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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

Wave and Tidal Power for UK Cost Competitive with Nuclear

Marine energy ‘could compete with nuclear on cost‘, Low Carbon Economy.com 13 juil. 2011 Marine energy could supply almost 20 percent of the UK’s energy needs and be cost competitive with onshore wind and nuclear sources.  This is according to a new report from the Carbon Trust, which sets out a three-year research and development programme for the marine energy sector.

The document claims the best marine energy sites in the UK could produce energy at a comparable cost to that generated from onshore wind and nuclear sources, once cost reductions following the first gigawatt of installation come into force.

Wave energy could provide 50TWh of power and tidal power could provide 20.6TWh, equating to 13 percent and five percent of the UK’s energy needs ……http://www.lowcarboneconomy.com/profile/the_low_carbon_economy_ltd/_low_carbon_blog/marine_energy_’could_compete_with_nuclear_on_cost’/14825

July 13, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Global warming causes jellyfish surge, causes nuclear plant shutdowns

Increasing fishing activity and global warming are giving jellyfish populations a boost, scientists said, potentially making jellyfish invasions at nuclear power plants located near the open sea more common in the future

Jellyfish keep UK nuclear plant shut, Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely),  Scientific American ,| June 29, 2011 An invasion of jellyfish into a cooling water pool at a Scottish nuclear power plant kept its nuclear reactors offline on Wednesday, a phenomenon which may grow more common in future, scientists said. Continue reading →

July 6, 2011 Posted by | climate change, UK | Leave a comment

Britain drags out nuclear veterans compensation case, hoping they’ll all die off

Britain urged to settle nuclear payout for veterans, THE AUSTRALIAN , July 04, 2011 THE British government was under pressure last night to settle a multimillion-pound fight with more than 1000 veterans of nuclear tests in Australia and the Pacific or risk wasting even more money on a “morally unjustifiable” legal battle that could drag on for years.

Supporters of the pensioners, who participated in Britain’s atomic bomb trials in the Pacific in the 1950s, said that it was time for the Ministry of Defence to follow the world’s four other main nuclear powers and pay compensation. Continue reading →

July 4, 2011 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

Global warming increases jellyfish, jellyfish shut down nuclear plant

 The surge of jellyfish in the area is believed to have occurred because of a rise in the temperature in the North Sea.Since 2002 scientists have noted massive increases in jellyfish populations around the world.  Some attribute this to overfishing, declining water quality and rising sea temperatures. 

Jellyfish Shut Down Nuclear Power Plant, Care 2, by Sharon S. June 30, 2011 An invasion of jellyfish managed to stop operations at a nuclear power plant in eastern Scotland after high volumes of the creatures flooded water filters and clogged the cooling system. Continue reading →

July 2, 2011 Posted by | climate change, UK | Leave a comment

Emails reveal how UK govt and nuclear industry conspired to downplay Fukushima disaster

“There is  a risk that this event could impact on the global industry.  We need to ensure that the anti nuclear chaps and chapesses do not gain ground on this. we need to occupy the territory and hold it… We need to get into context – show that the events in Japan…. are all part of the safety processes of this 1960s reactor. We also need to pull out the additional safety of Gen III…

Should also highlight and show that this is what has happened even with the 1960s reactor in Japan, radiation release has been controlled – the reactor has been protected.

We really need to show the safety of nuclear. We need to quash any stories trying to compare this to Chernobyl…    We do not want to be on the back foot with this. People at new build sites are likely to be following closely…. The mitigation with nuclear is so high that the risk is minimal – as demonstrated in Japan”    

  UK  government and nuclear industry email correspondence after the Fukushima accident, guardian.co.uk, 30 June 2011

Emails released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the level of coordination between government departments and the nuclear industry during the Fukushima crisis.

July 2, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

Doctor ejected from airport for refusing radiation scanning

Airport Boots Doctor for Refusing Radiation Assault, (NEWSER) 2 July 11– An eye specialist on his way to treat child patients in Switzerland was escorted out of Britain’s Manchester airport by police after refusing a full-body scan. Tony Aguirre declined the scan on both medical and ethical grounds, calling the technology a “radiation assault,” reports the Daily Mail. Fliers at the three British airports that have installed the scanners are not offered the dreaded “pat-down” option offered to American travelers who refuse the scan.

“X-rays are known to cause cancer and I think somebody will get cancer from this body scanner whether it’s me or someone else,” the doctor told officials. The “no scan, no fly” rule “raises the suspicion that perhaps it’s more expensive to do a manual search and that’s why they are forced to go through an X-ray,” he says. The doctor eventually flew to Switzerland from Liverpool airport, which does not have the scanners…..http://www.newser.com/story/122386/airport-boots-doctor-for-refusing-radiation-assault.html
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July 2, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

UK’s Liberal Democrats put on the spot: new poll shows opposition to nuclear power

Voters to Lib Dems: live up to your nuclear promise! Greenpeace UK  by Niall Sookoo – 6 June 2011 On  the eve of a vital vote on taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power, we’ve published the results of an exclusive opinion poll which shows that the majority of people – 46 per cent – oppose any future subsidy for the nuclear power industry Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Small scale renewable energy is challenging big utilities

Small-scale renewable energy is more accessible to new entrants compared with the forward purchase of huge amounts of baseload generation from burning fossil fuels, which is the routine business of big utilities.

Change so far is happening slowly and from a tiny base but the cost of small-scale renewable technologies is falling.

Micro-Power Presents Slow-Burn Threat to Utilities  Planet Ark: 27-May-11 SPAIN AND U.K. : Martin Roberts and Gerard Wynn  A wide rollout of small-scale renewable energy poses a long-term challenge to utilities as households switch to home generation and the supply market opens, executives at green specialists and independents say. Continue reading →

May 28, 2011 Posted by | decentralised, Spain, UK | Leave a comment

Offshore renewable energy innovation centre for UK

UK Government invests in offshore renewables innovation centre | Energy Efficiency News, 28 May 11, The UK Government yesterday announced plans to invest in an offshore renewable energy technology and innovation centre to help businesses commercialise wind, wave and tidal power. Continue reading →

May 28, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

UK plan to dump nuclear waste in sea

Hinkley Point nuclear waste sea disposal plan Nuclear waste is currently stored in vaults at Hinkley Point, BBC News, 23 May 2011  Plans being developed to deal with nuclear waste at Hinkley Point A in west Somerset will see radioactive gas and liquid released into the sea.The power station began decommissioning in 2001 and is working on a system to put “intermediate” waste in vats of acid to reduce it down.

Magnox, the company that manages the site, said there would be no risk to public health or the environment.

But a nuclear expert questioned the controls in place at Hinkley Point……John Large, a nuclear consultant who has worked with power companies and Greenpeace, said: “If you look at the history and the development of the British nuclear industry, and look at the calamity that was caused by radioactive discharges around Sellafield, if the past practice is a sign I don’t think sufficient guards and controls will be in place at this station.”

Before this process can start, it needs to be approved by the Environment Agency and the Office for Nuclear Regulation, and the company will have to apply for planning permission for a new building….http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-13501260

May 24, 2011 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

UK’s “Renewable Energy Foundation” – a front for anti renewables lobby?

the charity is little more than a front for anti-wind lobbyists…….It would set an unwelcome precedent for a charitable organisation claiming to support renewable energy, to spend time campaigning against what is effectively the chief renewable technology in the UK. It raises issues about the organisation’s motives, as well as financial and reputational advantages of being a registered charity. There needs to be a much clearer sense of how REF fulfils its charitable purpose and lives up to its name…..The problem with the Renewable Energy Foundation is that their name is misleading. It suggests they are in favour of renewables when actually the opposite is true.

Will the real Renewable Energy Foundation please stand up? Guardian UK 20 May 11, The Renewable Energy Foundation says it is not against windfarms, but its critics disagree Will the real Renewable Energy Foundation please stand up? This is a question being asked with increasing intensity within the UK’s renewable energy sector. Continue reading →

May 20, 2011 Posted by | spinbuster, UK | Leave a comment

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