2012 March 27 « nuclear-news

Nuclear summit not likely to get very far on nuclear safety

Nuclear Summit Falls Short on Goal By, WSJ, EVAN RAMSTAD, ASIA NEWS, March 26, 2012, SEOUL—As 54 world leaders gathered Monday for a second summit on nuclear security, the seemingly uncontroversial goal they set at their first meeting two years ago—securing and reducing radioactive materials that can be turned into bombs—has turned out to be difficult to do.

Working-level discussions have bogged down over issues of national sovereignty, competing corporate interests, trade priorities and differing perceptions about the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Even with the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan last year serving to focus world attention on the danger nuclear materials can present, the negotiations on nuclear security have become as complicated as those over the global financial crisis and climate change.

As a result, the agreement that emerges when the Nuclear Security Summit concludes on Tuesday is likely to be smaller in scope and vision than hoped by officials in several countries, including the U.S., as well as informed observers……
Mr. Luongo’s group in recent months has urged nations to design a new level of international governance over nuclear-related matters and set hard deadlines for change, in part because a nuclear accident or terrorist act won’t simply affect one country.

“This summit and the last summit have almost exclusively focused on
the sovereign nature of nuclear security,” he said. “What Fukushima
proved is that radiation crises do not respect borders.”…..
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303816504577305471158594842.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

March 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Bill Gates’ fantastic new nuclear vaccine- or intractable virus

Nuclear energy like a fantastic vaccine? http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/2012/03/26/nuclear-energy-like-a-fantastic-vaccine/ seattle pi, 26 Mar 12In the 1950s, “too cheap to meter” was the tag line for then-nascent atomic energy. That promise, which Bill Gates now calls a “fantastic vaccine,” has thus far been more of an intractable virus.

Last week Mr. Gates revived the “nuclear is cheap” message to promote his TerraPower nuke startup venture . He also came off decidedly pessimistic about the world’s prospects for combating climate change.

The nuclear industry has long touted “cheap” alongside “clean” in its bid against renewable energy to supply electricity to a power-hungry world. It has also argued loudly against subsidies for renewables, and claimed that nuclear is the only way to slow global warming.

Gates has joined that chorus , stating that he’s skeptical that the world can dramatically cut greenhouse-gas emissions in less than 75 years, and suggesting that wind and solar subsidies should be conditional upon commercializing energy storage technologies first.

To make the “cheap and clean” argument, you have to ignore some significant externalities. A big problem with “cheap” nuclear power has been the cost — construction budget overruns , bailouts , storing spent rods , site clean-up , and human lives . The caveat with “clean” (low-carbon) nuclear power is its multigenerational legacy of radioactive waste.

The traveling wave reactor technology revealed in 2008 as the core of TerraPower’s development is a half-century-old breeder-reactor technology that could run on some of the waste stream from nuclear fuel production. A TWR has been computer-modeled, but never built.

If Gates and his TerraPower partner Nathan Myhrvold want to change the world with nuclear energy, they need to overcome several major issues, and quickly, before the widely imagined nuclear renaissance completely loses steam:

Developed nations, the ones the world is most comfortable with having radioactive materials, have for the most part stopped building nuclear power plants. Emerging nations, even if they can afford to experiment with this new technology, will need to handle the radioactive fuel and waste, including the eventual decommissioning of plants themselves. Convincing populations of a TWR plant’s safety will be a significant hurdle.

Even before Fukushima, John Rowe, chief executive of nuclear power heavyweight Exelon, said in a Politico interview that “except with massive subsidies, there’s really nothing one can do to make a whole lot of nuclear plants economic right now.” The company bought a major renewable energy firm and started moving into wind power.

March 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology, USA | 1 Comment

Japan buckles down to energy conservation -its last nuclear reactor to shut down in May

Japan shuts down its next-to-last nuclear reactor, Seattle Times, By ERIC TALMADGE, 26 Mar 12 Another Japanese nuclear reactor was taken off line for maintenance on Monday, leaving the country with only one of its 54 reactors operational following last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami..with concerns over nuclear safety high following the
Fukushima crisis, none of the reactors that have been shut down for checks, and none that were already off line at the time of the disaster, have been allowed to restart.

The last reactor, on the northern island of Hokkaido, will be shut down in May. The timing for when any reactors will be restarted remains unclear…. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised to reduce Japan’s reliance on nuclear power over time and plans to lay out a new energy policy by the summer.

In the meantime, Japan has temporarily turned to oil and coal generation plants to make up for the shortfall, and businesses have been required to reduce electricity use to help with conservation efforts.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2017843195_apasjapannuclear.html

March 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Is the Earth hotting up faster than anticipated?

If people keep emitting fossil fuels in the way we expect, with no price on carbon or no future policy initiatives, we expect a range of 1.4 to 3 degrees by 2050,”

Impact of climate change may be underestimated, ABC News, The World Today By David Mark, March 26, 2012 A new study suggests climate scientists may have underestimated the effect of greenhouse gases, with global temperatures now predicted to rise by between 1.4 and 3 degrees Celsius by 2050. Continue reading →

March 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, climate change | Leave a comment

Indigenous peoples have knowledge to help deal with climate change

Indigenous peoples have not been involved in discussions about climate change in most countries said Henrietta Marrie, a Aboriginal leader of the Gimuy-Walubarra Yidinji Nation of Cairns. Indigenous and local peoples collectively represent more than a billion people

The IPCC and United Nations University (UNU) have organized this week’s main workshop to incorporate and “credibly validate” indigenous people’s traditional knowledge

Indigenous Peoples Needed to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change (includes VIDEO)National Geographic, by Stephen Leahy, March 25, 2012 “Planning is not part of our culture. You just get up in the morning and do what you need to do for the day,” said Marilyn Wallace of the Kuku Nyungka ‘mob’ (aboriginal nation) in northern Queensland, Australia.

“Bama” or caring for their local territory is an important part of aboriginal culture and identity Wallace told participants at a mini-workshop in Cairns, Australia today Sunday March 25th prior to the start of the main workshop Climate Change Mitigation with Local Communities and Indigenous peoples on Monday.

Caring for the land includes monitoring the impacts of climate change and using traditional knowledge to keep or sequester carbon she said.
Indigenous peoples and local communities are the least responsible for climate-altering emissions of carbon but they can play an important role helping to reduce emissions through the way they manage their lands. Continue reading →

March 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, indigenous issues | Leave a comment