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Two earthquakes shake Japan – one 8.5 magnitude, one 6.4

safety-symbol-Smflag-japanEarthquake measuring 8.5 magnitude shakes most of Japan, Guardian 31 May 15  No reports of deaths or major damage after strong quake strikes deep beneath Earth’s surface off the Ogasawara islandsA powerful 8.5 magnitude earthquake struck near remote Japanese islands and shook most of the country on Saturday evening local time, although it occurred well beneath the earth’s surface and did not trigger a tsunami warning. Several people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and there were no reports of deaths or major damage.

The quake struck off the Ogasawara islands at a depth of 370 miles (590 km), theJapan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake was powerful enough to rattle most of Japan, from the southern islands of Okinawa to Hokkaido in the north. It caused buildings to sway in Tokyo about 620 miles north of the Ogasawara islands and temporarily disrupted some train services in the city. About 400 houses in Saitama prefecture, just north of the capital, were without power, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company.

On Sunday morning, a second earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck off Japan’s Izu islands, which are north of the Ogasawara islands, the US Geological Survey said. It struck at a depth of eight miles with its epicenter 390 miles south-east of Tokyo.

The earthquake was not strong enough to generate a tsunami warning or close enough to the islands to cause any significant damage or injuries, said John Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, Colorado. He said it was considered a separate seismic event and not an aftershock to the magnitude 8.5 quake that had struck hours earlier.

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May 30, 2015 Posted by | Japan | 1 Comment

Volcano erupting not far from Sendai where nuclear restarts have just been approved

flag-japanJapan Plans To Restart Reactors Surrounded By Active Volcanoes, Simply Info May 29th, 2015 Japan’s NRA has given the go ahead to restart two reactors at the Sendai nuclear plant. A recent court decision rejected the concerns of the public related to the safety of the plant. The needed local approvals are expected to permit the plant to restart even though public opinion is about two to one against restarts. The first reactor could restart as early as July.

One volcano 64km from the nuclear plant erupted last October. Now one 160km south of the plant is actively erupting. Residents of that island are being evacuated.  Even a distant volcano cancause serious problems for a nuclear plant. The ash released in an eruption can take out power lines and cause equipment such as diesel generators to fail.  We also found other risks that are unaddressed with the Sendai plant related to any disaster response……..Sendai still lacked an evacuation plan ……..http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=14778

volcano near Sendai nukes 15

May 30, 2015 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Time for Britain to rethink its energy programme, as European nuclear industry collapses

Unfair state aid  The new British government is already facing legal challenges from Austria and Luxembourg and from various renewable energy groups for unfair state aid for this nuclear project.

[Britain]  has not developed renewables as fast as Germany and other European neighbours—claiming that new nuclear build would fill the gap.

It now looks as though the government will urgently need to rethink its energy policy

terminal-nuclear-industryNew Energy Policy Needed as Nuclear Giants Take a Hit,TruthDig May 29, 2015 By Paul Brown, Climate News Network LONDON—The European nuclear industry, led by France, seems to be in terminal decline as a result of the cancellation of a new Finnish reactor, technical faults in stations already under construction, and severe financial problems.

The French government owns 85% of both of the country’s two premier nuclear companies  Areva, which designs the reactors, and Électricité de France (EDF), which builds and manages them. Now it is amalgamating the two giants in a bid to rescue the industry.

Even if the vast financial losses involved in building new nuclear stations can be stemmed, there is still a big question mark over whether either company can win any new orders…………. Continue reading

May 30, 2015 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Germany’s coal power production in decline, along with nuclear exit

text-renw-GermanyZero German coal plants as a reaction to Fukushima, Energy Transition, [excellent diagrams]  27 May 2015   by   Reading headlines like “Germany’s nuclear cutback is darkening European skies” makes Craig Morris despair over the state of journalism……

..there has been no surge in coal power during the nuclear phase-out. In fact, total coal power production (both lignite and hard coal) fell by six percent last year alone. ……….

We are left with no coal plants in the pipeline as a reaction to Fukushima accident and Germany’s nuclear phase-out. Nor has there been a boom in new coal plants and coal electricity generation in Germany since the Fukushima accident. All of this information is publicly available,……Craig Morris (@PPchef) is the lead author of German Energy Transition. He directs Petite Planète and writes every workday for Renewables Internationalhttp://energytransition.de/2015/05/zero-german-coal-plants-reaction-to-fukushima/

May 30, 2015 Posted by | climate change, Germany | Leave a comment

“Nuclear preparedness” in reality an unrealistic stranglehold on public policy

weapons1the enormous profit to be had in nuclear preparedness has created the rise of the military-industrial complex, which has a financial — and emotional — stranglehold on Congress and the mainstream media, pretty much guaranteeing that government policy will continue to be chained to the concepts of military dominance and nuclear deterrence. This means continued development of nuclear technology and the wasting of further trillions of dollars that might otherwise be spent for the good of humanity…………..

Countering this vested-interest realism is a global movement demanding the creation of a nuke-free world order and the transcendence of war.

Nuclear Realism, Huffington Post,  Syndicated writer, 29 May 15  There’s a category of political intellectuals who proudly proclaim themselves “realists,” then proceed to defend and advance a deeply faith-based agenda that centers on the ongoing necessity to prepare for war, including nuclear war.

These intellectuals, as they defend the military-industrial status quo (which often supports them financially), have made themselves the spokespersons for a deep human cancer: a soul cancer. Continue reading

May 30, 2015 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear brinkmanship as practised by North Korea

any opportunity for a preemptive strike against the North’s nuclear sites has been lost, for fear it would prompt an attack on Seoul and other parts of the South. Now, the threat of destruction raining down on the northern parts of South Korea is too high a price. Consequently, the only option remaining is diplomacy.

flag-N-KoreaThe art of North Korea’s nuclear brinkmanship, Guardian, Robert E McCoy for NK News, part of the North Korea network, 29 May 15 A string of recent missile launches may have been faked, but the country is a nuclear power that requires diplomatic engagement argues Robert E McCoy 

North Korea’s press office announced earlier this month that Kim Jong-un had personally supervised the firing of a new submarine-based missile.

The news was soon followed by more footage from state media claiming to evidence another ballistic missile launch, but experts have since voiced doubts over the authenticity of the images.

But these stories are just the latest steps in a routine North Korea has long been playing with the west.

Despite often engaging in deals and agreements with western powers hoping to halt its nuclear proliferation, this “dance” of negotiations has so far failed to halt the DPRK’s military development…………….

Perhaps it’s time for diplomacy to try a different tack?

The routine begins

Troubles with North Korea began in 1989 when it was first suspected of developing a nuclear bomb, despite having signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty just three years earlier……………

events reveal a pattern, and suggests that North Korea has developed a tried-and-tested formula to outwit western powers for over 25 years.

It has done so using a modus operandi we’ll call “the dance”, which follows these eight steps:

Step 1: North Korea wants or needs something, most often food or petroleum.

Step 2: North Korea generates tension and gains international attention.

Step 3: Countries initially ignore the activity and attribute it to North Korea merely “acting up”.

Step 4: North Korea increases tension through increasingly violent acts or extreme rhetoric.

Step 5: The world finally pays attention and agrees to discuss a resolution.

Step 6: North Korea agrees to stop its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for what it needs or wants: food, petroleum or other aid.

Step 7: Once the aid is received, North Korea soon finds – or invents – a way to justify breaking its commitment.

Step 8: Repeat…………….. Continue reading

May 30, 2015 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

USA and Israel tried a Stuxnet type computer worm to muck up North Korea’s nuclear program

computer-worm-nukeTHE US TRIED TO STUXNET NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM  KIM ZETTER  Wired,  05.29.15 A PRECISION DIGITAL weapon reportedly created by the US and Israel to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program had a fraternal twin that was designed to attack North Korea’s nuclear program as well, according to a new report.

