Socioecology Research Today

In the aftermath of the March 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the future contribution of nuclear power to the global energy supply has become somewhat uncertain. Because nuclear power is an abundant, low-carbon source of base-load power, it could make a large contribution to mitigation of global climate change and air [...]

Fast reactors, whose high-speed neutrons can break down nuclear waste, are on the road to commercialization. That message has been advanced forcefully by Russia, China, and India.At a global conference sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency last week in Paris, Russia and India described large demonstration plants that will start operating next year and [...]

Some places could be without power for months, and “chronic shortages for multiple years are possible,” according to the National Research Council, the research arm of the National Academy of Sciences.Still, this sunspot cycle has been quieter than most. And even if the Sun unleashes a huge burst, as it did last July, the odds [...]

Simple chemical pathways open up proliferation possibilities for the proposed nuclear ‘wonder fuel’, warn Stephen F. Ashley and colleagues. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/492031a

The U.S. and E.U. experts were in relative agreement regarding how government RD&D funds should be allocated, placing particular focus on very high temperature reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors, fuels and materials, and fuel cycle technologies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es300612c

► The status of nuclear programmes in the world is examined. ► Nuclear power has taken a nose-dive in Western industrialised countries. ► The nuclear renaissance has been announced since 1981 but never materialised. ► Share of nuclear power is 15.7% of global electricity but only 2.3% of global FEC. ► Nuclear energy is no [...]

16 July 2012: The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced a new database, called the Transparent Cost Database (TCDB), which collects cost and performance estimates for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The information is expected to facilitate corporate benchmarking, academic research and public decision making.The TCDB provides information [...]

After detailed analysis, the conclusion is that Japan should be responsible for the obligation of immediate notification and since Japan unilaterally discharge the wastes without prior specific permits of other contracting countries, it should also be responsible for the violation of prevention of dumping. Since so far, no material injury has emerged and there would [...]

Nuclear energy is a potential solution to electricity demand but also entails risks. Policy debates on nuclear accidents have focused primarily on negative impacts on humans. Although such impacts are important, we argue that policy debates must also consider the consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem services. We reviewed 521 studies conducted after the Chernobyl accident, [...]

A major finding is detection of Fukushima-derived 134Cs and 137Cs throughout waters 30–600 km offshore, with the highest activities associated with near-shore eddies and the Kuroshio Current acting as a southern boundary for transport. Fukushima-derived Cs isotopes were also detected in zooplankton and mesopelagic fish, and unique to this study we also find 110mAg in [...]