Lascher at Large » Events of Temporal Proximity

Research shakes up seismic knowledge near Northwest nuclear plant

Bill — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:20:36 +0000

Letters sent as part of the licensing process reveal the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had multiple questions for Energy Northwest about the assumptions it used to develop its response plan for potential accidents. Among the questions: Why did Energy Northwest continue to use 15-year-old studies as the basis for earthquake preparations at the Columbia Generating Station -- the Northwest's only commercial nuclear reactor -- when much more up-to-date information about the region's seismic profile were available from the USGS and Hanford itself? [...]

Uncertainty, seismic risks and nuclear regulation

Bill — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 01:30:09 +0000

This is a copy of a blog post I wrote today at spot.us to update supporters about my work on a story exploring the seismic dangers that could face the Columbia Generating Station near Richland, Washington. Click here to read more about that story and how you can help make it happen.

In more than [...]

Following a War Correspondent’s Footsteps to the Oil Spill

Bill — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:39:47 +0000

Will following the footsteps of Melville Jacoby, a World War II correspondent and my grandmother's cousin, help me cover the gulf oil spill? [...]

All Things Not Considered in NPR’s Oil Drilling Coverage

Bill — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:18:25 +0000

Yesterday afternoon President Obama shocked the country when he announced plans to open parts of the Atlantic and Alaskan coasts to oil drilling. Though the Pacific Coast was left untouched, the move could open up huge expanses of ocean elsewhere.

Many environmentalists treated the news as a betrayal and yet another delay in the move [...]

Making the most of making the media

Bill — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:08:35 +0000

Finding Community | Stopping to Breathe | False divisions | Continuing the discussion | Other Voices

I arrived in Los Angeles late Monday afternoon. As I landed, I watched the sunset turn the Santa Monica Mountains that golden hue they turn in late fall, caught glimpses of the skyscrapers along Wilshire Blvd., marveled at the [...]

A life, a career, a world repurposed

Bill — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:30:04 +0000

What are you doing this Saturday?

Perhaps you’re taking a stand to help slow climate change by participating in one of more than 4,000 actions in 170 countries being organized by 350.org. The number, as the organization will tell you, represents the parts per million of carbon dioxide thought to be the upper limit for [...]

Mt. Wilson Observed

Bill — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:32:00 +0000

“Two firefighters die.”

Each thick black letter blazes through the scratchy grime of the plexiglass newspaper rack. They ignite my attention. They singe my mind even after I pass, as I board a 754 Rapid at Wilshire and Vermont and as I disembark in Los Feliz. They smolder as I walk to the library, [...]