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Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Nuclear reactors help power Los Angeles. Should we panic, or be grateful?
The radiation containment domes at Arizona's Palo Verde Generating Station were, truth be told, pretty boring to look at: giant mounds of concrete, snap a picture, move on. The enormous cooling towers and evaporation ponds were marginally more interesting — all that recycled water, baking in the Sonoran Desert. You know what really struck my fancy, though? The paintings on conference room walls. There were five of them, each representing one of the far-flung Southwestern cityscapes powered by Palo Verde. Two showcased Arizona: one for the Phoenix metro area — saguaro cacti and ocotillo in the foreground, freeway and skyscrapers in the background — and one for the red-rock country to the north. Another showed downtown Albuquerque. A fourth portrayed farm fields in El Paso, likely irrigated with water from the Rio Grande. Then there was an image that may have looked familiar to Southern Californians: Pacific Coast Highway, twisting through a seaside neighborhood that looks very much like Malibu before the Palisades fire. That's right: If you live in Los Angeles County, there's a good chance your computer, your phone, your refrigerator and your bedside lamp are powered, at least some of the time, by nuclear reactors. The city of L.A., Southern California Edison and a government authority composed of cities including Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena all own stakes in Palo Verde, the nation's second-largest power plant. In 2023, the most recent year for which data are available, the plant was L.A.'s single largest energy source, supplying nearly 14% of the city's electricity. The reactors supplied just over 9% of Edison's power. During a tour last month, I walked past the switchyard, a tangle of poles and wires where energy is transferred to power lines marching west and east. When all three reactors are running, the yard can transfer 'the equivalent of half of the peak [electric demand] of the state of California on its hottest day,' according to John Hernandez, vice president of site services for utility company Arizona Public Service, which runs the plant. 'So it is a massive, massive switchyard,' Hernandez said. For all the heated debate over the merits of nuclear energy as a climate change solution, the reality is it's already a climate change solution. Nuclear plants including Palo Verde generate nearly one-fifth of the nation's electricity, churning out 24/7, emissions-free power. Shutting down the nuclear fleet tomorrow would cause a giant uptick in coal and gas combustion, worsening the heat waves, wildfires and storms of the climate crisis. Phasing out the nation's 94 nuclear reactors over a period of decades, on the other hand, might be manageable — and there's a case to be made for it. Extracting uranium for use as nuclear fuel has left extensive groundwater contamination and air pollution across the Southwest, especially on tribal lands, including the Navajo Nation. 'When we talk about nuclear, thoughts often go toward spent fuel storage, or the safety of reactors themselves,' said Amber Reimondo, energy director at the Grand Canyon Trust, a nonprofit conservation group. 'But I think an often overlooked been the impacts to those who are at the beginning of the supply chain.' Reimondo participated in a panel that I moderated at Palo Verde, part of the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists. She noted that the nation's only active conventional uranium mill — where uranium is leached from crushed rock — is located in Utah, just a few miles from the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. Even during the Biden years, Reimondo said, it was tough to overcome bipartisan enthusiasm for nuclear energy and 'get folks to take seriously the impacts that [tribal] communities are feeling' from mining and milling. 'We just haven't reached a place in this country where we are listening to these folks,' she said. That dynamic has remained true during the second Trump administration. Just this week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said his agency would fast-track permitting for a uranium mine proposed by Anfield Energy in Utah's San Juan County, completing the environmental review — which would normally take a year — in just 14 days. Burgum and President Trump, like Biden-era officials before them, say it's unwise for the U.S. to rely on overseas suppliers for nearly all its uranium. But many environmental activists, even some who are fans of nuclear, believe running roughshod over Indigenous nations and public lands is disgraceful. And counterproductive. Victor Ibarra Jr., senior manager for nuclear energy at the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force, said rebuilding the U.S. nuclear power supply chain will require local buy-in — on the front end, where uranium is mined, and on the back end, where spent fuel is stored. Thus far, political opposition has derailed every attempt to build a permanent fuel storage site, meaning nuclear waste is piling up at power plants across the country. If there's any hope for more uranium mining and power plants, Ibarra said, it will involve a lot of conversations — conversations that lead to less pollution, and fewer mistakes like those made during the 20th century. 'I think it's really unfortunate that the nuclear industry has behaved the way it has in the past,' he said. The benefits of nuclear reactors are straightforward: They generate climate-friendly electricity around the clock, while taking up far less land than solar or wind farms. If building new nuclear plants were cheap and easy — and we could solve the lingering pollution and safety concerns — then doing so would be a climate no-brainer. If only. The only two nuclear reactors built in the U.S. in decades came online at Georgia Power's Vogtle plant in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and cost $31 billion, according to the Associated Press. That was $17 billion over budget. Meanwhile, efforts to build small modular reactors have proved more expensive than large nuclear plants. 'It would really be quite unprecedented in the history of engineering, and in the history of energy, for something that is much smaller to have a lower price per megawatt,' said Joe Romm, a senior researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media. 