Briefing to Highlight Power Plant Impact on Rivers
During a telephone press briefing on Thursday, June 28 the River Network will release a report that shows that Alabama and Georgia’s electricity production, water supplies and rivers are at risk. Above-normal temperatures and continuing drought conditions this summer could make local rivers too warm or too low to adequately cool power plants. If that happens, power plants may have to curtail electricity production, causing brownouts or blackouts. This problem is bound to get worse. Over the long run, the agricultural sector, municipalities and states will find themselves fighting over increasingly finite water resources. Decisions about who gets what water could affect electricity generation, drinking water- and irrigation- water availability, and the health of local rivers. The River Network report echoes the findings of a Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) report published last fall that found that the massive amount of water used by coal-fired and nuclear power plants is compromising watersheds around the country. WHO: Ulla Reeves, regional program director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Wendy Wilson, national director of the River Network’s energy and climate programs Todd Rasmussen, hydrology professor at the University of Georgia Dave Lochbaum, director of UCS’s nuclear safety project Mitch Reid, program director at the Alabama Rivers Alliance WHEN: Thursday, June 28, 2012, 11 a.m. EDT/10 a.m. CDT WHERE: Call (866) 283-8245. The password for the call: “Electricity and Water” For a downloadable infographic showing how energy and water demands clash during hot, dry summers go to: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/images/gw/infographics/energy-water-collision-extreme-heat.jpg