What would nuclear power look like for the Prairies?

There are a lot of options in energy for Canada — hydro, wind, solar, biomass, natural gas, geothermal … the list goes on.

As we work to decarbonize our electricity sources, there is growing interest in nuclear power.

Nuclear power has a long history in Canada, with the first plant, the Nuclear Power Demonstration Reactor in Rolphton, Ont., going online in the early 1960s.

Today, larger nuclear generating stations in Ontario and New Brunswick supply about 15 per cent of Canada’s electricity.

Canada’s nuclear power plants use nuclear fission. Atoms from a uranium fuel are split apart, releasing energy in the form of heat and radiation. The heat is used to create steam from water. The steam then spins a turbine, creating electricity.

Spent fuel — radioactive waste — must be stored securely for thousands of years. |Read more https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/what-would-nuclear-power-look-like-for-the-prairies-1.6824632|

(Note from Steve) Herein lies my problem with this technology. The radioactive waste is dangerous. Canadian and U.S. authorities have both cut back radiation reporting after detecting only minuscule increases following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis in 2011, despite ongoing clean-up efforts in Japan.

An article on the CBC website says, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-and-u-s-cut-back-radiation-reporting-1.1114828 “Numerous radioactive particles have been detected in milk, water and air tests nationwide since the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the power plant on March 11, but agency officials said Friday the levels were so minuscule they were not harmful to public health.”

Apparently they found traces of Cesium 134 and Cesium 137 — too small to worry about.

‘Cept it bio-accumulates in the soft tissues of your body, and its stored. If you were exposed to it often enough, it can cause cancer)

#nuclear #radiation #cancer #RadioactiveWaste #mistake #cdnpoli

What’s left of Scotch Creek, B.C. after wildfire?

Residents of more than 3,500 properties in B.C.’s Shuswap region had to evacuate on Friday and Saturday as “extreme fire behaviour” entered the area, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and local emergency officials.

On Saturday, the BCWS confirmed that two fast-moving wildfires burned down blocks of homes, stores and buildings in multiple communities in the Shuswap region.

Among those evacuated were Jordon Byerley, a local firefighter, his daughter Camilla and son Brixton, the children’s aunt, and their two puppies. The group, along with others, took a boat Saturday to the town of Celista on the north shore of Shuswap Lake.

CBC News photographer Ben Nelms traveled with them to witness the destruction. |Read more https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/images-wildfires-shuswap-2023-1.6941780|

#ScotchCreek #wildfires #environment #bcpoli #cdnpoli

DO Wildfires Ignite Conspiracy Theories?

It’s yet to be determined what exactly ignited the ferocious wildfires that ravaged Maui and destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina last week, but online conspiracy theorists have plenty of thoughts about how — and why — the deadliest fires in Hawaii’s history were started.

Conditions were already ripe for wildfires, with a combination of persistent dry weather and drought, when Maui was hit with powerful winds on Aug. 8, sending flames racing across swaths of the island.

But the tragedy has spurred social media posts that would have you believe that it was a laser beam from space that sparked the devastating blaze or that the disaster may be a part of a land grab or a sinister ploy to develop a 15-minute city on the tropical island — familiar conspiracy theories that have thrived in times of disaster.

There is no proof any of these are true — often they can easily be debunked — but theories like these can thrive in times of uncertainty after a disaster strikes, say experts, as people try to make sense of a tense and emotional situation and anxiously look for a cause to pinpoint.

“Everybody is susceptible to mis- and disinformation, but in different ways and for different reasons,” said Samantha Bradshaw, an assistant professor at the school of international service at American University in Washington, D.C.

But wildfires in particular, she said, present a unique opportunity for rumours and false narratives to spread. |Read more hhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/world/maui-wildfire-conspiracy-theories-1.6937745|

#Lahaina #wildfires #environment #conspiracy #rumours

‘Significant structures’ lost in West Kelowna with evacuation orders growing due to wildfires

“Significant structures” have been lost in West Kelowna due to the McDougall Creek https://globalnews.ca/tag/mcdougall-creek wildfire, officials confirmed Friday morning.

The exact number is not known but Loyal Wooldridge, chair of the Regional District Central Okanagan (RDCO) Board said structures have been lost in the Traders Cove area and Bear Lake Road in the City of West Kelowna.

He added that there has been no confirmed loss of life at this time.

BC Wildfire said the estimated size of the fire Friday morning is 6,800 hectares or 68 square kilometers. Thursday it was mapped at 1,100 hectares. |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/9904497/west-kelowna-fire-evacuation-order-structures-lost/|

#Kelowna #environment #wildfires #ClimateChange #abpoli #bcpoli

West Kelowna wildfire evacuation order expanded, now covers over 830 homes

Emergency officials in the Okanagan have significantly expanded an evacuation order for West Kelowna due to an aggressive wildfire.

People living in more than 760 properties — 143 in the Bartley Road area and 620 in the Rose Valley area — were ordered to leave immediately around 5:30 Thursday evening due to the threat of the 1,100-hectare McDougall Creek wildfire.

The total number of homes under an evacuation order sat at 831 Thursday evening.

An interactive map of all properties under evacuation order or evacuation alert can be found at the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website.

Evacuation orders in the community now cover all properties along Westside Rd from Bear Creek Forest Service Road South to Westbank First Nation IR#10, including: |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/9903347/west-kelowna-local-state-emergency/|

#Kelowna #environment #wildfires #ClimateChange #abpoli #bcpoli