Asking nuclear scientists about safety is like asking the Pope if he believes in God
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Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister discussed nuclear power safety with nuclear scientists and engineers – and surprise surprise – they said it was safe!
Koodankulam nuclear plant: Jayalalithaa slams protesters, says safety ensured, Sep 16, 2011, By Kumar Chellappan Chennai | Agency: DNA The agitators fasting for the closure of the 1000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant were given a dressing down by Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa who described the reactor quite safe.“My discussions with nuclear scientists and engineers have allayed all kinds of apprehensions….
Representations of various organisations including Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy, NGOs and some sections of the Church have been on indefinite fast asking for the closure of the Koodankulam plant which is expected to be commissioned by December 2011….
No energy security in nuclear power for South Africa
Activists slam SA nuclear decision, 2011-09-16 Environmental organisation Greenpeace has urged the Minister of Energy to reconsider the role of nuclear energy in South Africa, Duncan Alfreds, News24, Cape Town – Environmental groups have slammed the government’s decision to build nuclear plants, saying it will not lead to energy security for South Africa.
“As for nuclear energy as being our answer to whatever Eskom thinks it will be, that’s not entirely true. If Eskom is concerned with electricity security, energy security and safe electricity supply, nuclear is not going to be able to provide that,” Ferial Adams of Greenpeace Africa told News24.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters announced on Thursday that the building process to build new nuclear plants which would produce 9 600MW, would begin by 2012….. http://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/Activists-slam-SA-nuclear-decisi
France’s campaign to win public over to nuclear power
state-controlled Electricite de France SA, the world’s biggest reactor operator, is stepping up a campaign to make the French better appreciate nuclear power……..
“French public opinion after Fukushima has become increasingly anti-nuclear,” …EDF’s efforts to reassure the French public
Just last year, there were 1,107 incidents at French nuclear plants, with 143 requiring public notification,
France Opens Doors to Nuclear Sites to Woo Public Post-Fukushima, By Tara Patel, Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) Every year at a weekend-long “heritage” event, France throws open doors to centuries-old castles and monuments. This year, for the first time, the list will include an unusual entry: nuclear plants. Continue reading
Climate Change: US politicians bought by fossil fuel industries
Al Gore: Climate Science “Reality”
Versus Republicans, Planet Ark, 15-Sep-11 Deborah Zabarenko For Al Gore, the choice is obvious: Either accept scientific reality about climate change or believe what the fossil fuel industry is paying some Republican candidates to say.
“Anti-climate lobbyists … give massive campaign contributions and they’re not shy about making it clear to the candidates they support that there’s a quid pro quo. In return for getting their money, these candidates have to pretend that they really believe this nonsense,” the longtime climate change campaigner said on Wednesday in a telephone interview.
Asked whether Republican candidates who have accepted contributions from fossil fuel industries are compelled to toe the skeptical line on climate change, Gore replied: “That is absolutely the case.” Continue reading
Time to get rid of climate anti science in USA politics
scientific leaders have a responsibility to expose the bunkum.
Stamp out anti-science in US politics New Scientist, 14 September 2011 by Paul Nurse It is time to reject political movements that turn their backs on science, says Nobel prizewinner and Royal Society president Paul NurseIF YOU respect science you will probably be disturbed by the following opinions……”On climate change: variations are “natural, cyclical environmental trends”. That “we can’t say with assurance that human activities cause weather changes” and thatclimate problems in Texas are best solved through “days of prayer for rain”
You would probably be even more disturbed to be told that these are the opinions expressed by potential Republican candidates for the US presidential nomination (see “Science rears its head in Republican debates“). It’s alarming that a country which leads the world in science – the home of Benjamin Franklin, Richard Feynman and Jim Watson – might be turning its back on science. How can this be happening? What can be done? Continue reading
Former Japanese Prime Minister insisted on emergency action at Fukushima
Former Japan PM ‘prevented nuclear plant pullout’, Google News, (AFP) – 9 Sept 11, TOKYO — Former premier Naoto Kan prevented the operator of a stricken Japanese nuclear plant from abandoning it after the March tsunami and forced its older employees onto the frontline, a newspaper reported Friday.People who were then in senior government positions have said executives at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) sought to withdraw from the Fukushima Daiichi plant on March 15 after it had been hit by a series of explosions. Continue reading
Russia giving up on plan for nuclear plant in Haripur, India
Russia wants West Bengal nuclear plant relocated, Sachin Parashar, TNN | Sep 9, 2011,Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is looking at allotting another site for nuclear reactor to Russia in place of Haripur in West Bengal, a location marred by controversy. Confirming that the Russians have officially sought another site, government sources indicated a new site could be allotted soon.
