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Deadly Lessons from Fukushima Changed Japan and the World
The strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history triggered a massive tsunami in 2011. Together, the two natural disasters claimed close to 20,000 lives, making the event one of the deadliest in Japan’s history. But the crisis didn’t end there.
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Colorado River Water Plan Could Trigger Unprecedented Supply Cuts, Ripple Effects on Key Industries
Decades of drought and overuse have brought the river’s water levels to historic lows. States in the Lower Colorado River Basin — Arizona, California and Nevada — now must choose between one of three options proposed by the federal government. The economic impact of the river’s dwindling water supplies is could be disastrous.
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Germany: Seeking Solution for Remaining Nuclear Waste
Nuclear energy in Germany has been history since mid-April. The last three nuclear power plants ended their operations on April 15. Germany’s nuclear power might be gone, but nuclear waste isn’t going anywhere. The search for a location for a final repository remains a challenge.
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Forced Water-Use Cuts Made California More Waterwise
After a drought-stricken California lifted a year of mandatory water-use cuts that were effective in 2015 and 2016, urban water use crept back up somewhat, but the overall lasting effect was a more waterwise Golden State.
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Progress in Alternative Battery Technology
It is not easy to make batteries cheap, efficient, durable, safe and environmentally friendly at the same time. Researchers have now succeeded in uniting all of these characteristics in zinc metal batteries. Zinc batteries are considered a possible future alternative to the lithium-ion batteries now widely in use. Currently, however, their use often requires toxic salts.
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AI Can Predict Electricity Grid Loads from Road and Rail Usage Data
To satisfy demand and manage consumption peaks, electricity suppliers have to be able to predict grid loads. Researchers havedeveloped an artificial intelligence system capable of accurately anticipating grid loads from road and rail traffic data.
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Two Men Sentenced in Plot to Attack Power Grids in the United States
Two men were sentenced in federal court Friday, 21 April, for crimes related to a scheme to attack power grids in the United States in furtherance of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism. DHS and the FBI have warned that domestic terrorists were increasingly focused on disrupting the U.S. power grid.
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Cities Will Need More Resilient Electricity Networks to Cope with Extreme Weather
Dense urban areas amplify the effects of higher temperatures, due to the phenomenon of heat islands in cities. This makes cities more vulnerable to extreme climate events. Large investments in the electricity network will be necessary to cool us down during heatwaves and keep us warm during cold snaps.
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As States Replace Lead Pipes, Plastic Alternatives Could Bring New Risks
Across the country, states and cities are replacing lead pipes to address concerns over lead-contaminated drinking water, an urgent health threat. But critics say that substituting PVC for lead pipes “may well be leaping from the frying pan into the fire.”
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Testing Gaming Technology to Train Nuclear Workforce
Video game software paired with high-tech hard hats can bridge theory and reality to engage a new generation of workers. Argonne engineers tested extended reality tools at the nation’s largest liquid metal test facility.
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Economic Earthquake Risk in the United States
Earthquakes cost the nation an estimated $14.7 billion annually in building damage and associated losses, a new report finds. The new estimate is twice that of previous annual estimates due to increased building value and the fact that the report incorporates the latest hazards as well as improvements to building inventories.
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The Rise and Fall of the Belt and Road Initiative
Amidst accusations of “debt-trap diplomacy,” Chinese companies seek more overseas direct investment opportunities and fewer foreign contracted projects as Xi’s flagship initiative is stymied by poor risk management.
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Germany to Turn Off Nuclear Power, but Other Countries Not Ready Yet
Germany is shutting down its last three atomic power plants this weekend after previously delaying the nuclear phaseout due to the war in Ukraine.
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Preparing Students for the New Nuclear
Nuclear power has gained greater recognition as a zero-emission energy source, and an MIT program trains leaders for a rapidly evolving industry.
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The Potential for Geologic Hydrogen for Next-Generation Energy
Hydrogen, you may recall from your school days, is a gas. It is considered the cleanest fuel, because burning it only produces heat and pure water. A previously overlooked, potential geologic source of energy could increase the renewability and lower the carbon footprint of the U.S. energy portfolio: natural hydrogen.
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The long view
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.