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Christian Bishop Explains His Anti Nuclear Campaign

Why go to anti-nuclear demos? It’s part of my faith, Echo (UK)  7th September 2011 BLOCKING the gates to an atomic weapons research centre and taking communion outside a weapons store aren’t typical activities for a bishop.

But for the Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, voicing his opposition to nuclear weapons is an important part of his Christian faith. Bishop Continue reading

September 8, 2011 Posted by | Religion and ethics, UK | Leave a comment

UK local councils oppose nuclear waste transport to Sellafield

 Nuclear-Free Local Authorities” a local government group, which describes itself as the “local government voice on nuclear issues” has condemned the plan for breaching important environmental principles. There are seven member councils, all in Scotland, through which the nuclear material could travel by rail, depending on the route it takes. They are Perth & Kinross, Fife, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, West Dumbartonshire and Dundee.

The group says the plan fails to ensure that radioactive waste is managed as close as possible to the site where it was produced. It would also lead to increased radioactive discharges into the environment from Sellafield during reprocessing, the councils argue. 

Nuclear train route to Sellafield runs into opposition from local councils, Trains transporting radioactive uranium and plutonium could become target for terrorists, authorities warn, guardian.co.uk,  26 August 2011 20 A plan to transport 44 tonnes of radioactive uranium and plutonium by train has run into opposition from councils worried about accidents and terrorist attacks. Continue reading

August 29, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

UK and Japanese govts collude with nuclear industry to minimise Fukushima news

[the UK government] invited Westinghouse, Areva and EDF Energy, all pillars of nuclear power production, to contribute to government briefs and statements. “We need to all be working from the same material to get the message through to the media and the public,” ….Such spin and manipulation of information is likely to continue in the coming months as the industry struggles to recover. 

(includes video)After Fukushima: the collusive nuclear industry fightback   Independent Australia, 6 August 11, On the 66th anniversary of Hiroshima today, in a week whenrecord levels of radiation have been found at Fukushima, David McNeill looks at the way the nuclear industry has corruptly colluded with regulators in Japan and Britain to quieten valid public safety concerns about nuclear power. Continue reading

August 9, 2011 Posted by | spinbuster, UK | Leave a comment

Hiroshima Day plea to stop expensive Trident nuclear weapons project

Hiroshima Day, an apt time to question Trident, guardian.co.uk, 6 August 2011While the government slashes public services and conventional military forces, billions are being poured into nuclear projects  

with today the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, that other image of destruction from Japan leaves many questioning why on Earth we would countenance building a new nuclear weapons capable of causing death and destruction thousands of times worse than the havoc wreaked by a natural disasters and the fall-out from Fukushima……  more and more people are questioning why the government claims that it needs to impose savage cuts on almost all areas of our public services while billions are still being poured into huge military projects that have no relevance to the defence of Britain.

Defence experts have spoken out publicly and former ministers, includingLord Browne of Ladyton, are now actively involved in top level groups on disarmament…………

Trident was excluded from the defence review, its funding guaranteed, when many other public spending commitments were cut back…..

There is no longer a case for wasting Ministry of Defence resources on nuclear weapons. What better time than Hiroshima Day to renew our commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons, and continue the campaign to make it a reality.   http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/06/hiroshima-day-trident-nuclear

August 7, 2011 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

How the mainstream media influences public opinion against renewable energy

press coverage is important because it can influence not only “what people perceive and believe” but also “what politicians think they believe”. Indeed, politicians take the temperature of public opinion partly through the barometer of the press, and consistently negative coverage of renewables will doubtless “limit the perception of political space and impetus for political action

How UK newspaper coverage is skewed against renewables, More than half of the coverage of renewable energy solutions in the mainstream British press is negative...The Guardian, by   5 August 2011 “….. previously unpublishedanalysis of British newspaper coverage of renewable energy. Carried out by the Public Interest Research Centre (Pirc), the research confirms the Mail’s unusually anti-green stance, though it also highlights the remarkable degree of negativity that renewable energy receives in the UK press more broadly – including in the Sun. Continue reading

