AUSTRALIAN ELECTION and the NUCLEAR INDUSTRY – our theme for August 2010
Australia faces an election on August 21. The major political parties are united in one policy – that is –keeping quiet about nuclear power. And Julia Gillard – Labor, and Tony Abbott – Liberal-Coalition, have got plenty to shut up about.
Both Labor and Liberal are beholden to their corporate masters. In the case of Labor, this was shown in a dramatic way, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard kow towed over the planned Super Profit Resources tax. And, with the new, tamed, Resources Rent Tax – uranium mining is exempt even from that one.
The Liberal Coalition used to be blatantly in favour of a nuclear Australia. Now, with the election looming, only a few of their maverick MPs will state this out loud.
Under the radar, the powerful and well-funded nuclear lobby is working away at both parties – for uranium/nuclear policies to be revealed after the election is safely over.
Australian doctors explain medical radiation
Fact sheet: Nuclear medicine, Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) July 2010. 29/07/2010 This MAPW fact sheet describes how nuclear medicine is used for diagnosis and radiotherapy treatment. It explains what is NOT nuclear medicine (eg x-rays and CT scans).
It summarises the dangers of ionising radiation. It debunks two myths: that Australia needs a nuclear reactor to produce radioisotopes (materials for nuclear medicine); and that we need a radioactive waste dump for its waste.
NASA scientist refuses to do radiation experiments on monkeys
Since leaving her position at NASA, Evans has devoted much of her time to building support for an international treaty that would ban primate experiments for the purpose of space exploration.
Local NASA engineer resigns over monkey experiments | This isn’t rocket science April Evans’ dream – working for NASA – came true, but she couldn’t condone its radiation experiments on monkeys, By ERIC BERGER. HOUSTON CHRONICLE. July 29, 2010, “…..her career remained ascendant until she learned of the space agency’s plan to irradiate monkeys as part of a $1.75 million experiment…. Continue reading
Uranium company’s share price and profits plummet
ERA first-half profit plunges 82pc ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 30 july 2010, Darwin Energy Resources of Australia has announced an 82 per cent plunge in its first-half profit.The company has blamed the slump on a fall in the price of uranium oxide and poor grades of ore at its Northern Territory mine.ERA’s net profit for the six months to the end of June fell to $22.7 million from $127.6 million for the same period last year.In the early afternoon, its shares had slipped more than 4 per cent to $13.71.
ERA first-half profit plunges 82pc – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
USA govt put soldiers at risk from depleted uranium
DU is a dense metal added to munitions and bombs to pierce tanks and armor, and the military seems to chose unrestricted use of the radioactive substance over its soldiers’ safety.
(USA) Document Reveals Military Was Concerned About Gulf War Vets’ Exposure To Depleted Uranium, CounterCurrents.org, By Mike Ludwig29 July, 2010 For years, the government has denied that depleted uranium (DU), a radioactive toxic waste left over from nuclear fission and added to munitions used in the Persian Gulf and Iraq wars, poisoned Iraqi civilians and veterans. Continue reading
Alice Springs’ tourism under threat from uranium mining
the town’s attraction as a wilderness destination is under threat.……you don’t find too many mining towns that actually have a thriving tourism industry.”.
Tour operators discuss uranium concerns, ABC News By Kirsty Nancarrow Jul 29, 2010 “… tourism operators have attended a meeting in Alice Springs to discuss concerns about future uranium mining in the region. Continue reading
Renewables, energy efficiency create more jobs than nuclear does
Energy efficiency programs also would produce more jobs.
Renewable Energy Would Create More Jobs Than Nuclear Power, Greentech Media, Elliott Negin, 29 July 2010, The Union of Concerned Scientists weighs in on the nuclear vs. renewables debate. “……If the federal government established a standard requiring utilities to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025, it would create 297,000 new jobs, according to a 2009 analysis by my organization, the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Echoing our analysis, a February 2010 study by Navigant Consulting found that a 25 percent by 2025 standard would create 274,000 jobs.
Energy efficiency programs also would produce more jobs. A 2009 study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that a national standard requiring utilities to institute programs reducing electricity demand by 15 percent and natural gas demand by 10 percent would generate more than 220,000 jobs by 2020.
Texas is blessed by a wealth of renewable sources. In fact, it has the technical potential to generate more than 17 times the electricity it used in 2008 from renewable energy, primarily from wind, bioenergy and solar. And it is beginning to take advantage of that bounty.Texas is a national leader in wind energy, generating more than 9,500 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, thanks in part to the state’s renewable electricity standard. That standard requires utilities to increase their reliance on renewable resources to produce at least 5,800 MW (about 5.5 percent) of the state’s power needs by 2015. On March 5, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas reported a record high for instantaneous wind output of 6,272 MW. That met 19 percent of the total state customer demand, showing that Texas is on track to exceed the standard.
Likewise, Texas has been a leader on efficiency. It was the first state to adopt an energy efficiency resource standard, which required utilities to use efficiency to cut 10 percent of annual growth in power demand. This year the standard jumped to 30 percent of customer demand growth. Increased energy efficiency will translate into lower electricity bills.
Texas’s leadership on renewables and efficiency has meant more jobs. In 2007, Texas ranked second to California in numbers of businesses (4,802) and jobs (55,646) tied to the clean energy sector, according to 2009 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts.Can new reactor construction compete? According to a recent report by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, even if new construction created 2,400 temporary jobs per site, a significant number of those jobs could go to workers overseas. All applicants seeking permits to build new reactors or building them now – including the South Texas Project — plan to use or are using foreign manufacturers and labor to build major reactor parts……..
So why is Christine Todd Whitman pushing nuclear power? Because the group she co-chairs, the benignly sounding Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, is a front for the nuclear industry. The industry trade organization, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), created the coalition – which is little more than a website with a list of supporters — and is its sole funder. Whitman, who has been shilling for NEI for four years, has a right to earn a living, but your readers have the right to know she is a paid industry mouthpiece — a fact that she routinely fails to disclose — and that she is not giving them the whole story.
Renewable Energy Would Create More Jobs Than Nuclear Power : Greentech Media
1 This month
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