ABC Radio interview: Alice McCleary spruiks for nuclear power, nuclear waste dump in South Australia
Alice Mc Cleary from Uranium SA appears to not understand the question of toxic wastes. Hers is an extraordinary point of view, in the light of the continuing slide in uranium prices.
No surprise that Ben Heard, from the Barry Brook nuclear lobby cheer squad, appeared. Ian Henschke (ABC interviewer) seems unaware that in fact the Barry Brook clique are the ONLY environmentalists in Australia known to be pro nuclear.
I note with amusement that McCleary mentioned “emotion” three times in this discussion – that naughty feeling that we must eliminate. Hes is a point of view that would not go down well with many cancer victims, and with those who have recently visited Fukushima, or Chernobyl.
The silly part about it all is that the new nuke promoters are all for nuclear reprocessing, and Thorium reactors – and they need very little uranium.
Uranium fuelled nuclear reactors are so last century now.
BHP knew when to get out.
Should South Australia go nuclear? 13/09/2012 ABC Radio Adelaide, PM by john Thompson-Mills Despite safety fears and environmental concerns, would switching to nuclear power benefit South Australia in the long run? Alice McLeary is the chairman of Uranium SA and she says it is time South Australians had a rational debate about going nuclear.
891 Mornings host Ian Henschke spoke to Alice from the Royal Adelaide Show and took calls from some very passionate listeners.
Christina’s notes from audio:
Alice McCleary We need to start the debate. Include nuclear option. Let the market decide. At the moment nuclear power would not be economic in Australia. Carbon tax designed to eliminate fossil fuels. For baseload power nuclear should be one of those things to talk about. Uranium SA exploring South of Whyalla
Presenter doesn’t think that wind farms are particularly efficient.
McCleary There’s been a lot of emotion, a lot of scare mongering. No source of energy provides a free lunch.
Question: what is her position on nuclear waste?
Presenter: there are now nuclear power plants that have minimal waste?
McCleary: research being done to use 100% of enegy, (?no waste?) We can earn by creating a nuclear waste repositary in South Australia.
Nothing is free. Wind power has all sorts of issues. I’m calling for an unemotional debate about the options.
Caller: uranium mining is a crime against humanity. Everyone in Sweden was exposed. Grandkids, twins – dead in womb – autopsy found no apparent reason. I say – poison from Fukushima. I’m sorry to be emotional.
Presenter: talking about fallout – something much more deadly
McCleary ; those were very old technologies, Fukushima, Chernobyl. I’m trying to get some of the emotion out of it. We should look at the scientific evidence. Current pollution [from coal] is an issue.
Presente. David Evan{?} saying before 9 that manny in parliament agree with McCleary.
Caller, Ben Heard, for Decarbonise Australia. [one of Barry Brook’s pro nuke mob] Chernobyl and Fukushima pollution much less than existing coal plants.
In South Australia quite soon we have to make expensive choices.
In long run, nuclear will reduce the cost of power. Fuel is so cheap. As carbon price goes up, nuclear becomes cheaper. To make the right decision need all the options on the table.
Presenter: a lot of people in environmental movement are moving towards your point of view.
Asks McCleary about Abbott removing carbon tax. She doesn’t really know what Abbott would do… http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2012/09/should-south-australia-go-nuclear.html
Marathon 270 Km walk strengthens Western Australia’s anti nuclear, anti uranium movement
WALKERS CELEBRATE END OF WALK WITH JAPAN NUCLEAR PHASEOUT After walking for four weeks and over 270kms, the Walkatjurra Walkabout is completing the last ten kilometres this morning to reach their destination in Leonora. Starting from Yeelirrie, the walk is a collaborative effort of people from across Australia and local Traditional Owners to build resistance to the threat of uranium mining in Western Australia.
“Over one hundred and fifty walkers have participated in this event, and we have received messages of support and solidarity from people across the world. Globally communities are resisting the nuclear industry at every stage, and it is our responsibility here in Australia to ensure that uranium stays in the ground.”
The walk is a celebration of the strength of the community in Leonora who have successfully fought to stop uranium mining at Yeelirrie for over forty years. News of the recent acquisition of the Yeelirrie deposit by Canadian company Cameco has been a catalyst for renewed opposition.
Traditional Owner of Yeelirrie, Kado Muir: “Yesterday the Walkatjurra Walkabout joined us in re-establishing Kutunatu Ngurra a traditional camping place and sacred site where we have maintained our cultural practice and connection to country. The West Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA) will meet here this weekend, and bring together
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to continue to work in solidarity to uphold our right to protect country”.
As we meet on our lands to build momentum WANFA, the walkers of the Walkatjurra Walkabout and Traditional Owners send our messages of support and solidarity to the four thousand protestors in India protesting nuclear power. Our thoughts are with the family of the individual shot during this protest. We are heartened to hear that Japan has now decided to phase out nuclear power and we call on the Australian Government to stop promoting the sale of uranium to these
countries.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kado Muir: 0477 184 957
Laura Hogan: 0421 816 846
Marcus Atkinson: 0400 505 765
How nuclear lobbyists like Barry Brook trivialise the health impacts of ionising radiation
Nuclear sector seeks to regain trust after Fukushima, Paul Langley’s NUclear History Blog, Sep 13, 2012“……..March 11 was an error,” said Ric Perez, president and chief operating officer of Westinghouse, also a leading nuclear company and majority-owned by Japan’s Toshiba.
…….Earlier this year, the was a public meeting held at the Walkerville Hall. Barry Brook of Adelaide University, passed around little sealed plastic bags containing uranium ore to the gathered crowd. Perfectly safe he said. True enough at the level of radiological laboratory Barry. People measured the gamma dose emitted by the ore, the gamma penetrating, largely unattenuated, the little plastic bags. The alpha radiation was not measured. It presents only as a severe internal hazard if taken into the body.
Barry, how many little plastic bags, glued to the shattered Fukushima reactors, will it take to seal the inside the reactors the radionuclides which have been venting and leaking from them since March 2011?
A rough number will do. What the hell were you thinking? That a broken reactor complex is anything remotely like a rad lab, the main aim of which is to keep its radioactive sources sealed?
A rad lab and a broken rank of reactors are two very different things Barry. So what was your point?
The idea of the myth of progress is to enable a false claim that present “mistakes” are not actually mere repeats of the deliberate crimes of the past.
That is why, sometimes, “progress” is indeed a myth.
Sometimes, the nuclear victims of the earlier nuclear escapades had children. And those children often remember precisely what happened to their parents, and sometimes, to themselves, as a result of nuclear “mistakes”.
The children of Fukushima will retain their memories for a long time, and will perhaps pass onto their children their recollections of what Mr Perez calls an “error”.
http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/fukushima-was-mistake-wetinghouse-chief-boy-he-thinks-its-still-1954/
Renewed lobbying for uranium mining in Queensland
Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, in a speech to the uranium industry in June, called on Queensland to lift the ban. “The Australian Government urges Queensland to take the next step and to also remove its ban on uranium mining
LNP silent on uranium mining front Gympie Times, Daniel Burdon, APN Newsdesk | 13th September 2012 A RENEWED push by the state resources lobby to reopen Queensland to uranium mining has been met with silence by the Newman Government. Continue reading
India’s panel of nuclear big boys will “enlighten the masses” on nuclear safety etc
I was so fascinated by this little article: I have coloured my favourite phrases in red.
Summit to allay fears on Kundakulam, Jaitapur nuclear plants Times of India B Sridhar, TNN Sep 13, 2012, JAMSHEDPUR: The innocent misguided people opposing the likes of Kundakulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu and Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra will be in focus in the global Nuclear Energy Summit scheduled to be held in Mumbai on September 25.
The summit to be organized by the department of atomic energy (DAE) will witness domestic and foreign nuclear producing company’s representatives discuss the various misconceptions and misinformation about the nuclear energy plants in a comprehensive manner.
“The summit will immensely help in allaying the fears related to the operation of the nuclear energy plants in India,” said
Jamshedpur-based Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) spokesperson Atul Bajpai.
The UCIL will have 15 panels at the summit venue that will largely be informative in nature aimed at enlightening the common masses about the effective and sustainable uranium exploration measures the premier public enterprise is practicing over the years…..
Atomic Energy Commission chairman R K Sinha, Atomic Energy Nuclear Board vice-chairman S Duraisamy, nuclear specialist, Lisega Inc (US) Bob Fandetti and chief executive, French Nuclear Industry Association, Henri Chapotot are among those who will take part in the summit to be held at the Mumbai Exhibition Center.
Importance of keeping Australia’s Renewable Energy Target unchanged
Australia’s Renewable Energy Target – Stability Crucial http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3381 by Energy Matters, 14 Sept 12, Flip flops isn’t just an American term for a popular form of Aussie footwear; it also describes our country’s approach to renewable energy at times – and to our detriment.
The Federal Government’s Climate Change Authority is currently undertaking a review of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, currently set at 20 per cent of Australia’s energy to be gained from renewable sources by 2020. The Clean Energy Council has called for the Federal Government to ensure the Renewable Energy Target remains unchanged, stating that it was crucial to promoting investment, driving job creation and continuing to push down costs for consumers. “The Renewable Energy Target is the single most important policy measure for the entire Australian renewables sector,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive David Green.
“Any changes to the Renewable Energy Target will shatter this stability and remove investor confidence in clean energy, negating the industry’s ability to support Australia’s shift to clean energy sources and to reduce energy costs for consumers in the long-term. The fact a review is even being held is already contributing to uncertainty in the market.”
The CEC believes alterations to policy could damage returns on investments already made and consequently, Australia’s reputation with regard to energy infrastructure investment.
The organisation states the Renewable Energy Target has generated around $18.5 billion of investment and thousands of jobs, seen 1.7 million home solar power and solar hot water systems installed and resulted in the equivalent of more than 2.1 million households being powered by large scale renewables to date.
“To date, it has also been the single largest carbon abatement scheme in Australia and without it Australia would not have achieved its emissions reductions target under the Kyoto Protocol,” says Mr. Green.
Left untouched, current policies would see a further $30 billion in investment and a total reduction of 380 million tonnes in carbon emissions over the life of the scheme.
“The cost of the Renewable Energy Target contributes just 7 per cent to the average Australian electricity bill, and this is forecast to drop to just 4 per cent by 2020 – with even greater potential savings as we all become smarter about how we use our energy.”
Submissions in response to an initial issues paper released by the Climate Change Authority are due today. The Clean Energy Council’s submission can be viewed here .
Queensland leads in war against solar energy
War against solar: pricing regulator favours gross tariffs, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 14 September 2012 The Queensland pricing regulator says it favours the introduction of a gross feed in tariff in the state, in a move that the solar industry say would be devastating for the rooftop solar PV market…..
They argue it effectively reduces competition in the industry, and potentially removes one of the key solutions to the overloading of grids. Numerous independent studies have underlined the important role that solar PV could help in meeting peak demand, but this is rarely acknowledged by the utilities, who are more concerned about protecting revenues by growing their assets. The move comes just months after the Queensland Government slashed its net feed in tariff. Queensland had been the fastest growing state for solar PV, accounting for 40 per cent of national installations by some count.
The introduction of gross tariffs would also likely kill off the emerging commercial-scale solar PV market in Australia. Commercial scale solar is considered one of the most effective options for reducing peak demand because the output from the rooftop or ground mounted panels corresponds with usage by commercial users.
However, Australian solar companies have also expressed fears that the suspension of grants under the Federal government’s $800 million Clean Technology Investment Program for manufacturing groups could threaten many projects, just as the industry was getting started.
The head of one NSW company, who requested anonymity, said he had 15 proposals on the drawing board, ranging in size from 30kW systems to up to 1MW for customers including manufacturers, processors, retailers, and vineyards.
He said if the funding was withdrawn, only a couple of smaller projects were likely to go ahead. That’s because larger commercial customers had the buying power to negotiate lower electricity prices – of around 16c-18c/kWh (instead of 30ckW/h or more) from the utilities which were effectively cross subsidized by other users. RenewEconomy highlighted the other issues surrounding commercial solar in this piece earlier this week, Why new solar tariffs coud drive a man to diesel”….
The situation in Australis is not unique. In the US, for instance, the solar industry is facing similar issues, as highlighted in this piece on Greentech Media this week – where they flagged a potential installation of 75GW of solar PV in the country by the end of the decade – 15 times its current capacity – and massive resistance from utilities.
In Australia, the utilities have become concerned because of recent forecasts that suggest up to 18GW of solar PV could be installed in the country over the next few decades. Some private forecasts suggest that could happen within a decade.
