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High Risk Energy Sources

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The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan raised new concerns about the risk of another nuclear reactor disaster.  The explosion of the FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT gives our citizens cause to re-examine the risk assumed by the public. At this writing, the full extent of the damage to the plant, the community, and the environment is unknown - it will take years.

At the same time concerns over the high risks associated with extracting natural gas and as noted in a Financial Times article is "energy that comes from the same place as our drinking water. Extracting it had better be safe. The political fault lines over hydraulic fracturing (hence the term fracking) have been easy to predict for anyone paying attention to the controversies over climate change and genetically modified organisms. France’s national assembly voted to ban fracking while in the US its been full steam ahead in 32 states. These are high risk alternative energy sources. 

 

Curated by mokiethecat

Frac Biocides DeepLife by Sandra Steingraber

Methane emissions and the injection of biocides during fracking raise serious concerns about atmospheric health and subterranean "Deep Life." Biocides, a component of fracking fluid, pose particularly unacceptable risks.

Ecologist Sandra Steingraber, author of "Living Downstream" and "Raising Elijah," discussed how extremophile bacteria in hydrocarbon-rich shale layers can disrupt fracking operations. She highlighted the health risks of biocides and questioned the unknown ecological impact of subterranean biota on the planet.

Her full 41-minute presentation, published on March 1, 2014, is available here.

EarthSayer Sandra Steingraber

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