Great things are happening despite appearances! – Sister Megan Rice comments from prison!
Sister Megan Rice
MDC Brooklyn
Metrpolitan Detention Centre
P.O. Box 329002
Brooklyn, NY 11232
April 6 2014
Dear sisters and brothers, at one with us all in this Beloved Community of participants in support of disarming now, and transforming now, the nuclear-industrial complex, wherever it rears its rapacious heads!
Greetings from the federal bureau of prisons Metropolitan Detention Centre, Brooklyn. I arrived about ten days ago, after a BOP transit tour, to the 60th detainee, added to the 59 already here since the closing of the womens unit at FCI Danbury, one month ago. (You may know, FCI Danbury is being re-readied for men again.) We are all together in the stage of pioneering the women`s unit in two huge buildings here among the 3,000 men prisoners for whom it was built.
I was taken from Ocilla on March 18th to Lovejoy, GA detention centre for about six days, when flown on March 24th for an overnight stop in Oklahoma City, where all layers of thermals etc. were removed from each of the 16 women and 100+ men flying from Atlanta with us. Brrrrr!
Early the next a.m. With one other woman destined for the Danbury Camp and 100+ more men, all of us in T-shirts and cotton khakis in 30 degree weather, got flown to Newburgh, New York, arriving March 25th Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
I could never fully describe the kindness with which a guardian angel guard (male) walked me through the intake in about 15 minutes, while I ate my baloney & Cheese sandwich (brown bread, turkey baloney!), the first meal of the day for me except for two apples given to me by my sister passenger, “Tiffany”, on the way from Newburgh to Brooklyn.
Then, dressed in more new clothes and with sheets and blankets, we got taken by 8.00 pm to unit 6 on the 6th floor. There we received the warmest welcome from the ex-Danbury settlers who generously outfitted me with their surplus from Danbury – sweats, t-shirts, socks, food – you name it! So, “Go by opposites!” Its good to be 84 and the next young thing is 70, if that! The United Nations is represented among a large population from Brooklyn, Queens and up-state New York towns – Watertown, Ithaca and Plattsburg – well represented, with one loner from near Floorence AZ.
These ten days have been spent sleeping off the journey and beginning to learn the many ropes (rules) governing the approved “Contact List” for email, phone calls and mail, and a visitors list.
Good books are available and I`ve started learning about writers and times I never had time to read before – Catherine di Medici (!), The Mercy by Toni Morrison and now Rabble rouser for Peace, the biography of Desmund Tutu, a long time hero of mine whom I tracked down for all his speaking events while in New York City, one year in the late 1980`s, accompanied by three very politically savvy homeless men from the Franklins Mens Shelter in the Bronx. Tutu gave them great hugs after each event.
Again, I thank each of you from far away places who continue to writ e to us. As I send my love and thanks and blessings, Please also send mine and yours to Greg and Mike in Leavenworth and Bradford, when you write them.
Love & peace, and know great things are happening despite appearances!
Megan Rice
Sacred Heart C.I
Gregory Boertje-Obed 08052-016
USP Leavenworth
P.O. Box 1000
Leavenworth, KS 66048
Micheal Walli 92108-020
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701
For more information visit these websites;
www.transformnowploughshares.wordpress.com
www.nukesister.org
www.orepa.org/
Round-up of nuclear and climate news
Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs
Japanese court rules against the restart of two nuclear reactors. Deception by Tepco and government revealed on what really did happen in the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Japan has started dumping radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Fukushima’s children’s thyroid cancer rates have risen. Japan soon to build massive ice wall in ground around Fukushima nuclear plant, – at massive cost
Finland’s Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant has long been touted as the poster child for magnificent huge new nuclear power. With ever more delays, costs, legal problems, it’s turning out to be a super-expensive white elephant.
Canada. Federal court denies approval for 2 new nuclear reactors, due to safety and environmental factors.
USA continues to thrash out insurmountable problems in nuclear waste and closing down reactors, (but they still keep making the stuff!) Nuclear industry’s costs and delays cast a gloom on chance of “new nuclear’. Small Modular Reactors are part of the problem, not the solution. At least 8 USA nuclear plants expected to be swamped by rising sea levels.
Climate change – In USA The Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) in a new report ‘outs’ the front groups and individuals who attack renewable energy on behalf of the fossil fuel industries. Meanwhile a new progressive (and non-profit) group NextGen Climate now campaigns to elect politicians who support climate change action. An evangelical Christian group declares that action on climate change is a pro life issue, and petitions Florida government accordingly.
India’s new Prime Minister Modi aims to bring solar power to every home by 2019. Opposition parties increase their fight against nuclear power.
Ukraine. Westinghouse, not Russia, now to supply nuclear fuel rods to Ukraine, even though they are not suited to the Russian made fuel assemblies.
Uranium market. A call to cut production, as uranium price is in free fall, below cost of production. Bad lookout for new uranium mines.
Farce of Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant – an expensive white elephant
Finland Government faces two in-principle decisions on nuclear power http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/10691-government-faces-two-in-principle-decisions-on-nuclear-power.html 22 May 14, The Government faces two new in-principle decisions on nuclear power projects, after Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) announced on Tuesday that it will request an extension to the in-principle decision granted for the construction of a fourth reactor at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant and a new time limit for filing the building permit application.
“[Work on] Olkiluoto 3 has been delayed to the extent that we can’t make any big decisions on Olkiluoto 4. All the conditions and grounds for Olkiluoto 4 remain in tact. It’s only a question of timing,” explains Jorma Tanhua, the CEO at TVO.
Under the current in-principle decision, TVO must apply for a building permit for Olkiluoto 4 by the end of June 2015.
TVO has asked for the time limit to be extended by five years. In addition, the Government must take a new in-principle decision on the nuclear power project of Fennovoima in Pyhäjoki due to the withdrawal of Germany’s E.ON from the project.
If the in-principle decisions are granted, the Parliament can either rescind or approve the decisions as such.
The Minister of Economic Affairs, Jan Vapaavuori (NCP), says that it is now necessary to consider whether such a notable extension can be granted to TVO. “It’s obvious that if more time is granted, it can’t be as much as five years,” he views.
Vapaavuori on Tuesday also underlined that the Government must consider the applications of both TVO and Fennovoima sooner rather than later in order to be able to present them to the Parliament in the autumn.
“We may even have to consolidate the schedules of the projects. If both are approved by the Government, they’ll be presented to the Parliament in the same context,” he said.
Ville Niinistö, the Minister of the Environment, believes the in-principle decisions on nuclear power have become a farce. Nuclear power, he argues, is no longer pertinent or economically cost-effective.
Olli Pohjanpalo, Petri Sajari – HS
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
© HELSINGIN SANOMAT
Problems in nuclear reactor decommissioning thrashed out in US Senate hearing
Senate Hearing on Nuclear Reactor Decommissioning Challenges Energy Collective May 22, 2014 Bemnet Alemayehu, Project Scientist, Nuclear Program, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s Environment & Public Works Committee held a hearing on Wednesday, May 14th, 2014 to assess the challenges of nuclear reactor decommissioning nationwide. Panelists called to testify at Wednesday’s senate hearing included Christopher Recchia, Public Service Department Commissioner of Vermont, Geoffrey Fettus, Senior attorney of NRDC, Donald Mosier, Council Member of the City of Del Mar, Michael Weber, Deputy Executive Director for Compliance Programs of NRC and Marvin Fertel, President & Chief Executive Officer of NEI.
Christopher Recchia’s testimony to the senate opposed a request by operators of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to discontinue off-site emergency planning after the reactor shuts down. He argued that the off-site emergency planning should continue after the reactor shuts down until all of the plant’s spent fuel rods are removed from pools and placed in dry cask storage. ……… Continue reading
Politicians oppose nuclear power in seismic zone in India
Left parties turns up heat on Kovvada nuclear plant, The Hindu NATIONAL » ANDHRA PRADESH SRIKAKULAM, May 23, 2014 Setting up the plant in seismic zone a threat to people, they say. CITU leader D. Govinda Rao said that workers, residents of Ranasthalam would launch massive agitations soon to oppose the construction activity in Kovvada.
The Left parties have turned the heat on the construction of a nuclear power project in Kovvada of Ranasthalam mandal again after mild tremor rattles the district on Wednesday saying that the project site comes under highly seismic zone and it would be dangerous for the people.
Representatives of the Left Parties have asked the government to reconsider its decision over the establishment of the nuclear plant in the district. Senior CPI (M) leader V.G.K. Murthy said that the government should clarify over the dangers posed with the setting up the nuclear plant in a seismic zone. “The Nuclear Power Corporation of India officials always say that adequate precautions would be taken up to avoid disasters during natural calamities. We feel that such disasters can’t be avoided even in highly advanced countries. So, the government should come up with scientific data to clear the doubts of people,” he added.
CITU leader D. Govinda Rao said that workers, residents of Ranasthalam would launch massive agitations soon to oppose the construction activity in Kovvada. He said that several nuclear experts including Surendra Gadekar had already expressed doubts over the safety of the project. Mr. Surendra Gadekar on Sunday cautioned that Srikakulam town would be affected badly with the establishment of nuclear power plant at Kovvada, which is 35 km away from the district headquarters.
According him, Srikakulam, which is very close to Kovvada, would face radiation problem with the establishment of the nuclear power plant with an installed capacity of 10,000 Megawatts…..http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/left-parties-turns-up-heat-on-kovvada-nuclear-plant/article6037482.ece
The Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) ‘outs’ the fossil fuel groups behind the attacks on renewable energy
New Report Exposes Fossil Fuel Front Groups Behind Attacks on Renewables http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/05/22/new-report-exposes-fossil-fuel-interest-groups-behind-clean-energy-
attacks Fossil fuel exploitation in the United States has reached a fevered pitch. Oil production is at a near-record high, and fracking activities have made the U.S.the number one producer of natural gas. All of this comes at a cost. In 2013, the oil industry averaged 20 oil spills per day, destroying countless swaths of the environment and leaving toxic chemicals for nearby residents to deal with. Meanwhile, oil and gas train derailments have totaled at least 11 in the last 11 months.
During this period of dirty energy dominance, investments in renewable energy continued to fall by 14% in 2013. The United States is averaging 20 oil spills per day, 1 dirty energy transport train derailment and explosion per month, and yet we’re still doubling down on fossil fuels.
This all seems fairly shocking, until you peel back the curtain on who is behind the efforts to keep renewable energy solutions out of the picture, which is exactly what a new report has done. The Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) has released a report detailing not only the fossil fuel front groups behind the attacks on clean energy, but also how they are able to use their money and political muscle to prevent a viable market for clean energy, limiting energy choices for consumers.
From the report, Attacks on Renewable Energy Standards and Net Metering Policies By Fossil Fuel Interests & Front Groups 2013-2014:
The fossil fuel lobby aggressively uses lobbying and propaganda to achieve their goals. Self-identified “free market think tanks” are among the most effective advocates for the fossil fuel industry to lobby for policy changes. Dozens of these so-called free market organizations, a majority of which are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), worked to influence state level energy policies and attack the clean energy industry…
Fossil fuel-funded front groups operate in multiple areas to influence the policy-making process in their attempts to eliminate clean energy policies. Continue reading
Solar power in every Indian home by 2019 – that’s the goal of new Prime Minister Modi
Modi to Use Solar to Bring Power to Every Home by 2019 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-19/modi-to-use-solar-to-bring-power-to-every-home-by-2019.html By Rakteem Katakey and Debjit Chakraborty May 18, 2014 India’s new government led b yNarendra Modi plans to harness solar power to enable every home to run at least one light bulb by 2019, a party official said.
“We look upon solar as having the potential to completely transform the way we look at the energy space,” said Narendra Taneja, convener of the energy division at Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which swept to power on May 16 in the biggest electoral win in three decades. About 400 million people in India lack access to electricity, more than the combined population of the U.S. and Canada. The outgoing government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh missed a 2012 target to provide electricity to all households.
The five-year goal will require the cooperation of state-level administrations with which the central government shares control over the power industry, Taneja said. If successful, solar panels could allow every home to have enough power to run two bulbs, a solar cooker and a television, he said.
Expanding clean-power generation will be the administration’s top energy-related priority, especially solar because it has the potential to create jobs and supply millions of scattered households not connected to the grid, he said.
Modi, as chief minister of Gujarat state, pioneered India’s first incentives for large-scale solar power in 2009. The party will take lessons from Gujarat’s program as it designs policies on a national level that will include both larger, grid-connected photovoltaic projects and smaller, decentralized applications for solar, Taneja said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Rakteem Katakey in New Delhi atrkatakey@bloomberg.net; Debjit Chakraborty in New Delhi at dchakrabor10@bloomberg.net
Environmental law puts a stumbling block in front of nuclear power for Poland
Poland’s nuclear energy programme stumbles again: Has PGE lost control of its sub-contractors? Greenpeace, Jan Haverkamp – May 22, 2014 In late February, during one of our regular strolls through the Lubiatowo dunes where the Polish government and the utility PGE are planning to build 3,000 MW of nuclear capacity, we found something peculiar. Bright orange sticks – exactly on the locations where the PGE subcontractor, Worley Parsons, wants to drill 20- to 200-meter-deep holes for their site assessment. Such drilling directly next to two Natura2000 areas, in a unique dune landscape with wet valleys, could easily cause irreversible damage to this home of red deer, white-tailed and lesser spotted eagles. The EU Habitat Directive and the Aarhus Convention do not leave much space for interpretation: when irreversible damage to Natura2000 sites is possible, an environmental impact assessment has to be made with full public participation.
Taiwan’s nuclear dilemma – a return to authoritarian past?
Taiwan’s Nuclear Future and Authoritarian Past The intense debate in Taiwan over nuclear power has echoes of a less democratic past. The Diplomat, By Brent Crane May 21, 2014 Last August, chaos erupted in Taiwanese parliament. Opposing lawmakers thrust hard-clenched fists at one another while fervent activists tossed opened water-bottles from the stands like Molotov cocktails. Politicians and otherwise civilized men wrestled like teenage boys on the floor amid shouts, screams and camera flashes.
