Nuclear Power’s biggest problem – it’s not cost competitive

Nuclear Power’s Cost Competitiveness Remains a Critical Question
solveclimate by Laura Shin – Sep 18th, 2009
Nuclear power has long been controversial for its radioactive waste, history of dangerous meltdowns and potential to help spread nuclear weapons.

With those arguments against it, and with a spotty record of construction and management in the 1970s and 1980s, the United States hasn’t welcomed a new nuclear power plant since 1996 – and that one had been in the works since 1973 Continue reading →

September 19, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

‘Clean coal’ funds robbing renewable energy

Clean coal funds are robbing renewable energy

COAL MINING 16 September 2009

CAPRICORN Conservation Council vice-president Ian Herbert says money spent on clean coal should be funding renewable energy technology.

Clean coal technology is an umbrella term used to describe technologies being developed that aim to reduce the environmental impact of coal energy generation such as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Herbert claims clean coal is still unproved and Australia would be far more advanced if the funds were spent on developing renewable energy sources.

The representative says even if clean coal is proven, workable clean coal technology is still at least 20 years off.

Clean coal funds are robbing renewable energy – Coal Mining

September 19, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, climate change, ENERGY | AUSTRALIA, renewables | Leave a comment

Canadian protest about nuclear waste

Protestors voice anti-nuke opinion
Prince Albert Daily Herald JEREMY WARREN Saskatchewan News Network 18 Sept 09
Bumbling nuclear waste disposal technicians opened spent reactor fuel rods and spilt radioactive material on the ground in front of the Delta Bessborough Hotel Thursday afternoon.

And people laughed, because this political vaudeville act was a protest against the closed-door Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) hearings. Continue reading →

September 19, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Canada, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

South Africa: pebble-bed nuclear reactor a dud? Eskom in deep financial loss

South Africa’s pebble-bed demo plant postponed indefinitely, official says

NUCLEONICS WEEK SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

South Africa’s pebble-bed high-temperature reactor

demonstration plant has been indefinitely postponed due to

lack of financing, the head of the company promoting the

small modular reactor said last week…… Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, South Africa | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation- cancer for astronauts

Space radiation could make planned Mars trip a suicide mission

Smart Planet By Andrew Nusca | Sep 16, 2009 “.…………….the galactic radiation that barrels through the solar system poses a significant health risk.

The radiation, which is made up of protons, gamma rays and cosmic rays, can slice through DNA molecules when it passes through living cells. The resulting damage can make cells behave erratically and lead to cancer………..NASA weighs radiation danger in units of cancer risk. A healthy 40-year-old non-smoking American male stands a (whopping) 20% chance of eventually dying from cancer. That’s if he stays on Earth. If he travels to Mars, the risk goes up…….The odds are even worse for women, he adds. “Because of breasts and ovaries, the risk to female astronauts is nearly double the risk to males.”…………http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/space-radiation-makes-planned-mars-trip-a-suicide-mission/967/

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, environment | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Missile defence shield in Europe abandoned by USA

Obama abandons missile defence shield in Europe

US president shelves scheme in Poland and Czech Republic, citing new intelligence on threat from Iran

Luke Harding in Moscow and Ian Traynor in Brussels
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 September 2009
Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe that had long soured relations with Russia. Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear power: just not economic

Meltdown: A Gloomy Look at the Economics of Nuclear Power

The WALL STREET JOURNAL

By Keith Johnson 16 Sept 09

There’s a new paper out from Spanish researchers at Universidad Pontificia Comillas exploring nuclear economics. Spain, you may recall, has its own debate about the future viability of nuclear energy.

The paper poses a simple question: Does nuclear energy add up to a rational investment in a liberalized energy market? Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

Particularly dangerous wastes in new nuclear plant design

Expert fears problems with new area nukes

TimesLeader By Rory Sweeney 17 Sept 09

WILKES-BARRE – The French-designed nuclear reactor that PPL Corp. is proposing to build at its Bell Bend site in Salem Township is untested and could create more problems than it solves, according to a French nuclear consultant……. Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Urgent need for independent members on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Nuclear agency needs independent appointees

AJC 17 Sept 09 by Peter A Bradford
Two of five seats are vacant on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the independent federal agency responsible for the safety of the 104 operating U.S. nuclear power reactors, Continue reading →

September 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Italy’s nuclear waste scandal revealed

Euro News 17 Sept 09 The discovery of a shipload of toxic and nuclear waste scuttled off the Italian coast by the Calabrian mafia is just the tip of the iceberg. At least 32 other wrecks await investigation as police widen their investigation. Continue reading →

September 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Italy, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Big push for nuclear in italy

Energy Collective by Dan Yurman on 09/16/2009″…………Italy is moving to build eight new nuclear reactors after earlier this year overturning a two-decade old ban on them……… Continue reading →

September 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, business and costs, Italy | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Delays in US Energy Dept: Nuclear Waste Panel

US Energy Dept: Nuclear Waste Panel Announcement Coming Soon
NASDAQ By Ian Talley, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRESWASHINGTON -(Dow Jones) 16 Sept 09
– The U.S. Department of Energy will soon make an announcement on a blue-ribbon panel to study how to deal with the country’s growing civilian nuclear waste, Continue reading →

September 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, wastes | Leave a comment

Anti-nuclear vampaign takes off in Alberta, Canada

Anti-nuclear group kicks off campaign
CHRISTOPHER MILLS – Herald-Tribune (Canada) 16 Sept 09
The Coalition for a Nuclear Free Alberta launched its province-wide Green Ribbon Campaign at the Grande Prairie Public Library yesterday. Continue reading →

September 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Canada, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Cancer rates anong Navajo from uranium mining, New Mexico

Nukes mean mines
Are we digging a new toxic legacy before the last one’s filled in?
CURRENT By <!– –>Greg Harman16 Sept 09
“………….When it comes to open-pit carnage, some of the worst damage has been done to indigenous lands, like the Navajo territory in New Mexico, where workers dug uranium ore in underground mines without the benefit of safety equipment. Continue reading →

September 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, indigenous issues, USA | antinuclear, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Strong opposition against nuclear power in Saskatchewan

Strong opposition against nuclear power in Saskatchewan: UDP report By James Wood, The StarPhoenix.com 16 Sept 09
REGINA — Public consultations on the government’s Uranium Development Partnership saw an “overwhelming response” against nuclear power and other aspects of the industry, widespread concern over health, safety and environmental impacts and skepticism towards the UDP itself, according to the report prepared by a former top civil servant and released Tuesday. Continue reading →

September 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Canada, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, uranium | Leave a comment