general « nuclear-news

Russian firms now off “blacklist” despite their weapons sales to Iran,

Obama Administration Lifts Russian Firms from Blacklist – World Market Media May 24, 2010

// <![CDATA[// John Rummo Four Russian firms, accused of helping Syrian and Iranian Weapons programs, including Rosoboronexport and Tula Instrument Design Bureau were lifted off the U.S. government’s black list. Both of these aforementioned companies have been noted in selling antitank, artillery, and rockets to both Iran and Syria, some of which have turned up in Lebanon……. Obama Administration Lifts Russian Firms from Blacklist – Online Investment Community – World Market Media

May 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

UK govt’s underhand way of subsidising nuclear power

Huhne, it seems, may have ruled out using the public purse to fund the new nuclear generation, but his Government is asking us to use our wallets to do the same.

The Government has found a backhanded way to subsidise nuclear power The Ecologist, Dan Box, 24th May, 2010 21st century nuclear power needs a 21st century subsidy… no blank cheques this time – just an apparently green tweak to the emissions trading system, and voila!What is it they say? Power corrupts? Well, certainly people change. Continue reading →

May 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

U.S. public will wake up to danger of far right nuclear politics

The public debate will also likely expand with the July 23 release of a new documentary from the team that made An Inconvenient Truth. The film, Countdown to Zero, is a nuclear wake-up call about the real threats we face and the urgent need for action.

Nuclear Naivete,THE HUFFINGTON POST, Joe Cirincione: , 24 May 2010, Far-right conservatives posture as nuclear tough guys, but push a shockingly naive policy. Clinging to Cold War doctrines, they play politics with our nuclear weapons. It is a dangerous game that puts American security at risk. Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) rammed through an amendment at the House Armed Services Committee mark-up of the Defense Authorization Bill last week that condemns the new U.S. nuclear strategy endorsed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the directors of the nation’s nuclear laboratories. Why? Rep. Turner wants to use nuclear weapons in Afghanistan……. Continue reading →

May 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

U.S. Senator enthuses over $2 billion loan to France’s nuclear giant AREVA

Senator Voinovich Encourages DOE on Nuclear Loan Guarantess, Nuclear Power Industry News, 25 May 2010, “………The $2 billion loan guarantee has been awarded to AREVA’s Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility near Idaho Falls, Idaho, ………….Sen. Voinovich, along with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), recently led a bipartisan congressional letter to President Obama requesting that the White House join them in hosting a nuclear energy summit to bring together key leaders, stakeholders and innovators to discuss and plan for America’s nuclear energy future. Senator Voinovich Encourages DOE on Nuclear Loan Guarantess – Nuclear Power Industry News

May 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, AREVA, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear research is not impartial if it’s funded by biased sources

4 Questions Iowans Should Answer About Nuclear Power by Paul Deaton, Blog for Iowa :24 May 2010, “This raises a fundamental question about studies of politically charged topics; how do we obtain peer-reviewed research when the funding support for such research is from biased sources? I’m saying the biased sources may be pro or con on the idea of new nuclear power. Iowans deserve the best answer possible before investing further in nuclear power.”……..

Blog for Iowa :: 4 Questions Iowans Should Answer About Nuclear Power

May 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Policy to cut carbon will provide jobs

that the fragile state of the U.S. economy strengthens the case for a cap on carbon rather than weakening it.

New Evidence on the Job Impacts of Climate Policy, THE HUFFINGTON POST, by Nathaniel Keohane, 21 May 2010, –– Why Now Is the Right Time to Cap Carbon, “…… a must-read study released yesterday by the well-respected, nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics shows that the reverse is actually true: passing climate legislation would provide the economy with a much-needed shot in the arm.
Trevor Houser and his co-authors use a widely respected economic model to analyze the impact on the U.S. economy of … energy and climate legislation ……. The study estimates that the legislation would more than double investment in the electric power sector, adding 203,000 jobs per year to the economy during the next decade relative to a “business as usual” scenario without policy. The reason is that when labor and capital are underemployed, as they are now, a policy that spurs new investment in the private sector will create jobs rather than simply taking them from other sectors. This lends quantitative support to the argument I’ve been making for over a year, which is that the fragile state of the U.S. economy strengthens the case for a cap on carbon rather than weakening it.

Nathaniel Keohane: New Evidence on the Job Impacts of Climate Policy — Why Now Is the Right Time to Cap Carbon

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Strange life of Trident nuclear submarine crew

instructions include allying with the US, travelling to Australia if Europe has been destroyed and, ultimately, firing the weapons.

Life on Trident: three months under the waves with 48 nuclear warheads Patrick Barkham, The Guardian, 20 May 2010 “…..Powered by a nuclear reactor, the submarines are almost silent and virtually undetectable. While on patrol, direct communication with navy bosses back home ceases, so potential enemies cannot intercept any signals. The crew are almost completely cut off from the outside world……… Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Iran’s storage deal: less of a worry than Israel’s nuke arsenal?

Iran’s Uranium Storage Deal, Craig Murray , 18 May 2010, -Iran undoubtedly pulled off a diplomatic coup with its announcement yesterday of a deal with Brazil and Turkey to store its low grade uranium. It is very hard for even the most ardent warmonger to claim that Iran is enriching uranium to make nuclear weapons, when that same uranium is in storage in Turkey….there is no indication that Iran has the ability for years to produce a nuclear weapon, and this arrangement makes that ever more plain. If any nation has a genune concern that Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, this agreement to remove almost the entire stock of uranium from Iran can only be welcomed.The failure to welcome this step by US and UK governments indicates that their actual agenda does not relate to Iran’s nuclear programme at all. And I still wait for a British minister to say something about Israel’s very real and very large stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Craig Murray – Iran’s Uranium Storage Deal

May 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear spin, plutonium, uranium | Leave a comment

A tax on carbon emissions would be better than USA’s Climate Bill

Making the Simple Complicated – Economix Blog – NYTimes.com, By EDWARD L. GLAESER 18 May 2010, “…….This bill is a behemoth for three reasons. First, it tries to do far more than just charge for carbon emissions. The bill starts by providing “incentives for the growth of safe domestic nuclear and nuclear-related industries.” It supports carbon capture in coal plants, expands offshore drilling, establishes an Office of Consumer Advocacy and promotes “clean energy career development.” Standard economics suggests that many of these interventions would be unnecessary if we had the right tax on carbon emissions; if companies pay the full social costs of their actions, they have the right incentives to invest in greener technologies without any further help from Uncle Sam………..
At the end of the day, it is hard to relish either this ornate piece of legislation or the prospect of inaction on global emissions.

Making the Simple Complicated – Economix Blog – NYTimes.com

May 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, climate change, global warming, nuclear, renewable energy | Leave a comment

Nuclear Bombing the oil leak? A Radioactive Idea

‘Expert’ proposes nuking the Gulf of Mexico to stop oil spill NATIONAL POST, May 17, 2010, by Matt Gurney What’s worse than an oil spill? A radioactive oil spill.
Nonetheless, an ‘expert’ (albeit one who doesn’t look old enough to have graduated high school) has suggested that the United States seal the Gulf of Mexico oil pipe by setting off a nuclear weapon at the site of the ruptured pipe in the hopes, one would presume, that the blast would either seal the leak or melt the pipe…..

…… What if the bomb goes off and doesn’t seal the leak? Then instead of an oil leak, you have a radioactive oil leak. Is that somehow better?

Despite the absurdity of the proposal, apparently, it’s not without precedent. The Soviet Union has reportedly used this technique five times in order to stop natural gas leaks. Four of them worked. Okay…but…what about the fifth? Is there a natural gas leak somewhere out there, deep in a radioactive crater?….. Matt Gurney: ‘Expert’ proposes nuking the Gulf of Mexico to stop oil spill – Full Comment

May 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Anti nuclear film might just change the world

Cannes blog: Documentaries determined to change the world, SBS Films, 17 May 2010 By Lisa Nesselson in Cannes The world’s documentary makers provide some much-needed perspective to the madness of Cannes. “….Countdown to Zero , Lucy Walker’s spooky analysis of why all extant nuclear weapons must be eliminated –…… Continue reading →

May 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, plutonium | Leave a comment

Film launched to push for elimination of nuclear weapons

Queen Noor – “I believe this film needs to be seen throughout the world, and help those populations mobilize to put pressure on political leaders or support political leaders who support the elimination of nuclear weapons.”

Cannes 2010: Queen Noor and Valerie Plame Wilson on Nukes – THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, May 17, 2010 Queen Noor of Jordan and former CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson were among the luminaries who gathered at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday to support “Countdown to Zero,” a new film about nuclear proliferation. Continue reading →

May 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons free zone in Middle East is pivotal issue

Half-time at the NPT | World news | guardian.co.uk16 May, 2010, We are half-way through the negotiating marathon that is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference and the crunch is approaching. The speeches have been made, the working groups set up, and drafts assembled. There are now two weeks left for the tough bargaining between the nuclear haves and have-nots over what the global arms control regime should look like.
The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has a very useful summary of the positions of various key countries, from which two main themes emerge: there is an Obama-effect at play, and the idea of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East is becoming a make or break issue………

Half-time at the NPT | World news | guardian.co.uk

May 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Cancer cluster among children – investigation for ionising radiation

OH Dept. of Health wonders if radiation is causing cancer cluster WTOL.com – Toledo’s News Leader May 15, 2010 CLYDE, OH (WTOL) – The Ohio Department of Health is still trying to determine why so many kids in eastern Sandusky County are getting sick from cancer. Currently, they’re searching for radiation. ….OH Dept. of Health wonders if radiation is causing cancer cluster – WTOL.com – Toledo’s News Leader |

May 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Wake up America, to the pro-nuclear, pro polluting Climate Bill!

Kerry-Lieberman “climate” bill represents massive taxpayer giveaway to dirty, dangerous and expensive energy industries, BeyondNuclear, 14 May 2010, The Kerry-Lieberman “American Power Act” released today would massively subsidize the expansion of the atomic energy industry, at taxpayer financial risk and direct expense. It would similarly benefit the offshore oil drilling industry, despite the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the coal industry, despite the recent deadly mine explosion in West Virginia. As pointed out by the Energy Collective, the bill clearly prioritizes nuclear energy’s expansion, while renewables and efficiency seem to be a mere afterthought. As reported by Democracy Now!, numerous environmental groups expressed immediate opposition. Please call your U.S. Senators via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, to oppose the “paltry” climate protections and large-scale taxpayer giveaways to the nuclear power, oil, and coal industries contained in the Kerry-Lieberman “American Power Act.”Beyond Nuclear – Home – Kerry-Lieberman “climate” bill represents massive taxpayer giveaway to dirty, dangerous and expensive energy industries