Thanksgiving for the free fuel of wind and sun
Thankful for Alternatives to Coal and Nuclear November 24th, 2011 › Clean Energy › Simon Mahan › Last week, SACE participated in a media flurry over two released reports. The first report documents how America’s traditional power plants (like coal and nuclear) consume vast amounts of freshwater – an invaluable, and increasingly stressed resource here in the Southeast. The second report gives us a path forward – away from dirty, thirsty coal plants and equally thirsty nuclear plants.
The other report (“Toward a Sustainable Future for the US Power Sector: Beyond Business as Usual 2011“) was published by Synapse Energy Economics and commissioned by the Civil Society Institute to figure out how the U.S. could power our country without coal.
Hardly a pie-in-the-sky, academic endeavor, Beyond Business as Usual looks at a 40 year timeframe to phase out coal and cut nuclear without heavy reliance on any one single source of electricity generation. By ramping up energy efficiency, solar, wind energy, biomass and other renewable energies, the report lays out a roadmap for eliminating coal by 2050 – all while reducing consumer costs by $18 Billion. This is possible, in part, due to renewable energy’s fuel costs being stable in perpetuity – in other words, the wind and sun are free whereas coal and natural gas prices are expected to continue to fluctuate wildly. Anadditional $450 billion in health-related costs would be avoided (such as asthma and premature deaths caused by coal) and are not included in the analysis’ initial $18 Billion savings figure. Water consumption would be expected to drop 90% over a business-as-usual scenario – nearly a 54 trillion gallon per year reduction.
This Thanksgiving, in addition to family and friends, I’m also thankful for energy alternatives to “business as usual.” http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2011/11/24/thankful-for-alternatives-to-coal-and-nuclear/
Worldwide, nuclear power becoming more unpopular – global poll
Opposition to Nuclear Energy grows: Global Poll
Online News, w25 Nov 11 LONDON: Public opinion in many countries with nuclear power programmes has become more opposed to the technology since 2005, with most people believing conservation and renewable energy can meet future needs without nuclear power, a new multi-country poll for the BBC indicates.
Most of those polled in countries with operational nuclear plants are opposed to building new reactors, saying either that their country should “use the nuclear power stations we already have, but not build new ones” (39%), or that “nuclear power is dangerous and we should close down all operating nuclear plants as soon as possible” (30%)…..
Just over one in five respondents (22%) agrees that “nuclear power is relatively safe and an important source of electricity, and we should build more nuclear power plants.” Eight of these countries were also polled in 2005 by Globe Scan about their views, and the results suggest that there has been a sharp increase in opposition to nuclear power in five of them.
The proportion opposing the building of new nuclear power stations has grown to near-unanimity in Germany (from 73% to 90%), but also increased significantly in Mexico (51% to 82%), Japan (76% to 84%), France (66% to 83%), and Russia (from 61% to 80%).[i][i]
In contrast, while still a minority view, support for building new nuclear plants has grown in the UK (from 33% to 37%), is stable in the USA (40% to 39%), and is also high in China (42%) and Pakistan (39%)…….
The poll also indicates that the belief that conservation and renewable energy can fill the gap left, if there is a move away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy, is now the consensus view.
Respondents were asked to say whether they thought that their country “could almost entirely replace coal and nuclear energy within 20 years by becoming highly energy-efficient and focusing on generating energy from the sun and wind,” and more than seven in ten (71%) agree that it could.
The results are drawn from a survey of 23,231 adult citizens across 23 countries. It was conducted for BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan. GlobeScan coordinated fieldwork between July 3, 2011 and September 16, 2011. Within-country results are considered accurate within +/- 3.1 to 4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20. http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=186243
Police use water cannons against German anti nuclear protestors
Germany nuclear protesters clash with police, BBC News 24 November 2011 Police in northern Germany have used water cannons against demonstrators waiting for the arrival of a shipment of nuclear waste from France.
Scuffles broke out between police and protesters after fireworks and paint were thrown at officers. Protesters had tried to block a crossroads at Metzingen, near the shipment’s destination. French authorities have stopped the train in Remilly, short of the border.
Some reports quoted authorities as saying it would wait for 24 hours to avoid more mass protests, ….. The train had left Areva’s nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Normandy on Wednesday after a scuffle between police in riot gear and several hundred protesters who tried to occupy the train tracks near the town of Valognes…..
It is the first waste shipment to Germany since Berlin decided to shut all its nuclear plants by 2022, following Japan’s nuclear disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami in March.
The train was the last of 12 shipments of treated German nuclear waste sent in recent years from France. The contract between Areva and German nuclear power producers has expired and is not expected to be renewed, as Germany has voted against the transportation of radioactive nuclear fuel.
The train is carrying 11 tubular containers of highly radioactive nuclear waste, that are due to be stored in Gorleben in northeast Germany. But officials have not resolved where waste should be stored permanently and opponents argue that the Gorleben site is unsafe.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15883782
Radiation lingering in homes in Fukushima district
Decontamination work at homes in Fukushima not going well as radiation lingers Mainichi Daily News, 25 Nov 11 FUKUSHIMA — Work to decontaminate homes and yards in a district here is not proceeding as hoped, as radiation levels persist and decontamination workers worried about their health stay away.
The city began decontamination work in the Onami district on Oct. 18. Located in the mountains in the eastern part of the city, it has been heavily affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, with radiation in rice over the nation’s provisional limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram detected, leading to a ban on rice shipments.
Although monitoring of six homes where decontamination was carried out found an average drop of 70 percent in radiation in front of entrances and on gravel parking spots, there was only a 30 percent drop for roofs and a 25 percent drop for asphalt in the yard. Furthermore, there was only a 22 percent drop for second floor interiors.
The city has suggested that the low effect on the roofs may be due to radiation from the surrounding forests, where decontamination has not been carried out. As for the asphalt, radioactive material tends to stick to it and remain even after being washed, so the city has decided to try removing the top layer of the asphalt.
Originally, there was a plan to complete decontamination work on all 367 households in the district by the end of the year, but decontamination work is now expected to take much longer. Thirty-three companies were originally planned to take part, but due to fears about worker safety, most canceled and only two companies joined the work when it started in October. Since then contracts have been planned for 19 new companies, but the number is still 12 short of the original figure….
“Estimated costs for the decontamination work per home by companies differ from 800,000 yen to 1.7 million yen, so it has taken time to sort out contracts. Some companies have also shifted to reconstruction work,” explained a city official. http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111124p2a00m0na014000c.html
Nuclear waste train stopped by France through fear of protest movement
France Stops Nuclear Waste Train Headed For Germany, Voice of America, November 24th, 2011 French authorities have stopped a train carrying reprocessed nuclear waste to Germany before it reached the border, in hopes of avoiding protests over the radioactive material headed for storage in the northeastern city of Gorleben.
The train was late leaving the Areva nuclear reprocessing facility near Normandy on Wednesday because police clashed with hundreds of protestors trying to stop it in Valognes. Police fired tear gas and used batons to keep protestors from occupying the tracks.
The train was halted about 50 kilometers from the German border at Remilly, France Thursday, in what French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet called a “planned” stop. Brandet says it is not certain when the train will resume its journey.
Brandet says the continuation of the trip to Gorleben may partially depend on which of the multiple routes into Germany is chosen for the train to take.
This is expected to be the final transfer of reprocessed nuclear waste from France into Germany, which has voted against transporting more of the radioactive fuel into the country. In the wake of the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima power plant, German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to shut down all of the country’s nuclear reactors by 2022. http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/11/24/france-stops-nuclear-waste-train-headed-for-germany/
The struggle drags on – for justice for UK’s nuclear test veterans
Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that a group of more than 1,000 veterans’ claims against the Ministry of Defence over illnesses including various cancers and infertility were “statute-barred” because they had been made too late.
“Thousands of people want a court to consider whether their health, and that of their unborn children, was damaged by attending the detonation of nuclear bombs but your government – the latest in a long line of administrations of every political party to do so – is spending millions of taxpayers’ money to deny us this right.
“Your government has enshrined the Military Covenant to honour the sacrifices of all our veterans but we survivors of the nuclear tests are still being denied a fair hearing.”
Christmas Island veterans’ court struggle carries on, Nov 24 2011 by 
Lynn Jolly, Paisley Daily Express A DETERMINED nuclear testing campaigner has written to the Prime Minister in a bid to highlight the plight of 22,000 men who were forced to watch atomic bomb blasts. Thousands of soldiers claim they were used as guinea pigs on Christmas Island, in the Pacific Ocean, half a century ago as Britain and America carried out a series of nuclear tests.
These include Johnstone man Ken McGinley, 72, who went to Christmas Island as a young sapper with the Royal Engineers and remembers – at the age of just 19 – seeing the bones through his skin as he raised his hands to protect his eyes from the dazzling glare of the test blast. Continue reading
Indian political party objecting to weakening of Nuclear Liability Law
BJP objects to govt rules on nuclear commerce Times of India TNN | Nov 25, 2011, NEW DELHI: BJP plans to object to the rules of nuclear commerce announced by the government recently on the ground that limits on compensation and a cut-off for claims violated the basic provisions of the civil liability for nuclear damage act.
The rules state that there will be a period of limitation in terms of the initial liability and a cap will be imposed on the compensation that can be sought. …….
Demand that nuclear power be an issue in Taiwan’s elections
Groups push for inclusion of nuclear issue in presidential debates Central News Agency Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Environmentalists, regular members of the public and scholars gathered Thursday to ask presidential candidates to address the issue of a nuclear-free homeland during the upcoming televised debates ahead of the 2012 presidential election. To get a clear and open message from the candidates is important, according to Yilan Charlie Chen Foundation, the organizer of a platform that promotes discussion on nuclear issues. There has been too much flip-flopping on the commitment to scrapping construction of the country’s fourth nuclear power plant, the foundation stated.
“We want candidates representing the ruling Kuomintang and opposition Democratic Progressive Party and minor opposition People First Party to prove they are serious about our concerns,” said foundation chairman Charlie Chen. Other organizations at the event — including the Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance — proposed that the debates should be held in one of the country’s nuclear power plants, so candidates can “face the fear themselves.” The issues of whether to continue building Taiwan’s fourth nuclear power plant, how to handle nuclear waste disposal and phase out nuclear power in the future have been hotly debated in the run-up to the Jan. 14 presidential election.
Three televised debates have been scheduled for Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Dec. 17. (By Lee Hsin-Yin) http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1768269
Agents of USA and Israel targeting Iran’s military and nuclear programs
Although the US Embassy in Beirut initially said there was no substance to the accusations, the Associated Press reports that American officials later conceded that Nasrallah had been telling the truth.
Iran arrests 12 ‘CIA spies’ for targeting nuclear plans BBC News, 24 November 2011 Iran has arrested 12 spies of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the official IRNA news agency reports. Parviz Sorouri, an influential lawmaker, said the agents were targeting Iran’s military and its nuclear programme.He said they were operating in co-ordination with Israel’s Mossad and other regional agencies…… Mr Sorouri, a member of the powerful National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, did not give the nationality of the alleged agents, nor when they were arrested. Continue reading
Russia unhappy with being encircled by USA missile shield in Europe
Russia says missiles to target US nuclear shield in Europe, Dmitry Medvedev accuses Washington and Nato of ignoring Moscow’s concern at defences they say are aimed at Iran Associated Press in Moscow guardian.co.uk, 24 November 2011 Russia has threatened to deploy missiles to target the US missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow’s concerns about its plans.
The harsh warning reflects deep cracks in US-Russian ties despite Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” relations with the Kremlin. President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that he still hopes for a deal with the US on missile defence, but he accused Washington and itsNato allies of ignoring Russia’s worries. He said Russia will have to take military countermeasures if the US continues to build the shield without legal guarantees that it will not be aimed against Russia.
The US has repeatedly assured Russia its proposed missile defence system would not be directed against Russia’s nuclear forces, and it did that again on Wednesday…..http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/24/russia-targets-us-missile-shield
Failure of nuclear “renaissance” makes loans to uranium company unwise
Henry D. Sokolski, the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said Piketon was not a good bargain for taxpayers. “This thing has got more than nine lives, and none of them are worth living,” he said. “It will not do to whine about Solyndra
and wink at this.”……
John R. Longenecker, a consultant in the nuclear fuel business, said…. the industry had hoped for a renaissance that would result in many more reactors, he said, but “if that happened, I blinked and missed it.”
Loan Request by Uranium-Enrichment Company Scrambles Politics as Usual, NYT By MATTHEW L. WALD, November 24, 2011 WASHINGTON — The only American-owned company capable of enriching uranium is asking for government help to modernize its plant and remain in business. Continue reading
USA Senator calls for independent health study of radiation airport scanners
Collins wants TSA to study health effects of scanning machines, THE HILL By Gautham Nagesh – 11/23/11 Senate Homeland Security Committee ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) wrote to the head of the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday reiterating her request for an independent study of the health effects of scanning machines. Continue reading
French company EDF’s plans for UK nuclear plant now available for public scrutiny
EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point plans released to public, BBC News 24 November 2011 Plans for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset have been released to the public. EDF Energy handed its application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), which deals with large-scale projects, on 31 October. The 30,000-page document has now been accepted by the IPC allowing its release to the public for scrutiny. Further public consultation will take place and the final decision will be made by the energy secretary…..
Before people can take part in the public consultation they will have to register with the IPC, however the deadline to register will be set by EDF Energy.
It must be a minimum of 28 days but could be longer in order take into account the Christmas and New Year public holidays…. West Somerset, Sedgemoor, and Somerset councils highlighted concerns about a lack of detail about transport proposals and said they felt not enough effort had been made to contact the whole community.
The application has also attracted criticism from anti-nuclear campaigners who believe nuclear power is unsafe.If the application is approved, the new nuclear power station could open in 2020. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-15869975
Solar energy partnership – European Union and Desertec
EU welcomes Desertec and Medgrid cooperation on solar energy in North Africa and the Middle East ENPI info centre 24-11-2011 EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger today welcomed the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Desertec Industry Initiative (Dii) and Medgrid, establishing closer cooperation between the two private industry initiatives, which are key to the promotion of a renewable energy partnership between the EU and countries in the Southern Mediterranean.
More uranium produced, but prices continue downward
Uranium Stocks Build Momentum but Prices Remain Weak, Equity Research on Cameco Corp & Denison Mines NEW YORK, NY, Nov 24, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — “………While uranium stocks are on the upswing on long term optimism and takeover speculation, the spot price for uranium remains low. The spot uranium price dropped to slightly below $53 a pound U3O8, according to price publishers TradeTech and Ux Consulting, as little new buying interest emerged over the past week in the spot uranium market. Ux noted in its Monday report that a number of buyers and sellers already have met their volume expectations for the year — not surprising given volume levels posted since July…..
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