Daily Archives: May 7, 2022

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, is open to the possibility of delaying the closure of the states last operational nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, according to media reports, but some industry players remain skeptical about the feasibility of such an effort.

Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that Newsom may try to delay the retirement of the plant, currently scheduled to occur in 2024 and 2025 when the federal licenses for its two units expire. Newsom told the newspapers editorial board that California could try to tap into the $6 billion in federal funding announced in February for nuclear reactors facing retirement, noting that the state would be remiss not to put that on the table as an option.

Some experts, however, are skeptical about whether the plant can and should be kept open, given the process that would be required to get its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license extended, as well as recent efforts in the state to build gigawatts of clean energy generation to replace it.

There have always been groups in California pushing to keep the 2,240 MW Diablo Canyon plant open, because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas-free generation it provides, but its somewhat surprising to change course at this point, given the work that the California Public Utilities Commission has done to replace that resource, Seth Hilton, partner at Stoel Rives, said.

And the fact that [Diablo Canyon] is supposed to retire in 2024 and 2025 thats not a long runway to change course, he added.

Pacific Gas & Electrics (PG&E)Diablo Canyon plant provides roughly 15% of Californias carbon-free electricity. In 2018, state regulators approved a settlement to shutter the plant completely in 2024 and 2025, but some experts have maintained that there are benefits to keeping the plant online. Last November, a report from experts at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that California could reduce its power sector emissions by over 10% from 2017 levels and save $2.6 billion in electric system costs by continuing to operate the plant through 2035.

PG&E in 2009 applied to the NRC to extend the Diablo Canyon plants license for another 20 years beyond the 2024 and 2025 expiration dates. However, the utility withdrew that application in 2018, following the decision to shutter the plant. The Stanford and MIT study stated that NRC staff typically conduct license extension reviews in less than 22 months, and the Diablo Canyon review could be shorter, given that some work was completed on it when PG&E first submitted its renewal application. Moreover, the report stated that if the plants current license expires while a new application is being reviewed at the NRC, the facility could continue operating until that process is completed.

Its very tight, but its possible, Jacopo Buongiorno, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and lead author of the study, said, on whether Diablo Canyons license renewal process could be completed before the plant is scheduled to retire.

If PG&E were to opt out of pursuing such a process, an alternative is that another company could buy the plant and do so, he added.

In response to Newsom's comments, PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral said in an emailed statement that the utility is proud of the role that the Diablo Canyon power plant plays in California.

We are always open to considering all options to ensure continued safe, reliable, and clean energy delivery to our customers, Corral said.

Other experts, however, dont think that pursuing a license renewal process for Diablo Canyon is feasible at this point.

If they were going to extend the life of the plants, theyd have to reapply to the NRC and that would mean preparing the applications again. And I think enough has changed since they originally submitted, that that would be a pretty heavy lift, Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said.

If the decision to keep the plant open were made tomorrow, it is highly unlikely that Diablo Canyon's Unit 1 would receive a renewal before its license expired, although that would still be possible for Unit 2, according to Lyman.

And on the issue of whether another party could take over ownership of Diablo Canyon and move forward with the renewal process, they would have to transfer the existing license to a new entity and that in itself is a regulatory action that could be subject to challenge, he said.

Any application for license renewal requires detailed plans to account for the effects of aging on plant systems, and an environmental report that requires time to develop, NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell said in an email. The agencys staff currently aims to complete the safety and environmental review of a docketed license renewal application in 18 months.

If a plant applies for renewal more than five years before its license is set to expire, it could get the benefit of continuing to operate even if something delays the final NRC decision past its expiration date, he added but if the application is filed with less than five years remaining on the license, the plant would likely have to lay out a legal and technical justification for this treatment, he said.

While Newsom does not have authority over Diablo Canyons license, he is in support of keeping all options on the table to ensure we have a reliable grid, especially as we head into a summer where CAISO expects California could have more demand than supply during the kind of extreme events that California has experienced over the past two summers.This includes considering an extension to Diablo Canyon, which continues to be an important resource as we transition to clean energy," Newsom spokesperson Erin Mellon said in an email.

However, in the long term, the Governor continues to support the closure of Diablo Canyon as we transition to clean energy while ensuring the reliability of our energy grid, Mellon added.

Another issue is that while Newsom talked about tapping into federal funding for nuclear plants with the Los Angeles Times, the Diablo Canyon facility may not be eligible for that funding, according to Ralph Cavanagh, energy program co-director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who was involved with the negotiation of the original joint proposal to retire and replace the plant. The federal subsidies are only available to plants that are operating with short-term losses and arent recovering their operating costs, which PG&E is fully recovering, he noted.

Theres also the broader question of whether, even if it could, California should consider extending the life of Diablo Canyon to help bolster reliability as well as decarbonization efforts.

Californias energy agencies have concluded that the California Independent System Operators grid is short around 1,500 MW to 2,000 MW of needed generating capacity between now and 2026, CAISO spokesperson Anne Gonzales said in an email. The past two summers, she added, have demonstrated that the state needs additional resources to account for extreme conditions and supply delays that are not adequately captured in the traditional planning metrics.

Although Californias grid is in better shape than last year, it requires additional resources to ensure reliable energy during the summer months, when it could face extreme temperatures, drought, wildfires and low hydroelectric supplies, Gonzales said.

Last year, the CPUC issued a procurement order for 11.5 GW of clean energy resources the largest ever capacity ordered by the agency in one shot to help replace the Diablo Canyon plant as well as a suite of natural gas plants that are expected to retire soon. The agency and load-serving entities are well into procuring resources to replace that capacity, Hilton pointed out.

That order will help replace Diablo Canyons capacity, and its ability to meet grid reliability requirements, Mark Specht, Western states energy manager and senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, agreed although regulators could be more carefully thinking through what it means to replace the plant without an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

If all else remains the same, thats an easy question to answer, whether youre replacing it without an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, Specht said. But the grid is changing very rapidly so there are a lot of other factors at play here, and its not all that straightforward to determine whether were replacing Diablo Canyon without an increase in emissions.

In addition, the retirement of the Diablo Canyon plant is tied into Californias offshore wind plans, Hilton noted regulators are currently looking to preserve some of the transmission capacity off the Morro Bay area that will be freed up after the nuclear plant goes offline and use it for offshore wind.

Meanwhile, efforts to build out renewable and storage projects have faced their own share of challenges, including interconnection issues, soaring commodity prices for lithium, and tariff issues.

At the same time, Diablo Canyon isnt scheduled to shut down for another few years, Specht said, and so unless those supply chain issues really continue year after year, Im hopeful those wont be a huge barrier to getting resources online to replace Diablo."

Another source of hope for Californias longer-term reliability needs is the continued progress on Western grid integration and better coordination among all the power systems in the region, according to Cavanagh. This week, for instance, he noted, two major regional electric providers the Bonneville Power Administration and Tucson Electric Power joined the Western Energy Imbalance Market, a real-time wholesale energy trading market in the West.

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Gov. Newsom open to extending Diablo Canyon nuclear plant's life, but analysts differ on feasibility and need - Utility Dive

Organizers have found a new long-term home for the uprooted Steamboat Springs Roots Community Garden, and volunteers and donations are needed to help bring the garden to life by this summer.

With physical efforts just beginning on the site now, the garden at the intersection of Pine Grove Road and Central Park Drive still needs a lot of work. But with community volunteer help, this summer, the approximately quarter-acre site will include 20 raised garden beds 4-by-8 feet in size available for use by community members, nonprofits and gardeners needing handicap accessible sites. The Routt County CSU Extension office staff currently are accepting names of interested individuals or groups wanting to tend a plot or to volunteer.

Its really an opportunity for people to come together and be a community around plants and nourishment and working together, said volunteer Trigg Gerber, a CSU master gardener.

Community members will have the opportunity to work at the community garden site on the morning of May 18, as part of the United Way Day of Caring, as well as on the afternoon of May 19.

The use of the land, the cost to bring a water line to the edge of the property and future water bills are being donated by UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, whose employees may garden in one of the plots too, said Eli Nykamp, YVMC director of operations. The former building at the garden site served as various businesses through the years including for pediatric therapy for the hospital.

The former Roots Community Garden in Steamboat was a project of Leadership Steamboat in 2010, but that downtown site off Oak Street is under construction for the new Health and Human Services building.

Community members who would like to learn more can visit the Steamboat Springs Roots Community Garden public group on Facebook. The group page also includes a link to a crowd-sourcing fundraising page where donors have already contributed $1,700 toward a $5,000 goal. The donated funds will be used for a garden shed, wildlife fencing and a water pipe delivery system to bring water to the plots, said lead volunteer organizer Kelly Bastone from Steamboat Springs.

Bastone said the community garden construction is supported by a $10,000 donation from the Moniker Foundation in Colorado Springs, $1,000 from Ski Town USA Morning Rotary Club and in-kind donations from local businesses such as KP Landscapes and Natures Design.

Many of the CSU-trained master gardeners will help at the site and plan to host future educational talks, said Todd Hagenbuch, Routt County CSU Extension director. Organizers plan to have the plots ready for planting by early June. Of the 20 raised planting beds, five will be an accessible height for use by gardeners in wheelchairs and three will be tended through local nonprofit groups.

We have a lot of community interest and people ready to roll up their sleeves, Bastone said.

To reach Suzie Romig, call 970-871-4205 or email sromig@SteamboatPilot.com.

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Volunteers, donations needed to bring relocated community garden to life - Steamboat Pilot & Today

Every year millions of people cross borders to undergo medical treatments that are either unavailable in their home country or too expensive. For many, this is a last resort to ease the pain of a debilitating disease or defy a terminal diagnosis; for others the goals are purely cosmetic. But in the past few years a new type of medical tourist has emerged: those seeking to radically extend their lives.

There are more older people than ever before and more people in search of longevity. In the UK, people over the age of 65 made up 19% of the population in 2019, a jump of 23% from 2009, in a period when the total population only increased by 7%. And recent advancements in the science of ageing have given them hope that they dont have to go so gently into that good night after all.

But while science has made some promising breakthroughs in studying the causes and implications of ageing, real solutions are some way off. In that gap between supply and demand, a host of fraudsters and scam artists are ready to take advantage of anyone gullible enough to believe they can pay a little extra for a few extra years among the living. Many offer their services abroad, in countries where regulation is light.

Medical tourism has produced a steady stream of horror stories since cheaper air travel kickstarted a rise in its popularity, from botched nose jobs and broken smiles to a fair number of deaths. Despite this, it remains a gigantic industry. According to Patients Beyond Borders, the global medical tourism market was worth $74bn-$92bn (59bn-73bn) in 2019.

A prime example is stem cell therapies, regenerative treatments aiming to use the bodys building-block cells to rejuvenate and fix damage caused by disease or deterioration an area of research with a lot of potential but relatively few established and approved treatments available to patients. However, the potential effects, most often exaggerated or unsubstantiated, lure the desperate to travel far and wide to seek treatments, sometimes from practitioners of ill repute. According to research published last year, the leading countries for stem cell tourism are the US, China, India, Thailand and Mexico. The same report states that stem cell technologies are often associated with inflated expectations of their therapeutic potential.

Stem cell therapies can also help with cancer and other illness, but during my reporting for my book The Price of Immortality: The Race to Live Forever, I found a number of examples of US-based stem cell companies offering miracle cures and solutions to ageing. One clinic in Iowa was found to have made outrageous claims in presentations to potential clients. Anti-Aging: Mesenchymal Stem Cell infusions turned back the hands of Father Time about three years! Would you like to get back three years? read one slide of sales material, collected by the state attorney generals office that was suing the company for false advertising.

Even when prosecuted or disciplined in one country, stem cell practitioners have been known to move on and continue to offer the same services elsewhere. One in Florida had his medical licence revoked in 2015, after two of his patients undergoing stem cell therapy had died. When I looked up the name of the doctor, he was listed as the chief science officer at another stem cell company. A cheerful receptionist told me on a call that the clinic was still operational and carrying out procedures in the Dominican Republic, a medical tourism hotspot.

Stem cell therapies are not the only anti-ageing offerings luring people abroad for treatment. The nascent field of gene therapies is in a similar position, where promising research has yet to result in accessible interventions. I also recently heard from a life extension enthusiast in the US who planned to travel to France to undergo plasmapheresis, a procedure he claimed would rejuvenate his blood and give him a better chance of living until he was 500.

In some cases, patients dont need even need to fly abroad to access drugs that have the potential to make them live longer. I spoke to an elderly woman in London who buys the cancer drug dasatinib from a website in India, and takes it in the hope it will destroy senescent cells, which are thought to play an integral role in the ageing process.

Gerontologists and other researchers find the practice frustrating. Several scientists I spoke to, particularly in the stem cell field, are worried these clinics are making a quick buck on the back of their breakthroughs while damaging the reputation of these nascent medical technologies. They preach patience, a virtue in short supply for people who see the end of their lives on the horizon.

Medical tourism presents clear dangers. Patients may not find the same standard of care they are used to at home, and it is harder to establish that the doctor or clinic is legitimate. Patients can also suffer from side-effects if they fly home too early after a procedure; communication barriers can also cause issues.

For someone seeking treatment they cant afford at home or a last-gasp unapproved cure for a deadly disease, these risks are worth taking. But for people merely seeking to improve their chances of living radically extended lives, the gamble is much larger, particularly when theres no evidence that any medical intervention could work. In a best-case scenario, they leave with a lighter wallet. In the worst, their quest to live a little longer is cut ironically short.

The Price Of Immortality by Peter Ward (Melville House, 20). To support The Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

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Medical tourists are travelling the world in search of the elixir of life - The Guardian

By Ethan Stoetzer

Preparing the annual Christmas lasagna with her grandfather was a staple Alyssa Rosenbaum came to look forward to every year. The annual tradition of learning the art of her familys cooking from scratch not only reinforced her close-knit family, but also was the inspiration for her lifes passion: food.

I dont really know how it started, but it is something my siblings and parents really value, said Rosenbaum, senior in culinary food science and horticulture. Its kind of the way we bond with each other.

This love of food not only inspired a rigorous academic journey, but also a riveting story of adventure and self-discovery.

This May, Rosenbaum will leave Iowa State with a resume that can only be described as ambitious. Her tenacity in her curiosity is one that has yielded four internships, a study abroad service-learning experience, two executive club member positions, membership in a sorority, and two bachelor of science degrees. In recognition of her many accomplishments, Rosenbaum will serve as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Marshal, leading her fellow classmates in the procession of CALS graduates during Iowa State Universitys commencement ceremony May 14.

Reflecting on her time at Iowa State, Rosenbaum said the outcomes have really exceeded her expectations of herself and her effort, considering when she first arrived on campus in fall 2017, she was in pursuit of not a career in food science, but in horticulture.

Following her passion for food through high school, Rosenbaum thought the only career she could have that involved food was as a chef. When a community garden opportunity opened in her neighborhood, she quickly got her hands dirty and became more invested in food at its source: the ground. While she doesnt come from a family with an agricultural background, a farm, or a relatively green-thumb, Rosenbaum soon found herself swept up in how fruits and vegetables are cultivated and harvested. She decided to pursue her passion for horticulture at Iowa State.

It wasnt until what she describes as a random opportunity on a golf course in Virginia that Rosenbaum considered wanting more. During a summer 2018 internship where she grew fruits and vegetables for the clubhouse kitchen, she realized she wanted to do something that would transcend just cooking and preparing food.

Before I came to Iowa State, I had only heard about food science, but didnt really know what that meant, Rosenbaum said. I felt like I was missing something. Food has always been stuck in my head, so I thought about how I could incorporate these two aspects. I knew from experience that I wanted to have a larger impact than just growing produce. That wasnt enough for me. I wanted to have something else where I was combining other aspects together.

In the fall of her sophomore year, Rosenbaum integrated culinary food science as her double major, satisfying her scientific curiosity in the overlap of concepts between the two. With a heavy background in cooking, she was now able to follow her ingredients from seed, to plant, to produce before they were processed into a cereal, a meal, a can, the freezer, or wherever else it was destined to become food.

From there, Rosenbaum went on to earn an internship at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach as a Rising Star intern in northwest Iowa, educating youth about growing fresh produce. She then interned at an orchard in Nebraska City, Nebraska, working in retail and aiding in food safety rules and regulations. Finally, she landed a two-year stint with the culinary food science program in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, where she hosted and taught food workshops, demonstrations and other promotional activities. Thats not including her two-year executive stint in the Culinary Food Science Club the last two years as special events chair and then president of the club.

I remember in high school, people thought it wouldnt be feasible to do my double major, that itd be extremely difficult, Rosenbaum said. People told me to choose one or the other. I decided to not listen to those people. If you set your mind to something, you can make it happen. Although it took me more time and scheduling, it was worth it. Just go ahead and do those things that you want to do.

As she completes her final semester in the EARTH Program in U.S. Virgin Islands, Rosenbaum said she has achieved a level of balance in her passions. This fall she will continue her education at the Virginia Institute of Technology, studying food microbiology and agriculture in relation to food safety. Her desired final landing place is an educational position in a university, extension, or private setting, where she can embody the tenants of teaching her grandfather shared with her over lasagna every year.

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From farm to food science: CALS student marshal blooms both in the garden and in the lab - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences