nuclear-news

Currently Germany, with the complicity of the US government, is attempting to send 455 large casks of high level spent nuclear fuel from solid storage facilities, to sit outside under tarp in South Carolina, and probably to be diluted and buried in Texas, Utah, or elsewhere, USA. Shockingly, the Environmental Assessment itself says so. See:

Germany to Empty 93% of Concrete Bunker of Nuclear Waste to Send to USA to Sit Outside Under Tarp-Bury: Oppose by March 25th at 11.59 PM (Deadline Looms)

The traitors at the US government want people to think that this is less than one tonne, based on the initial weight of highly enriched uranium (HEU) exported decades ago. However, this is spent nuclear fuel, and the original nuclear fuel was 96% German made by the aptly named “Nukem”. Because the Pebble Bed reactors had accidents the fuel is said to be in bad shape. It may…

Operation Crossroads Abel

“Baker Explosion Operation Crossroads, Bikini Atoll

Castle Bravo, 15 MT

From CommonDreams.org:
“Small Island Nation Takes Superpowers to Court over Nukes
Three of the Marshall Islands’ lawsuits, alleging nuclear weapons arsenals violate international law, moved forward in international court on Monday
by Nika Knight, staff writer, Published on Monday, March 07, 2016

‪Decades after parts of its territory were “vaporized” by United States nuclear testing, the Republic of the Marshall Islands on Monday launched an international court battle against nuclear superpowers.‬

‪The Pacific island country has sued nine nations for violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed in 1970, and now three of those lawsuits are proceeding in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.‬

Britain, India, and Pakistan have agreed to take part in the proceedings. The other defendants—the U.S., France, Russia, Israel, China, and North Korea—declined to participate. While India and Pakistan are…

It seems impossible for petrol heads coal and gas heads, and especially nuke-heads to get their heads around this – BUT – renewable energy and energy effiiciency ARE HAPPENING  – world -wide, in both big ways, and small ways.

It must be tough, when you’re addicted to such a complex , complicated, and expensive technology as nuclear power – as well as addicted to the money you get from being involved in this business –  it must be tough to consider the reality that the fuels for solar and wind energy are FREE, and so is the energy conservation from good design in energy efficiency.

As Dr Helen Caldicott pointed out, long ago, if they could put a blanket around the sun and sell holes, they would.

The out-dated energy systems of the past – nuclear,coal, gas, are looking more
and more like unwieldy and costly dinosaurs, as the world…

I have been in this job at NIRS for 25 years (03-03-1991—now). I can hear: “Mary, 50 women is not a meaningful sample size!” (I reply: Correct; for a study).

And: “Those women you met at Mama Tea Parties are self-selected activists—so they are a completely biased sample!” (Me: Correct, but this is not a study; these women are not a sample, they are leaders! They are Representatives with a capitol “R”!)

Worst: “Mary, you are simply servicing the ‘official’ government line! All of the symptoms you described could have any cause; these women are ‘just’ suffering anxiety and stress, and therefore they link their problems to radiation. There is no basis. These are ‘just’ women who are afraid of radiation; It is ALL IN THEIR HEADS!”

I hope anyone who shares those thoughts are back with me today. Please consider the points I have brought to Japan on gender…

Opinion:

¶ Australian coal v renewables: how much will it cost to bring electricity to India’s poor? • The Australian government continues to claim that coal from such sources as Queensland’s Galilee Basin will play a vital role in bringing cheap energy to developing nations. But is that really the case? [EconoTimes]

Renewables could be a better answer to India’s power problems.

¶ Lessons from Fukushima • Five years on, the 3/11 master narrative is still under construction. The response to the triple disaster in 2011 showed the world the best of Japanese society: orderly, humane and resilient. It also exposed the governance deficit, and that needs to be fixed. [East Asia Forum]

¶ Is the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant project about to unravel? From the outside looking in, EDF’s bid to build a nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset seems to lurch…