Trojan Factoids

Some interesting information about the decommissioned Trojan nuclear plant, from today's Oregonian:

-359 metric tons of spent fuel are currently being stored at Trojan

-it was supposed to be removed by 2018, but the current date is 2033

-Portland General Electric is setting aside $12.6 million for decommissioning costs

-PGE spends about $3.3 million a year on storage costs

-the plant closed in 1993

One less LNG proposal in the US

Hess LNG is pulling out of its project in Fall River, Mass. The market just isn't there for imported natural gas, they said. This one never really had a chance. It was a logistical nightmare and was opposed by powerful people like John Kerry and Barney Frank. It scared a lot of people, and now that it's officially off the table, I want to thank it for strengthening the anti-LNG movement.

Bridge Cam

Construction on a new, transit-only bridge over the Willamette begins on July 1. Here is a live view of the east side of the river, where the bridge will be going up: Bridge

Because Coal Cares (tm)

Can this possibly be a real campaign???

http://www.coalcares.org/index.html

free inhalers for children, from Patriot Coal.

Chernobyl, land of giant possibly mutant wild boars

Just came across this awesome article about Chernobyl from Outside Magazine:

"Chernobyl, My Primeval, Teeming, Irradiated Eden."

Port Dolphin LNG

There's an LNG project in Florida that I hadn't heard of before. It's called Port Dolphin LNG.I was alerted to its existence by a notice in the Sutherland LNG email newsletter announcing that Port Dolphin had filed an incidental take application with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Incidental take" is what happens when you are building something or extracting and your activity might accidentally harm or kill an animal that is protected by the government. In this case, the animals in question are - yes, really - dolphins.

Keeping Springfield Safe

As trace amounts of radioactive material from failed Japanese nuclear reactors are being found around the world, the authorities are assuring us that there is no health hazard. But just to be extra, extra safe, some broadcasters in Canada and Europe are refraining from showing any episodes of "The Simpsons" that depict nuclear emergencies. Because the more you think about a nuclear meltdown, the more likely it is to happen? Because humor is bad way to deal with stressful situations? Because viewers sometimes confuse "The Simpsons" with a documentary? Because people might become alarmed and start thinking that nuclear power isn't safe?