People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy demands transparent study on Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project
PMANE resumes anti-nuclear protests against Kudankulam Project
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_pmane-resumes-anti-nuclear-protests-against-kudankulam-project_1683047 May 1, 2012, Resuming their indefinite fast against commissioning of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, People’s Movement Against Nuclear
Energy,which is spearheading the stir, listed six major demands, including setting up a national committee of experts to study the region around KNPP.
“Our primary demand is the government should institute an independent and transparent national committee on hydrology, geology, oceanography and seismology of the region,” PMANE leader M Pushparayan told PTI at nearby Idinthakarai. Read more »
Sweden – growing opposition to nuclear energy
Swedish opposition to nuclear energy on the up The Local 28 Apr 12 Swedes have become more negative towards nuclear power in the year since Japan’s nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, a new survey by the SOM institute at Gothenburg University has shown.
According to the survey, 44 percent of Swedes are in favour of phasing out nuclear power either immediately or after current nuclear power stations have completed their lifespan.
The proportion in favour of expanding nuclear power resources in Sweden or replacing existing ones amounted to 35 percent. The survey interviewed 1,500 people during the autumn of 2011 with the full results expected in June 2012. The Swedish public has long been deeply divided regarding the nuclear power issue…. http://www.thelocal.se/40532/20120428/
A new anti nuclear demographic – mothers
Often, mothers and women want to leave Fukushima and protect their kids, while men tend to accept the line, from the government and the utility, Tepco, that “all is safe.” This can lead to conflict in a culture where women are taught not to challenge their husbands or government, figures of authority.
How a Group of Japanese Mothers Are Saying No to Nuclear Power The Fukushima disaster has brought a powerful new demographic to Japan’s anti-nuclear movement: mothers. AlterNet April 25, 2012 |
On the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japanese women in New York City gathered for a rally they called Pregnant With Fear of Radiation. Protestors wore fake pregnant bellies, or carried posters with images of pregnant women wearing face masks. Well aware that fetuses, children under five, and women are at the greatest risk from radiation exposure, mothers have emerged as a powerful voice in Japan’s growing anti-nuclear movement. Read more »
Overwhelming majority of Japanese businesses want safety, not restart of nuclear reactors
Japan businesses choose nuclear safety over profits, First Post, Apr 20, 2012 Tokyo: Nearly three-quarters of Japanese firms want safety guaranteed before idled nuclear reactors in the country are restarted, seeing no need to rush the process despite the impact the loss of the power source could have on their businesses.
Japan is set to have no nuclear power within weeks for the first time in over 40 years following last year’s crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which crushed public trust in nuclear power and prevented the restart of reactors shut for regular maintenance checks.
The poll, taken alongside the monthly Reuters Tankan company sentiment survey, showed only 15 percent of firms want an early restart for idled reactors, while 72 percent said safety should be the key priority…… Trade Minister Yukio Edano this week signalled two reactors idled after the Fukushima disaster would not be back online before the last one currently operating is shut down….. http://www.firstpost.com/world/japan-businesses-choose-nuclear-safety-over-profits-282207.html
Call to close North Taiwan’s aging, degenerating, nuclear power plant
Activists call for shutdown of aging nuclear power plant following a massive earthquake and tsunami. Focus Taiwan, By Chen Ting-wei, Lin Meng-ju and Elizabeth Hsu Taipei, April 20 Concerned about the safety of an aging nuclear power plant in northern Taiwan, environmentalists on Friday called for the suspension of operations at the facility.
Members of several environmental protection groups warned at a press conference that the No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli, New Taipei, which began commercial operations three decades ago, “has entered the final stage of its life cycle.”
“The discovery of cracked anchor bolts at one of the power plant’s reactors is the final warning,” said Green Consumers’ Foundation Chairman Jay Fang.
Cracks indicate the degeneration of the nuclear power plant’s structure, operating systems, and parts and components. Allowing the aging plant to continue running would jeopardize the public’s safety, Fang said, urging that the plant be shut down.The reactor where damaged bolts were found has been turned off for repairs and safety checks, but the plant’s other reactor is still running.
To draw the government’s attention to the issue, the environmentalists said they will set up a warning device, called the “Taiwan Doomsday Clock,” in front of the Legislative Yuan …
Vermont rallies to keep its right to veto nuclear power plants
“We are demanding justice for an agreement made 40 years ago,” said Sanders, who drew the loudest cheers. He said the state had the right to determine a “safe energy future for our kids and grandkids.”
Organizers estimated the crowd at between 1,500 and 2,000 people.
Shumlin, Sanders rally anti-nuclear protesters By Susan Smallheer, Rutland Herald, April 15, 2012, BRATTLEBORO — More than 1,200 anti-nuclear protesters flocked to the Brattleboro Common on Saturday and listened to three of the state’s top politicians — Gov. Peter Shumlin, U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders and Attorney General William Sorrell — take turns criticizing Entergy Nuclear and its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Read more »
Don’t restart nuclear reactors, says Fukushima Governor
Fukushima Gov. blasts gov’t over push to restart nuclear reactors
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120413p2a00m0na014000c.html
April 13, 2012(Mainichi Japan) FUKUSHIMA — Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato, whose prefecture hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, has spoken out against central
government moves to restart reactors across the country idled for periodic maintenance.
“The investigation into the Fukushima No. 1 plant disaster isn’t yet complete, but (the government) is already discussing restarting reactors. That is a problem,” Sato told reporters at a regular news conference. “It makes me question whether the government really understands how severe nuclear disasters are.
“As the nuclear disaster progresses, we hear of new incidents every day,” he added, referring to the frequent reports of spreading radioactive contamination and radioactive water leaks since the meltdowns at the No. 1 plant.
Sato also touched on the proposed new nuclear power regulatory agency, which was supposed to start work at the beginning of April but has not yet been launched, saying,
“There’s also a problem when the promotion of nuclear power is happening alongside the regulation of nuclear power, while the government has yet to present a long-term energy
policy.”
Secrecy over nuclear problem, opposition to nuclear in Korea
Korea Hydro didn’t report the blackout and deleted it from its records before an outside inquiry discovered it, the committee said last month. The government is investigating why the incident wasn’t reported immediately, ….
Almost 80 percent of respondents opposed extending the life of older reactors in a February poll of 1,100 people by the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement.
Nuclear Halt in South Korea Seen Boosting Coal: Energy Markets, Bloomberg News By Sangim Han and Yuriy Humber on April 13, 2012 ”…..Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP) (KEP), the nation’s electricity monopoly, says it may boost coal purchases to replace nuclear power generation if the Kori 1 reactor remains shut and the government fails to extend the lifespan of a second reactor.
Kori 1 was closed for safety checks on March 13, five weeks after a power failure caused the temperature of its core to rise. The operating permit for Wolsong 1 expires in November…… Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., a unit of Korea Electric that operates the Kori plant, announced its power failure on March 12, a day after the first anniversary of Fukushima. A 12- minute power loss occurred on Feb. 9 and sent the core temperature to 58.3 degrees Celsius (137 degrees Fahrenheit) from 36.9 degrees, according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. Read more »
Adjoining prefectures oppose restarting of Japan’s nuclear reactors
The Union of Kansai Governments, which is involved in setting electricity conservation targets, remains unconvinced that nearby Fukui’s reactors can be restarted safely,
Analysis: Japan reactor restart debate swells beyond nuclear frontline By Yoko Kubota OTSU, Japan | Fri Apr 13, 2012 (Reuters) - Japan’s nuclear power industry had never spent much time or money winning over the hearts and minds of people like Susumu
Takahashi, a fisherman angling for small sweetfish from the serene shores of Lake Biwa, a world away from any nuclear reactor.
But with the industry paralyzed after last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, and badly in need of public trust to get moving again, itmay wish it had gone to the trouble.
“If Lake Biwa gets contaminated, then that would be irreversible,” said Takahashi, a doctor who regularly casts his line into the mountain-ringed lake in western Shiga prefecture, which contains none of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors but sits next to Fukui prefecture which
hosts 13 of them.
“The lake is in our hands now but it is also for future generations, and contamination would be passed down for generations. I am against the restarts of halted reactors,” Read more »
Wellington set the trend for 105 local nuclear free zones
Wellington: 30 years proudly nuclear-free Capital was a benchmark for other cities The Dominion Post, MICHAEL FORBES 14/04/2012 Wellington became a benchmark for others. By the end of 1984, 40 local authorities had nuclear-free policies and by 1988, 72 per cent of the population was living in 105 locally declared nuclear-weapon-free zones.
“The declaration had repercussions way beyond anything I anticipated at the time,” Ms Ritchie says. “I’m pleased that it has stood the test of time. To have it stop at Wellington would have been insufficient.”
To even be able to put such a motion before council was a privilege, Ms Ritchie says; in today’s climate of local government being told to keep their nose out of non-essential matters, it probably would not have happened.
“It was in the days when we could actually do this sort of thing politically, which was great. We could move a motion that was not related to rubbish, rates or drains. Not even related to the agenda. Now, you can’t do that.”….. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6743621/Wellington-30-years-proudly-nuclear-free
Japanese government still wants to promote the nuclear industry’s future
Critics said the government fears not so much a power crunch as revealing that the country actually can get by without nuclear energy when the last running reactor is halted on May 5 for scheduled maintenance.
Tensions run high over restart of Japan’s nuclear reactors, Times Live, Takehiko Kambayashi Sapa-dpa | 10 April, 2012 A 70-year-old temple master went on a week-long hunger strike in late March at the Fukui prefectural government offices against the central government’s efforts to restart idled reactors on the coast of the Sea of Japan.
If idled reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in the prefecture are allowed to restart, it would lead to the reactivation of other units across the country, said Tetsuen Nakajima, the chief priest of Myotsuji, a temple in Obama city. Read more »
Stop corrupt nuclear power programme – call by Jordan’s Islamists
“We [the IAF] eye the nuclear project as unjustifiable with suspicions of corruption surrounding it and demand halting the project… we call for investing in safe alternative energy resources, with which Jordan is rich,”
Jordan- Islamists call for halt to nuclear programme MENAFN – Jordan Times – 09/04/2012 The Islamist movement on Sunday called for halting the Kingdom’s nuclear programme, claiming that information about the project’s goals and financing were vague and misleading.
Islamist leaders described the project as ambiguous and suspicious, accusing officials in charge of the programme of not being transparent about the programme’s agenda. Read more »
Japan: Governor of critical region Shiga threatens to oppose nuclear reactor startups
“It appears to me that they are compromising technological safety in a half-baked way,”
reactors should not be restarted until a new, more independent regulatory agency is set up.
Japan Shiga threatens to rain on nuclear restarts Apr 6, 2012 (Reuters) – Japan’s western Shiga prefecture, one of the nation’s biggest sources of drinking water, threatened on Friday to oppose the restart of nearby nuclear reactors unless the government met several demands designed to prevent a repeat of the Fukushima disaster.
Shiga, whose Lake Biwa provides water for 14 million people, more than one in 10 Japanese, lies near a string of nuclear plants in adjacent Fukui prefecture – giving Shiga a distinctive voice in the debate over the future of atomic power. Read more »
Protest movement against nuclear power grows amongst rural Indians
“We have been holding a sit-in protest outside the Fatehabad mini-secretariat. We now plan to join hands with protesters fighting against the setting up of a nuclear plant in Jaitapur and those protesting in Koodankulam.”
Farmers are incensed that three elderly protesting farmers have already lost their lives in this agitation which has now completed over 580 days.
Protest against Haryana nuke plant intensifies http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/protest-against-haryana-nuke-plant-intensifies-152
April 3, 2012 By Rashme Sehgal Farmers in Haryana have stepped up their campaign against the setting up of the Gorakhpur Nuclear Power Plant in the Fatehabad district of the state.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has earmarked over 628 hectares of land to set up a 2,800-MW power plant which will use pressurised heavy water reactors at a cost of `13,000 crores. The villages earmarked for site selection include Gorakhpur, Kumaharia and Kajalhedi. Read more »
Nuclear dream turning sour in San Clemente, USA
“It’s easy to get distracted by the beauty here and not think about a nuclear meltdown,” he said. But he added he thinks about that more often. “It would be great to just shut it down.“
Residents Rethink a Nuclear Neighbor, Deteriorating Pipes, Japan Disaster Spark Calls to Close California Plant, but Shortages Are Feared WSJ, By TAMARA AUDI, 6 April 12 SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—For three decades, the reactor domes of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station have been fixtures on the coastline here less than five miles south of this surfer’s paradise.
“You see it, you just don’t think about it,” said Dan Kenton, a 49-year-old San Clemente resident.
That appears to be changing. Concern over the plant’s safety is growing in communities around San Onofre—about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego—after officials found deteriorating steam pipes in both reactors earlier this year. Both are now shut….. Read more »
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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