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Secrecy and injustice regarding nuclear tests in Marshall Islands

Marshalls anger over nuclear reports and compensation  http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/marshalls-anger-over-nuclear-reports-and-compensation/999420 
  15 August 2012,   The announcement was made by US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during his visit to the Marshall Islands.
Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal
JOHNSON: “…..   more than 50 years after the last nuclear test was conducted in the Marshall Islands, that the US government has still not released fallout dose data for about 75% of those nuclear tests. So it’s extremely difficult for the Marshall Islands to have an understanding of what the actual exposure and impact of the test was and this relates to a lot of very big picture questions, such as the adequacy of US nuclear test compensation. Continue reading →

August 15, 2012 Posted by | OCEANIA, Resources -audiovicual, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Mururoa Atomic Bomb test site in danger of collapsing

French Nuclear Test Site Mururoa Atoll in Danger of Collapse Report kept secret for 2 years By Raiatea Tahana-Reese Epoch Times , 10 Aug 12,  The French government, since 2010, has kept secret that Mururoa Atoll, the site of French nuclear testing in the Pacific, is in danger of collapsing, according to Mururoa e Tatou (MET), the Nuclear Association in French Polynesia.


MET President Roland Oldham told ABC’s Radio Australia Pacific Beat program that the issue was detailed in a leaked report from the French Ministry of Defence and should have been made public long ago.
Mr Oldham said if the atoll were to collapse, radioactive material would be released into the Pacific Ocean, and could cause a 15-metre tsunami. “Just in that little area, there is over maybe 12 underground tests in that area, and we have to remember that France have done
altogether 193 nuclear test explosions in Mururoa,” he told Pacific Beat.

“In the soil of Mururoa, if something happens there are  about 150 holes containing very dangerous radioactivity.” Continue reading →

August 11, 2012 Posted by | OCEANIA, safety | Leave a comment

U.S. To Provide Access To Marshall Islands Nuclear Test Documents

Marshalls maintains demand for full disclosure of classified information By Giff Johnson SAIPAN, CNMI (Marianas Variety, Aug. 8, 2012) – In response to a strong statement of concern from the Marshall Islands government about the lack of access to classified information about United States nuclear testing in this western Pacific nation more than 50 years ago, a top State Department official has promised to initiate a review of data available for public release.

“Some documents provided in the past were so heavily redacted as to make them unreadable,” said Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Island Affairs Kurt Campbell at a media conference after meeting with President Christopher Loeak in Majuro Thursday evening. “It is fair to ask the United States to see if we’ve provided the Marshall Islands with the information it needs to understand more fully (the nuclear test legacy).”…. http://pidp.org/pireport/2012/August/08-08-09.htm

August 10, 2012 Posted by | OCEANIA, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Solar power gives energy independence to Pacific Island Tokelau

Island nation of Tokelau gets ready to go solar Gizmag, By Antonio Pasolini, July 30, 2012 Adopting renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power is a great way to reduce emissions and produce energy locally.

In places like remote Pacific islands, however, those benefits are potentially a key to independence. For that reason Tokelau, a 10 sq. km. (3.86 sq. mi) island nation that lies around 500 km (311 mi) north of Samoa and which is a territory of New Zealand, is about to ditch diesel as a source of electricity and switch to solar power. Continue reading →

July 31, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

Stolen vehicle contained radioactive material

Nuclear material on stolen ute TVNZ July 21, 2012  Police fear radioactive material could be released from a nuclear density metre on a utility stolen in Christchurch. Continue reading →

July 21, 2012 Posted by | incidents, New Zealand | Leave a comment

New Zealand art show a reminder of that country’s proud anti nuclear history

Her first-hand experiences and those of her fellow protesters feature in an anti-nuclear exhibition called Blast! Pat Hanly – The Painter and His Protests, on now at the Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum….. Blast! is a travelling exhibition featuring the paintings
of anti-nuclear artist Pat Hanly and his wife Gil Hanly’s photographs.

Memories of anti-nuclear era Western Leader, Auckland NZ NICOLA MURPHY 19 July 12, PEACE PROTESTER: Jody Lusk doesn’t regret participating in New Zealand’s anti-nuclear protests, despite getting injured after attacks by French police. Continue reading →

July 19, 2012 Posted by | history, New Zealand | Leave a comment

New Zealand to do limited testing of soldiers for depleted uranum poisoning

Kiwi soldiers tested for uranium poisoning, TVNZ June 25, 2012  Soldiers returning from Afghanistan are having urine tests to check if they have absorbed radioactivity from American depleted uranium munitions…. The issue will come before Parliament on Wednesday during the first reading of the Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill, backed by Labour MP Phil Twyford. Continue reading →

June 25, 2012 Posted by | depleted uranium, New Zealand, Uranium | Leave a comment

Renewable energy pledge of the small Pacific island nations

Pacific pledge to switch to renewable energy, June 15, 2012 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-15/pacific-ministers-commit-to-renewable-energy/4006638   Pacific Island nations have pledged to dump diesel and similar fuels they use to produce energy and replace them with renewable power sources.

Tuvalu, Tokelau and Cook Islands’ leaders outlined their renewable energy targets this week. The Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Kausa Natano has told Pacific Beat the implementation of renewable energy schemes in small island states is very important. ”I think everyone’s supported the idea of energy efficiency as it will save a lot of funds from their budgets and could be used for other social developments in respective countries,” he said.

Their pledges came at a meeting of small island states in Barbados, West Indies. Their nations plan to rely on sources like coconut biofuel, solar energy and wind energy by the end of the decade.
Their declaration will be taken to the Rio Plus 20 Earth Summit in Brazil next month. Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, of the United Nations Development Program, told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat  it was “tremendous leadership on the part of small island developing states.” “They have stepped out, they have set themselves targets that they are willing to work towards to achieve,” she said.

“We had some donor partners – Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom – that actually also made the commitment to support these small island states as they move forward to try and support the transformation of their societies.”

He says donor partners – Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom – have committed to support the small island states in their transformation.

June 16, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

African and Islander nations going for small scale, off-grid, renewable technology

Africa: First African Renewable Energy Confab in Accra All Africa, BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI, 8 JUNE 2012  “….Off-grid technology is extremely important throughout Africa with many of the continent?s inhabitants without access to the grid.

…….A pioneering role in renewable energy development in Africa has been taken by Cape Verde. The West African islands have set a goal of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2020. Abrao Andrade Lopez, Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Energy, announced that the country was currently running a study to explore how to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy.

In a related development, decreasing dependency on oil imports encouraged 39 of the small island developing states (SIDS) in Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific to meet in Barbados to work out energy efficiency plans.

Islands like Tonga and Tokelau plan to become fully energy independent by 2013, and others are following suit. The small island developing states are writing the stories of their future, said Veerle Vandeweerd, Director of Environment and Energy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

Distributed solar energy plan launched in the Philippines

Such facilities in the Philippines should be installed mostly on rooftops because there is a lot of arable and productive land which should be used for food production rather than for solar power generation,

Rooftop solar power project launched to prove viability, Business World, 5 June 12, THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday it expects solar power capacity in the Philippines to reach up to 115 megawatts (MW) by next year, as it launched yesterday its solar rooftop facility to prove the viability of this renewable energy thrust.

The multilateral lender said it estimates most of solar projects in the country will consist of small clusters that generate lower capacities of electricity rather than large facilities. ADB installed 2,040 solar panels on its rooftop which can generate around 500 kilowatts of energy or around 613 MW a year. Continue reading →

June 6, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, Philippines | Leave a comment

Renewable energy chosen by island nations

Climate Conversations – Island nations commit to renewable energy Alert Net By Veerle Vandeweerd, 11 May 12,  Jamaica is a nation on a mission for sustainable energy for all. The government spent $2.2 billion – or 40 percent – of its foreign exchange earnings on
importing fossil fuels in 2011. So they decided to make a change.

