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Bangkok Post | General news | Europe advises Asean against nuclear energy

Europe advises Asean against nuclear energy
Bangkok Post ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT 12 Oct 08

BRUSSELS : The European Union (EU) has advised the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to go for cheaper and less risky renewable energy rather than nuclear power.

Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, a spokesman for the Energy Commissioner, said that Europe was serious about developing renewable energy resources and added that within a decade European companies would be world leaders in the field……………………………………..

He said Europe was aiming to reduce its energy consumption by 20% by 2020, meaning it had to improve efficiency, which would help reduce 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by the same deadline.

………………….

The spokesman said the EU has not actively encouraged other countries to use nuclear power, although some EU members such as France are key players in that area.

The EU instead suggested that developing solar and wind energy would be a niche for European corporations, and it has no safety risks, said Mr Espuny………………………………Greenpeace Thailand is campaigning for new Energy Minister Wannarat Charnveerakul to consider implementing effective energy-saving measures.

Bangkok Post | General news | Europe advises Asean against nuclear energy

October 13, 2008 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Bangkok Post | General news | Europe advises Asean against nuclear energy

Europe advises Asean against nuclear energy
Bangkok Post ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT 12 Oct 08

BRUSSELS : The European Union (EU) has advised the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to go for cheaper and less risky renewable energy rather than nuclear power.

Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, a spokesman for the Energy Commissioner, said that Europe was serious about developing renewable energy resources and added that within a decade European companies would be world leaders in the field……………………………………..

He said Europe was aiming to reduce its energy consumption by 20% by 2020, meaning it had to improve efficiency, which would help reduce 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by the same deadline.

………………….

The spokesman said the EU has not actively encouraged other countries to use nuclear power, although some EU members such as France are key players in that area.

The EU instead suggested that developing solar and wind energy would be a niche for European corporations, and it has no safety risks, said Mr Espuny………………………………Greenpeace Thailand is campaigning for new Energy Minister Wannarat Charnveerakul to consider implementing effective energy-saving measures.

Bangkok Post | General news | Europe advises Asean against nuclear energy

October 13, 2008 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood – Telegraph

Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood
Telegraph.co.uk 12 Oct 08 Alarm systems at Britain’s nuclear weapons factory were put out of action for 10 days by last summer’s floods, leaving tens of thousands of people without warning in the event of a nuclear accident.

The floods disabled key radiation alarm systems, designed to detect an impending nuclear accident at the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield, in Berkshire, according to secret documents seen by Channel 4 News.

Parts of the factory came “within 2 to 3 hours” of being overwhelmed by the floods – which could have led to the release of potentially radioactive contaminated water.

A nuclear incident at Burghfield could result in the release of a radioactive cloud that would require the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding area, including the nearby large conurbation of Reading.

Burghfield is where Britain’s Trident nuclear warheads are dismantled and reassembled for maintenance. According to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act nearly all the buildings in the key nuclear Assembly Area were inundated by floodwater on July 20th last year when torrential rain caused chaos across much of southern England.

As a result of the flooding, all live nuclear work on warheads was stopped for nine months. Yet defence ministers told MPs there had been only “minor disruption”…………………………… Details of the extent of the flooding were deliberately kept from the public and local authorities. Anxious to protect the company’s reputation, the documents note approvingly that “it was a prudent step to limit disclosure of information surrounding the degree of impact suffered – particularly at Burghfield.”

Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood – Telegraph

October 13, 2008 Posted by | safety | Leave a comment

Nuclear power project is fraught with «ordeals», expert says | BELARUS NEWS

Nuclear power project is fraught with «ordeals», expert says

naviny.by 11/10/08 The Belarusian government’s plans to build a nuclear power plant are fraught with “multiple troubles and ordeals for the people,” Belarusian expert Heorhiy Lepin said at an international conference in Vilnius on October 9.

He described nuclear energy programs as “the most costly and the most hazardous of all power generation technologies.” “This danger is connected not only with the possibility of accidents: a nuclear reactor pollutes the environment during its routine operation,” Dr. Lepin said.

The professor stressed that nuclear power projects were inefficient because of high construction costs and the high cost of power generation. Nuclear fuel currently costs nearly 20 times as much as it did in 2000, he said, describing the disposal of nuclear waste as a “very expensive and very dangerous problem.”………………………..British professor Christopher Busby, who studies the effects of low-dose radiation on health, warned that the operation of a nuclear power plant would lead to a higher child mortality rate in Belarus.

Nuclear power project is fraught with «ordeals», expert says | BELARUS NEWS

October 13, 2008 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

North Korea to resume disabling atom sites – International Herald Tribune

North Korea to resume disabling atom sites

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International Herald Tribune October 12, 2008 North Korea welcomed its removal Sunday from Washington’s terrorism blacklist and said it would resume disabling its nuclear weapons facilities, allowing U.S. and United Nations monitors back into its main nuclear complex.

The United States announced Saturday that it had removed North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. In return, North Korea said Sunday that it would resume disabling a plutonium plant and other key facilities at its nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, and allow some inspections to verify the process.

 
North Korea to resume disabling atom sites – International Herald Tribune

October 13, 2008 Posted by | business and costs | Leave a comment

Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran | David Owen – Times Online

Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran –
 The Sunday TimesOctober 12, 2008″ Some key decision makers in Israel fear that unless they attack Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities in the next few months, while George W Bush is still president, there will not be another period when they can rely on the United States as being anywhere near as supportive in the aftermath of a unilateral attack…………………………………….. Following an Israeli attack and Iranian countermeasures, the American military would be bound to follow Bush’s orders. The president-designate or, if before the election, the two candidates, would be wary of criticising him. It is imperative that voices are raised in America and Europe to warn Israel off unilateral action against Iran.

Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran | David Owen – Times Online

October 13, 2008 Posted by | weapons and war | Leave a comment

Costly nuclear power isn’t the answer – St. Petersburg Times

Costly nuclear power isn’t the answer
tampabay.com October 13, 2008

Costly nuclear power won’t take us to the future ……………..In addition to the well-known health, safety and security risks of nuclear power, constructing new nuclear plants makes no economic sense. Our economic crisis stems, in part, from our continuing to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars from China that we give to the Middle East for oil. Building a nuclear power plant is the most capital-intensive means of producing energy, and employs the fewest workers.

We are in an economic crisis requiring huge infusions of capital to keep our country and perhaps the world from economic collapse, and there are far less capital-intensive means of producing energy, such as solar and wind generating units, which can be manufactured and operated on a vastly smaller scale, and decentralized, thereby creating many times the number of American jobs in our troubled economy, for the same investment.

The power companies are promoting nuclear power because their rates (and their profits) are based upon a percentage of their capital investment — the higher the capital investment, the higher profit for the power company………………21st century technologies are ready to meet our energy needs. Rather than return to the failed energy policies of the 1970s, we can and must do better. Our presidential candidates and the next Congress need to take the steps necessary to effectively address our climate and economic crises, and move us quickly to the nuclear-free, carbon-free energy future Americans want and deserve.

Costly nuclear power isn’t the answer – St. Petersburg Times

October 13, 2008 Posted by | ENERGY | Leave a comment

Green Left – Garnaut final report met with protest

Garnaut final report met with protest
Green Left Kamala Emanuel10 October 2008Professor Ross Garnaut delivered his final report on impacts of — and responses to — climate change to Australian federal and state governments on September 30.In the previous week, a series of protest actions was held around the country to highlight the need for emergency action on climate change………………………………… The report explains that failure to act could be catastrophic — but recommends soft targets………………………….. The report explains that failure to act could be catastrophic — but recommends soft targets.

Green Left – Garnaut final report met with protest

October 13, 2008 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment