• Russia, Italy to build new fusion reactor

    The reactor, designed by MIT researchers, is based on MIT’s Alcator fusion research program, which has the highest magnetic field and highest plasma pressure of any fusion reactor, and is the largest university-based fusion reactor in the world; the new reactor, called Ignitor, would be about twice the size of Alcator — but much smaller and less expensive than the ITER fusion reactor currently under construction in France

  • Corps looking at water diversions to protect Louisiana coast

    The recent, 1,000-year Ohio River Valley rain event that is causing so much flooding in Tennessee and Kentucky is expected to make its way into the New Orleans area by 18 May doubling the current Mississippi River flow to 1 million cfs; The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has an idea: diverting the excess water to push water out of sensitive wetland areas and keep away oil that has been drawing near shore since the 20 April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig

  • The technology behind the Gulf oil spill disaster

    The culprit on the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a device called blowout preventer, or BOP; the Deepwater Horizon’s BOP is a 450-ton set of hydraulic rams that straddles the wellhead, just above the seabed; when the well blew out last month, sending oil and natural gas up the well, signaling from the rig operators or loss of communication with the surface should have automatically released pneumatic pressure stored in the BOP’s tanks, driving it mechanically to crimp or shear off the well pipe and close off the well; for an unknown reason, the BOP sat paralyzed on the sea floor, doing nothing; the disaster exposes over-reliance on blowout preventers that has been long disparaged by industry insiders and outside critics

  • The bad news: Expect about 38,000,000 gallons of oil to be released into the Gulf

    The 1989 Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound; the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on 20 April, has already released an estimated 9 million gallons of oil into the Gulf; this means that the well releases between 10,000 and 15,000 barrel of oil into the water (there are 42 gallons in a barrel of oil); BP says it will take about three months to cap the underwater gusher — meaning that we should expect the equivalent of 900,000 barrels, or 37,800,000 gallons, to released into the water yet

  • The good news: Tests confirm oil is light grade

    Preliminary tests on the oil spilled in the Gulf show that the material is typical Louisiana sweet crude, a light oil that can be either burned or readily dispersed; scientists were alarmed Friday when one of the samples showed a higher-than-expected concentration of asphalt and other nonvolatile components; such materials are extremely resistant to degradation, and they also are resistant to burning and extremely difficult to clean up once they reach the shore; scientists now believe the Friday samples were contaminated

  • Gulf oil spill exposes industry's lack of readiness, preparation

    The oil spill in the Gulf will inevitably become the worst spill in U.S. history — if it is not the worst already; BP has begun a three-month project to drill a relief well in 5,000ft of water to intercept and isolate the existing well at around 13,000ft below the seabed; one expert says: “At 1,500m the head is as easy to get to as if it were on the moon”

  • Gulf of Mexico oil reaches coast; White House calls spill event of "national significance"

    Gulf oil spill reaches Louisiana shore; cost of clean up is estimated at $8 billion; DHS secretary Napolitano declares the spill an event of “national significance,” opening the door for increased federal involvement; Louisiana declares state of emergency

  • A first: Engineers build giant dome to contain Golf oil spill

    Engineers have began to construct a giant dome over a large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; the dome would capture or gather the oil and allow it to be pumped out of that dome structure; the dome would be similar to welded steel containment structures called cofferdams used in oil rig construction, but it would be an original design never fabricated or tested before

  • Coast guard my use controlled burn for Gulf oil spill

    A large oil spill from a rig in the Gulf of Mexico is threatening vital ecological areas along the Louisiana shore; DHS and the Coast Guard are considering a controlled burn of the menacing oil spill; controlled burns have been done and tested before

  • Indonesia to tap volcano power

    Indonesia is a country of 17,000 islands; the archipelago contains 265 volcanoes, estimated to hold around 40 percent of the world’s geothermal energy potential; investors, the World Bank, and the Indonesian government embark on an ambitious plan to add 4,000 megawatts of geothermal capacity — up from the existing 1,189 megawatts — by 2014, and 9,500 megawatts by 2025, by tapping the volcanoes

  • Risks of laser-based uranium enrichment outweigh rewards

    Researchers argue that laser-based uranium enrichment is not the way to bolster nuclear power: the technique, which involves the separation of isotopes by lasers, would save U.S. households no more than about $2 per month in energy costs, while increasing dramatically the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation

  • NORAD general warns wind turbines pose national security threat

    There is a new homeland security issue: wind turbines; turbines create a shadow that makes airplanes disappear from radar screens; the turbines also clutter the screens with the turbines’ “signature,” which changes as blades accelerate and slow with the wind; the U.S. military says that decision on wind farm locations should be carefully vetted to make sure home defense is not compromised

  • U.S. military warns of massive oil shortages by 2015

    A new study by the U.S. military warns of serious oil shortages by 2015: surplus oil production will disappear by 2012, and as early as 2015 the shortfall in output could reach nearly 10 million barrels per day; the Joint Operating Environment report paints a bleak picture of what can happen on occasions when there is serious economic upheaval: “One should not forget that the Great Depression spawned a number of totalitarian regimes that sought economic prosperity for their nations by ruthless conquest,” it warns darkly

  • U.S. Congress anxious about shortages of rare earth materials

    Rare earth materials are key to advanced technology — they are used in devices ranging from wind turbines to cell phones; trouble is, almost all of these materials come from China; Congress is worried that one day they could be subject to tight export controls by that country’s government

  • New blue ribbon commission on America’s nuclear future

    The commission, led by Lee Hamilton and Brent Scowcroft, will provide recommendations on managing used fuel and nuclear waste; Secretary of Energy Steven Chu: “Nuclear energy provides clean, safe, reliable power and has an important role to play as we build a low-carbon future. The Administration is committed to promoting nuclear power in the United States and developing a safe, long-term solution for the management of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste”