Meteorite Men (in Russian) - Whitecourt, Canada Meteorite Crater

Meteorite Men - Series 6 (In Russian)
метеорит Meteorite Hunting in Whitecourt, Canada 


YouTube Uploaded by meteoritika02 on 13 Mar 2012 27 Views
Meteorite men. Series 6. (In Russian)
Люди и метеориты. Серия 6.
Режиссер: Эдвард Хорвиц.
Производство: 2011
Парни отправляются в Канаду в кратер Уайткорт ( 54.00 N, 115.60 W), чтобы собрать внеземные сокровища для научных исследований.

2012 THE Year

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 16MAR2012

Meteor Activity Outlook for March 10-16, 2012 | American Meteor ...
This weekend the waning gibbous moon will severely hamper meteor observations as the moon will be above the horizon most of the night. Only an hour or two ...
www.amsmeteors.org/.../meteor-activity-outlook-for-march-1...

Recent meteor may have left pieces in Walker County
Rome News-Tribune Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:21 PM PDT
On

March 2012 NEOs Updated- More Close to Call Ides 15MAR2012

March NEOs Updated - More Close to Call Ides 15MAR2012
NEOs (2012 EN5), (2012 EK5), and (2012 EG5) are to make close approaches from today through April 2.  Expect some increased meteor, fireball and bolide activity until early April 2012.  Get outside and watch and have your video cameras ready.  Clear Skies!  -LunarMeteorite*Hunter, Tokyo.


UPCOMING CLOSE APPROACHES TO EARTH

1 AU = ~150

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 15MAR2012

Life in rock: What meteorites can tell us about the solar system
Wired.co.uk
By Hal Hodson What clues about life in our solar system are encased in the millions of tonnes of meteorite that pummel our atmosphere every day? Wired.co.uk met astrobiologist Zita Martins at the Royal Society's Objects in Space exhibition to find out.

This is why astronomers build telescopes in the mountains of Chile

MIT Study on Managing Intermittent Renewables

On Monday, MIT released a study titled “Managing Large-Scale Penetration of Intermittent Renewables.” It’s 36 megabytes and 240 pages. Last April, MIT gathered more than 70 experts at a symposium to discuss how to manage the growth of wind and solar. The first 50 pages of the document is a summary of the studies and discussions that took place during the symposium. The following 190 pages are seven white papers that were presented.

After going through the document, the report would be a sobering read if I were in the renewables industry. The wind industry took part in the discussions but several of the conclusions contradicted the claims from the wind industry for its projected savings on costs and emissions from wind. There are five main areas of concern with wind and solar that emerged from the symposium (pasted below):

• Emissions: While renewables can generate emissions-free electricity, the limited ability to store electricity, forecast renewable generation, and control the availability of intermittent renewables forces the rest of the electric power system to adapt with less efficient ramping and cycling operations. These operations potentially reduce the emissions benefits of renewables.
• Unintended consequences: Many power systems operate under mandated renewable portfolio standards that change existing market structures. The combination of mandates, markets, and physical system requirements present technological, economic, and policy-related integration challenges with unintended consequences to system planners and market participants. For example, mandates requiring renewable dispatch may increase the total system cost of generating electricity.
• Future generation mix: What does a well-adapted generation mix look like? How many gas peaking units and baseload plants does this mix require? What types of regulatory support are needed for units that contribute to reliability, but would likely have low-utilization rates? How will this generation be compensated? What regulatory structures are required to ensure adequate compensation? Spot prices may decline in the short term due to the fuel cost of  renewables, but will this lead to an economically efficient generation mix in the long term?
• Electricity markets: The electricity market generally dispatches generation on a least-cost basis. Should the market treat renewables as any other generator, subject to scheduling penalties? For example, currently, renewable generators self-schedule their generation by declaring how much electricity they expect to generate in the next hour. The system operator takes these self-schedules into account when deciding which other plants to dispatch. If wind generators schedule themselves for 100 megawatts per hour (MWh) of electricity generation in the next hour, but are only able to generate 80 MWh, should the operator require that they purchase the remaining 20 MWh in the open market? Or, should the operator allow wind generators to exist independent from all, or a subset, of economic signals? Is priority dispatch justified?
• Regulation: Traditional regulations of transmission, business models, cost allocations, and planning criteria may not properly address the needs of renewables. The current regulatory system encourages cost reduction and reliability, not innovation. This may be inadequate to incentivize the development of the new transmission and generation technologies required to fully enable large-scale renewable generation.

Below are a number of informative paragraphs and charts from the report worth highlighting.

…

Backup Capacity Needed

P. 21 - Participants discussed and disagreed about creating a “rule of thumb” for the amount of capacity that would be necessary to provide backup generation from intermittent resources. Several participants noted that a Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) study provides the only numbers available for planning future systems with large amounts of wind generation. Taking a resource level view, the CMU study assumes that 3 MW of [natural gas combined cycle] will be required for every 4 MW of wind. There was strong resistance from some participants to the use of the CMU numbers.

Levelized cost of electricity

P. 31 - LCOE comparisons frequently rely on the assumption that different generation technologies will operate at specific capacity factors and do not consider operational issues, such as cycling and ramping capabilities. These assumptions lead to higher LCOEs for technologies that have lower assumed capacity factors. Figure 9 shows the LCOE for NGCC, subcritical coal plants, and supercritical coal plants with and without dispatch considerations. At equal capacity factors of 85%, the LCOEs are essentially the same for all three technologies. However, when the expected dispatch considerations are included, the cost of NGCC plants increases significantly compared to the coal technologies. Figure 9 provides an extreme result by choosing a very low NGCC capacity factor for illustration, in addition to using high natural gas and low coal prices relative to today’s prices. Planning for future power systems will require modeling based on the assets in place today and a realistic understanding of actual dispatch considerations and practices. Several participants urged that economic dispatch be included in the future as an essential feature of any system modeling in order to ensure more accurate results. System-wide modeling using a unit commitment dispatch model was also highlighted as important for accurate and useful data and information for decision making.

Value of Nuclear

P. 32 - The business model of a nuclear plant relies on high-capacity factors to recoup the initial investment costs and to establish reasonable rates of return; nuclear plants serve baseload demand for economic reasons. In effect, because capital costs dominate the LCOE for nuclear power, the LCOE is nearly inversely proportional to capacity factor. Given these risks and the high upfront costs for nuclear technology in today’s economic environment, there was general consensus among participants that investors today prefer natural gas-fired power plants.

Unlike nuclear, the operational costs for natural gas plants mostly involve fuel costs, and investors can pass fuel price volatility on to consumers. In liberalized power systems where gas-fueled mid-range and peaking units frequently set the marginal price for electricity, prices for natural gas and electricity are highly correlated. Simulations presented in the Nuttall white paper [p. 140 of 240 in the pdf] show that under scenarios with tightly correlated gas and electricity prices, the net present value of a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) matches the net present value of a nuclear plant. In these cases, nuclear’s primary value is its ability to serve as a hedge against gas prices (in addition to providing emissions-free electricity).

Participants noted that natural gas prices and technologies currently set the benchmark for investment. Discoveries of new sources of natural gas are likely to keep gas prices relatively low for the near future, and most participants felt that over the next decade, investors are unlikely to take on new nuclear projects in the US (beyond those investors that have benefited from substantial “first mover” federal subsidies).

CO₂ Reduction

P. 20 - Nationally, the abatement of one ton of CO2 requires between 1 and 12 MWh of wind generation depending on the power system and its generation mix. MISO, because of its coal-heavy generation mix, can save one ton of CO2 by replacing approximately one megawatt (MW) of its generation with wind. BPA, because of its gas- and hydro-heavy generation mix, however, needs to replace slightly more than 12 MW of its generation to save one ton of CO2. The current production tax credit for wind in the US is $22/MWh, and the pretax value of this subsidy is $34/MWh. Using a “first order” estimation based on the pretax subsidy value, the per ton mitigation costs of CO2 are $33 in MISO and $420 in BPA. The nation’s average abatement cost for one ton of CO2 is $56. [Chart below from page 108.]

Renewable Portfolio Standards

P. 38 - Currently, 29 states have some form of RPS. Most state RPS mandates have 15%–25% renewable generation by 2015–2025. When combined, these state mandates would require the installation of 60,000 MW of renewable energy by 2025. Texas has the largest installed capacity of wind generation with over 10 GW installed, and Iowa has the highest percentage of renewables in its system at 25% of installed capacity.

Renewable Incentives

P. 39 - The PTC provides a 2.2¢/kWh tax credit for electricity produced from wind and 1.1¢/kWh tax credit for electricity produced from solar for the first ten years the plants are in service. The PTC for wind will expire in December 2012, and the PTC for solar will expire in December 2013. The ITC allows solar and small wind projects to receive a tax credit equal to 30% of investment costs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provides taxpayers who are eligible for the PTC and ITC with a one-time cash grant in lieu of the tax credits. In total, it is projected that the cost of these credits is $5.1 billion per year. [Chart below from page 102.]

Peak/Off-Peak Generation

P. 39 - Discussions about issues with wind capacity frequently focus on not having enough power during periods of peak load. However, often the largest operational challenge associated with intermittent renewables is having too much generation. For example, on a typical spring night with high wind and low electricity demand, wind generation dispatched to comply with a mandate may unintentionally force baseload technologies (such as nuclear and coal) to ramp down. “Must-run” requirements associated with mandates do not correlate with peak wind generation (normally overnight) and peak electricity demand (normally during the day and early evening hours). As noted earlier, this translates into increased fuel requirements and higher O&M costs and emissions.

European Union’s Struggles

P. 44 - As currently implemented, however, the GHG and RPS policies in the EU both overlap. Under the current 20-20-20 policy, a change in the market price for GHGs does not move the RPS target for total energy use. Regardless of how many nuclear plants the EU builds to help reduce GHG emissions, it will still have to build renewable generation facilities to meet the RPS goal.

In addition, in the EU, the public has been told that the renewables policy will reduce GHGs. In reality, because the GHG emissions level is set independently from the level of renewables deployment, newly installed wind turbines do not directly lower the emissions cap for GHGs. Consider the fictional case of the EU securing 100% of its electricity from wind generation. If, in this scenario, the EU does nothing with the GHG cap, then other sectors (such as transportation) can emit more GHGs to take advantage of the electricity sector’s savings. Acting independently of the GHG requirement, the RPS target places downward pressure on carbon prices, depressing the development of non-renewable low-carbon and carbon-free technologies. Low carbon prices, however, do little to discourage coal and gas generation.

Technology mandates appear to be in conflict in a decision environment driven by economic efficiency. Compounding the economic conflicts, the electricity sector will pay proportionally more than other sectors for these policies. In order to help the EU reach its 20% renewables goal by 2020, the UK, for example, has committed to acquiring 15% of its total energy from renewable resources. For the electricity sector, the RPS target binds more tightly than the GHG goal because renewables cost less to implement in the electricity sector than in the transport sector. To meet the total renewables target of 20%, countries like the UK will need to lean heavily on their electricity sectors. Current estimates suggest that the UK’s electricity sector will need to acquire at least 30% of its electricity generation by 2020 from renewables to meet the RPS goal.

Cost of Grid Integration

P. 40 - The costs of wind integration have been studied by NERC, CAISO, New England ISO (ISO-NE), ERCOT, New York ISO (NYISO) and the states of Minnesota, Colorado, and Idaho. Although these discrete studies vary in scope and methodology, in general, they find that intermittent renewable generation will increase the need for regulation, load-following capacity, and ancillary services with a cost to the system ranging from $5–$20/MWh.

… some participants expressed concern that the costs of wind and its impacts on thermal generation are more highly scrutinized because, as one participant put it, wind is the “new kid on the block.”

…

The report is quite a useful assessment of understanding the challenges with relying on nature. If you have the time, there are many more informative nuggets and charts in the pdf on this issue.

Venus and Jupiter in Conjunction 15MAR2012

Venus and Jupiter in Conjunction 15MAR2012


'Conjunction of Glory as seen from Southern Germany' by Robert Blasius. #VenusJupiter
Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/


Venus and Jupiter will be in conjunction on March 15th, 2012, passing within 3° of each other. The two planets have been getting closer and closer in the sky for the last month, and now

Japan Earthquake 6.1Mag 21:05 14MAR2012

Japan Earthquake 6.1 Magnitude 21:05 14MAR2012
No damage reported at this time. Some trains disrupted their service.
No tsunami warnings at this time; take caution as their may be afterquakes.

21:05 JST 14 Mar 2012 35.8N 141.1E 10 km 6.1 Chiba-ken Toho-oki

JMA Official Report Site (Bookmark their site and refer to it in the event of an earthquake emergency.):http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/ 

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 14MAR2012

Kansans witness early morning meteor Puppet Masters Sottnet
A flash of light in the early morning sky over the Great Plains on Tuesday lit up social media and cyberspace as witnesses tried to figure out what they had ...
www.sott.net/.../242892-Kansans-witness-early-morning-mete...

Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News: MBIQ (Meteor Bot Internet ...
By Lunar Meteorite * Hunter
Latest Worldwide

Florida / Georgia Fireball Meteor(s) 13MAR2012

Florida / Georgia Fireball Meteor(s) 13MAR2012

Please check your security camera videos for a capture; anyone with a photo or art work of the event please email me; drtanuki@gmail.com

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)
13MAR2012 Shay

Finland Meteor Fireball 11/12MAR2012

Finland Meteor Fireball Midnight 11/12MAR2012


Finland Meteor Fireball Midnight 11/12MAR2012
(click on image to enlarge)
At 11-12.3 midnight I saw brighter than Venus fireball descending from the Sky. My estimation for brightness is somewhere -8mag.
It had blue/orange color, and tail was orange. Lenght of the tail was maybe 5degrees.
Fireball reached horizon and from my observation place it

MBIQ (Meteor Bot Internet Query) Bot Detects Kansas / Oklahoma / Missouri / Nebraska / Arkansas Meteor 13MAR2012

MBIQ (Meteor Bot Internet Query) Bot Detects Kansas / Oklahoma / Missouri / Nebraska / Arkansas Fireball Meteor 
~06:42 am CDT 13MAR2012


Kansas / Oklahoma / Missouri / Nebraska / Arkansas Fireball Meteor ~06:42 am CDT 13MAR2012Neon Markers= Sighting Reports
Red Circle Markers =Allsky Cameras
(click on image to enlarge)
v.2  (c) 2012 LunarMeteorite*Hunter, Dirk Ross...Tokyo / Google Earth
All

Three Fireballs Over Italia 10/12MAR2012

Three Spectacular Fireballs Over Italia 10/12MAR2012


Fireball 20120312_010549
http://meteore.forumattivo.com/t2413-fireball-20120312_010549#9669



Fireball 20120312_020653 
http://meteore.forumattivo.com/t2412-fireball-20120312_020653



Fireball 20120310_022756
http://meteore.forumattivo.com/t2401-fireball-20120310_022756
Ferruccio ZanottiIMTN
 2012 THE Year of Meteors!

UCS Channels Goldilocks In Response to Fukushima

NEI's Senior Vice President of Communications, Scott Peterson, passed along the following note concerning last week's report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "U.S. Nuclear Power Safety One Year After Fukushima."

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has weighed in on the U.S. response to Fukushima and their conclusion is clear: We’re moving too slowly….No, wait, we’re moving too fast!...Check that, too slow!

Taking a page from Goldilocks, who couldn’t seem to find the right size chair, UCS can’t seem to find the right speed for applying lessons learned in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan a year ago.

After first praising the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for reacting quickly to the events in Japan, a new UCS report prods the agency to move faster. Then report declares that “speed is not always a virtue.” In the most remarkable twist of logic, UCS criticizes the nuclear energy industry for “acting too hastily by launching a voluntary program” to improve safety.

Really? Moving too quickly to improve safety?

At least the UCS report got something right. The industry is not waiting for orders from the NRC to act. Our FLEX strategy protects against the two main safety issues at Fukushima¬—the loss of electrical power and the loss of cooling capability—by stationing emergency backup equipment in multiple locations, including regional centers.

Every U.S. nuclear operator has committed to order additional equipment by the end of the month, and more than 300 pieces of backup emergency equipment has already been delivered or ordered. Rather than applauding these proactive safety measures, UCS complains that the industry is “jumping the gun” by getting ahead of the NRC.

The industry and the NRC are in general agreement on the issues that need to be addressed, but the regulatory process takes time. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the NRC fast-tracked the industry’s safety response by issuing a series of orders, with a deadline of October 2004.

After the industry met that deadline, the NRC began a rulemaking process to codify the orders and essentially get its procedural/bureaucratic house in order. Along the way, it added a few more requirements that weren’t finalized until close to the end of the decade. In that case, UCS distorts the facts to complain that the industry’s response was too slow.

Now that we are moving even more quickly to respond to Fukushima, UCS says we are going too fast. Does UCS seriously believe we should just sit and wait while the NRC process unfolds? We see ways to strengthen our defenses against extreme events now, and we are acting. To do otherwise would be an abrogation of our responsibility.

The NRC will oversee our safety enhancements, and will not hesitate tell us to do something more or something different—backed by the agency’s full enforcement authority—as the regulatory process plays out.

That approach might not satisfy Goldilocks or UCS, but we think it is juuuuust right to ensure that lessons learned from Japan are applied as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Scott also contributes on occasion to the Huffington Post.

The Number 22

Nuclear energy generation supplies 20 percent of the electricity in the United States. It’s been that way for years, as reported by the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy.

But a number of factors, according to the EIA, has pushed the relative percentages of several energy sources up because one went down rather dramatically, both statistically and practically.

That would be coal, which dropped from 46 percent in December 2010 to 39 percent in December 2011. The EIA says that the main driver of this decrease is the increased use of natural gas, which increased its share from 22 percent to 26 percent.

Electricity use itself declined 7 percent, so that in itself makes percentage increases and decreases a little chimerical – that is, nuclear generated roughly the same amount of electricity as last December but in a smaller marketplace – as did hydro, which advanced from 6 to 7 percent.

But the decline of coal in favor of natural gas is quite real: coal generation fell 21 percent compared to a 12 percent rise in natural gas generation. The last time coal fell below 40 percent in these surveys was in 1978.

So the news about nuclear energy might seem a numerical blip. But it’s not a trick, and it’s legitimate to note because it speaks to the steadiness of nuclear energy. We’ll have to keep an eye on the monthly report to see what happens when electricity usage returns to its former levels.

One Year Later

Yesterday was the anniversary of an earthquake of unimaginable intensity rapidly followed by an inexorable tsunami – in Japan – near a nuclear facility. That’s the context of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi.

Two people died in industrial accidents at Fukushima Daiichi during or directly after the catastrophe. Japan’s National Police Agency currently counts 15,848 people dead and 3,305 people missing as a result of the twin disasters. That’s 19,153, a number that has risen and fallen during the last year.

We’ve talked about the accident at Fukushima Daiichi and its consequences often at this site and will continue to talk about it. But not today.

On the occasion of this anniversary, we should memorialize what the Japanese people will not forget. Nothing can replace loved ones, but surely the country will insist on a continuity of purpose and resolve. The Japanese people will reconstruct what was wrecked materially and we may hope that it will help salve what was damaged spiritually.

The News Observer has a roundup of pictures and captions that show the Japanese marking the anniversary and Talking Points Memo shows truly remarkable before-and-after photos of various locations directly after the earthquake and tsunami and today (including a shot of Fukushima Daiichi).

A boy lights a candle at a memorial service in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. See here for more.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 13MAR2012

Meteorite Punches Hole Through Oslo Shed
Discovery News
It is very rare for any meteorite debris to land in a populated area such as the middle of a major city like Oslo. It is hoped the meteorite will remain in a Norway museum. Uncovering fragments ofmeteorite fragments in highly populated areas like Oslo ...

Meteor chunk falls on family's hut
Independent Online
By SAPA Anne Margrethe

RARE Meteorite Strikes Roof in Oslo, Norway!

Meteorite Falls on the Roof of a Family Allotment in Oslo
The Nordic PageAn extremely rare meteorite fell through the roof of a cottage house, situated in an allotment in Rodeløkka center of Oslo. Photo : NigerMeteoriteRecon | Meteorites (Picture is NOT from this Fall!) that hit the earth usually have a speed of between 360 and 1000 kilometers per hour.

Meteorite sensation in Oslo. See the

MBIQ Detects Fireball Meteor Over Australia 12MAR2012

MBIQ Detects Fireball Meteor Over Australia ~20:50 12MAR2012

Please check your security camera videos for a capture; anyone with a photo or art work of the event please email me; drtanuki@gmail.com

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)
50

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 12MAR2012

Meteor Mystery: Hunt For Space Rock Remains ...
Meteor Mystery: Hunt For Space Rock Remains. A hunt is under way for the remains of a ...
web.orange.co.uk

Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News: California Meteor Fireball ...
By Lunar Meteorite * Hunter
California Meteor Fireball ~7:15 pm PST 10MAR2012 10MAR2012 Brenda Thomason Templeton 19:15:00 approximately 10 seconds before it disappeared

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 11MAR2012

CARTERSVILLE | Fireball spotted over north Georgia | 11alive.com
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (WXIA) - Scientists at the Tellus Science Museum said they observed afireball in the sky over north Georgia Wednesday evening.
www.11alive.com/.../CARTERSVILLE--Fireball-spotted-over-...

UNH geologists unable to confirm origin of rocks believed to be from meteorite
New Hampshire Union Leader Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:

California Meteor Fireball 10MAR2012

California Meteor Fireball ~7:15 pm PST 10MAR2012

Please check your security camera videos for a capture; anyone with a photo or art work of the event please email me; drtanuki@gmail.com

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)
10MAR2012

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 10MAR2012

Fireball Spotted Over North Georgia -- Fire in the Sky -- Sott.net
Cartersville - Scientists at the Tellus Science Museum said they observed a fireball in the sky over north Georgia Wednesday evening. The NASA Meteoroid ...
www.sott.net/.../242727-Fireball-Spotted-Over-North-Georgia

Rocks' origin still unclear
The Union Leader
By JASON SCHREIBER EXETER – An Exeter man who believes he recovered

U.S. Air Force / Lockheed Martin Space Fence Going Online 2012

U.S. Air Force / Lockheed Martin Space Fence Going Online 2012

YouTube Uploaded by LockheedMartinVideos on 3 Jan 2011 53,147 views

MOORESTOWN, N.J., March 8, 2012 – A prototype of a new radar system developed by a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led team is now tracking orbiting space objects, bringing the U.S. Air Force’s Space Fence program one step closer to revolutionizing our nation’s space

MBIQ Detects Meteor Over VA /MD 9MAR2012

MBIQ Detects Meteor Over VA /MD 9MAR2012
Meteor Bot Internet Query Bot has detected a meteor event over VA / MD 9MAR2012.  Updates as sighting reports come in.

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)Sighting Reports:

09Mar2012 Christine

A Good Time to Speed Up – Vietnam, Iowa, FOE

Not getting respect:

“We also have a good chance in Vietnam,” the minister added. “The United States, France, Canada, Russia, Japan and Korea can build nuclear power plants, but the U.S. lags behind in technology as it hasn’t built one for 20 to 30 years. This is a good time for us to speed up (atomic power plant construction).”

Ouch! That stung a little.

This is South Korea’s Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo. He’s not exactly right – falling behind in construction and in technological advance are two different things and the U.S. has not fallen behind – at all – in technology. But Hong is selling Korean capacity in both, so fine. Still – ouch!

---

Land of corn and plenty:

Dueling videos debuted Wednesday on possible nuclear power expansion in Iowa.

A group that opposes nuclear power launched a television ad on the eve of today’s Senate committee hearing on a proposed compromise that advocates hope will push the bill ahead.

And minutes later, MidAmerican Energy released its own Web video, featuring Bill Fehrman, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

The opposing ad is from Friends of the Earth, our old FOEs. I generally find anti-nuclear advocates interesting if not always on target, but not FOE. It’s notably fact free.

But the pleasant surprise is that MidAmerican isn’t standing for it and has put its own ad in response. It’s simply done but that means there’s no manipulation or appeals to emotion. It’s simply Fehrman providing the company’s viewpoint:

---

Hey, South Korea was talking about Vietnam above, wasn’t it? Care to know just what Vietnam is up to these days?

"The consistent view of Vietnam is to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in a responsible manner while ensuring safety and security," [Le Dinh Tien, deputy minister of the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology, which] is responsible for overseeing the country's nuclear power, said in January.

By 2030, Vietnam aims to build 10 reactors and, by 2050, it hopes to generate enough nuclear power to account for 20-25 percent of its energy consumption.

Now you know.

---

NEI’s main site and the Safety First site have been doing a good job of keeping you up to date on post-Fukushima information and updates (Safety First has a great infographic up right now showing how FLEX, the industry’s response to Fukushima, will work – poster worthy – really), but we’d be remiss not to note good work done by some of the nuclear companies out there.

If you have a few minutes, check out these pages by FPL (Florida Light & Power) and NextEra Energy to see how they are presenting nuclear energy, the accident in Japan and the drive to apply the lessons learned to their fleets. Both are very nicely done – corporate speak kept to a minimum, little to no attempt at spin. (We noticed FPL redid its nuclear energy launch page, too – a lot less text heavy and more inviting.)

“You had better adopt nuclear energy”

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) wants you (or, really, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, whom he was addressing at a hearing) to know:

“Fifty percent of our electricity is produced by coal, 20 percent by nuclear power. Yet, when I look at your budget, I look at huge increases in renewable energy funding, which makes up only a small portion of our energy portfolio and cuts in the other area that’s producing most the electricity and frankly I’m disappointed,” Simpson said. “Seems to me like there is an agenda of trying to push green technology, when I think nuclear energy is green technology … you’re really going to address global climate change, you had better adopt nuclear energy and it doesn’t seem like we’re doing that in this budget. This is the first time I’ve seen a retrenchment in this administration in advancing nuclear energy. The talk is all there, but the budget doesn’t reflect that.”

Like Rep. Simpson, the industry was disappointed with the 2013 budget request for nuclear energy. Even if one thinks that nuclear energy should take a financial hit as a result of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, the response will largely be directed by the industry and regulators. The United States remains committed to nuclear energy and its technological advancement, so imposing a kind of slowdown doesn’t help the country achieve its long term energy goals – Simpson’s main point.

And Simpson’s right – achieving carbon reduction goals on renewables alone would go far more slowly than with nuclear energy in the mix. Though no one is threatening to shutter the American nuclear industry – just the opposite, in fact - slowing progress makes no real sense. What’s that? Did someone say Germany?

---

Germany's abrupt change in nuclear policy has put a dent of €1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in RWE's results for FY2011. It also boosted power prices and raised carbon dioxide emissions, the company said in its annual report to shareholders.

That’s from World Nuclear News. The story is largely about RWE’s earnings report, but there were a few telling tidbits. For example:

Among the figures moving upwards was the amount of carbon dioxide produced by RWE for each unit of electricity. This went up 8.2% from 0.732 to 0.787 tons per MWh "mainly because our Biblis nuclear power station stopped operating," it said.

Rep. Simpson, take note.

RWE linked the nuclear shutdown and a general rise in the cost of fuel to a hike in wholesale power prices. It said that the price of base-load power on the EEX Energy Exchange in 2011 had averaged €51 ($66) per MWh and peaked at around €61 ($80) per MWh. These figures represent increases of 16% and 10% on 2010 figures of €44 and €55 ($57 and $72) per MWh.

And the energy outlook is grim:

Looking ahead, RWE is focusing research and development efforts on carbon capture and storage techniques because, "by the end of 2022, all German nuclear power stations will be offline and the gap they leave cannot be closed by renewable energy and increased electricity imports alone."

Well, maybe CCS will be ready to roll by 2022 – cost and scalability questions still abound - but RWE is really betting the farm on it. And if it’s wrong? Then what does it do?

Germany is shaping up to be quite the case study.

---

Scotland would like to shut its two nuclear facilities in favor of CCS, too, and renewables. How? Apparently, by sheer force of will:

Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing acknowledged that the government's 100% renewables target has been met with "doubt and skepticism," but said Scotland would rise to these challenges. "I want to debate, engage and co-operate with every knowledgeable, interested and concerned party to ensure we achieve our goals," he said.

To doubt and skepticism, I’d add mirthless laughter.

Germany’s Biblis nuclear energy facility.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 9MAR2012

Meteor spotted over Stone
Kidderminster Shuttle
Joyce Cox, 83 and her son David Cox, 51, of Vicarage Road, said they saw what was believed to have been a meteor from their home at about 9.40pm. The fireball hit headlines as police forces across the country received calls from concerned residents. ...

Meteorite over Fife could be worth money
Fife Today
FIFERS were left rubbing their eyes in

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 8MAR2012

Fireball flies above our skies!
Banbury Guardian
It then faded away when about due east of Hanwell, at an elevation of 30 degs or so, we who were there concluded it was a fireball, or a piece of space hardware crashing back to earth. At say burn up altitude of 100 miles and 30 degs elevation, ...

Ontario Meteor finds new home in Halifax
EMC Kingston
Roy Brown's recently purchased 1956 Meteor

North Georgia Fireball Meteor - 07MAR2012 22:19:10 EST

North Georgia fireball meteor- 07MAR2012 22:19:10 EST (08MAR2012 03:19:10 UT)


Yellow diamonds = NASA All Sky Fireball Network stations
Circles = observations reported to the AMS (pink), Dirk Ross (red), or Bill Cooke (orange)
Yellow line = automatic meteor trajectory solution. Direction of travel is roughly E to W.
Orange line = manual (refined) meteor trajectory solution. Direction of travel

Pune, India Meteor 7MAR2012

Pune, India Meteor ~22:40 7MAR2012
07MAR2012 Jayaraj Pune, Maharashtra, India 22:40:00 3 to 5 sec It was traveled North to South. I was facing West. Orange Quite bright None seen but it had bright tail I got shocked by seeing that. First I thought that must be Comet. But there was no news of that. So, I came to know that, this was an meteor.

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event;

A Must See: New Film by Heritage Foundation on Nuclear Energy in America

D.C.-based think tank The Heritage Foundation will release starting this Sunday, March 11, a new 38-minute documentary on the benefits of nuclear energy in America. The film, “Powering America,” is told by plant employees and residents in close proximity to existing U.S. nuclear energy facilities who discuss a variety of issues, including: nuclear plant safety, economics, fuel cycle and radiation protection. The documentary also explains how the industry has improved plant safety measures based on lessons learned from the accidents at Three Mile Island and Fukushima Daiichi.

The film will be broadcast on the Documentary Channel over the next few weeks. Check the foundation’s website for show times.

In addition, The Heritage Foundation will be hosting a special, private screening for the film this Thursday, March 8, at 6 p.m. at its offices in Washington D.C. If you are interested in attending, contact Pamela Hughes (Pamela.Hughes@heritage.org) to see if there is space available.

Below is a link to the 3.5-minute trailer.

Powering America Trailer from Steve Weyrich on Vimeo.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 7MAR2012

Meaning of the word نيزك in English-Arabic Dictionary of terms Page 1
Meaning of نيزك, Definition of Word نيزك in Almaany Online Dictionary, searched domain is category, in the dictionary of English Arabic. A comprehensive ...
www.almaany.com/home.php?language=english...

Sightings of meteor reported across the UK
The Independent
The Met Office tweeted: “Hi All, for anyone seeing something in

Breaking News - MBIQ Bot Detects Meteor Fireball Over NY NJ PA MD DC 5MAR2012

Breaking News - MBIQ (Meteor Bot Internet Query) 
Bot Detects Meteor Fireball Over NY NJ PA MD DC ~7:55 pm (~19:55) EST 5MAR2012
MBIQ Bot has just, seconds ago, detected an event over New York, New Jersey D.C., Penn, and Maryland.


Meteor Rendering ~7:55 pm 5MAR2012
(c) 2012 Michael Reinhart 
Over 200 Reports! Thank you ALL!
For meteor sighting reports see:
http://

MO IL TN IN AR Meteor(s) 5MAR2012

MO IL TN IN AR Meteor(s) 5MAR2012
Please check your security camera videos for a capture; anyone with a photo or art work of the event please email me; drtanuki@gmail.com

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)

Shane richard St. louis,

The Small Reactors at Savannah River

The Department of Energy proposed a couple of years ago spurring the development of small nuclear reactors by entering public-private partnerships with several vendors to foster the building of prototypes and, eventually, generate NRC license applications for the designs.
Now, the first fruit of this program has budded:

Hyperion Power Generation Inc., the Department of Energy – Savannah River, and Savannah River National Laboratory have announced their commitment to deploy a privately-funded first-of-a-kind Hyperion reactor at the DOE Savannah River Site.

Hyperion doesn’t need a license to pursue its work, as it could sell its reactor technology overseas if it chose and go through whatever processes are established in other countries. But it recognizes the value of the NRC’s license procedure as a kind of gold standard:

“It is important that we achieve NRC licensing to provide worldwide confidence in the technology and design of our advanced Generation 4 reactor,” said Dave Carlson, COO and Chief Nuclear Officer with HPG.

Let’s back up over the news a little bit.
Hyperion joins NuScale and Holtec International among the companies included in the DOE program. The work by all three companies will be done at South Carolina’s Savannah River Site. NuScale and Hyperion have small reactor designs.
So does Holtec, which I’ve generally regarded as a parts fabrication company. Holtec’s HI-SMUR 140 is a 140-megawatt reactor with an underground core. The design requires no reactor coolant pump or off-site power to cool the reactor core.
A little more about what the announcements mean:

The agreements will allow these private companies to gain information on SMR reactor deployment at SRS and offer a framework to develop land use and site services contracts to promote these initiatives. The MOUs help to leverage Savannah River’s nuclear expertise, energy facilities and land assets that support private sectors to develop, test and license prototype SMR technologies.

That’s a chunk of acronyms – MOU is memorandum of understanding, the agreements between Savannah River Site and the companies, presumably to be followed by contracts.
World Nuclear News expands on this a bit:

However, the DoE stressed that the new agreements "do not constitute a federal funding commitment." It said that it envisages private sector funding to be used to develop these technologies and support deployment plans. The DoE added that the agreements are unrelated to its funding opportunity announcement for SMR cost-share projects announced in January.

This forward-looking projects will be interesting to follow, something I’m sure the three companies and DOE will be eager to help us do.
---
A speech given about the Canadian response to the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi site is an interesting echo of the American response, with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in the role of the NRC and the World Association of Nuclear Operators playing INPO (and INPO playing INPO, too.)
The speaker is Tom Mitchell, the President and CEO of Ontario Power Generation. The following excerpts are adapted from notes he put together for the speech. You can read the whole thing here. (I like that the Canadians use the term learnings for lessons learned,too.)

Much has been written about Fukushima – some of it critical of our industry. Yet as I look back at events over the past year, I believe our reaction to Fukushima was timely, appropriate and effective.
Right from the start, here in Canada we moved quickly to give people as many facts as possible about the event – and assure them of the safety of our nuclear units. The CNA was very active during this period. So was OPG as well as our nuclear colleagues.
At OPG, we communicated quickly and across a number of fronts --- with local communities and on regional, national and international level. We dedicated a portion of our website to the event – providing fact-based information about the event and our stations. We made our executives available for speeches and interviews. We did extensive outreach in our nuclear site communities. We published information pieces in local and regional newspapers. And we established regular and ongoing communications with nuclear organizations from around the world – including WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators), INPO (Institute of Nuclear Power Operations) and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).
Our message was clear.
The geology at our sites was stable and our nuclear safety systems were robust – with redundant back-up power so that we were not vulnerable to Fukushima-type acts of nature.
The CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission) was also active.
Shortly after the event, it asked Canadian nuclear operators to provide verification their reactors were safe. The CNSC also provided information on its website that was useful to both the industry and the general public. In response to the CNSC’s request, OPG and other operators launched a thorough assessment of their operations to confirm their safety.
We also committed to a number of specific actions based on lessons learned from Fukushima. By April, we had reconfirmed that our stations were indeed safe and the systems in place at OPG’s nuclear facilities were robust enough to withstand significant emergencies. In July we issued another report in which we outlined the steps we were taking to address the key learnings coming out of Fukushima. These learnings included the absolute necessity to guard against external events – specifically those that threaten to overwhelm the design basis of the plant’s systems and equipment.

I’m not sure of the CNSC’s role – it may not carry the same regulatory heft of the NRC or perhaps Sullivan just wanted to stress his company’s activities. 
There’s a section of the speech about the CANDU (which stands for Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor, the country’s home-grown variation on a pressurized heavy water reactor. Canada has 18 operating reactors, 16 in Ontario, one in Quebec and one in New Brunswick. All are CANDUs. Canada has also sold about 32 CANDUs to other countries. None are in the United States. You can read more about the CANDU reactor here.
Nuclear energy provides about 15 per cent of the country’s electricity and 50 percent of Ontario’s electricity.
---
Well:

Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres hurled stones on anti-nuclear energy protesters here on Saturday. A police constable, Murugesan (45), suffered head injuries in the incident.

The story in The Hindu offers more details but not enough context to understand why government pelting occurred here. Apparently, the protest involves the building of the Kudankulum facility in Tamil Nadu, which has indeed become contentious, but that’s all I can figure out. Let’s file this one away until more information surfaces. In the meantime: no pelting.
The Hyperion Power Module is actually the little pellet-like element indicated by the arrow in this conceptual drawing.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 6MAR2012

Meteor 'fireball' spotted in night sky across UK ...
Police inundated with calls as 'orange glow' is sighted by people from northern Scotland to ...
guardian.co.uk

Mysterious Meteor over UK - March 3, 2012
YouTube
A massive and unusually slow moving meteor was sighted by thousands over the UK on March 3, 2012.

Meteor challenge
News & Star
By Phil Coleman ANYONE who finds a chunk of the meteor

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 5MAR2012

Meteor spotted in Cumbrian sky
News & Star
She thought it was a shooting star but my mum said it was a meteor. We were in the car and pulled over and got out to watch it.” The meteor passing over Whitley Bay. Article continues below... Themeteor broke up after streaking across the sky for more ...

Did you see the meteor over Shropshire skies?
shropshirestar.com (blog)
You'll see I've used the

Asteroid 2012 DA14 - A Close Shave Ahead in 2013

Blast it or paint it: Asteroid to threaten Earth in 2013
To avert a possible catastrophe – this time set for February 2013 – scientists suggest confronting asteroid 2012 DA14 with either paint or big guns. The stickler is that time has long run out to build a spaceship to carry out the operation.  NASA's data shows the 60-meter asteroid, spotted by Spanish stargazers in February, will whistle by

94th Carnival of Nuclear Energy – Old Battles, New Technologies and One Scandal

Last week was another busy week in social media. Today we’re hosting the 94th carnival and highlighting 21 posts from 14 blogs.

To start, Gail Marcus at Nuke Power Talk discusses her concerns about the zeroing of funds for nuclear engineering education programs in the 2013 budget request. It’s been an annual battle to maintain the nuclear education programs at the NRC and DOE and this year was no different. From Gail:

It seems to me that in general, it is penny-wise and pound-foolish for a nation to skimp on education. I know the budget is tight and I know there are many other important programs, but we really can't stop looking ahead.

The case for nuclear engineering education is particularly important. The current workforce of nuclear engineers is rapidly retiring. … One hopes that some of the supporters of nuclear energy on the Hill will notice this cut and restore the funding. I would encourage those who share my concern to contact your members of Congress and ask for their help in restoring funding for educational programs.

Hear, hear!

…

Meredith Angwin at Yes Vermont Yankee wrote a guest post at the ANS Nuclear Cafe describing the controversies around VY. She notes that “putting Vermont Yankee issues in context is like facing a huge mountain range. There is always another set of hills beyond this one.”

Also at her own blog, she announced the March 17 community rally in support of the plant.

…

Steve Aplin at Canadian Energy Issues commented on the different risk perceptions between nuclear materials and chemicals. Fear of the 'Dirty Bomb' recently led to a campaign to phase out the use of cesium-137 in hospital irradiators. Those machines sterilize blood prior to transfusion and prevent transfusion-associated diseases. Steve pointed out that there have not been similar campaigns to phase out other useful chemicals, like chlorine, ammonium nitrate and gasoline, which are much easier to obtain and put to evil purposes than cesium. Many people fear nuclear materials but forget that chemicals, fuel and fertilizers can cause much greater damage.

…

Atomic Power Review has a two-part contribution this week concerning the Palisades nuclear station and reactor pressure vessel embrittlement. In the two posts, Will Davis addressed media claims of vessel embrittlement. Part 1 was a background on Palisades with a link to a past APR article on the topic and part 2 provided great detail on embrittlement from a number of print sources and A. David Rossin (former President of ANS).

…

Filling in for Charles Barton at Nuclear Green, NNadir shares his thoughts on the first nuclear reactors in the world that naturally fissioned a few billion years ago. Although there is a lot of squabbling about burying nuclear waste, nature proves it can be contained. From NNadir:

Over two billion years, most of the fission products in porous sandstone at Oklo didn't even migrate as far as Tom Brady can throw an errant football in a "Hail Mary" pass at the end of a Superbowl as a last ditch attempt to avoid a losing effort.

His post is humorous and dense but definitely worth the read on Oklo.

…

Steve Skutnik from the Neutron Economy describes how small modular reactors can help displace Iowa's coal-heavy energy portfolio. SMRs can provide an economical, "right-sized" solution for smaller, rural electrical grids like Iowa’s. Of course, not everyone is convinced of the benefits. Skutnik also blasted some of the specious arguments against the technology.

…

Over at Energy From Thorium, Kirk Sorensen is working hard to push for thorium all around the world. Kirk was in London last year to help launch the Weinberg Foundation which promotes thorium. On Thursday, Kirk highlighted the Foundation’s press release on the formation of an “All-Party Parliamentary Group” in London with members of both the House of Commons and House of Lords to consider the potential of thorium as an energy source. Well done.

…

Rod Adams at Atomic Insights discusses how and why we should combine domestic coal with nuclear energy to make oil.

My pitch to the coal industry would be to use cheap, clean nuclear heat to convert H2O and their carbon rich fuel into a refined hydrocarbon that could compete with petroleum products.

No, it’s not a new concept. Technologies exist to achieve this, check out Rod’s post on how.

…

How close did Japan really get to a widespread nuclear disaster? At Brave New Climate, Barry Brook highlights a post at Slate.com by two authors at the Breakthrough Institute who put Fukushima into a proper context. Barry adds:

Much of the post-accident speculation was constrained only by people’s imagination (which can be pretty wide ranging), and utterly failed to resolve the fact that RISK is probability X impact. Instead, anti-nuclear types typically choose a huge, speculative impact, and then try to attach a large probability (often near certainty) to it. For truly catastrophic outcomes, both numbers are very small, and multiplied, vanishingly so.

Can’t add to that.

…

We have two posts to mention from the ANS Nuclear Café. Wesley Deason launched his series on the uses of nuclear fission to enable human space exploration beyond earth’s orbit:

Nuclear reactors, due to their ability to produce large amounts of energy at any location, will be the required energy source for future human space travel outside of earth’s orbit.

Make sure to follow the Café for more of his series.

Also at the Café, Dan Yurman reveals a dispute over the start of two new nuclear plants in India. To the right, months of protests have delayed the Kudankulam nuclear project in southern India. Some people (including India’s sitting prime minister) allege that American NGOs are funding the protests. If true, it sounds like a scandalous story.

…

Dan Yurman at his own blog, Idaho Samizdat, also reported several positive news items for the week including the good news that North Korea is suspending its nuclear weapons program and opening more dialogue with the U.S. Of course, some aren’t holding their breath.

Dan also reported that Iran is having a tough time with its uranium enrichment program, how the U.K. is consuming its surplus plutonium, and how South Africa is taking another shot at bids for new reactors in the country.

…

Brian Wang at Nextbigfuture looked at detailed levelized cost comparisons of nuclear, solar and coal. Brian notes that two-thirds of the cost of coal energy is determined by future commodity prices while nuclear and solar costs are dominated by construction costs and financing.

Brian also highlights a World Nuclear News story on GE’s laser uranium enrichment plant. The NRC just issued its final technical Safety Evaluation Report (SER) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed enrichment plant.

The GLE plant would use a laser-based process to enrich uranium up to 8% uranium-235 by weight (although nuclear power reactors normally require 3%-5% enriched uranium), with an initial planned maximum target production of six million separative work units (SWU) per year. … Laser enrichment could be 2 to 20 times more efficient than other enrichment processes.

Sweet.

…

And here at NEI Nuclear Notes, various contributors generated a lot of action – covering PBS’ documentary of Fukushima, Senator Bingaman’s proposed Clean Energy Standard, tornadoes in the South, and NEI’s next social media call on the industry’s FLEX strategy.

Be sure to stop by everyone’s pages for these great articles and new reporting. Stay tuned for other carnivals at Yes Vermont Yankee, ANS Café, Next Big Future and Atomic Power Review!

Australia / Tasmania Bolide Meteor? or Space Trash Re-Entry? Event 4MAR2012

Australia / Tasmania Bolide Meteor? or Space Trash Re-Entry? Event ~22:45 4MAR2012
  A very long duration event was widely seen over Australia and Tasmania ~22:45 4MAR2012.  The event has been reported by several to have lasted over 20 seconds which indicates that this may have been space debris re-entry.  Updates to follow when information becomes available.
Report may be viewed here:
http://

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 4MAR2012

'Meteor shower' dazzles the Victorian sky
NEWS.com.au
A meteor shower lit up the sky across Victoria last night. Picture: Herald Sun Source: PerthNow VICTORIANS have reported seeing a meteor shower dazzle the sky in several locations throughout the state last night. Police have also had reports of the ...

Amazingly SLOW Fireball... Meteor? UFO Over the ...
6 min
http://sheilaaliens.net/?p=372

UK Major Bolide Meteor Event 3MAR2012 - Beware the Ides of March

UK Major Bolide Meteor Event 3MAR2012 - Beware the Ides of March
  A widely seen boide entered over the UK ~21:40 3MAR2012.  The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News has received more than 400 sighting reports thus far.

Please check your security camera videos for a capture; anyone with a photo or art work of the event please email me; drtanuki@gmail.com

We need your sighting reports to

Mbozi Meteorite Discovery - YouTube

Mbozi Meteorite Discovery - YouTube

YouTube Uploaded by HKBW1 on 29 Feb 2012 49 views
This video is about the Mbozi Meteorite which if found in Ndolezi village in Mbeya Tanzania. It was shot by Essau Losujaki on his desire to inspire kids with the mysteries of the universe. ...

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 03MAR2012

More Fireball Sightings Over the Past 48 Hours.. NE U.S. and Parts ...
http://sheilaaliens.net/?p=336 March 1, 2012 - ""It was turquoise in colour and was rounded on ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZdNEEqHfyA

Green Fireball Seen All Over Southeastern Canada -- Fire in the Sky ...
Similar reports were made throughout the northeastern U.S. Wednesday A video of the meteor taken at 22:12 EST on 28

TVA Statement on Severe Weather and Nuclear Plants

The American Midwest and Southeast have been struck by tornadoes today. We just received the following statement from the Tennessee Valley Authority concerning the status of several nuclear power plants in their service:

TVA has activated its Transmission Emergency Operations Center to assess the damage and manage the response to today’s severe storms. At this time, TVA reports 10 transmission lines are out of service, with the most severe weather reported in North Alabama and Southeast Tennessee. The transmission system is stable and secure. All TVA customer connections are in service with the exception of five connection points for Volunteer Electric in Hamilton and Bradley counties.
Initial reports from Athens and Huntsville, Alabama, are that an estimated 44,000 customers are experiencing outages. We are aware of outages in other locations, but we do not have estimated customer numbers yet.

All three nuclear sites remain safe following the recent storms. The three units at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant near Athens, Ala., are operating at full-power. Sequoyah Unit 1 in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., was shutdown February 27 for a scheduled refueling outage and will not be returning to operation until later this month. Sequoyah Unit 2 is currently at 80 percent power, due to transmission lines being out of service in the area of the plant. Watts Bar Unit 1 in Spring City, Tenn., is operating at full power.

TVA crews are assessing the damage as the weather permits and it is safe to do so.

We will provide additional reports as soon as we have information.

Please note that U.S. nuclear plants have endured this sort of real world stress test before. Click here for more.

NEI to Host Blogger Conference Call on FLEX

The Nuclear Energy Institute will be hosting a conference call for bloggers with NEI's Adrian Heymer on FLEX, the U.S. industry's strategy to enhance safety at its nuclear energy facilities. The call will be conducted from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, March 9 and will be hosted by Dan Yurman of Idaho Samizdat.

All participants must pre-register in order to dial in to the call. Please RSVP to my NEI email address at epm-at-nei.org by COB Thursday, March 8 in order to reserve your space.

Please submit your questions prior to the call, as they'll be asked by Mr. Yurman in much the same manner as the call he hosted with NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko. If the program runs long don't fret, as we'll post answers to any question we don't get to here on the NEI Nuclear Notes blog.

For those of you who might not be familiar with Mr. Heymer, here's a short bio. Here in the U.S., there simply isn't anyone with a better read on how the incident at Fukushima is impacting the way our industry does business than Mr. Heymer.

Adrian Heymer is the Executive Director, Strategic Programs, at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). In this position he serves as the industry's point person in organizing an integrated response to the events at Fukushima Daiichi. Other responsibilities at NEI have encompassed new nuclear plant deployment, electricity deregulation, plant performance improvement, risk-informed regulation and industry quality programs. Prior to joining NEI he worked in support of Nebraska Public Power District’s Cooper Nuclear Station, Nebraska; at Lloyds Register on technical certifications and inspections; and served in the Royal Navy.

We're all looking forward to your questions. See you on March 9 at 11 a.m.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 02MAR2012

LUND: Learning science
Yale Daily News
My first stop was a windowless office in KGL where I'd scheduled an appointment with meteoritearchivist Barbara Narendra. A meteorite is bit of rock or iron that flames through earth's atmosphere and is recoverable after its impact on the ground....

Out-of-this-world discovery
Seacoastonline.com
They are believed to have been caused by a meteor

Sen. Bingaman Announces Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) unveiled the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012 today to steer the country in a direction of reducing overall carbon emissions. The bill aims for large power companies to begin increasing their electricity output from low-carbon sources like wind, solar, nuclear energy and natural gas by 2015, with the overall goal of producing 84 percent of their overall electricity from low-carbon sources by 2035.

The chairman explains:

“The goal of the CES is ambitious – a doubling of clean energy by 2035. But analysis has shown that the goal is also achievable and affordable. Meeting the CES will yield substantial benefits to our health, our economy, our global competitiveness and our economy,” Bingaman said.

A fact sheet on the bill says the CES will only apply to retail utilities, not small utilities, and will be measured by the number of credits given to generators of clean energy. In other words, the higher the number of credits a utility has, the less emissions per unit of electricity. The fact sheet says:

This flexible framework naturally allows a wide variety of sources (solar, wind, nuclear, natural gas, coal with carbon capture and storage, etc.) to be used to meet the standard; allows market forces to determine what the optimal mix of technologies and fuels should be; and makes it easy for new technologies to be incorporated.

Each energy source, depending on its emissions, would receive varied levels of credits. For instance, Platts explains:

Under [Sen. Bingaman’s] proposal, electricity generated by zero-carbon sources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear, would get full credits.

Whereas, Platts continues:

Electricity from coal-fired generation with carbon capture and storage or coal co-firing with biomass would receive partial credits if they emit fewer carbon emissions than 0.82 mt/megawatt-hour, the equivalent of new supercritical coal generation.

The Platts article also points out that the credits could be accumulated and banked indefinitely, or transferred, traded or sold through an Energy Department trading system that would be set up as part of the legislation.

Sen. Bingaman, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, acknowledged that it may be difficult to get the legislation through both houses of Congress and to the president’s desk during this session. However, the White House’s spokesman Clark Steven praised today’s announcement as a step in the right direction:

“As the president has said consistently, a CES will drive innovation and investment in a range of clean energy sources — including renewables like wind and solar as well as nuclear, efficient natural gas and clean coal. A CES will also help America remain a leader in the clean energy economy, with all the jobs that it will bring. We look forward to working with Congress as the bill moves forward.”

Several organizations today also publicly expressed similar views to the bill, including NextEra Energy’s Chairman and CEO Lew Hay:

“Senator Bingaman's bill provides the right incentives for the nation's electric utilities and equipment manufacturers to create good, high-paying jobs for American workers and for private capital to accelerate investment in innovative energy technologies. The bill's market-oriented standard would allow many different types of fuel sources to be competitive, while rewarding innovation, early action, efficiency and project execution.”

For more information on the CES, see the Senate committee’s website for links to the press release, bill text, two-page summary, and section-by-section summary.

Photo: Sources of Emission-Free Electricity in the United States (2010).

Bill Gates Calls for More R&D Funding for Energy Technologies

This week the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) held its third annual energy innovation summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of energy technologies in the U.S. marketplace. Among the impressive lineup of speakers was a notable nuclear energy advocate Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft and of the nuclear startup company TerraPower.

Although I wasn’t able to attend the conference in person (I found out too late—bummer!), I followed along on Twitter using the #eis12 hashtag to see what nuggets were said about the future of energy.
In a panel with Secretary Chu, Gates said that research and development for energy technologies is “greatly underfunded.”

"People underestimate how far away we are," Gates said. "That's partly why we can end up underfunding the innovative work that needs to go on."

Boosting funding for research doesn't guarantee that there will be a technological breakthrough, but it does improve the chances of speeding up progress. Still, Gates said, the failure rates of green-technology startups will be well over 90 percent.

In order to get at least 10 to 20 technologies to succeed in the marketplace, Gates called for at least doubling the current budget for R&D to encourage the thousands of companies that may be needed to try their hands at developing the next big energy innovation.
He also said that it’s important that the United States continue developing cheaper, cleaner sources of energy if we want to help impoverished people around the world:

“If you look at improvement in the human condition, it really does have to do with energy. If you want to improve the livelihoods of the poorest 1 billion people in the world, having cheap energy [is a way to do it]. Can they afford transportation, fertilizer, lighting? The answer is no, without cheap energy, they stay stuck where they are.”

As part of his commitment to developing clean energy, Gates reconfirmed his support for nuclear power as a viable, safe, emission-free energy source. Smart Planet explains:

“Unless you can take hydrocarbons and take extreme [carbon] capture-and-storage, then you’ve got nuclear as the one left [that provides baseload power],” he said. “I think we should bet on all of these, and in each area we should have ideally hundreds of companies betting on them.”

Continuing to improve nuclear energy technologies to make them even safer will still be important, Gates said. Inga’s Live Blog explains:

“If you need humans to do something, that’s not a good design,” [said Gates]. Gates said nuclear isn’t dead. Next-gen nuclear plants will no doubt have safety procedures that don’t need people figuring out which switch to flip to stop a meltdown.

Developing game-changing energy technologies will take time however, Gates explains, due to the necessary research and testing that is involved.

The problem with using IT and telecommunications as models for innovating in clean energy is that people underestimate the difficulty of the scientific work needed and how much time is needed for innovations to become adopted, Gates said.

Beyond the time to research, the energy industry is subject to sometimes burdensome regulatory frameworks, which can also delay progress in the field, Gates said:

“Whatever technology they use and how it’s priced for consumers is determined on a regulatory basis,” he said. “It’s very different than having a software company or even a chip factory where your innovation cycles are every two or three years and your dependence on government policy is very low.”

