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Dangers in Utah nuclear project – hot water, water shortage,

thermal water pollution is itself a very big problem……

The proposed Blue Castle Project will also face water-quality challenges

In hot water: The “other” global warming, BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS, BY DAWN STOVER | 15 FEBRUARY 2012 On January 20, a state engineer with the Utah Division of Water Rights approved two applications that would allow Blue Castle Holdings to take a total of 53,600 acre-feet of water from the Green River annually for a proposed nuclear power plant. That’s more than 17 billion gallons a year, enough for a city of 100,000 households.

The Blue Castle Project would be the first new nuclear power plant to go online in the American West since the late 1980s. So you might think it would be a model of modern water-conservation technologies. But you’d be wrong. Continue reading →

February 16, 2012 Posted by | USA, water | Leave a comment

Appeal against Utah nuclear reactor being granted water rights

Enviro Groups Challenge Nuke Plant Water Rights, City Weekly, by Sarah Kramer, 16 Feb 12,   The path to a commercial nuclear reactor in Utah has met an unexpected roadblock in the form of an appeal of State Engineer Kent Jones’ Jan. 20 decision granting water rights to Blue Castle Holdings for the project.-

The appeal, announced Feb. 9, was filed by environmental-advocacy and nuclear-watchdog group HEAL Utah along with over 20 other groups. The decision to file a request for reconsideration was the direct result of another blow to theBlue Castle Project: The revelation that LeadDog Capital, LLC, the hedge fund that had offered to put up $30 million to fund the project, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for falsely inflating the company’s assets and concealing from investors potential conflicts of interest. A second request was also filed by Moab-based environmental groups..

… The State Engineer cannot approve water-rights applications for speculative projects. …. The requests for reconsideration also challenge the State Engineer’s assertions that the Green River’s flow is able to support the diversion of 53,600 acre-feet for the Blue Castle Project, and call into question Blue Castle’s ability to bring the plant to fruition with no prior experience in the nuclear-energy industry. http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-9594-7120-enviro-groups-challenge-nuke-plant-water-rights.html

February 16, 2012 Posted by | USA, water | Leave a comment

USA’s Steven Chu selling nuclear snake oil to the American public?

Wednesday announcements are the latest in a long list of steps the Obama Administration has taken to help jumpstart America’s nuclear energy industry:

 U.S. Energy Secretary Tours Plant Vogtle, Makes Policy Change Announcement WJBF, 16 Feb 12, Energy Secretary Announces New Nuclear Energy Research Grants and Next Steps on Used Fuel Recommendations  “The resurgence of nuclear energy starts here in Georgia,” U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Wedneswday, while on a tour of Plant Vogtle.

Secretary Chu stressed the importance of nuclear energy…and addressed funding plans in preparation for Plant Vogtle’s expansion. Continue reading →

February 16, 2012 Posted by | politics, USA | 3 Comments

Nuclear education for North Dakota

Senate hopeful Sand spearheading nuclear energy education effort Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) 16 Feb 12,  – A Candidate for U.S Senate is spear-heading an effort to educate North Dakotans on nuclear power. Republican Duane Sand is organizing a nuclear power symposium, to educate people about its benefits.

Sand hopes the public, local government officials, and nuclear power companies will attend. He eventually wants to bring a nuclear power plant to the state,… http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/59214/

February 16, 2012 Posted by | marketing, USA | Leave a comment

Confronting the dodgy science of “radiation hormesis” and “adaptive response”

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

Look – I know that this one is “heavy going” for those of us who are not crash hot on science.

I don’t usually publish items that are so scientifically challenging.  But the thing is –  we’re all gonna have to get a bit more informed scientifically.

Why?  Because, along with the Climate Denialists, and the Creation Scientists, – we’re now facing the “Radiation Denialists”.

These guys, fronting for the nuclear industry, have now come up with two dodgy “scientific” slogans – “radiation hormesis” and “adaptive response”.   Sound good – don’t they?   But they are both no more than a bodgy attempt to con us all into thinking that low level ionising radiation is not harmful, is even good for you.  They want the current radiation standards changed – for the benefit of the nuclear industry.

The new web page – below – will counter their scientific bullshit.   It is my hope that not only the great unwashed are reading this page, and aspiring to become better informed, but also scientists, who need to become aware of the radiation “spin” now going on.  All need to be aware of this new con. – Christina Macpherson


RADIATION HORMESIS AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSE Radiation Hormesis and Adaptive Response – Definitions. by nuclearhistory , 16 Feb 2011,   “……. Adaptive response andhormesis are often mentioned to minimize the risk of radiation or sometimes to deny any adverse outcome below a dose threshold…

We may wonder why the proponents of the hormesis model acknowledge a radiation threshold value for harmful effects, but reject it for beneficial effects…..

The Linear No Threshold hypothesis should remain so far the basic guide line for the radioprotection authorities. It appears clearly that the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle, which is currently the basis of radiation protection policies, should be followed as long as no relevant scientific facts provide other insights. …..
Belgian Nuclear Research Centre http://www.sckcen.be/

The European Radiation Research Society, contact person Dr. Louis de Saint-Georges, secretary-treasurer. The European Radiation Research Society (formerly the European Society of Radiation Biology) is an Europeannon profit organisation founded in 1959 with the aim of promoting radiation research  http://www.errs.eu/….
http://hormesishistory.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/radiation-hormesis-and-adaptive-response-definitions/

February 16, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | Leave a comment

A nuclear Iran is not an act of war, is not the end of Israel

A nuclear Iran and Israel Acquiring nuclear weapons is not an act of war,  Seattle Times, Dale McCracken, February 15, 2012  Israel has too much power over America. Israel should not be allowed to attack Iran
The United States should use its armed forces in the region to prevent an attack on Iran.

It is necessary to think the unthinkable in this situation. Even if Iran acquires a nuclear weapon, Israel will have massive superiority for decades, if not permanently. In a nuclear conflict Israel would totally destroy Iran, while suffering minimal damage. For this reason
it will never happen.

A nuclear Iran is not the end of Israel. Madmen arguments are not valid. Adolf Hitler committed suicide and took his nation to defeat rather than use his massive nerve gas arsenal. The most likely outcome of a nuclear Iran will be a regional cold war between Iran and Israel.

Iran has suffered much from the duplicity of several nations. Acquiring nuclear weapons is not an act of war. An attack on Iran by Israel would be an evil act that could have a detrimental effect on Jews throughout the world. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestvoices/2017512698_anucleariranandisrael.html

February 16, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Rating agency casts gloom on nuclear industry’s future in America

“In our opinion, the current market conditions combined with nuclear projects’ long planning and construction timelines will prevent the construction of additional new units until at least the end of this decade,” the report said.

US nuclear revival unlikely absent more regulatory support: S&P, Washington (Platts)–15Feb2012  The likelihood of a US “nuclear renaissance” this decade is faint and changes in state regulatory treatment of nuclear projects is needed before utilities outside Georgia and South Carolina build new reactors, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s said Wednesday.

A sluggish economy has depressed demand and low natural gas prices have allowed utilities to postpone or cancel plans for new nuclear units in favor of new gas-fired generation, S&P analyst Dimitri Nikas wrote in a report. Continue reading →

February 16, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Russia getting annoyed with delays in selling its nukes to India

Russia running out of patience as nuclear plant row intensifies, Daily Mail, By M C RAJAN  16th February 2012 Russia seems to be stuck in a catch-22 situation. The ongoing anti-nuke stir in Southern Tamil Nadu has placed the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in a limbo.
It is only now that Russia has realised that the going might get tough. Continue reading →

February 16, 2012 Posted by | India, politics international, Russia | Leave a comment

Florida to “start the conversation” on developing renewable eneergy

Energy Independence Is Golden Chance to Develop Renewables:   Renewable advocates support Florida energy bills CBS News, (AP)  TALLAHASSEE, Fla.16 Feb 12,  — Advocates of conservation and renewable sources such as solar and biomass are supporting what sponsors are calling “modest” energy legislation in the belief that even a small start would cause those efforts to snowball. Continue reading →

February 16, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear power quite likely to be abandoned for Iowa

Nuclear Power – ‘Off the Table’, Blog for Iowa, February 15, 2012 , Paul Deaton MidAmerican Energy made it clear today that if HF 561, or some form of it, does not become law, nuclear power will be “off the table” in Iowa and the electric utility will deal with it by increasing their use of natural gas to generate electricity as demand increases and coal burning power plants are taken off line.

There was no equivocation on this point by Dean Crist, vice president of regulation for the electric utility.

Crist was on WHO Newsradio with Mark Cooper, senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School, Silver Spring, MD. Each had different ideas about HF 561 and what it would or would not do for Iowa rate payers.
It boiled down to answering this question, “does the legislation change the dynamic, or construct for approval of a potential new nuclear reactor in Iowa?” The simple answer is yes, it does..

February 16, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment