‘Green’ benefits of nuclear power touted, rejected

‘Green’ benefits of nuclear power touted, rejected The Star Phoenix By Jeremy Warren, May 22, 2009 The fourth instalment of a five-part series on nuclear energy, leading into public consultations on energy options the provincial government will be conducting during the next two months………………………………while a reactor itself is zero-emission, the entire life-cycle of a reactor — from mining, fuel refining, reactor construction, operation, decommissioning and waste storage — contributes much more pollution than equivalent energy sources.

“Nobody outside the orbit of the nuclear industry is recommending going nuclear,” said Jim Harding, author of Canada’s Dirty Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System.

“They’re giving people the false notion that nuclear power is a fix for environmental problems. This is not science. It’s a public relations gimmick. It’s called greenwashing.”

Mining the uranium, building the reactor and decommissioning it are all horrible carbon emitters, he added.

Harding advocates energy demand policies such as shifting to LED lights, green engineering and conservation for a real reduction in carbon emissions.

Estimates of future power needs assume people will use power as they have in the past, without a change in mentality about conservation, he said………………………………………….a Bruce Power proposal to build four reactors in Alberta estimated a $10-billion price tag — $2,500 per kilowatt produced — but later had to be revised to $36 billion, tripling the cost per kilowatt, said Harding.

“At that price, wind power is about half the capital costs of nuclear power per kilowatt,” he added.

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New reactors too costly, groups tell state

New reactors too costly, groups tell state By Thomas Content of the Journal SentinelMay. 21, 2009 Supporters of nuclear power made a big push earlier this spring to overturn the state’s ban on construction of nuclear reactors.The supporters included a co-founder of Greenpeace who now is working for an energy coalition funded by the Nuclear Energy Institute……………………………..

“Given nuclear power’s high costs and its legacy of nuclear waste, expanding the use of nuclear
power is not a responsible choice for meeting future electricity needs in Wisconsin,” Physicians for Social Responsibility and other groups said in a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle and members of the Legislature. “We urge you to oppose legislation that promotes nuclear power in our state until each of these substantive and cost issues is addressed.”

Since 2005, a report from the group WISPIRG says, the cost of new reactors has tripled — outpacing the increases in other types of power generation.

New reactors too costly, groups tell state – JSOnline

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

INDIGENOUS GROUPS CALL FOR HALT BY FOREIGN COMPANIES OF LAND USE FOR OIL, MINING, WITHOUT THEIR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, CONSENT, AS PERMANENT FORUM CONTINUES – 7thSpace Interactive

NDIGENOUS GROUPS CALL FOR HALT BY FOREIGN COMPANIES OF LAND USE FOR OIL, MINING, WITHOUT THEIR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, CONSENT, AS PERMANENT FORUM CONTINUES As Stewards of Environment, ‘Indigenous People Cannot Be Sacrificed 7th Space 23 May 09

On the Altar of Climate Change’, Forum HearsCATHERINE DAVIS, Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Caucus, observed that there remained only three Member States opposed to the Declaration. Among them were the United States and New Zealand, while Australia had recently made moves to endorse it. She then described the situation facing five groups of indigenous peoples in the Pacific — the Maori, Hawaii, Tahiti, Alifuru and Papua, and Torres Straits — and made several requests of the Permanent Forum on issues relating to those groups. In New Zealand, she said the Permanent Forum should invite the Government to implement a recommendation recently made by a local commission to give the Maori people three of the 23 seats on the Auckland “Super-City” Council (Auckland was home to the largest urban Maori population in the world). The New Zealand Government was currently ignoring that recommendation……………………………………In French Polynesia, she asked for a visit by the Special Rapporteur, because Polynesian law had been declared inferior to French law. The Permanent Forum should provide funding for a seminar to educate indigenous peoples on their rights.

INDIGENOUS GROUPS CALL FOR HALT BY FOREIGN COMPANIES OF LAND USE FOR OIL, MINING, WITHOUT THEIR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, CONSENT, AS PERMANENT FORUM CONTINUES – 7thSpace Interactive

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Atomic Veterans Achieve Recognition

Atomic Veterans Achieve Recognition

Eyewitness News 12 HD  var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate(“May 22, 2009 3:42 PM EST”); document.write(wn_last_ed_date);May 23, 2009 05:

Gary Thornton of Leon and his friend Lawrence Halloran of Mulvane began a grassroots effort to gain national recognition for atomic test veterans in 2004.*130 aging atomic veterans live in Kansas.*Thornton and Halloran started a petition and wrote letters to politicians seeking additional benefits to help atomic veterans deal with illness caused by radiation.*On July 16, 2004, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recognized their efforts by declaring the day Atomic Veterans Day in Kansas. Other states have since had similar recognition days.*The stretch of U.S. 400 — from U.S. 77 in Augusta east to the Butler County line — received the designation in a bill introduced by Reps. Ed Trimmer of Winfield and Dave Crum of Augusta. It became law last year.*Atomic Vets are now working towards national recognition. They are trying to establish an Atomic Veterans service metal. A bill is waiting for approval from the U.S. senate.

Atomic Veterans Achieve Recognition – KWCH – Kansas News and Weather –

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Homelands plan faces massive backlash | watoday.com.au

Homelands plan faces massive backlash * WA Today Russell Skelton 22 May 09 – “……………………

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma described the Government’s homelands policy as an assault on the world’s “oldest continuous surviving culture”. On outstations, Aboriginal people could maintain their language, customs and cultural practices, he said.

He said there was a strong body of research showing that people on homelands lived longer, healthier lives.

Homelands plan faces massive backlash | watoday.com.au

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Praise after nuke waste shipment arrives safely in US – Local News – News – General – Illawarra Mercury

Praise after nuke waste shipment arrives safely in US

Illawarra Mercury BY BRETT COX

23/05/2009 4:00:00 AM

“The HEU spent fuel was transported by truck, rail, and ship under secure conditions with the co-operation of Australia and several international organisations,” security administration principal deputy administrator Ken Baker said.The transfer of the waste from the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor through Wollongong and out to sea via Port Kembla on March 16 prompted wide debate in the community after it was reported in the Mercury.More than 400 police and RTA crew locked down Wollongong between 11.30pm and 2am as a convoy of eight trucks surrounded by police vehicles, under the spotlight of a helicopter, made the 56km journey to the port.It was the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s ninth shipment of used fuel since 1963, but the first to travel via Port Kembla……………………………………….There are now no spent fuel elements left at Lucas Heights and the ne

Praise after nuke waste shipment arrives safely in US – Local News – News – General – Illawarra Mercury

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Don’t lose what the homelands have gained | theage.com.au

Don’t lose what the homelands have gained

• Editorial
• The Age May 23, 2009

“………………………………….The homelands, as the outstations are properly called, developed as very different places to the towns. As study after study by universities and health authorities has confirmed, people in the homelands are generally much healthier than those in the towns. Their communities are stable and cohesive. They have nurtured their traditional cultures through contact with the land. What is more, by keeping their cultures and knowledge of the land alive, they have begun to find new ways of supporting themselves. Most important of all, they have a sense of being in control of their lives………………………… indigenous leader Pat Dodson urged that more homelands with more than 100 residents should be “designated as communities and be serviced and funded to the same level as like territory communities”……………………………….”

Don’t lose what the homelands have gained | theage.com.au

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SRS receives 32 pounds of highly enriched uranium from Australia | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC

SRS receives 32 pounds of highly enriched uranium from Australia5 AikenStandard.com /21/2009 11:57 PMStaff reportsThe Savannah River Site has become the home of an Australian import that is a lot less cute than a kangaroo or koala.The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Thursday that the Savannah River Site will be the new home for 32 pounds of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in spent nuclear fuel from Australia. The HEU spent fuel was transported by truck, rail and ship under secure conditions with the cooperation of Australia and several international organizations. With the completion of this shipment, NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative has successfully removed more than 220 pounds of U.S.-origin HEU fuel from Australia since 1998.

SRS receives 32 pounds of highly enriched uranium from Australia | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC

May 23, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment