USA designed Stuxnet, but now itself vulnerable to cyber attack
More cyber attacks for the US in Stuxnet fallout, IT News, By Juha Saarinen on Jun 3, 2012 Anti-virus industry spectacularly failed. Political analysts have forecast potential consequences for the United States after confirmation emerged of its involvement in the creation of the Stuxnet malware that attacked Iranian uranium enrichment facilities.
The New York Times piece released last week revealed direct involvement by US President Barack Obama in ordering the creation and spread of the malware to the Iranian facilities, which largely succeeded before the virus was discovered outside of the country.
But the United States, seen as one of the most vulnerable countries to “cyber-attacks” due to its heavy reliance on computers, could become highly prone to similar attacks in future as retaliation to its actions. Continue reading
Ways to make renewable energy competitive in USA
Two financial mechanisms that have driven investment in traditional energy projects — real estate investment trusts and master limited partnerships — could, with some help from Washington, be extended to renewable energy projects to lower their cost and make America’s energy future cleaner, cheaper — and more democratic
How to Make Renewable Energy Competitive, NYT By FELIX MORMANN and DAN REICHER June 1, 2012 STANFORD, Calif.Renewable energy needs help. Technological innovation has significantly reduced the cost of solar panels, wind turbines and other equipment, but renewable energy still needs serious subsidies to compete with conventional energy. Today, help comes mostly in the form of federal tax breaks.
These tax incentives, and the Congressional battle over extending them for wind projects beyond the end of this year, mean that other, more powerful policies to promote renewables are not getting the attention they deserve. If renewable energy is going to become fully competitive and a significant source of energy in the United States, then further technological innovation must be accompanied by financial innovation so that clean energy sources gain access to the same low-cost capital that traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas enjoy. Continue reading
Indian Point still USA’s most dangerous nuclear plant
There is no protection for those fuel pools…You couldn’t see the fuel rods in fuel pool 2 because the water was so murky… it is so densely crowded with fuel rods, you can’t even get equipment in to fully inspect it …”
“There’s enough surplus power in this region to turn off Indian Point tomorrow and we won’t have any kind of shortage if we don’t do another thing until 2020,” “In the meantime, you can build two Indian Point’s worth of replacement power. You can save 30 percent of our power needs just by energy efficiency… We do not need the power —
they want to fool you into believing we do.”
Why the “Shut It Down” Crowd Won’t be Silenced Indian Point: Still America’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Plant? Counter Punch, by JOHN RAYMOND, 31 May 12 “Shut it down! Shut it down! Shut it down!” rang through the cavernous grand ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown, NY, last week when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staged an Orwellian charade promoted as an “open house” held to reassure the public that the Indian Point nuclear power plant was, as the New York Post headlined the following day, “Still Safe!”
The NRC’s annual “safety assessment” of the plant, which sits on the Hudson River 30 miles north of New York City, was based on 11,000 hours of ”inspection activities.” It found that Indian Point performed “within expected regulatory bounds” and the 25 matters that do require attention but “no additional NRC oversight,” are ‘low risk’, or have “very low safety significance.”
“So,” the Post mused, “will this finally silence the ‘shut it down’
crowd? …Don’t hold your breath.”
But do keep your fingers crossed…if you’re one of the 17.5 million
people living within 50 miles of the plant… Continue reading
USA legal fuss over Nuclear Waste Fund, as no waste solution found
Appeals courts criticizes Energy Department over billions paid into nuclear waste fund Washington Post, By Associated Press, June 1 WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court says the Energy Department did not complete a review required to continue collecting $750 million a year in fees from operators of nuclear power plants.
Bu the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia did not order the fee collection suspended. Instead, officials were given six more months to complete the review.
More than $26 billion has been paid into the federal Nuclear Waste Fund for long-term storage and disposal of nuclear waste from the nation’s 104 commercial nuclear reactors. The money has sat idle for decades amid disputes about how to dispose of the waste….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/appeals-courts-criticizes-energy-department-over-billions-paid-into-nuclear-waste-fund/2012/06/01/gJQA5ALe7U_story.html
USA devised Stuxnet computer worm to attack Iran’s nukes, says new book
Obama ‘gave full backing to Stuxnet attack on Iran’ http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2012/06/obama-gave-full-backing-to-stu.html 1 June 2012 When George W Bush handed over the presidential reins to Barack Obama in 2008, he asked that the incoming man continue running what he regarded as two of his administration’s most promising security programs: the remotely-piloted drone war against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan – and the development of a cyberweapon nicknamed ‘the bug’, aimed at destroying Iran’s nascent nuclear capability.
Obama agreed – but we have now come to know that bug by another name: Stuxnet.
This revelation is at the heart of an apparently impeccably-sourced book due to be 
published in the US on 5 June. In Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power, author David Sanger alleges that Stuxnet, which eventually wrecked hundreds of uranium centrifuges in Iran in 2010, was created by cyberweapons experts at the US National Security Agency in collaboration with ‘Unit 8200’, a cyber operation of Israeli intelligence. Continue reading
USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s real role is to PROMOTE nuclear power
Nuclear Rubberstamp Commission HUFFINGTON POST, Karl Grossman, 05/30/2012“… The resignation last week of the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is another demonstration of the bankrupt basis of the NRC. Gregory Jaczko repeatedly called for the NRC to apply “lessons learned” from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan. And, for that, the nuclear industry — quite successfully — went after him fiercely.
The New York Times, in an editorial over the weekend , said that President Obama’s choice to replace Jaczko, Allison Macfarlane, “will need to be as independent and aggressive as Dr. Jaczko.”
That misses the institutional point.
The NRC was created in 1974 when Congress abolished the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission after deciding that the AEC’s dual missions of promoting and at the same time regulating nuclear power were deemed a conflict of interest. The AEC was replaced by the NRC, which was to regulate nuclear power, and a Department of Energy was later formed to advocate for it.
However, the same extreme pro-nuclear culture of the AEC continued on at the NRC. It has partnered with the DOE in promoting nuclear power.
Indeed, neither the AEC, in its more than 25 years, nor the NRC, in its nearly 30 years, ever denied an application for a construction or operating license for a nuclear power plant anywhere, anytime in the United States.
The NRC is a rubberstamp for the nuclear industry. “NRC stands for Nuclear Rubberstamp Commission,” says Kevin Kamps of the organization Beyond Nuclear. And it isn’t that Jaczko opposed nuclear power. “Greg is not anti-nuclear, but he’s pro-nuclear in a smart and considered way,” says Christopher Paine , director of the nuclear program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Continue reading
New NRC chair Allison Macfarlane likely to be ‘crucified’ if she pursues nuclear safety
Nuclear Rubberstamp Commission HUFFINGTON POST, Karl Grossman, 05/30/2012“… “……..A “Petition for Rulemaking to Improve Emergency Planning Regulations ” was brought to the NRC in February by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service and 37 safe-energy and environmental groups. It declared that “the real-world experience of the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters … were more severe and affected a much larger geographical area than provided for in NRC regulations” and asked, among other things, for the NRC to expand its current 10-mile evacuation planning zone around nuclear plants. “Waiting to see how bad an emergency gets before expanding evacuation … is not a plan of action, it is a recipe for disaster and an abdication of responsibility.” The likely NRC response? No.
On that issue, the nuclear industry was extremely upset that Jaczko, after the Fukushima accident began, advised U.S. citizens within 50 miles of the exploding nuclear complex to evacuate. It sought to continue the myth that 10 miles were fine.
As for the proposed new chair of the NRC, Allison Macfarlane, if she seeks to push safety, as theNew York Times thinks she can, she would be crucified — just like Jaczko.
The solution? Abolish the Nuclear Rubberstamp Commission — and shut down every nuclear power plant in the U.S. They provide just 20 percent of our electricity and this could be substituted for with electricity generated by safe, clean, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind — without the loss of lives. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-grossman/nuclear-regulatory-commission-chairman_b_1549012.html
“Malicious” anti nuclear nun gets some support from top military man
last week some of her views gained traction from a surprise and formidable source, retired General James Cartwright, the former Vice Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff who also used to oversee the entire American nuclear arsenal.
Recently, Sister Anne and the other Bangor 5 appealed their conviction for “willfully and maliciously” destroying federal property by cutting through the fences on the Kitsap-Bangor naval base. The five defended their actions by claiming they were upholding international humanitarian law which deems nuclear weapons illegal.
A Malicious Nun? HUFFINGTON POST, Helen Young, 05/31/2012 There are many words that come to mind to describe Sister Anne Montgomery, and her work but “malicious” is certainly not one of them. Sister Anne, an 85-year-old Roman Catholic nun from the Society of the Sacred Heart who once taught students in Spanish Harlem and high school dropouts in Albany, also spent years working for Christian Peacemakers, an ecumenical anti-war group.
She has put her life on the line in some of the world’s most war-torn regions, including the Balkans in the 1990’s, the Middle East, and more recently in Iraq. Her life has been devoted to working for peace and on nuclear disarmament.
It’s not work for the fainthearted. This diminutive woman, who is still razor sharp in her thinking, and who barely weighs 90 pounds soaking wet, has spent more than three years in prison because of her non- violent protests against nuclear weapons. Continue reading
USA’s famous new nuclear reactors – a money pit
Watchdog: New nuclear plant will exceed budget, Online Athens, By RAY HENRY – Associated Press, May 31, 2012 ATLANTA — A state monitor said he believes Southern Co. will exceed its $6.1 billion budget to build a first-of-its-kind nuclear plant, according to a report released Thursday.
The warning from nuclear engineer William Jacobs. Jr. was his bluntest assessment yet on the possibility that Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power will need more money to construct two more nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta. Cost overruns plagued the industry during the last round of nuclear construction years ago. The 2.4 million
customers of Georgia Power ultimately pay for the building costs.
“In my opinion, the Company will need to request an increase in the certified cost and a change in the certified schedule to a later completion date,” said Jacobs, who was hired by the state’s Public Service Commission to monitor construction progress….
.. The report marked a change in tone for Jacobs. When asked in written testimony whether the plant could be built on budget and schedule, he simply answered, “No.” In previous reports, Jacobs had said Southern Co. faced “significant challenges” sticking to its budget….. http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2012-05-31/watchdog-new-nuclear-plant-will-exceed-budget
Vogtle nuclear reactor construction getting later and later
Southern’s Nuclear Reactors May Be Delayed, Monitor Says, Bloomberg, By Julie Johnsson – May 31, 2012 Southern Co. (SO)’s new nuclear reactors face delays that may boost costs beyond the $14 billion budgeted, an independent construction monitor said.
The reactors, due to be completed in 2016 and 2017, are already running seven-and-a-half months late and could be set back further by “additional potential delays recently identified” by Southern’s construction partners, William Jacobs said in testimony filed on the Georgia Public Service (PEG) Commission’s website today.
Jacobs said the latest delays stem from improperly installed rebar and a design issue, the details of which were redacted from his testimony to protect trade secrets .
Southern and the three co-owners of the Vogtle nuclear construction, 26 miles southeast of Augusta, Georgia, “face significant challenges in maintaining the project forecast at or below” the budget approved by Georgia regulators, Jacobs said. “A possible schedule delay as discussed above would impact the financing cost of the project.”….. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-31/southern-s-nuclear-construction-faces-added-delays-monitor-says.html
USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission weakening the rules on nuclear safety
“successful implementation of existing mitigation measures can prevent reactor core damage or delay or reduce offsite releases of radioactive material.” Tell that to the people impacted by Chernobyl and Fukushima.
the NRC is holding a meeting with DOE and the industry’s Electric Power Research Institute on extending licenses to 80 years. Consider the reliability of an 80-year-old car….
Nuclear Rubberstamp Commission HUFFINGTON POST, Karl Grossman, 05/30/2012“……..At the NRC in recent months a move has begun to negate what has been its benchmark analysis on the impacts of nuclear plant accidents. “Calculation Reactor Accident Consequences 2,” referred to as the CRAC-2 report. Issued in 1982, it projects the impacts from a meltdown with a breach of containment at every nuclear plant in the U.S. Continue reading
Californian tuna found to have Fukushima radiation
Fukushima radiation fear in Californian tuna, Radio Australia 30 May 2012, Mark Doman Low levels of radiation have shown up in bluefin tuna off the US coast and experts believe it may have originated from a tsunami-damaged Japanese power plant. The discovery may lead to an international monitoring system for radioactive fish products. Continue reading
USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission in crisis
Exit Jackzo: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Free Fall
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-brodsky/nuclear-regulatory-commission_b_1539797.html by Richard Brodsky, 25 May 12, The resignation of NRC Chairman Gregory Jackzo puts the issue of nuclear safety smack on the middle of Obama’s desk, and then into the presidential race.
That’s a good thing. The NRC is not doing the job that the law and common sense require it to do. It is a captive of the nuclear industry, operates in secret and without due regard for the public health and safety. The NRC’s relationship to the nuclear industry today is just what the SEC’s relationship was to Wall Street four years ago. We are skating on very thin ice. Continue reading
Without waiting for safety solutions, NRC approves relicense for Pilgrim nuclear plant
“When the regulator does not follow its own rules, don’t expect that
it will require the nuclear industry to do so either. Fukushima showed
what happen,”
Nuclear Regulatory Commission OKs new 20-year license for Pilgrim nuke plant, Boston Herald, By Associated Press, May 25, 2012 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the renewal of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s operating license for another 20 years, the agency announced Friday, despite objections from Gov. Deval Patrick and other Massachusetts officials. The commission voted 3-1 to
authorize staff to renew the license before June 8, when the original
40-year license of the Plymouth, Mass., facility was set to expire.
Patrick called the NRC’s decision “extremely troubling.” He and other
officials, including Attorney General Martha Coakley and U.S. Reps.
Edward Markey and William Keating, had called on the NRC hold off on
renewal until all safety and environmental contentions had been
resolved. Continue reading
USA losing a strong advocate for nuclear safety, Gregory Jaczcko
Nuclear Power After Fukushima, May 25, 2012 The resignation of Gregory Jaczko, the embattled chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, means the country is losing a strong advocate for public safety who was always willing to challenge the nuclear industry and its political backers in Congress.
The White House’s choice to replace him, Allison Macfarlane, has strong credentials as an expert on nuclear waste and weapons. She will need to be as independent and aggressive as Dr. Jaczko. Both industry and her fellow commissioners will have to be pushed to implement necessary improvements highlighted by the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan…..
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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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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