Renewable energy gaining strength, saving money for customers and State budgets
A Response To Attacks On Renewable Energy Environmental defense Funds, By COLIN MEEHAN DECEMBER 19, 2011 “……renewable energy saves money for customers and adds much needed revenue to state budgets.
Obscuring the Facts
A recent analysis found that the five states with the highest amount of renewable energy (states that are encouraged by the policies Norquist asks us to rethink) have lower rates than the states with the least amounts of renewable energy. In 2009 the Texas PUC declaredthat the state’s national leadership in wind energy, driven by their RPS, “has had the impact of lowering wholesale and retail prices of electricity.” The Texas State Comptroller said, “After the RPS was implemented, Texas wind corporations and utilities invested $1 billion in wind power, creating jobs, adding to the Texas Permanent School Fund and increasing the rural tax base.” Continue reading
Study finds Fredericksburg uranium sites not commercially viable
Uranium report says local sites not viable, Fredricksburg.com, By RUSTY DENNEN, 19 Dec 11 Uranium mining and milling in Virginia would present human health and safety and environmental risks, which could be mitigated with best-management practices, according to a long-awaited National Academy of Sciences study released Monday.
And, of interest to the Fredericksburg area, it concludes that only Virginia Uranium’s proposed Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County would be commercially viable among Virginia deposits, for now. The site is about 180 miles southwest of Fredericksburg. Continue reading
USA policies, especially on Israel, motivate Iran to get nuclear weapons
an almost purposeful U.S. policy to drive others to obtain the “doomsday explosive”
by allowing Israel to develop the weapons, the U.S. and friends already stimulated the Middle East arms race. It is mainly due to the United States, Great Britain and France that Israel has nuclear capability. As a consequence, Middle East nations sought means to neutralize the Israel bomb…..
US Policies Motivate Iran To Obtain Nuclear Weapon by: Dan Lieberman December 18, 2011 When the United States sent the B-29 Superfortress bomber, Elona Gay, to drop “Little Boy” on an unwary Hiroshima and ushered in the nuclear age, its administration neglected to plan for a major concern; how to prevent nuclear proliferation. America could not effectively deter the Soviet Union and China from developing a nuclear capability and maybe it did not want its British and French allies from feeling deprived. Nevertheless, all of those nations, with the United States in the lead, had the power to cower India and Pakistan into being content with conventional armaments. Belatedly and ineffectively, the U.S. tried to discourage Pakistan in its bomb-making activities by terminating economic and military aid in
Oct. 1992. The bluster did not work. Continue reading
USA no nearer to solving its huge nuclear waste problems
Three decades after the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act said the federal government would handle disposal of high-level radioactive waste, the United States still has no agreed-upon solution for where and how to dispose of about 70,000 metric tons of it. About 10 percent is from the military’s nuclear weapons programs; most of the rest is piling up at commercial reactor sites around the country……
Nuclear waste site hunt could point to granite, WSJ, 18 Dec 11, MONTPELIER, Vt. — The likely death of a planned nuclear waste site at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain has left federal agencies looking for a possible replacement. A national lab working for the U.S. Department
of Energy is now eying granite deposits stretching from Georgia to Maine as potential sites, along with big sections of Minnesota and Wisconsin where that rock is prevalent. Continue reading
Vermont’s comprehensive plan for renewable energy and energy efficiency
Vt. to seek 90 percent renewable energy by 2050 Bloomberg, By DAVE GRAM, 18 Dec 11 MONTPELIER, VT. Gov. Peter Shumlin wants the state to satisfy 90 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2050, largely eliminating its reliance on fossil fuels.
Shumlin joined Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller and other officials on Thursday to unveil a comprehensive energy plan that lifts what had been a moratorium on construction of renewable energy projects on state land; calls for more use of electric vehicles coupled with energy efficiency in the electric sector; says large-scale hydroelectric power like that imported from Canada should be considered renewable; and calls for expansion of piped natural gas
in the state. Continue reading
Nuclear bombing of Hiroshima immoral and unnecessary
the Americans and British had long crossed the moral frontier about terror-bombing civilians…
The Americans didn’t want the Japanese to surrender before they had a chance to drop the bomb.
Weapon of choice, Review By Hamish Mcdonald,December 17, 2011 “……. Now Paul Ham, already established as the best of Australia’s popular war historians, has painted more detail on a wider canvas. Through individual stories, he doesn’t spare us the horrifying reality on the
ground. Almost as excruciatingly, he takes us through the practical and moral decisions about using the bomb……..
