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Global coal industry using as much water as a billion people each year

map: coal-fired power plants and regions of water scarcity in the USA

We already know that coal-fired power plants are bad for the planet, but that’s usually because we are just thinking about the enormous amounts of carbon dioxide emissions they contribute to our atmosphere. A new Greenpeace report entitled The Great Water Grab sheds light on another terrifying aspect of the coal industry – its astronomical water consumption. The report suggests that the global coal industry uses the same amount of … [more…]

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NRC admits San Onofre Holtec nuclear waste canisters are all damaged

photo: containers for storing nuclear waste

The Holtec nuclear waste storage canisters at San Onofre are lemons and must be replaced with thick-wall casks.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) admits in their November 28, 2018 NRC Inspection Report and Notice of Violation, ML18332A357 (page 8 and 9) every Holtec canister downloaded into the storage holes is damaged due to inadequate clearance between the canister and the divider shell in the storage hole (vault). The NRC states … [more…]

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Mere sunlight can be used to eradicate pollutants in water

Chemists present new process to produce hydrated electrons — ScienceDaily

Advances in environmental technology: You don’t need complex filters and laser systems to destroy persistent pollutants in water. Chemists have developed a new process that works using mere sunlight. The process is so simple that it can even be conducted outdoors under the most basic conditions.

Advances in environmental technology: You don’t need complex filters and laser systems to destroy

… [more…]
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Keeping score on Earth’s Global Sea-Level Rise

NASA map of ocean salinity at the surface; among the contributing to global sea-level rise

A map of ocean salinity at the surface, one way scientists track the effects of shifting storms or melting ice. Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio.

An international collaboration among dozens of scientists has come within less than a millimeter of attaining a long-sought goal: accounting for all the jostling, overlapping, and constantly changing contributions to global sea-level rise.

A just-published paper assembles virtually all the puzzle … [more…]

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Study: Flint’s lead-poisoned water had ‘horrifyingly large’ effect on fetal deaths

photo: Flint resident LaFonzo Williams

Flint resident LaFonzo Williams, 19, prays on Jan. 14, 2016, in Lansing, Mich., amid more than 150 Flint and Detroit residents before heading into the state Capitol to protest Gov. Rick Snyder, asking for his resignation and arrest in relation to Flint’s water crisis. (Jake May/Flint Journal-MLive.com via Associated Press)

The fertility rate in Flint, Mich., dropped precipitously after the city decided to switch to lead-poisoned Flint River water in … [more…]