The Mamta Banerjee-led government in the state announced last month that it was going to
scrap the project, but it did not prevent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from making a
strong case for nuclear energy when he visited Kolkata later.
“There is no decision yet but we are looking at the request from the Russians. We can allot another site to them,” said a senior government source. The Russians have been expressing concern about protests in Haripur since last year, but the government was still hopeful of a way out. With Mamata’s regime not relenting, the Centre has been forced to think of other alternative sites.
West Bengal power minister said in the assembly last month that the government would not allow any nuclear power plant to be set up in the state. Russia’s state-owned nuclear power 
equipment and service giant Rosatom had asked the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to consider allotting it another site for the plant. ……
Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko had earlier said that a total of 12 nuclear power units were to be built at Kudankulam and Haripur. Haripur was said to be an important part of the Centre’s plans for achieving its target of generating 30,000MW of nuclear power by 2030.
America’s Koch brothers and Climate Change disinformation
‘Inside the Koch Brothers 2011 Summer Seminar The Brad Blog,By Brad Friedman on 9/6/2011“……I’ve been working in the background, for a number of weeks, on an exclusive series concerning the billionaire Koch Brothers, the co-owners of the nation’s second largest private corporation, the oil and chemical conglomerate Koch Industries. They are also massive funders behind much of the Rightwing political disinformation machine. The articles, as I can now reveal, cover audio I’ve obtained as recorded from inside their super-secret, super-confidential, invitation-only Summer Seminar held in late June at the tony Ritz-Carlton Beaver Creek Resort near Vail, COAmong this year’s attendees, in addition to hundreds of corporate baron billionaires and millionaires, were GOP public officials such as current Republican Presidential front-runner Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL).
It appears the brothers went to extraordinary measures, particularly on the first night of the event, to assure that none of the uninvited would ever know what went on inside or even who the first night’s keynote speaker actually was.
Nonetheless, a few of their closely guarded secrets are about to spill out.
The first of my two articles in the series is finally published at Mother Jones today.
Part 1 focuses on the opening and closing remarks, as heard on tape, by billionaire brother Charles as he raises still more undisclosed political money and rallies his troops in advance of the 2012 Presidential election — or “the mother of all wars” as he’s heard describing it. On the first night, Charles welcomes his “great partners” to the event, alludes to President Obama as “Saddam Hussein” and proceeds to list — by name — those “partners” who have donated more than a million dollars to the Koch Foundation political causes over the past year. So much for the post-Citizens United“anonymity” that Koch exec Kevin Gentry, the emcee for both evening’s dinners, informs patrons they can “help protect.”
The full audio and text transcript of Charles’ opening and closing remarks are posted here.
In tomorrow’s report, we’ll reveal the identity of that headliner and detail his stem-winder of a keynote! But for now…
• Part 1 of my exclusive report at Mother Jones…
• Complete audio & transcripts of Charles Koch’s opening & closing remarks…
• Transcript excerpts from Judge Andrew Napolitano’s closing night speech…
Renewable energy a a sound investment for USA
“We will need subsidies for a little while, but not for the indefinite future and we do expect that renewables will, whether it’s going to be competitive 10 years or 20 years from now, it’s going to be on that time scale,” Chu said. “And it will certainly be far less than the amount we needed for other traditional energies, like oil and gas.”….
Congress should see potential in renewable energy and invest in it Las Vegas Sun, , Sept. 4, 2011 Under President Barack Obama’s administration, the federal government has taken a more aggressive stance on developing renewable energy. It has been met with resistance by the fossil fuel industry and its supporters in Congress.
They have groused about the cost of subsidies and tax breaks for renewable energy projects (never mind the billions of dollars a year in handouts the oil industry gets). Continue reading
New Japanese PM committed to phasing out nuclear power
New Japan PM targets nuclear power, New York Times / September 3, 2011 TOKYO – Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, promised yesterday to keep Japan on its path of phasing out nuclear power, saying it was “unrealistic’’ to build any reactors in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis or extend those at the end of their life spans……
In his inaugural address yesterday, Noda said he was committed to phasing out nuclear power, a path set by Kan. But Noda also stressed that reducing Japan’s dependence on nuclear power would be a gradual process and that reactors that have fallen idle over safety fears since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant would be restarted, albeit after stringent checks and gaining the understanding of local communities.
“To build new reactors is unrealistic, and we will decommission reactors at the end of their life spans,’’ he said. “But it is also impossible to immediately reduce our dependence to zero,’’ he said… http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2011/09/03/new_japanese_prime_minister_vows_to_continue_phasing_out_nuclear_power/
Rick Perry’s intervention in Texas nuclear waste issue
billionaire Harold Simmons and his company Waste Control Specialists LLC, which stood to gain millions of dollars from accepting out-of-state shipments. Simmons had donated over $1 million to Perry’s gubernatorial campaigns…. The news of Perry’s intervention in the nuclear-waste issue comes as the governor is climbing the polls in the fight to take on President Barack Obama as the Republican candidate in the U.S. presidential election next year…….
Perry sought to sideline nuclear waste site critic (Reuters),1 Sept 11, – Texas governor Rick Perry tried to sideline a state commissioner who opposed expanding the scope of a nuclear-waste landfill owned by one of the governor’s biggest political donors, Reuters has learned. Continue reading
Rick Perry a dangerous presidential candidate for USA
a primary caveat of the fiery brand of evangelism he practices, which holds that only Christ, not the law, the government or the collective efforts of passionate and determined individuals, can save the world from utter destruction
Why Rick Perry must never, ever be president,the Philly Post, A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll released on Monday found that Rick Perry now leads the pack among GOP presidential hopefuls, with more than one in four Republican voters saying they would cast a ballot for the longtime Texas governor…… Continue reading
Germany’s nuclear reactors to remain closed
Nuclear reactor not to be kept on stand-by, The Local 31 Aug 11 Germany’s Federal Network Agency has decided not to keep any nuclear power stations operational as back-up in case of electricity shortfalls this winter. Eight reactors were shut down earlier this year after the Fukushima disaster in Japan reignited German fears. Continue reading
Beleagured uranium mining industry now fearing nationalisation of mining in Africa
Mining nationalisation threat is real, says government adviser, MATT CHAMBERS, THE AUSTRALIAN, September 01, 2011 A SENIOR South African government adviser says investor worries about nationalisation of the mining industry are justified. Continue reading
Varying opinions on nuclear power, as Japan’s political candidates line up
Top contenders for Japan premier post face nuclear issues, Gulf News, 29 Aug 11 Japan’s next premier set to be burdened with low public confidence and party problems Tokyo: Japan’s former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara who is vying to become Japan’s next prime minister says the country should stop building nuclear power plants.
Maehara appeared to take the clearest stand against nuclear power at a news conference on Saturday where five ruling party members aiming to replace Prime Minister Naoto Kan outlined their policy goals.Another top contender for the job is Economy Minister Banri Kaieda. He says he plans to decommission aging nuclear plants found to have problems during stress tests.
Atomic energy is a key topic in Japan following the tsunami which caused a nuclear accident in March…… http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/top-contenders-for-japan-premier-post-face-nuclear-issues-1.857990
1 This Month
23-25 October – on Zoom – World BEYOND War’s annual global conferenc
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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