Virginia’s Governor McConnell removes incentives for renewable energy
Governor signs repeal of renewable energy incentives By Kathy Adams The Virginian-Pilot February 21, 2013 RICHMOND Gov. Bob McDonnell today signed legislation repealing certain financial incentives for electric utility companies that use renewable energy sources.
The change means utilities, such as Dominion Virginia Power, will no longer be eligible for a bonus for obtaining a certain portion of their energy from renewable sources, such as solar power. Reduced incentives remain for nuclear and off-shore wind power….. Opponents of the repeal, mostly environmental groups such as the Virginia Chapter Sierra Club, argued the law needed to be changed, not done away with altogether. They suggested making participation mandatory and requiring utility companies to obtain their renewable energy from within the state in order to receive the bonus. They’ve pledged to try again next legislative session. Dominion still plans to meet the renewable portfolio standard goals, even without the financial incentive from the state, and is pursing projects to that end, said spokesman Jim Norvelle.
“We believe that renewable energy has a part to play in supplying electricity to our customers,” he said. “We are looking for ways to get on-shore wind generation and we are launching a pilot program to add a large amount of solar-generated electricity to our grid that will begin this year as well.”
Also under consideration is an off-shore wind farm for Virginia Beach and an expansion of Dominon’s nuclear facility in Louisa County, Norvelle said. http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/governor-signs-repeal-renewable-energy-incentives
Obama close to nominating leaders for energy and climate change
Obama tipped to pick veterans to lead climate, energy push The Age, February 21, 2013 President Barack Obama is close to choosing two veteran Washington policymakers for top energy roles in his Cabinet who would continue many policies on clean energy and air-pollution curbs, according to people familiar with the decisions. Continue reading
USA Department of Defence recognises the long term health effects of ionising radiation
DARPA Seeks to Defuse the Threat of Ionizing Radiation Space Daily, by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Feb 22, 2013
Ionizing radiation can be a silent killer. While scientists have made some strides in preventing immediate death from exposure, there are currently few intervention technologies to protect against long-term morbidity and mortality. In light of the diverse, persistent and substantial threat posed by ionizing radiation, the Department of Defense seeks new ways to protect military and civilian personnel against the immediate and longer-term effects of acute exposure.
Exposure to ionizing radiation would be a particular concern in the aftermath of a large-scale release of nuclear material, such as might occur following either a natural disaster or a deliberate attack.
The damage to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake raised concerns regarding U.S. preparedness to treat large-scale human exposure to ionizing radiation. Additionally, the immediate destructive potential of nuclear and radiological weapons, as well as their long-term health and economic impacts, continue to be of concern to DoD. Continue reading
Obama now has a chance to start cutting nuclear weapons
The search for a nuclear legacy Why Barack Obama may now be able to start cutting nuclear weapons The Economist, Feb
23rd 2013.……..Bruce Blair, co-founder of the Global Zero movement which campaigns for reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons, believes that Mr Obama could set in train a process which would in time also lead to big cuts in the stockpiles of non-strategic and non-deployed nukes. Neither has any military usefulness, but nobody pretends getting there would be easy, particularly as tactical weapons remain more important to Russia—with its comparatively weak conventional forces—than to America.
But the prize for reducing stockpiles would be the chance to draw other nuclear states with much smaller arsenals, such as China, into a multilateral negotiation. That “holy grail”, as Mr Blair calls it, will not be reached, if ever, until well after Mr Obama has gone. But if he could claim to have started the quest, it might be just the legacy he yearns for. http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21572195-why-barack-obama-may-now-be-able-start-cutting-nuclear-weapons-search-nuclear
UK – Scotland Dounreay nuclear fuel to be removed to Sellafield
Published on 22 February 2013
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is to remove the remainder of the nuclear fuel it inherited at Dounreay.
The highly radioactive material, which was among 100 tonnes left by the UK Atomic Energy Agency, is to be taken to Sellafield in Cumbria.
One of Reasons to Stop Using Nuclear Energy before Accidents Stop it.
Sellafield Nuclear Plant is located on the Northwest Coast of England on the Irish Sea. It is a government owned facility that produces about one-fourth of the United Kingdom’s energy. Nuclear waste from this facility had turned the Irish sea into one of the most radioactive bodies of water in the world.
Sellafield discharges two million gallons of radioactive water into the Irish Sea every day at high tide. This includes a cocktail of over 30 alpha, beta and gamma radionuclides. BNFL admits that radioactive discharges in the 1970’s were 100 times those of today. As a result of these discharges, which include around half a tons of plutonium, the Irish Sea has become the most radioactively contaminated sea in the world.
A wide range of fish, shellfish and molluscs continue to show varying degrees of radioactive contamination from Sellafield’s discharges. Cesium-137(half life is 30 years) and Iodine-129(half life is 15.7 million years!) from Sellafield have spread through the Arctic Ocean into the waters of northern Canada and are having a bigger impact on the Arctic than the Chernobyl accident. Sellafield’s gas discharges of Krypton can be measured in Miami.
Greanpeace simulation of radioactive discharge from Sellafield and La Hague reprocessing plants http://archive.greenpeace.org/nuclear/ospar2000/images/content/ospar/model.gif (This link has been removed from the greenpeace site??)
Steven Cowley: Fusion is energy’s future
“….but until the academic world wakes up and realizes billions have been misspent to fulfill the fantasy of re-creating the sun, LENR and Cold Fusion will live in the shadow of false hope.”
“Hot Fusion research is expensive and as seen in the video, most researchers are tremendously close-minded and arrogant when it comes to other sources of fusion.”
Uploaded on Dec 22, 2009
TEDtalksDirector
Physicist Steven Cowley is certain that nuclear fusion is the only truly sustainable solution to the fuel crisis. He explains why fusion will work — and details the projects that he and many others have devoted their lives to, working against the clock to create a new source of energy.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
Necessity is truly the mother of invention. Energy drives mankind and fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, will only provide us with about 100 years of energy. Fusion is the answer, but replicating the energy generation of the sun or a star is never going to be practical. Hot Fusion research is expensive and as seen in the video below, most researchers are tremendously close-minded and arrogant when it comes to other sources of fusion.
Cold Fusion is not nonsense; it is simply misunderstand because it requires an open-mind and a multi-disciplined background. The Fleischmann Pons reaction has been replicated thousands of times and several companies are working towards the manufacturing of commercial models. The goal is the same, harnessing the power of fusion, but until the academic world wakes up and realizes billions have been misspent to fulfill the fantasy of re-creating the sun, LENR and Cold Fusion will live in the shadow of false hope.
Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.
h/t http://ecat.org/
Japan detects xenon 133 in air – Blames North Korea but could the source be a bit closer to home?
Feb. 22, 2013 – 07:05AM JST
Japan Today
TOKYO —
Japanese planes detected a trace amount of xenon-133 during monitoring flights over Japan the day after North Korea carried out its third nuclear test last week, the science ministry said Thursday.
The radioactive material amounting to 1.9 millibecquerels per cubic meter of air was detected from samples collected at an altitude of 300 meters off the coast of Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, Jiji Press reported.
It was the first time Japan had detected xenon-133 since it strengthened radiation monitoring in response to the test on Feb 12, the news agency said.
Xenon-133 is released into the air not just by an atomic explosion but also from nuclear power plants and medical institutions.
(Image is of Fukui Predecture, the home of Japans only working reactors)
Ministry officials quoted by Jiji said they did not know whether the xenon was connected to the North’s underground test.
South Korean warships and air force planes equipped with highly sensitive detection devices were deployed after the blast to try and collect any traces of radioactive fallout.
But Seoul experts said on Feb 14 they had been unable to detect any.
Experts are eager to discover whether the North used highly enriched uranium for its latest test rather than plutonium as in 2006 and 2009.
An enriched uranium program would give the North a new and easier way to produce bomb-making material.
Interesting PDF showing the differing medical isotopes in use on the link below.. Xenon 133 is not listed and is just a by-product of the Fissioning process and could also be a by-product of medical isotopes! Ohi nuclear Plant had a shut down about a couple of weeks ago.. Has this Japanese release been caught by another prefectures monitoring? The locality of the nuclear power plant and the monitoring find is suggestive.
Medical Isotope Production and Use [March 2009] – National Isotope …
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick View
Nuclear reactions result in isotope production. 14N +4He → 17O + … Some of these are important medical isotopes! … Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan) …
Bahrain’s Arab Spring: “The inconvenient revolution?” – Truthloader
truthloader
Published on Feb 20, 2013
Despite nearly daily mass protests in Bahrain since the revolution began over two years ago, there is very little coverage in the media around the world. We spoke to Maryam al-Khawaja, the acting President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to find out why.
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News from the past week in matters nuclear
Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs
UK govt has done a complete about face, and now announces that it will subsidise new nuclear power, despite all previous promises of “no subsidy for nuclear”. Conflict of interest, as nuclear career executives now in government planning department. In UK, the angst and agonizing about Sellafield’s huge amount of high level nuclear waste continues. Nuclear submarine leaking radioactive waste in Scottish waters
USA also having wrangles about who will pay for new nuclear reactors, and for nuclear waste cleanup. Utah and Florida communities getting rebellious about having to pay upfront for reactors that might never be built. Hanford nuclear site – the most polluted place in America, now leaking radioactive fluids, and even semi solids.
Mass rally to urge Obama to act on climate change
China. Wind energy now surpassing nuclear energy, and rapidly being developed, while nuclear power development slows down.
Russia. had an awful scare when a meteorite exploded above an old nuclear weapons site.
Fukushima. The story just gets worse. Much continues to be covered up, by Japan, USA and mainstream media. which is the history of this nuclear disaster. Fukushima’s Governor is asking for the “acceptable” level of ionising radiation to be raised. TEPCO is arranging “temporary compensation” for nuclear victims – they will have to repay this money. Radiation level still found in blufin tuna, off Fukushima coast – indicatng that leakage into the ocean is still happening.
Fukushima Cover-Up by NRC et al. – Video interviews concerning Operation Tomodachi
Published on Feb 20, 2013
Please see these documents below for proof of a conspiracy to cover up the magnitude of the cover up of the radioactive plume from March 20, 2011 conference calls from the NRC obtained by the FOIA documents
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1205/M…
and these NRC conference calls
March 21 Part 1 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 21 Part 2 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
NOTE: The Mar 27th one is the one that talks about the plume model not picking up the first 24 hours of the plume so all the “runs” were skewed 50 percent lower as a result. And the most that they modeled for, the “Super-core” was only 33 percent of the reactor inventory. The conservative plausible “bounding” model was at 25 percent reactor inventory. But like I said, it allowed for most of the plume to escape before it started recording. Big F up, as this became an arguing point that the numbers for particulate measurement was way too high for them to make sense of. Trusting a flawed program from TEPCO (& the Japanese Gov’t) rather than the actual measurements that the Navy measured was a fatal flaw.
March 20 http://pdadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1205/M…
March 21 Part 1 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 21 Part 2 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 22 Part 1 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 22 Part 2 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 23 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 24 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 25 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 26 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
March 27 http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1300/M…
Operation Tomodachi was a humanitarian mission conducted in Japan after the 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that began March 11th, 2011 and lasted 80 days. 70,000 US servicemen & women from the Navy, Airforce, Army & Marines delivered food, blankets & water in areas of devastation. What they didn’t know was the severity of radiation exposure they received since TEPCO refused to acknowledge the extent of what was happening at the Fukushima plant. A registry was created to track subsequent health problems by the Department of Defense, but that program was recently abandoned. As many servicemen and women have already begun to exhibit severe health issues a lawsuit was filed in San Diego Federal Court against TEPCO by Environmental Law Attorney Paul Garner, to establish a medical fund for the servicemen & women who were involved in this operation as well as their families in Japan. We speak to Mike Seybourn about what it was like to work in a highly radioactive environment and what the future may hold for he and his family in terms of health. Paul Garner also joins us to discuss the lawsuit, dealing with TEPCO, and what kind of problems his clients are having.
If you were involved in Operation Tomodachi and have questions or concerns about your health status please contact Paul Garner at 760.600.0081 or email him at pcg@garnerlaw.com or his associate daryljbrooks@roadrunner.com
Continue reading
Why I myself cannot evacuate, a father in Fukushima confesses
WorldNetworkChildren·
Published on Feb 20, 2013
07/02/2013
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Our Planet TV has been covering the whole incident and given transparent information about the incident as opposed to the mass media. We especially have been focusing on children’s health issue and safety problems related to people’s daily life. For parents living close to the nuclear incidents epicenter, it has been crucial for them to have access to objective information regarding the disastrous situation.
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Fukushima Governor is asking for the legal dose limit of ionizing radiation to be increased!
Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato is asking for the legal limit of a dose of ionizing radiation in Fukushima to be higher
“…16 billion yen was earmarked for a five year programme to restore the area affected by the earthquake and tsunami, and yet 48 million yen was spent on investment in Nuclear fusion for example. Why was this money not spent on restoring the area most in need?….”
“I will revive Fukushima no matter how hard it is.”
“It is my dream to be born in Fukushima, grow in Fukushima, get employed, get married, give birth to a baby, see my grandchildren, see my great-grand children and live my final stage in Fukushima.”
I was very impressed by the straightforward and strong words of high school students. To respond to such children’s desire and implement measures for revitalization for the future of the prefecture, we have drawn up ‘The vision for revitalization of Fukushima Prefecture’. Assuming this vision as a marker, I will go forward with residents and municipalities hand in hand to revive ‘FUKUSHIMA’, which is widely known to the world due to the nuclear accident, to “A new Fukushima” in which we can take pride to the world.
Fukushima Prefecture has many tourism sources, such as affluent and beautiful nature, venerable traditional culture, and 130 hot springs that you can fully enjoy…..
http://www.pref.fukushima.jp/kokusai/IADwebsite/html/governormessage.html
Then, former Environment Minister Hosono promised that the government would aim to keep 1mSv/y in response to the request from citizens.
（Ｒｅｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ） http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2013/02/20130218t61011.htm
Posted by Mia June
http://fukushimaappeal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/fukushima-governor-yuhei-sato-is-asking.html
Warning on UK subsidies for nuclear power, and conflict of interest
RWE boss warns over nuclear plant subsidies , Terry Macalister and Richard Cookson, The Guardian, 20 February 2013
CEO’s concern that consumers could face ‘unnecessarily high bills’ comes as industry staff are seconded to ministries RWE npower, one of the big six power suppliers, has warned ministers not to seal a long-term subsidy deal with the nuclear industry behind the backs of consumers and saddle them with “unnecessarily high bills” for the next 40 years.
The warning from Paul Massara, RWE UK’s new chief executive, comes as the Guardian can reveal that up to 15 private sector executives with links to the atomic sector have been seconded to government departments or other public sector roles.
“We are very concerned that decisions currently being taken around guaranteed revenue from new nuclear power stations in return for their delivery could force the next three generations of British consumers to pay an unexpected and perhaps unnecessarily high bill for the next 40 years, especially given the track record of delivery of nuclear power stations,” said Massara.
“There must be an open and honest conversation about the future direction of energy bills. Customers must be given the best information to be able to make informed decisions, take control of their bills and reduce their energy waste.”…..
. “We believe UK customers should not be made to write a blank cheque to pay for new power stations,” A Freedom of Information request undertaken by the campaign group, NuclearSpin.org, showed at least 15 people working for the nuclear energy industry or its consultants have been seconded to areas responsible for policy or regulation, some being paid for by the taxpayer…….
UK’s nuclear cleanup problems are echoed in USA
Across the Pond, Florida’s Progress Energy’s Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant is also in
the process of being decommissioned. Not only for consumers but those living nearby, the decisions regarding Sellafield’s decommissioning are likely to reverberate across the Atlantic.
WHO WILL PAY FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CLEANUP? Yves here. Holy moley, the cost estimates focus the mind! And the little mishap recounted below isn’t encouraging either.
Naked Capitalism, By John Daly, a non-resident scholar at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and chief analyst at OilPrice. Cross posted from OilPrice 20 Febv 13
Many of the civilian nuclear power plants built in the US. and Western Europe during the halcyon days of the Eisenhower administration are coming to the end of their operational lives as their operating licenses expire.
The looming deadlines leave their operators with two stark choices – apply for a license extension beyond the original forty years, or decommission.
A bad choice, however you look at it. For a license extension, aging NPPs must upgrade, while decommissioning raises the primordial question sidestepped since the dawn of the civilian nuclear age – what to do with the radioactive debris? The British imbroglio. Continue reading
Rebellion looming in Utah and Florida against customers paying upfront for nuclear reactors
Editors Rebel Against Ratepayer Financing For Nuclear Plants, Forbes, Jeff McMahon 20 Feb 13, This is a tale of two editorials today: one in Utah, lambasting a lawmaker for trying to sneak a price hike into energy bills to pay for a proposed nuclear plant, and one in Florida, demanding the repeal of just such a price hike, which has collected hundreds of millions from ratepayers for nuclear plants that may never be built…
.. In Utah, State Sen. Curt Bramble introduced SB199, a bill that allows utilities to bill customers in advance for “zero-carbon emissions generation” plants that produce up to 3,000 megawatts. The Salt Lake Tribune sees right through that language, saying the bill was “dropped in the hopper at the behest of developers who just won’t give up the foolish idea of building a nuclear power plant on Utah’s Green River.”
The bill proves that nuclear power is too risky and expensive for private capital markets, says the Tribune, so utilities that want to build plants and developers who want the electricity are trying to shuffle the cost onto ratepayers. The problem is that the billions needed for permitting and design could, as the Tribune puts it, “lead to a dry hole.”
And that’s just what seems to have occurred in Florida, where the editors of the Lakeland Ledger and Winterhaven News Chief want to repeal a 2006 law that allows utilities to bill customers in advance for proposed nuclear plants. Thanks to this law, Florida Gas & Light will collect $151 million this year, by the Ledger’s account, and Duke Energy will collect $143 million.
And the utilities are not obligated to return that money. “To the contrary, the fee translates into hundreds of millions in profits for the companies, regardless of what they do,” the Ledger contends. “Duke Energy is forecast to pocket $150 million, whether the Levy plants are built or not.”….. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2013/02/20/editors-rebel-against-ratepayer-financing-for-nuclear-plants/
1 This Month
10 June – Assessing Canada’s Investments in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – https://zoom.us/meeting/register/IiqHA5feRhaEBycOLNTJlA#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
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