to the power-conversion efficiency of solar cells by enlisting the services of tiny viruses to perform detailed assembly work at the microscopic level. In a solar cell, sunlight hits a light-harvesting material, causing it to release electrons that can be harnessed […]
