Greens Blast Move to Repeal IL Nuclear Moratorium
Greens Blast Move to Repeal IL Nuclear Moratorium
April 3rd, 2009
Greens Blast Move to Repeal IL Nuclear MoratoriumApril 3rd, 2009 Green Party blasts legislative move to repeal Nuclear Moratorium; Calls attempt an effort to undermine Renewable EnergyGreen Party leaders condemned legislative attempts to repeal the Illinois moratorium against new nuclear production. House Bill 875 and Senate Bill 2162 would delete the provision in state law prohibiting the construction of new nuclear facilities until the nuclear waste storage issue is resolved.Nuclear power is bad for the economy, bad for the environment, and bad for the people of Illinois. We need to be phasing out nuclear production. It is completely irresponsible for legislators to champion it.”The Illinois Green Party pointed out that the expansion of nuclear production would undermine the 2007 Renewable Energy Portfolio standard law requiring that Illinois electric utilities produce 25% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025 – and in the process, would be bad for job growth in Illinois.“Renewable energy production and energy efficiency efforts create more jobs
than nuclear production,” said William Edgar, DuPage County Green Party Chair. ”And nuclear is more expensive to produce than wind or geothermal. Nuclear power is bad for workers and bad for consumers.”Greens also pointed to the effort to repeal the nuclear moratorium as further evidence of the pernicious influence of Pay to Play in Illinois politics. The Illinois State Board of Elections Campaign Disclosure site shows over 30 variations of the name Exelon having contributed over $2,500,000 to candidates in Illinois since 2001. Many of these legislators are now sponsoring the moratorium repeal legislation.
“Illinois needs to ban corporate contributions immediately,” said Mark Mallon, Green candidate for Urbana City Council (Ward 2). ”Are we going to get real reform out of Springfield this year, or more of the same?”
The Illinois Green Party recommends the expertise of the Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) for more information on the perils of nuclear power. NEIS is online at www.neis.org.
Energy Department presses for license as if nothing’s changed – Las Vegas Sun
YUCCA MOUNTAIN:
Energy Department presses for license as if nothing’s changed
LAS VEGAS SUN 5 April 09 “……………………………………….The biggest of the alleged holes in the Energy Department’s Yucca license application, according to Nevada, is that the project’s safety plans rely on installing 11,000 titanium drip shields 100 years from now, after the waste has been placed inside the mountain. Installing the drip shields would require technology that hasn’t been invented, the state says, and the application does not consider the effects if the drip shields cannot be installed.Nevada, several counties and others would like to bring forward hundreds of other concerns about the Energy Department’s science. They say it fails to take into account expected changes in precipitation tied to global warming, fails to use the right calculations for volcanic activity, fails to properly anticipate how fast waste canisters will corrode and fails to substantiate that the department could block air traffic over the mountain to avoid air crashes.
These groups also argue that environmental impact statements didn’t sufficiently consider the effect of transporting waste to the site.In all, there were 320 contentions from 14 groups.The Energy Department says none of these critiques should be heard because they all violate technical requirements of the regulations.
Energy Department presses for license as if nothing’s changed – Las Vegas Sun
Google Earth now mapping sites for renewable energy developers
Google Earth now mapping sites for renewable energy developersPath to Green Energy tool could speed up solar, wind projects by avoiding environmentalist-developer fights.statesman.com By David R. BakerSAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEMonday, April 06, 2009 – “………………………. A new mapping tool on Google Earth shows renewable power developers where they can — and can’t — build.
With grants from Google’s philanthropic wing, the National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council pulled together maps of endangered species habitats, national parks and other forms of protected land and loaded all that data into Google Earth.
Zoom in on the Mojave Desert, a favorite spot for solar power projects, and you can see every bit of land that is off-limits to developers………………….
…………..The map includes habitat data for more than 170 species. Its creators want to add more states and species as well as information showing places that have the most sunshine and the strongest winds.
Google Earth now mapping sites for renewable energy developers
Barack Obama nuclear weapons ban
No nukes, vows Obama Sydney Morning Herald Jonathan Pearlman Foreign Affairs Correspondent * April 6, 2009THE US President, Barack Obama, has begun a push to rid the world of nuclear arms in a landmark speech that called for a ban on testing and a global summit to prevent criminals or terrorists acquiring weapons.As North Korea fired a missile over Japan, raising fears of proliferation, Mr Obama said the US was the only nation to have used a nuclear bomb and had a “moral responsibility” to seek a world without nuclear arms…………………….
“The threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up,” Mr Obama said.
“Testing has continued. Black market trade in nuclear secrets and nuclear material abound. The technology to build a bomb has spread. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal one … The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons … I am not naive. This goal will not be reached quickly – perhaps not in my lifetime.”……………
……………..Mr Obama said nuclear energy could help combat climate change and every country had the right to develop peaceful programs. (This is a worry – Is Obama falling for the “nukes for peace” con idea of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership – setting up a cartel to expand the nuclear industry – Christina Macpherson))
Canada urged to sign up to UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
OTTAWA, April 3 /CNW Telbec/ – Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine ……………………
"I congratulate and commend the Australian government, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the people of Australia for showing real leadership in endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," National Chief Fontaine said. "First Nations call on the Canadian government to follow Australia's lead.................Under the previous Howard government, Australia had opposed the UN Declaration and was one of only four countries in the world to vote against it at the United Nations. The other three were Canada, the United States and New Zealand. There are indications that President Obama may reverse the United States' position and sign-on to the Declaration. "Canada is increasingly marginalized and isolated on the international stage because of its opposition to the UN Declaration," the National Chief stated......................Adopting the UN Declaration is the next logical step towards creating a comprehensive plan that will affirm our rightful place in Canada, give life to our rights and our Treaties, and give substance to the government's Apology and promise of reconciliation made on June 11th of last year. This was a promise not only to First Nations, but to all Canadians. It is time for Canada to move forward and join the international community in endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
Press freedom body slams Niger media ‘harassment’
Press freedom body slams Niger media ‘harassment’ NIAMEY (AFP) 4 April 09 — A press freedom organisation Friday condemned the government of the west African state of Niger for “harassing” Dounia, an independent broadcasting group.”The Dounia group is the victim of repeated harassment by the judicial authorities,” Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) said in a statement………………………..
The statement follows the arrest of Abibou Garba, director of the Dounia radio and television station, on charges of “disseminating false news” following a discussion of a recent visit to Niger by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“We urge the authorities to withdraw the charges against Garba,” RSF said.
Garba and Idi Abdou, a political activist in the Alternative Citizen Space organisation, were charged after a televised discussion on the Dounia channel about the mining of uranium in Niger by the French group Areva.
Costly Lepreau nuclear plant refit may extend into 2010
Costly Lepreau nuclear plant refit may extend into 2010: CBC News April 3, 2009 CBC News
NB Power says it can no longer predict exactly when the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant will be up and running again — and for every day it’s delayed it costs the province $670,000 to replace the electricity the plant would normally produce.The $1.4-billion project was supposed to be finished by this September, a date that was first pushed back to December and is now in danger of running into next year.
Gaëtan Thomas, NB Power’s vice-president nuclear, said Thursday that picking a completion date is no longer possible.
Nuclear-waste contract opposed
Nuclear-waste contract opposed Fairplay Daily News 02 Apr 2009
RUSSIAN environmental groups are urging rejection for a contract renewal to ship radioactive waste through St Petersburg’s port to a storage facility at Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland.Greenpeace told Fairplay that it had urged Russia’s government-owned nuclear fuel trading company Techsnabexport (Tenex) not to renew its contract to accept uranium hexafluoride …
Fiscal stimulus and the environment
Greenstanding
Apr 2nd 2009
From The Economist print editionGordon Brown’s New Deal will do little to advance renewable energy
Mr Brown’s green New Deal looks flimsy. On March 31st HSBC, a big bank, published a report ranking countries by how green their economic-stimulus packages were. The bank reckons that Britain is allocating just 7% of its fiscal stimulus to greenery, compared with 12% in America, 34% in China and a whopping 81% in South Korea (see chart). A separate report prepared for Greenpeace, a pressure group, by consultants at the New Economics Foundation (NEF) considers only genuinely new funding and arrives at a figure of just 0.6%, or £120m……………………….
………………….It has moved speedily to revive the nuclear-power industry, by contrast. From a position of cordial dislike in 2003, the government announced itself in favour of new nuclear plants in principle as early as 2006.More recently ministers have been positively prescriptive, suggesting how many plants might be built and where. A takeover of British Energy, which runs most existing nuclear plants, by EDF, keen to build more, took place last year. A new nuclear laboratory has been founded, schemes to train workers set up and the vexed issue of waste disposal re-examined.Nuclear-power stations take many years to build, so new ones will not help Britain meet its 2020 targets for curbing emissions. But the technology is well understood. Politicians may have calculated that a few nuclear-power stations will be easier to sell the public than thousands of wind turbines. And energy does not have to be renewable to be low-carbon.
Fiscal stimulus and the environment | Greenstanding | The Economist
National security fears haults takeover of Oz Minerals
National security fears haults takeover of Oz Minerals Herald Sun 28 March
THE Rudd Government has cited national security concerns in its rejection of China’s takeover bid for Oz Minerals……………..
“The Woomera Prohibited Area weapons testing range makes a unique and sensitive contribution to Australia’s national defence,” Mr Swan said.
Woomera was used for nuclear tests in the 1950s and remains a highly restricted area.
Mr Swan said: “It is not unusual for governments to restrict access to sensitive areas on national security grounds.”
National security fears haults takeover of Oz Minerals | Herald Sun
Nuclear Power: ‘They only tell part of the truth’
Nuclear Power: ‘They only tell part of the truth’ VUE WEEKLY Community activists charge bias in government’s nuclear report by Jan Buterman April 2, 2009
Opponents of nuclear power in Alberta say a “balanced and objective” report prepared at the request of the provincial government to look at the “factual issues pertinent to the use of nuclear power to supply electricity in Alberta” relies on a select group of experts with ties to the nuclear industry and omits or glosses over key information.“In one word? Fraudulent,” charges Pat McNamara, a Grande Prairie carpenter and founding member of the grassroots group Nuclear Free Alberta, pointing to the lack of representation of heath or environmental experts on the panel which prepared the report. “The thing that’s wrong with it is that they only tell part of the truth,” McNamara says. While the report, which the province will use to guide public consultations on the issue starting in April, deliberately uses non-technical language throughout, McNamara says it fails to elaborate on key issues which Albertans need to understand if they are to make an informed decision on bringing nuclear power to the province. The issues are complex but not impossible to learn, argues McNamara……………
……………….Despite the report’s claim of focusing on factual issues, the section dealing with fuel disposal relies heavily on language describing work to be developed or still in research, with theoretical outcomes posed as “could be” and “likely.” At the end of the day—or in the case of nuclear power stations, the end of several human generations from now—nuclear power stations leave behind highly toxic waste that cannot be completely recovered or recycled and must be stockpiled well into the timeline of those future generations. As the waste materials decay, they remain toxic—some of the the breakdown products are even more radioactive than the original material.
Vue Weekly : Edmonton’s 100% Independent Weekly : Nuclear Power: ‘They only tell part of the truth’
Militarisation of Science and Nuclear Policy
Militarisation of Science and Nuclear Policy
Web Newswire April 1, 2009 <!–
–> Dhirendra Kumar – “………………………………..Pro-nuclear pundits have, however, claimed that the N-power programme is now a peaceful civil industrial activity, eco-friendly, and necessary for the country’s energy requirement for futuristic development. Also that the engineering of nuclear reactors had reached high levels of safety of “one in the millionth” chance of an accident or radiation leaks. If that were the case, our civic administration and population around nuclear establishments should be provided with possible risks warnings and as with normal industrial activities, the public should be provided with adequate Insurance coverage against radiation damage and injury. Radiation accidents should be covered in Insurance Policies. Presently all Insurance Policies carry a special “ exclusion” clause that the policy excludes any radiation damage to life and property…………………
……………..Science and Public Policy principles cannot and must not be ignored in formulating the nuclear power policy. Political expediency, and narrow chauvinistic aspiration to have the Bombs must not be the basis of Science policy……………..
…………….the fission process suffers from genuine technological infirmities resulting from radiation and there is no fail-safe reactor system to guarantee absolute safety for our oncoming generations. Notwithstanding the Right to Information Act, the Department of Atomic Energy is free from any public and parliamentary scrutiny…………
………………..There is no constitutional protection for a whistleblower or informer who dare to report any radiation leaks or nuclear accident.Concerned scientists’ opposition to nuclear power primarily centers on how and how soon N- technology can resolve problem of waste disposal. Sufficient scientific data exist to indicate potential biological hazards from actinides, including potential genetic effects of exposure and high probability of migration of radioactivity through the food chain……………
……………..Technical problems of de-commissioning of dead reactors and the long-term waste storage cannot be ignored. For, to keep the large amount of radioactive waste material would requ
Militarisation of Science and Nuclear Policy | webnewswire.com
Uranium Suffering From GFC Too
FNArena News – April 01 2009
By Chris Shaw
Uranium prices have been under pressure in recent months and according to equity research group Resource Capital Research (RCR) the global financial crisis has been largely to blame as it has impacted on the market’s suppy/demand balance.
The group notes further price weakness is expected as while the spot price is currently US$42.50 per pound this is down from US$52.50 at the end of last year and the Fund Implied Price (FIP), which is a key leading indicator for spot prices, is currently at US$35.00 per pound. It has traded between US$30 and US$45 per pound in recent months………
……………….conditions are tougher for those companies at the production and development stage as they are facing funding challenges from the global financial crisis at the same time as permit and commissioning issues and other development factors are increasing related cost pressures.
NBRI’s radioactive waste being released in Gomti? –
NBRI’s radioactive waste being released in Gomti? THE TIMES OF INDIA 2 Apr 2009, 0215 hrs IST, Neha Shukla, TNN LUCKNOW: Could NBRI be dumping radioactive
waste in Gomti directly through its sewage system? Knowing that radioactive material can induce
cancer, birth defects and infertility in humans directly exposed to it, releasing it in Gomti is a huge big ecological disaster. A Bareilly-based NGO, Shree Mahalaxmi Aushadhiya Paudha Sanrakshan Vikas Samiti, has accused NBRI of polluting Gomti. It filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the high court claiming NBRI is illegally discharging radioactive elements in the river
NBRI’s radioactive waste being released in Gomti? – Lucknow – Cities – The Times of India
Pro nuclear push in US Senate
Help Stop Pro-Nuke Budget Amendments NOW!
March 31, 2009
They’re at it again! And we have to act again–now!
The U.S. Senate is currently debating President Obama’s FY 2010 budget on the Senate floor.
A small group of Senators, led by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC), is preparing to introduce a number of pro-nuclear amendments intended to support still more subsidies to the nuclear industry. Other Senators involved are Crapo, Brownback, Voinovich, and Vitter.
One amendment we’ve seen would allow money to be shifted around in the budget if the nuclear industry can get $50 billion in new loan guarantees later. Another would allow money to be shifted around if pro-nuclear boosters are successful in getting more R&D money for Generation IV reactors. Another would do the same if construction of a reprocessing facility were authorized. These amendments are intended to make it easier for nuclear backers to try again to boost nuclear spending once the budget bill is enacted.
Please call your Senators–NOW--and urge them to vote against any and all amendments to the budget bill that would pave the way for additional nuclear subsidies. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121.
And please send your Senators an e-mail on these amendments by clicking here.
And please help us pay for this ongoing campaign by making your donation here. Your contributions of any size are gratefully appreciated, and enable us to continue doing this work.
Spread the word–post this Alert everywhere!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
1 This Month
10 June – Assessing Canada’s Investments in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – https://zoom.us/meeting/register/IiqHA5feRhaEBycOLNTJlA#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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