"In the country that gave the world the word tsunami, the Japanese nuclear establishment largely disregarded the potentially destructive force of the walls of water. The word did not even appear in government guidelines until 2006, decades after plants — including the Fukushima Daiichi facility that firefighters are still struggling to get under control — began dotting the Japanese coastline."
"In a little-noticed memo early last year, Illinois scientists made a dire prediction." "Blamed in part on climate change, the threat of water ponding in your yard or your basement is growing, a Sun-Times/WBEZ investigation has found, putting health, homes at risk."
"With wildfires already burning and drought persisting across much of the U.S., fire experts are bracing for what could be an extreme fire season. The U.S. Forest Service is going into it having done far less work than in recent years to manage the dry, flammable vegetation that can fuel catastrophic fires."
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has in recent weeks proposed a process for approving microreactors and finalized one for reactors with nontraditional designs."
Is the United States in the midst of a “nuclear renaissance”? This two-part Issue Backgrounder explores that question, beginning in Part 1 with a look at the government’s part in developing nuclear power, including through subsidies, as well as why the new reactors built earlier in the 2000s didn’t really make the case for the industry’s rebirth.
"Concerns over water access are poised to consume summer in the US, as crises in Corpus Christi and across the Colorado River threaten to boil over."
"The agency is planning to bring back most of the staffers from the Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery who were terminated as part of Kristi Noem’s plans to cut the agency."
"A proposed data center in the Imperial Valley would need 750,000 gallons of water a day. Satisfying the thirst of 24 more facilities expected to open in the state will be challenging, experts and officials say."
"Residents proved their tap water carries sewage and bacteria. Federal funding dried up anyway."
"War had already darkened Tehran’s skies by March 8. When rain began to fall, residents said it was thick, foul-smelling and dark in color. Some described it as black rain, coating streets, rooftops, and cars in sootlike residue."
