2012 September 07 « nuclear-news

Huge tuna fish caught – must be tested for radiation

Radiation tests for monster bluefin tuna Weekly Times, September 7, 2012 SCIENTISTS are to test a monster bluefin tuna caught off New Zealand to see if it carries radioactivity from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant.

The 275kg tuna was caught by Victorian fisherman Paul Worsteling50km off the coast of Greymouth.
Mr Worsteling said he waited more than 30 hours to hook the fish, then another two hours to haul it on board.

This came after a year planning the trip to hook the fish.He said he was “blown away” when he saw the tuna, which took five men to haul aboard the boat.

The fish will now be tested for radiation to determine if it has been affected by the Fukushima reactor meltdown in Japan.
The waters around Japan are a spawning ground for bluefin tuna. Mr Wosterling, from the Mornington Peninsula, said the fish would be worth more than $700,000 in Japan, but as an amateur fisherman he couldn’t sell it….
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2012/09/07/535075_latest-news.html

September 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New Zealand, oceans | Leave a comment

Three Renewable Energy Bills Pass in California, Community Solar Bill Fails http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24049 SustainableBusiness.com News, 6 Sept 12, California’s Community Shared Solar Bill (SB 843) died in an Assembly committee because of pressure from the utilities, says Senator Wolk (D-Davis), who sponsored it. The bill passed the Senate. The legislation would have enabled community renewable energy systems, which would give all residents access to solar even as renters or if they lived in houses that have to much shade, for example.

Customers would have received credit on their utility bills for their portion of clean power generated by a given solar project, much as if those systems were located on site.

It was expected to create 12,000 local jobs, and $7.5 billion in economic activity by expanding access to the state’s renewable energy market, says Vote Solar, which analyzed the plan.

Utility PG&E, for example, lobbied against the bill because it would “burden” customers who didn’t opt in to the program, they say in editorial.

The bill is being re-drafted to address concerns and will be introduced again next year.

Three Bills Head to Governor’s Desk

Three other renewable energy-related bills are close to being adopted, however. They await Governor Brown’s signature.

One bill would expand solar hot water heaters to community pools, another would cap permitting fees for solar systems and a third enables aggregate net metering by farmers, schools and other customers with multiple meters.

Assembly Bill 2249 extends solar hot water heater incentives to commercial pools by amending the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007. It encourages municipalities, schools and nonprofits to use solar hot water heating by extending incentives to commercial pools.

Senate Bill 1222 caps permitting fees charged by counties and cities for solar installations, a key barrier to deploying more systems.

For residential solar PV, fees can’t exceed $500 plus $15 per kilowatt (kW) for systems bigger than 15 kW. For commercial systems, it’s capped at $1000 plus $7 per kW between 51-250 kW, and an additional $5 per kW for each kilowatt above 250 kW.

SB 594, also sponsored by Wolk, allows customers that have multiple electricity meters, such as farmers and schools, to participate in the state’s net energy metering program.

September 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Obama’s Energy Plan by the Numbers, HUFFINGTON POST, Bill Chameides, 09/06/2012 What does the Obama administration plan for our energy future? To find out, we’ll let the words tell the story.

How do Obama’s words on energy compare to Team Romney’s?

Last week, while the Republicans were celebrating the Romney-Ryan ticket in Tampa, Florida, weposted a count-the-words analysis of their energy plan . The plan’s overall aim is to achieve energy independence for North America. The numbers told us the path to independence for the Romney team is strong on oil and gas, but not much on renewables; and climate was totally absent.

This week the Democrats are doing their thing in Charlotte, North Carolina, so we figured we’d give the Obama administration’s energy policy the same treatment.

For the Romney-Ryan analysis we used a document released days before our post. No such luxury for Obama; as best as we can tell, his most recent vision for America’s energy future is the 44-page“BLUEPRINT FOR A SECURE ENERGY FUTURE” [pdf] from March 2011. Certainly not as fresh, but that’s what we’ve got.

In the Clouds with President Obama

Obama’s blueprint targets three broad strategies for our energy future:

Developing and securing America’s energy supplies,
Providing consumers with choices to reduce costs and save energy, and
Innovating our way to a clean energy future.

But as usual (and as with the Romney plan ), the devil is in the details.

So what are the details of Obama’s plan?

OK, so just like the Romney word cloud, “energy” is front and center. No big surprise there…. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/obamas-energy-plan-by-the_b_1862497.html

September 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Yasser Arafat Poisoned? Autopsy Set To Start Within Days HUFFINGTON POST, By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH 09/05/12 02: RAMALLAH, West Bank — The widow of Yasser Arafat said Wednesday that French investigators will soon visit the West Bank to dig up the remains of her husband in hopes of determining what killed the longtime Palestinian leader eight years ago.

Palestinian officials welcomed the investigation, saying the French team could begin work within days. But some also privately expressed misgivings over the probe.

Arafat’s death in a French hospital in November 2004 has remained a mystery for many. While the immediate cause of death was a stroke, the underlying source of an illness he suffered in his final weeks has never been clear, leading to persistent, unproven conspiracy theories that he had cancer, AIDS or was poisoned.

A Swiss lab’s recent discovery of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope, on clothes said to be Arafat’s has fueled new suspicions of poisoning…. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/yasser-arafat-dead-palest_n_1858494.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000032

September 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

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