Australia s nuclear CEO Dr Adi Paterson rubbishes renewable energy at solar conference
New modular nuclear power stations, which can be dropped in at remote areas, however, were particularly exciting. You get the picture……..much of it was bunkum.
Shock of the new, Climate Spectator, Giles Parkinson, 4 July 2011, It was a terrific idea: the NSW government hosted a summit of industry leaders on Friday to discuss the future of solar and other renewable energy sources. It was held in Newcastle – solar at the coal-face, so to speak. But it didn’t take long to get to the nub of the problem.
The government chose, as the opening keynote speaker, Dr Adi Paterson, the CEO of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, who was asked to give a basic overview of renewable energy technologies. It was a provocative choice to a 200-strong audience of mostly renewable energy experts, and he played to type. Continue reading
Australian Greens negotiate a generous renewable energy fund
It is understood the Greens have negotiated a fund to invest in renewable energy which will be paid for from the proceeds of pricing carbon and worth up to $2 billion a year.
Greens secure billions for renewable energy as price of tax exemption for drivers, Sydney Morning Herald, Phillip Coorey, July 4, 2011,
A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR fund for renewable energy and a review of the fuel tax regime are key concessions won by the Greens from the government in exchange for agreeing to exempt petrol from the carbon price. Continue reading
Dr Jim Green exposes the nuclear spin of Ziggy Switkowski and Barry Brook
Unfortunately, Prof. Barry Brook has really abdicated a neutral position on this event. His clear support of nuclear power seems to have impacted his critical thinking skills … Every time he states something in this crisis is ‘impossible’, it seems to happen the next day.”…………Switkowski ignores the widespread human exposure to radiation from Fukushima and the likely resulting long-term cancer death toll.Media cover-up of Fukushima nuclear disaster, right from the start
The emails show that the Fukushima “PR campaign” cover-up planning started hours after the catastrophe, specifically targeted nuclear disarmament human rights defenders, and aimed to protect industry’s plans for more nuclear facilities rather than protect human life……..Major news networks are owned by energy corporations, as only days ago, investigative journalist Wayne Madsen explained during a June 24th Russia Today interview …..
Scandalous collusion’: Gov’t, nuclear industry planned Fukushima cover-up, Government, nuclear industry covert media blackout, Examiner.com Deborah Dupre, Human Rights Examiner, July 1, 2011, Human rights to health of children and pregnant women, the most vulnerable to radiation, have been violated in what Greenpeace called “scandalous collusion,” a planned Fukushima nuclear cover-up conducted by government and the multi-national nuclear industry according to leaked emails to the Guardian that it exposed Thursday. Continue reading
Western Australia Labor Party policy on nuclear power and uranium mining
Labor policy adopted- 25th June 2011, Chapter 4: Economics, Industry and Regional Development, Minerals and Energy
Uranium Mining and Nuclear Energy
241. Recognising the hazards and dangers of nuclear power, especially relating to:
a. The safety of the nuclear fuel cycle;
b. The unsolved problems pertaining to the reprocessing and storage of radioactive wastes and spent fuel;
c. The growing concern about the biomedical effects of even low radiation
d. The coupling of nuclear energy and nuclear weapon developments
e. The added danger of a future plutonium economy and the threats to civil liberties involved in a nuclear economy; and
f. The fact that Labor policy contained herein on fossil fuels, energy conservation and renewable resources will ensure Western Australia energy self sufficiency.
242. Labor will:
a. Reject nuclear power as an option for electricity generation in Western Australia;
b. Oppose the establishment of a nuclear enrichment facility in the State;
c. Reject the establishment of nuclear processing plants or the storage of nuclear wastes in the state;
d. allow no uranium mining or development in Western Australia; and
e. The platform recognises WA long and continuous opposition to uranium mining. The commencement and continuation of any uranium project is inconsistent with Labor Policy. Labor will accept no obligation to complete approval processes or honour contractual arrangements entered into by a previous government where such approvals or contracts are directed towards an outcome inconsistent with Labor s, restrictions and conditions applicable to the mining, processing, sale and transportation of uranium platform.
f. place thorium under the currently mines in Australia as outlines in the Resources and Energy section of the National Platform, so far as they relate to nuclear non-proliferation.
Nuclear power a No No for Australia for the foreseeable future
The Labor Party has reaffirmed its opposition to nuclear power and the Coalition has dropped its tepid support for the introduction of nuclear power.
A poll by Roy Morgan Research several days into the Fukushima crisis found that 61% of Australians oppose the development of nuclear power in Australia, nearly double the 34% that support it.
