The common designation is COP27, which opens Sunday (Nov. 6) in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The meeting will end Nov. 18. The formal designation is the “27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.” Most expectations for the outcome of the meeting are low. Many … More Archive, Nov. 2: COP 27 Meets with Low Climate Expectations
Despite rumors to the contrary, the British government insists it is standing behind its controversial two-unit, 3,200-MW Sizewell C planned nuclear power project. The BBC on Friday (Nov. 4) reported that despite government denials, “A government official had told the BBC that every major project was under review ‘including Sizewell C’ as ministers try to … More Archive, Nov. 6: Sunak Save Sizewell C
Joy Ditto, the savvy CEO of the American Public Power Association, keeps close track of what’s on the minds of her municipal utility members. And she reports in an editorial in The Hill last month, what’s on their minds is transformers. It’s a somewhat arcane corner of the U.S. supply chain problems that hasn’t made … More Archive, Nov. 7: Electrical Distribution Transformers in Short Supply
The American Nuclear Society is moving toward open-source publishing of its research, giving free access to the public to material published on its new platform. “Open research is a significant and growing trend in the publishing world, and this new platform allows ANS members to publish quality content freely available for the public,” ANS CEO … More Archive, Nov. 10: ANS Rolling Out Open-Source Publishing
Former Vice President (1992-2000) Al Gore, who has long warned about the allegedly devastating impacts of global warming, caused by burning fossil fuels, viewed glaciers, and recent glacial retreat, as iconic evidence for his claims. He has focused in on Montana’s Glacier National Park to make that case. In a 1997 speech in the park, … More Archive, Nov. 13: Glaciers Not Man Made?
While much of the muttering at COP 27 in Egypt has been about how to meet the goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees C over pre-industrial levels, some leading climate scientists are already claiming the death of that goal. Writing in the opinion section of The Guardian, Bill McGuire of the University College … More Archive, Nov. 14: 1.5C: A Degree of Failure?
Geothermal electric generation, long an underperformer in global energy, could get a boost from new deep drilling technology, according to an article this week (Nov. 13) in the Wall Street Journal. Energy analysts have been talking about the promise of tapping the hot depths of the planet to make power. The key to maximizing hot … More Archive, Nov. 15: Hot Rocks
Are the civilian nuclear industries in the U.S. and Europe subsidizing Russia’s nuclear weapons program? In an opinion piece in The Hill this week (Nov. 13), a Washington nuclear nonproliferation expert argues that case. Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, writes, “As Washington and the commentariat wring their hands about Russian … More Archive: Nov. 16: Do U.S., EU Subsidize Russian Nuclear Weapons?
The latest dispute over leasing federal lands in Kansas, New Mexico, and Kansas for energy production is bubbling up, over plans by the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to open two sales covering 209 parcels of federal land totaling 251,086 acres for the second quarter of 2023 for oil and gas exploration … More Archive, Nov. 19: Interior, Greens in Western Oil & Gas Leasing Dispute
The latest dispute over leasing federal lands in Kansas, New Mexico, and Kansas for energy production is bubbling up, over plans by the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to open two sales covering 209 parcels of federal land totaling 251,086 acres for the second quarter of 2023 for oil and gas exploration … More Archive, Nov. 18: Interior, Greens in Western Oil & Gas Leasing Dispute