August 7, 2011 Posted by | media, UK | Leave a comment

Isle of Man wants full closedown of Sellafield nuclear plant

Closure of nuclear plant is welcomed, Isle of man Examiner,  4 August 2011 GREEN campaigners and the island’s Environment Minister have welcomed news that a part of the reprocessing operation at Sellafield nuclear plant is to close…

Japan was the only customer for the MOX plant,

Environment Minister John Shimmin welcomed the news but pointed out the MOX plant was only a small part of the operation at Sellafield. The Manx government’s long-held policy is to call for the full closure of all operations at Sellafield. Continue reading

August 7, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, politics, reprocessing, UK | Leave a comment

Scotland’s renewable energy revolution

On-farm energy gets major boost in Scotland  Farmers Guardian, August 5, 2011 | By David Boderke, RENEWABLE projects in Scotland’s agriculture sector have been given a major boost with the announcement of a new Agri-Renewables Strategy.Announcing the strategy at the Black Isle Show, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said it will ‘ensure land managers can benefit from the renewables revolution and unlock the green energy potential of their land’.

Welcoming the announcement, NFU Scotland’s president, Nigel Miller said the Scottish Government’s commitment to develop the strategy and, in particular, to simplify the planning process, were ‘spot on’.Mr Lochhead said: “Scotland is currently experiencing a renewables revolution and I want to see farmers, crofters and land managers working with local communities to ensure they grasp the benefits for their businesses and the nation…..
He said the strategy, which he hoped would be in place by summer 2012 ‘at the latest’, will be developed in co-operation with industry representatives and will build on the Scottish Government’s existing renewables activity in the agricultural sector.
On-farm energy gets major boost in Scotland | News | Farmers Guardian

August 5, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

No more MOX plutonium fuel to be processed at Sellafield

UK Plutonium-Processing Plant to Close, 9 News. 4 Aug 11, A British nuclear agency says the country’s only plutonium-processing plant will be closed in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said on Wednesday the “risk profile” of its Sellafield mixed oxide fuel plant had changed following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant….environmental campaigners say the plant’s closure highlights what they describe as the folly of the country’s nuclear industry. The recycled nuclear fuel, referred to as MOX, was also used at the Fukushima plant.http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8281227/uk-plutonium-processing-plant-to-close

09:49 AEST Thu Aug 4

August 4, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear reprocessing plant closes down

Globally, the shutdown leaves just one other commercial MOX facility operating globally: the French MELOX plant located in Gard.

UK closes key nuclear reprocessing plant – Nature News Blog August 03, 2011 Today the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced the closure of the Mixed Oxide fuel fabrication facility at Sellafield. “The reason for this is directly related to the tragic events in Japan and its ongoing impact on the power markets,” Tony Fountain, the decommissioning authority’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. Continue reading

August 4, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, UK | Leave a comment

Why Britain’s new nuclear plant might never get built

the most extraordinary thing in this whole saga is that the companies are going ahead without knowing how much this 1,600MW power station will cost.

Hinkley C – Somerset’s nuclear money pit? byl  1 August 2011  guardian.co.uk Uncosted, unapproved, and unwanted: why Britain’s new nuclear plant may never get built  French state-owned power company EDF has been given permission to start the pre-construction of “Hinkley C”, the third nuclear power station on the Somerset coast of the Bristol channel. Continue reading

August 2, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Local anger as preparation begins for new UK nuclear plant

Green light for Hinkley C despite protests Edie.net,by Luke walsh,29 July 11, Energy giant EDF has won approval to start work on what would be the first nuclear power station built in the UK for 20 years, despite protests from local campaigners….

Following the council’s ruling, which has been branded ‘jumping the gun’ by anti-nuclear campaigners, EDF can begin the clearance of most vegetation, hedges and trees from a 420 acre site, but will have to pay more than £25 million to cover measures to mitigate the impact of the project.

It also allows for the excavation of more than 2 million cubic metres of soil and rocks, the re-routing of underground streams, the creation of roads and roundabouts, major changes to the landscape and the start of deep excavations for the power station foundations.

Stop Hinkley spokesman, Crispin Aubrey, said: “This is like giving a developer permission to excavate a greenfield site even before they have permission to build the actual houses. “What will those councillors say to the people of West Somerset in two years’ time, with massive holes in the ground lined with concrete and a devastated wasteland – no trees, no hedges, no wildlife – and EDF says ‘Sorry, we don’t think it’s worth going ahead’.” …..
Green light for Hinkley C despite protests

July 30, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

UK Supreme Court backs atomic veterans right to appeal

UK nuclear test veterans win leave to appeal, LONDON  Jul 28, 2011 (Reuters) – Ex-servicemen who say they were made ill as a result of being exposed to radiation during British nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s won the latest stage of their battle for compensation on Thursday.

The Supreme Court gave the 1,011 veterans permission to further argue their right to seek damages, the Press Association reported.Veterans blame ill health — including cancer, skin defects and fertility problems — on their involvement in British nuclear tests in Australia, on Christmas Island and in the Pacific Ocean between 1952 and 1958.

The Ministry of Defense acknowledges a “debt of gratitude” but denies negligence. On Thursday, the Supreme Court gave the veterans the go-ahead to appeal against a lower court ruling that the cases were brought too long after the events to be heard…..http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/28/us-nuclear-test-veterans-idUSTRE76R7LL20110728

July 29, 2011 Posted by | Legal, UK | 1 Comment

UK legal fight continues for nuclear test veterans

Chronic health problems cited by them include cancers, skin defects, fertility problems and birth defects in their children…..In 1998, research from Durham University suggested that one-in-three servicemen died from bone cancers or leukaemia linked to the atomic and hydrogen bomb tests ….”Britain’s nuclear veterans are dying at a rate of around three every month but those who remain say they are determined to continue this battle.”

Nuclear test veterans set for Supreme Court appeal bid, BBC News 28 July 11,Veterans involved in Britain’s nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s are taking their case for compensation to the Supreme Court. More than 1,000 ex-servicemen say exposure to radiation during tests conducted between 1952 and 1958 left them with ill-health. Continue reading

July 28, 2011 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

Why nuclear and renewable energy cannot co-exist

Our entire electricity market system is now being rigged to provide a wholly unjustifiable continuing subsidy to the nuclear industry, while doing a lot less than is required to promote renewables and absolutely nothing to put efficiency at the heart of that reform process.

Why the UK must choose renewables over nuclear: an answer to Monbiot by    26 July 2011  guardian.co.uk, “……….Can nuclear and renewables not co-exist?   For me, there are four main reasons why co-existence has become a foolish pipedream.

1) The lobbying position of the nuclear industry itself  Until the middle of 2009, the nuclear industry’s public position was a “both/and” position – with room for both renewables and nuclear. Since then, however, nuclear industry leaders have become increasingly vocal in arguing that if the UK government persists with its target of generating 15% of energy from renewables by 2020 (which means at least 35% of our electricity from renewables), then the nuclear industry will suffer very severely. Continue reading

July 28, 2011 Posted by | politics, UK | 1 Comment

UK’s Chris Huhne two faced on nuclear energy subsidies

Do Chris Huhne’s proposed reforms subsidise nuclear energy? 14 July, 2011   Matt Lech, Full Fact.org, Following the publication of the Electricity Market Reform White Paper on 12 July, the issue of subsidies to nuclear power resurfaced in the House of Commons as Chris Huhne addressed the Commons.

Labour MP Paul Flynn asked, “Can the Minister really say that he is going ahead without subsidy? He seemed to be saying today, “We’re going to have subsidies for all nuclear and new nuclear, but call them something else.”….

according to Encyclopædia Britannica, price floors are considered “indirect” subsidies, which arise when governments, among other actions, “maintain higher prices through manipulation of markets”. Other forms of indirect subsidy include price ceilings, tariffs, and tax concessions.

It is important to reiterate that the price floor doesn’t only benefit nuclear energy, but all low-carbon energy providers. Nuclear energy will benefit more than other low-carbon sources, though, because it produces more electricity….http://fullfact.org/blog/chris_huhne_nuclear_energy_subsidy-2822
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July 14, 2011 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment