nuclear-news

Refuting Guy Page’s pro nuclear spin

 What’s important to remember is that Entergy and the nuclear industry are driven by only one thing — money. It’s not about doing the right thing by the environment or society. People fear and distrust this industry, because they know in their hearts that it’s wrong. It’s wrong to dump legacy costs on our grandchildren. It’s wrong to have a technology that when (not if) it fails the results are catastrophic for generations. They distrust the industry, because they know that when the time comes to clean up the mess, those responsible will have taken the money and run.

The only people who don’t see this are those who are paid not to.

The unacknowledged human cost of nuclear power, VT Digger by Deb Katz, 12 May 11 Guy Page lays out all of the predictable arguments in support of nuclear power; it’s clean, it’s safe and no one has ever died from nuclear power. As the communications director for the Vermont Energy Partnership, of which Entergy is a member, he suffers from the same problem as Entergy; their messaging is out of sync with their reality.

………The claim that no one has ever died from radiation poisoning is beyond the pale. Continue reading →

May 12, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Police warning to anti nuclear protestors

Police Warn Of Stern Action Against Trouble Makers In Protest Against Plant, KUANTAN, May 11 (Bernama) — Police warned today that stern action will be taken against anyone trying to create chaos from the protest against the building of a rare earth plant in the Gebeng industrial area here.

Pahang police chief Datuk Saifuddin Abdul Ghani said the “protest programme”, including demonstrations and lecture sessions, was being closely monitored.

……The protestors alleged that the processing of rare earth would cause radiation injurious to the health of people in and around the area.

Social activists claimed that the plant would produce 20,000 tonnes of radioactive waste a year.

The sessions organised by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the state government to explain the project to the people do not seem to have had much impact…..http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=585620

May 12, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Justin Bieber will tour Japan, despite radiation fears

Justin Bieber committed to Japanese tour despite crew’s fear of radiation – NYPOST.com, 7 May, PERTH, Australia — Pop sensation Justin Bieber will tour Japan even if his crew refuses to travel for fear of radiation and the singer has to scale down his act, according to a new report.The 17-year-old’s crew has been lobbying the superstar to cancel his upcoming Japanese concerts in the wake of the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.Several artists, including Avril Lavigne and former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash, have scrapped their concerts in the Asian nation this spring…..Justin Bieber committed to Japanese tour despite crew’s fear of radiation – NYPOST.com

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

US Nuclear REgulatory Commission voted on Yucca Mt – but which way?

The commissioners did not reveal the direction of their votes, leaving it unclear whether the commission was divided on the issue

US Nuclear Commissioners Have Voted On Fate Of Yucca Mountain, NASDAQ, By Tennille Tracy, WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- 5 May 11,  U.S. nuclear commissioners said Wednesday that they have voted on the Obama administration’s request to abandon a nuclear waste project at Yucca Mountain, Nev., appearing to contradict recent statements by the chairman of the U.S. nuclear agency suggesting the commissioners were still debating the issue. Continue reading →

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

France doesn’t want airline crashes included as nuclear safety threat

principally France, see the measure as excessively burdensome, fearing it could force the closure of plants that would otherwise be deemed fit for operation.

EU divided over inclusion of plane crashes in nuclear tests, EU Observer, ANDREW WILLIS, 4 May 11, BRUSSELS – EU member states are divided over the need to include airplane crashes as a criterion in European nuclear stress tests, currently being drawn up in response to Japan’s accident….. A final decision on whether the voluntary stress tests should be limited to natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods is likely to be taken by national nuclear regulators next week. Continue reading →

May 4, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Chile gets some radioactive cars from Japan

Radioactive cars from Japan arrive in Chile, NZ Herald, 3 May 11 Customs agents in Chile have detected low levels of radioactivity in cars shipped from the Japanese port of Yokohama….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/motoring/news/article.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10723126

May 3, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Two Japanese women risk deportation in Taipei anti-nuclear protest

Japanese citizens could be deported for participating in nuclear power protest, Taipei Times May 02, 2011, Two Japanese citizens could be deported for attending an anti-nuclear power rally in Taipei on Saturday, because officials said their participation in the protest was contrary to the stated purpose of their visit to the country. Continue reading →

May 2, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Fukushima shows government and industry’s breach of trust

Around this shrinking globe, like it or not, our fates are tied more and more closely together…….. what about the responsibility we all share to inform and protect one another? We expect our leaders and institutions to protect us when disaster hits. We expect nuclear plant operators to warn us when a reactor has breached. We expect them not to hide, not to lie, and not to procrastinate the delivery of bad news. We trust them. And they breach our trust.

BREACH…of Trust, Forbes, Davia Temin , 30 April, ‘…… as time went by, we found that the [Fukushima] situation was really far more dire than we had been told. Nuclear reactor rods had become exposed, and radioactive material had been flowing into the ocean, possibly from the start. There had been a nuclear BREACH, but few inside or outside of Japan had been informed. Continue reading →

April 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear energy impractical as climate change solution

Renewable energy sources and systems become cheaper all the time, through the mass production of equipment and technical optimizations. Atomic and fossil energy by contrast are becoming constantly more expensive,

World Council For Renewable Energy Demands A Global Ban On New Nuclear Power, Voxy.co 30 April 11“……..A future based on nuclear energy is impossible. Globally, around 400 atomic power reactors are active. To meet the indispensable goal of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to a level of 40 percent below what they are today, and to rely on nuclear power for achieving that goal, would mean that 2500 additional 1000 MW atomic reactors would be needed. That is equivalent to more than one new reactor each week for the next fifty years! Continue reading →

April 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

USA needs to compete with China on renewable energy

“China knows that clean energy creates jobs and, in reducing its reliance on oil, makes it more secure,” “.With its vast renewable energy resources, the United States “can’t afford not to be a globally competitive leader in this important area,” 

Reid: US must compete with China to lead on energy, Google News, 28 April 11 WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States must step up its efforts on renewable energy to compete with China and other countries for global leadership, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday … Continue reading →

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

Decentralised renewable energy a key to growth in India

There are several assumptions and beliefs that are implicit in Chavan’s statement that are worth examining. I have listed the four key ones below. Each of these statements is either patently false or at least extremely contentious:

India’s nuclear fixation is not smart strategy, Apr 26, 2011, By Samit Aich | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA   “……The Maharashtra chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan  is resorting to the time-tested art of making statements that are dodgy, Continue reading →

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

Trillion dollar costs could result from nuclear accident

“The Risk of a Nuclear Catastrophe … Could Total Trillions of Dollars and Even BANKRUPT A COUNTRY” by George Washington on 04/21/2011…. http://www.zerohedge.com/article/risk-nuclear-catastrophe-could-total-trillions-dollars-and-even-bankrupt-country

April 22, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Call for immediate stop work on new nuclear plants

‘Stop work on new nuclear plants’ THE HINDU KOLKATA, April 22, 2011 There should be an immediate stop in work on all new nuclear plants across the country without any exception, Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said here on Thursday.

“It is ‘elementary’ for the government to pay heed to public protests against such plans, particularly after the Fukushima disaster,” Mr. Karat said at a press conference.

“The CPI(M) had raised objections to the Jaitapur nuclear project in Maharashtra where farmers are agitating even before the Fukushima disaster,” Mr. Karat pointed out.

“The technology being provided for the Jaitapur plant by the French company is not tested even though the plants they [the company] are constructing in France are under construction… Besides, Jaitapur is in a seismic zone. Many scientists have already demanded a stop to the project,” Mr. Karat added….. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1716178.ece

April 22, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Determined opposition to Jaitapur nuclear plant

Opposition to huge India nuclear plant hardens after Japan By Tony Munroe JAITAPUR, India  Apr 15, 2011, India (Reuters) – As far as Taramati Vaghdhare is concerned, there is no question of accepting compensation to make way for the world’s largest nuclear power plant………..Long-running opposition to the proposed plant at Jaitapur has hardened amid the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan, with village posters depicting scenes of last month’s devastation at the Fukushima plant and warning of what could be in store for this region in the Western Ghats north of Goa…..

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh staked his political career on a 2008 deal with the United States that ended India’s nuclear isolation dating to its 1974 test of a nuclear device, opening up a $150 billion civilian nuclear market……

Opposition to huge India nuclear plant hardens after Japan | Reuters

April 16, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Japan’s government and Tepco have been “economical” with the truth

the patient people of Japan are getting angry. They feel – not for the first time – that their government and Tepco, the power company, have been economical with the truth.

The oil leak in the Gulf was terrifying because of its relentless filthy incontinence. The leak of radiation is terrifying because it remains unseen and is in part dependent on the whim of the wind.

As radiation leaks, truth is slow to follow BBC  Matt Frei , 12 April 2011 As radiation leaks, truth is slow to follow. I t is cruelly ironic that as we approach the first anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the world should once again be transfixed by the inability of humans to plug a poisonous leak created by our need for energy.

Last year it was the spewing orifice at the bottom of the sea brought to us 24/7 courtesy of the dozen or so “spillcams” that became a fixture in the corner of just about every cable news TV screen.

This year we have the unseen wafts, leaks and seepages of radiation from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The fact that the threat level of this crisis has now been raised – one month later – to seven – the highest possible – is alarming.

The fact that Japanese authorities insist the radiation level is still one-tenth that of Chernobyl – the only other nuclear disaster that has earned a seven – is puzzling.

The leaking information has made the leaking radiation all the more perplexing. Not surprisingly, the patient people of Japan are getting angry. They feel – not for the first time – that their government and Tepco, the power company, have been economical with the truth.

The oil leak in the Gulf was terrifying because of its relentless filthy incontinence. The leak of radiation is terrifying because it remains unseen and is in part dependent on the whim of the wind…

BBC – American Frei: As radiation leaks, truth is slow to follow

April 13, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment