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International interest in Montreal’s anti nuclear protest walk

Anti-nuclear walk gains international support, Montreal Gazette By Jeanette Stewart, The StarPhoenix August 3, 2011 The group walking across the province to protest a proposed nuclear waste storage site in Saskatchewan says it has received encouragement from as far away as Japan and Germany. Continue reading →

August 7, 2011 Posted by | Canada, opposition to nuclear | 1 Comment

Denison uranium miner loses, with falling uranium sales

UPDATE 1-Denison Mines falls to loss on soft uranium sales, TORONTO Aug 4 (Reuters) – Denison Mines  reported a second-quarter loss on Thursday as uranium sales fell sharply in the aftermath of the nuclear crisis in Japan.

The uranium producer said it had a net loss of $13.7 million, ….

It sold 116,000 pounds of uranium at an average price of $65.94 a pound, compared with 417,000 pounds at an average price of $45.56 in the second quarter of 2010.

Denison said that uranium demand has decreased in the aftermath of the nuclear accident in Japan and that it has deferred sales to the second half of the year, with some 570,000 pounds available in inventory…http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFN1E7731YV20110804

August 6, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada, Uranium | Leave a comment

Canada’s public health risk due to nuclear radiation from Fukushima

radiation from Fukushima will lead to higher rates of cancer and other diseases among Canadians….“It’s not the risk to an individual that’s the problem but how much society is at risk. When you are exposing millions of people to an insult, even if the average dose is quite small, we are going to see fatal health effects,” …..

“The authorities don’t want people to have an understanding of this. The government of Canada tends to pooh-pooh the dangers of nuclear power because it is a promoter of nuclear energy and uranium sales.”

Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com, By Alex Roslin, August 4, 2011 Nuclear impact   Monitoring stations catch a fraction of Fukushima fallout

After Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe, Canadian government officials reassured jittery Canadians that the radioactive plume billowing from the destroyed nuclear reactors posed zero health risks in this country. Continue reading →

August 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, environment | Leave a comment

Canada’s pro nuclear govt soft pedals true effect of Fukushima radiation

“The government always downgrades the results. They want to soft-pedal the extent of the accident because it will threaten our own nuclear industry,”

Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.comBy Alex Roslin, August 4, 2011“…….Across the Pacific Ocean, it took only a few days after the disaster for radioactive fallout to start showing up in drinking water and milk across North America. Governments in both Canada and the U.S. monitored the radioactivity, but their data is reported in such a confusing and irregular way that it’s extremely difficult to determine if maximum contamination levels have been exceeded and how public health is being impacted.

“It’s very, very difficult to interpret radiation levels detected from Fukushima and translate them into standards. It’s a nightmare,” said Arjun Makhijani, an electrical and nuclear engineer and president of the Takoma Park, Maryland–based Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, in a phone interview.

And that’s not a coincidence, said Vanier College’s Gordon Edwards. “To me, it’s a way of obscuring the impacts. It’s a smoke screen.”Dale Dewar agrees. “The government always downgrades the results. They want to soft-pedal the extent of the accident because it will threaten our own nuclear industry,” said Dewar, a family physician and the executive director of Canadian antinuclear group Physicians for Global Survival, in a phone interview from her home near Wynyard, Saskatchewan……
Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe brings big radiation spikes to B.C. | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

August 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Ontario political party promising energy efficiency, ending funds for nuclear power

NDP Look Past Nuclear In Energy Plan. Radio 1010 Newstalk  By: Katie Franzios  · 8/3/2011 The Ontario NDP plan on laying down $980 million over four years for retrofit programs, if elected.

 Leader Andrea Horwath says these programs would save people money by reducing electricity use, noting the Liberal government ended a home energy savings program last year.
Horwath promises to give a $5,000 rebate for energy-efficient home renovations, such as replacing windows and doors, as well as installing an energy-efficient furnace.

