The Stream, June 3: Energy Shortages

Radioactive water rising in Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant could start overflowing from service trenches within days and leak into the sea, Bloomberg reports.

With scarce coal and water resources, Tianjin — China’s third biggest city — is bracing for electricity shortfalls that could reach 1.5 gigawatts this summer, Reuters reports.

France’s record spring drought is threatening electricity supplies, as low water levels cripple the hydroelectric output and make it hard to cool nuclear plants, the source of 70 percent of the country’s energy, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Check out this photo essay documenting how soaring food prices are threatening communities in Azerbaijan.

An overhaul of South Africa’s current energy can cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent in 2050 compared to 1990 levels and save taxpayers 23 billion dollars per year, even as the economy and population continue to grow, according to a report by the European Renewable Energy Council and Greenpeace.

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