Releasing contaminated water into the ocean or other water bodies could have severe, long-term impacts on drinking water supplies and aquatic life.

In an opinion piece in Governing, LZ Granderson assesses the potential impact of nuclear waste on the world’s bodies of water, just as Japan begins to release contaminated (if diluted) water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean and a Canadian power plant is proposing storing nuclear waste a half mile away from a Great Lake.
According to Granderson, “The prospect of releasing radioactive water into the ocean should scare people more than a little,” adding, “Anyone trying to persuade us otherwise is preying on our flawed old thinking about water and the ocean — that they’re infinite and unchanging.”
While nuclear energy does help reduce carbon emissions, the threat to our drinking water supply and sea life shouldn’t be underestimated, Granderson writes. “In response to the decision to dump radioactive water, China has already banned all Japanese seafood imports, a crushing blow given it’s one of Japan’s top seafood export destinations.”
Granderson concludes with a warning: “Scientists have offered assurance that properly treated radioactive water will have only negligible effects when further diluted in the ocean. But experts also assured us that the Fukushima power plant was safe, until it wasn’t.”
FULL STORY: Nuclear Power Could Save Our Air Quality. At What Cost to the Water?

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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