Explainers

An overview of the environmental impacts of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass.

Facts about eight key facilities in the nuclear weapons complex, where weapons and their component parts are designed, assembled, tested, maintained and disposed of.

Nuclear power plants need a plentiful source of water nearby for cooling. But this proximity to rivers, lakes and oceans creates serious flooding risks that the NRC has been too slow to address.

Science and democracy have been inseparable since our nation was born. Here are some of the highlights of their paired story.

Until permanent repository storage is available, spent nuclear fuel should be stored in dry casks, not overcrowded pools.

Frequently asked questions about the UCS report Start of Charge.

The US transportation sector consumes more oil than all other US sources combined, dirtying our air and costing billions.

To figure out what parts of our lives have the greatest impact on global warming, our experts conducted two years of in-depth research using a computer model that tracked emissions in 500 separate spending categories.

The Clean Air Act

The international controversy over emails stolen from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit has generated a lot of heat.

UCS coverage of the crisis that developed at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

This FAQ answers questions about the nuclear crisis in Japan.