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Archive for August 6th, 2011
River temperature forces nuclear plant to 50 percent power
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 6th, 2011
Times Free Press: On Wednesday, the utility had to bring a third reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant down to 50 percent power to avoid environmental sanctions because the water in the Tennessee River -- where the plant's cooling water is discharged -- already was at 90 degrees.
"When the river's ambient temperature reaches 90 degrees, we can't add any heat to it," said TVA's nuclear spokesman Ray Golden.
Similar problems last summer forced the Tennessee Valley Authority to spent $50 million for replacement...
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United States: Cape Cod’s shape constantly changing, for good and bad
Posted by Cape Cod Times: Heather Goldstone on August 6th, 2011
Cape Cod Times: This is the second day of a four-day series of stories, photos, videos and interactives that examine the Cape Cod National Seashore as it turns 50 years old. The Times worked in conjunction with WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR radio station, on the series.
Henry Marindin may not have the same name recognition as Henry David Thoreau, but he commands a dedicated following among local geologists.
Between 1887 and 1889, Marindin led a team of surveyors who traversed the length of what Thoreau called...
United States: Average temps on rise in San Antonio
Posted by San-Antonio Express-News: Pierre Bertrand on August 6th, 2011
San-Antonio Express-News: The National Weather Service released new 30-year temperature and precipitation averages for San Antonio, and it's clearly hotter now than in the past.
The average annual temperature for the period 1981-2010 rose to 69.5 degrees from 68.7 degrees for 1971-2000. Average annual precipitation fell slightly during 1981-2010 to 32.27 inches from 32.92 inches. New 30-year averages are calculated every 10 years.
Explaining the temperature increase is no easy task, said Robert Blaha, a meteorologist...
Is this the most anti-environment House in history?
Posted by Salon: Natasha Lennard on August 6th, 2011
Salon: This year alone, the anti-environment side has prevailed more than 100 votes in the House of Representatives. That's the claim of two liberal Democratic lawmakers, who have issued a report documenting 110 instances since January in which bills intended to strengthen environmental protection have been blocked or otherwise undermined in the Republican-controlled House.
Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) have released a fact sheet (available in full here) detailing all of the...
Anti-fracking protesters target Blackpool Tower
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 6th, 2011
BBC: Two men have been arrested after apparently erecting banners over the Blackpool Tower to protest against a method of extracting gas. Police were called to the tower at 07:25 BST after reports banners had been put up half way up the south side. The men, who gained access to the tower by dressing as builders, were protesting against the use of fracking. They came down about an hour later. A 24-year-old from East Sussex and 63-year-old from Surrey were arrested. Officers said they were being held...
Niger Delta villagers go to the Hague to fight against oil gant Shell
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 6th, 2011
Guardian: A man walks on slippery spilled crude oil on the shores of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in Niger's oil-producing Ogoniland.
Goi is now a dead village. The two fish ponds, bakery and chicken farm that used to be the pride and joy of its chief deacon, Barrisa Tete Dooh, lie abandoned, covered in a thick black layer. The village's fishing creek is contaminated; the school has been looted; the mangrove forests are coated in bitumen and everyone has left, refugees from a place blighted...
Killer shrimp top UK waterways’ least-wanted list
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 6th, 2011
Independent: "Killer Shrimp" are among the worst alien invaders of Britain's waterways, which officials say are costing billions of pounds to tackle.
As well as introduced animals, several species of pond plants which have escaped from gardens and parks are also on the list of non-native flora and fauna posing a threat to the country's rivers and lakes.
According to the Environment Agency, the intruders cost the UK economy about £1.7bn a year, damaging riverbanks and buildings, increasing flood risk and...
United States: ‘Killer’ shrimps worst water pest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 6th, 2011
BBC: 'Killer' shrimp is the worst non-native invader of England and Wales' waterways, says the Environment Agency.
Known as Dikerogammarus villosus, it kills native shrimp and young fish.
The Environment Agency's worst 10 alien invaders include water primrose, giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed which can damage riverbanks and buildings.
The agency said invasive species cost the UK about £1.7bn a year and it will work with partner groups to manage the spread of damaging plants and animals.
Several...
Japan PM brings his nuclear-free vision to Hiroshima
Posted by Reuters: Kim Kyung Hoon on August 6th, 2011
Reuters: Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed on Saturday to challenge the "myth of safety" of nuclear power while marking the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a city that has now started questioning its long embrace of nuclear energy's peaceful use.
Kan, speaking at a ceremony devoted to the victims of the bomb that killed more than 100,000, repeated that the meltdowns at the Fukushima plant after a March earthquake convinced him Japan should aim to end its dependence on nuclear power. ...