Many of the scientists who had urged the development of the atomic bomb to pre-empt Hitler became opposed to its use against Japan. Some petitioned for a demonstration explosion instead. ….. Continue reading
New nuclear plants wildly over-priced. Calvert Cliffs plan for new unit is dead
Report: EDF may drop plans for Calvert Cliffs reactor, Baltimore Sun DECEMBER 16, 2011 This is the brilliant-report-of-the-painfully-obvious headline of the day: “EDF Considers Dropping New Nuclear in Maryland,” from Dow Jones. The French EDF’s plans for a third nuclear unit at Calvert Cliffs have been deader than Lehman Brothers for more than a year.
The French company’s partner, Constellation Energy, pulled out of the deal. They couldn’t reach an agreement with Washington on subsidies to build the plant. With the plunge in natural gas prices and the failure of federal climate-change legislation, new nuclear plants, with all their complexity and financial risk, are wildly overpriced. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has made nuclear energy politically incorrect again…. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2011/12/report_edf_could_drop_plans_fo.html
Sanctions against Iran’s central bank may bring about global economic repercussions
What Happened to Obama’s Nuclear Option? In a showdown over how to deal with Iran, it appears that the president has bowed to Congress. Mother Jones. By Hamed Aleaziz Dec. 16, 2011 Now that the essential Defense Authorization Bill has
passed through the House and Senate, it carries with it a hard-line amendment that would level sanctions against Iran’s central bank. The policy, experts say, could not only inflict pain on Iran for its nuclear weapons ambitions, but also potentially cause global economic
repercussions. The White House has been against the amendment. Congress overwhelmingly voted for it.
If signed into law by President Obama, the new sanctions will be enforced against foreign institutions in Europe and around the world that do business with the Central Bank of Iran. Continue reading
Company pulls out of uranium milling project in Colorado
Cotter Corp. won’t try to rebuild uranium milling program in Cañon City, must move toward final clean up 12/16/2011 By Bruce Finley The Denver Post Cotter Corp. has decided it is “no longer economic” to process uranium at its contaminated Colorado uranium mill and will move toward clean-up of the site next to Cañon City along the Arkansas River.
A letter from Cotter president Amory Quinn says Cotter “will not seek to renew” the radioactive materials license Cotter has from the state health department. Cotter plans to decommission and decontaminate the mill site and to request license termination, Quinn said in the Dec. 12 letter. http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_19562999#ixzz1gp8Ndp4u
USA’s sorry nuclear record of recent safety violations and “near misses”
Risk of nuclear energy too high, Syracuse.com, By Jessica Maxwell , December 15, 2011, The Post-Standard Marvin Fertel’s letter on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute (Dec. 11) paints a rosy picture of the U.S. nuclear industry.
It’s reMarkable, given the report released Friday, Dec. 9 by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., detailing collusion on the part of four Nuclear Regulatory Commission members — with strong nuclear industry ties and backing — to impede the work of the NRC Near-Term Task Force on Fukushima and delay or prevent NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko’s attempts to strengthen safety regulations post-Fukushima.
Just a few days earlier (Dec. 6), Jaczko voiced strong concerns that “U.S. nuclear plant operators have become complacent” in the wake of Fukushima. The source of his worries? A series of incidents this year at multiple U.S. reactors related to human error, botched repairs and inadequate preparedness for natural disasters: workers exposed to higher than normal levels of radiation at Cooper Nuclear Station in Nebraska and Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio; the Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida remains closed after a series of failed repairs and upgrades (and is likely to remain closed for a total of at least five years); Fort Calhoun in Nebraska remains shut down following severe flooding; and the North Anna plant in Virginia only recently reopened after being shut down for three months due to damage sustained during the Northeast earthquake that exposed it to seismic activity reportedly twice what it was designed to withstand.
The NRC has conducted 20 special inspections this year (prompted by site-specific concerns) — more than at any point in recent memory. For the first time in over a decade, several U.S. nuclear plants were shut down at the same time. In 2010, the NRC documented 14 “near-misses” (significant safety- and security-related events) at U.S. reactors. None of these facts bode well for the nuclear industry’s ability to provide safe and reliable energy.
The nuclear industry isn’t willing to accept the most basic lesson of Fukushima — best expressed by former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan who, in July, announced Japan’s transition to conservation andrenewable energy, concluding simply, “the risk of nuclear energy is too high.” http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/12/risk_of_nuclear_energy_too_hig.html
OCCUPY – the 99% against dirty, dangerous nuclear power
Occupy Toledo’s forceful presence at the community meeting on nuclear power at Toledo. – a third Fermi nuclear reactor plant in Monroe County won’t happen without a fight. below is the OCCUPY STATEMENT AGAINST PROPOSED NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Michael Leonardi
FOX ToledoTHIS WAS OUR MIC CHECK AT THE NRC’S DOG AND PONY MEETING ON THEIR DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE PROPOSED FERMI 3 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN MONROE MICHIGAN TONIGHT WHERE WE SUCCESSFULLY HALTED THEIR SHOW:
MIC CHECK
Where AS the Nuclear Regulatory commission Region 3 has a clear record of putting profit and production ahead of health and safety.
Where AS there is no way to dispose of high level radioactive waste Safely.
Where AS the worst nuclear disaster in history at Fukushima has reminded the world of the dangers that Nuclear Energy poses to us all.
Where as the NRC is attempting to play a manipulative numbers game using grossly exaggerated and fraudulent projections for Michigan Electric Usage in this Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Whereas The NRC cannot be trusted to protect the citizens of the Great Lakes and the Lake Erie Basin.
We denounce this ridiculous public meeting as nothing but a DOG and Pony Show prioritizing the profits of Detroit Edison over the health and safety of the citizens of this region and the natural environment.
Furthermore we find you, the representatives of the NRC, criminally responsible for endangering the citizens of this region with your ridiculous Environmental Impact Statement.
We will do everything in our power to stop this plant from being built.
We are the 99 percent https://www.facebook.com/FOXToledo/posts/10150475413249700
OCCUPY takes on nuclear power
Occupiers disrupt Fermi 3 meeting, Fox Toledo.com, 15 Dec 2011, by Sharia Davis, MONROE, Mich. (WUPW) – Hopes of DTE Energy building a third Fermi nuclear reactor plant in Monroe County won’t happen without a fight.
As the public meeting at Monroe County Community College to discuss the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Fermi 3 nuclear plant in Monroe started with DTE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a group of protesters made it a little difficult for the NRC to get its point across.
Several demonstrators belonging to Occupy Toledosaid building a third nuclear plant is dangerous. Minutes into a hearing, about 10 of them chanted the dangers of building a reactor. READ: Michael Leonardi Occupy Toledo statement
“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in our eyes, just gives a green light to industry to put profit and production ahead of the safety and citizens of this region,” said Mike Leonardi of Occupy Toledo.
USA crashed drone was spying on Iran’s nuclear sites
Crashed drone was looking at Iran nuclear sites CNN By Tim Lister, with reporting by Kathleen Johnston and Pam Benson, 15 Dec 11 The Sentinel drone that crashed in Iran last week was on a surveillance mission of suspected nuclear sites in the country, U.S. military officials tell CNN.
Previously, U.S. and NATO officials had said the drone was on a mission to patrol the Afghan-Iran border and had veered off course. Continue reading
Steps for USA and Russia towards nuclear disarmament
There is, however, some unfinished business concerning the 20 year-old Presidential Nuclear Initiatives (PNI’s) that both governments could take up now to help lay the foundation for future talks.
the United States and Russia have grown accustomed to sharing considerable information about their longer-range strategic nuclear forces. For years, they have routinely exchanged and updated information on the disposition of retiring nuclear-capable bombers and
missiles. Similar processes could be applied to the types and numbers of tactical nuclear systems affected by the P.N.I.’s.
The next logical step would be for both countries to disclose, on a reciprocal basis, the location, types and numbers of tactical nuclear weapons that remain.
Unfinished Business, NYT, FRANK KLOTZ, SUSAN KOCH and FRANKLIN MILLER December 13, 2011“……..the subject of reducing tactical nuclear weapons has again come to the fore. Signing the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in April 2010, President Obama announced that the United States intended to pursue further reductions in all categories of nuclear weapons — including, for the first time, tactical and nondeployed warheads. Voting to approve the treaty, the U.S. Senate called for negotiations with Russia to address the
disparity in U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons and to secure and reduce those weapons in a verifiable manner.
The specific size of that disparity is a matter of debate. Neither the United States nor Russia has publicly disclosed the number and locations of the tactical nuclear weapons they possess.
Unofficial estimates vary widely. Continue reading
Weapons continue to be the big export industry
the U.S. continues to be the leading arms exporter, followed by Russia, France, Britain, China, Germany and Italy.
The region with the greatest growth has been the Middle East, where spending has increased 62 percent in the last decade.
The Mightiest Merchants Of Death Strategy Page, December 13, 2011: Although arms exports declined a third last year, over half those exports were from the United States.
American sales of weapons and military equipment to other countries totaled $35 billion last year. The three biggest recipients were Afghanistan, Taiwan and India. The $5.4 billion in sales to Afghanistan were paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, but the firms supplying the gear were paid, so it’s a sale. The U.S. has long got the most export sales, despite having the most expensive weapons. …
Most countries, if they could afford to buy American, did so. The others searched for someone offering cheap but effective weapons. The supplier has often been Russia. Continue reading
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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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