Youthful protestors lead anti nuclear push in Russia
On Murmansk Oblast’s Kola peninsula, however, nuclear backers face one of the strongest environmental organizations in Russia. For more than 10 years, Vitaly Servetnik and other activists at Priroda i molodezh (Nature and Youth) have battled attempts to build new reactors and extend the life of existing ones at the Kola nuclear plant, carrying out more than 100 protest campaigns
Servetnik accuses the authorities of using the Interior Ministry’s anti-terror police, known as Center E, to spy on his small group based in Murmansk.
ecologists persuaded authorities in Volgodonsk, southern Russia, to hold round table talks on the planned power increase of one reactor at the Rostov nuclear plant. In the Kaliningrad exclave, opposition is mounting to the planned 2016 launch of a new reactor at the Baltic plant.
Nuclear-Strength Kola TOL Special Report: In Russia’s northwest, a scrappy bunch of young environmentalists faces off against a powerful nuclear lobby. By Alexander Tretyakov reporter for SOTV, a publicly funded Internet television channel in Moscow. 24 May 2012 This is the fourth in a series of articles on the state of the environment in Russia.
MOSCOW | Murmansk Oblast in northern Russia has one of the highest
concentrations of nuclear energy on earth. Nuclear submarines and
icebreakers of the Russian Northern Fleet sail the White and Barents
seas, and the Kola nuclear power plant is still going strong nearly 40
years after its first reactor hummed into life.
Russia’s nuclear industry is due for a massive expansion under a
government plan to increase nuclear’s share in national power
production. Russia has shown no sign of wavering on nuclear power in
the wake of last year’s Fukushima disaster, ….. Read more »
Majority of Japanese firms want abandonment of nuclear power
Critics accuse utilities of exaggerating potential power shortages in order to win public support to restart off-line reactors
70 percent of firms are prepared to cooperate on power saving to the same degree as last summer
Three-quarters of Japanese firms oppose nuclear power, Chicago Tribune, by Tetsushi Kajimoto, TOKYO (Reuters) 25 May 12- Nearly three-quarters of Japanese companies support abandoning nuclear power after last year’s Fukushima disaster, although a majority set the condition that alternative energy resources must be secured, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.
The poll offers fresh evidence of the deep public distrust of nuclear
power, Read more »
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant is dangerous, say protestors
14 Protesters Arrested Outside Plymouth Nuclear Plant (includes audio) 
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/21/14-protesters-arrested-outside-plymouth-nuclear-plant/ May 21, 2012, PLYMOUTH (CBS) – Fourteen members of the group Cape Downwinders were arrested Sunday while demonstrating at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, hoping to get it shut down. The demonstrators said their message is simple.
“The Pilgrim nuclear facility is a dangerous facility and it should be shut down,” said Paul Rifkin, a member of the group. The group wants to deliver a letter to Pilgrim’s owners, Entergy, demanding that they cease operations, pointing to the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan as a wake-up call to action.
“It’s a 40-year-old plant and they want to license it for another 20 years. We don’t want the nuclear regulatory commission to re-license that plant,” said Rifkin.
In the letter, the group says the continued operation of the plant is an unacceptable threat to health and public safety and they also want an evacuation preparedness plan to include Cape Cod.
The group worries a power failure at the plant could be catastrophic, and the members have doubts about how a mass evacuation from the Cape, given its only two exit points, would work. We’re hoping that NRC upholds their mandate to provide for the public health and safety and not re-license the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth,” said Diane Turko, who was one of the protesters arrested for trespassing.
The plant’s current license expires June 8th and they are hoping to renew for another 20 years.
Kudankulam nuclear plant unsafe say protestors in London
The fact is that the Indian nuclear programme itself is backed up heavily by the US and foreign corporates (like Atomsroyexport) and US companies are salivating over deals with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.”
Protest in Britain over Kudankulam nuclear plant 
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/protest-in-britain-over-kudankulam-nuclear-plant/259242-62-128.html IBN Tamil Nadu 19, 2012 London: Anti-nuclear and rights group on Friday held a noisy demonstration in 
front of the Indian High Commission here in protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant being built in a tsunami-prone area of Tamil Nadu. Read more »
USA veterans denounce militarism and NATO policies
he wants to let soldiers serving in any of the post- 9/11 conflict zones. “… know that we’re standing by their side and we’re not standing with NATO anymore.
“We don’t agree with the policies that are driving these wars.”
Iraq vets to turn in medals at historic NATO protest, Deborah Dupre Human Rights Examiner, 18 May 12, After requesting a meeting with NATO leaders this week, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Afghanistan Veterans Against the War committee are gearing up to lead this weekend’s historic march on the NATO Summit in Chicago where veterans will symbolically turn in their medals to NATO reps.
“We were awarded these medals for serving in the Global War on Terror, a war based on lies and failed polices,” stated Army Reserve/National Guardsman who is leading the the former troops this weekend, Aaron Hughes….. Read more »
The long struggle against nuclear power in Japan
Environmentalists, meanwhile, say they remain undaunted by the Oi decision, which has become a watershed moment in their activism.
Activists Brace for Long War Against Nuclear Power, By Suvendrini Kakuchi TOKYO, May 17, 2012 (IPS) – For the past two decades Masao Ishiji (59), has been fighting tooth and nail to ban the operation of four nuclear reactors that dot the western coastline of Oi in the Fukui prefecture facing the Japan Sea.
Earlier this week, that desperate battle reached a critical front. When the Oi municipal assembly passed a new resolution Monday to restart Unit 3 and 4 reactors that had been closed for a year for stress tests, anti-nuclear activists knew they had reached a crucial juncture in their fight to eradicate nuclear power from the country. Read more »
Majority of Americans want renewable energy, see USA politics as corrupt
the public has clearly picked up on the fact that corrupt politics is a key reason we don’t have more of that. 82% of Americans (69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 95% of Democrats) agree with this statement: “The time is now for a new, grassroots-driven politics to realize a renewable energy future.
76% of Americans Want Clean Energy Instead of Nuclear, Natural Gas, & Coal Clean Technica MAY 15, 2012 BY ZACHARY SHAHAN Yet another recent poll showed that Americans really support clean energy, across political affiliations (though, there’s clearly more support on the left).
The ORC International survey, conducted for the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI), found that 76% of Americans (58% of Republicans, 83% of Independents, and 88% of Democrats) want to see ”a reduction in our reliance on nuclear power, natural gas and coal, and instead, launch a national initiative to boost renewable energy and energy efficiency.” (And who knows what the remaining 24% are smoking?) Read more »
Kent County Council opposes nuclear waste bunker plan
Kent nuclear waste bunker proposal considered BBC News 16 May 12 A bunker used to store nuclear waste from all over the UK could be built in Kent, under a council’s plans. Shepway District Council is examining whether a nuclear disposal facility, where waste is buried underground, could be built at Romney Marsh. The authority said it could bring jobs to the area as Dungeness A and B power stations are phased out.
However, Kent County Council said it would use “every tool in the box” to oppose the scheme. The Romney Marsh Nuclear Research and Disposal Facility would be buried 200m (656ft) to 1,000m (3,280ft) below ground…..
Council leader’s ‘horror’ The leader of Kent County Council, Paul Carter, said his authority
opposed the plan and would push for a county-wide referendum if necessary. ”We are totally opposed to initiating any process that even entertains the possibility of building a nuclear waste disposal site anywhere near or around Kent,” he said. ”We will do everything possible to oppose this unviable proposal and will use every tool in the box to bring an end to this scheme…. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18086988
Majority of Japanese would choose energy restrictions rather than restart nuclear power
the survey shows 61 percent of people in the Kinki region, which is expected to face the most serious power shortage, say they “can endure” such restrictions. Seventy-ninepercent of people in the Kanto region, which took sweeping energy-saving measures last summer, also say they can put up with restricted use of power. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of peoplepolled elsewhere in the country say they can live with such restrictions…..
63% of Japanese citizens say ‘no’ to restarting of Oi nuclear reactors: Mainichi poll. 8 May 12, Sixty-three percent of Japanese people stand against reactivating two idled reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture, and 74 percent say they “can endure” restricted use of electricity in the summer, a nationwide survey conducted by the Mainichi shows, suggesting that the general public is becoming increasingly in favor of breaking away from nuclear power generation. Read more »
Public opposition holds up Lynas’ rare earths processing plans for Malaysia
the expanding protest movement …… has already delayed the project by eight months and cast a shadow over its future.
The resistance – fed by social networks and Malaysia’s increasingly lively independent online media – also raises broader questions over the global expansion of an industry that has created huge environmental problems in China
Opponents say the Lynas plant doesn’t meet with best practice standards for the industry as it is too close to heavily populated areas and in a place where the ground water level is high. Molycorp’s plant in California, by comparison, is situated far from residential areas in an arid climate.
Citizen backlash keeps Malaysia rare earth plant on hold, The West, Siva Sithraputhran, Reuters May 9, 2012 GEBENG, Malaysia - The expensive machinery lies silent, idling as Malaysia’s government weighs a delicate decision to allow shipments of raw material to arrive from Australia and finally start operations at the world’s largest rare earths plant outside China. Read more »
Delay licensing Pilgrim nuclear reactor, urge politicians
Politicians urge the NRC to further prolong its review of the Pilgrim nuclear reactor’s license, Mass. Market, 2012 May 7 by Jon Chesto Now that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could be on the verge of finally renewing the license for the Pilgrim nuclear power plant, a number of prominent Bay State politicians have been lining up to support Mary Lampert’s cause.
Lampert, of course, is the chief ringleader behind the Pilgrim Watch advocacy group and arguably the biggest reason it has taken the NRC more than six years (setting a new record) to review the Plymouth plant’s relicensing request.
Lampert and her allies still have unresolved contentions before the NRC. But the agency’s staff is recommending to the commission that oversees the agency that Entergy Corp., Pilgrim’s owner, be given the green light for Pilgrim anyway.
That recommendation prompted several politicians to urge the NRC to put the brakes on the license renewal, at least until every pending issue is resolved. The politicians who sent letters to NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko in the last week about Pilgrim include U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat who specializes in energy issues; U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, the Democrat who represents Cape Cod and much of the South Shore in Congress; state Rep. Bob Hedlund, a Republican from the South Shore; and Cape Cod lawmakers Rep. Sarah Peake and Sen. Dan Wolf. Politicians urge the NRC to further prolong its review of the Pilgrim nuclear reactor’s license | Mass. Market http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/massmarkets/2012/05/07/politicians-urge-the-nrc-to-further-prolong-its-review-of-the-pilgrim-nuclear-reactors-license/#ixzz1uM8saHzu
500 courageous Indian women join Koodankulam anti nuclear fast
Indefinite hunger strike against KKNPP gains momentum Chennai Online Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, May 4 : The ongoing fourth round of indefinite hunger strike against controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) by the activists of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), a civil group spearheading the struggle against the nuclear project, gained momentum, with more number of women activists joining the fasting agitation today.
Nearly 500 women from the coastal hamlets around KKNPP joined the fast with 24 activists who were observing the fast-unto-death stir since May 1 last. The anti-nuclear protesters, including women and children, were assembling in large numbers in the protest venue. Talking to newsmen, M Pushparayan, a key activist of PMANE, claimed though morenumber of women activists were willing to join the fast, they were being prevented and intimidated by the police.
The women from different villages had enrolled their names to participate in the indefinite fast but did not visit the venue due to possible police harassment, he said. “Police have blocked the entrance of the villages and threaten the hired vehicle drivers not to transport people to Idinthakarai village. Even if they dared, police threaten them to cancel their vehicle licenses. So, the drivers are not willing to come to Idinthakarai.
The police have deployed anti-riot vehicles Vajra and Varun at the entrances of the villages,” he said. Meanwhile, health condition of the 25 activists who were on fast since May 1, had started deteriorating and their pulse rates were going down. One of the activists, Vinoth was admitted to the hospital today, he added.
http://news.chennaionline.com/chennai/Indefinite-hunger-strike-against-KKNPP-gains-momentum/ff5dcb87-d243-4704-8109-783bb9458db3.col
Cheering Japanese in their thousands greet nuclear power shutdown
Electricity shortages are expected only at peak periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and critics of nuclear power say proponents are exaggerating the consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.
Japanese cheer as nuclear reactor shut for checkup SF Gate, Associated Press, May 6, 2012 Thousands of Japanese celebrated the switching off of the last of their nation’s 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped like giant fish that have become a potent antinuclear symbol. Read more »
Shutdown could mean the end of nuclear power in Japan
a ministry panel believes that Japan can still reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels without nuclear, provided it makes energy savings and speeds up the adoption of renewables, which currently account for just 10 percent of the energy mix.
Japan shuts down last nuclear reactor for tests. End of nuclear power? Christian Science Monitor, If Japan survives the summer without power blackouts, citizens may pressure the government to make the temporary nuclear shutdown permanent. By Justin McCurry, Correspondent / May 4, 2012 TOKYO
This weekend’s nuclear shutdown in Japan is being greeted with a mixture of anxiety and optimism, just over a year since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident signaled the beginning of the end of the country’s dependence on atomic energy. By May 6, the last of Japan’s 50 working reactors – another four were crippled in the disaster – will be offline when the Hokkaido Electric Power Companycloses the No. 3 unit at its Tomari plant in the far north, in the industry’s first enforced closure in Japan since 1965.
Debate is now swirling around the prospects for the economy and environment post-Fukushima, as Japan braces itself for a long, hot summer and the possibility of power cuts that could prove the most severe test of public resolve yet……… Read more »
Activists, particularly women, resume their fast against Kudankulam nuclear plant
Indefinite fast against Kudankulam nuclear plant resumes NDTV Indo-Asian News Service May 01, 2012 Chennai: At least 24 activists of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) launched an indefinite fast on Tuesday at four villages in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from Chennai, in protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).
While 14 indefinite fasters are in Idinthakarai village, eight are in Kuthenkazi village and one each in Kudankulam and Kuduthazhai villages.
According to M Pushparayan, a PMANE leader, more women have proposed to join the indefinite fast protest based on the outcome of a scheduled meeting with the Tamil Nadu government on May 3….. http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/indefinite-fast-against-kudankulam-nuclear-plant-resumes-204888
1 THIS MONTH
- http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=5755 Mary Olson on how women are more vulnerable to atomic radiation
http://soundcloud.com/flashpoints/flashpoints-daily-newsmag-05-6Fukushima reactor 4 still threatens the world Dr. Micio Kaku
of the week http://www.youtube.com/user/GoddardsJournal
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San Onofre: Bad Vibrations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP7e83MErWw&feature=share - 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
Although women have rarely been part of decision-making about nuclear power, they have been at the forefront in opposing it.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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