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Bribery pushing along nuclear industry comeback in Illinois

Nuclear industry bribes its way to a comeback Corrente, Lambert 26 Jan 2010 * Exelon Corp. * Illinois * McClatchy * Other * player * President Sun, Hey, guess who the biggest player is and where they’re from? That’s right: More recently, the industry has been reaching out to newly empowered Democrats, among them Clyburn, whose state is among the nation’s leading nuclear-power producers. (The president’s home state of Illinois is the biggest, and Obama and some of his closest political allies have long relationships with Exelon Corp., the country’s biggest nuclear power company.)Well, heck. Corporations are people, too! If only the Republicans were no longer in power! Oh, wait…

Nuclear industry bribes its way to a comeback | Corrente

January 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Dim future for nuclear industry in Florida

Are dark days ahead for nuclear energy in the sunshine state Florida regulators slam on the brakes over rate increases Idaho Samizdat Nuke Notes 26 Jan 2010

The two major nuclear utilities in Florida, Progress Energy (NYSE:PGN) and Florida Power & Light (FPL) (NYSE:FPL), came away Jan 13 from a meeting with the Public Service Commission (PSC) with a lot less than they asked for to build new nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

January 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear weapons policy is two-faced

“If we send a signal that nuclear weapons are essential for use in our national security strategy for other than deterrence, it obviously tells other nations that if the most powerful nation sees the need for them, then they ought to develop them too.”

U.S. nuclear weapons policies headed in opposite directions News Essentials January 25, 2010 By Joshua McElwee The Obama administration is moving ahead with the development of new nuclear weapons components at three key weapons facilities at the same time it is conducting a sweeping review of U.S. nuclear weapons policies that could lead to further slashing the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Continue reading →

January 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

“Astro-turfing”: how PAID nuclear power supporters swamp the media

Left unmentioned in these settings is that the Nuclear Energy Institute paid a public relations company to create CASEnergy, an example of the so-called “Astroturfing” techniques that many industries have adopted to give the appearance of grass-roots support.

Lobbying, global warming portend nuclear comeback

McClatchy By Judy Pasternak | Investigative Reporting Workshop January 24, 2010

“….PLAYING THE INFLUENCE GAME In many ways, the nuclear power industry’s efforts to win support are a textbook case of how the influence game is played in Washington. Besides the money spent on lobbying and campaign contributions, the industry, led by the Nuclear Energy Institute, has created a network of allies who give speeches, quote one another approvingly and showcase one another on their Web sites. The effect is an echo chamber of support for nuclear power. Continue reading →

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Is the tide turning against nuclear power?

Nuclear power licensing requests flood federal offices McClatchy By Judy Pasternak | Investigative Reporting Workshop 24 Jan 2010
“………..But is the tide turning again? David Matthews, who oversees safety reviews, got an unexpected call last February. A vice president of Exelon, the Illinois utility, told Matthews to put his company’s application for a new project in Victoria County, Texas, on ice. Continue reading →

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Financial connections between U.S. politicians and the nuclear lobby

Lobbying, global warming portend nuclear comeback

McClatchy By Judy Pasternak | Investigative Reporting Workshop January 24, 2010

“………….BRIDGES TO CONGRESS, WHITE HOUSEThese constituencies are important to the party that’s in power. Disclosure records show that the industry deftly kept its traditional base among Senate Republicans — who want 100 new nuclear units even if the climate bill fails — while building bridges to Democrats in both houses.

Clyburn is one example, receiving about $195,600 from nuclear energy companies and affiliated unions since 2000, $187,000 of that in the last two election cycles. The Nuclear Energy Institute contributed at least $10,000 to Clyburn’s scholarship foundation, and nuclear interests spent more than $30,000 for two six-day trips for Clyburn and his wife. One was to inspect nuclear facilities in France, and the other in the United Kingdom. He also owns stock valued at $15,000 to $50,000 in SCANA Corp., a South Carolina company that’s applied to build two reactors. Continue reading →

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Waste problem unsolved, but US to pour money into new nukes

Lobbying, global warming portend nuclear comeback

McClatchy By Judy Pasternak | Investigative Reporting Workshop January 24, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration soon may guarantee as much as $18.5 billion in loans to build new nuclear reactors to generate electricity, and Congress is considering whether to add billions more to support an expansion of nuclear power.

These actions come after an extensive decade-long campaign in which companies and unions related to the industry have spent more than $600 million on lobbying and nearly $63 million on campaign contributions, according to an analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University………… Continue reading →

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear power company misled legislature

Nuclear Engineer Says He Alerted State About Yankee Pipes Last Summer VPR 01/22/10 John Dillon – Montpelier, Vt. State officials reacted strongly last week when Vermont Yankee admitted it had underground pipes that could leak radioactivity.But the news should not have come as a complete surprise. A nuclear engineer who advises the legislature says he alerted the state last sutmmer and fall about the potential problems with the underground pipes…… Continue reading →

January 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radioactive | Leave a comment

Aging Vermont Yankee nuclear plant – a hazard to public health

Beyond Nuclear 22 Jan 2010 Entergy Nuclear has betrayed the trust of the lawmakers, regulators, and citizens of Vermont. Simultaneous with its revelation of radioactivity leaks on site, Vermont Yankee spokespeople engaged in a predictable campaign to downplay the health and safety risks of tritium. However, tritium can impact the human body right down to the DNA level, and can cross the placenta from mother to fragile fetus. At such intimate levels, tritium can and does damage human health, leading to cancer, genetic damage, birth defects, and other maladies. The National Academy of Science has reported consistently over the decades that any exposure to radioactivity, no matter how low the dose, still carries a health risk. As reactors age – and Vermont Yankee is nearly 40 years old – its systems, structures and components degrade, worsening tritium leaks from buried piping. Vermont Yankee’s license should not be extended 20 additional years.

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Revival of the nuclear industry too costly

(USA) Fortunately, there are viable alternatives to nuclear power, including efficiency, wind, biomass and geothermal, which are not only more environmentally friendly and cheaper, but could be built much more quickly and at much lower risk to investors and taxpayers. And recent changes in the long-term outlook for U.S. natural gas supplies make nuclear power look even more uneconomical.

Nuclear Power: Too Costly to Revive Is nuclear power a solution we can afford? The short answer is no.

GreenTech Media Elliott Negin 01 21 10

“…..Even discounting nuclear power’s security and safety problems, the cost of construction could be the industry’s Achilles’ heel…….the industry has benefited from considerable federal and state government subsidies that mask the true cost of the technology, including staggering capital costs and the risk of catastrophic accidents, by shifting these burdens onto taxpayers and ratepayers. The industry is now seeking to shift even more costs and risks onto the public as part of pending climate and energy legislation. In 2005, Congress authorized $60 billion in loan guarantees for new energy technologies. Of that amount, the Department of Energy (DOE) allocated $18.5 billion for new nuclear plants. But the industry wants more — a lot more. The Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s lobbying arm, says it needs a “permanent financing platform” to provide the industry a minimum of $100 billion in additional loan guarantees on top of the billions it already has been allocated. Continue reading →

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | 1 Comment

Fire risks at nuclear plant

NRC cites fire hazards at Alabama nuclear plant WRAL.com 20 Jan 10WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are raising new concerns about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Brown’s Ferry nuclear plant in north Alabama. In a letter released Thursday, inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that equipment used to automatically shut down the plant’s reactors in an emergency was not properly protected from fire hazards. The NRC described the findings as significant “apparent violations.”..http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/6855064/

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Local water supply might be ruined by uranium mining

(USA) Uranium threat to local lakes under study

The Warren Record January 20, 2010

A $437,000 study being conducted by the city of Virginia Beach, Va. will examine what might happen to the water quality in Lake Gaston and Kerr Lake if a proposed uranium mine in Chatham, Va. were struck by a Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) storm. “The state is attempting to get a study going through the National Academy of Science,” said Virginia Beach Director of Public Works Thomas Leahy. “But that study will not look at site specific issues or do any modeling of possible catastrophic events.”…..Leahy said the concern is that such a catastrophic event, should it occur, could raise the water radiation level in the lake significantly enough to force Virginia Beach to stop using it as a water source, a move that could cost the city over $500 million.

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Animal lovers protest NASA’s plan to irradiate monkeys

PETA Protests NASA Experiments On Monkeys Newsnet5.com January 20, 2010 CLEVELAND — There was an unusual sight Wednesday as PETA protested NASA over planned radiation experiments on squirrel monkeys.To make their point, they protested in front of Cleveland’s Glenn Research Center Wednesday dressed as monkeys in cages. PETA said NASA’s planned tests on monkeys are cruel.

PETA Protests NASA Experiments On Monkeys – News Story – WEWS Cleveland

January 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, USA | antinuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Lawsuit on uranium mining, and accountability for wastes

Even as the expansion of uranium mining in Colorado is being challenged, conservation and citizen groups and elected officials are working to ensure that taxpayers do not pay to clean up contamination left behind by the uranium industry in the event of a new boom cycle.

Court Decision Aids Uranium Lawsuit The WATCH by Karen James , Jan 20, 2010 Efforts Also Underway For More Industry Accountability Continue reading →

January 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, uranium | Leave a comment

Misinformation and spin about nuclear power

Speaking truth to (nuclear) power | Uppity Wisconsin 19 Jan 2010 As the state’s Clean Energy Jobs Act starts working its way through the legislature, coverage of the nuclear power issue — one of the more contentious piece of the huge bill — is increasing. That’s a positive;; public education and debate is good. But there’s a big helping of misinformation and spin being served up as part of the menu. Continue reading →

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | media, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment