Sustainability Weekly
Mondays are for…
Small Nuclear Reactors, Heat Waves, EPA cuts and more!
by Alli DiGiacomo
Happy Monday! Don’t forget the next 4 Saturday’s are NYC’s Open Streets where cars are blocked off from 7am-3pm. Check out the maps here. This week there are tours of the North Meadow Butterfly Garden happening in Central Park on July 21, 24, and 26th. Also happening this summer is NYC Parks offers ongoing “Nature Events” such as hayrides, farm visits, workshops- check the Parks site for schedule, as well as the Jazz in July at Brooklyn Botanical Garden on Thursday nights. Hopefully you make time to get outside and enjoy the summer before its over!
Keep reading for sustainability news…
T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S
ARE SMALL NUCLEAR REACTORS THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY?
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are getting a lot of global attention right now as countries look for cleaner, more reliable energy to meet growing electricity demand. These smaller nuclear power systems range from about 1 to several hundred megawatts, and they’re being pitched as faster, cheaper, and more flexible alternatives to traditional nuclear plants. Currently there are 74 SMR designs in development worldwide. 50 of them are working through early regulatory stages across 15 countries.
Even though the SMR concept has been around for decades as it is similar technology as existing nuclear plants, most projects never made it that far due to high costs, regulatory delays, and concerns about nuclear waste and safety. Only two commercial SMRs are operating today, one in China and a floating barge-based reactor in Russia.
Canada is building a four-reactor SMR project in Ontario that could generate 1.2 GW by 2030. In the U.S., the Tennessee Valley Authority just submitted plans to build a reactor in Tennessee, and companies like Kairos Power and Bill Gates’ TerraPower are also working on SMRs using molten salt or sodium cooling. The Trump administration is aiming to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050 and fast-tracking approvals to get these reactors up and running, so there is hope that the $15 billion public and private financing behind this SMR movement behind will be successful.
POLITICIANS ARE PUSHING TO DECLARE HEAT WAVES AS NATURAL DISASTERS
Heat is currently the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., but because it's not on FEMA’s disaster list, federal resources often aren’t available, even during deadly heat waves. A group of Democratic lawmakers is pushing to officially recognize the underrated extreme heat as a major disaster under federal law, which could open up FEMA funding to help communities better respond to heat waves. Senators Ruben Gallego and Jacky Rosen, along with Rep. Sylvia Garcia, reintroduced a bill to update the Stafford Act (the law that guides federal disaster responses) so extreme heat can be treated like hurricanes or wildfires.
Public health and emergency experts have been frustrated with the lack of support and urgency, especially as heat waves grow more intense with climate change. The bill could help fund emergency cooling centers, water stations, or infrastructure upgrades like shade trees and more efficient insulation. Part of the challenge is that heat doesn’t always damage physical infrastructure, which FEMA prioritizes. Some people point out that recent heat waves have caused roads to crack, train tracks to warp, and power grid systems to strain. Heat-related labor productivity losses, especially for outdoor workers, could reach half a trillion dollars a year by 2050.
EPA CUTS ITS RESEARCH OFFICE AND HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES
The EPA just announced it's shutting down its main scientific research office that studies how pollution and chemicals affect human health and the environment, as well as plans to lay off hundreds of biologists, chemists, toxicologists, and other scientists whose work helps determine safe pollution levels for regulations. This comes after a recent Supreme Court decision that allows the Trump administration to shrink the federal workforce and reorganize agencies while legal challenges play out. Lee Zeldin has been denying these plans for months, but now it’s official. Since Trump took office, the EPA has already lost over 3,700 employees, and with this latest round of cuts, the agency’s workforce will shrink to levels not seen since the 1980s.
This is both dangerous and alarming because the research office helps guide key public health regulations such as the impact of wildfire smoke, fracking, chemical contamination, among others to keep us safe. The closure will weaken protections and politicize science. Top scientists are quitting rapidly, and even longtime EPA leaders are calling the move reckless and cruel. Unsurprisingly Trump supporters and the oil industry are applauding the decision, while environmental advocates say the gutting of the EPA’s science wing will have serious consequences for public health and climate readiness.
MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Why the federal government is making climate data disappear.
NYC to close Brooklyn concrete recycling facility loathed by neighbors.
How the Biosphere 2 experiment changed our understanding of the Earth.
22 young people from across the country sued the Trump administration over the executive orders, which prioritize the expansion of fossil fuels and violate young people’s rights to a stable climate.
A former project manager helped Microsoft build AI to help the climate. Then Microsoft sold it to Big Oil.
In good waterway news: Europe is restoring its dirtiest river.
North Dakota researchers are examining whether they can pair geothermal power with active oil and gas drilling sites and use captured carbon as a feedstock for geothermal power production.
Beyond Greenwashing: AIA Funds Radical Rethinks of Building Materials, Tools, and Public Space.
France built a new bike and pedestrian crossing off the side of an old railroad bridge, connecting the car-free city center of Albi to a new development across a river. This is good news because it is creaccting communities that work better for people (not cars) by creatively using existing infrastructure, not starting from scratch.
Community-based volunteer patrolling efforts in Brazil’s Amazon reduced environmental crimes by 80% in a decade.
President Trump on Thursday signed four proclamations allowing certain highly polluting industries such as coal plants and iron processing facilities to bypass regulations established by the Biden administration.
New York’s Public Service Commission decided Thursday against moving forward with a major transmission project that would have had the capacity to deliver at least 4,770 megawatts of offshore wind power to New York City by the early 2030s.
Microsoft signed a deal to purchase 4.9 million metric tons of CO2 removal from Vaulted Deep, a waste management startup. The deal runs through 2038 and represents “the second-largest carbon removal deal to date.”
An $88m pollution-tracking satellite is missing in space.