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Fear of radiation leads to discrimination against Fukushima victims

Although such examples are isolated, the severity and callousness of them led chief government spokesman Yukio Edano to condemn such actions. But many Japanese from outside the affected area remain wary in their dealings with Fukushima locals….The Fukushima Bar Association says evacuees and their children have been victimised and petrol stations have denied access to cars with Fukushima plates……

Discrimination increases torment of Fukushima, THE AUSTRALIAN, Rick Wallace, Tokyo correspondent  June 11, 2011   IT was supposed to be a lifetime highlight, but the wedding plans of a bride-to-be from Fukushima have turned into a nightmare thanks to the new post-crisis phenomenon of radiation discrimination. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Power transmission companies benefit from Germany’s nuclear shutdown

Dealtalk: German nuclear exit a boon for Siemens, ABB, By Marilyn Gerlach, FRANKFURT | Jun 10, 2011 (Reuters) – Germany’s nuclear exit and power shortages in China may help boost demand for switchgears and transformers, benefiting European power transmission suppliers such as Siemens and ABB.

Germany’s parliament began debating its new energy bill on Thursday, clearing the way for the shutdown of 17 nuclear reactors from 2015. Analysts say the nuclear capacity gap could be replaced mostly by renewables, which are volatile sources of energy and so trigger a need to invest in grid transmission infrastructure. ….http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/10/us-germany-siemens-idUSTRE7592YQ20110610

 

June 11, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

Tokyo Electric – too big to fail, but it’s failing

In a sense, it is because Japan allowed Tokyo Electric to become too big to fail that it must now deal with the consequences of its potential demise. Led by Tokyo Electric, Japan’s 10 electricity companies have long resisted efforts to liberalize the market, leaving them with virtual monopolies in their respective regions.

After Nuclear Crisis, Japan’s Biggest Utility Faces Insolvency Risk, NYT By , June 9, 2011 On Thursday, shares in Tokyo Electric again fell to a record low, at one point slumping to 148 yen ($1.85), down 93 percent from prequake levels. Shares finished at 192 yen ($2.40), down 4 percent from the previous day, and the company already had a 1.25 trillion yen loss in the year ending March 31, the largest annual loss for a nonfinancial institution in Japanese history. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan | Leave a comment

Google’s move into renewable energy – a commercial and environmental plus

By developing or investing in the technology that makes that goal achievable, Google gets in at the ground level of an industry that’s likely to generate significant revenue in the coming decades. 

Google Takes Aim At Renewable Energy, Wired, By Duncan Geere   June 8, 2011  Google’s founder and CEO, Larry Page, has announced that the company has tasked an R&D team with making renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels.  Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | 1 Comment

Corrupt authoritarian regimes and nuclear power – example Azerbaijan

Rampant corruption in some developing countries could also lead to corners being cut in everything from plant construction to security,

In Azerbaijan, a cable written in November 2008 describes the man who would have the responsibility for regulation of a proposed nuclear program, Kamaladdin Heydarov, as “ubiquitous, with his hands in everything from construction to customs.”.

After Japan, Where’s the Next Nuclear Weak Link?, Reuters By Nick Carey, Jun 10, 2011″…..REGULATION AND CORRUPTION For many, rule No.1 for a safe nuclear program is a regulator with at least some semblance of independence from government or corporate influence.

Critics worry that authoritarian governments will not tolerate an authority with even pretensions to partial independence or transparency of decision-making. While nuclear authorities in the West have also faced criticism for being too close to the industry they regulate, they are at least open to media and lawmaker scrutiny. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, safety | Leave a comment

Japan should have turned away from nuclear power – says Murakami

Mr. Murakami said Japan, having experienced the trauma of radiation, should have turned away from nuclear power…. those who questioned nuclear power were marginalized as being ‘unrealistic dreamers’,

Murakami Slams Japan’s Nuclear Choice, WSJ JUNE 10, 2011,“……..Accepting an international award given to people whose work helps ”develop cultural, scientific and human values worldwide” from Catalan authorities in Barcelona late Thursday, Mr. Murakami didn’t mince his words. Picking up the International Catalunya Prize (in Catalan), the author described the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi as the second nuclear blow Japan has suffered after the atomic bombings of World War II—and a self-inflicted blow at that, he said, one that should never have happened. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan | Leave a comment

Japanese will need to conserve electricity as unofficial nuclear shut-downs increase

A spokesman for Kansai Electric, which supplies electricity to Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city after Tokyo, said Wednesday that it may have to ask its customers to save electricity this summer if many of the nuclear power reactors that supply electricity to the company remain idle, and if temperatures are high. 

Japan Expects Power Shortages Amid Growing, Unofficial Nuclear Shutdown, WSJ 11 June 11By MARI IWATA, TOKYO—Japan’s electricity shortages may be intensified over the coming months by a wide-scale unofficial shutdown of nuclear power plants across the country. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Increasing number of TEPCO shareholders want withdrawal from nuclear

More Tepco Shareholders Seeking Nuclear Phaseout, TOKYO (Nikkei)  11 JUne 11–A total of 402 shareholders at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) have jointly submitted a resolution urging a withdrawal from nuclear power operations, the utility revealed in a notice for its general shareholders…http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110610D10JFN01.htm

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June 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan | Leave a comment

VIDEO: Fukushima meltdowns, radiation into sea

VIDEO Japan Admits 3 Nuclear Meltdowns, More Radiation Leaked into Sea; U.S. Nuclear Waste Poses Deadly Risks, Democracy Now 11 June 11 Almost three months after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear disaster in Japan, new radiation “hot spots” may require the evacuation of more areas further from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency recently admitted for the first time that full nuclear meltdowns occurred at three of the plant’s reactors, and more than doubled its estimate for the amount of radiation that leaked from the plant in the first week of the disaster in March. “What they failed to mention is that they discharged an equally large amount into the ocean,” says our guest Robert Alvarez, former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. “As [the radiation] goes up the food chain, it accumulates. By the time it reaches people who consume this food, the levels are higher than they originally were when they entered the environment.” Alvarez also discusses his new report on the vulnerabilities and hazards of stored spent fuel at U.S. reactors in the United States. Then we go to Tokyo to speak with Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of the group Green Action. She says citizens leading their own monitoring efforts are calling for additional evacuations, especially for young children and pregnant women. [includes rush transcript] http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2011/6/10/as_japan_nuclear_crisis_worsens_citizen

 

June 11, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Huge public interest as Beyond Nuclear meets Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Overwhelming public interest in Beyond Nuclear’s meeting with the NRC on US Mark I reactors  – crashes agency phone line 9 June 11 Beyond Nuclear staffers Paul Gunter and Kevin Kamps met with a review board of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on June 8, 2011 to supplement its April 13th petition calling for the suspension the operation of the 23 Fukushima-style General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactors in the US.

 Access via the NRC telephone bridge line attracted such “unprecedented” public interest that the line crashed, delaying the start of the meeting by nearly 30 minutes.

The meeting was convened at the request of Beyond Nuclear by the petition process and opened to the public by Federal law.Become a co-petitioner with Beyond Nuclear.

June 11, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | Leave a comment

VIDEO: Save Italy from Berlusconi’s Nukes

VIDEO http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/from-fukushima-kumi-asks-italians-to-save-ita/blog/35224  From Fukushima Kumi asks Italians to “Save Italy from Berlusconi’s Nukes” Greenpeace by Dietlind – June 10, 2011  On June 12 -13 Italians have the opportunity to say no! to nuclear power in their country. Berlusconi’s government has plans for 4 new reactors – but the people have demanded a referendum on the issue of nuclear energy. Surveys show that a majority of Italians are against it however, if less than 50% of the population participates, the referendum will be invalid, regardless the outcome.

I am currently in Japan and have just visited the area around Fukushima where radiation levels are dangerously high. Please watch this short video to learn more about what life is like for Japanese people in the region today. This should never happen – not in Ukraine, not in Japan and certainly not in la Bella Italia.

In the aftermath of Chernobyl in 1987, the Italian government wisely decided to abandon nuclear power. Nuclear energy is never safe – keep it out of Italy. If you know someone who can vote in Italy please encourage them do so

June 11, 2011 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Continuing radiation emissions into sea and air, from Fukushima

 Highly toxic radioactive iodine, cesium, strontium, plutonium and other toxic man-made radionuclides have leaked unabated since March 12 into the ocean and atmosphere…..The mainstream media is not reporting on this.

Preface Nuclear Toxicity Syndrome, The Intel Hub, By Dr. Mark Sircus –  June 9th, 2011 Arnie Gundersen, widely-regarded to be the best nuclear analyst covering Japan’s Fukushima disaster, indicates that the situation on the ground at the crippled reactors remains precarious and at a minimum it will be years before it can be hoped to be truly contained. Continue reading →

June 10, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, oceans | 2 Comments

Fukushima kids to wear radiation dose badges

Fukushima School Rule: Dosimeters for Kids, WSJ By Hiroyuki Kachi, 9 June 11, After the disclosure that much more radiation leaked from the stricken nuclear Fukushima Daiichi than previously estimated, local authorities in towns and cities nearby are taking as many precautions as they can – particularly for schoolchildren. One city in Fukushima prefecture is taking no chances: Date city, located about 60 kilometers northwest of Fukushima Daiichi, has decided to deliver basic radiation monitoring devices to all 8,000 kids in its schools.

The devices to be delivered to students, schoolkids and kindergarten attendees are badge-type dosimeters, rather than hi-tech electronic beeping equipment, according to an official at a local education committee. After being worn for a month or so, the dosimeters will be sent to a research laboratory to check radiation levels. Likely costing about 3,000 yen apiece, it is still undecided when all kids will receive their badges…..http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/06/09/fukushima-school-rule-dosimeters-for-kids/

June 10, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | 1 Comment

Japan may evacuate more towns, as radiation “hot spots” found

Japan Considers Evacuating More Towns WSJ By YUKA HAYASHI TOKYO, 9 June 11—Japanese government officials said they are considering evacuating more towns affected by radiation, after recent monitoring data showed new “hot spots” of elevated contamination farther away from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

June 10, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Unemployed Japanese risk their health in seeking cleanup work at Fukushima

If this was happening in America we’d have every political group complaining about workers rights, living wages, working conditions, and manipulation of the poor into taking these jobs at personal risk to their own lives instead of focusing on the selfless act of one person helping another

Unemployed Japanese Workers Flock to Radiation-Contaminated Fukushima  Gizmodo 8 June 11Kelly Hodgkins — Japanese workers are so desperate for work that many are traveling to devastated areas of the country to find employment in the risky field of radiation cleanup. Continue reading →

June 10, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

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