nuclear-news

Australians target uranium mining giants, in anti nuclear rallies

Australian Rallies Remember Fukushima Disaster, Voice of America, Phil Mercer 11 March,  Sydney Hundreds of anti-nuclear demonstrators have converged on the Australian headquarters of global mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to mark one year since Japan’s nuclear crisis. The 500-strong march Sunday through southern Melbourne called for an end to uranium mining in Australia.

Rallies have been held across Australia to mark the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The rallies are also part of a national day of action to end uranium mining in Australia. There were events in Sydney, and in Melbourne a protest included
speeches and performances by representatives of the expatriate Japanese community as well as Australia’s Indigenous communities, who are worried about the effects of mining near tribal lands.

There was a minute’s silence for the victims of Japan’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe. The rally was followed by a march past the headquarters of Australia’s largest uranium miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

The Australian Conservation Foundation is demanding an independent review of the costs and consequences of Australia’s uranium trade and insists that the nuclear power industry has lost public confidence and credibility following the Fukushima disaster. Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney says Australia must abandon its exports of uranium.

“We have 40 per cent of the world’s uranium in Australia.  We supply 20 per cent of the global market and this is the basic fuel for nuclear power, it is the basic fuel for nuclear weapons,” he said. “On a good day it becomes high-level radioactive waste and on a bad day it become Fukushima fallout and I think the question for Australia is do we want to continue to do that?”……. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/east-pacific/Australian-Rallies-Remember-Fukushima-Disaster-142242575.html

March 12, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Shutdown soon for Japan’s nuclear industry

Japan nuclear industry nears shutdown TOKYO, Outcome Magazine, March 9 (UPI) — The nuclear energy industry that once supplied a third of Japan’s electricity has nearly shut down amid safety concerns and public opposition, officials say.

Nearly a year after an earthquake and tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown all but two of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors have gone off-line, with no indication when they’ll restart, and the last operating reactor is scheduled to go off-line next month, The New York Times reported.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says he supports restarting the plants as soon as possible but phasing out nuclear power over several decades in a country that was once a world leader in use of atomic energy. And Noda said he will not allow reactors to restart without the backing of local community leaders.
The dramatic move away from nuclear energy provides an indication of how much attitudes about safety have shifted in Japan since the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami.

“March 11 has shaken Japan to the root of its postwar identity,” said Takeo Kikkawa, an economist at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. “We were the country that suffered Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but then we showed we had the superior technology and technocratic expertise to safely tame this awesome power for peaceful economic progress. Nuclear accidents were things that happened in other countries.”…. http://outcomemag.com/world/2012/03/09/japan-nuclear-industry-nears-shutdown/

March 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Germany closing nuclear, France divided on the subject

Sarkozy’s main rival, Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande, wants to reduce France’s dependence on nuclear energy but not end it altogether. 

But Yannick Rousselet, who heads nuclear issues at Greenpeace France, believes this is the beginning of the end.

Year After Fukushima, Nuclear Energy Divides Europe, Voice of America, Lisa Bryant March 09, 2012 Paris Last year’s accident at Japan’s Fukushima-Daichi nuclear power plant has intensified divisions in Europe over the safety and future of nuclear energy. Perhaps nowhere are the differences more apparent than between the region’s biggest powers – France and Germany. . Continue reading →

March 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Rising oil prices – a compelling indicator for renewable energy growth

Increasing Oil Prices could Trigger Renewable Energy Growth, March 9, 2012 by Jason Staeck ProspectingJournal ,  “……The Energy Information Agency recently released its “Annual Energy Outlook 2012”. It reported that renewable energy production was set to double by 2035 even if all government tax breaks had expired. Electricity demand is expected to grow by just under 1 percent each year, with the outlook also suggesting a growing reliance on renewable sources in electricity consumption.

California has set a precedent, with regulators issuing rules that will require 1 in 7 cars produced in 2025 to contain either zero-emission or plug-in hybrid technologies. Many analysts are bullish other markets will follow suit.
Regardless, oil prices are likely to remain the decisive factor in advocating such changes. With global reliance on oil growing there is little reason to believe prices will decrease in the near future. ….  higher prices may be realized very rapidly. If that were the case, we
are likely on the brink of compelling many to restructure their consumption habits in favor of renewable energy sources. And history tells us that there will be more oil shocks to come.
http://www.prospectingjournal.com/increasing-oil-prices-could-trigger-renewable-energy-growth030912/

March 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Renewable energy a growth area for India, China and South Korea

India, China focussing on renewable energy sources: WEF, Economic Times,   9 MAR, 2012, DUBAI: India, China and South Korea are increasingly focusing on renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, as potential growth sectors for their economies, a World Economic Forum report said today. ….  While multiplier effects for solar and wind energy were lower during operation, their contribution during the construction phase also reached as high as 3.3 indirect jobs per energy job.

“The energy industry is unique in its economic importance and has the potential to be a tremendous catalyst for job creation and sustainable growth without harming the sector’s overall performance,” said Chairman Daniel Yergin of IHS CERA, which partnered in the preparation of the WEF report. ….  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/india-china-focussing-on-renewable-energy-sources-wef/articleshow/12198416.cms

March 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Fukushima fallout goes global

The World is Powerless Against Fukushima Fallout, Hyphen Submitted by New America Media, March 8, 2012 by Yoichi Shimatsu A year on, the Fukushima nuclear disaster has reached far beyond Japan as an encroaching threat to human health everywhere and to the very existence of life on Earth. As the fallout goes global, there’s nowhere to run or hide since even tiny dosages in rainwater and the food chain have a cumulative effect.

In high-tech societies under constant exposure to radiation from medical scanners, security systems, telecom devices and consumer electronics, nearly everyone is teetering at the brink of the cancer abyss. The slightest exposure to dust from Fukushima is a ticket to an early exit.

Despite new admissions of a cover-up from high officials and an independent investigation in Japan, governments and the nuclear establishment continue to deny or downplay the immense dangers posed by atmospheric fallout and sea dumping from the Fukushima meltdowns.
An accurate reckoning of the danger to public health worldwide is not being discussed because governments are powerless against the nuclear monstrosity they created.

Decades of assurances about nuclear safety have been blown away by the unexpected global effects of the March meltdowns. The past year’s crisis yanked open a Pandora’s Box of bizarre science that staggers the imagination of corporate scientists and bureaucrat engineers, from whom there comes only dumfounded silence. These include:…. . http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2012/03/world-powerless-against-fukushima-fallout

March 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Economics point to the failure of nuclear power

The West’s “nuclear renaissance” much bruited over the past decade, in part as a response to climate change, fizzled out well before the roofs blew off Fukushima’s first, third and fourth reactor buildings…..

 at the same time as the cost of new nuclear plants has become prohibitive … worries about the dark side of nuclear power are resurgent, thanks to what is happening in Iran…..

The dream that failed  The Economist, Oliver Morton, Mar 10th 2012 | THE LIGHTS ARE not going off all over Japan, but the nuclear power plants are. Of the 54 reactors in those
plants, with a combined capacity of 47.5 gigawatts (GW, a thousand megawatts), only two are operating today. Continue reading →

March 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Democracy is not really possible with nuclear power

nuclear power is about to become less and less a creature of democracies……

In any country independent regulation is harder when the industry being regulated exists largely by government fiat. Yet, as our special report  this week explains, without governments private companies would simply not choose to build nuclear-power plants.

 new nuclear plants are likely only in still-regulated electricity markets such as those of the south-east……   the promise of a global transformation is gone. 

Nuclear power:The dream that failed A year after Fukushima, the future for nuclear power is not bright—for reasons of cost as much as safety The Economist Mar 10th 2012 | THE enormous power tucked away in the atomic nucleus, the chemist Frederick Soddy rhapsodised in 1908, could “transform a desert continent, thaw the frozen poles, and make the whole world one smiling Garden of Eden.” Militarily, that power has threatened the opposite, with its ability to make deserts out of gardens on an unparalleled scale. Idealists hoped that, in civil garb, it might redress the balance, providing a cheap, plentiful, reliable and safe source of electricity for centuries to come. But it has not. Nor does it soon seem likely to. Continue reading →

March 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear power – an antiquated and uneconomic technology

The economic argument for renewable energy is also compelling. Nuclear power is an antiquated technology that requires billions of euros in subsidies; so far, German taxpayers have contributed €196 billion for this purpose.

A German government study has estimated that, between 2010 and 2050, Germany could save more than €700 billion by relying on non-nuclear renewable energy instead of nuclear power or imported fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil.

No nuclear please, we’re German, ABC JGEN TRITTIN, 8 March 12, “…….. while Germany is now heading in the right direction, the security risks of nuclear power plants in neighbouring countries, such as France and the Czech Republic, remain. There must be a general shift in both European and global energy policies.

The current European stress tests of nuclear-power plants are a first step; but, as long as they are voluntary and under the operators’ control, they will be nothing more than political window
dressing. Continue reading →

March 8, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Is Japan’s 3/11 history? Not unless we change the definition.

Radiation is still venting into the air around Fukushima. 

Noda says the entire Japanese establishment had been taken in by the “myth of safety” and it’s all a do-over. At the same time, that establishment also propagated the now laughable argument that nuclear power is clean, safe and cheap…..

Most Japanese don’t want a nuclear future, yet they’re being strong-armed into submission. If that’s not a crime, I’m not sure what is

Pesek: Japan Nuclear Mobsters Don’t Share Pain, Bloomberg, By William Pesek Mar 6, 2012 A year after an earthquake in Japan (JGDPAGDP) touched off the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, here’s the question on my mind: Who’s going to jail? The news media are asking the obvious and safe questions ahead of March 11: How well did the government respond? Whither the devastated northeast? What’s the economic effect? When might the 52 of 54 nuclear reactors mothballed since then reopen?