The Legislative Yuan had initially assembled to discuss the conditions of a national referendum deciding the fate of Taiwan’s fourth nuclear power plant in Gongliao, New Taipei City. The controversial plant, known ominously throughout the country as Nuke 4, remains a rallying cry for opponents of one of Taiwan’s most charged political subjects: nuclear power. The debate has been energized in recent weeks after former opposition party leader and staunch nuclear energy opponent Lin Yi-hsiung went on hunger-strike in protest of the government’s unwillingness to make concessions with Taiwan’s antinuclear lobby. On the surface, the conflict appears rather black-and-white: it’s the safety-conscious, environmentalists and academics versus the pragmatic economists and government bureaucrats. But the nuclear power debate in Taiwan is about much more than just safety and economics. It’s about reconciling Taiwan’s autocratic past with its democratic present……….
On the Taiwanese political front today, only reunification is as hotly debated as nuclear energy. The antinuclear camp, which polls suggest finds support from up to 70 percent of the 23 million Taiwanese, advocates full denuclearization of the island. Simply put, their biggest beef with nuclear power in Taiwan is that it poses too great a safety risk. The disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011 represents the type of nightmare scenario that antinuclear activists conjure up when they denounce the energy source. After all, Taiwan is highly prone to typhoons, tsunamis and earthquakes. In late September 1999, for instance, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake killed 2,415 people in central Taiwan, injuring more then 11,000. Last September, Typhoon Usagi left Taiwan with 35 dead and with more than $4.33 billion in damages. The list goes on. And Taiwan’s compact size ensures that any plant destruction or malfunction on the scale of the Fukushima fiasco would be disastrous for the island, whose densely packed urban centers are never too far from any of the country’s four plants.
Yet despite the risks, the ruling KMT party remains firmly pro-nuclear, and has proven resilient in weathering the antinuclear storm. ……In true Jeffersonian fashion, the electorate, though hollering at an often unresponsive government, are demanding that their voices be heard. And with the ebb and flow of the youth-led Sunflower Movement, a government accountability project akin to Occupy Wall Street, Taiwan’s political atmosphere has been particularly energized lately………
Opposition to Nuke 4 has galvanized tens of thousands of Taiwanese to hold demonstrations throughout the country in recent years. Clearly, the anti-nuclear camp is no longer a fringe element. On the contrary, opposition to nuclear power has become a household inclination, with some studies showing 55 percent to 70 percent of the population anti-nuclear………
Of course, shifting an entire country from autocracy to democracy is no easy task. But Taiwan’s nuclear energy debate is a reminder that its transition isn’t yet wholly complete. http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/taiwans-nuclear-future-and-authoritarian-past/
NextGen Climate, – a progressive, pro-environment counterbalance to the wealthy oil and gas industry
Green billionaire prepares to attack ‘anti-science’ Republicans By Peter Hamby, CNN National Political Reporter May 22, 2014 Washington An environmental advocacy group backed by hedge fund tycoon Tom Steyer is set to unleash a seven-state, $100 million offensive against Republican “science deniers” this year, a no-holds-barred campaign-style push from the green billionaire that could help decide which party controls the Senate and key statehouses come November.
The Steyer-backed outside group, NextGen Climate, has billed itself as a progressive, pro-environment counterbalance to the wealthy oil and gas industry — as well as the primary foil to the pro-business Koch brothers and their well-funded conservative donor network.
The outfit, launched last year by the San Francisco billionaire, has already pledged to spend heavily this midterm year in Iowa to assist the Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Braley, and in Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott is facing a difficult re-election fight against Democrat Charlie Crist……….
GOP candidates in the NextGen cross hairs — Scott in Florida, Terri Lynn Land in Michigan, Scott Brown in New Hampshire and Cory Gardner in Colorado — hew closely to the “Republican troglodyte brand,” Lehane argued.
“They are anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-science,” he said. “It’s a tough brand to win elections around.”
The group said that climate can be successfully used as a wedge issue — Lehane framed it as a moral clash between “right and wrong” — to boost turnout among Democratic voting groups that tend not to show up in midterm election years, specifically young voters, Hispanics and African-Americans……….
he primary difference between Steyer and conservative mega-donors, Lehane said, is that Steyer is not personally profiting from his political efforts. “He is giving all the money away,” he said. “He doesn’t have stand to gain some economic benefit by spending money that translates into his own personal economics.”
Lehane added, “We are spending a drop in the big oil bucket as compared to the fossil fuel industry, especially the Koch brothers. All Tom is trying to do is try to balance and level the playing field. We are never going to have as much money as the other side.” http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/22/politics/steyer-climate-change-campaign/
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