Illegal grow-ops use 1 per cent of total power
"People growing marijuana indoors use 1 per cent of the U.S. electricity supply," the San Francisco Business Times reports, "and they create 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year not counting the smoke exhaled" according to a report by Evan Mills, an energy analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
In order to produce some 17,000 metric tons of marijuana this year, Mills estimates authorized growers will use $5-billion US worth of energy. That works out to the output of seven big electric power plants.
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Perry presses ahead on advanced nuclear reactors
WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Rick Perry is advancing plans to shift the United States towards the next generation of nuclear reactors.
The Energy Department announced this week it has launched a new test facility at the Idaho National Laboratory where private companies can work on advanced nuclear technologies, to avoid the high costs and waste and safety concerns facing traditional nuclear power plants.
“[The National Reactor Innovation Center] will enable the demonstration and deployment of advanced reactors that will define the future of nuclear energy,” Perry said.
With climate change concerns growing, some Republicans and Democrats are arguing for the need for more…