She says they won’t be spending any extra money to provide these programs but will use the money set aside for Darlington nuclear projects. Horwath says they would be put on hold if elected, so the NDP could review them…

August 4, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

New report recommends renewable energy promotion to combat climate change

Embrace renewable energy: Suzuki, Go-slow approach to fracking; Switching from coal, oil to natural gas won’t meet G8 targets, says report, If Canada wants to combat climate change, it should promote the use of renewable energies like wind and solar power instead of natural gas, a new report says, Montreal Gazette, By MONIQUE BEAUDIN, The Gazette July 14, 2011 

While switching from coal and oil to natural gas would cut greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, it wouldn’t be enough to meet the G8 target of cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, says the report by the David Suzuki Foundation and Pembina Institute.

And extracting natural gas – especially controversial shale gas – will likely have other environmental impacts such as water contamination, increased air pollution and increased water consumption, the report says. Canada is the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world…..    You can download Is Natural Gas a Climate Change Solution for Canada atdavidsuzuki.org/publica tions/reports/2011 or pembina.org/pubs

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Embrace+renewable+energy+Suzuki/5099687/story.html#ixzz1S60Zukxu

July 14, 2011 Posted by | Canada, renewable | Leave a comment

Radiation over-exposure of medical and other workers

Some workers overexposed to radiation, fed data shows doses above safe limits Google News By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press – 6 June 11 OTTAWA — Some medical specialists and other workers have been overexposed to radiation, a few getting doses high enough to change their blood chemistry and even cause radiation sickness, The Canadian Press has learned.

An analysis of an internal government database shows instances in which workers were exposed to doses of radiation well beyond regulatory limits……..an analysis of government dose records found more than 100 instances in the last decade where workers were exposed to more radiation than provinces set out in their yearly limits — sometimes far beyond what is considered safe.

Last year, an office worker in Ontario was exposed to 2,768 mSv of radiation over the month of May. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that’s enough of a dose to cause changes in blood chemistry, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, hair loss, diarrhea and hemorrhaging…. …http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jJ6nBLb1iN09Vv8d3o483IbjrgXQ?docId=7059812

June 6, 2011 Posted by | Canada, health | Leave a comment

Nuclear events and policies spell gloom for uranium stocks

political pressure continues to mount against nuclear energy…..Many countries have announced in-depth safety reviews of their nuclear reactors, placing moratoriums on any new plants in the near-term…...

Uranium sector hurt by Germany’s ban By Jonathan Ratner, Vancouver Sun,  May 29, 2011 TORONTO – The uranium sector came under some selling pressure on Monday after Germany announced it will shut down all of its nuclear reactors by 2022, reversing a nuclear energy policy put in place in October 2010. Continue reading →

May 31, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada, Uranium | Leave a comment

First Nations want uranium ban to stay, in British Columbia

B.C. uranium ban should stay, First Nations leader says.  Straight.com, By Matthew Burrows, May 30, 2011 The president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs does not believe the provincial moratorium on uranium mining should be lifted.

“The Okanagan Nation Alliance has always been opposed to uranium exploration and mining, as has the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs,” Grand Chief Stewart Phillip told the Straight by phone today (May 30). “We’ve never supported uranium exploration and mining, and we’ve always supported those groups and communities that have opposed exploration and mining. And we certainly support a continuation of the moratorium.”

The B.C. Liberals banned the exploration and development of uranium in April 2008…
B.C. uranium ban should stay, First Nations leader says | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

May 31, 2011 Posted by | Canada, indigenous issues | Leave a comment

Nuclear power for Canada? not quite a dead parrot

As they say in the old Monty Python skit, “this parrot is not dead.” ….Will we continue to blindly follow the nuclear cult leaders or do what the smart money is doing in Switzerland and pursue a clean energy future “without any hesitance and a strict no, to the nuclear possibility?”

Ontario’s Nuclear Ostriches, Bruce Cox:  27 May 11 On Wednesday May 25 at 3:30 in the afternoon the Swiss government pulled the plug on their nuclear future. They will shelve plans for three new reactors, phase out their aging reactors, and focus their efforts on energy efficiency and clean renewable energy production.The nuclear industry has spent the last handful of years declaring a global “nuclear renaissance” in the face of a growing climate change crisis with the hopes of spawning more nuclear sales and government subsidies. Continue reading →

May 27, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Indigenous resistance to uranium mining, as Fukushima news continues

before the first pounds of yellowcake are harvested from the tundra, a fearful word has entered the debate: Fukushima. …..Sandra Inutiq chairs a group called Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit, which translates to “Nunavummiut can rise up” and she has opposed uranium development. In an interview, Ms. Inutiq warned that allowing uranium development will transform parts of Nunavut into “a wasteland of tailings.”….And, she added, Fukushima has raised the stakes, as Inuit contemplate the ethical implications of allowing uranium from their territory to be exported around the world –

Fukushima chills uranium development NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE, CALGARY— Globe and Mail , May. 19, 2011 It looked to be a nuclear renaissance set on Canada’s sub-Arctic plains.Over the past few years, a series of companies secured rights to remote stretches of Inuit land that hide rich troves of uranium. One project alone, the five mines that make up the Kiggavik proposal from French nuclear giant Areva, stands poised to increase Canada’s uranium output by 35 per cent. Continue reading →

May 20, 2011 Posted by | Canada, indigenous issues, Uranium | Leave a comment

Ontario politicians want permanent ban on nuclear transport over Great Lakes

Ontario NDP calls for ban on nuclear shipments on Canal, Great Lakes, Siobhan Morris, 610 CKTB News5/18/2011 The provincial NDP is asking the McGuinty government to permanently squash shipment of steam generators across the Welland Canal and Great Lakes. Environment Critic for the New Democrats, Peter Tabuns raised the issue at Queen’s Park Wednesday. Tuesday, Bruce Power pulled its request for US permission for a shipment from Owen Sound to Sweden. They need that approval because the trek would take boats into American waters.Bruce Power hit pause on the project in Canada in March. The company said the delay was to allow more time to discuss their plan with concerned groups, especially First Nations. Environmental groups & Great Lakes mayors worry about contamination of drinking water should there be an accident. Tabuns says the government has failed in its basic duty to protect the citizens of Ontario. He wants to know why it has not asked for an environmental assessment of the plan……News Talk 610 CKTB :: Ontario NDP calls for ban on nuclear shipments on Canal, Great Lakes :: Local News – Story

May 19, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

Dead radioactive nuclear reactors will NOT be transported through Great Lakes

the controversial shipment,..would have essentially seen 1,600 tonnes of radioactive waste transported across the lakes for the first time..…

Bruce Power scraps plans to ship generators through Great Lakes, Vancouver Sun,  By Mark Iype, Postmedia News May 16, 2011  Ontario utility company Bruce Power has withdrawn its request for approval from the U.S. to transport 16 decommissioned nuclear reactors across the Great Lakes for recycling, despite permission from Canadian regulators, according to a Michigan state lawmaker. Continue reading →

May 17, 2011 Posted by | Canada, environment | Leave a comment

Projections of costs for nuclear plants leave out full fuel cycle and risks

When comparing energy choices, nuclear versus solar for instance, the full life cycle costs are rarely used. Nor are the financial risks taken into account,

The Nuclear Cost Shell Game, By Stephen Leahy, UXBRIDGE, Canada, May 6, 2011 (IPS)“…….Experts estimate the U.S. nuclear industry’s liability cap of 10 billion dollars amounts to “an indirect subsidy of about 33 million dollars per plant per year over the lifetime of a nuclear plant,” according to a study published in Energy Policy in April.

If that 33 million dollars-per-plant-per-year indirect subsidy was instead used for loan guarantees for solar panel manufacturing plants, the U.S. would gain 5.3 trillion dollars worth of additional electricity over a 100-year time span, the study reported.”Wind might be even better than solar under this scenario,” said co- author Joshua Pearce, a mechanical and materials engineer at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
“We’re wasting money on nuclear energy. It makes no economic sense,” Pearce told IPS. Continue reading →

May 8, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | Leave a comment

Action on Climate Change will at last have a Canadian political advocate

Elisabeth May will help ensure that climate change and clean energy issues are a prominent part of the national conversation over the next four years

Canada’s Green party looks to bright future following Elizabeth May victory, Guardian UK 4 May 11,  The environment may finally play a part in Canada’s political debate now the Green party has its first seat • Canada elects its first Green MP

Green party leader Elizabeth May added to Canada‘s psephological earthquake on Monday night by winning her party’s first seat in British Columbia, just as Canada swept Stephen Harper’s government to its first majority. Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, politics | Leave a comment

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