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Space-based solar power coming to California
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), California’s largest utility company, will purchase from Solaren 200 megawatts of electricity when Solaren’s system is in place, which is expected to be 2016
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Counterintelligence expert not worried about Chinese hacking
Joel Brenner, national counterintelligence executive, says is less worried about Chinese hacking of U.S. banking system and somewhat more worried about such hacking of U.S. critical infrastructure;
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Seismologist predicts earthquake in south Iran at the end of the month
A Chinese seismologist who relies on unusual cloud formations as a predictor of earthquake says that at the end of the month a powerful earthquake will shake south Iran; debate about basing emergency policy on such predictions intensifies in light of similar predictions before the earthquake in Italy two weeks ago
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Using a long tether to deflect threatening asteroids
An asteroid-tether-ballast system could effectively alter the motion of an asteroid to ensure it missed hitting Earth; the tether, though, is on the long side: between 1,000 kilometers to 100,000 kilometers
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Aussies inaugurate carbon capture institute
Australia is the world’s fourth largest producer of hard coal, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says that Australia has a national and shared global responsibility to establish the workability of carbon capture and storage technology at a commercial scale
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The security of the U.S. communications network, II
A few vandals, equipped with pliers, last Thursday cut fiber-optics cables in the San Francisco Bay area, paralyzing wireless, Internet, phone, and emergency communication for more than twelve hours; what does this tell us about the vulnerability to disruption of the .S. communication network?
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Study: Catastrophic rise in sea levels "distinct possibility" this century
New study — based on fluctuations in sea levels the last time Earth was between ice ages, as it is now — shows that oceans rose some three meters in only decades due to collapsing ice sheets
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NIST offers five encryption tips
There are many encryption algorithms, techniques, and products — and many user devices and threats against them; NIST offers five encryption tips
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The security of the U.S. communications network, I
A few vandals, equipped with pliers, last Thursday cut fiber-optics cables in the San Francisco Bay area, paralyzing wireless, Internet, phone, and emergency communication for more than twelve hours; what does this tell us about the vulnerability to disruption of the U.S. communication network?
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Eleven sites on final list for new U.K. nuclear power station sit
The government published the list of eleven sites which could be potential hosts to new nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom
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One-story masonry building withstands strong jolts during seismic tests
University of California, San Diego researchers design a one-story masonry structure and showed it could survive two days of intense earthquake jolts
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Hackers made off with more than 285 million records in 2008
Hackers managed to steal 285 million private records in 2008; 93 percent of all compromised records in its study came from the financial sector
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Coverity centralizes code defect checkers
Coverity’s new Integrity Center was created while the company was analyzing 250 open source code projects on a DHS contract
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AT&T increases reward in cable vandalism to $250,000
Late last eek vandals cut fiber optic cables in three California counties, disrupting communication and commerce; AT&T increases reward for information which will lead to capturing the vandals
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Protection from terrorism affects far reaches of Montana
When you think of terrorism and preparations for terrorist attacks, you think of big cities; the remote precincts of Montana, however, are not exempt; the local inhabitants, who foot the bill for local homeland security, want to know whether rural dams are really terrorist targets
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More headlines
The long view
Falling Space Debris: How High Is the Risk I'll Get Hit?
An International Space Station battery fell back to Earth and, luckily, splashed down harmlessly in the Atlantic. Should we have worried? Space debris reenters our atmosphere every week.
Using Drone Swarms to Fight Forest Fires
Forest fires are becoming increasingly catastrophic across the world, accelerated by climate change. Researchers are using multiple swarms of drones to tackle natural disasters like forest fires.
Strengthening the Grid’s ‘Backbone’ with Hydropower
Argonne-led studies investigate how hydropower could help add more clean energy to the grid, how it generates value as grids add more renewable energy, and how liner technology can improve hydropower efficiency.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.