Archive for the 'Infrastructure' Category
Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant Leaking Tritium Into Biscayne Bay
March 9th, 2016Via: Miami Herald: A radioactive isotope linked to water from power plant cooling canals has been found in high levels in Biscayne Bay, confirming suspicions that Turkey Point’s aging canals are leaking into the nearby national park.
Fukushima Disaster Nearly Destroyed Japan, Government Nuclear Safety Adviser Majored in Economics
March 5th, 2016Most nuclear power plants in Japan remain offline. Via: NZ Herald: Japan’s prime minister at the time of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has revealed the country came within a “paper-thin margin” of a nuclear disaster requiring the evacuation of 50 million people. In an interview to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster, Naoto […]
Iraq: Mosul Dam Engineers Warn It Could Fail at Any Time, Killing 1 Million People
March 3rd, 2016Via: Guardian: Iraqi engineers involved in building the Mosul dam 30 years ago have warned that the risk of its imminent collapse and the consequent death toll could be even worse than reported. They pointed out that pressure on the dam’s compromised structure was building up rapidly as winter snows melted and more water flowed […]
Solar, Wind, Gas Dominate New U.S. Generating Capacity in 2016
March 2nd, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Combined new solar and wind generation (16.3GW) is double that of new gas power plants (8GW). Via: Ars Technica: Today, the US Energy Information Administration released data on planned additions to the US power grid this year. The year is notable because it will see […]
India: Ten Million Without Water in Delhi
February 22nd, 2016Via: BBC: More than 10 million people in India’s capital are without water despite the army regaining control of its key water source after protests, officials say. Keshav Chandra, head of Delhi’s water board, told the BBC it would take “three to four days” before normal supplies resumed to affected areas. Jat community protesters demanding […]
Petrofascism: The Koch Brothers’ Dirty War on Solar Power
February 16th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Rolling Stone: After decades of false starts, solar power in America is finally poised for its breakthrough moment. The price of solar panels has dropped by more than 80 percent since President Obama took office, and the industry is beginning to compete with coal […]
Entergy Says Indian Point Nuclear Plant Leak Isn’t Safety Risk
February 8th, 2016Mmm hmm. Via: Bloomberg: Entergy Corp. said elevated levels of radioactive material found in groundwater at the 2,000-megawatt Indian Point nuclear power facility north of New York City don’t pose a threat to public safety. Increased levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, were found in three monitoring wells out of several dozen at […]
France to Pave 1000km of Roads with Solar Panels
January 29th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — 😯 Via: Treehugger: Over the next five years, France will install some 621 miles (1,000km) of solar roadway using Colas’ Wattway solar pavement. … No, this is not the crowdfunded solar road project that blew up the internet a few years ago, but is a […]
Obama Declares Emergency in Michigan Over Lead-Contaminated Water
January 17th, 2016Via: CBC: U.S. President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration Saturday that clears the way for federal aid for Flint, Michigan, which is undergoing a drinking water crisis due to lead-contaminated water. … The tap water in Flint, population 99,000, became contaminated after the city switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River […]
Attacks on Just Nine Substations in U.S. Could Cause Blackout Across Entire Grid
January 11th, 2016Via: Information Week: Turns out free and publicly available information can be used to determine the most critical electric substations in the US, which if attacked, could result in a nationwide blackout. Remember that million-dollar Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) study in 2013 that found that attacks on just nine electric substations in the US […]
