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Thieves fall out – The rest of the nuclear lobby accused of blocking the thorium lobby!

China blazes trail for ‘clean’ nuclear power, TODAY online by Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard  Jan 09, 2013“……Major players in the nuclear
industry have had a vested interest in blocking thorium. They have
sunk huge costs in the old technology, and they have bent the ear of
cash-strapped ministers. The hesitance of governments is
understandable, but the costs are going to hit whatever they do.
China’s dash for thorium is now changing the game…..”

January 9, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Syria’s uranium stockpile a cause for anxiety

Fears raised over Syria uranium stockpile, Ft.com. 8 Jan 13, By James Blitz in London Nuclear experts in the US and Middle East have raised concerns about the security of up to 50 tonnes of unenriched uranium in Syria amid fears that civil war could put the stockpile at risk.
Since the start of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad two years ago, western governments have been heavily focused on the fate of Syria’s chemical weapons and worries that those stocks might be taken over by militant group

But government officials and nuclear experts have also expressed fears to the Financial Times about what may be a significant stockpile of uranium inside Syria.
Concerns go back to the Assad regime’s attempt to build a nuclear  reactor at Al-Kibar in the east of the country. yria, with assistance from North Korea, was thought to be close to completing the reactor when the facility was destroyed by Israeli jets in September 2007.
Very little is known about Syria’s nuclear programme and the country has always denied that it ever had one. Syria has also given very little information to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog, about its work……

An IAEA inspection team visited the destroyed Al-Kibar site in May 2008 and only found traces of uranium. This merely added to the mystery of where the 50 tonnes of uranium, if it exists, might be. Such a stockpile would be enough, according to experts, to provide weapons grade fuel for five atomic devices….. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a450b660-5998-11e2-88a1-00144feab49a.html#axzz2HX2YULqD

January 9, 2013 Posted by | safety, Syria, Uranium | Leave a comment

China’s big steps forward in renewable energy

China unveils big renewable energy ambitions for 2013, The Age,
January 9, 2013 China, the world’s largest carbon emitter due to its
dependence on coal, plans to add 49 gigawatts of renewable-energy
capacity this year in an effort to boost power production without
increasing its reliance on fossil fuels.

China will add 21 gigawatts of hydroelectric capacity, 18 gigawatts of
wind generation and 10 gigawatts of solar, according to a statement
today on the website of the National Energy Administration. The
agency, a unit of the National Development Reform Commission, reported
the results of a national work meeting on energy in Beijing yesterday
and was attended by Zhang Ping, who heads the commission.

That will exceed other forecasts for China’s wind and solar
development. The country is expected to surpass Germany to become the
largest solar market by installing as much as 5.39 gigawatts of
photovoltaic panels this year, according to a November report from
Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The London- based research company
anticipates 16.3 gigawatts of new, land- based wind capacity in China
this year……. :
http://www.theage.com.au/business/carbon-economy/china-unveils-big-renewable-energy-ambitions-for-2013-20130109-2cfdd.html#ixzz2HX92zVT0

January 9, 2013 Posted by | China, renewable | Leave a comment

The way forward must be 100% renewable energy

100% Renewable Energy – The Only Way Forward, The Energy Collective Anna Leidreiter January 8, 2013 It is a fact that non-renewable energies will, by definition, run out. It is also a fact that in the meantime, dependence on these energy sources is causing multiple existential global crises. If human beings are to preserve modernity and planetary habitability, we must soon shift to 100% renewable energy in all sectors. A fossil-free energy system is the only way forward as it results in socio-economic development and regional value creation.

The world’s leading scientists have issued a mandate that we must change our energy system to a sustainable one based on conservation, efficiency and renewable energy in the near future or risk losing planetary habitability. The energy transition is not a lifestyle choice; it is an essential way to combat climate change and save our planet.  Continue reading →

January 9, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Judge rules that Bradley Manning was illegally treated

Military judge rules Bradley Manning was illegally treated, awards 112
days credit By Nathan Fuller, Bradley Manning Support Network. January
8, 2013.     After more than two weeks of intense litigation by
Bradley Manning’s defense, and hearing how Quantico brig staff
blatantly disregarded Navy Rules, military Judge Denise Lind has
confirmed that Bradley was punished unlawfully before trial by
awarding 112 days credit. Instead of awarding 10-for-1 credit (or
dismissing the charges altogether), which would severely reprimand the
military and significantly impact Bradley’s potential sentence, Judge
Lind gave 1-to-1 credit for selected portions of his Quantico
confinement.

Judge Lind has granted credit for the 7 days Bradley was kept on
suicide risk watch against Navy Rules, 75 days from November 1 to
January 18 when he was kept needlessly on Prevention of Injury watch,
and 20 days from April 1-20 when he was forced to remove his underwear
at night. Lind said Bradley’s confinement was “more rigorous than
necessary,” and that it “became excessive in relation to legitimate
government interests.”……
http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/military-judge-rules-bradley-manning-was-illegally-treated-awards-112-days-credit

January 9, 2013 Posted by | civil liberties, Legal, USA | Leave a comment

New management for Oak Ridge nuclear weapons breakin site

U.S. uranium complex changes management after activists break in Al
Arabiya News, 08 January 2013 TIMOTHY GARDNER  REUTERS The U.S.
government has named a new group to manage security at a site where it
processes and stores enriched uranium after anti-nuclear activists,
including an 82-year old nun, broke into the site in 2012.

The National Nuclear Security Administration said on Tuesday it has
chosen Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the
Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where the
breach occurred last July, as well as the Plantex Plant near Amarillo,
Texas.

The group selected is comprised of Bechtel National Inc, Lockheed
Martin Services Inc, ATK Launch Systems Inc and SOC LLC. Consolidated
will begin a transition immediately and the contract will start on May
1, the NNSA said.

The five-year contract, with options to renew it for another five
years, also includes construction project management of the uranium
processing facility of the Y-12 complex and an option for work at the
Savannah River tritium operations in South Carolina.

The contract includes a total available fee of about $446 million if
the Savannah River option is picked up by the end of the first year,
the NNSA said…..
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/01/08/259387.html

January 9, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

South Korea going ahead with nuclear energy, but public feeling is against it

South Korea to expand nuclear energy despite growing safety fears, The
Star, 8 Jan 13,  By Meeyoung Cho “….The proportion of South Koreans
who considered nuclear power safe fell to 34.8 percent in a survey
conducted in November and published on Tuesday, down from 40 percent
in April 2011 and 71 percent in January 2010, the Ministry of
Knowledge Economy said.

The ministry has been sharply criticised for its role as regulator and
operator of the country’s nuclear power plants, and one of its
subsidiaries was accused of suppressing negative public opinion after
the Fukushima disaster by not publishing polls.

A fake parts scandal closed two reactors last year and the industry
suppressed details of the closure of the Kori No.1 reactor early in
2012.

“It is an urgent priority to recover people’s trust and the safety of
reactors just as it is unavoidable to maintain nuclear at a certain
percentage of the total power supply, considering the power supply and
demand situation,” the ministry said……”

January 9, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Contractors to run Tenn., Texas nuclear plants

Posted Tuesday, Jan. 08, 2013
The Associated Press
Star-Telegram

NASHVILLE, TENN. — A group of contractors headed by Bechtel National and Lockheed Martin has been selected to manage nuclear weapons facilities in Tennessee and Texas.

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Tuesday announced that Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC was selected to run the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The contract will also include management of the construction project to build the new uranium processing facility at Y-12.

The contract also includes the option of managing the Savannah River Tritium Operations at the Savannah River Site in near Aiken, S.C., after the first year of the contract, if NNSA decides to exercise that option.

Consolidated Nuclear Security is comprised of Bechtel National, Lockheed Martin Services, ATK Launch Systems, Inc. and SOC, LLC. The 5-year contract will start May 1, which could be extended an additional five years.

Continue reading →

January 9, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Permanent storage of nuclear waste still in limbo – Prairie Island Indian speaks out -Audio

“…Of course, the tribe is not in complete agreement on nuclear power. Doreen Hagen, right, president of the Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council, says the tribe will fight to ensure that its homeland is not endangered by the nuclear reactor that is just 600 yards from reservation homes…”

Permanent storage of nuclear waste still in limbo

by Steven John, Minnesota Public Radio

January 8, 2013

AUDIO

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Thirty years ago this week the Nuclear Waste Policy Act became law, committing the federal government to finding a permanent storagefacility for the nation’s nuclear waste.

The Prairie Island Indian Community took out a full-page advertisement in the Star Tribune to commemorate the anniversary — but not in celebration.

Decades after President Ronald Reagan signed the act into law, nuclear waste is still being stored in temporary facilities across the country — including at the Prairie Island Nuclear Plant. The site that Congress approved for the permanent facility, Yucca Mountain in Nevada, was removed from consideration by the Obama administration, leaving the issue and the nuclear waste in limbo.

Phil Mahowald, general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community, speaks with MPR News about the subject.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/01/08/environment/prairie-island-nuclear-waste/

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2009

Minnesota Indian Tribe Wants Nation’s Nuclear Waste

The Prairie Island Indian Community is calling on President Barack Obama to deliver on the federal government’s decades-old mandate and promise to establish a permanent repository for the nation’s commercial nuclear waste. The Tribe’s urging comes after Congress approved the FY2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill which cuts funding for the proposed national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., to record low levels. High-level, radioactive nuclear waste from the nation’s nuclear power plants is currently accumulating at ‘temporary’ storage sites in 39 different states, including Minnesota.
Continue reading →

January 9, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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