Fast Flux Reactor at Hanford?

Annette Cary, writing in the Tri-City Herald, reports that

"The Department of Energy has given the Tri-City Development Council $1.02 million to study whether Hanford could be used to recycle spent fuel from nuclear power plants."

The now-mothballed Fast Flux Reactor is part of the plan.

Recovery Plan for Puget Sound Chinook

EPA: Federal Register: Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans:

"DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 111506A]

Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the adoption of its Endangered Species Act (ESA) Recovery Plan (Recovery Plan) for the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU). The Recovery Plan consists of two documents: the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan prepared by the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound (the Shared Strategy Plan), and NMFS'
Final Supplement to the Shared Strategy Plan (Supplement). The Final Supplement contains revisions and additions in consideration of public comments on the Shared Strategy Plan and the draft NMFS Supplement.

ADDRESSES: Additional information about the Recovery Plan may be obtained by writing to Elizabeth Babcock, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sandpoint Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115, or calling (206)526-4505.

Persons wishing to read the Recovery Plan can obtain an electronic copy (i.e., CD-ROM) from Carol Joyce by calling (503) 230-5408 or by e-mailing a request to carol.joyce@noaa.gov, with the subject line ``CD-ROM Request for Final ESA Recovery Plan for Puget Sound Chinook Salmon.'' NMFS' summary of and response to public comments on the Shared Strategy Plan and draft Supplement will be included on the CD-
ROM. Electronic copies of these documents are also available on-line on the NMFS website, http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Recovery-Planning/Recovery-Domains/Puget-Sound/Index.cfm, or the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound website, http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Babcock, Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Coordinator at (206) 526-4505, or Elizabeth Gaar, NMFS Salmon Recovery Division at (503) 230-5434."

Satellite Tracking of Wildfires

SpaceRef

"Jan. 4, 2007 — The 2006 wildfire season in the United States set an all-time record with more than 9.8 million acres burned in more than 96,000 wildfires. NOAA satellites were key in detecting and monitoring the movement of the blazes, providing invaluable information to firefighters on the ground.
Throughout the season, NOAA's two geostationary satellites and two polar-orbiting spacecraft provided more than 200 images each day. The most hectic stretch of last year's season came between July and September, when NOAA satellites detected 98,848 hot spots."

"NOAA Increases Tsunami Warning Capability for the Most Threatened Parts of the United States"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NOAA 2006-R279
Contact: Theresa Eisenman
12/22/06
NOAA News Releases 2006


NOAA announced today the deployment of six new Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) stations in the southwest Pacific. The new stations provide increased lead time for tsunami detection to the U.S. coastal areas at most risk of tsunamis traveling long distances, including the coastlines of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.
“We have drastically improved our tsunami detection and warning capability since the Indian Ocean tsunami two years ago,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “These buoys are the latest achievement in an ongoing effort to increase the tsunami program at home and abroad.”"

A Change in Name, a Change in Focus

This blog has long been a storage site for scientific news stories that catch my fancy. Now I am going to try something more useful, an examination of scientific issues particularly relevant to citizens in the State of Washington. The focus will be on land and water, those topics I know best. And a little space stuff.