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Private equity firms focus on India's clean technology sector
Several PE firms allocate investments in India’s clean technology sector from their general funds, but others create India-only funds to focus on the sector even more
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FitzPatrick nuclear power station
Upstate New York nuclear power plant shut down for the third time in two months owing to wind blowing debris into the plant’s water intake
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China's heavy use of coal degrades global environment
Worldwide demand for coal will rise by about 60 percent through 2030 — to 6.9 billion tons a year; China’s voracious appetite is the main culprit; environmental, health costs in China — and around the world — mount
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Phononic computer processes information with heat
In addition to electronic computers and (theoretical) optical computers, we now have heat-based computers; such computers are based on logic gates in which inputs and outputs are represented by different temperatures; in run-of-the-mill electronic computers, inputs and outputs are represented by different voltages
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DHS relaxes chemical plant reporting rules
In April DHS issues a list of 344 hazardous chemicals which businesses would have to track and disclose to the department through an online reporting system; under pressure from several industries, the list is reduced to 300, and reporting threshold of many chemicals of highest security concern raised
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North Korea to dismantle nuclear weapon capability
U.S. nuclear experts today begin supervising the North’s main nuclear complex at Yongbyon
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Green endurance race across Africa
An endurance car race in Africa in January will pit different alternative energy technologies against each other
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Bush administration's nuclear waste reprocessing plan criticized
Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel creates more fuel for nuclear plants, and reduces the need for nuclear waste storage; trouble is, reprocessing also creates weapons-grade plutonium; Bush administration believes there is a new, safer reprocessing method, but a panel of scientists says there is not, and until there is, the U.S. should continue to oppose reprocessing
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IBM will spend $1.5 billion to improve computer security
IBM’s security initiative would double IBM’s security spending; company says its IT security is becoming more difficult because of collaborative business models, sophisticated criminal attacks, and increasingly complex infrastructures
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DARPA-funded UCSD research yields world's most complex phased array
Tritons researchers develop world’s most complex phased array; the 16-element chip is just 3.2 by 2.6 square millimeters, can send at 30-50 GHz
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States battle rise in copper thefts
New threat to U.S. infrastructure: Wave of copper theft; DOE estimates that losses to businesses hover around $1 billion; states pass tougher laws to stem the tide
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Honduran authorities detect Cesium-137 in container at port
Puerto Cortes, Honduras, was declared a safe port by the United States more than a year ago — and the designation proved correct: Last Sunday radiation detectors at the port detected high doses of radiation in a container (it turned out to be medical stuff used in sterilization of equipment)
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TWIC inches forward, but legislators criticize missed deadlines
Employees at Wilmington, Delaware port were the first to enroll in TWIC last month; this month, employees in eleven additional ports will begin enrollment; still, program delays are met with a bipartisan chorus of criticism on the Hill
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Maryland State Police to gather critical infrastructure data from air
Johns Hopkins’s APL develops new technology which allows officers to monitor critical infrastructure facilities digitally from the air and quickly locate, inspect important structures during patrols
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Vulnerability of infrastructure control systems is growing
Control networks of infrastructure facilities are becoming increasingly standardized and linked to other centralized systems; as a result they can be more easily breached; consequences may be dire
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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.