"Microsoft Corp. may shelve one of the industry’s most ambitious clean-energy targets as it tries to remove hurdles that could hold it back in the race to power data centres, according to people with knowledge of the matter."
"The U.S. Geological Survey announced a massive lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains, large enough to replace years of imports of the mineral." "While the figure is an official USGS estimate, extracting the mineral poses major technical and environmental challenges."
"More than 12 million people now have Parkinson’s Disease, nearly double the number from just six years ago. From kids who pedaled behind mosquito trucks in the 1950s and ‘60s to veterans exposed to Agent Orange to landscapers and farmers who attribute their Parkinson’s to pesticides, a generation of elders–and increasing numbers of young-onset patients–now suffer from what we didn’t know about chemicals in the 20th Century. "
"More miles of the country’s rivers were reconnected last year thanks to dam removals than at any other time in history."
"California is investigating one of the Trump administration’s deals to end an offshore wind project."
"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."
"The Food and Drug Administration stopped publication of studies about the safety of vaccines to protect against covid-19 and shingles in recent months, a spokesman for the Health and Human Services Department said."
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has in recent weeks proposed a process for approving microreactors and finalized one for reactors with nontraditional designs."
"North America’s grid watchdog is slated to issue its highest level of warning Monday about threats to the power system from large data centers, underscoring the challenges facing utilities and grid operators grappling with a surge in electricity demand."
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.
