Category: Energy

By Onell R. Soto / SignOnSanDiego

A former manager at the San Onofre nuclear plant in North County said Wednesday that he was fired after complaining to nuclear regulators that his superiors were ignoring worker complaints. Paul Diaz, 35, of Oceanside, said he tried to go through channels within the plant when people he supervised raised questions, but was shot down.

“I needed to do something,” he said. And so he went to Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors based at the plant. He was then fired from his job in October as manager of business accounting and project services.

By Tony Barboza / Los Angeles Times

The waves off San Onofre have for generations beckoned surfers and sport fishermen to a wild stretch of coastline in the shadow of domed nuclear reactors.

Now, an Orange County entrepreneur wants to tap the power of that legendary surf in a novel but highly controversial plan to build one of the nation’s first hydrokinetic wave farms.

Two weeks into Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, the situation continues to worsen.

Among the headlines in today’s paper is “Breach feared at reactor—radiation high.” The Associated Press reported “Plant operators don’t know the source of radioactive water discovered in at Units 1 and 3.” The utility, Tokyo Electric Power Co., suspected that water found in Units 2 and 4 was similarly contaminated.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — State lawmakers called on California utilities Monday to delay efforts to relicense nuclear power plants until the companies complete detailed seismic maps to get a true picture of the risks posed by earthquakes and tsunamis.

State senators raised sharp questions about whether California’s nuclear plants can withstand a major natural disaster such as the one on March 11 that has left Japan scrambling to control radiation coming from some of its reactors.

Tuesday Mar 15th, 2011 8:25 PM

As the nuclear disaster in Japan intensifies, US Secretary Steven Chu calls on Congress for $36 billion to build new nuclear plants in the US.

Tuesday, March 15—Today at Fukushima’s desperate deteriorating nuclear complex in Japan, there was a fire in Unit 4 for the second time in as many days.

Two workers have been missing since the first fire yesterday.

As a result of the 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in Japan, the 40 year old Fukushima No. 1 nuclear…

by Brian Handwerk / National Geographic News / Published January 19, 2011 Yellowstone National Park’s supervolcano just took a deep “breath,” causing…

By Tara Lohan /AlterNet / Originally published Jan. 17, 2011 A new report from the Environmental Working Group shows that…

By Onell R. Soto / San Diego U-T / January 19, 2011 Groups opposed to the Sunrise Powerlink are suing…

Daniel Walker looks at San Diego’s attempts to secure a stable water supply. by Eliza L. Martin / Current Intelligence…

A Dec. 23 failure of Padre Dam’s influent pump station led to the spillage of 1.2 million gallons of sewage along the shores of Ocean Beach. Dam officials are working to ensure future spills are minimized.

By Jim Bell To date, I’m strongly apposed to installing Smart Meters at my home. Here’s why: Smart Meters pose…