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Our uranium fuelled Fukushima – an Australian expresses shame

Australian uranium is now radioactive fallout that is contaminating Japan and beyond — but the response of the Australian government, Australian uranium producers and their industry association has been profoundly and shamefully deficient. Prime Minister Gillard speaks of business as usual, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson talks of the ‘unfortunate incident’ and the more bullish of the uranium miners have called the crisis a ‘sideshow’.

Fukushima and Australia’s uranium shame INDEPENDENT AUSTRALIA 11 September 2012 marked 18 months since the Fukushima crisis began. Dave Sweeney has just been to the radiation exclusion zone and is horrified by what he’s seen.

The signs that all is not as it was or should be start gently enough: weeds appear in fields, the roadside vegetation covers signs and structures and there are few people about. The country looks peaceful, green and sleepy — then the radiation monitor two seats away wakes up and starts clicking…..

Fukushima means ‘fortunate island’ ― but the region’s luck melted down alongside the reactor. Over 150,000 people cannot return to their homes and last September a United Nation’s special report detailed some of the massive impacts: ‘hundreds of billions of dollars of property damage’, ‘serious radioactive contamination of water, agriculture , fisheries’ and ‘grave stress and mental trauma’ to a swathe of people. Lives have been utterly disrupted and altered and the Fukushima nuclear accident was and remains a profound environmental and social tragedy…….

An earnest teacher is happy that the local school has re-opened, but sad that while once around two hundred and fifty kids used to attend, now there are sixteen. The local Mayor picks up the theme stating ‘we have very few young people or children’. Radiation hits hardest at growing cells and many parents are understandably concerned and have moved. The old remain and, in the absence of the young, the old look older. Continue reading →

September 12, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Pro Thorium astroturf pervading cyberspace

George Monbiot bites Thorium bait  http://www.joabbess.com/2011/05/10/george-monbiot-bites-thorium-bait/ May 10th, 2011 Jo

George Monbiot in his new role as an apologist for the twice-bailed-out-of-insolvency British Nuclear Power industry, has now taken the Thorium bait, quite probably the most well-funded piece of astroturfing propaganda in existence…

September 12, 2012 Posted by | general | 1 Comment

Did you know that USA has a Green Party?

SO YOU’RE NOT HAPPY with Obama but you’re worried that Romney might
win. Scott McLarty Green Party We’re all afraid of the GOP, but it’s time to be afraid of the
Democrats too. Both parties keep moving further to the right.

The result is more war, more corporate power & redistribution of wealth from working Americans to the One Percent, more erosion of the Constitution, more disregard of global warming & other threats to our planet. This describes Obama as well as Romney. We can keep rubberstamping the two-party status quo for the rest of history. Or we can build a strong pro-peace pro-environment party that supports working people & accepts no corporate money. We can start by voting for local, state, & national Green candidates like Jill Stein.

September 12, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Survivors of Hiroshima atomic bomb attack visit Israel, hold protest against nuclear arms WP  September 10 JERUSALEM — A group of survivors from the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack have held a protest in Jerusalem calling for the end of nuclear weapons.

The group visited Jerusalem holy sites on Monday and held signs reading “Nuclear Abolition” in Japanese….. Sixty-nine-year-old Hiroshima survivor Nagayama Iwao says “any use of the atom (bomb) should be forbidden, even for intimidation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/survivors-of-hiroshima-atomic-bomb-attack-visit-israel-hold-protest-against-nuclear-arms/2012/09/10/64a0e1ea-fb63-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html

September 12, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

“The world today produces 70 — 80 million cars every year. We only need four million turbines once every 30 years,” Jacobson reasoned, arguing it was certainly feasible….

Study says wind could power the world  Perth Now, AAP September 11, 2012  THERE’S enough wind to power the world many times over but it would take a massive infrastructure investment to harness it that analysts say is not realistic. Continue reading →

September 12, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

China to double solar capacity target by 2015 China to double the installed solar power capacity target by 2015 to 40GW, which is a development indicator in the 12th five year plan of the world’s second-largest economy,the 21st Century Business Herald reported….http://www.morningwhistle.com/html/2012/Company_Industry_0911/213962.html

September 12, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Exposing then false arguments of nuclear lobbyist Barry Brook

The heavy hidden costs of nuclear power  http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/environment/the-heavy-hidden-costs-of-nuclear-power/   In part 2 of his rebuttal, Ludwig Heinrich says Professor Barry Brook predictably ignores nuclear power’s significant economic, social and moral costs while spruiking its benefits.

[Read Part One.]

September 10, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Professor urges the seriousness of low dose radiation

Fukushima Medical U. Professor: Onset of radiation-related disease to begin in 4-5 years, data must be gathered now — We shouldn’t force upon people that low dose radiation exposure is safe  http://enenews.com/fukushima-medical-u-professor-onset-of-radiation-related-disease-to-begin-in-4-5-years-data-must-be-gathered-now-we-shouldnt-force-upon-people-that-low-dose-radiation-exposure-is-safe
September 8th, 2012  By ENENews   [A Fukushima Medical University professor said] outbreak of Fukushima related symptoms will take 4~5 years to occur. It’s important to collect data about health condition before outbreak. […] We shouldn’t force the opinion to people that low dose exposure is safe, but also we shouldn’t inspire fear excessively. Mental, and physical supports are required from variety of fields.Hebei Shimpo report from Sept 7, 2012 translated by Fukushima Diary:

Google Translation
“It is important to collect data on the health seen as such 4-5 years diseases related to nuclear accident that is before the onset of the disease. Before that,” said Akira sarus of the Medical University Fukushima Sep 07, 2012 pointed out. I said, “I should not impose the idea of ​​low-dose exposure is safe, there is a need for multi-faceted support to the residents dont even fueling risk unnecessarily. Both in mind and body” and.
Systran Translation
As for crystal Professor prefectural medical large Ooturu Fukushima “the disease which it is related to nuclear accident emerges until, 4 and 5 years are seen that it catches. It is important” to gather the data regarding healthily before that that it points out. “Low dose being bombed thought does not have to push that it is safe, and, in vain it is not good fanning danger. Multilateral support to the prefectural people is required with mind and body both sides and the te is” that you expressed.

September 10, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Jeju Island threatened by U.S. militarism

Organizing Notes 7 Sept Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He offers his own reflections on organizing
and the state of America’s declining empire…. About Me
NAME: BRUCE K. GAGNON LOCATION: BATH, MAINE, UNITED STATES  The
right-wing South Korean government won’t allow the Gangjeong villagers to have a booth inside the World Conservation Congress (the largest environmental confab on the planet) but they did make sure that the Korean Coast Guard got to set one up.  WTF????

So why is this so?  This group called the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is running the conference.  But who are they?  Who does the IUCN answer to? Continue reading →

September 10, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

TEPCO against developing renewable energy

Japan utility behind nuke crisis says can’t afford to develop renewable energy, WP, By Associated Press, September 6  The head of the Japanese utility that owns the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant said Thursday that he believes nuclear power should be part of the country’s energy mix, even though the government and the public seem to feel differently.

COST CONCERNS: Naomi Hirose, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., also said the utility can’t afford to invest in alternative energy since the earthquake-tsunami crisis last year, which wiped out the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and caused extensive radioactive
meltdowns….. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/japan-utility-behind-nuke-crisis-says-cant-afford-to-develop-renewable-energy/2012/09/06/e1b943a8-f84c-11e1-a93b-7185e3f88849_story.html

September 7, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Obama’s Energy Plan by the Numbers, HUFFINGTON POST, Bill Chameides,   09/06/2012 What does the Obama administration plan for our energy future? To find out, we’ll let the words tell the story.

How do Obama’s words on energy compare to Team Romney’s?

Last week, while the Republicans were celebrating the Romney-Ryan ticket in Tampa, Florida, weposted a count-the-words analysis of their energy plan . The plan’s overall aim is to achieve energy independence for North America. The numbers told us the path to independence for the Romney team is strong on oil and gas, but not much on renewables; and climate was totally absent.

This week the Democrats are doing their thing in Charlotte, North Carolina, so we figured we’d give the Obama administration’s energy policy the same treatment.

For the Romney-Ryan analysis we used a document released days before our post. No such luxury for Obama; as best as we can tell, his most recent vision for America’s energy future is the 44-page“BLUEPRINT FOR A SECURE ENERGY FUTURE” [pdf]  from March 2011. Certainly not as fresh, but that’s what we’ve got.

In the Clouds with President Obama

Obama’s blueprint  targets three broad strategies for our energy future:

  1. Developing and securing America’s energy supplies,
  2. Providing consumers with choices to reduce costs and save energy, and
  3. Innovating our way to a clean energy future.

But as usual (and as with the Romney plan ), the devil is in the details.

So what are the details of Obama’s plan?

OK, so just like the Romney word cloud, “energy” is front and center. No big surprise there…. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/obamas-energy-plan-by-the_b_1862497.html

September 7, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Yasser Arafat Poisoned? Autopsy Set To Start Within Days HUFFINGTON POST, By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH 09/05/12 02: RAMALLAH, West Bank — The widow of Yasser Arafat said Wednesday that French investigators will soon visit the West Bank to dig up the remains of her husband in hopes of determining what killed the longtime Palestinian leader eight years ago.

Palestinian officials welcomed the investigation, saying the French team could begin work within days. But some also privately expressed misgivings over the probe.

Arafat’s death in a French hospital in November 2004 has remained a mystery for many. While the immediate cause of death was a stroke, the underlying source of an illness he suffered in his final weeks has never been clear, leading to persistent, unproven conspiracy theories that he had cancer, AIDS or was poisoned.

A Swiss lab’s recent discovery of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope, on clothes said to be Arafat’s has fueled new suspicions of poisoning…. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/yasser-arafat-dead-palest_n_1858494.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000032

September 7, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Japan’s Economy Minister call for renewable energy revolution, with nuclear shutdown

Fukushima Watch: The No-Nukes Minister, WSJ, September 6, 2012,  By Takashi Mochizuki As the government finalizes its long-term energy plan, one cabinet member, Economy Minister Motohisa Furukawa, is ramping up a public campaign for zeroing out nuclear power. “It’s sad that people will become unable to go back to places where they were born, and nuclearpower has such risk.

It’s an important mission of the government, and mine as a policy maker, to eliminate such a sad risk,” Mr. Furukawa said in a speech at a conference on renewable energy Thursday….. Mr. Furukawa says dropping nukes could be good for Japan’s economy, by spurring renewable energy production. “I see great possibilities in green energy, where innovation will give birth to more innovation,” he said in his speech…..
In his latest speech, Mr. Furukawa compared Japan’s economy to the U.S. a decade ago. The U.S. succeeded, he said, in propelling economic expansion by letting information technology industries flourish. He said it’s time for Japan to do the same by feeding renewable energies
and dumping nukes.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/09/06/fukushima-watch-the-no-nukes-minister/

September 6, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Inspectors find possible cheating on security tests at Oak Ridge nuclear weapons plant WP. By Associated Press,  September 5 OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — A security official at Oak Ridge’s Y-12 nuclear weapons plant has been suspended after inspectors found evidence of possible cheating on security tests.

The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/Q59P9p ) reports that inspectors from the Department of Energy last week found copies of security quizzes, with answers, along with other documents related to the inspection in a patrol car at the plant…..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/inspectors-find-possible-cheating-on-security-tests-at-oak-ridge-nuclear-weapons-plant/2012/09/05/0687d616-f782-11e1-a93b-7185e3f88849_story.html

September 6, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Inaction on climate change due to ‘mental blocks’

Mental blocks contribute to our inaction on climate change, Irish Times, September 3rd, 2012 JOHN GIBBONS The future of our species is under threat – yet we choose not to recognise the danger

IT’S REASSURING to imagine we are, by and large, rational beings who base our judgments and decisions on the best evidence we can muster.

The scientific evidence suggests otherwise.

Nowhere can the limits of human rationality be more forcefully encountered than in how we have collectively failed to respond to the existential threat posed by climate change…..Evidence from behavioural and brain sciences points to the fact that “the human moral judgment system is not well equipped to identify climate change – a complex, large-scale and unintentionally caused phenomenon – as an important moral imperative”, according to a recent article in the  science journal, Nature Climate Change.

The researchers identified key reasons why, despite the mountains of hard scientific evidence, we have signally failed to react to the colossal threats posed by climate change.
First, our moral intuitions are strongly driven by emotional responses…..
Second, the harms arising from pollution and resource depletion are a real but largely unintended by-product of economic activity……
Another roadblock is moral tribalism….
The deliberate politicisation of the science of climate change has allowed many otherwise intelligent, educated people (most notably, conservative white males) to reject objective scientific facts from credible sources in favour of shabby but reassuring conspiracy theories.
The final factor at work is the perception that climate change is a threat that affects others who live elsewhere – either people in distant countries or from future generations. We can easily frame them as out-group members, somehow different from us and, so, less deserving of our concern….. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0903/1224323533104.html

September 4, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

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