Last March, President Barack Obama gave a speech on energy security at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. In it, Obama offered what might be called a “grand compromise” on energy—in exchange for expanded offshore drilling, including in previously untouched areas like north Alaska and the Atlantic, he called for support of …
Energy
A New Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico—and Insight into the Causes of the Old Spill
While the world’s attention has been fixed on the nuclear crisis in Japan, we’re fast coming upon the one-year anniversary of another major environmental disaster: the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Though opinions are still divided on just how much damage the spill has caused—and may continue to cause—the Gulf community is …
Fukushima: The End of the Nuclear Renaissance?
Today I was scheduled to attend a press briefing in London with Sir David King, the former Chief Scientific Adviser to the British government. Sir David was due to address the future of nuclear power in the U.K.. This morning, I received a hurried voicemail from Sir David’s press spokesman: thanks to the events in Japan, the meeting had …
Japan Nuclear Emergency: How Much Radiation is Safe?
Government officials have confirmed that radiation has leaked from the Fukushima power plant site in Northern Japan, where workers are scrambling to prevent a meltdown at two damaged reactors. The surrounding area has been evacuated. It’s difficult to ascertain how much radiation has already leaked from the plant–or what the …
Japan Quake Causes Nuclear Emergency
(Update as of 1336 EST)
A reactor cooling system malfunctioned at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan on Friday, prompting the country to declare a nuclear emergency in the aftermath of the large earthquake.
However, there was no information about a leak or contamination at any of Japan’s eleven reactors, according to Prime …
Coming Attractions: BP Oil Spill Set to Hit the Big Screen
A guest post from TIME’s Tara Kelly:
With the one-year anniversary of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster nearly upon us, that can only mean one thing for filmmakers. The time is ripe for a Hollywood adaptation.
But forget corporate negligence or severe environmental damage. (Those don’t sell movies, they just grab headlines.) No, …
The Four Horsemen of the Nuclear Apocalypse
In 2007, four elder U.S. statesmen wrote an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons.” Former secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, one-time Defense Secretary William Perry and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) had, at various times in their careers, been deeply immersed in the nuclear …
Palm Oil Plantations Equal Deforestation
Another day and there’s another study that undermines the case for biofuels as an eco-friendly source of energy. This time it’s the booming palm oil plantations of Southeast Asia, which yield the raw ingredients for biodiesel, used most often in Europe. Activists have been warning for some time that the growth of palm oil is leading …
Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change: Part Two
On Feb. 25, I posted a blog arguing that nuclear weapons are the most important and urgent environmental threat today—even more important than climate change caused by greenhouse gasses. I received quite a bit of feedback from environmentalists—many of whom took umbrage with my thesis.
If You Must Build A Mega Dam: Lessons for Brazil from China
Last week environmental activists in Brazil – and Hollywood – were celebrating a victory over what is slated to become the world’s third largest hydroelectric plant. A Brazilian court in Para state ruled last Friday that the state-backed project, key to President’s Dilma Rousseff’s infrastructure push to support Brazil’s …