This barrage of “anniversary” articles misses the point. Continue reading →

March 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Call for Mexico to scrap nuclear power plans

Greenpeace Calls on Mexico to Scrap Nuke Plans March 06, 2012 Mexico City –  The government should keep in mind the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant and scrap its plans to build new reactors in Mexico, Greenpeace said.

“Today we remember the tragedy in Fukushima and urge you to abandon the nuclear plans for our country,” the environmental group said in a letter to Energy Secretary Jordy Herrera.

The letter, which was given to the secretary on Monday, noted that the Energy Secretariat recently announced plans to build two new nuclear reactors in Mexico, which currently operates the Laguna Verde facility in Veracruz state.

The government’s 2012-2026 National Energy Strategy includes the possible construction of two nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is “a costly and highly dangerous option for generating electricity, and its contribution to reducing global warming is minimal,” Greenpeace said.

Abandoning nuclear energy is the “most desirable (option) from the standpoint of safety and protection of the environment and health,” the environmental group said.

Greenpeace launched a campaign in 19 countries to inform the public of the dangers that the world’s approximately 400 active nuclear reactors pose to tens of millions of people and to mark the first anniversary of the accident in Japan.  http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/03/06/greenpeace-calls-on-mexico-to-scrap-nuke-plans/#ixzz1oTbYRceu

March 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

India is especially at risk from a nuclear disaster

 in India we need to worry much more about all risky development projects, because we have a larger and poorer population, with far lower social safety nets in place than in many other parts of the world, less transparency and regulatory accountability making people more vulnerable to risks than in other, more developed countries. …..

Losing the plot, THE HINDU, LIGIA NORONHA, 4 Mar   The response to the anti-Kudankulam protest shows that space for the democratic right of dissent is shrinking. I have been watching with a growing concern the unfolding story around the issue of the nuclear plant at Kudankulam. My concern is at two levels:

One, that it seems bizarre that it should not be expected that there would be an additional concern about nuclear energy post-Fukushima, given the whole new dimension of risk that the
incident brought to light around the nuclear question;

and two, that the manner in which the confrontation is unfolding is an example of a
larger pattern of not wanting any questions or dissent around India’s growth story.
It would indeed have been disturbing if people were not worrying about a nuclear plant post the Fukushima incident, especially in an area which has experienced a tsunami. …. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Indian government’s unfair attack on 4 non government organisations (NGOs)

Govt’s attack against NGOs lopsided, Hindustan Times, 4 Mar 12,  “……..The civil society uprising across India has hurt the government more than the slinging attacks from the opposition. And, the government had been looking to hit back and it did by initiating action against fourTamil Nadu based NGOs for alleged misuse of funds to stall Kudankulam nuclear plant.

Even the officials in ministry of home affairs, which monitors foreign funding to NGOs, agree that finding a clinching evidence of misuse of funds by these four NGOs will be difficult. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Scotland’s commitment to renewable energy is welcomed

RSPB and green groups welcome Scotland’s renewable energy report, by ClickGreen staff.  05 Mar 2012 Green groups have welcome today’s Scottish Government’s energy policy statement, which confirms plans for 100% renewable energy by 2020 are achievable.

The RSPB Scotland was one of a number of campaign groups that welcomed Scotland’s commitment to increasing electricity generation from renewables that are developed in harmony with nature. The charity believes the document also effectively rules out the need
for Peel Energy’s controversial coal plant proposed for Hunterston in Ayrshire.

Aedán Smith, Head of Planning and Development for RSPB Scotland said: “We urgently need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the risk of climate change, which threatens birds and other wildlife in Scotland and across the world. “We therefore welcome Scottish Minsters’ continued commitment to renewables that are located and designed to minimise impacts on wildlife. … http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/opinion/opinion/123268-rspb-and-green-groups-welcome-scotland%5Cs-renewable-energy-report.html

March 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

A possible thawing? North Korean official to visit USA

N. Korean nuclear official to attend U.S. conference, Philly.com, By Jean H. Lee Associated Press, 2 March 12,  SEOUL, South Korea – In another sign of warming relations between two wartime foes, a senior North Korean nuclear negotiator will attend a security conference in the United States, a U.S. official confirmed Thursday Word of Ri Yong Ho’s visit to the forum held by Syracuse University comes on the heels of a breakthrough agreement that will provide much-needed U.S. food aid to North Korea in exchange for a rollback of its nuclear programs.

The agreement announced Wednesday sets in motion a plan laid out by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il before his death in December: to improve relations with the United States and to get back to six-nation disarmament-for-aid negotiations. Significant challenges remain, however, in achieving the long-term goal of the United States and other nations: to persuade Pyongyang to end its nuclear ambitions altogether…

.. In a possible sign of things to come, Ri, North Korea’s vice foreign minister and envoy to nuclear-disarmament negotiations, has been cleared to travel to the United States to attend the Syracuse University forum…. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/141133413.html

March 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment