antinuclear « nuclear-news

Military talked Nixon out of nuking North Korea

Richard Nixon planned nuclear strike on North Korea, Telegraph, 7 july 2010, The United States drew up plans for a tactical nuclear strike against North Korea in 1969, but quickly stepped back from the brink fearing it would trigger an all-out war, newly declassified documents in Washington have shown. By Peter Foster in Beijing 08 Jul 2010.…… Documents released by the National Security Archive in Washington detail plans for Operation Freedom Drop which included conventional war and a nuclear attack using bombs 20 times the size of that dropped on Hiroshima……… “But constantly you find the military saying, ‘But the risks probably still outweigh the potential gains,’.” Richard Nixon planned nuclear strike on North Korea – Telegraph

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

USA’s heat wave – but they’re wasting that solar energy!

America sizzles in heat, but remains unclear on tapping into it | BrighterEnergy.org, 8 July 2010, As much of the East Coast wilts in a heat wave at the moment, there seems to be a lot of solar energy going to waste.In Washington DC, the heat may be making it even more difficult for the nation’s politicians to work on an agreement that might make the most of all this free energy. Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, renewables, solar | Leave a comment

Renewable energy provided 62% of Europe’s new electricity

Europe’s 2009 Energy Growth Dominated by Renewables, IEEE Spectrum, Dave Levitan July 07, 2010, The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre released its annual “Renewable Energy Snapshots” report this week, and found that 62 percent of all new electricity generation installed in 2009 in the 27 EU member countries was from renewable sources. This represented an increase from 2008, when 57 percent of new electricity was renewable………

IEEE Spectrum: Europe’s 2009 Energy Growth Dominated by Renewables

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, renewable | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, solar, wind | Leave a comment

Delays, cost, opposition, to UK’s nuclear waste plans

Budget cuts caution on UK nuclear waste plan, BBC News, 7 July 2010 The UK’s deep store for nuclear waste should open for business around 2040 – but spending cuts could delay the plans, and community support is vital. These are the key messages in a report from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the agency charged with managing the nation’s waste………….

The UK’s nuclear waste problem is considerably bigger than either of the Scandinavian countries……….

The total volume of waste from past and present operations amounts to about 500,000 cubic metres, although there is a huge variety in types of waste, the level of radioactivity and how long it will remain dangerously radioactive.

The coalition government has said it is committed to finding a long-term solution for the UK’s nuclear waste problem………..If no communities want the repository, said Alun Ellis, it will not be built.

“The government’s answer to this question is that Plan B is to make Plan A work,”

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

USA – no idea what to do with depleted uranium wastes

Feds seek a temp home for depleted uranium | The Salt Lake Tribune, By JUDY FAHYS 8 July 2010, The U.S. Department of Energy has started looking beyond Utah for temporary storage of nearly 10,000 drums of depleted uranium for up to seven years…….. Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | depleted uranium, USA | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

Concern over Russian ownership brings fall in uranium share price

“alarmed industry observers worried that the Vancouver-based company might end up serving the Kremlin’s strategic interests.”
The spot price of uranium reacted to this news by falling in price.

Financing uranium mining raises concern, Star Tribune, Hildred Shelton, July 7, 2010 The hearing on uranium mining conducted in Chatham on June 22 by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission Subcommittee has received extensive comment………………..that brings up a current development in financing uranium mining which is causing international commentary…that “world of capital.” Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

NASA to persist in useless, but cruel, animal radiation tests

Because of drastic biological differences between species, radiation experiments on monkeys won’t tell scientists anything about how astronauts will react to deep space.

NASA Plans to Expose Monkeys to Radiation, ALLVOICES, By StevieNicoleDow Washington : DC : USA | Jul 07, 2010 NASA has announced that it plans to fund a $1.75 million project in which up to 30 squirrel monkeys will be exposed to a very large, harmful dose of radiation and then be locked in steel cages without any companionship. They will be forced to endure years of behavioral tests to measure the inevitable devastation that the radiation causes to their brains and bodies, which would likely include brain damage, skin inflammation, blindness, various types of cancer, including brain tumors, and premature death. Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, USA | antinuclear, cancer, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Overuse of heart radiation tests a cancer risk

While doctors disagree over how much, most agree that radiation can cause cancer, and researchers are growing concerned that an explosion in the use of medical imaging is making it more likely that patients may develop cancer.

