New release: “The country’s energy infrastructure is not ready to weather the storm of more frequent extreme weather. A new National Wildlife Federation (NWF) report delivers that finding and makes recommendations for improving energy reliability. NWF climate scientist Dr. Amanda Staudt says floods, intense storms, hurricanes, droughts and heat waves have been happening more frequently, and they can disrupt power and fuel supplies. The report links the upward trend in extreme weather to climate change. Sharlene Leurig, insurance program senior manager with the environmental investor group Ceres says more than 40 percent of the water used in the U.S. is used in energy production, mostly to cool coal-burning and nuclear plants. Some companies have had to scale back production during times of high heat or drought, or been forced to add new cooling equipment…Recommendations for energy security include an assessment of energy industry vulnerabilities, plans for adapting in emergencies, and improved efficiency to reduce dependence on supplies that could be scarce during damaging weather. Reducing reliance on energy production that requires large amounts of water is another recommendation in the report.”