Fracking has been in the news a lot lately. They drill down a couple of miles and then often drill horizontally for a distance. Water and a mix of proprietary chemicals are injected into the wells to “fracture” the rock strata and release trapped natural gas which is then pumped out of the well. There are many problems with this process. Some of the chemicals injected into the ground are toxic and even flammable.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on Apri30, 2013
Ambient office = .079 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .136 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .142 microsieverts per hour
Sliced black olives from local grocery store = .087 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .059 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .044 microsieverts per hour
I have mentioned India in a number of previous posts. They have nuclear weapons and an active commercial nuclear reactor program. In this post, I am going to dig a little deeper into the domestic Indian nuclear program.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on April 29, 2013
Ambient office = .088 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .083 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .074 microsieverts per hour
Fobidden City black rice from local grocery store = .066 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .085 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .071 microsieverts per hour
The fallout level in Tokyo was the highest this March since May of 2011. fukushima-diary.com
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on April 28, 2013
Ambient office = .089 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .115 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .149 microsieverts per hour
Planters peanut butter from local grocery store = .077 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .110 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .068 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on April 27, 2013
Ambient office = .099 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .126 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .083 microsieverts per hour
Vine ripened tomato from local grocery store = .109 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .073 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .052 microsieverts per hour
The U.S. Congress has been debating policies with respect to the disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods. The pools at U.S. nuclear reactors will all be full in five years if alternatives are not found. Temporary storage such as dry casks on site will require massive investment to be practical. And, after cancellation of the Yucca Mountain Repository, it is estimated that it may require forty years to site and construct a new permanent U.S. geological repository.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on April 25, 2013
Ambient office = .063 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 073 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .087 microsieverts per hour
Romaine lettuce from local grocery store = .090 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .152 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .124 microsieverts per hour
I have written a post about the German withdrawal from nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster. Germany derives less than twenty percent of its electricity from nuclear power and it is anticipated that the transition to other energy sources should have little impact on the German economy. France, Germany’s next-door neighbor, is much more dependent on nuclear energy. France gets over seventy five percent of its electrical power from nuclear energy.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on April 25, 2013
Ambient office = .101 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 079 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .070 microsieverts per hour
Mango from local grocery store = .091 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .104 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .089 microsieverts per hour
In our modern world there are often bitter arguments between different interest groups over things like the expansion of airports, the dangers of nuclear power plants, the siting of wind farm turbines and protection of the environment. Near the town of Lydd, England, all four of these issues collide. Lydd is a picturesque located on the edge of the Romney Marsh wetlands near the English Channel. The Dungeness Nuclear power station is near Lydd.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on April 22, 2013
Ambient office = .099 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 092 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .067 microsieverts per hour
Dried blueberries from local grocery store = .102 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .097 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .077 microsieverts per hour
One way that some industries increase profits is by unloading some of their costs onto the environment through pollution. These unloaded costs are referred to as externalities. Factory and fossil fuel power plant pollution coming from the smoke stacks is one of these externalities. There is another type of externality coming from thermoelectric power plants which require huge amounts of cooling water to turn steam back into water as part of the energy generation cycle.
