Protests in Turkey against building of nuclear power facility
Protests as Turkey builds first nuclear power plant, DW 14 Apr 15 Turkey launched construction of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, which the government hopes will open a new era of greater energy self-sufficiency. But the ceremony faced protests from environmentalists. Dozens of environmental protesters converged on the iron gates of the site in Akkuyu, on the shores of the Mediterranean, as the launch ceremony ended.
Video footage showed that they managed to lock official delegations, security officers and journalists inside the site. The protesters were only dispersed when a water cannon was used against them.
The government is hailing the power station – which will have four power units with a capacity of 1200 MW each – as a major development for the country – ……..
The Akkuyu plant has become a major issue for environmentalists, who have raised concerns about safety issues and the decision to build the power station in an area rich in wildlife.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace in January lodged a complaint in court against the awarding of an environmental impact license to the plant and says it should not be built.
“Turkey is not ready to build nuclear reactors – the country is still missing the key pieces of necessary legislation,” Jan Beranek, the director of Greenpeace Mediterranean, told news agency AFP.
He said that the seismic assessment had been “totally inadequate” and accused the authorities of ignoring issues related to radioactive spent fuel which risked being transported through Istanbul on the Bosphorus Strait.
“There is no need for the country to set on a path of unpredictable nuclear hazards and this outdated, yet very expensive technology,” he added. http://www.dw.de/protests-as-turkey-builds-first-nuclear-power-plant/a-18383884
Time Britain called it a day for Trident nuclear weapons
It’s time for Britain to move on from nuclear weapons http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/11/letters-trident-not-desirable
Pinning our security on a nuclear deterrent encourages others to do the same The election campaign to date suggests that decommissioning Trident nuclear weapons is a dangerous, minority demand led by the SNP, the Greens and Plaid Cymru. Yet poll after poll reveals that it is in fact a majority popular demand throughout the UK. One poll recently revealed that 81% of 500 general election candidates are opposed to renewal. There are increasingly obvious reasons why we think it’s time to move on from Trident.
Pinning our security on a nuclear deterrent encourages others to do the same. The UK should become the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to give up all its nuclear weapons, transforming the nuclear club from within. Instead of protecting us, hosting nuclear weapons makes us a target for the disaffected. And any accident would lead to a humanitarian disaster. Having nuclear weapons diverts resources and attention from tackling our most urgent security problems, including climate and environmental destruction.
Finally, continuing to invest in nuclear weapons is actively depleting military and other effective defences we might need in the 21st century. We should invest military spending on conflict prevention. By moving on from Trident, we can more effectively serve the needs and the potential of our country and a changing world.
www.moveontrident.org ; Helena Kennedy QC; Young Fathers, Mercury prizewinners; Prof Peter Higgs, 2014 Nobel prize for physics; Vivienne Westwood, designer and activist; Frankie Boyle, comedian; Neal Lawson, Compass; Gabrielle Rifkind, Oxford Research Group; Konnie Huq, presenter; Massive Attack; Sir Michael Atiyah, ex-president of the Royal Society; Marina Cantacuzino, founder of The Forgiveness Project; Jonathon Porritt, Forum for the Future; Robin McAlpine, director, Common Weal; Kamila Shamsie, writer; Lindsey Coulson, actress
Steady fall in support for nuclear power among American public
A Slim Majority of Americans Say They Support Nuclear Energy Public approval has steadily dropped over the last five years, greentech media Julia Pyper April 10, 2015 Nuclear energy is losing popularity. A recent Gallup poll found that a slim majority of Americans — 51 percent — say they favor nuclear energy for electricity generation in the United States, while 43 percent say they oppose it. This year’s support levels are among the weakest Gallup has recorded in the last two decades. With a 46 percent approval rating, 2001 was the only year support sank lower.
Public approval of nuclear energy peaked in 2010 at 62 percent, shortly after President Barack Obama announced $8 billion in federal loan guarantees for the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia. The new, roughly 1,200 megawatt nuclear reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, are the first to be built in the U.S. in three decades.
Over the last five years, support for nuclear energy has fallen by more than 10 percentage points………
The new Gallup poll similarly found a preference for renewable energy alternatives to nuclear power. The vast majority of respondents — 79 percent — called for a greater emphasis on solar power. Wind was close behind at 70 percent.
Thirty-five percent of Americans think the U.S. should put more emphasis on nuclear power, while 33 percent favor less emphasis and 28 percent say the emphasis should remain unchanged. Only coal had less support, with 43 percent of respondents saying coal should have less emphasis as a domestic energy resource……..http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/a-slim-majority-of-americans-say-they-support-nuclear-energy
Local opposition to nuclear waste dumping seems to work, in Canada
environmental groups, including Sierra Club Canada, have raised significant concerns about the transportation of liquid nuclear waste from Chalk River Laboratories near Ottawa to a U.S. government site in South Carolina.
Coincidence or success? Nuclear waste facility drops towns after protest, rabble.ca
On March 3, the towns of Creighton, Saskatchewan and Schreiber, Ontario were dropped from considerationby the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to host a facility for highly radioactive used nuclear fuel.
Since 2010 the NWMO has been actively seeking a location to build what it calls a ‘long-term management site’ for the storage of used nuclear fuel. While there were originally 22 communities on the NWMO’s list of potential hosts, only nine 
remain, all in Ontario, as candidates for a high-level waste site for used nuclear fuel.
While community activists celebrate being dropped from the lists, concerns about nuclear waste transportation remain. Local politicians are also quick to note a potential economic loss for their communities.
‘Geological complexities’ arise when there’s opposition Continue reading
Manti-La Sal National Forest halt uranium expansion of the La Sal Uranium Mines Complex
Expansion of Four Utah Uranium Mines Halted, Center for Biological Diversity, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/uranium-mines-03-26-2015.html 28 Mar 15
MOAB, Utah— In response to formal objections by Uranium Watch and other conservation groups, the Manti-La Sal National Forest on Tuesday halted plans to allow the uranium industry to expand the La Sal Mines Complex — a complex of four old uranium mines located in La Sal, Utah. Continue reading
A win for future generations in Saskatchewan, as nuclear waste dump rejected
The powerful Nuclear Waste Management Organization with all their money and all their experts could not beat back the duty we have to protect our future generations”
there has been strong Indigenous opposition in Ontario for years. Both the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), representing 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, and the Anishinabek Nation, representing 39 member First Nations across Ontario, have formally declared their opposition to nuclear waste in all of their traditional territories……
“This is what happens when people stick together and fight for what they believe in,” said Fred Pederson, a Pinehouse resident and member of the Committee for Future Generations Continue reading
Japan Anti-nuclear activists want formal public hearings on risks of restarting reactors in Fukui Prefecture
Activists seek public hearings in Shiga on Takahama reactor restarts http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/26/national/activists-seek-public-hearings-in-shiga-on-takahama-reactor-restarts/#.VRS6i_yUcnk BY ERIC JOHNSTON STAFF WRITER MAR 26, 2015
Representatives of the Citizens’ Commission on Nuclear Energy, a group of scholars, engineers, lawyers, and activists, met with Gov. Taizo Mikazuki, who was elected on an anti-nuclear platform in July 2014, to discuss concerns over the restart of the No. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama plant and what impact a disaster would have on the prefecture.
“It’s important to have a place where Shiga residents can discuss the technical, economic, and social problems related to the restart of the Takahama reactors and a disaster response system in case of an accident,” said Hitoshi Yoshioka, chairman of the citizens’ commission and a professor at Kyushu University.
Parts of the northern Shiga city of Takashima, which has a population of 52,400, lie within 30 km of the Takahama reactors. The prefecture has long been concerned about the central government’s disaster response plans and wants to be consulted by both Kepco and the central government about the restarts.
In addition, the group called on the governor to seek a wide variety of expert advice about the cost of restarts, and to consult economists who are skeptical of claims by the pro-nuclear camp about the economic and financial benefits of restarts.
Mikazuki, they said, expressed a desire to sponsor a public hearing, probably sometime after local elections in April. Both the governor and his predecessor have long worried about the impact of an accident on Lake Biwa, which provides water to about 14 million Kansai residents.
Anti nuclear rallies in over 200 German towns
By Diet Simon, 17 Mar 15 About 12,000 anti-nuclear activists demonstrated in recent days in more than 200 German towns in commemoration of the Fukushima catastrophe four years ago and against the current nuclear situation in Germany.
There were pickets, and rallies in Neckarwestheim, Düsseldorf, Berlin und Dannenberg. The demos focused on the aging nuclear power station in Germany, waste issues and the evil methods energy companies are employing to dodge their responsibilities.
Obviously not as many people took to the streets as immediately following the Fukushima catastrophe, so the more than 200 events were all the more noteworthy. Countless local newspapers reported on them. It was a successful reminder of the nuclear dangers, pulling the issue back into public focus.
Tenacity is a special strength of the German anti-nuclear movement.
Staring Thursday this week (19 March) many selected German cinemas will show an antinuclear film, „Die Reise zum sichersten Ort der Erde“ (The journey to the safest place on earth) dealing with the unsolved problem of disposing nuclear waste.
Many activists have talked to their local cinemas to run it so as to reach the biggest possible public (schedule of showings). Most found that it needed just a phone call or a face-to-face conversation to persuade cinema operators to show it.
As part of special screenings experts discuss with audiences about the film and its pressing question, where to with our life-threatening waste.
The film will also screen at the Environmental Filmfestival in Washington DC, from 17 to 29 March.
Some media comment: “A film about insanity” (Grit Lemke, DOK Leipzig); “Unideological and with unshakeable belief in a public who can think for themselves” (Saiten Ostschweizer Kulturmagazin); “A magnificent documentary film” (Susan Boos, Die Wochenzeitung); “Most watchable” (Susanna Petrin, Aargauer Zeitung); “Excellent documentation” (Blick);
“Looking away is forbidden” (Hans Nüsseler, Swiss television).
Production: Mira Film GmbH | Weststrasse 182 | CH-8003 Zürich | Tel +41 (0) 43 960 3684 | info@mirafilm.ch| www.mirafilm.ch
World distribution: Autlook Weltvertrieb | Spittelberggasse 3/14 | A-1070 Wien I Tel +43 720 34 69 34 Iwelcome@autlookfilms.com | www.autlookfilms.com
The film’s website: http://www.diereisezumsicherstenortdererde.ch/de/
Anti nuclear protest: 45,000 people march in Taiwan
45,000 people join anti-nuclear rallies in Taiwan, Straits Times, MAR 14, 2015 TAIPEI (AFP) – Thousands of people took to the streets in Taiwan on Saturday to call for the island to scrap its use of nuclear energy and to voice opposition to controversial plans to ship nuclear waste abroad, organisers said.
Protesters in central Taipei waved placards and dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with slogans including “Goodbye to nuclear energy” and “We don’t need nuclear power”, just days after Japan marked the fourth anniversary of an undersea earthquake which triggered a massive tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Taiwan’s government has faced growing public pressure over its unpopular nuclear energy facilities……….
We urge the government to reform its energy policy and focus on green energy and saving energy,” said one of the rally’s organisers Tsui Shu-hsin.
“Politicians should listen to the voices of the people… so Taiwan can become nuclear-free.” The government says that Taiwan will run out of energy if it ditches nuclear power, which currently supplies about 20 per cent of the island’s electricity.
The Taipei rally drew around 30,000 people, while two other rallies held simultaneously across the island had a combined turnout of 15,000, according to estimates by organisers. Police estimates were not immediately available.
Organisers were also collecting signatures in a bid to stop a plan by the state-run Taiwan Power Co to process its nuclear waste abroad, which they said was aimed at extending the operations of two plants which are approaching capacity.
The plants, which currently store the spent fuel rods, were launched in 1978 and 1981 and will each be decommissioned once they have been operational for 40 years.
“Taiwan is earthquake-prone like Japan and it is smaller so nuclear facilities are much closer to our homes,” said Wu Bor-chyun, a banker who was living in Japan at the time of the 2011 nuclear accident.
“Nuclear power is not safe and it is very costly. Taiwan should heed the lessons in Japan.”http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/45000-people-join-anti-nuclear-rallies-taiwan-20150314#sthash.Y0GCWbnB.dpuf
Pro nuclear signs to be removed from deserted town of Futaba
Deserted Fukushima town to remove pro-nuclear signs 7 News, Tokyo (AFP) 10 Mar 15 – A Japanese town that was evacuated after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has decided to remove street signs trumpeting the benefits of atomic power, an official said Tuesday.Deserted Futaba town, which plays host to the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, is set to earmark cash to remove huge signboards erected in 1988 and 1991, a town official told AFP.
“Nuclear power: the energy for a bright future,” says one sign written in the style of a haiku poem at the entrance to the town. “Nuclear power: for development of our homeland, a prosperous future,” reads the other.
Futaba’s 6,300 residents were ordered to flee their homes in the days after reactors began melting down at Fukushima when an enormous tsunami swamped their cooling systems.
They are still unable to return because of fears over elevated levels of radiation that leaked from the plant, and many remain in poorly-constructed temporary homes…….
0,000 people remain displaced because of the no-go zone around the plant.
Scientists warn that it may be many years until it is safe to return and say that some areas may have to be abandoned forever.
Campaign groups say unemployment is high and levels of depression and other illness are far above normal in displaced communities. https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/26585240/deserted-fukushima-town-to-remove-pro-nuclear-signs/
Nobel-winner Kenzaburo Oe urges Japan to quit nuclear power
Nobel-winner Oe: Japan should follow Germany, quit nuclear, Yahoo News By MARI YAMAGUCHI 10 Mar 15 TOKYO (AP) — Nobel-winning author Kenzaburo Oe said Tuesday that Japan’s push to restart some nuclear reactors following the Fukushima disaster could lead to another crisis, and urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to follow Germany’s example and phase out atomic energy.
Oe’s remarks to reporters came a day after visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had decided to end her country’s use of nuclear energy by 2022 because the Fukushima crisis convinced her of its risks…….
Oe, 80, said his life’s final work is to strive for a nuclear-free world.
“We must not leave the problem of nuclear plants for the younger generation,” he said.
The winner of the Nobel literature prize in 1994, Oe has campaigned for peace and anti-nuclear causes, particularly since the Fukushima crisis, and has often appeared in rallies. http://news.yahoo.com/nobel-winner-oe-japan-germany-quit-nuclear-111137853.html
Thousands of Germans rally in anti-nuclear protest, remembering Fukushima
VIDEO: German protesters call for end to nuclear power as they remember Fukushima http://www.euronews.com/2015/03/08/german-protesters-call-for-end-to-nuclear-power-as-they-remember-fukushima/Thousands of demonstrators have called for an end to nuclear energy during a rally in Neckarwestheim, in southern Germany.
They gathered in the town, home to a nuclear plant, to remember Japan’s Fukushima disaster four years ago.
Protesters chanted “switch off,” while holding banners reading “Fukushima out of control” and carrying mock coffins.
An earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 220 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, in March 2011. It sparked nuclear meltdowns, forcing more than 160-thousand residents to flee from nearby towns and contaminating water, food and air.
Stop nuclear wastes coming to Idaho – former governors to take legal action
Former Idaho Governors Aim to Stop Nuclear Waste Shipments MagicValley.com KEITH RIDLER Associated Press OISE (AP) 5 Mar 15 | Former Idaho Govs. Phil Batt and Cecil Andrus have filed a notice of their
intent to sue the federal government over proposed shipments of spent commercial nuclear fuel rods to Idaho.
The former governors sent the notice Thursday to the U.S. Department of Energy seeking to halt the shipments scheduled to arrive in June and December at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho.
Batt, a Republican, and Andrus, a Democrat, both fought commercial nuclear waste shipments during their terms that spanned portions of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, culminating with a 1995 agreement, often called the Batt Agreement. That agreement bans commercial nuclear waste shipments and requires cleanup of nuclear waste stored at the Idaho National Laboratory.
Specifically, the governors contend in the possible lawsuit that the Department of Energy will be violating federal environmental laws by shipping the waste to Idaho………http://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/update-former-idaho-governors-aim-to-stop-nuclear-waste-shipments/article_433b083e-c369-11e4-926a-83ba5c8b914a.html
March 14 in Taiwan – anti nuclear marches in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Tainan
Anti-nuclear protest march scheduled for March 14 Central News Agency By Zoe Wei and Evelyn Kao2015-03-01 Taipei, A national anti-nuclear alliance calling for energy reforms is set to hold a protest march around Taiwan on March 14 to mark the fourth anniversary of Japan‘s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Stop Nukes Now , formed by 126 anti-nuclear organizations, announced that the march will take place simultaneously in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Tainan to convey people’s hope for the government to abolish nuclear power and reform Taiwan’s energy network.
Abandoning plans for nuclear power – the “only safe option” – Naoto Kan tells Wales
Former Japanese PM warns against Welsh nuclear site renewal By Daily Wales correspondent, 25 Feb 15
The former Prime Minister of Japan has used a visit to Wales to urge the UK Government to scrap its commitment to nuclear energy. He is using the tour to send out a message to the UK Government that the safety risks posed by nuclear energy are simply not worth taking.
He said:
“What occurred in Fukushima in 2011 was caused by humans, not a natural disaster. It is clear to me that what caused this catastrophe was our commitment to an unsafe and expensive technology that is not compatible with life on this planet.
“The only safe option when it comes to nuclear power is to abandon your plans for nuclear power. It simply is not worth the risk………
Mr Kan’s visit to Wales has been supported by Welsh anti-nuclear campaign group, People Against Wylfa B (PAWB), Friends of the Earth Cymru, CND Cymru and Welsh language campaign group, Cymdeithas yr Iaith.
http://dailywales.net/2015/02/25/former-japanese-pm-warns-against-welsh-nuclear-site-renewal/
1 This Month
Watch the 2026 Doomsday Clock unveiling live here on January 27 at 10 a.m. EST
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com/
29 Jan. Thursday 7-8 p.m. Webinar – World’s Largest Nuclear Station in Port Hope, ON?
31st January – Challenging the War Machine – a DECLASSIFIED UK SUMMIT
Website of the Week
Now until to February 10, 2026 Radioactive waste storage in France: the debate is finally open! How to participate?
-
Archives
- January 2026 (277)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (258)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
- May 2025 (261)
- April 2025 (305)
- March 2025 (319)
- February 2025 (234)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 