The second weapon was crafted at the same time Stuxnet was created and was designed to activate once it encountered Korean-language settings on machines with the right configuration, according to Reuters. But the operation ultimately failed because the attackers were unable to get the weapon onto machines that were running Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

WIRED reported back in 2010 that such an operation against North Korea would be possible in light of the fact that some of the equipment used by the North Koreans to control their centrifuges—the devices used to turn uranium hexafluoride gas into nuclear-bomb-ready fuel—appeared to have come from the same firms that outfitted the Iranian nuclear program………

While the plan worked beautifully in Iran, it ultimately hit a snafu against North Korea where the nuclear program is even more tightly controlled than Iran’s and where few computers—belonging to contractors or anyone else—are online and accessible via the internet.

As WIRED reported in 2010, “someone would have to infiltrate the Hermit Kingdom’s most sensitive sites and introduce the worm into the command systems, a hard bargain to say the least. In other words, don’t go thinking the United States or an ally could magically infect North Korea with Stuxnet. But if more information emerges about the North’s command systems, that might provide fodder for a copycat worm—provided someone could introduce it into Yongbyon.” http://www.wired.com/2015/05/us-tried-stuxnet-north-koreas-nuclear-program/

May 30, 2015 Posted by | Israel, North Korea, secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Global nuclear lobby has found a sucker in one State in Australia

Clearly this whole disastrous process is financially beyond the reach of little South Australia. However
Premier Jay Weatherill has been persuaded to establish a flawed royal commission to assess the viability of incorporating the entire nuclear fuel chain in the state.

South Australia has vast amounts of geothermal energy available in its northern reaches and it is perfectly suited for solar and wind power, which get cheaper by the day. With a little initiative and wise political leadership, the state could become a world leader in clean, green and sustainable energy, installing solar panels on every building and parking area, building electric solar-powered cars, constructing thousands of turbines and upgrading the grid, which would enormously increase the GDP and welfare of South Australia.

South Australia’s short-sighted view of uranium and nuclear options   https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2015/05/30/sas-short-sighted-view-uranium-Australia suckerand-nuclear-options/14329080001942#.VWjSBtKqpHw Something quite extraordinary is happening in South Australia, the state that initiated the national movement against French atmospheric nuclear tests in 1971-72, and where the movement against uranium mining began in 1975, which ultimately led to a five-year ban by the ACTU on the mining, transport and export of uranium. Forty years later, it is the ultimate irony that the French nuclear industry is interested in becoming involved in South Australian uranium enrichment and nuclear reactors.

In 2010, the University College London (UCL) established its School of Energy and Resources, Australia, in Adelaide. The buyer-beware-1school partnered with pro-nuclear and pro-shale gas corporations, including BHP Billiton and Santos. On the surface this may seem harmless enough, but the school and its well-connected backers has had a profound impact on the nuclear debate in South Australia, particularly as the state begins a royal commission into “opportunities and risks” in the “nuclear fuel cycle”.

Professor Stefaan Simons, who is the director of the International Energy Policy Institute and UCL’s BHP Billiton chairman of energy policy, has been strongly promoting construction of nuclear powered submarines in South Australia, as well as a repository in the state for radioactive “waste streams”. Dr Tim Stone, a businessman and visiting professor to the UCL’s Adelaide campus, was expert chair of the British Office for Nuclear Development and sits on the board of British energy company Horizon Nuclear Power. James Voss, the former managing director of Pangea Resources, the company that originally proposed a nuclear waste dump in Australia in the late 1990s, is also part of the UCL fold, as honorary reader at the International Energy Policy Institute.

Outside of UCL, support has come from the likes of Professor Barry Brook, former professor of climate change at the University of Adelaide, and now professor and chair of environmental sustainability at the University of Tasmania. Brook has vigorously promoted the whole nuclear fuel chain, from uranium mining and enrichment to reactors and storage of radioactive waste in the desert of South Australia. He and Tim Stone have been appointed to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission’s Expert Advisory Committee.

The arguments put for nuclear power are many and specious. As South Australia continues to be seduced by them, it is worth pointing out the flaws that too often go uncorrected. 

global-warming-nuke2The first argument is environmental: that nuclear power is the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and as such combat climate change. But this ignores the huge expulsion of greenhouse gas that goes into producing nuclear power.

The massive industrial process supporting a nuclear power plant is complex and energy intensive. It involves mining millions of tonnes of soil and ore. The uranium must then be separated, milled, enriched and converted into ceramic particles to be packed into zirconium fuel rods. Construction of the huge reactor complex adds substantially to global warming as it is largely made of concrete – a CO2-intensive product. One hundred tonnes of enriched uranium fuel rods are packed into the reactor core and submerged in water. The fission reaction boils the water, steam turns a turbine and generates electricity. Each 1000-megawatt reactor requires one million gallons of water a minute, for cooling.

text ionisingIn operation, the uranium becomes one billion times more radioactive, and more than 200 new man-made radioactive elements are created. Thirty tonnes of radioactive spent fuel rods – nuclear waste – removed from the reactor core annually must be continually cooled for decades. Decommissioning of the intensely radioactive reactor occurs decades hence and long-term storage of radioactive waste for one million years must follow.

This complex process produces massive amounts of global warming gases, including CO2 and chlorofluorocarbons. Enriching uranium also requires the enormous expense of energy, as in Paducah, Kentucky, where two huge coal-fired plants provided the requisite electricity for uranium enrichment for atomic power and weapons.

As far as mitigation of global warming is concerned, the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research estimates that 2000 to 3000 reactors of 1000 megawatts each would need to be built over the next 50 years to have any impact – one a week – in order to replace half of our present oil and coal capacity as well as meeting globally escalating electricity needs.

Nonetheless, the South Australian Liberal senator Sean Edwards, a real estate agent and winemaker, has parroted the fallacious arguments about climate change mitigation in a recent interview for the Murdoch press. But he also went further.

greed copyHe said that South Australia could create a special economic zone, thus eliminating $4.4 billion in taxes, including payroll tax, motor vehicle taxes and the emergency services levy, if it became the world’s radioactive waste dump. He said that because international partners would pay handsomely for this service, “free power could then be provided to SA households”.

Ben Heard, an occupational therapist and PhD candidate studying nuclear power, agreed with Edwards and said this proposal was “entirely credible” and that the global market for storing radioactive waste was worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Heard argued that “the used fuel rods … can be converted into a metal form and that can go into a fast reactor that recycles the metal over and over again until all of that material has produced energy, and in that process it converts into a much shorter lived waste form”.

Heard is advocating the reprocessing of radioactive fuel. This involves dissolving intensely radioactive fuel rods in nitric acid and chemically precipitating out plutonium, which would then fuel small, modular, fast-breeder reactors.

Here, another specious argument. Reprocessing is an extremely dangerous process, exposing workers to high levels of radiation and leaving a toxic corrosive brew of more than 100 deadly radioactive elements that must then be isolated from the ecosphere for one million years, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. It’s a scientific impossibility. The proponents argue that fissioning plutonium (the process of nuclear reaction) in a fast reactor converts it to shorter-lived radioactive elements, which reduces the amount of very long-lived waste. Plutonium’s radioactive life is 250,000 years, while that of converted elements such as cesium-137 and strontium-90 is 300 years. But they are wrong. Only 9 per cent of the plutonium successfully fissions, leaving 91 per cent of it with its extensive life, as well as producing deadly fission byproducts.

Thorium-snake-oilIt is also argued that South Australia’s reserves of thorium could be used for electricity production, but this would require the use of enriched uranium or plutonium to make thorium fissionable. This is another vastly expensive and dangerous operation.

Next, there is the question of militarisation. Proliferation of nuclear power and weapons is intrinsically linked. Fast reactors make access to plutonium readily available to use as fuel for nuclear weapons for the next 250,000 years. Fast reactors also use liquid sodium as a coolant, which explodes or burns if exposed to air, should a cooling pipe crack or leak. Five kilograms of plutonium is critical mass – the amount necessary for a sustained chain reaction – and with tonnes of plutonium in the reactor core, a loss of coolant could induce a huge nuclear explosion scattering deadly plutonium. Moreover, fast reactors are hugely expensive and have never been produced on a commercial scale.

There are, as mentioned, supporters of the South Australian waste dump proposal. No doubt, countries with some of the 350,000 tonnes of spent fuel in the world would be thrilled with such a scheme. The dump would be constructed on Aboriginal land, near and likely above the Great Artesian Basin. The extremely dangerous elements in this waste include plutonium-239, existing for 250,000 years and so toxic that one-millionth of a gram is carcinogenic. There would also be americium-241, even more deadly than plutonium, as well as strontium-90 and cesium-137, lasting 300 years. Radioactive elements that concentrate in the food chain are odourless, invisible and tasteless. They induce varieties of cancer, including lung, liver, bone, testicular, breast, muscle and brain. They can cause severe congenital deformities and their presence increases the incidence of inherited genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis, diabetes, haemochromatosis and dwarfism.

The South Australian population would be likely to experience epidemics of cancer, leukaemia, congenital anomalies and genetic diseases through future generations as the waste inevitably leaked.

text-my-money-2The entire nuclear fuel chain in all countries with nuclear power, including its accident insurance, is heavily subsidised by government. Wall Street will not invest in nuclear power, so in essence it is a socialised industry paid for by the taxpayers. Construction of 1000-megawatt nuclear reactors in the US now costs upwards of $US12 billion. Many of the nuclear power plants in Britain, Europe, Japan, Canada and the US are reaching the end of their productive lives. But because the private utility companies that run the reactors make over 1 million dollars a day selling electricity, they are persuading governments to allow these dilapidated and dangerous reactors to operate for another 20 years. Continue reading

May 30, 2015 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Russia will dramatically increase its arsenal of Nuclear Supersonic Bombers

Russia Is Set to Triple Nuclear Supersonic Bomber Force National Interest 29 May 15 Russia will purchase at least 50 of the newly revived Tupolev Tu-160 (Blackjack) heavy strategic bombers, dramatically increasing its arsenal.

As The National Interest previously reported, last month Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia would resume production of the Tu-160 strategic bomber, a Soviet-era aircraft that is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons…..http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russia-set-triple-nuclear-supersonic-bomber-force-12988

May 30, 2015 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Nazi radiation experiments on humans

Nazi Human Experimentation NMR’s Blog  29 May 2015 Nazi human experimentation was medical experimentation on large numbers of people by the German Nazi regime in its concentration camps during World War II. At Auschwitz, under the direction of Dr. Eduard Wirths, selected inmates were subjected to various experiments which were supposedly designed to help German military personnel in combat situations, to aid in the recovery of military personnel that had been injured, and to advance the racial ideology backed by the Third Reich.After the war, these crimes were tried at what became known as the Doctors’ Trial, and revulsion at the abuses perpetrated led to the development of the Nuremberg Code of medical ethics…………..

Sterilization experiments
From about March 1941 to about January 1945, sterilization experiments were conducted at Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, and other places by Dr. Carl Clauberg.The purpose of these experiments was to develop a method of sterilization which would be suitable for sterilizing millions of people with a minimum of time and effort. These experiments were conducted by means of X-ray, surgery and various drugs. Thousands of victims were sterilized.
Aside from its experimentation, the Nazi government sterilized around 400,000 individuals as part of its compulsory sterilization program.Intravenous injections of solutions speculated to contain iodine and silver nitrate were successful, but had unwanted side effects such as vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, and cervical cancer.
Therefore, radiation treatment became the favored choice of sterilization. Specific amounts of exposure to radiation destroyed a person’s ability to produce ova or sperm. The radiation was administered through deception. Prisoners were brought into a room and asked to complete forms, which took two to three minutes. In this time, the radiation treatment was administered and, unknown to the prisoners, they were rendered completely sterile. Many suffered severe radiation burns……..
Aftermath
Many of the subjects died as a result of the experiments conducted by the Nazis, while many others were murdered after the tests were completed or to study the effect post mortem.Those who survived were often left mutilated, suffering permanent disability, weakened bodies, and mental duress.On August 19, 1947, the doctors captured by Allied forces were put on trial in USA vs. Karl Brandt et al., which is commonly known as the Doctors’ Trial. At the trial, several of the doctors argued in their defense that there was no international law regarding medical experimentation………
Eventually, the minister for religious, educational, and medical affairs issued a directive stating that medical interventions other than for diagnosis, healing, and immunization were excluded under all circumstances if “the human subject was a minor or not competent for other reasons” or if the subject had not given his or her “unambiguous consent” after a “proper explanation of the possible negative consequences” of the intervention. However, this was not legally binding.
In response, Drs. Leo Alexander and Andrew Conway Ivy drafted a ten point memorandum entitled Permissible Medical Experiment that went on to be known as the Nuremberg Code.The code calls for such standards as voluntary consent of patients, avoidance of unnecessary pain and suffering, and that there must be a belief that the experimentation will not end in death or disability.However, the Code was not cited in any of the findings against the defendants and never made it into either German or American medical law. http://neethumreji.blogspot.com.au/

May 30, 2015 Posted by | Germany, history, radiation | 1 Comment

In fact, Iran has co-operated well with IAEA

diplomacy-not-bombsIran has cooperated with IAEA more than reflected in recent report: Official http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/05/29/413428/Iran-IAEA-report-military-dimensions-nuclear-program-Ambassador-Najafi  An Iranian nuclear official says the part of a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Iran’s cooperation with the agency is “incomplete,” as the Islamic Republic has cooperated with the agency more than reflected in the report, Press TV reports.

“From the 18 practical measures [on which] we agreed with the Agency, we concluded 16. Two remaining practical measures are under discussion,” Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi told Press TV in an exclusive interview on Friday.

He explained that during recent meetings with IAEA officials in the Iranian capital, Tehran, “we discussed [the] two remaining practical measures. We provided some clarification with regard to those two issues.”

“What has been considered by some media as information about one issue is indeed a sentence in the report which refers to one of the issues. But, indeed, we provided information for two issues and we believe that that part of the report is incomplete; it is not a full reflection of the facts,” he explained.

In separate remarks reported by IRNA, Najafi said the IAEA report repeats previous allegations about the so-called possible military dimensions (PMD) in Iran’s nuclear program.

“The latest report, when compared to earlier ones, shows the IAEA has nothing new to present concerning the implementation of the Safeguards Agreement in Iran,” said Najadi, adding that the new report has the same content as that of the previous ones only with different figures.

Najafi also rejected the UN nuclear watchdog’s so-called PMD allegations and said repeating the same baseless accusations against Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities cannot give credibility to IAEA reports.

He pointed out that the report, issued to the IAEA’s 35-nation board and the UN Security Council on Thursday, attests that all of Iran’s atomic activities and its nuclear facilities have been under the close supervision of the UN nuclear agency, and have had no diversion from peaceful dimensions.

May 30, 2015 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

Renewable Energy Headlines 30 May 15

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

Sorry – I am finding it oo much to properly cover where it is all really at!  –  RENEWABLE ENERGY!

Renewable energy hasn’t been this big since wood

CNBC-28 May 2015
The last time Americans used as much renewable energy as they do now was in the 1930s, when the burning of wood was more widespread.

Can Your City Commit to 100% Renewable Energy?

Huffington Post-21 hours ago
It’s the latest trend in progressive urban planning. Cities around the world are rushing to commit to running on 100-percent renewable energy …
Hindustan Times-5 hours ago
This was true of the Internet, and evidence suggests a similar course when it comes to clean technology and renewable energy.” As Tech …
MarketWatch-5 hours ago
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. is a leading North American advanced biofuels producer and developer of renewable chemicals. REG utilizes a …

May 30, 2015 Posted by | renewable | Leave a comment

Are Florida residents REALLY happy with more nuclear reactors near state parks?

text-Please-NoteDoes Florida need more nuclear reactors near state parks? http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/todays-buzz/sfl-florida-nuclear-reactors-turkey-point-20150529-story.html   By Daniel Vasquez “..
Florida Power & Light has plans to add two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point. Now, some people are still afraid of nuclear reactors. They don’t want them in their backyards. What happens if one of them melts?

FP&L, which generates and sells much of the electricity sucked up by homeowners and businesses in South Florid, tells us there is nothing to worry about…

But not everyone is convinced FP&L is doing so great with the two reactors now at Turkey Point.

The Sun Sentinel’s South Florida 100 member Katy Sorenson, president of the Good Government Initiative at the University of Miami says this:

 “Florida Power and Light just doesn’t get it – and continues to act with impunity. Turkey Point’s cooling canals are too hot, and dangerous levels of salt and other pollutants for the nuclear power plant are being released into Biscayne and Florida Bays, our drinking water and food chain. The state, under our “I’m not a scientist” governor, has responded by relaxing its oversight. But the Miami-Dade County Commission is starting to pay attention. Meanwhile, bring on the renewable energies, including solar, and let’s get out from under the rule of FPL.”

FP&L has told the Sun Sentinel editorial board that Florida is not ripe for solar energy. Yep, we’re still scratching our head about that one, too.

But shouldn’t we more strongly consider other options rather than adding two more nuclear reactors here, which will be tucked next to Biscayne Bay and between two national parks?

That’s what the feds are wondering. This week the government announced it will accept more public comment on the issue.

Yes. You’re the public. Say something.

Daniel Vasquez may be reached atdvasquez@sunsentinel.com or @ConsumerDan.

May 30, 2015 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Nothing happening in much vaunted nuclear deal between USA and India

Buy-US-nukesflag-indiaLittle progress on nuclear deal after ‘breakthrough’ http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/little-progress-on-nuclear-deal-between-india-and-us-after-breakthrough/article7261405.ece NARAYAN LAKSHMAN 29 May 15 More than four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama announced a “breakthrough understanding” to resolve a long-standing impasse in the bilateral civil nuclear energy agreement, forward movement has apparently ground to a standstill and neither the government nor the private sector here  held out hope for a speedy resolution.

Responding to queries from The Hindu this week a State Department spokesperson said that there was “nothing new to announce on the civil nuclear deal at this time.”

Even as early as February, a top State Department official, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal, indicated that there may not be much more that the two governments could do to smooth the path for U.S. corporations to supply India with nuclear reactors. Ms. Biswal said that while Washington was “still in the process of taking what [India’s latest] top-line commitments were and trading paper to be able to find the more detailed understandings,” for the U.S. resolution of this “lingering challenge” hinged on the convergence between India’s 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND) and the 1963 CSC.

She emphasised that with the “breakthrough understanding” reached in January, “now it will be up to the companies to assess for themselves the business case scenarios and make their own decisions based on the commercial aspects – how to move forward.”

“Nothing happening” Continue reading

May 30, 2015 Posted by | India, marketing, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

South Carolina nuclear company wants ratepayers to pay upfront for new nuclear units being built

nuclear-costs1SCE&G wants to raise rates again to pay for nuclear units, Post & Courier, Warren L. Wise May 29 2015 South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. wants to raise electric rates an overall 2.78 percent to help pay for new nuclear units being built north of Columbia.

The Cayce-based utility, part of SCANA Corp., filed for the increase Friday with the S.C. Public Service Commission and the state Office of Regulatory Staff.

The $70 million-a-year request is part of a 10-year series of price hikes expected annually through 2018 to offset the $10 billion costs of building two units at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County.  The new units will come online at the end of the decade. SCE&G jointly owns the nuclear power plant with state-owned utility Santee Cooper of Moncks Corner…………

Commercial and industrial customers would also see their bills go up.

The rate hike would take effect in October if approved. SCE&G serves about 692,000 electric customers across South Carolina. About half are in the Charleston area.

Rates for SCE&G customers have jumped 14 times over the past seven years. Seven of those were connected to the nuclear units. http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150529/PC05/150529222/sceg-wants-to-raise-rates-again-to-pay-for-nuclear-units

May 30, 2015 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment