Watts Bar: NRC Grants 1st New Nuclear Operating Licence in 19 Years [1]
"Federal regulators [Thursday] approved an operating license for TVA's Watts Bar Unit 2, allowing the first new American nuclear plant to begin operation in nearly two decades."

"Federal regulators [Thursday] approved an operating license for TVA's Watts Bar Unit 2, allowing the first new American nuclear plant to begin operation in nearly two decades."
"DENVER -- The release of 3 million gallons (11 million liters) of toxic wastewater from a defunct southwestern Colorado gold mine that was triggered by the Environmental Protection Agency was preventable, a government review of the spill concluded on Thursday."
"Environmentalists and energy companies are trying to influence the Obama administration’s plan for thwarting an oil industry practice of venting and burning natural gas at some wells."
"One of the nation’s largest railroads has notified customers that it will stop shipping key chemicals used in water treatment and agriculture on Dec. 1, the latest development in a standoff over a year-end safety deadline few railroads are expected to meet.:
"BONN -- More funds to help poor nations cope with climate change will be the make-or-break issue when a Paris summit seeks a U.N. deal in December to slow global warming, the main group of developing nations said on Thursday."
"OPEC members Iran and Saudi Arabia, the top greenhouse gas emitters yet to submit national strategies for tackling climate change, say they will do so before a U.N. summit in December in a sign of widening participation even by oil producers."
"As the Obama administration's carbon rules become final, states weigh fighting vs complying. ‘We can’t count on winning the lawsuit,’ one official says."
"Hurricane Patricia strengthened into an 'extremely dangerous' Category 5 storm late on Thursday as it churned toward Mexico's Pacific coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said."

Reporters may find useful an Oct 30 webinar hosted by Earthworks on the FLIR camera, used by regulators to detect air pollution "leaks" from fracking-related facilities. Learn about how these infrared cameras work, the pollution they show and how to bring one to your community; the EPA's proposed rule to cut this pollution and where it needs strengthening; and more.
"As the world tries to shift away from fossil fuels, the energy industry is turning to what seems to be an endless supply of renewable energy: wood. In England and across Europe, wood has become the renewable of choice, with forests — many of them in the U.S. — being razed to help feed surging demand. But as this five-month Climate Central investigation reveals, renewable energy doesn’t necessarily mean clean energy. Burning trees as fuel in power plants is heating the atmosphere more quickly than coal."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/watts-bar-nrc-grants-1st-new-nuclear-operating-licence-19-years
[2] http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/oct/22/watts-bar-nuclear-reactor-granted-operating-license---first-new-us-reactor-19-years/331905/
[3] https://www.sej.org/headlines/colorado-mine-wastewater-spill-caused-epa-was-preventable-report
[4] https://www.sej.org/headlines/enviros-energy-companies-lobby-administration-coming-methane-rule
[5] http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/10/21/environmentalists-and-energy-companies-lobby-administration-on-coming-methane-rule/#2572101=0
[6] https://www.sej.org/headlines/norfolk-southern-says-it-will-stop-hauling-key-chemicals-dec-1
[7] http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/economy/article40533852.html
[8] https://www.sej.org/headlines/paris-climate-summit-will-hinge-climate-aid-poor-nations
[9] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/22/us-climatechange-aid-idUSKCN0SG1N320151022
[10] https://www.sej.org/headlines/opec-nations-plan-join-un-climate-drive
[11] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/22/us-climatechange-summit-opec-idUSKCN0SG2MK20151022
[12] https://www.sej.org/headlines/states-begin-comply-clean-power-plan-while-planning-sue
[13] http://insideclimatenews.org/news/22102015/states-challenge-clean-power-plan-also-comply-obama-administration-coal
[14] https://www.sej.org/headlines/hurricane-patricia-strengthens-category-5-it-nears-mexico
[15] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/23/us-mexico-storm-patricia-idUSKCN0SG22V20151023
[16] https://www.sej.org/calendar/making-invisible-fracking-air-pollution-visible
[17] https://www.sej.org/headlines/pulp-fiction-warming-planet
[18] http://reports.climatecentral.org/pulp-fiction/1/
[19] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2925
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2922
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2923
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2924
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2927
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2928
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2929
[27] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=2930
[28] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4933