nuclear-news

For Houston, a city that hosts a massive oil industry, it’s the climate change related flood version of the Fort McMurray fire. And we may well be witnessing, at this time, a tragedy that we could have at least in part prevented, but didn’t.

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Last week at this time, meteorologists were tracking a tropical cyclone moving across the Caribbean. 5-7 day models indicated that the system would enter the Gulf of Mexico by late week. This Gulf was hotter than normal. And for the past three months it had been dumping an over-abundance of moisture…

Opinion:

¶ “Why Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google Are Flocking to Iowa” • Apple is the fourth tech giant to build a data center in Iowa, following Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. Apple CEO Tim Cook said at an event in Waukee that one of the important attractions for business is Iowa’s “world-class power grid,” which is powered 36% by wind. [TheStreet.com]

Wind power in Iowa (Voice of American, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “National energy plan needs a major review” • Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has begun a review of the government’s Basic Energy Plan, three years after its last update. The current plan calls for reducing the nation’s dependence on nuclear power, but also calls nuclear an “important baseload power source.” [The Japan Times]

¶ “Did global warming cause Hurricane Harvey?” • Our future may actually be one of fewer hurricanes, but they would be…

Opinion:

¶ “Here’s why oil’s future is grim” • What do the auto makers, major utilities, and oil companies have in common with Kodak, Blockbuster, and Macy’s? Their old business models are rapidly vanishing under the pressure of technology, innovation, and societal norms. Banning petroleum-powered cars may be unnecessary. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

Pump jack (Photo: Greg Goebel, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ “The US coal industry is going out, not with a whimper, but with a burst of rent-seeking” • The US coal industry is dying, but not with any dignity. As the end approaches, its demands for government handouts increasingly frantic. The industry’s product is outmoded, and “picking winners” doesn’t look so bad when you’re losing. [Vox]

Science and Technology:

¶ An increasing percentage of the world’s population are living in cities, and this number is set to keep growing. A startup based in Brooklyn…

Texas Power Stations (and Hurricane Harvey) – map below. Wind Farms are indicated by the grey wind sign and the purple and white signs are the two nuclear power stations – with two nuclear reactors each, i.e. a total of four large reactors.

https://www.eia.gov/special/disruptions/ [Update: They appear to have removed many of the layer functions. They can be found here without storm info: https://www.eia.gov/state/maps.php ]
From EIA.gov energy analysis of Texas:
“ QUICK FACTS
* Texas was the leading crude oil-producing state in the nation in 2015 and exceeded production levels even from the federal offshore areas.
* As of January 2016, the 29 petroleum refineries in Texas had a capacity of over 5.4 million barrels of crude oil per day and accounted for 30% of total U.S. refining capacity.
* Texas accounted for over 27% of U.S. marketed natural gas production in 2015, making it the leading natural gas…