• Debate over alternatives to Yucca Mountain project

    The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project is being deliberately starved for funds by the Obama administration; some argue the United States should use UREX reprocessing technology to reprocess waste (this was the Bush administration’s preference); MIT and Harvard scientists say it is perfectly safe to store nuclear waste above ground for 60 or 70 years, while working on a better alternative to UREX

  • Mobile WiMax to be rolled out in Atlanta in June

    Clearwire says it will roll out mobile WiMax in Atlanta next month, with other cities to follow

  • U.S. reassesses safe water levels in New Orleans' outfall canals

    New Orleans has three outfall canals, the role of which is similar to that of a storm drain under a city street; since Katrina, there have been disagreements among engineers as to how much water would it be safe for each of the three canals to handle during a storm

  • Tech giants buying tech security companies

    Tech security appears to be recession-resistant industry; tech giants position themselves to benefit from the greater emphasis on IT security in the U.S. 2010 budget by buying smaller cybersecurity companies; the prices are attractive: VCs who, a few years ago, invested in promising security start-ups can no longer count on cashing in by going public

  • Funding continues for Yucca Mountain project

    Both Senator Harry Reid and President Barack Obama — and also Secretary of Energy Steven Chu — want the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project — 25 years and $13.5 billion in the making — ended, but funding continues

  • IT spending to increase on Obama's watch

    New OMB report says that IT spending will increase by 7 percent in fiscal 2010 — to $75.8 billion

  • Senate debates federal role in U.S. power grid

    Legislators debate whether to allow the federal government to compel states to provide sites for “high-priority” federal transmissions projects; legislators also considering eminent domain provisions, which would allow the government to seize privately owned land that it judged as necessary for new power lines

  • Oregon needs to raise Hagg Lake dam for fear of earthquakes

    In Oregon they expect the Big One — a massive earthquake — sometime in the next fifty years; one measure of preparation is to raise the height of dams so that earthquake-generated waves in the reservoirs behind the dams would not spill over and flood the neighboring territory

  • China deploys secure computer operating system

    China has installed a secure operating system known as “Kylin” on government and military computers designed to be impenetrable to U.S. military and intelligence agencies

  • Drinking water monitored by CSIRO-developed sensor network

    Lake Wivenhoe, which spans an area about the size of the city of Brisbane, supplies water to 1.5 million residents in south-east Queensland; CSIRO deploys its FLECK smart wireless sensor network technology to monitor water quality

  • NERC approves strengthened cyber security standards

    The North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s (NERC) independent Board of Trustees last week approved eight revised cyber security standards; entities found in violation of the standards can be fined up to $1 million per day, per violation in the United States

  • Greece bans Google Street View mapping service

    The Greek government bans Google from gathering detailed, street-level images within the country for a planned expansion of the company’s panoramic Street View mapping service; government wants assurances about privacy issues

  • Cyber security experts unveil spammer strategies

    Computer security experts infiltrated a botnet called Storm and analyzed the way its complex internal communications worked; knowledge gained will help in writing anti-spam software

  • Hackers break into UC Berkeley health-services databases

    Hackers began breaking into the databases back in October, and continued to steal information until breach was discovered on 9 April; about 160,000 individuals believed to be affected by breach

  • More than 950 billion barrels of crude have been extracted since 1850

    How much crude oils has been extracted around the world since 1850, the year the first commercial oil-wells were sunk in? Until now, experts calculated that number to be 944 billion barrels; new study suggests a figure that is 35 percent higher than that