Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

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caltrek
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Radioactive Contamination is Creeping into Drinking Water Around the U.S.

by Lynne Peeples
December 21, 2021

https://ensia.com/features/radioactive- ... n-uranium/

Introduction:
(Ensia) When Jeni Knack moved to Simi Valley, California, in 2018, she had no idea that her family’s new home was within 5 miles of a former nuclear and rocket testing laboratory, perched atop a plateau and rife with contamination. Radioactive cesium-137, strontium-90, plutonium-239 and tritium, along with a mix of other toxic chemicals and heavy metals, are known to have been released at the industrial site through various spills, leaks, the use of open-air burn pits and a partial nuclear meltdown.

Once Knack learned about the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and the unusual number of childhood cancer cases in the surrounding community, she couldn’t ignore it. Her family now only drinks water from a 5-gallon (19-liter) jug delivered by Sparkletts water service. In August, she began sending her 6-year-old daughter to kindergarten with two bottles of the water and instructions to not refill them at school, which is connected to the same Golden State Water Company that serves her home.

A federal report in 2007 acknowledged that two wells sourced by the water company were at risk of contamination from the site. “The EPA has said we’re at risk,” says Knack. And Golden State, she says, has at times used “possibly a very hefty portion of that well water.” To date, radioactivity above the natural level has not been detected in Golden State’s water.

Concerns across the country

All water contains some level of radiation; the amount and type can vary significantly. Production of nuclear weapons and energy from fissionable material is one potential source. Mining for uranium is another. Radioactive elements can be introduced into water via medical treatments, including radioactive iodine used to treat thyroid disorders. And it can be unearthed during oil and gas drilling, or any industrial activities that involve cracking into bedrock where radioactive elements naturally exist. What’s more, because of their natural presence, these elements can occasionally seep into aquifers even without being provoked.

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG, a partner in this reporting project) estimates that drinking water for more than 170 million Americans in all 50 states “contains radioactive elements at levels that may increase the risk of cancer.”
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Last edited by caltrek on Mon Jan 17, 2022 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Xyls
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Germany shuts down half of its 6 remaining nuclear plants

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/germany ... -1.5724237

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All of which will be replaced by fossil fuels of course. :lol:
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Paraguay now produces 100% renewable electric energy

December 30, 2021

The electrification of Bahía Negra occurred on Tuesday night, through an extension of lines from Itaipu Binacional and was attended by Paraguayan president Mario Abdo Benítez, as well as the head of the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) Félix Sosa.

"This is an unprecedented historic event," Abdo Benítez said during the inauguration ceremony. He also said that the inclusion of Bahía Negra into the basic service comes after "years of negligence, lack of vision and investment in the electricity system."

The head of state highlighted that with the electrification of the city of Bahía Negra, Paraguay becomes the region's first country to have 100% renewable electricity supply. "It is a true milestone for our country," the president said.

https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-n ... ic-energy/
weatheriscool
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Biden administration details push to finally rid the nation of millions of lead pipes
Source: Washington Post
The Biden administration on Thursday announced an effort to jump-start the removal of every underground lead water service line in the country, a move meant to stop once and for all the poisonous metal from flowing through the taps of millions of Americans. Half a dozen years after the water-contamination fiasco in Flint, Mich., shined a national spotlight on the persistent problem, the Environmental Protection Agency is set to write stricter standards for drinking water that would compel water utilities to dig up and replace lead lines from coast to coast.

Up to 10 million lead pipes still carry water to homes and businesses around the nation, the EPA estimates, carrying with them the risk of leaching the dangerous neurotoxin into drinking water. President Biden campaigned on removing all of the nation’s lead service lines as part of his plan to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure and alleviate the burden of pollution borne most heavily by poor and minority communities.

“Over the past year, I have visited with and heard from communities in Chicago, Flint, Jackson and many other areas that are impacted by lead in drinking water,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “These conversations have underscored the need to proactively remove lead service lines, especially in low-income communities.”

For three decades, federal requirements on how towns and cities control and test for lead in drinking water have failed to avert the worst lead-contamination crises. Numerous presidential administrations have undertaken efforts to rework the regulations, which have been criticized as complicated, poorly enforced and not stringent enough to protect Americans from a substance that scientists say is unsafe at any level.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... e-removal/
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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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EPA moves to crack down on dangerous coal ash storage ponds
Source: AP

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants, denying requests by three Midwest power plants to extend operations of leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds.

Plants in Indiana, Ohio and Iowa will have to close the coal ash ponds months or years ahead of schedule, the EPA said Tuesday, citing deficiencies with groundwater monitoring or cleanup.

Coal ash, the substance that remains when coal is burned to generate electricity, contains a toxic mix of mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other heavy metals. It can pollute waterways, poison wildlife and cause respiratory illness among those living near massive ponds where the waste is stored.

