timestranscript.com – Author argues against uranium mining
Author warns against uranium mining
Times and Transcript (Canada) 27 nov 08 The author of a book that strikes down uranium exploration in Canada is applauding the New Brunswick government for its recent roadblocks to mining the element in the province.Jim Harding, a retired environmental and justice studies professor and author of Canada’s Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System, made a stop in Moncton yesterday on a cross-country tour to chastise any move towards mining the radioactive rock.Harding argued the thesis of his book, which flatly states uranium creates more problems than solutions, backing his claim on a timeline of Saskatchewan’s mining experience.He then turned his attention to New Brunswick, saying the province has taken some smart steps, but that the next should being an outright ban…………………………Harding’s book chronicles the struggle over Saskatchewan’s uranium mining, isolating the negative impacts the industry has had on environmental health, while arguing nuclear energy is not the answer to global warming due to its waste issues.
His book also aims to expose the role the government plays in perpetuating nuclear propaganda through campaigns that call it an energy solution.
timestranscript.com – Author argues against uranium mining
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Rokkasho plant too dangerous, costly: expert | The Japan Times Online
Rokkasho plant too dangerous, costly: expert
The Japan Times Nov. 27, 2008 By ERIKO ARITA Japan’s plan to reprocess and recycle spent nuclear fuel in a reprocessing plant in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, will be a huge waste of electricity users’ money and an environmental threat, according to a French atomic power expert……………………….The fast-breeder reactors in France had been planning to use plutonium separated from nuclear waste. But because the plan failed, France has 55 tons of weapons-grade plutonium stock, Schneider said.
Japan had 31.2 tons of plutonium as of the end of last year, the majority of which has been stored in reprocessing plants in France and the U.K., according to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission.
“Plutonium separation also means the largest radioactive emissions in the overall nuclear fuel chain and has significant contribution to the collective global dose (of radiation),” Schneider said.
In fact, reprocessing plants in France and the U.K. have been disposing of radioactive emissions into the ocean. One of the radioactive materials, iodine 129, has been found on the northern Norwegian coast and the Baltic Sea,
according to Riso National Laboratory in Denmark.
Some 4 tons of iodine 129 had been discharged by the reprocessing plants by 2004 and the concentration of iodine 129 in the Baltic Sea in 2000 was 1,000 times higher than before nuclear energy existed………….
The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, a major investor in JNFL, said in 2003 it would cost ¥11 trillion to construct, operate and dismantle the Rokkasho reprocessing plant. The cost is to be paid for by future electricity customers.
Schneider said the public will have to shoulder the huge cost unless the reprocessing plant is suspended.
“It’s up to the decision of Japanese people to say (Japan should) stop (the reprocessing) or we pay for it,” Schneider said. “But the problem is there is no interaction between people who pay for it and people who spend the money.”………………………..
“The Japanese nuclear industry hasn’t been even able to operate its (existing) nuclear reactors,” Schneider said. The energy plan is “some kind of fantasy.”
Schneider said earthquakes are the major factor that make nuclear power an unreliable energy source in Japan.
In July 2007, a fire broke out and water containing radioactive material leaked at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant when a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Niigata Prefecture.
“The situation at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa shows how difficult it is to operate nuclear reactors in Japan because of the earthquake risk,” Schneider said.
Rokkasho plant too dangerous, costly: expert | The Japan Times Online
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
France finally agrees to pay damages to nuclear test victims | World news | The Guardian
France finally agrees to pay damages to nuclear test victims• Radiation illnesses must be recognised – minister• Veterans’ relief at end to 40-year wall of silence
The Guardian Angelique Chrisafis 27 nov 08 – “…………..The soldiers and civilians who worked on France’s notorious nuclear tests in the Sahara desert and south Pacific have long fought for compensation for the cancer and long-term health effects they blame on the state’s failure to protect them.But for years France resisted, fighting veterans in the courts and building a wall of silence around the dangers of the controlled explosions.
Yesterday the French defence minister finally broke the taboo, saying a law would be introduced in January to compensate those suffering illnesses among the 150,000 army and civilians who worked on the tests in Algeria and French-owned Polynesian atolls………………………..n 2006 a French medical research body found nuclear testing had caused an increase in cancer on the nearest inhabited islands.
France finally agrees to pay damages to nuclear test victims | World news | The Guardian
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
The 10 big energy myths | Environment | The Guardian
The 10 big energy mythsThere has never been a more important time to invest in green technologies, yet many of us believe these efforts are doomed to failure. What nonsense, writes Chris Goodall
The Guardian 27 Nov 08 Myth 1: solar power is too expensive to be of much use ……….solar power stations are probably already financially competitive with coal. Europe, meanwhile, could get most of its electricity from plants in the Sahara desert. We would need new long-distance power transmission but the technology for providing this is advancing fast, and the countries of North Africa would get a valuable new source of income.
Myth 2: wind power is too unreliable Actually, during some periods earlier this year the wind provided almost 40% of Spanish power. Parts of northern Germany generate more electricity from wind than they actually need. Northern Scotland, blessed with some of the best wind speeds in Europe, could easily generate 10% or even 15% of the UK’s electricity needs at a cost that would comfortably match today’s fossil fuel prices.
Myth 3: marine energy is a dead-end………….This year we have seen the installation of the first tidal turbine to be successfully connected to the UK electricity grid in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, and the first group of large-scale wave power generators 5km off the coast of Portugal, constructed by a Scottish company.
Myth 4: nuclear power is cheaper than other low-carbon sources of electricity …………the most severe problem may be the high and unpredictable cost of nuclear plants. The new nuclear power station on the island of Olkiluoto in western Finland is a clear example…………..The final cost is likely to be more than twice this figure (£2.5bn). and the construction process is fast turning into a nightmare. A second new plant in Normandy appears to be experiencing similar problems. In the US, power companies are backing away from nuclear because of fears over uncontrollable costs.
The 10 big energy myths | Environment | The Guardian
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Indigenous permit plan killed in the Senate – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Indigenous permit plan killed in the Senate
ABC News 27 Nov 08 The Federal Government’s plan to restrict public access to Northern Territory Aboriginal communities has been killed in the Senate.The Federal Government wants to reinstate the controversial permit system for Indigenous communities…………..Family First Senator Steve Fielding and Independent senator Nick Xenophon have sided with the Opposition to vote down part of a Labor bill that would have reinstated the permit system. Family First Senator Steve Fielding and Independent senator Nick Xenophon have sided with the Opposition to vote down part of a Labor bill that would have reinstated the permit system.
Indigenous permit plan killed in the Senate – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Tags: aboriginaes
BHP gloomy on short term, defends Rio decision | Reuters
BHP gloomy on short term, defends Rio decision
By Sonali Paul
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Global miner BHP Billiton painted a gloomy near-term outlook for metals demand on Thursday as it defended its decision to drop a $66 billion bid for rival Rio Tinto.
BHP, facing its shareholders for the first time since walking away from the Rio bid on Tuesday, told its Australian annual meeting that uncertainty in commodities markets would continue in the short term and it was ready to close loss-making operations.
“There is no doubt that these are very challenging times, uncertainty in the shorter-term outlook remains and we do not expect to be immune from the changes in the world economy,” Chief Executive Marius Kloppers told shareholders in Melbourne.
BHP gloomy on short term, defends Rio decision | Reuters
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Scoop: Olympic Dam Legal Privileges A Disgrace
Olympic Dam Legal Privileges A Disgrace
Scoop 27 November 2008, Michaela Stubbs “………………………..Friends of the Earth national nuclear campaigner Dr Jim Green said: “For all of BHP Billiton’s hollow rhetoric about corporate social responsibility, the company operates the Olympic Dam uranium/copper mine in SA under an outdated Indenture Act which exempts the mine from key environmental and Aboriginal heritage laws that apply everywhere else in SA.
“The Aboriginal Heritage Act is the key law aimed at protecting Indigenous heritage in South Australia. However, under the Indenture Act, BHP Billiton decides the level of protection that Aboriginal heritage sites receive and which sites are recognised. Ironically, BHP Billiton has provided over $2 million to Reconciliation Australia, yet will not relinquish its exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Act. The company’s attitude appears to be ‘do as I say not as I do’.”
Dr Green concluded: “The legal privileges enshrined in the Indenture Act were highly contentious when they were introduced in 1982 and are completely inappropriate as the legislative framework for the proposed expansion of the Roxby Downs mine.”
Scoop: Olympic Dam Legal Privileges A Disgrace
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Aboriginal elder takes on BHP over mine – Breaking News – National – Breaking News
Aboriginal elder takes on BHP over mine
The Age November 27, 2008 –An Aboriginal elder has taken on the heavyweights at BHP’s annual general meeting to urge the mining giant to abandon plans to expand its Olympic Dam mine because it was taking “sacred water”.
Kevin Buzzacott patiently waited for almost three hours for question time at BHP Billiton’s AGM in Melbourne on Thursday when he meekly stood up to the microphone and read out a prepared speech.
He politely addressed the board of the world’s biggest miner, asking them to stop the planned expansion of the copper, gold and uranium mine in South Australia.
“Do not expand this mine. We don’t want an open cut mine; we do not want any more water taken out of the Great Artesian Basin; we want that to stop,” Mr Buzzacott said.
He was supported by about 100 protesters who gathered on the Melbourne Park lawn outside the venue to oppose the expansion, which would make Olympic Dam one of the largest mines in the world………………Another shareholder, documentary filmmaker David Bradbury, asked the board if it had done forward estimates on how much they would have to pay in future class actions for people, including mine workers, adversely affected by the mining……………………….The protesters claimed the miner is legally able to override important environmental legislation because of the South Australian Roxby Downs Indenture Act.
Aboriginal elder takes on BHP over mine – Breaking News – National – Breaking News
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Sun2Surf
A senate inquiry
Sun2Surf (Malaysia) Sonia Randhawa – “……..I was attending a Senate inquiry into a proposal to place a nuclear waste dump on the land of various indigenous families in the Northern Territory, Australia. It was an interesting experience,……… the language, the setting and the distance all conspired against the indigenous people. Even I, with English as my mother tongue and being English-educated, found some of the questions impenetrable. Even the appointed lawyer for the group endorsing the nuclear waste dump got tied in knots during some parts of the proceedings…………….The senators at the inquiry seemed sympathetic to the communities. They asked penetrating questions. But there was an obvious clash of cultures – the laws of White Australia and the laws of Aboriginal Australia are clearly different.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Giants must be accountable – Opinion – Editorial – General – The Canberra Times
Giants must be accountable27/11/2008 “……………………
Our company plans to turn the Olympic Dam into the largest open-cut mine in the world. Most people would expect such a huge expansion to be subject to regulatory standards as rigorous as those imposed on smaller projects. This is not the case.
Western Mining Corporation, the original developers of the mine, negotiated exemption from South Australian state laws on environmental protection, natural resources (including water), Aboriginal heritage and even Freedom of Information. BHP inherited these exemptions when it bought Western Mining.
These commercial privileges are unprecedented, undemocratic and inconsistent with modern practices and government promises.
Olympic Dam’s expansion statistics are stunning. Production of radioactive tailings at Roxby Downs will increase to 70 million tonnes a year if the planned expansion goes ahead, which seems very likely. The tailings dams now rise over 20m above the landscape and cover many square kilometres, clearly visible from space on Google Earth.
There have already been numerous spills and leaks most significantly in 1994, when it was revealed that three billion litres had leaked from tailings dams over two years. They contain a toxic, acidic soup of radioactive and heavy metals and are responsible for large numbers of bird deaths more than 100 deaths in a four-day period in 2004.
The tailings will remain as a radioactive and toxic dust long after the mine has expired, to be transported by wind, rain, birds and animals over centuries to come………………….Olympic Dam now uses 35 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin. Expansion would require 150 million litres a day: assuming 42 million litres from the Great Artesian Basin, the remainder would come from a proposed desalination plant at Port Bonython which will greatly affect the ecology at the head of the Spencer Gulf.
The southern edge of the Great Artesian Basin, along the Oodnadatta Track, feeds the precious Mound Springs, each with its own unique isolated ecosystem. The water already drawn from here has damaged the flow into these springs. It would be appropriate to decrease rather than increase usage from the basin.
Incredibly, BHP pays nothing for this water it extracts from the Great Artesian Basin, a vital part of Australia’s dwindling water resource.
Giants must be accountable – Opinion – Editorial – General – The Canberra Times
1 THIS MONTH
- http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=5755 Mary Olson on how women are more vulnerable to atomic radiation
of the week http://www.youtube.com/user/GoddardsJournal
Low-Dose Radiation ☢ NEW A-Bomb Study http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VAncqK6bl0&feature=share
“Pay-to-print”: How Media Corruption Undermines Indian Democracy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbjsQ_dYuJQ&feature=share
VIDEO http://vimeo.com/35212151 Cancer Risk To Young Children Near Fukushima Daiichi Underestimated
- and this VIDEO Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Legacy http://www.euronews.com/2010/04/14/kazakhstan-s-nuclear-legacy/
ACTION
USA EMERGENCY PLANNING PETITION NOW OPEN FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS IN FAVOR OF EXPANDING EMERGENCY PLANNING ZONES; IMPROVING REGULATIONS The deadline for public comments is July 16, 2012. You can submit your comments here. more information at http://nuclear-news.net/action/
- Shut down the nuclear restart. Sign now!! http://www.avaaz.org/en/japan_no_to_nuclear_restart_ms/
- Stop Kudankulam - Please sign http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10090 –
EVENTS – USA
- May 31 - Portland, Maine, Bonnie Raitt benefit concert for New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
The Nuclear Industry and WOMEN- theme for May 2012
Women in organisations Strongly present in anti-nuclear activities in peace, environmental, religious and civil liberties, women have also formed their own anti-nuclear organisations . e.g. Women’s International League For Peace and Freedom, Women For Peace. Women Against Nuclear Power, Women Against Nuclear Energy,
“When it comes to opposing nuclear power in Finland, the toughest and most active and conspicuous resistance has been among women. A rather small group of women working as teachers, freelance editors, authors and in rather alternative professions. Women who perfectly well are aware of the fact that they are far too radical to be promoted for high posts within traditional parties or getting well-paying jobs in some big companies. Women who are not trying to reach equality on male values. These women have kept the resistance alive, have invited foreign speakers getting through in the mass media, have arranged post-card campaigns aiming at parliamentarians, have written inserts in daily newspapers, have collected signatures from organizations worldwide against nuclear power, etc.
If women had been asked if nuclear power should be used for energy production or if nuclear weapons should be produced there would hardly be any nuclear power stations in the world and no nuclear weapons. Women represent half of humanity. Our voice must be heard! “- Ulla Klötzer WISE – Nuclear issues information service service
Below, a note on some of the courageous women who have stood out against the nuclear forces and apologies for the thousands of such women who are not mentioned here
Dr Helen Caldicott. - Australia and The World. The single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Dr Helen Caldicott, has devoted the last 38 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction. Helen Caldicott – About
Jean McSorley. – UK. A prolific writer and activist, Jean McSorley has advised government and environmental organisations, in the UK and abroad, for many years revealing the facts about Sellafield, and other UK nuclear facilities.
Her MajestyQueen Noor ofJordan is an international humanitarian activist and an outspoken voice on issues of world peace and justice. Today Her Majesty Queen Noor plays a major role in promoting international exchange and understanding of Arab and Muslim culture and politics, Arab-Western relations, and conflict prevention. Queen Noor | Global Zero
Ulla Klötzer - Finland. A powerful speaker and writer, Ulla Klötzer continues to oppose uranium mining, nuclear proliferation, and to expose the construction of Finlands reactor, Olkiluto OL 3 – the biggest nuclear reactor in the world.
Satomi Oba – Japan. Another leading voice for non-proliferation and disarmament was Japan’s Satomi Oba, former president of Plutonium Action Hiroshima and chair member of the international non-proliferation movement Abolition 2000. For decades before her untimely death in February 2005, Oba organized grassroots events, spoke to international groups and broke ground for other activists
Dianne Stokes – Australia An Aboriginal elder of the Yapa Yapa clan, which owns land at Muckaty in the Northern Territory, has for years continued the fight against the Australian government’s plan to put a nuclear waste dump on Aboriginal land, – resisting enormous pressure from powerful interests and politicians Toxic feelings at proposed nuclear dump – National – smh.com.au
Jean Grossholtz – (USA) Professor emeritus at the Dept. of Women’s Studies, Mt. Holyoke College, Jean helped organize the Women’s Pentagon Action (1980-82) and has long been active in peace and social justice work.
Ellen Diederich – Germany A peace activist for more than three decades, Ellen Diederich is Director of the German-based International Fasia Jansen Women’s Peace Archive, an extensive collection of books, print, audio-visual and artistic resources on women and militarism and women’s action for peace, world-wide, collected over 25 years.
Corazon Valdez Fabros - Philippines A lawyer by profession, Corazon Fabros is Chairperson of the Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (the Secretariat of the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement) and Secretary General of the Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition, which led the successful campaign to stop the nuclear power plant projects in the Philippines . Currently Philippine Coordinator of the No Nukes Asia Forum and the International Network on Military Activities and Environmental Justice.
Karen Silkwood remembered In 1974, US anti-nuclear activist Karen Silkwood was killed in a car crash many suspect was deliberately caused by the Kerr McGee nuclear company.Karen Silkwood will be remembered as someone who fought an uphill and often unpopular battle against the ruthless nuclear industry. She is an inspiration to all who believe in environmental justice and workers’ rights BY SHARYN JENKINS. Karen Silkwood remembered | Green Left Weekly
Much of the material here was obtained from Women and Life on Earth: English by Anna Gyorgy, Women & Life on Earth Network coordinator, English website editor. Contact:info(at)wloe.org
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