A Lowy Institute poll in June came up with near-identical results. The Morgan poll found that just 12% of Australians would support a nuclear plant being built in their local area, 13% would be anxious but not oppose it, and 73% would oppose it.
Fukushima: the political fallout in Australia, Green Left, July 4, 2011, By Jim Green, “…..Nuclear power in Australia, TEPCO has for many years put profits ahead of safety and this is the root cause of the nuclear disaster., Commonsense and prudent emergency planning would have protected emergency diesel generators against the March 11 tsunami. Working generators would have prevented the explosions and fires by maintaining reactor cooling.
The problems were not limited to TEPCO — they were (and are) systemic problems arising from the control of Japan’s nuclear industry by a clique of corporate executives, supine regulators and captured bureaucracies.
Similar problems are evident in Australia. In the past year, three whistleblowers have raised concerns about safety standards at the Lucas Heights nuclear research reactor site operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Continue reading
Australia joins South Asian nations in nuclear-free movement
“The Fukushima disaster has not changed the situation for uranium mining in Australia, but it has had some effect. Public opposition to uranium mining has strengthened in Australia. A recent poll found 50% opposition to uranium exports compared to 44% support……“Friends of the Earth Australia joins our colleagues in South Korea, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Japan, and all our brothers and sisters in the Asia Pacific region to build a nuclear free Asia Pacific and create a clean energy future for the next generations.”..
Natalie Lowrey Friends of the Earth Australia 30 June 2011 Seoul, Korea“Radioactive by-products of Australian uranium have been spewing into the atmosphere from Fukushima” reported Natalie Lowrey of FoE Australia at the recent FoE Asia Pacific meeting in Seoul, Korea.
“BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto export uranium from Australia to TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power plant from the Olympic Dam and Ranger mines in Australia, respectively. Heathgate Resources, operator of the Beverley uranium mine in South Australia, has probably also supplied TEPCO.
“Approximately 70% of uranium used in nuclear reactors are sourced from the homelands of Indigenous minorities worldwide, this is no different in Australia. Aboriginal communities in Australia have publicly announced their sadness at the uranium that has be taken from their lands without their consent and resulted in the nuclear disaster in Japan. These Aboriginal communities know too well that the nuclear industry has lead to sickness, divided communities and contaminated land. Continue reading
Atomic veterans’ compensation case drags, as nuclear test victims die
A seemingly disproportionate number of the 26,000 servicemen, also from Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, sent to the sites had died prematurely of a range of illnesses including cancer and heart disease. Complaints of skin disease and infertility were common, while many offspring were sickly…….
Britain urged to settle nuclear payout for veterans, THE AUSTRALIAN , 4 July 11, The British government was under pressure last night to settle a multimillion-pound fight with more than 1000 veterans of nuclear tests in Australia and the Pacific or risk wasting even more money on a “morally unjustifiable” legal battle that could drag on for years.Supporters of the pensioners, who participated in Britain’s atomic bomb trials in the Pacific in the 1950s, said that it was time for the Ministry of Defence to follow the world’s four other main nuclear powers and pay compensation.
A group of veterans who are dying of cancer and other conditions at a rate of about three a month will this month go to the Supreme Court to challenge an attempt by the MoD to have their landmark case thrown out. Continue reading
End nuclear power, says popular Japanese politician
Japan PM contender says ditch nuclear, FT.com, By Mure Dickie and Tom O’Sullivan in Tokyo 4 July 11, A leading contender to replace Naoto Kan as Japan’s prime minister has called for the country to phase out nuclear power over the next two decades.
Seiji Maehara, one of the most popular figures in the ruling Democratic party, told the Financial Times in an interview that construction of new nuclear reactors should “basically be stopped” following the crisis at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi atomic plant……A Japanese retreat from atomic power would have far-reaching implications for domestic utilities and companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which are seeking to sell nuclear technology overseas.….
Opinion polls suggest a majority of voters support a gradual reduction in the use of atomic energy. Mr Maehara said Japan should aim to phase out nuclear power completely. “That is what is going to happen and … what should happen, but given that we depend on nuclear power for 30 per cent of electricity generation, we can’t get rid of it right away,” he said. “While increasing the safety of nuclear power, we need to use preferential policies to reduce our dependence on it over 10 or 20 years.”
Mr Maehara’s relative popularity and status as a former leader of the DPJ mean his call for a nuclear phase-out could put the issue at the centre of any party election to replace Mr Kan. Mr Maehara’s status as a possible successor to Mr Kan has been boosted by recent opinion polls. One survey by the Nikkei Shimbun suggested one-fifth of voters thought him the most suitable person to become DPJ leader and thus premier…. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/caa106b6-a581-11e0-83b2-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1R7kQ1HSH
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