A fourth industrial site, at a former coal-power plant in New York State that now burns natural gas, is ineligible for an extension and also will be forced to close early, the EPA said. A separate coal-powered plant in Kentucky will be required to fix groundwater monitoring as a condition for continued operation of its coal ash pond, the agency said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-hea ... 5ed9f95d66
weatheriscool
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Strong evidence shows Sixth Mass Extinction of global biodiversity in progress
https://phys.org/news/2022-01-strong-ev ... ction.html
by Marcie Grabowski, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The history of life on Earth has been marked five times by events of mass biodiversity extinction caused by extreme natural phenomena. Today, many experts warn that a Sixth Mass Extinction crisis is underway, this time entirely caused by human activities.

A comprehensive assessment of evidence of this ongoing extinction event was published recently in the journal Biological Reviews by biologists from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France.

"Drastically increased rates of species extinctions and declining abundances of many animal and plant populations are well documented, yet some deny that these phenomena amount to mass extinction," said Robert Cowie, lead author of the study and research professor at the UH Mānoa Pacific Biosciences Research Center in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). "This denial is based on a biased view of the crisis which focuses on mammals and birds and ignores invertebrates, which of course constitute the great majority of biodiversity."

By extrapolating from estimates obtained for land snails and slugs, Cowie and co-authors estimated that since the year 1500, Earth could already have lost between 7.5 and 13% of the two million known species on Earth—a staggering 150,000 to 260,000 species.

"Including invertebrates was key to confirming that we are indeed witnessing the onset of the Sixth Mass Extinction in Earth's history," said Cowie.
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A catalyst for more efficient green hydrogen production
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-01-cat ... ction.html
by Georgia Institute of Technology
The climate crisis requires ramping up usage of renewable energy sources like solar and wind, but with intermittent availability, scalable energy storage is a challenge.

Hydrogen —especially carbon-free green hydrogen—has emerged as a promising clean energy carrier and storage option for renewable energy such as solar and wind. It adds no carbon emissions to the atmosphere, but currently is costly and complex to create.

One way to produce green hydrogen is electrochemical water splitting. This process involves running electricity through water in the presence of catalysts (reaction-enhancing substances) to yield hydrogen and oxygen.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a new water-splitting process and material that maximize the efficiency of producing green hydrogen, making it an affordable and accessible option for industrial partners that want to convert to green hydrogen for renewable energy storage instead of conventional, carbon-emitting hydrogen production from natural gas.
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caltrek
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Southwest Research Institute Collaborates to Create Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbomachinery for Concentrated Solar Power Plant

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/940277

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) SAN ANTONIO — Jan. 17, 2022 — Southwest Research Institute worked with government and commercial collaborators to successfully develop and demonstrate full-scale turbomachinery for one of the world’s first supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power systems for a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The technology combines sCO2 power cycles with integrated thermal energy storage.

The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s APOLLO program, which was created to improve performance and reduced the cost of electricity from CSP plants. The 10MW sCO2 turbomachinery has successfully completed performance and endurance tests in a closed-loop environment.

sCO2 is carbon dioxide held above a critical temperature and pressure, which causes it to act like a gas while having the density of a liquid. It’s also nontoxic and nonflammable, having been used in dry cleaning processes, low-GHG refrigeration systems, as well as to decaffeinate coffee.

The fluid properties in its supercritical state makes sCO2 a highly efficient fluid to generate power due to high density, low viscosity and favorable heat transfer properties.

“Advancing grid-scale energy storage is an important step to enabling full penetration of renewables into power generation. Utilizing sCO2 as a working fluid can increase the efficiency of a CSP plant by as much as 10 percentage points,” said Dr. Jason Wilkes, manager of SwRI’s Rotating Machine Dynamics Section. “The high efficiency of the sCO2 cycle also allows the turbomachinery to have a smaller footprint — it is 1/20th the size of a standard steam turbine, allowing for improved installation in most environments.”
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weatheriscool
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Ozone pollution costs Asia billions in lost crops: study
https://phys.org/news/2022-01-ozone-pol ... -lost.html
by Sara Hussein
Ground-level ozone is significantly reducing yields of rice, wheat and maize in parts of Asia, a new study finds.

Persistently high levels of ozone pollution in Asia are costing China, Japan and South Korea an estimated $63 billion annually in lost rice, wheat and maize crops, a new study says.

While ozone forms a protective layer around the Earth in the upper atmosphere, it is a harmful pollutant at ground level.

It is created by a chemical reaction when two pollutants, often emitted by cars or industry, combine in the presence of sunlight and it can interfere with plant photosynthesis and growth.

The research published Monday harnesses pollution monitoring data from the region and field experiments to show ozone affects Asia's crop yields more than previously thought.

The study's authors said the findings should push policymakers to reduce emissions that produce ozone.

"Air pollution control in North America and Europe succeeded in lowering ozone levels," said Kazuhiko Kobayashi, a co-first author of the study and professor emeritus affiliated with the University of Tokyo.
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