'We try to make use of the economies of scale.' Those setbacks haven't stopped wealthy investors including billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos from bankrolling efforts to bring down the cost of small modular reactors, in hopes that mini-nuclear plants will someday join solar panels and wind turbines as crucial tools in replacing planet-warming fossil fuels. I hope they succeed. But I'm not going to spend much time worrying about it. Like I said earlier: Love it or hate it, nuclear is already a huge part of the nation's power mix, including here in L.A. We've lived with it, almost always safely, for decades — at Palo Verde, at Washington state's Centralia Generating Station, at the Diablo Canyon plant on California's Central Coast. Nuclear, for all its flaws, is hardly the apocalyptic threat to humanity that its most righteous detractors make it out to be. It's also not the One True Solution to humanity's energy woes, as many of its techno-optimist devotees claim it to be. There's a reason that solar, wind and batteries made up nearly 94% of new power capacity built in the U.S. last year: They're cheap. And although other technologies will be needed to help solar and wind phase out fossil fuels, some researchers have found that transitioning to 100% clean energy is possible even without nuclear. So what's the answer? Is nuclear power good or bad? I wish it were that simple. To the extent existing nuclear plants limit the amount of new infrastructure we need to build to replace fossil fuels: good. To the extent we're unable to eliminate pollution from uranium mining: bad. To the extent small reactors might give us another tool to complement solar and wind, alongside stuff like advanced geothermal — good, although we probably shouldn't spend too much more taxpayer money on it yet. Sorry not to offer up more enthusiasm, or more outrage. The climate crisis is a big, thorny problem that demands nuance and thoughtful reflection. Not every question can be answered with a snappy soundbite. Before leaving Palo Verde, I stopped by the conference room for a last look at the paintings: Arizona. New Mexico. Texas. California. It was strange to think this plant was responsible for powering so many different places. It was strange to think the uranium concealed beneath those domes could power so many different places. This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our 'Boiling Point' podcast here. For more climate and environment news, follow @Sammy_Roth on X and @ on Bluesky.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man, 28, dies in crash on I-10; CHP says drunk driver flipped car and survived
A 28-year-old man was killed Wednesday when the car he was riding in overturned on Interstate 10 in Whitewater. The California Highway Patrol said the driver lost control while drunk at the wheel. The crash happened at 2:20 a.m. on eastbound I-10, just west of Highway 62, according to the CHP. Officer Jonathan Torres told City News Service that 25-year-old John Hernandez of Thousand Palms was driving his 2024 Honda Civic at an unconfirmed speed when he allowed the car to drift right and go out of control, causing it to roll at least once. No other vehicles were involved. Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the location a short time later and pronounced the passenger, identified only as a Cathedral City resident, dead at the scene. Torres said investigating officers soon determined Hernandez was under the influence. He was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment of unspecified injuries and was formally arrested on suspicion of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter. As of Wednesday afternoon, the suspect had not yet been booked into a county detention facility. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Man, 28, dies in rollover crash on I-10; CHP alleges driver was drunk
Associated Press
05-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Quest Leads the Charge with Market-First Identity Security and Ransomware Recovery Advancements
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quest Software, a global leader in AI-powered cybersecurity, data management, and migration, is driving the next evolution of Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) and disaster recovery—challenging outdated models and setting new standards for proactive defense and rapid recovery. As part of its unified identity cloud platform, Quest has developed two powerful market-first solutions: Security Guardian Shields Up and Disaster Recovery for Identity. With 600 million identity attacks targeting Microsoft Entra ID daily - 99% involving credential misuse - many organizations still rely on passive alerts and complex recovery processes that leave them vulnerable. 'Conventional identity and access management and security preventive controls are insufficient to protect identity systems from attack,' warns Gartner. * 'To enhance cyberattack preparedness, security and risk management leaders must add ITDR capabilities to their security infrastructure.' As identity-based attacks continue to escalate, organizations need more than just warnings. Quest is redefining ITDR and disaster recovery standards by moving beyond detection and alerts, ensuring organizations can respond, disrupt, and recover faster than ever before. Security Guardian Shields Up allows customers to temporarily freeze all changes to Tier 0 objects, disrupting attacks against Active Directory that involve lateral movement and persistence. Meanwhile, Disaster Recovery for Identity eliminates the risks of traditional backup processes by enabling instant, secure AD restoration—anytime, anywhere—even after a full-scale ransomware attack. 'The future of identity security isn't just about knowing when an attack happens—it's about stopping it in real time and recovering without disruption,' said John Hernandez, President and General Manager at Quest Software. 'With Security Guardian delivering proactive protection and response and Disaster Recovery for Identity ensuring rapid restoration, Quest is redefining what effective ITDR looks like.' For over 25 years, Quest has pioneered unmatched identity security and recovery, empowering IT teams, partners, and managed service providers (MSPs) to strengthen security and maintain control over Microsoft 365 and Entra ID environments. By prioritizing the most exploitable vulnerabilities and critical identity configurations, Quest streamlines security operations, enabling organizations to modernize identity management, prevent breaches, detect threats, respond rapidly, and recover efficiently. The Quest unified identity cloud platform has migrated 100 petabytes of data to date, backed up over 37 billion Entra ID objects over a 12-month period, and helped customers reduce their identity attack surface by over 99%. Quest simplifies identity security by equipping operators with better tools and resources, improving effectiveness while reducing the need for extensive training. Please visit the following pages to learn more about Quest's Security Guardian and Disaster Recovery for Identity. About Quest Software Quest creates software solutions that make the benefits of new technology real in an increasingly complex IT landscape. From database and systems management to Active Directory and Microsoft 365 migration and management, and cybersecurity resilience, Quest helps customers solve their next IT challenge now. Around the globe, more than 130,000 companies and 95% of the Fortune 500 count on Quest to deliver proactive management and monitoring for the next enterprise initiative, find the next solution for complex Microsoft challenges and stay ahead of the next threat. Quest Software. Where next meets now. For more information, visit Media contact: Slava Balykov PR Manager *Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
