Oak Ridge Today

Morris named NPO assistant manager for environment, safety, health

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Susan Morris

Susan Morris

Susan Morris has been named assistant manager for environment, safety, health, and quality for the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office. The NPO oversees work at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

Morris is responsible for oversight of contractor programs for health physics and radiological protection, industrial hygiene and occupational medicine, industrial safety, transportation safety, construction safety, chemical safety, fire protection, firearm safety, explosive safety, aviation safety, and quality assurance at the Pantex Plant and Y-12 National Security Complex, a press release said. She has more than 28 years of federal service.

Morris has had a broad range of responsibilities, including serving as the team leader and subject matter expert/program manager for industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, fire protection, and environmental programs, and she served as the Y-12 Site Office NEPA compliance officer, the release said. [Read more…]

‘Fracking,’ the environment to be discussed Monday

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Joanna McFarlane

Joanna McFarlane

A manager in the Fossil Energy Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss the environment and hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as “fracking,” during a Monday meeting.

Joanna McFarlane, who has a doctorate, is a manager for the RPSEA (Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America) and Environmentally Friendly Drilling in the Fossil Energy Program at ORNL.

She will give a presentation on “Hydraulic Fracturing and the Environment” during a meeting at 11:30 a.m. Monday, January 26. It’s a luncheon meeting of the AAUW Oak Ridge Branch. The group will meet in the Activities Building of First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive. [Read more…]

ORNL researchers Simpson, Snead, Tuskan named corporate fellows

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ORNL Corporate Fellows Michael Simpson, Lance Snead, and Gerald Tuskan

Michael L. Simpson, Lance L. Snead, and Gerald A. Tuskan have been named corporate fellows of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Michael L. Simpson, Lance L. Snead, and Gerald A. Tuskan have been named corporate fellows of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Among the lab’s highest honors, the corporate fellow designation recognizes the researchers’ significant accomplishments and continuing leadership in their scientific, engineering, and technological fields. With their addition, the number of active corporate fellows at ORNL is now 29 researchers, a press release said.

“Our new corporate fellows—Mike, Lance, and Jerry—are recognized leaders in the fields of nanotechnology, materials research, and bioscience, respectively,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said. “Their careers represent the span of ORNL research from fundamental science to real-world technologies for the nation’s critical needs in energy and the environment.” [Read more…]

Energy Secretary Moniz to give lecture on energy, environment at UT on Friday

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will give a lecture on energy and the environment at the University of Tennessee on Friday. It’s free and open to the public, a press release said.

Moniz will also talk about the U.S. Department of Energy and its activities in Tennessee, a press release said.

It’s the Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, and it’s scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the UT College of Law, Room 132. Overflow seating will be available in Room 135, and the event will be streamed live here.

The College of Law is at at 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. in Knoxville. Paid public parking will be available in the Volunteer Hall Garage. A map of campus is available at utk.edu/maps. [Read more…]

TVA retiring eight coal units at three plants

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Colbert Fossil Plant

The Tennessee Valley Authority is retiring all five coal units at the Colbert Fossil Plant on the Pickwick Reservoir on the Tennessee River in Alabama. (Photo courtesy TVA)

The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors recently approved a plan that will retire eight coal units at three plants with more than 3,000 megawatts of combined generating capacity.

The retirements affect all five coal units at the Colbert Fossil Plant in Tuscumbia, Ala.; one of two operating coal units at Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Stevenson, Ala., and two of three coal units at the Paradise Fossil Plant near Central City, Ky. Paradise Unit 3, one of TVA’s largest coal units, will continue to operate.

A number of these units were already idled or scheduled for idling and/or retirement based on an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, TVA said in a press release. [Read more…]

ORNL receives GreenGov Presidential Award

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory received one of eight GreenGov Presidential Awards announced Tuesday.

The lab won in the Good Neighbor category for a project titled “ORNL Good, Green, Sustainable Neighbor,” a press release said.

The fourth annual awards were announced by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. They honor federal civilian and military personnel as well as agency teams, facilities, and programs that have taken innovative steps to reduce energy use and carbon pollution, curb waste, and save taxpayer money in federal agency operations, the release said.

At a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., senior administration officials recognized the eight award winners for exemplifying President Barack Obama’s charge to “lead by example and demonstrating extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of the president’s 2009 executive order on federal leadership in environmental, energy, and economic performance,” the release said. [Read more…]

CUB receives $200,000 Clean Tennessee Energy Grant

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Gov. Bill Haslam Check Presentation

Gov. Bill Haslam announced in June that Oak Ridge had received $200,000 in Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funding for lighting at the Municipal Building and Civic Center.

The Clinton Utilities Board has received a $200,000 Clean Tennessee Energy Grant to renovate its wastewater treatment plant.

CUB was one of 19 recipients receiving $2.1 million for projects promoting energy efficiency, benefiting the environment, and helping save money, Tennessee officials said this month.

In a check presentation ceremony in June, Gov. Bill Haslam came to Oak Ridge to announce that the Secret City had received the first of the 19 awards. [Read more…]

Green author, activist to speak Aug. 18 in Oak Ridge

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Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben, “the planet’s best green journalist,” according to Time magazine and author of a dozen books about the environment, will speak on fossil fuels and climate change in August in Oak Ridge.

The lecture will be at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

McKibben is a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, which has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 190 countries since 2009 and sponsored a 21-city “Do The Math” tour last fall. The “Do The Math” movie has been shown in numerous cities this past spring and several times at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, including by a new Secret City Sustainability group of college students. The movie is available online at 350.org. [Read more…]

TVC Summit next week includes House majority leader

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Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor

Submitted

Business, community, and political leaders and senior decision-makers will convene at the 2013 Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit next week to discuss issues that are critical to the economic engine of the Tennessee Valley, a press release said.

Hosted by Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, the two-day meeting themed “Securing America’s Future” will focus on energy and environment, innovation and entrepreneurism, public and private partnerships, and advanced manufacturing, the release said.

The Summit will be held at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s New Hope Center in Oak Ridge on May 29-30. [Read more…]