They turned to the nature around them – the sunshine, waterfalls and rivers – investing in renewable energy. By 2030, 30 percent of Jamaica’s energy will come from renewables. Continue reading →

May 11, 2012 Posted by | OCEANIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Low income households to get free solar power

Free Solar Power Systems For Cayman Islands Households, Energy Matters, 30 April 12, The Cayman Islands government is taking an interesting approach to helping low income families battle increasing electricity costs – by providing free solar panel systems.

Cayman Islands’ Premier, the Hon. McKeeva Bush, OBE, JP announced last week  a free solar energy programme for 1500 households that will generate electricity bill savings of nearly 70% for beneficiaries and ensure these families will always have access to electricity for basic applications.

The $15 million programme will not only benefit the households, but also generate between 150 – 200 new job opportunities for Caymanians.

“We will be using reliable data from the Economic and Statistics Office, the Electricity Regulatory Authority and the Department of Social Services, in order to target those in most need of assistance. We will ensure that the myth is broken that renewable energy is only for the very wealthy and elite!” said Premier Bush. The Cayman Islands government has been pushing renewables uptake since revising its Electricity Regulatory Authority Law in 2010. A pilot feed in tariff program was launched in 2011, paying AUD 42c per kilowatt hour for all solar electricity produced by a system.

The Cayman Islands has a special interest in low emissions electricity generation. Like many small island nations around the world, the Caymans currently has a high dependence on electricity generated with expensive imported fossil fuels and is especially vulnerable to the projected impacts of climate change. The island of Grand Cayman was hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, flooding many areas and   damaging an estimated 95% of the buildings on the island….  http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3183

April 30, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

A solar energy business for two Tongan grandmothers

Tonga’s Solar Grandmothers, by Energy Matters, 27 April12,  Two grandmothers from the island nation of Tonga have acquired the skills to install solar panel systems in the nation’s communities without access to mains grid electricity.

According to a report on Matangi Tonga Online , Siutiti Halatoa and Siale Leohau successfully completed a six months training course in solar power installation last year at Barefoot College, India, with the assistance of the Indian Government. The recently launched Kolomotu’a Women’s Solar Project  in Nuku’alofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga, will assist the women in their role of solar installers. The project is being supported under the Tonga Energy Roadmap.

The grandmothers are the first women to be trained in solar installation in Tonga and will begin their new careers by installing solar panels in over 30 homes, starting with households without electricity in ‘Isileli, Hala ‘o Vave and Sopu.
The solar panels and other equipment have been provided by an anonymous donor and each off-grid installation will generate enough electricity to power several light bulbs and a mobile phone ……. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3181

April 27, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

Trinidad’s scandal of over-radiated cancer patients

The radiation incident at BLCTC has been shrouded in secrecy from the outset

Over-radiated cancer patients at Lara Centre… Trinidad Express, By Camini Marajh Head Investigative Desk Story  Apr 14, 2012  Ninety-one or 40.8 per cent of the 223 cancer patients over-radiated by the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre (BLCTC) are dead.
Continuing Sunday Express investigations into the radiation over-exposure incident at the private facility which is owned by powerful business interests reveal that the board and management of BLCTC failed internationally accepted guidelines on several critical
fronts, specifically: Continue reading →

April 16, 2012 Posted by | health, OCEANIA, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

French Presidential candidate to support Pacific Islanders where atom bombs were tested

Hollande vows more transparency over nuclear tests in French Polynesia http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=67463 Radio New Zealand,  12 April, 2012  The Socialist candidate for the French presidency, Francois Hollande, has promised French Polynesians that he would go to the bottom of the issue of the aftermath of the nuclear weapons tests.
In a video message to launch the formal campaign, he says what has been done in the past five years is not worthy, and not up to the expectations in terms of the impact the tests had.
Mr Hollande has promised greater transparency, and also endorses the initiative by French Polynesia’s member of the French Senate, Richard Tuheiava, for Paris to return the two test atolls.

Moruroa and Fangataufa were ceded to France at no cost in 1964 to allow its military to begin atmospheric and then underground nuclear tests. Although France recognised two years ago that its tests were not clean, the compensation law drawn up since has been widely criticise

April 14, 2012 Posted by | France, OCEANIA, politics | Leave a comment

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