With nearly a year gone since Fukushima, I took a look at one possible alternative for nuclear fuel called thorium. Proponents haven’t had much luck getting either private industry or the U.S. labs to build a thorium reactor, but they’re hoping for some help from Congress to get it off the ground. Here’s my report in this Tuesday’s Washington Post.
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There’s been lots of ink spilled over the past two months as the centennial of the discovery of the South Pole – and the race between Amundsen and Scott – is remembered. What sometimes is forgotten is that Scott’s expedition, even though it turned out to be a disaster, was primarily a scientific one. His colleagues returned with thousands of samples, new findings and even new theories about the origins of Antarctica. Here’s more in a piece for the Washington Post’s Health/Science page. Got up early to talk about the South Pole rescue mission to pick up Renee Douceur, who had a stroke back in August. Here’s clip of my interview on CBS Early Show today. And here’s my report for Discovery News from a few days ago that included an interview with Douceur. Word from NSF is that flight may be canceled because of severe cold, which turns aviation fuel into jelly. Here’s my Oct. 17 interview with national talk show host Jim Bohannon of CBS Radio/Westwood One on the South Pole rescue, starting at 1:25:50 to 1:37:00. http://www.jimbotalk.net/programhighlights
Last week, I spent a few days at the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, a contest for college teams to design and build energy effecient, solar-powered homes all within $250,000 and 1,000 square feet. Some of the projects were inspiring, and incredible to see where technology and green homes are headed. I followed the Kiwi team of New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington in this report for PRI’s The World which includes a slideshow of images I took. Last month, I also reported for The World on the controversy over the Keystone XL project, which would pipe oil from Alberta’s tar sands deposits south through the Midwest to Texas refineries. The 10-day protest at the White House saw celebrities and environmentalists join religious leaders and college students. My first travel piece appeared today in the Washington Post, an account of our recent trip to Holbox Island, Mexico, which is just off the Yucatan Peninsula, not too far from Cancun. We had a great time, and I really have to recommend the food, nature and of course, the chance to get up close with a 24-foot whale shark. Read it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/on-mexicos-isla-holbox-even-the-sharks-are-peaceful/2011/08/04/gIQAcCR6AJ_story.html?hpid=z12 I’ve been doing some reporting for PRI’s The World over the past few weeks, and found a Filipino teacher who had been teaching in nearby Prince Georges County since last August on an expired visa. The county told him he was overstaying his visa, and was fired in the same meeting. He’s a special education teacher who helped start an autism program. Here’s his story on The World, one that keeps happening across the country. Here are some recent reports I’ve filed for the Health/Science page at The Washington Post: Do It Yourself Radiation Monitoring (3/21/11) King Crabs Invade Antarctica (3/20/11) Digging for Ancient Whales In a Virginia Quarry (3/14/11) Tractor Caravan Supplies South Pole Scientists; Robot Replacements Considered (2/8/11) IceCube Opens Up A Window on Energy In the Universe (2/8/11)
Here are some of my recent radio reports from Antarctica that aired on PRI/BBC’s “The World.” Climate Change Affects Antarctica’s Animals. Remembering Explorer Robert F. Scott: Hero or Failure? Visit to a Glacier: Capturing Ancient Atmosphere in Ice Bubbles. And check out this video of my failed attempt to drop an ice core down a deep hole. I’ve put together some images from my trip here at this Flickr gallery. I just finished Roland Huntford’s excellent 1979 bio of both Amundsen and Scott “The Last Place on Earth,” a devastating book that portrays the British Naval officer as an incompetent neurotic bumbler who was ill-prepared for the his race to the South Pole in 1911-12. I retraced some of Scott’s steps last month during my brief one-week visit to McMurdo Station and the South Pole as part of the NSF’s Antarctica journalism program. I found that many folks living and working there still talk about Scott, and the kind of obstacles he faced and the decisions he made. I put together this piece for Discovery News about Scott’s legacy that includes a few of my photos from a quick helicopter trip to Cape Evans, where Scott and his party wintered in 1911 in preparation for the final push to the pole. |
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Copyright © 2012 Eric Niiler - All Rights Reserved |
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