Nuclear Power

For Water, Cities Look to Farms Conserving water on farms is the key to securing water for cities that face recurring shortages, according to a new study published in the journal Water Policy, National Geographic reported. The growth of both irrigated agriculture and cities in water-scarce regions has fueled these shortages, necessitating working relationships between [...]

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A leak was discovered at yet another underground water storage tank used to contain radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, The New York Times reported. The country is struggling to find places to store the contaminated water, but has promised not to release it into the Pacific Ocean. A Chilean court [...]

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Upgrades to the world’s agricultural export infrastructure, such as roads, waterways and ports, needs to become a priority in order to feed a growing planet, according to the CEO of global agribusiness company Bunge, Reuters reported. Low water levels and a back-up of barge traffic on the Mississippi River have put renewed focus on grain [...]

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U.S. power producers are not calculating the cost of scarce water resources in coal, nuclear, natural gas and biomass energy production. That was the central finding in a study from The Civil Society Institute and the Environmental Working Group, reported in Bloomberg News. Water in a Changing Climate Pleasure boats and commercial ships in the [...]

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The U.S. government spent US$734 million on water-related activities in fiscal year 2011, according to a State Department report. This represents a 23 percent drop from the previous year, when US$953 million was spent. Roughly one out of every two dollars in fiscal year 2011 was spent on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. The annual [...]

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Irrigators in Texas and New Mexico are unhappy with a decision by the International Boundary and Water Commission to release reservoir water to Mexico, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. farmers wanted to delay the annual water release in order to cope with drought later in the growing season, but Mexican farmers, who are dealing [...]

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Asia Twelve tons of radioactive water leaked from a pipeline and may have reached the sea at Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said, Bloomberg News reported. The site has suffered repeated leaks, and 100,000 tons of wastewater are still being stored in basements. The World Bank is handing over $US 8 [...]

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On World Water Day, we look at: Water Innovation Hindustan Times features examples of grassroots water innovation in India. With 1.2 billion people, India is teeming with innovators and places to try out ingenious ideas in energy, water, banking, and health care, according to Fast Company. What makes a country ideal for innovation? Israel could [...]

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Climate Change Australia should brace itself for higher temperatures and more weather extremes, such as intense rainfalls and droughts, according to a government report. The more chaotic weather will be an especially big challenge to miners and farmers, who are already building bigger holding dams for flood waters and altering cropping practices. About 3.7 million [...]

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Energy South Africa may invest $78 billion in new nuclear power plants, a hydropower project and a coal-fired power plant in order to keep up with energy demand, Business Week reported. A European Union expert committee failed to reach a decision on a proposal that would label fuel from tar sands as highly polluting, pushing [...]

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The United States is the world’s largest exporter, and one of the biggest importers, of virtual water, a measure of the water used to create products that are shipped abroad, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, which outlines the flow of water around the [...]

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Bulgaria should pursue shale gas in order to achieve energy independence, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to the country, according to EurActiv. In January, Bulgaria placed a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing, which forces large quantities of chemicals and water into shale gas formations underground to release [...]

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Haste and Waste The Commission on America’s Nuclear Future released its report on how to handle the nation’s growing pile of nuclear waste. Co-chaired by Lee Hamilton, a former Congressman, and Brent Scowcroft, a former National Security Advisor, the commission made numerous recommendations that would require action from the administration or Congress. Since halting work [...]

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency linked hydraulic fracturing to groundwater pollution for the first time Thursday after finding chemicals used in fracking in a Wyoming aquifer, Bloomberg News reported. Some companies that use fracking to extract underground natural gas deposits dispute that the drilling method was the source of the contamination. Farmers in California [...]

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The U.S. State Department’s decision to postpone its verdict on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline until after next year’s presidential election may doom the project and accelerate Canada’s efforts to ship crude to Asia, Business Week reported, citing Canada’s finance minister. Two degrees of disaster: The New Yorker’s Elizabeth Kolbert comments on the latest IEA [...]

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When Texans head to the ballot box today, they will be asked to vote on a constitutional amendment that would give tax breaks to landowners who conserve water and preserve water quality, Associated Press reported. United States Energy company Exxon Mobil said that its response to the July oil spill into the Yellowstone River in [...]

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Costly weather extremes such as drought and floods are becoming more prevalent as climate change progresses, the Associated Press reported, citing a draft of a new study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The growing populations in vulnerable locations around the world will likely exacerbate the problem. Only 5 percent of the $97 billion [...]

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The largest red tide algae bloom since 2000 is gripping the Texas Gulf Coast, the Associated Press reported. The prolonged Texas drought this year kept freshwater from reaching the Gulf, raising the salinity levels in which the algae thrive. Despite record-breaking rainfall in October, 99 percent of Texas remains under severe drought conditions, Think Progress [...]

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EIA global energy production consumption china india coal natural gas fossil fuel oil fracking shale renewable water use nuclear nukes

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently published its annual report on global energy projections. Though renewable energy sources and nuclear power, along with unconventional fossil fuels, will phase out coal production over the next two decades, it will not be at the pace necessary to offset greenhouse gas emissions

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Drought-stricken Texas is desperately behind and short of funds to meet the goals of a 2007 blueprint to guarantee the water needs of its rapidly expanding population, Associated Press reported. More than four years after the latest water plan was published, Texas has allocated just $1.4 billion of the $53 billion needed to build the [...]

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