Lieberman: “Put the brakes” on new U.S. nuclear power plants

The risk of partial meltdown at a stricken nuclear power plant in Japan increased on Monday as cooling systems failed at a third reactor, possibly exposing its fuel rods, only hours after a second explosion at a separate reactor blew the roof off a containment building….

Operators fear that if they cannot establish control, despite increasingly desperate measures to do so, the reactors could experience meltdowns, which would release catastrophic amounts of radiation.

It was unclear if radiation was released by Monday’s explosion, but a similar explosion at another reactor at the plant over the weekend did release radioactive material.

The situation in Japan is moving quickly and getting worse.  The above is from a Monday morning NYT piece.

Here is the AP story, “10K dead in Japan amid fears of nuclear meltdowns” from 4:05 EDT Sunday.

The estimated death toll from Japan’s disasters climbed past 10,000 Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns and hundreds of thousands of people struggled to find food and water. The prime minister said it was the nation’s worst crisis since World War II.

Nuclear plant operators worked frantically to try to keep temperatures down in several reactors crippled by the earthquake and tsunami, wrecking at least two by dumping sea water into them in last-ditch efforts to avoid meltdowns.

The nuclear savvy French “recommended its citizens leave the Tokyo region of Japan on Sunday, citing the risk of further earthquakes and uncertainty about the situation at its damaged nuclear plants.”

It looks like people are right to leave the area as rapidly and orderly as possibly.  The NYT reports at 10:07 EDT, “Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say“:

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TIMBO, Colombia: … in the last few years, coffee yields have plummeted here and in many of Latin America’s other premier coffee regions as a result of rising temperatures and more intense and unpredictable rains, phenomena that many scientists link partly to global warming.

Coffee plants require the right mix of temperature, rainfall and spells of dryness for beans to ripen properly and maintain their taste. Coffee pests thrive in the warmer, wetter weather….

Purveyors fear that the Arabica coffee supply from Colombia may never rebound “” that the world might, in effect, hit “peak coffee.”

Climate-driven food insecurity is helping drive global political instability, as explored in my ongoing series.  But it may take a while for the direct impact of higher food prices to be noticed by Americans, since, for instance, wheat comprises only a few percent of the cost of a loaf of bread.

The New York Times article, “Heat Damages Colombia Coffee, Raising Prices,” shows that climate change doesn’t just hit the staples:  “The shortage of high-end Arabica coffee beans is also being felt in New York supermarkets and Paris cafes, as customers blink at escalating prices.”  It is unusually clear on the impact of global warming:

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The threat of extreme disasters to nuclear plants seems to have escaped the media.  What else are the sleeper stories out there in the coming decade?

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Michael Conathan, CAP’s Director of Oceans Policy, explores the implications of the remarkable chart — of fish brought to market in the United States — above in this cross-post.

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