nuclear-news

Japan in no position to encourage India on nuclear power development

Dont review nuclear ties with India: Activists IBN Live 30 Dec 11 TIRUNELVELI: Recalling the Hiroshima bombing and Fukushima disaster, senior citizens living in Koodankulam have appealed to the Japanese Prime Minister not to review the civil nuclear cooperation negotiations with India.

In view of the Japanese Premier’s visit to India, senior citizens from Koodankulam and Idinthakarai participated in a relay fast, that entered the 72nd day at Idinthakarai on Wednesday.
The senior citizens affixed their signatures on a letter addressed to Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda. PMANE functionary M Pushparayan said the letter was sent to the Noda’s office as well as the country’s embassy in Delhi.

�In the letter, they stated, “We have seen how your country has suffered from both nuclear weapons and nuclear disasters. ‘Hiroshima to Fukushima’ devastation has taken a heavy toll on your country, although you are scientifically more capable, technologically
superior, and financially better than most countries in the world…

India, is not in a position to face a Hiroshima or a Fukushima… Your government has just found out that it will take around 40 years and cost $14.6 billion to decommission the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Our country, which is fighting the poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people, cannot just afford this…

While we value our country’s socio-economic-political relations with your country, we
definitely do not appreciate any civil nuclear cooperation with Japan or anyone else, for that matter. While you yourself are struggling to contain the damage from the Fukushima disaster, you have no moral legitimacy to sell this dangerous technology to other nations. Hence, we request you not to revive the civil nuclear cooperation negotiations,” the letter said…
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dont-review-nuclear-ties-with-india-activists/216008-60-118.htm

December 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | 1 Comment

25 history making events in green energy in 2011

Top 25 Alternative Energy Moves of 2011

Earth 911 by Mary Mazzoni12/28/11 Despite controversies surrounding biofuel and the collapse of several high-profile alternative energy companies, 2011 was a big year for renewables. Profits from the alternative energy industry skyrocketed, making headlines worldwide. As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look at some history-making milestones in green energy…… http://earth911.com/news/2011/12/28/top-25-alternative-energy-moves-of-2011/

December 29, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

The disaster that is Japan’s Fukushima area

No-man’s land attests to Japan’s nuclear nightmare NewsDay,  December 27, 2011  By The Associated Press  DAVID GUTTENFELDER , ERIC TALMADGE   “……In the ghost towns around Fukushima Dai-ichi, vines have overtaken streets, feral cows and owner-less dogs roam the fields. Dead chickens rot in their coops.
The tens of thousands of people who once lived around the plant have fled. They are now huddling in gymnasiums, elementary school classrooms, bunking with friends, sometimes just sleeping in their cars, moving from place to place as they search for alternatives.
For those who lived on the perimeter of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, fliers used to come in the mail every so often explaining that someday this might happen. Most recipients saw them as junk mail, and threw them away without a second glance. For those who did read them, the fliers were always worded to be reassuring — suggesting that although a catastrophic nuclear accident was extremely unlikely, it could require evacuating the area.
Never was it even hinted that the evacuation could last years, or decades.
At most of the shelters, food is doled out military-style, at set times. Personal space is extremely limited, often just big enough to fit a futon and the collective snoring at night makes sleep fitful, at best. Baths are public, cramped, dark.
The total amount of radiation released from the plant is still unknown, and the impact of chronic low-dose radiation exposures in and around Fukushima is a matter of scientific debate.
Recent studies also suggest Japan continues to significantly underestimate the scale of the disaster — which could have health and safety implications far into the future.

December 28, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Public unaware of serious risks in Virginia uranium mining experiment

Leave Virginia’s uranium mining ban in place, Washington Post, Joy M. Oakes, 27 Dec 11, Few people I’ve spoken with were aware of the threat uranium development poses to Virginia. This is a reflection of the would-be developers’ political savvy, and it’s deeply troubling, given the risky nature of this experimental development scheme by Virginia Uranium. Plenty is at risk from operations on the proposed Pittsylvania County site, including potential contamination of drinking water that would affect more than a million residents of Hampton Roads and North Carolina communities; Virginia’s $18 billion tourism industry; and markets for local agricultural products, including wine, milk and the grass-fed beef raised in Pittsylvania County by my family, among others.

No one has identified successful uranium operations in wet, severe climates comparable to that of Southside Virginia. The National Academy of Sciences study on uranium mining at the site leaves too many unknowns. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and state legislators must reject this risky experiment with Virginia’s future and leave the state’s moratorium on uranium mining in place. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/leave-virginias-uranium-mining-ban-in-place/2011/12/22/gIQAHWgHJP_story.html

December 28, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Growing investment in renewable energy

  investment in Renewable Energy across the globe has increased in recent time, moving from $33 billion in 2004 to $211billion as at June, this year.

Renewable energy hits $211b globally The Nation, By Kamarudeen Ogundele, 27 Dec 11 Abuja INVESTMENT portfolio in renewable energy in Africa has hit $3.6 billion with Egypt and Kenya occupying centre stage, the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BoI), Ms. Evelyn Oputu, has said.

Oputu, who spoke during the first Renewable Energy Investment Forum in Abuja, stated that investments in renewable energy have a large potential for growth given the large gap between energy demand and supply and the enormous renewable energy options available to the country.
The alternative energy event tagged: Access to Renewable Energy (AtRE), is organised to create a forum to interface investors with project developers in the renewable energy sector…… Continue reading →

December 27, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Solar power – the primordial energy source

A sunny forecast for solar energy, Jordan Directions, 26 December 2011 At the European Future Energy Forum (EFEF) held in October this year, participants were reminded once again about the need for collaboration, innovation and knowledge transfer between countries, companies and governments, in shaping the future of renewable energy in the world. Renewable energy technology safeguards environment, bolsters energy security and drives economic development globally.

“Solar power is one of the primordial energy sources. I could be biased, but to me there is no other energy source that feels so naturally right for harnessing: with each sunrise our planet has the potential capacity to sustainably recharge its energy grids across the
world,” says Jerry Stokes, president of Suntech Europe.

Today, thanks to Masdar, Abu Dhabi is a hothouse for innovation in solar and all sectors of renewable energy, innovation that is making its way to the world and leads to greater energy security and a cleaner environment…….According to the European Photovoltaic Industry
Association, (EPIA), the cumulative global installed PV capacity stood
at almost 16.5 GW at the end of 2010, compared to only 9 GW at the end
of 2007.

(Germany ranked first followed by Italy and Spain in terms of cumulative installed solar electric power capacity). Though there’s uncertainty surrounding the incentivising of the renewable market, in the current global economic climate (with feed-in tariffs that guaranteed above-market power prices for the life of a PV installation being slashed across Europe, including in Germany and Italy), the fact that more countries are adopting renewable energy standards and planning to build solar plants has analysts and fund managers feeling
more confident about the industry and bullish on solar in particular, because the market is no longer dominated by two or three players.
Read more http://www.albawaba.com/sunny-forecast-solar-energy-406658
http://www.jordandirections.com/2011122648655/business/a-sunny-forecast-for-solar-energy

December 27, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry might not have a future

“Right now, just the plain economics of nuclear power are underwater,”…over the past decade, construction costs have skyrocketed and natural gas got more plentiful and cheaper.

If Germany comes along and figures out how to power a very big economy, including baseload
needs, without nuclear, then that to me becomes a real, if not a death blow, a real challenge to nuclear, because it breaks the whole nuclear story that this is the only environmentally friendly way to provide baseload.”

After Fukushima: A Changing Climate For Nuclear NPR by CHRISTOPHER JOYCE December 24, 2011 This year has something unpleasant in common with the years 1979 and
1986. In 1979, a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania melted down. In 1986, the Soviet reactor at Chernobyl blew up and burned.

This year’s meltdown occurred in Fukushima in Japan, and nuclear power isn’t likely to be the same as a result. Nuclear power had enjoyed 25 years of relative quiet, but the
Fukushima accident reminded people that despite improvements isafety, nuclear plants could still go horribly wrong….. Continue reading →

December 26, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Claim that AQ Khan gave nuclear weapons technology to India

AQ Khan gave India nuclear technology: US expert, IBN Live 23 Dec Washington: India got shortcut tips on nuclear weapons from Pakistani Scientist AQ Khan claims a bizarre article written in the Playboy magazine by an American arms expert.
This astonishing claim is according to US arms control expert Joshua Pollack and whats even more is that he wrote this article in the Playboy magazine.

Pollock has claimed that Khan provided a shortcut to a nuclear weapon to India, along with Iran, Libya and North Korea. India had conducted its first nuclear test on May 18, 1974, while
Pakistan did it only in 1998……
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/aq-khan-gave-india-nuclear-tech-us-expert/214363-2.html

December 23, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

David Suzuki busts the spin on nuclear power and nuclear fallout

Fukushima to Canada: Nuclear power creates toxic pollution for 250,00 years http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/canadian_news/2011/12/19/2288.html  19 DECEMBER 2011 The Canadian,  BY : BY DAVID SUZUKI Anyone who thinks that Japan can “decontaminate” a region suffering from nuclear fallout in the manner presented in YouTube video has been duped if you read David Suzuki’s insights in the following article.

Nuclear power is experiencing a revival due to growing concerns about climate change. The nuclear industry has reinvented itself as an environmentally friendly option, producing electricity without the air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions of coal, oil or gas.

But a closer look reveals nuclear power is neither an environmentally or financially viable option. Nuclear power creates radioactive waste for which there is no accepted method of safely managing or storing.
It is also prohibitively expensive. Continue reading →

December 21, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | 1 Comment

French and Japanese governments have vested interest in the nuclear industry

Many question whether the Japanese or French governments are telling the whole truth. After all, they’ve invested heavily in nuclear power.

Any bad publicity could turn the tide against building new plants, or even launch protests against keeping the existing ones running. So estimates of radiation, damage, and long-term effects are kept small, often hidden from the public.

California, a state just waiting for a major earthquake to occur, doesn’t need any more nuclear power plants.

Oil pipeline beats more nuclear power plants, Whittier Daily News, By Steve Scauzillo 12/17/2011  Environmentalists are against the building of a pipeline that would move crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas because it will add to global warming. They have a point. More oil refining adds to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, or greenhouse gases, which exacerbates the crisis of climate change that is already under way. Plus, the process of separating the oil from the tar sands is more polluting than previous extraction methods…..
I have to look at the alternatives and wonder which is the lesser evil. One of those – more nuclear power plants – is an energy option that should not be pursued. Continue reading →

December 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear “renaissance” dubious, and too late to influence Climate Change

Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads, OilPrice.com.  by Tyler Hamilton , 13 December 2011 For years the nuclear power lobby has muscled its way into international climate negotiations and asserted itself as a critical part of any serious effort to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions.

Not so much during climate talks in Durban, South Africa, these past two weeks. There were some media mentions and the occasional sound bite from industry officials, but the nuclear lobby — still sufferingfrom a Fukushima hangover — stayed relatively quiet this time around.

Even Patrick Moore, Greenpeace [alleged?] co-founder turned nuclear booster, seems to have moved on. His gig these days is defending the oil sands, part of a recent advertising campaign from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

The Fukushima disaster in Japan certainly served a blow to the nuclear power industry. The low price of natural gas and the global economic downturn — and reduced demand for electricity — hasn’t helped matters. The economics of building new nuclear plants also remain in question. A report just released by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association
points out that even before the Fukushima accident, the decades-long trend of reactor projects being delayed and coming in dramatically over budget was still a reality, as recent experiences in Finland and France clearly show. Continue reading →

December 15, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Warning about computer viruses attacking nuclear plants

CIA suspected for ‘super weapon’ attack on Iranian nuclear plant Herald Sun,  December 08, 2011 Computer virus attacked Iranian nuclear plant in 2010 THE CIA is the chief suspect behind a computer virus dubbed the world’s first cyber “super weapon” that attacked an Iranian nuclear plant. Continue reading →

December 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Australia – the “Typhoid Mary of filthy energy”?

As Australia continues its journey towards its wind and solar powered clean energy future, it’s all food for thought as we strike agreements with countries such as India to supply uranium for power generation purposes. Let’s not forget the millions of tonnes of coal and other fossil fuels we export around the world each year either. 

Can we every really lay claim to being clean and green by shipping the essential ingredients for major environmental disasters to other nations? Is Australia the Typhoid Mary of filthy energy? 

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Could Cost $257 Billion, by Energy Matters, 7 Dec 11 Nuclear power generated electricity may appear cheap, but like fossil fuel electricity generation much of the real cost is hidden in subsidies and other forms of support. Add to that a nuclear accident or even just other associated environmental impacts under normal operations and suddenly any savings quickly evaporate, like water on overheated nuclear fuel rods.  Continue reading →

December 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | 1 Comment

Rising public opposition to India’s secretive nuclear organisations

End this secrecy about India’s nuclear programme, Dec 3, 2011,  Mumbai | Agency: DNA India’s nuclear establishment has a problem. It is a problem of credibility. And it is a problem of its own making. ….the Department of Atomic Energy and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India are running into a rising wall of public opposition…..For too long has the country’s nuclear establishment functioned behind a curtain of secrecy.

December 5, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment