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Latest Posts
USDA NRCS
To Save Its Soil and Clean Up Its Water, Iowa Needs to Act Fast(er)
Karen Perry Stillerman, senior analyst, Food and Environment
February 25, 2021 2:40 PM EDT
Iowans have long prized their state’s deep, rich soils and its position as an agricultural powerhouse. In the heart of the Corn Belt, its farmers lead the nation in corn acres planted, and come in second in soybean acres. But there’s a dark side to all that: Decades of intensive, industrial-style production of those two crops—and little else—has decimated Iowa’s soil and fouled its waterways, leaving farmers and communities downstream and across the state vulnerable. Among the many issues state legislators are considering this month in Des Moines, soil health and water quality are arguably among the most urgent. And they need to act fast. Read more >
Marcia Cassidy Communications
Renewable Energy Technology is Not Fully Helping Communities That Need it Most
Carolyn E. Ramirez, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate, Northwestern University UCS Science Network, UCS
February 25, 2021 11:10 AM EDT
In the United States, renewable energy technology, like solar cells, is still mostly utilized by white populations when data show that communities of color are impacted most negatively by fossil fuel pollution and climate change. Read more >
Diablo Canyon is Shutting Down. Is California Ready?
Mark Specht, Energy analyst
February 23, 2021 12:05 PM EDT
In this moment, California’s electrical grid faces no shortage of challenges. There’s the year-round risk that utility power lines will spark wildfires, and there’s the real possibility that an extreme summer heatwave will trigger more rotating blackouts. But there’s another issue looming on the horizon that California hasn’t even begun to address: replacing the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant with clean energy when it shuts down mid-decade. Read more >
El exterior de Diablo Canyon. Nuclear Regulatory Commission/flickr
Diablo Canyon cerrará. ¿Está preparada California?
Mark Specht, Energy analyst
February 23, 2021 11:53 AM EDT
La red eléctrica de California está cargada de retos. A lo largo de todo el año está presente el riesgo de que chispazos salidos de los cables originen incendios descontrolados. También existe la posibilidad real de que una ola de calor extremo obligue a aumentar los cortes rotativos de electricidad. Pero en el horizonte se divisa una amenaza que California ni siquiera ha empezado a afrontar: cómo reemplazar con energía limpia la planta nuclear Diablo Canyon cuando ésta cierre a mediados de la década. Read more >
