ERA’s Ranger uranium mine had to shut again due to cyclone
Australia’s ERA briefly suspends Ranger mine SYDNEY –(MarketWatch) 29 Dec 11 Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. said Wednesday that it suspended operations at its Ranger mine in Australia’s Northern Territory for a day because of a cyclone… http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australias-era-briefly-suspends-ranger-mine-2011-12-27
Northern Territory train derailment raises danger of uranium transport in tropical weather
Audio Questions raised over toxic goods transport in the Northern Territory ABC Radio AM December 29, 2011 While government officials are investigating the cause and the environmental impact of a serious train derailment in the Northern Territory, a Territory Environment group has raised questions over the safety of transporting uranium in tropical weather conditions.
Michael Coggan MICHAEL COGGAN: Forty-eight hours after floodwaters swept part of a large freight train into the Edith River and cut off the Stuart Highway north of the Top End town of Katherine, several investigations are underway into the cause of the train derailment and the environmental impact of tonnes of copper concentrate spilled into the flooded Edith River from the freight train.
Jim Grant is the head of the Northern Territory Environment Department. JIM GRANT: Well it’s not a highly toxic substance but it’s not to be ingested or inhaled. We think it’s washed all over the place…..
MICHAEL COGGAN: Environment Centre director Stuart Blanch says the accident shows why dangerous goods including uranium oxide should not be carried on the Alice Springs to Darwin railway.
STUART BLANCH: A much bigger risk to Top End rivers would be derailment of trains carrying uranium oxide from the Roxby Uranium Mine in South Australia. The Territory Government should call a halt on approving the transport of more and more trains of uranium oxide up to Port Darwin until there are really adequate, safe measures in place to stop such a derailment ever happening with uranium on the track.
MICHAEL COGGAN: But Chief Minister Paul Henderson doesn’t want to speculate about the implications for the transport of uranium in the Northern Territory…. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-29/questions-raised-over-toxic-goods-transport-in-the/3750842?section=nt
Expert report: nuclear power will have an even harder time in 2012
Experts: Even Higher Costs and More Headaches Ahead for Nuclear Power in 2012 Market Watch, WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2011 – Given Long-Term Uncontrollable Costs and Short-Term Pressure from Needed Post-Fukushima Safety Regulations, Nuclear Reactors Even Less Able to Take on Natural Gas, Other Alternatives
With the Fukushima disaster, earthquake-related reactor shutdowns, further reactor project cost escalation, infighting at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and cheap natural gas, 2011 was a year the nuclear power industry would prefer to get behind it as quickly as possible. But, looking ahead to 2012, experts see continuing challenges that will make it extremely difficult for the nuclear power industry to expand in the U.S. beyond a small handful of reactor projects that government agencies decide to subsidize by forcing taxpayers to assume the risk for the reactors and mandating that
ratepayers pay for construction in advance.
A new paper presented by Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School, suggests that the cost of nuclear power, which already had risen sharply in 2010 and 2011 before the Fukushima disaster, could climb another 50 percent due to tighter safety oversight and regulatory delays in the wake of the reactor calamity in Japan. The Cooper paper is available online at
http://www.markcooperresearch.com/Nuclear-Safety-and-Nuclear-Economics-Post-Fukushima.pdf ….
Wind powered car crossed Australia – one of 2011’s top energy stories
Top 25 Alternative Energy Moves of 2011 Earth 911.c0m, Despite controversies surrounding biofuel and the collapse of several high-profile alternative energy companies, 2011 was a big year for renewables. Profits from the alternative energy industry skyrocketed, making headlines worldwide. As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look at some history-making milestones in green energy. by Mary Mazzoni12/28/11
Wind-powered vehicle crosses Australia The Wind Explorer finished its 18-day, 3,100-mile trek across Australia in February, setting several records – including first wind-powered vehicle to cross a continent. The German adventurers that created the vehicle, Stefan Simmerer and Dirk Gion, made it from Perth to Melbourne in a little more than two weeks – reaching a top speed of 55 mph http://earth911.com/news/2011/12/28/top-25-alternative-energy-moves-of-2011/
Wind-Powered Vehicle Shatters Records VIDEO The Wind Explorer finished its 18-day, 3,100-mile trek across Australia this week, setting several records – including first wind-powered vehicle to cross a continent.
The Wind Explorer isn’t your average vehicle; it’s not even your average electric vehicle. The car is powered by an 8kWh lithium-ion battery, but instead of plugging the car into an outlet or charging station, it is recharged using a mobile wind turbine. There is a plug just in case it’s not windy enough.
The diminutive vehicle, weighing in at just 440 pounds, is made of carbon fiber and aluminum and has racing-bike tires. The goal of the Wind Explorer project was to prove that transportation can be self-sufficient and environmentally friendly, all while using technology that already exists.
The German adventurers that created the Wind Explorer, Stefan Simmerer and Dirk Gion, made it from Perth to Melbourne in a little over two weeks, reaching a top speed of 55 mph. http://earth911.com/news/2011/02/17/wind-powered-vehicle-shatters-records/
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 