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It’s too early to know the impact of Japan’s emergency on public health and the industry. But new projects worldwide likely will be delayed as the events at Fukushima are analyzed, and changes are debated in plant design, regulation and emergency planning.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center is reporting that Arctic sea ice appears to have reached its winter maximum for the year, which has tied 2006 for the lowest in the satellite record.

NC WARN’s director Jim Warren debates Duke Energy’s nuclear policy director Steve Nesbit on Charlotte’s public radio station.

Progress Energy sends out safety information manuals annually to everyone living within ten miles of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, but critics say if something goes wrong at the plant, not nearly enough thought has gone into keeping people safe.

Duke Energy’s Jim Rogers keeps talking a good game about pursuing “a mix” of electricity technologies, but yesterday’s hearing at the NC Utilities Commission again exposed that as a public relations facade.

The unfolding nuclear plant crisis in Japan could pose significant problems for Duke Energy’s effort to build a new reactor near Gaffney, SC.

The latest report, released today, shows a decade of remarkable growth. The market for solar power, wind power and biofuels still pales when compared with that for fossil fuels (Exxon Mobil, for example, made $383.2 billion last year). But clean-energy technology is no longer stuck in a niche.

A few reliable sources of information covering the breaking news of Japan’s nuclear facilities:
Union of Concerned Scientists
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: Arjun Makhijani
Fairewinds Associates: Arnold Gunderson
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Beyond Nuclear

Recent News Items:
Japanese struggle to protect their food supply – The New York Times, January 21, 2012
The Fukushima Black Box – The Economist, January 7, 2012

More on Japan, NC impacts

Threats to the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant have people asking could a major disaster happen here?

Florida legislator regrets letting utilities pass on costs
Radio Ad running across the state
Consumers Against Rate Hikes

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers is now under an FBI investigation for allegedly seeking to ensure his customers absorb massive cost overruns at a power plant construction project.