Heart tests add to U.S. radiation dose concerns | Reuters; By Julie SteenhuysenCHICAGO | Thu Jul 8, 2010 CHICAGO – Heart imaging procedures can deliver a significant amount of radiation to patients, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, urging patients and doctors to weigh the risks against the benefit Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

No govt subsidy for new nuclear plants in Britain

The coalition government says new nuclear build will go ahead as long as no public subsidy is needed.

Farron demands end to nuclear subsidies, North West Evening Mail 6 July 2010 AN MP is calling for the withdrawal of all public subsidy for nuclear power.Tim Farron says the taxpayer should not be propping up the nuclear industry.The Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale said: “The argument is simple, there can be nuclear build if there is no public subsidy. Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Swapping of spy – nuclear expert – Moscow to USA

U.S., Russia Discussing Spy Swap – IBD – Investors.com, 8 July 2010, Moscow wants to exchange a jailed nuclear expert convicted of espionage for one of 10 alleged Russian spies held in the U.S., said a lawyer for Igor Sutyagin, who was convicted of passing secrets to a British firm. U.S. officials visited Sutyagin in prison Mon., his brother said. The U.S. declined comment, but a Va. hearing for 3 suspects was canceled and the trio transferred to N.Y.

U.S., Russia Discussing Spy Swap – IBD – Investors.com

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Obama placating Israel on nuclear weapons issue

Obama administration: Israel has right to nuclear capability for deterrence purposes – Haaretz Daily, 5 July, 2010, NEW YORK – The Obama administration has revealed to the public, during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, a series of understandings between the two countries on Israel’s policy of “nuclear ambiguity” – which to date had been kept under wraps Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

USA’s far right leads to new global nuclear arms race

…suddenly we are in the midst of a new multi-polar arms race. This is the vision that Romney is posing and it is immensely dangerous.

Mitt Romney Embraces The Far Right’s Dangerous Nuclear Extremism In Opposing START, Wonk Room, 6 July 2010, While Mitt Romney’s oped today in the Washington Post is largely a politically-motivated effort to boost his far-right foreign policy bonafides, it does however demonstrate how dangerous and extreme the anti-Obama narrative has become……

The fact that Romney thinks that the worst foreign policy mistake of the Obama administration is a modest treaty that reduces limits on nuclear weapons and extends and updates the verification and monitoring measures that Ronald Reagan himself negotiated in the initial START treaty, says something about how far out of the mainstream the conservative right has moved. Continue reading →

July 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, disarmament, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Australia’s Aborigines, students, community, rally against nuclear industry

Today (7 July 2010), hundreds of students from across Australia will take to the streets of Adelaide on The ‘Nuclear Scumbags Tour’. This will be a creative and informative demonstration by Traditional Owners, students, and community members speaking out against the coercion and exploitation of Aboriginal communities by Government and nuclear industry alike. The irresponsible industry practices combined with the lack of ethical government policy shows complete disregard for the environment, water and indigenous rights. Under the protection of the Roxby Indenture Act BHP Billiton 37 millions of litres of water from the Great Artesian Basin for free daily, at the expense of traditional sacred sites and precious unique ecosystems. The Indenture Act wavers BHP’s obligations regarding Aboriginal Heritage, public accountability, environmental protection, water, and mining safety. Continue reading →

July 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

X-ray to fetus causes memory damage appearing years later

They exposed fetal monkeys to x-rays and then examined their behavior when they were adults, approximately 5 years later. They found that irradiated adult monkeys exhibited a profound deficit in working memory ability compared to adult monkeys that had not been exposed to x-rays

Fetal X-ray exposure interferes with memory in adulthood, monkey study finds, ScienceDaily , (July 5, 2010) — Learning and memory impairments are important contributors to the disability Continue reading →

July 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

USA’s new nuclear loans at risk because of impasse on nuclear wastes?

Nuclear Power Going To Waste? -By Amy Harder, NationalJournal.comJuly 6, 2010 How does a federal ruling finding that the Obama administration does not have the legal authority to abandon Nevada’s Yucca Mountain waste site affect U.S. nuclear energy policy?……What should the federal government do to safely dispose of nuclear waste? Should a nuclear waste plan be included in any climate and energy bill? How does this decision by NRC affect the administration’s ability to approve nuclear loans?….