nuclear-news

Opinion:

¶ “Myths and facts to know ahead of Rick Perry’s study on the electrical grid and renewable energy” • Energy Secretary Rick Perry ordered his department to produce a study on whether shifting to renewable energy affects grid reliability. Many experts believe the study is intended to be biased in favor of fossil fuels and nuclear power. [Salon]

San Onofre, closed (Photo: Northwalker, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “Trump May Have Unintentionally Killed US Nuclear” • The President’s March 28th Executive Order could damage the US nuclear power industry. As it undermines the idea that we should consider the social cost of air pollution from power generation, it also undermines the arguments of those who favor of expensive nuclear power. [OilPrice.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ One farmer in Georgia said the past two years brought the worst weather he has ever seen. There were catfish in…

Opinion:

¶ “A Beach Town’s Dilemma: Protect Homes or Save the Shore?” The sandy beach in front of homes in the north San Diego County town of Del Mar is shrinking, and the high tide is edging closer. A report to the town says seas will rise 5 to 12 inches by 2030, and 1 to 2 feet by 2050. None of the options addressing this is ideal. [Scientific American]

California Beach (Credit: Tim Buss Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ More than 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced by humans since large-scale production began back in the 1950s, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. The bulk of this is now litter, micro-plastics pollution, or buried in landfills. As of 2015, 9% of the plastics made was recycled, and 12% incinerated. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Heat waves generated by global…

GR: Utility companies don’t want you to save money by adopting solar power. Utilities that should earn their public status by working for the common good, often behave just like any for-profit corporation. Their resistance to distributed solar power is a most egregious example. In my home state, Arizona, the utility lobby convinced the state legislature to lower the credit solar customers receive for the excess energy they generate with rooftop solar.

However, there has been backlash by utility customers who recognize the need to move away from conventional power. In June, Nevada citizens in reaction to NV Energy’s effort to limit rooftop solar, voted for a bill to restore utility payments for excess energy. Moreover, as the price of storage has fallen along with the cost of solar panels, it is becoming affordable for private citizens to completely disconnect from their utility company networks. There’s still a big investment. For…