For more information on some of the current challenges facing the energy industry, watch the panel with Gates and Secretary Chu from the summit. For more information on the ARPA-E summit, check out CNET’s coverage.

Photo: Bill Gates at the ARPA-E 2012 summit. Credits: AFP/Getty Images.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 01MAR2012

Prairie village of Rockhaven lives up to its name after meteor landing
Edmonton Journal
Residents in and around this village 180 kilometres west of Saskatoon say they're amused by the attention brought by an apparent meteorite landing. The area has been inundated with "rock hunters" from across Alberta, Saskatchewan and the United States ...

Meteor lights up N.H. sky
Concord Monitor
By Ben

Japan Earthquake ~5.4+ ~07:32 01MAR2012

Japan Earthquake  ~5.4+ ~07:32 01MAR2012
No damage reported and no tsunami warning.


07:32 JST  01Mar2012  36.5N, 140.7E  60 km  5.4M Ibaraki-ken Oki

JMA Official Website 
(Bookmark their site in case of Earthquake Emergency in JAPAN):
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/

Map:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/3/20120301074314391-010732.html

New NEI White Paper: Making Safe Nuclear Energy Safer

With the anniversary of the incident at Fukushima Daiichi almost upon us, it's only natural for the public and other stakeholders to be asking questions about the safety of America's nuclear energy facilities. To answer those questions, NEI has published a white paper entitled, "Making Safe Nuclear Energy Safer."

The following passage is from the document's Executive Summary:

The nuclear energy industry’s primary and constant goal is to make safe nuclear energy facilities even safer. A decades-long commitment to safety and continuous learning is reflected in the operational focus and safety culture at our facilities. Companies that operate 104 U.S. reactors review safety procedures continually and update their facilities and training programs with lessons learned from those reviews.

The industry has a commitment to safety because nuclear energy is a vital part of America’s electricity portfolio. It helps achieve greater energy independence for America and produces affordable, reliable electricity for one of every five Americans. Safety is the foundation of a thriving nuclear energy industry in America and globally—with more than 430 reactors producing electricity and 65 plants under construction.

After the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. nuclear power industry is looking even more closely at ways to ensure safety is maintained in the face of extreme natural events. The U.S. industry and our global partners took immediate actions after the events in Japan, both to support the recovery of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors and to review critical safety systems at U.S. reactors. While we continue to monitor the situation closely and to learn from it, the nuclear energy industry in the United States is already implementing numerous measures to maintain and upgrade the already-high level of safety at nuclear energy facilities.

The paper clocks in at nine pages in length, and is easily digestible for readers who, while they might be aware of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, might not be completely up to speed on what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. industry have been doing in the interim to apply lessons learned from our colleagues in Japan. Click here to download it right now.

Japan Earthquake ~5.8 M ~23:33 29FEB2012

Japan Earthquake  ~5.8 M ~23:33 29FEB2012

23:32 JST 29 Feb 2012 35.2N 141.5E 20 km 5.8 Chiba-ken Toho-oki
Japan Meteorological Agency - Official Japan Earthquake Site (Bookmark THEIR site in case of emergency!):http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/
Map:http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/3/20120229233754391-292332.html

Japan Earthquake ~5.3 M ~18:00 29FEB2012

Japan Earthquake  ~5.3 M ~18:00 29FEB2012
No damage reported at this time. No tsunami warning issued.

18:00 JST 29FEB2012  37.3N, 141.7E  40km   5.3 Mag Fukushima-ken Oki

JMA Official Site:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/
Map:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/2/20120229180417391-291800.html

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 29FEB2012

Feb. 21 Bright Meteor Over Western Canada – Compilation of ...
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Video+Three+views+meteor+over+western+ ... http ://lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com/2012/02/mbiq-meteor-bot-internet-query ...
sheilaaliens.net/?p=298

Meteorite hunters flock to Saskatchewan town
Regina Leader-Post
By jason warick, Leader-Post February 28, 2012 9:56 PM Rockhaven Saskatchewan has become

Breaking News - MBIQ Detects Large Bolide Meteor Entry Over New England States and Canada 28FEB2012

Breaking News -
MBIQ Detects Large Bolide Meteor Entry Over New England States and Canada ~22:12 EST 28FEB2012


New England States / Canada Bolide Meteor  ~22:12 EST 28FEB2012
Neon Markers= Sighting Reports
Red Circle Markers =Videocam Videos
(click on image to enlarge)
v.3 incomplete (c) 2012 LunarMeteorite*Hunter, Dirk Ross...Tokyo / Google Earth
All Rights Reserved - May be used for Media

Asteroid Threat in 2040? Scientists Watch 2011 AG5

Asteroid Threat in 2040? Scientists Watch 2011 AG5There is an asteroid called 2011 AG5, and if it follows the orbit scientists have plotted for it so far, there is a small, small chance that it could hit Earth in February 2040. ...http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/asteroid-threat-2011-ag5-close-earth-2040-scientists/story?id=15809386#.T018oYdOhWK

Alert -NEOs Asteroid Close Encounters March 2012

Alert - NEOs Asteroid Close Encounters March 2012
Increased green meteor fireball activity projected to continue into March 2012 ((2012 DS32), (2012 DN31),  (2012 DR32), (2008 EJ85) ) with close NEO encounters during the first week of March.  Have your cameras ready and get out and watch.  If you sight one please make a report.  Thank you.
LunarMeteorite*Hunter, Dirk Ross...Tokyo


UPCOMING CLOSE

PBS to Air Second Fukushima Documentary Tonight

Tonight at 10:00 p.m. EST, PBS will be airing another FRONTLINE documentary about the incident at Fukushima Daiichi entitled, "Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown." Unlike the "Nuclear Aftershocks" report that aired in January, tonight's program will focus exclusively on brave TEPCO employees and first responders who worked to contain the damage at the stricken reactor.

During the program, PBS will be offering live commentary from the FRONTLINE Twitter feed (@frontlinepbs). We'll be watching the program in real time as well, tweeting from our own feed, @N_E_I. To participate in the conversation, please be sure to use the #frontline and #fukushima hash tags so others can follow along.

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 28FEB2012

Rock star from space in spotlight
Winnipeg Free Press
Starting Wednesday, the Manitoba Museum will unveil the largest meteorite ever found in Manitoba as part of its updated Space Rocks exhibition. The whopping Elm Creek Meteorite is about the size of a football and weighs more than eight kilograms -- a ...

Manitoba Museum to unveil rock star, largest meteorite ever found in province
Winnipeg

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 27FEB2012

Today in history: Fire destroys Woonsocket mill
The Providence Journal
A high-flying meteor, and not space debris or a satellite launch, was apparently the blazing object seen over much of New England. Hendrik Gerritsen, a professor of physics at Brown University, said several students saw the fireball and their ... (meteorites DO NOT CAUSE Fires!)

Slow meteors that shine brighter than Venus

Texas Meteor 25FEB2012

Texas Meteor ~23:30 25FEB2012

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)

25FEB2011 joe quitman, tx USA 23:30:00 3 sec at most NE to SW bright blue, almost like a welders ark bright a lighting bolt 2 big parts with thousands of tiny parts not

GA NC Meteor ~00:15 AM EST 26FEB2012

GA NC Meteor ~00:15 AM EST　26FEB2012

We need your sighting reports to confirm this event; please submit a sighting report.  Thank you!
Report your meteor sighting
Meteor/Fireball Report Form(click here to report a meteor / fireball)


12:18:52 am EST (05:18:52 UTC) 26FEB2012
(c) 2012 Lawndale, NC Sandia Sentinel Allsky, Stuart McDaniel 






Lawndale, NC Fireball Video Capture 12:18:52 am EST (

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 26FEB2012

Arrest in theft of meteorite sold in Missouri
STLtoday.com
The Meteorite Museum at the Univerisity of New Mexico displays a returned meteorite that was stolen in December 2011. Tim Heitz, a St. Louis-area meteorite collector, bought it, unaware that it had been stolen. He returned the meteorite in January 2012 ...

Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News: Texas Meteor 25FEB2012
By Lunar Meteorite