Stories: Energy
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The Market for the One Energy Source That’s a Menace to Civilization Is Absolutely Mind-Boggling
Uranium isn’t like other commodities for one very simple reason: It’s impossible to vaporize an entire city with a single petroleum- or coal-based weapon that’s smaller than a two-seat car. What makes uranium so promising as a source of energy is also what makes it a potential menace to civilization. The problem,...
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Earthquake Strains Nepal’s Already Shaky, But Potentially Powerful, Electricity Sector
Reliable access to electricity was already tenuous in most parts of Nepal before last month’s mammoth earthquake. Now, with many villages and municipalities here about to enter their second week without power — and with little expectation that the outages can be addressed quickly, given the extent of damage to the nation’s already fragile...
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Kazakhstan: No Longer Butt of Joke
It doesn’t take more than a few minutes in Astana — Kazakhstan’s futuristic new capital — to make you forget what little you may have assumed about the country, most of it no doubt from a certain Sacha Baron Cohen movie. Until about a decade ago, Astana was “an insignificant provincial town,...
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Powering Business in Tanzania: How Solar Power Is Lighting Up Business in Rural East Africa
It takes only an hour’s drive from the major Tanzanian city of Arusha to arrive in Oldonyo-Sambu. While the distance connecting the small village famous for its giant market and a national hub, electricity has yet to arrive for the villagers. The Italian conservation organization Oikos helped establish a solar energy program for the village in 2009. Technicians...
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Pakistan’s Biggest Challenge Is Not the Taliban; It’s Electricity
For Pakistan’s new government, the biggest challenge isn’t taming the many militant groups that mount near daily attacks across the country. “Our No. 1 challenge is energy,” Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s new Minister for Water and Power, tells TIME. “It’s a bigger challenge than even terrorism.” While...