How two cutting edge U.S. nuclear projects bankrupted Westinghouse, Reuters, By Tom Hals and Emily Flitter | WILMINGTON, DEL./NEW YORK, 2 May 17
In 2012, construction of a Georgia nuclear power plant stalled for eight months as engineers waited for the right signatures and paperwork needed to ship a section of the plant from a factory hundreds of miles away.
The delay, which a nuclear specialist monitoring the construction said was longer than the time required to make the section, was emblematic of the problems that plagued Westinghouse Electric Co as it tried an ambitious new approach to building nuclear power plants.
The approach – building pre-fabricated sections of the plants before sending them to the construction sites for assembly – was supposed to revolutionize the industry by making it cheaper and safer to build nuclear plants.
But Westinghouse miscalculated the time it would take, and the possible pitfalls involved, in rolling out its innovative AP1000 nuclear plants, according to a close examination by Reuters of the projects.
Those problems have led to an estimated $13 billion in cost overruns and left in doubt the future of the two plants, the one in Georgia and another in South Carolina.
Overwhelmed by the costs of construction, Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy on March 29, while its corporate parent, Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is close to financial ruin [L3N1HI4SD]. It has said that controls at Westinghouse were “insufficient.”
The miscalculations underscore the difficulties facing a global industry that aims to build about 160 reactors and is expected to generate around $740 billion in sales of equipment in services in the coming decade, according to nuclear industry trade groups.
The sector’s problems extend well beyond Westinghouse. France’s Areva is being restructured, in part due to delays and huge cost overruns at a nuclear plant the company is building in Finland………
the source of the biggest delays can be traced to the AP1000’s innovative design and the challenges created by the untested approach to manufacturing and building reactors, according to more than a dozen interviews with former and current Westinghouse employees, nuclear experts and regulators.
Unlike previous nuclear reactors, the AP1000 would be built from prefabricated parts; specialized workers at a factory would churn out sections of the reactor that would be shipped to the construction site for assembly. Westinghouse said in marketing materials this method would standardize nuclear plant construction..…..
By 2016 Westinghouse began to grasp the scope of its dilemma, according to a document filed in its bankruptcy: Finishing the two projects would require Westinghouse to spend billions of dollars on labor, abandoning them would mean billions in penalties.
Westinghouse determined it could not afford either option. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-westinghouse-nucle-idUSKBN17Y0CQ
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, technology, USA |
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North Korea says US bomber flights signal pre-emptive nuclear strike, ABC News 3 May 17 North Korea is accusing the United States of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew over the area in a training drill with the South Korean air force.
Key points:
- Supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers flew over Korean peninsula
- North Korea says US is practising a nuclear strike
- Mr Trump has said he would consider meeting Kim Jong-un but also warned of a “major, major conflict”
The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea’s dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the United States.
The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests……..
The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-02/us-bomber-flights-push-peninsular-to-the-brink-of-war/8489952
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
North Korea, politics international, USA, weapons and war |
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TVA’s plan for small nuclear reactor on Clinch River running into barriers, Knoxville News Sentinel Tyler Whetstone , USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee, 2 May 17, TVA’s plan to put a small modular nuclear reactor on its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, which has been on the priority list for the energy giant, has experienced setbacks in the last year and is still a long way from getting started, members of TVA’s Regional Energy Resource Council learned Tuesday.
Joe Hoagland, TVA’s vice president of stakeholder relations, said the project still has three significant barriers that must be crossed before the project can begin.
TVA officials said in May they had filed an Early Site Permit application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for evaluating that site for the development of the reactor. TVA had announced in April it would take this step, as it considered the possibility of building and operating one of the modular reactors at the 1,200-acre Clinch River site. The NRC uses the application to look at the site in terms of safety, environmental issues and emergency preparedness requirements for construction of a reactor.
Hoagland, at the Energy Council workshop Tuesday morning, said one of the first issues is that TVA doesn’t need the extra energy and the marketplace isn’t clamoring for it in today’s environment. Eventually, TVA will have to decommission its current nuclear plants and the hope is that the Clinch River site will be ready by then, he said.
Secondly, the dollars and cents for such a project do not yet add up, he said. Operational costs would be too high.
“We’ve talked here in the past that for the SMRs (small modular reactors) to be really viable they’ve got to be cost-competitive with other technologies for the size and dollars per megawatt and they are not there yet,” Hoagland said.
Lastly, the technology for the small nuclear reactor is not yet there. Companies have submitted designs for the facility, but Hoagland said the process to review the designs can take up to five years.
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
technology, USA |
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Call it what you want. There is an explanation for his behavior. https://twoifbycharmwordpress.wordpress.com/
Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, we have seen numerous examples of Donald Trump’s behavior fitting neatly into the blueprint presented in this blog. The “black heart” and “lack of empathy” Mr. Khan so eloquently spoke of falls within the framework of a dangerous personality disorder according to experts. Some call it Narcissistic Personality Disorder, while other experts describe this behavior as sociopathic, or psychopathic.
The purpose of the original posting below (link to WordPress article dated 07.14.16 is posted here) is to call attention to an apparent mental health issue relating to Trump. It is to provoke thought and incite a broad discussion around Donald Trump’s apparent dangerous personality disorder, and to provide a reliable and consistent profile of Trump’s behavior.
Based on Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Martha Stout’s highly-touted book, The Sociopath Next Door, Trump seems to fit the bill of a sociopath, and that is why I speculated that he is a sociopath in the original posting. A reasonable person must admit that Trump’s behavior does align with the description in her introductory chapter (YouTube link is here).
Many experts believe Trump is a narcissist. In fact, a retired psychotherapist, with over 40 years of experience, wrote a comment about my article, stating that he believes everything I wrote about him in the posting is “precise and true,” though he believes Trump “fits into the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder, one of the most severe I and most other psychotherapists I have talked to, and who have written about it, have ever seen.”
Call it what you want to. diagnosis is for the experts. My thesis below is simply that “Trained in sociopathy or not, I can state one certainty: If there is a debate about whether a person is a narcissist or a sociopath (or any of the related personality disorders), there is much cause for alarm if you are within that person’s sphere of influence. The stakes are even higher if the questioned individual is in contention to lead the free world.”
With or without agreement to the posting’s proposition, if you believe this discussion should be had on a broader level, I kindly ask you to chime in, and to share it. I believe it gives a strong perspective, in real-life terms, on what the world is observing in Donald Trump’s campaign and behavior. It also provides an education that could help everyday people gain perspective and healing when they are affected by someone with a personality disorder, such as sociopathy.
Thank you for reading this post, your comments. This article has now been read in 30 countries worldwide, and several experts have chimed in favorably towards the thesis.
Note: Please leave your comments at the original posting: link to WordPress article dated 07.14.16 is posted here so it will be combined with the broader discussion. This posting may be updated or replaced from time-to-time.
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics, psychology - mental health, USA |
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Students win nuclear essay contest http://www.postregister.com/articles/news-todays-headlines/2017/05/01/students-win-nuclear-essay-contest# May 1, 2017 By KEVIN TREVELLYANktrevellyan@postregister.com Skyline High School students David Hill and Phil Ma will receive $1,500 scholarships after winning an essay contest about nuclear technology.
The Idaho Section of the American Nuclear Society initiates the contest each fall. This year’s topic: why would a commercial entity build a reactor on a national laboratory site and how will the electricity be used?
The prompt came on the heels of Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems choosing a spot at the U.S. Department of Energy’s desert site for the small modular reactor being developed by NuScale.
The reactor, currently under review by the U.S. National Regulatory Commission, is slated to provide electricity for dozens of community-owned utilities.
“We thought it was a good time to have students look into that subject and learn more about a project that may actually occur locally; we think it’s relevant to the INL and local community,” society education committee chair Roger Mayes said.
Four judges reviewed submitted essays on content and clarity.
Hill won the 9-10 grade level contest with his essay titled, “A Small Modular Reactor, In Idaho?”
In the 11-12 grade level contest, Ma won with his essay, “NuScale SMR Technology Comes to Historic Nuclear Site.”
Scholarships will be awarded at a society dinner meeting May 18 at the Energy Innovation Laboratory, 775 University Blvd. Society president Andrew Klein will speak.
A social time begins at 6 p.m.; dinner and the program will follow at 7 p.m. Dinner is $20.
For dinner reservations, RSVP to Danielle Perez at IdahoAmericanNuclearSociety@gmail.com by May 15.
Reporter Kevin Trevellyan can be reached at 542-6762.
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
spinbuster, USA |
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Utility’s mistakes might be ours to pay http://www.ajc.com/news/opinion/readers-write-may/rlDY9xschJoqXhxcIRO6LL/, DON MCADAM, SANDY SPRINGS, 2 May 17
Ratepayers in Georgia paid in advance for Georgia Power’s multibillion-dollar gamble on two new nuclear reactors at plant Vogtle. We were told at the time that it was in our best interest to pay up front. But much of the money we paid up front actually was realized as profit for shareholders. Maybe that helps explain why Southern Company’s stock price has risen about 60 percent since work began in 2009.
In December of last year, the Public Service Commission decided that ratepayers should pay for almost all of the accumulated overages. Those overcharges amounted to billions of dollars. And now, the entire project might be scrapped. The PSC’s Tim Echols jumps into action. According to Echols, someone other than Georgia Power should pay for Georgia Power’s mistakes. Ratepayers should never have had to pay for this fiasco. Maybe Echols finally realizes this. So now he’s begging for a bailout from our federal government.
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, USA |
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Deadline dodged, Southern, SCANA weigh wresting nuclear plants from Westinghouse, Utility Dive, Gavin Bade@GavinBade Peter Maloney@TopFloorPower , 2 May 17
Dive Brief:
- Southern Company and SCANA reached interim agreements with nuclear developer Westinghouse on Friday to continue construction on two nuclear plants as the developer works through bankruptcy proceedings.
- SCANA and Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned utility, agreed to an extension of an interim agreement with Westinghouse that will see the contractor continue construction on the V.C. Summer nuclear plant through June 26.
- Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power also extended its construction agreement with Westinghouse on the Vogtle nuclear plant, but only until May 12. Both construction agreements were slated to expire at midnight on Friday, and the companies will use the extra time to evaluate if they should take control of construction from Westinghouse.
Dive Insight:
The utility teams building nuclear reactors in Georgia and South Carolina were scrambling Friday as they addressed the end of 30-day agreements with bankrupt Westinghouse Electric, the contractor for those plants.
Officials at SCANA and Santee Cooper, which are building two reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear station in South Carolina, reportedly said they would use the time to evaluate whether to take control of the project from Westinghouse or abandon it……..
Westinghouse’s bankruptcy has raised deep doubts over the fate of the only two new nuclear plants to be built in the United States in 30 years. Both nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, which helped push Westinghouse into bankruptcy at the end of March and prompted parent company Toshiba to plan a split into four separate subsidiaries.
Both projects are also working against a Dec. 31, 2020, in-service deadline to be eligible for a $0.018/kWh federal production tax credit. Last week, SCANA officials told analysts that extending the deadline for those incentives could be key to completing the projects. http://www.utilitydive.com/news/deadline-dodged-southern-scana-weigh-wresting-nuclear-plants-from-westing/441578/
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, USA |
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WRVO By KAREN DEWITT 2 May 17 Assembly Democrats grilled Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s energy officials for more than four hours Monday about a plan executed by the Public Service Commission and a major energy company that will keep three upstate nuclear power plants alive for the next 12 years.
Utility ratepayers, mostly from downstate, will pay for the deal through a surcharge on their bills.
Assemblyman Steve Englebright, chairman of the Environmental Committee, said he’s “very disappointed” in what he said was an opaque process hastily decided last summer that ratepayers ultimately will have to finance…….
The hearing will likely not result in any changes to keeping the nuclear power plants open. The state already has signed contracts with the energy company Exelon and handed over the plants’ operating licenses on April 1.
Gregg Sayre, Cuomo’s interim Public Service Commission chair, testified about the 2016 decision to have the state pay nearly $8 billion to keep the FitzPatrick, Nine Mile Point and Ginna nuclear power plants open. He said it was in part dictated by the timetable of the energy companies who own the plants………
Audrey Zibelman, the former head of the PSC who oversaw the deal, left for a job in Australia earlier this year and has not yet been replaced……..
Englebright also questioned what he said is the “profound contradiction” of the state propping up the over 40-year-old plants in the Oswego and Rochester areas, while moving to close the Indian Point Nuclear Plant in Westchester, citing potential dangers……
Cuomo has said that keeping the Indian Point plant open defies “basic sanity” because of inherent risks. That plant will close in 2021.
Other Assembly members complained about the extra charges that ratepayers will have to finance from the rescue deal for the three plants. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz represents portions of the Bronx, which he said includes a large number of low-income people who will be unfairly burdened by the deal…..http://wrvo.org/post/lawmakers-grill-cuomo-officials-nuclear-power-plant-bailout
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics, USA |
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S.C. congressional delegation loses fight to get nuclear tax credit in government spending bill, The Post and Courier, By Emma Dumain edumain@postandcourier.com May 3, 2017
WASHINGTON — The budget agreement worked out in Congress has disappointed every member of the South Carolina delegation after a highly desired nuclear power plant tax credit was left out.
Excluded from the plan that’s supposed to keep the government running through September is a provision extending the deadline for nuclear power plants to take advantage of the tax bonus, threatening to undermine a major economic driver in the state.
At issue is a credit Congress created in 2005 to incentivize nuclear power production. But it gave plants a 2020 deadline to complete their work in order to qualify.
Westinghouse Electricity’s recent bankruptcy filing, however, has had a profound effect on the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant’s ability to stay on schedule, putting the site’s future in question.
Jimmy Addison, SCANA’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said last week the production team needed assurances soon as to whether it would receive a deadline extension. Otherwise, SCANA would have to decide whether it could afford to continue construction at the site near Jenkinsville…….
while rewriting tax law is a priority for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, there’s no guarantee lawmakers will be able to advance such a bill, nor is there any clear timeline for consideration…….http:// http://www.postandcourier.com/news/s- c-congressional-delegation- loses-fight-to-get-nuclear- tax/article_c68a5cde-2f42- 11e7-ba6f-977391a7c898.html
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics, USA |
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Great Lakes community contemplates nuclear plant closure, Marketplace, By Rebecca Thiele, May 01, 2017 “…….some residents are happy to see the plant go. Palisades is one of the oldest nuclear plants in the country and has had several emergency shutdowns.
“If we had an accident, we would lose our tourist industry, we would lose our orchards, our agriculture, our wineries — just everything that I like about this part of the world,” Rosemary Thurber said.
Several nuclear plants are shutting down nationwide thanks to changes in the energy sector……..
Covert Public Schools gets about half its funding from taxes on Palisades Nuclear Plant — $4 million a year. …….
The memory of Palisades will continue long after it closes. Its owner, Louisiana-based Entergy Corp., will have to tear down the buildings and clean up any contamination at the site. That could take up to 60 years.
The radioactive waste will stay on the Lake Michigan shoreline until the federal government finds a permanent storage site for spent nuclear fuel. Palisades officials said the waste will be safe in 20-foot-tall canisters called casks…….
Residents like Neiss aren’t as confident in the safety of the radioactive waste.
“I’m sure it’s as safe as they can possibly make it, but to know that it’s sitting there on the beach is not a comforting thing,” he said.
The local utility still has to end its agreement with Entergy. If that isn’t approved by the state public service commission, Entergy says it will “re-evaluate its plans.”https://www.marketplace.org/2017/05/01/sustainability/great-lakes-community-contemplates-nuclear-plant-closure
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
social effects, USA |
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Nuclear regulators find Cameco shipping violations Company spilled toxic sludge on U.S. 191 south of Blanding, The Journal By Jim Mimiaga Journal Staff Writer | Sunday, April 30, 2017 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found numerous shipping violations against Cameco Resources, a Wyoming uranium mine company that spilled radioactive waste on U.S. Highway 191 south of Blanding, Utah.
A report released on April 25 details the commission’s November inspection of the company’s shipping procedures and practices.
“Based on the results of this inspection, nine apparent violations were identified and are being considered for escalated enforcement action,” wrote Mark R. Shaffer, division director of Nuclear Materials Safety.
Cameco came under additional scrutiny after an incident March 28-29 when its regular truckload of barium sulphate, bound for a containment cell at the White Mesa Mill, leaked onto the roadway………
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission report, the list of violations against Cameco includes:
Failure to accurately assess, report and label barium-sulfate waste shipments,Failure to ship waste material in appropriate containers,Failure to test whether the material could withstand the vibration and acceleration of transportation,Failure to provide specific hazmat training.According to the report, errors in shipping paperwork at Cameco misclassified radioactive waste level as lower than the actual shipment, which led to it being shipped in the wrong container……..
May 3, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Legal, USA |
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Donald Trump on whether he could start war with North Korea: ‘I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see’ Answering a question about whether another nuclear test by North Korea would mean a military response by the US, Mr Trump appears to be undecided, The Independent, 1 May 17 Foster Klug, Kim Tong-Hyung Seoul President Donald Trump has said that he believes China’s president has been putting pressure on North Korea as it pursues its missile and nuclear weapons programmes – but when asked about whether another nuclear test would mean a military response from the US, Mr Trump said “I don’t know…we’ll see”.
In an interview with CBS programme Face the Nation Mr Trump said he won’t be happy if North Korea conducts a nuclear test and that he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping won’t be happy, either.
Asked if that means military action, Mr Trump responded: “I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see.”
………..Mr Trump has sent a nuclear-powered submarine and the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to Korean waters and North Korea last week conducted large-scale, live-fire exercises on its eastern coast. The U.S. and South Korea also started installing a missile defence system that is supposed to be partially operational within days and their two navies are staging joint military drills.
Residents in the village of Seongj, where the missile defence system is being installed, scuffled with police on Sunday. About 300 protesters faced off against 800 police and succeeded in blocking two US Army oil trucks from entering the site, local media reported. A few residents were injured or fainted from the scuffle and were transported to a hospital.
The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system (THAAD), remains a controversial topic in South Korea and presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in even has vowed to reconsider the deployment if he wins a presidential election in May. He has said that the security benefits of THAAD would be offset by worsened relations with China, which is the country’s biggest trading partner and is opposed to its deployment.
Mr Trump raised eyebrows in South Korea last week when he said would make Seoul pay $1 billion for the missile defence system. Seoul’s presidential Blue House said on Sunday that White House National Security Adviser HR McMaster confirmed that the U.S. will not be seeking money for the system. ……http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-latest-war-a7710521.html
May 1, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics international, USA, weapons and war |
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North Korea threatens to sink US nuclear submarine http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-threat-sink-us-nuclear-submarine-uss-michigan-south-korea-donald-trump-kim-jong-un-a7709946.html ‘It will be doomed to face the miserable fate of becoming an underwater ghost without being able to come to the surface’ Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93 30 Apr 17, North Korea , has threatened to sink a US nuclear submarine deployed in South Korean waters.
“The moment the USS Michigan tries to budge even a little, it will be doomed to face the miserable fate of becoming an underwater ghost without being able to come to the surface,” the North’s propaganda website Urminzokkiri said.
“The urgent fielding of the nuclear submarine in the waters off the Korean Peninsula, timed to coincide with the deployment of the super aircraft carrier strike group, is intended to further intensify military threats toward our republic.”
The guided missile submarine USS Michigan has been joined by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group in waters near the Korean peninsula.
The website added that “whether it’s a nuclear aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine, they will be turned into a mass of scrap metal in front of our invincible military power centred on the self-defence nuclear deterrence.”
The aircraft carrier group began exercises with the South Korean navy on Sunday after it completed drills with the Japanese navy.
The dispatch of the Carl Vinson was a “reckless action of the war maniacs aimed at an extremely dangerous nuclear war,” the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a commentary.It comes after the hermit kingdom test-fired another ballistic missile in a clear message of defiance aimed at Washington and its allies.
However, US officials said the medium-range ballistic missile disintegrated mid-flight, minutes after launch, and fell into the Sea of Japan.
President Donald Trump, asked about his message to North Korea after the latest missile test, told reporters: “You’ll soon find out”, but did not elaborate on what the US response would be.The North has been conducting missile and nuclear weapons related activities at an unprecedented rate and is believed to have made progress in developing intermediate-range and submarine-launched missiles.
Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high for weeks over fears the North may conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the 15 April anniversary of its state founder’s birth.
May 1, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
North Korea, USA, weapons and war |
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Lawmakers to grill regulators on upstate nuclear plant bailout plan, Lohud, Thomas C. Zambito , tzambito@lohud.com April 30, 2017 Town of Bedford Supervisor Chris Burdick says that since the town agreed to pay to take part in a state program that supports renewable energy, it should not be forced to subsidize failing upstate nuclear power plants. Seth Harrison/lohud
State lawmakers will get a second crack at grilling state energy regulators about a multi-billion dollar bailout plan for three upstate nuclear power plants that critics have dubbed “The Cuomo Tax.”
State Public Service Commission officials are expected to testify at a Monday Assembly hearing in Albany on a plan to subsidize three upstate nuclear plants through monthly surcharges on ratepayers’ electric bills over the next 12 years.
The last time the Assembly held a hearing on the issue, state officials were a no-show, to the dismay of lawmakers who considered blocking the plan until state regulators testified.
Among them is Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale.
I want to hear why we continue to bear ever more costs,” said Paulin, noting that New Yorkers already pay some of the highest utility rates in the nation. “We want some answers. It’s adding costs to our utility bills.”
State officials promised to attend Monday’s hearing, which will focus on the decision-making process that led the Public Service Commission to approve the Clean Energy Standard (CES) this summer. Interim PSC chairman Gregg Sayre is expected to testify.
……The bailout plan has attracted critics on a number of fronts. The “Stop the Cuomo Tax” campaign has pegged the total cost to ratepayers at $8 billion over 12 years. ……..
Towns challenge bailout
Several towns in northern Westchester County — North Salem, Bedford and Mamaroneck — joined a legal challenge of the CES this year. Officials say many of their residents already heeded the governor’s clean energy call by voluntarily agreeing to buy their electricity from renewable sources.
The “Stop The Cuomo Tax” campaign has taken out billboards and radio ads attacking the plan.
On Thursday, the campaign released figures claiming that New York utility ratepayers have already paying out approximately $1.37 million per day since the surcharges were tucked into bills on April 1. They say the money could have gone to hire 570 teachers or to forgive the student loans of 1,230 New Yorkers.
…….You don’t have to be an economist to realize that this is bad public policy,” said Blair Horner, the executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “New York could be facing a significant budget shortfall if there are cuts in federal funding for state programs. Gov. Cuomo should be focused on supporting critical government programs, not lavishing ratepayer dollars on profitable businesses.”
The three plants are owned by Chicago-based Exelon Corporation……..http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/indian-point/2017/04/30/lawmakers-grill-regulators-upstate-nuclear-plant-bailout-plan/101035740/
May 1, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics, USA |
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EPA scrubs website of references to Obama climate plans, Politico, Nick Juliano njuliano@politico.com04/28/17 EPA is overhauling its website to remove “outdated language” referring to Obama-era programs President Donald Trump has targeted for elimination, including virtually all mentions of climate change, the agency announced late Friday.
The agency eliminated climate change from a drop-down list of “Environmental Topics” displayed on its front page and took down a separate page on the topic that had been up as recently as Monday.
The website changes had been expected, but environmentalists were unsettled.
“Cleansing has begun,” the Natural Resources Defense Council’s David Doniger wrote on Twitter. “Now only alternative facts.”
In a press release, EPA said it was removing references to the “so-called Clean Power Plan,” which the agency is reviewing in response to an executive order Trump signed last month. And it said it was reviewing content on the site related to climate change and regulations……EPA maintained links to archived versions of the Obama-era versions of the pages it took down http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/28/epa-website-scrubbed-obama-climate-plans-237779
May 1, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
climate change, secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA |
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nuclear-news 