No coal, no nuclear, only renewable energy for Scotland by 2030?

Red, Green and Blue by Mridul Chadha

July 15th, 2009

According to a new study, Scotland could shut down all its coal and nuclear power plants in the next 20 years and fulfill all its energy needs using renewable sources. The study commissioned by a consortium of environmental groups and conducted by an independent engineering consultant will soon be presented to the Scottish government. The study hold significant importance as the government has set ambitious goals for cutting carbon emissions and switching to renewable energy sources for power generation. The research studies and evaluates five different scenarios to predict the energy demand and generation trends over the next 20 years……………………… The report is revolutionary as even the worst case scenario (Scenario One) would mean a significant supply (64 percent) of electricity coming from renewable sources. With additional tools of energy efficiency and targeted financial help for small and micro scale energy generation, Scotland would be able to generate a huge power surplus.

At a time when the world leaders are struggling to even promise significant emission cuts, Scottish government’s continuous efforts to promote renewable energy and cut carbon emissions to meet the highly ambitious goals is commendable.

No Coal, No Nuclear, Only Renewable Energy For Scotland By 2030?

July 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, ENERGY, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, renewables | Leave a comment

Under Chernobyl’s shadow

Jul 15, 2009 21:20

Under Chernobyl’s shadow

Jpost.com By RUTH EGLASH, REPORTING FROM PRIPYAT, UKRAINE “……………..Just two kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power station, Pripyat – once home to some 48,000 people working at the nearby plant – was evacuated forever in less than three hours when Reactor No. 4 exploded, filling the air with deadly radioactive fallout.

Within 24 hours of the explosion on April 26, 1986, the entire city was emptied, with residents being told to take only essentials. No one has returned to live here since.

Although eerily empty, Pripyat still remains a symbol of one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in history and the repercussions of Chernobyl, both medically and environmentally, still resonate strongly not just for former residents but for the Ukrainian people in general.

A report released by Greenpeace on the 20th anniversary of the accident, with new data based on cancer statistics in neighboring Belarus, estimated that approximately 270,000 cancers and 93,000 fatal cancers in the area were caused by Chernobyl. Additionally, demographic data from the previous 15 years showed that 60,000 people died in Russia as a result of the fallout and the total death toll for Ukraine and Belarus could reach another 140,000 indirectly.

Radiation from the accident has also had ongoing effects on survivors, including damage to immune and endocrine systems, accelerated aging, cardiovascular and blood illnesses, psychological problems, chromosomal aberrations and an increase in fetal deformities.

Despite these horrific aftereffects and even as many Ukrainians still come to terms with what happened, officials in Kiev are actively seeking to expand the country’s nuclear energy capabilities, even if it comes at the risk of another Chernobyl.

The move to enhance nuclear energy, which can power the country’s large cast iron and steel industries, as well as individual homes, is justified today, say officials, because of the growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

July 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Ukraine | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Nuclear power regulation becomes political minefield

Deutsche Welle 13.07.2009

A short circuit that led to an automatic shutdown at the Kruemmel nuclear power plant in northern Germany sparked a debate over who should oversee nuclear power operations and how tight regulation should be.

The malfunction was the second such incident in several days at the plant in northern Germany, which had only just re-opened after two years of repairs following a malfunction in a transformer that had caused a fire and a shutdown.

Vattenfall, the power plant’s operator, has since said it failed to install an important safety sensor, and that all of Kruemmel’s 80,000 fuel rods had to be checked after some appeared to be defective.

July 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

“Peaceful” ? New uranium mine for Australia

Uranium mine linked to US arms dealer

The Age Ben Cubby

July 16, 2009

THE new uranium mine approved by Environment Minister Peter Garrett will be owned by a subsidiary of one of the world’s biggest arms dealers.

A colourful but reclusive billionaire named James Neal Blue, who helped devise the Predator unmanned aircraft being used in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is a director of Quasar Resources, the company that will control the Four Mile mine.

Quasar Resources is an affiliate of General Atomics, a US weapons and nuclear energy corporation that is chaired by Mr Blue, and reportedly holds $US700 million ($A877 million) in Pentagon contracts. Mr Blue first came to prominence during the 1980s as a self-described “enthusiastic supporter” of US involvement in a covert war against the left-wing government in Nicaragua.

Next to the new Four Mile mine is the Beverley uranium mine, which is owned by Heathgate Resources, also affiliated to Mr Blue’s General Atomics.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/uranium-mine-linked-to-us-arms-dealer-20090715-dli7.html

July 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment