Science:
¶ A single, massive electromagnetic pulse, which could come from a solar storm, a high-altitude nuclear bomb, or a “pulse gun,” could take out all electronic devices in a broad area. The area could be as big as the continental US, and the effects could last for years. [Market Daily News]
Japan:
¶ Japan has no place to store the nuclear waste it has created on the long term. It also has no way to use it, though it intends to process it. It could be used to make nuclear bombs. [Chem.Info]
¶ Despite the current government’s desire to reestablish nuclear power, there is a good deal of opposition against the reestablishment of a “nuclear village.” [Deutsche Welle]
World:
¶ A writer doing research in the New Zealand Defense Department archives discovered documents saying that the governments of that country and the US developed technology for using explosives to create tsunamis with 33 foot waves. [Telegraph.co.uk] (Though the article does not make the point, this would make any coastal nuclear facility vulnerable.)
US:
¶ A Shell oil rig loaded with 150,000 gallons of diesel has run aground on the coast of Alaska. Stormy weather is making access very difficult. There is a potential for environmental damage, but none has appeared yet. [Juneau Empire]
¶ Court fights over Vermont Yankee are happening in both the federal appeals court in New York and the Vermont Supreme Court this month. [Rutland Herald]
¶ The fiscal cliff deal struck in Washington is providing a one year tax credit extension to renewable energy. [Innovation Trail]
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