Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 03/25/11

Indian Point Nuclear Plant on Hudson

We've been gearing up for the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic's 3rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Cleantech Investment Forum, which takes place at Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences on Thursday, March 31st. A few tickets are still available, so don't delay: Register for Cleantech Investment Forum.

Here are this week's Green Skeptic links:

The news is not great out of Japan this morning as Reuters reports workers at the Fukushima nuclear reactor were exposed to 10,000 times more radiation than previously thought: Fukushima. 

While in the US, concern about older nuclear facilities is leading to increased scrutiny as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pledged to move New York's Indian Point to the top of its list of 27 nuclear plants being reviewed for risk from earthquakes: Indian Point and the New York Times reported that Nuclear Power Loses Support in New Poll

Ideas on Energy asks "Why are the world's most energy rich countries in the Middle East investing so heavily in renewable energy?" 

Meanwhile, in California, a landmark climate bill is being stalled by...a bunch of environmentalists?  China Dialogue editor Linden Ellis has the story: Greens Getting in the Way.

Shawn Lesser of Sustainable World Capital and Terry Cooke, a 2010 Public Policy Scholar on U.S.-China Clean Energy at the Woodrow Wilson Center, list the  "Top Ten U.S. and China Collaborations in Cleantech."

Katie Fehrenbacher at Earth2Tech reports that power gear company Schneider Electric has made one of the larger acquisitions in the industrial and commercial energy management sector, buying energy procurement and management company Summit Energy for $268 million.

Elizabeth Kolbert, writing in National Geographic, says the carbon dioxide we pump into the air is seeping into the oceans and slowly acidifying them. Kolbert asks, "One hundred years from now, will oysters, mussels, and coral reefs survive?"The Acid Sea

While Nature Conservancy president and CEO Mark Tercek suggests that Keeping More Fish in the Ocean is Good for People & Nature.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 03/18/11

Image by Masaru Kamikura via FlickrWe all watched with grave concern and deep admiration this week as workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan struggled to keep a crisis from turning into a catastrophe in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. 

As I write this, the severity level has been raise from a 4 to a 5 and water cannons are firing jets of water onto overheating reactors.

Michael W. Golay, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the missteps that led to the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi in Yale360.

While the debate about the Fukushima disaster's impact on the future of nuclear energy heated up, The Next Big Future listed Deaths per TWh for all energy sources, including some surprises.

Meanwhile, on the subject of alternative energy, Clean Edge Research released its 10th Annual Clean Energy Trends Report. 

And Rob Day, aka @cleantechvc, posted his thoughts and an excellent slide show on Cleantech Venture Capital in 2015.

Jim Tankersly has a great piece in the National Journal on the unpriced risks facing the US economy: Flooded.

And, finally, probably the coolest husband and wife bloggers on the planet, Joanne and Fred Wilson, both had compelling posts this week.  First read the Gotham Gal's post on Britta Riley, Environmental Entrepreneur  and Fred's post on why we should support #startupvisa and then take action at Votizen.

Have a great weekend everybody. And continue to pray for the workers at Fukushima and people of Japan.

Daughter Interviews Her Nuclear Engineer Father About Fukushima Daiichi Disaster in Japan

BWR Mark I Containment Cutaway

Evelyn Mervine is a self-described "geologist, writer, traveler, and aspiring polyglot."  She is currently a 5th-year PhD student in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program and is also the daughter of a nuclear engineer.

Evelyn writes the Georneys blog, where she has been interviewing her dad, Mark Mervine, over the past few days as the troubles at the Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan developed.

If you want a sober, informed discussion about the problems facing the Japanese nuclear facilities, check out Evelyn's recorded interviews:

Evelyn Mervine's Interviews with her dad, Commander Mark L. Mervine, US Navy, about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan

Related articles

• How Nuclear Power Plants Work (theawl.com)
• Explainer: Nuclear Power, Meltdowns and Why Japan Is Not Chernobyl (themoderatevoice.com)
• Nuclear energy 101: Inside the "black box" of power plants (worldtruthtoday.com)

Will Japan Disaster Set Back US Nuclear Program? Green Skeptic on FOX Business

This morning I talked with Stuart Varney of Fox Business about the future of nuclear power in America and the environmental impact of the crisis in Japan.

Here is the video:



and a link to the program: Green Skeptic on FOX Business.

Clean Tech: WSJ-NBC News Poll Suggests Americans Want it All When it Comes to Energy

US voters want solar and wind energy, but that doesn't mean they are against drilling for more oil, according to a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll released this week. 

According to a WSJ article by Stephen Power on Thursday, "72% of respondents said developing alternative energy sources could 'accomplish a great deal.'

"When the question was asked another way, 61% of respondents chose 'developing alternative energy sources' as the step that should receive the most emphasis from policy makers."

And yet, "twenty-five percent responded that 'exploring and drilling for oil' in the U.S. should get the most emphasis, and 12% picked 'having Americans conserve and use less oil.' 

"When asked whether expanding areas for drilling for oil off coastal states was a step in the right direction, 63% said it was, with 44% saying it would accomplish 'a great deal.' Only 27% said that allowing more drilling off coastal states was a step in 'the wrong direction.' 

"Asked about building more nuclear plants, 53% said it was a step in the right direction. Thirty-one percent said it was a step 'in the wrong direction.'" 

Congress will come back to Washington in a few weeks and head into a debate about continuing alternative-energy tax credits and lifting the 27-year drilling ban off US coasts.

The poll suggests a need for a balanced approach. Hope Congress is listening.

For more on the poll: http://tinyurl.com/5cf6go

(Composed on BlackBerry; links to come; updated 8/30)