Labs
Anastasio goes to Washington
Top Los Alamos and Sandia laboratories officials are on Capitol Hill today to talk money with federal lawmakers. Their appearance comes as New Mexico and the federal government are arguing over the timeline of clean up of hazardous waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Biofuels get a boost
Principals from the New Mexico Biodiesel Policy Summit held in March have taken that groundbreaking summit a step further, forming the Southwestern Biofuels Association to promote and guide policy in use of this "green" source of energy.
Those who attended the summit received letters earlier this month about the formation of the association, which includes members of the industry, government and Sandia National Laboratories.
The group made its debut on the opening day of the Legislature's special session and has a Web site touting the Southwest, and New Mexico in particular, as well-suited for biodiesel fuels production:
The potential for New Mexico and the Southwest to become major players in the production of biofuels and biodiesel feedstocks is very promising. While the region's climate is too arid for the production of many agricultural products, some of the most important biodiesel crops are well suited to the region's high altitude, low moisture levels, and high summer heat. Where other crops would fail, crops used for biodiesel production -- such as Camelina and Jatropha -- prosper favorably in the Southwest's climate.
CA lab plan: Move plutonium to NM
By John Arnold 05/14/2008
Bloggers who keep tabs on the nation’s nuclear weapons complex are abuzz this week over a reported security failure at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos’ sister lab in California.
Time magazine reported yesterday that Livermore’s security force didn’t do well defending the lab’s plutonium repository during a mock attack. During the recent exercise, a commando team posing as terrorists penetrated the lab, “quickly overpowering its defenses to reach its `objective' -- a mock payload of fissile material."
Deadly denial: Sick nuclear weapons workers fight for compensation.
By Marjorie Childress 07/29/2008
American workers who built the nation's nuclear weapons are still fighting a cold war, and you can read all about it in Deadly Denial, a comprehensive series rolled out last week by the Rocky Mountain News.
Deadly Denial paints a grim picture of "tens of thousands" of sick nuclear weapons workers from across the country who've applied for compensation under a program put in place in 2000. But most have never seen a dime, says the Rocky Mountain News.
"Heroes from the Cold War who risked their lives to build nuclear weapon," is how Gov. Bill Richardson characterizes the workers. And regarding the lack of compensation, he told the Rocky Mountain News, "The bureaucracy has placed so many barriers, it's almost criminal that workers and their families are not being compensated."
Domenici asks Bush for help on nuke, lab funding (updated)
By John Arnold 06/24/2008
With an important vote on U.S. nuclear weapons funding looming, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is asking President Bush to pressure Congress to fund a new generation of nuclear warheads.
The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up a funding measure Wednesday that would leave out funding for the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead and make cuts to other weapons programs.
Fungus to the biofuel rescue?
By Joel Gay 05/05/2008Can a fungus really help in the production of biofuels? Researchers believe so. Some say a particular fungus known mostly famously for devouring the cotton uniforms of WWII soldiers could break down a wide variety of plant fibers into simple sugars, and perhaps be the key to the industrial production of ethanol that doesn't require corn and other valuable foodstuffs.
House committee wants nuke cuts
By John Arnold 06/19/2008
A House subcommittee has voted for a modest cut to the U.S. nuclear weapons budget, which funds thousands of jobs at New Mexico's national laboratories.
The House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee cut $100 million -- or 1.6 percent -- from this year's budget. The Bush Administration has asked for an increase in weapons funding, but as the Albuquerque Journal reported this morning, lawmakers said the nation's nuclear weapons program lacks the focus and direction to make that committment:
Hydrogen tour comes to Albuquerque
By Denise Tessier 08/20/2008
Eleven hydrogen-powered vehicles from major automakers like BMW, GM, Honda and Toyota will be available for public view -- and some for short test drives -- from 2 to 4 p.m. today at the Sandia Science & Technology Park.According to Sandia National Labs, several of the hydrogen-fueled cars will be displayed in the parking lot of the Ktech building at Eubank Boulevard and Gibson Avenue SE, and some will be available for test drives.
Is LANL saving dough or skirting scrutiny?
By John Arnold 04/23/2008Los Alamos National Laboratory is looking beyond Congress to fund big construction projects. Administrators say it's a way to save money. LANL critics say the nuclear weapons lab is simply looking for a way to skirt congressional scrutiny.
Keeping tabs on TB
By Denise Tessier 08/14/2008 | 3 CommentsInternational travel and bio-terrorism have upped the ante in the need for quick turnaround times in disease forensics. But quick turnarounds require that scientists and clinicians have access to a pathogen-centric database. Three scientists explain to NMI how such a national database for one of today's greatest health threats -- tuberculosis -- could be up and running in six months at the University of New Mexico.
King to sign shield law letter
By Denise Tessier 06/16/2008
State Attorney General Gary King will be signing a letter of support for a federal shield law for journalists this week.
If 36 state attorneys general sign on, the National Association of Attorneys General has said it will officially support the legislation at the national level, and possibly break a logjam in the U.S. Senate on S. 2035, the Free Flow of Information Act.
LANL draws candidates
By John Arnold 04/15/2008New Mexico’s battle for U.S. Senate is headed to the birthplace of the atomic bomb, where Rep. Heather Wilson is scheduled to address Los Alamos National Laboratory workers Wednesday.
LANL to house world's fastest supercomputer
By John Arnold 06/09/2008 | 1 Comment
Beep. Beep. Make way for Roadrunner -- the world's fastest computer. The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that the IBM-built machine, which will be housed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has broken the petaflop barrier. That's geek speak for the number of calculations the computer's processors are capable of performing -- 1,000 trillion operations per second in the case of Roadrunner. In today's news release, the Energy Department described it this way:
To put this into perspective, if each of the 6 billion people on earth had a hand calculator and worked together on a calculation 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, it would take 46 years to do what Roadrunner would do in one day.
McCain talks wilderness, economy, immigration
By Heath Haussamen 07/14/2008 | 9 CommentsMcCain granted an approximately 25-minute interview today to five New Mexico reporters -- including NMI's Heath Haussamen -- who rode with him on the Straight Talk Express, his campaign bus, from the Albuquerque International Airport to a campaign fundraiser at the Hilton Albuquerque.
More $$ needed to stop spread of nukes
By John Arnold 04/30/2008A former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory testified on Capitol Hill today that the U.S. needs to spend more money on keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states.
New nuke design down, but not out
By John Arnold 06/04/2008
Los Alamos voters may have heavily favored Republican U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson in Tuesday’s primary, but the statewide winner, Steve Pearce, is a key congressional ally to a controversial nuclear weapons program that "would mean plenty of high-end jobs at Los Alamos National Laboratory," Politico.com is reporting.
NM solicits perceptions of Los Alamos from those who live nearby
By benito aragon 07/08/2008 | 2 Comments
The State of New Mexico has organized "listening sessions" to evaluate the issues and perceptions of residents who live near Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Notice of these sessions appeared a week after an AP story reported northern New Mexico resident's concern over the U.S. Department of Energy proposal to increase plutonium pit production at the nuclear weapons lab by over 800%. Plutonium pits are the core of nuclear warheads.
Nuclear uncertainty
By John Arnold 06/02/2008 | 1 CommentNuclear policy experts and arms control advocates are closely watching the state's congressional elections, which will reshape the state's congressional delegation in the absence of retiring U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici -- a man who some think has helped influence the country's nuclear weapons policy through his years of tenacious support for Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories.
Pearce Nuke Funding Measures Go Down
By John Arnold 05/23/2008
The Arms Control Wonk notes today that Rep. Steve Pearce's last ditch effort to restore some funding for a new nuclear warhead design has failed. Pearce, a Republican from New Mexico's southern congressoinal district, had introduced an amendment to the FY 2009 National Defense Authorization Act that would have restored $10 million for the Reliable Replacment Warhead (RRW).
Report questions LANL nuke production
By John Arnold 06/02/2008 | 1 Comment
Political change isn't the only challenge New Mexico's national labs are facing. Federal investigators released a report Monday underscoring the uncertain future of Los Alamos National Laboratory's nuclear weapons mission.
The General Accountability Office concluded that that the National Nuclear Security Administration has significantly underestimated the cost of producing plutonium bomb cores at the lab and that NNSA's long-term strategy for pit production is in "a state of flux." GAO investigators also found that LANL lacks adequate lab, storage and waste handling facilities to expand its pit production capability "for the foreseeable future."