Oak Ridge Today

Y-12 protester temporarily released for funeral; officials don’t comment on whether she returned to prison

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Megan Rice and Michele Naar-Obed

Megan Rice, left, was convicted on two federal charges in May after breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, 2012, and vandalizing a uranium storage building with two other protesters. She was temporarily released last week to attend her brother-in-law’s funeral. Rice is pictured above outside U.S. District Court in Knoxville with Michele Naar-Obed, wife of one of the other protesters, Greg Boertje-Obed.

U.S. and Georgia officials did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday and Wednesday on whether peace protester Megan Rice, who has been convicted of destroying government property at the Y-12 National Security Complex, returned to prison in the Peach State this week after a five-day release to attend the funeral of her brother-in-law in New York.

But on Tuesday, Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said he assumed Rice had returned to the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga.

“I assume she reported, or we’d have heard from someone trying to locate her,” Hutchison said in a Tuesday evening e-mail. “I know she was returning to Atlanta last night en route to Ocilla. That’s the last I heard.” [Read more…]

Picture: Rep. Jim Cooper tours ORNL

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U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper Visits ORNL

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, left, and Johnny Moore, center, site office manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, escort U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat from Tennessee’s Fifth District, on a tour of ORNL. (ORNL/Genevieve Martin)

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Nashville Democrat from Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District, toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Saturday.

Cooper was joined by his Chief of Staff Lisa Quigley as well as Helen Hardin. The group also spent time at the Y-12 National Security Complex before visiting the laboratory.

While at the lab, ORNL Director Thom Mason and Johnny Moore, site office manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, escorted the congressman on a driving tour of campus followed by a tour of the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source. They later joined ORNL Associate Lab Director for Global Security Brent Park for discussions on the lab’s national security programs, the lab said in a statement. [Read more…]

‘Do the math’ about fossil fuels, global warming, activist says

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Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben

Since April 21, environmental activist Bill McKibben’s “Do the Math” movie has been shown around the nation and world. Its message is that catastrophic climate change looms large this century if fossil fuel use is not restricted.

In Oak Ridge, the movie has been shown several times at First Presbyterian Church, which is sponsoring McKibben’s lecture on Sunday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. The movie can be downloaded from McKibben’s grassroots organization www.350.org.

The author of two classics of environmental literature, “The End of Nature,” and “Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet,” McKibben had the movie made after 350.org’s successful “Do the Math” tour of cities last fall. “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math,” McKibben’s article a year ago in Rolling Stone magazine, inspired the tour. [Read more…]

Nuclear goes Hollywood: New film sheds light on old debate

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Pandora's Promise Panel Discussion

Jeff Binder, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s associate lab director of nuclear science and engineering, answers an audience question during a panel discussion following a screening of “Pandora’s Promise” in Knoxville on Saturday. (Submitted photo)

By Scott Jones

About 300 people attended a showing of the new pro-nuclear film “Pandora’s Promise” and heard a panel discussion about nuclear energy on Saturday, including perspectives from Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff.

The lab worked with Regal Entertainment Group to bring the film to the Downtown West theater from July 19-25.

Few phrases carry the ideological weight of the words “nuclear power.” [Read more…]

Habitat for Humanity seeks USDA grant for critical home repair in rural Anderson County

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Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, or HFHAC, is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture Section 533 grant funding through the Housing Preservation Grant Program in order to provide critical home repairs and weatherization services to very low and low income homeowners. As part of their grant application, HFHAC would like to announce a Statement of Activities and encourage the public to express any concerns or make any suggestions to assist in the proposed project. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has presentation on NOAA weather station

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UT Arboretum Weather Station

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society is sponsoring a presentation this evening on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather station at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy of UT)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society is sponsoring a presentation this evening (Monday, July 22) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather station located at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The program will be led by Tilden Meyers, deputy director of the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division of NOAA.  A scientist with NOAA for nearly 28 years, Meyers has worked on issues related to acid deposition, air quality, and climate change. Much of his research is focused on land-atmosphere interactions, particularly the role various land surface types (grasslands, forests, crops) play in both the water and carbon cycles and how these are affected by significant climatic events such as droughts and extreme temperature events, a press release said. [Read more…]

Climate change to be discussed at Saturday afternoon event

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An event organized by a nonprofit set up to support President Barack Obama is hosting a Saturday afternoon event meant to raise awareness about climate change.

The event—”Turn Up the Heat on Climate Change”—is scheduled from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the planned new home of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church in front of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. It’s been set up by Organizing for Action. [Read more…]

FBI investigating report of possible trespassing at ETTP

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East Tennessee Technology Park

The East Tennessee Technology Park is pictured above as it looked before most of the U-shaped K-25 building, center left, was demolished. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

The FBI is investigating a report of a man possibly trespassing at the East Tennessee Technology Park on Thursday evening, but so far, they said, it doesn’t appear he posed any danger to the former uranium-enriching site.

“I can tell you right now that there is no indication that this incident involves any kind of threat to the facility or to national security,” said Marshall Stone, supervisory special agent in the Knoxville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Read more…]

Federal agents investigate alleged mail theft in Oak Ridge

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Jackson Square Post Office

Federal agents are investigating the alleged theft of a small amount of mail from the Jackson Square Branch of the Oak Ridge Post Office.

Federal agents are investigating the alleged theft of a small amount of mail from the Jackson Square Branch of the Oak Ridge Post Office, a spokesman said Friday.

On Thursday, special agents detained and questioned a person they believed was responsible for the theft, said Special Agent Scott Balfour, public information officer for the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General in Cleveland, Ohio. [Read more…]

Registration open for Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum

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Online registration is open to the public for the U.S. Department of Energy’s DOE Oak Ridge Office and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency’s 10th Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum that will be held Sept. 26 at the New Hope Center.

This year’s forum theme, “Back to Basics: Partnerships in Emergency Management,” will feature general session speaker Richard Serino, deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He will speak on current innovations in emergency management partnerships. [Read more…]

ORAU wins $4.2 million contract from U.S. Department of Homeland Security

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities is the sole recipient of a $4.2 million blanket purchase agreement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide peer and merit review services, a press release said.

ORAU’s five-year, blanket purchase agreement with the DHS Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs, or OUP, includes managing and conducting subject matter expert peer and merit reviews for research, analysis, and technical services. [Read more…]

Pictures: Rep. Diane Black tours ORNL

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Diane Black Tours CASL

Rep. Diane Black views a 3-D visualization during a tour of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photos by ORNL’s Jason Richards)

U.S. Rep. Diane Black, a Republican from Tennessee’s 6th District, visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory Monday afternoon.

Black received an overview of the lab’s research and development activities and toured the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, the EVEREST Visualization Lab, the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors facility, the Spallation Neutron Source, and the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility.

Here are a few pictures provided by ORNL. [Read more…]