Energy and Climate Change


First 'Deepwater Horizon' Movie Trailer Released

The debate already has begun about whether the movie cynically exploits the families of the workers who died or portrays them and the catastrophe honestly.

Spend a day in a data center and you will come away with a deep appreciation that indoor noise exposure is a priority safety consideration. (Digital Realty Trust, Inc. photo)

Data Center EH&S 101

Stakeholders' concerns range from asbestos and lead-based paint typically found in older and/or legacy data centers to fire-resistant clothing, contractor and construction management, elevated work such as portable and fixed ladders, and rooftop maintenance.

This article originally appeared in the April 2016 issue of Environmental Protection.

Global Power Generation Could be Severely Affected by Global Water Shortfall in 2030

Global Power Generation Could be Severely Affected by Global Water Shortfall in 2030

A 2016 research paper in the Journal Nature predicts a 40 percent shortfall of available water across the globe by 2030 with effects not just for drinking, food production, hygiene and public health, but also for 98 percent of global electric power generation.

BSEE, NASA Reach Five-Year Agreement

BSEE will benefit from using probabilistic risk assessment, a technique to quantitatively model risk that was used in the modeling of the space shuttle program and is currently being used for the International Space Station and Orion deep space capsule programs.

NRC Taking Comments on Review of Wyoming Uranium Facility Expansion Plan

Strata applied to the NRC in early 2015 for approval to build and operate additional uranium recovery wells in the Kendrick expansion area, which covers about 7,800 acres adjacent to the facility, which is located 27 miles northeast of Gillette, Wyo.

With an approved Initial Funded Priorities List that invests $183 million in restoration projects, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council will now begin to prioritize projects to receive funding from BP settlement funds.

USDA's Vilsack Becomes Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council's Chair

With an approved Initial Funded Priorities List that invests $183 million in restoration projects, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council will now develop the next iteration of the Comprehensive Plan and begin to prioritize projects to receive funding from BP settlement funds.

After purchasing biomethane refineries in 2015, WELTEC BIOPOWER recently acquired a biogas plant in Germany, with plans of comprehensive restructuring to make plant operation sustainable.

WELTEC Working to Make Biogas Plant Sustainable

After purchasing biomethane refineries in 2015, WELTEC BIOPOWER recently acquired a biogas plant in Germany, with plans of comprehensive restructuring to make plant operation sustainable.

DOE Issues Citations for 2014 WIPP Incidents

Operations at the U.S. Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the transuranic waste disposal site outside of Carlsbad, N.M., were suspended after two serious February 2014 incidents involving worker exposures to smoke and radiation.



Meeting Sets UNEA-2 Agenda

According to UNEP, a wealth of statistics and research point to strong links between the use of natural resources and conflict.

EPA Announces 2017-2019 Enforcement Initiatives

EPA reported it is expanding its initiative focused on reducing toxic air pollution by adding large storage tanks and hazardous waste facilities to its work to address public health threats.

Unconventional Gas is Structurally Changing Global Gas Markets

According to a new World Energy Council report, the growth of unconventional gas is spreading across the world with major implications over many years for markets and prices.

CARB Chair Unfazed By Clean Power Plan Delay

Stating that the U.S. Supreme Court's preliminary ruling "does not disturb the CPP's status as enacted federal law," Air Resources Board Chair Mary D. Nichols announced that the board will move forward on planning for implementation of the plan, including by hosting public workshops and proposing amendments that will allow California to submit a final CPP plan if the board approves it.

Report Plots Course to New Plastics Economy

It envisions a global economy in which plastics never become waste. If this systemic change can't be realized, the potential damage will be severe -- given the projected growth in consumption and a business-as-usual scenario, by 2050 the world's oceans are expected to contain more plastics than fish by weight.

Solar Entrepreneur Among SOTU Special Guests

Mark Davis, owner of Washington, D.C.-based WDC Solar, will be among Michelle Obama's guests for her husband's final State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The study found that more than half of the surveyed home builders are building at least 16 percent of their new homes green.

Two Rooftop Solar Companies Leaving Nevada

Sunrun and SolarCity both announced this week that new rules adopted by Gov. Brian Sandoval's Public Utilities Commission have caused them to leave Las Vegas (and the rest of the Silver State).

The Sustainable Development Goals stress zero poverty, zero hunger, good health, clean water and sanitation, and affordable clean energy.

UN's Sustainable Development Goals Now in Place

The 17 goals build on the eight Millennium Development Goals that sought to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, reduce child mortality; ensure environmental sustainability, and more.

DOE Resumes Search for Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste Repository

DOE will follow the process laid out in a strategy document from 2013. The strategy is to establish a pilot interim storage facility that mainly will accept used nuclear fuel from reactors that have already been shut down; a larger interim storage facility; and one or more long-term geologic repositories.

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Key Climate Meeting Under Way

The United Nations Conference on Climate Change, #COP21, got under way Nov. 30 in Paris with a host of world leaders participating and a huge security force deployed. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a global solar energy alliance that will be headquartered in India.

The study found that more than half of the surveyed home builders are building at least 16 percent of their new homes green.

Green Home Building Still Strong, Survey Shows

"Builders and remodelers have long recognized that green is the future of home building," NAHB Chairman Tom Woods said. "Since we first began partnering on this study with Dodge Data & Analytics in 2006, we've seen that commitment grow."

President Obama Rejects TransCanada's Keystone Project

He said the proposed pipeline "would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy" and that "shipping dirtier crude oil into our country would not increase America's energy security."