| Use the Forethought, Nuke Nuclear power plants in U.S. Southeast may face shutdowns due to drought Nuclear reactors across the U.S. Southeast could be forced to slow production or shut down in the near future due to the effects of continuing drought in the region. Nuclear power plants require massive amounts of water to cool steam that turns the generators; the water usually arrives via large intake pipes from nearby rivers and lakes. However, with water levels at drought-induced lows, a growing number of reactors are inching closer and closer to the water levels that would hamper plant operation. Pumping water from shallower depths, even when available, can also lead to forced shutdowns due to the water's increased temperature. "You need a lot of water to operate nuclear plants," said Jim Warren, executive director of a North Carolina green group. "Water is the nuclear industry's Achilles' heel." By our count that makes at least four such heels: water, the legacy of radioactive waste, nuke plants' appeal as terrorist targets, and the enormous costs of nuke plant construction. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] source: Associated Press |
2008 -- new year, same old eco-dilemmas. From breakfast to babies and commuting to consumption, Grist's got your every eco-worry covered with our practical green guide to your daily routine: Wake Up and Smell the Planet.
TODAY'S NEWS
 Just Say No Why Al Gore isn't running for president Al Gore has broken many an enviro's heart by repeatedly rebuffing suggestions that he run for president. How could the man who so narrowly missed the presidency in 2000, and whose climate-change evangelism has since won him widespread popularity and respect, resist the siren call of the most powerful position in the world? Journalist Mark Hertsgaard, who has covered the ex-veep's climate activism since 1992, argues that Gore has good reasons for staying out of the race and above the fray. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] new in Gristmill: Gore's moral obligation |
| The Policed We Can Do Report warns of new security threats from climate change Climate change will create a range of new security threats, including millions of displaced climate refugees, according to a new report from Britain's Oxford Research Group. The report forecasts a tumultuous climate-changed future by as early as 2050 where some 200 million climate refugees fleeing environmental disasters in their homelands will try to immigrate to the U.K. and other wealthy nations. To his credit, the report's author recommends actually tackling climate change now to avoid encountering such a situation instead of beefing up anti-immigration policies and fortifying police and other armed forces. However, given the current pace of action on climate change (and governments' fondness for brute force), the report offered but one bright point: a high likelihood for revolution. "If governments simply respond with traditional attempts to maintain the status quo and control insecurity they will ultimately fail," the report said. "In today's globalized world, using military force to secure resources overseas, while attempting to create a fortress state at home, will not work ... The security consequences of climate change will not just manifest themselves 'over there' -- there will be domestic security concerns for both developed and developing nations alike." [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: The Press Association, The Times |
| Coming to Blows Global warming will reduce U.S. hurricane landfall, says controversial new research The argument over whether climate change is real has largely subsided -- and, as nature abhors a vacuum, another tiff has risen to fill its place. What effect will global warming have on hurricanes? Them's fightin' words! Various studies have suggested that climate change will increase hurricane frequency and intensity, but new research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggests that warming oceans will in fact reduce the number of Atlantic hurricanes that hit land in the U.S. Critics of the new study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, say the research is based on flawed data that was rejected by scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Associated Press, Bloomberg, Miami Herald |
| State of Denial EPA staff supported California auto-emissions waiver, documents show As suspected, U.S. EPA employees last year told agency Administrator Stephen Johnson that California had "compelling and extraordinary conditions" that would justify a federal waiver allowing the state to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from autos, according to EPA documents reviewed by Senate staffers this week. Nonetheless, Johnson denied the state that waiver in December. The EPA wanted to keep the incriminating documents out of the public sphere, but staffers for California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) released the information. Boxer has a Senate hearing on the matter scheduled for today, at which Johnson is expected to testify -- and be roasted. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] sources: Associated Press, The Detroit Free Press |
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GRIST COLUMNS AND FEATURES
 A Sour Note Will the sugar in your sweets soon come from genetically modified beets? For years, candy makers and other industrial food manufacturers refused to use genetically modified sugar, fearing a consumer backlash. Now, they're coming to believe that consumers just don't care, so the powerful sugar industry is pushing growers of sugar beets to plant Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" variety. But a scrappy coalition of seed-diversity activists, organic seed providers, and green groups is fighting back, Tom Philpott reports. [ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ] new in Gristmill: Seeds of wisdom |
Coming Friday: An interview with vegan "skinny bitch" Rory Freedman
Grist: Environmental News and Commentary
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