As David Crane, the head of leading US energy generator NRG, said earlier this year, solar PV represents the biggest threat to the conventional energy industry in half a century. In the Greentech Media piece, the solar companies said utilities in the US were so powerful they acted as “a fourth arm of government” and won’t give up easily. Professor Ross Garnaut has commented on the extent of regulatory capture in the Australian industry, hence the ability to “gold plate” networks and extract huge compensation packages for the carbon price. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/war-against-solar-pricing-regulator-favours-gross-tariffs-23984
India’s pro nuclear regime terrorising the people of Kudankulam.
A regime that hates common masses and uses them only as vote bank can do anything to make the rich and multinationals terribly happy
Indian regime has already exhausted all techniques and tricks to malign, terrorize the people of Kudankulam.
India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Terror threatens Jal-Satyagraha http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/editorial/2012/09/14/4450.html 14 SEPTEMBER 2012 : BY DR. ABDUL RUFF Gandhian method of struggle still has relevance for India which fought against the British occupation for centuries. In fact the Indian regime is not happy about protesters using non-violent protests against a government that employed as its prime tool of attack on Britain.
Defying security presence, Kudankulam protesters have entered sea for a Sea water Protest , or Jal Satyagraha, signalling that the not only the people of Kudankulam, especially the fishermen and families angry with central India and Tamilnadu regimes, but even the Sea itself is annoyed with an nuclear extra terror fitting on its shores..
Upon state murder of one fisherman in Kudankulam vicinity, the protesting masses have decided to continue the movement through relaunching the struggle by getting into the sea. Protesters have formed human chain in sea from Sep 13, 2012.
Can’t the Manmohan-Jayalalithaa state forces kill them inside the sea as well? Continue reading
Lies and coverups about radiation, from Maralinga to Fukushima
In 1953, Lallie Lennon was engulfed by a bomb fallout cloud. She became ill. She still suffers painful scars, though they have improved. From 1952 she began asking for a diagnosis. She asked throughout the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s. Not until the 1980s did she get an answer.
And then, the Young Doctors ignored radiation as a factor. They brushed aside her mention of the fallout which caused her health to decline and which caused her suffering. She is not the only one.
Nuclear sector seeks to regain trust after Fukushima< Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, Sep 13, 2012
“……..Over the last year and a half I have watched world nuclear authorities act increasingly in the same manner as the British nuclear authorities acted in Australia. They lied about the amount and impact of fallout. They lied about the extent of contamination residue on land and in water and food.
They lied about casualities, they lied about and with held diagnosis for decades, they with held hospital records, they claim to have lost ALL of the Maraling nuclear test health records.
They claim radiation affected no nuclear veteran, even at the same time as they admit that nuclear veterans suffer 23% higher risk of disease. They are perplexed, in public about this. Even today, the land which British authorities claimed was perfectly clean,remains, forever, banned from permanent human use. Yet Aboriginal people, whose land it is, know very well that the game they catch up there may well British radionuclides in its flesh…… Continue reading
Julian Assange offered sanctuary by Sovereign Aboriginal Nations
Sovereign Aboriginal nations consider sanctuary for Julian Assange, Green Left , September 14, 2012 The Indigenous Social Justice Association released the statement below on September 14.
Several sovereign Aboriginal nations are considering giving Julian Assange refuge and sanctuary in their nations.
It was argued that as Julian is an Australian citizen he should be allowed to seek sanctuary in one of the sovereign Aboriginal nations in the lands known as Australia.
Whilst the federal government is held in thrall to the dictates of the US, we are not and are therefore quite free to support Julian in every way we possibly can. Offering safe refuge is but one way. Why should Julian be forced to seek refuge in a South American country and not his own?
Despite the ongoing protestations of the foreign affairs minister, Bob Carr, in reality the federal government is doing very little to assist Julian being press-ganged to the United States via Sweden. That is why Julian sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Our Welcome to Aboriginal Land Passport Ceremony will take place from 11am to 4pm at The Settlement, 17 Edward Street, Darlington on Saturday, September 15.
We are honoured to be able to present to Mamdouh Habib and John Shipton on behalf of his son, Julian Assange, the Aboriginal Nations Passport for travel through the Aboriginal nations…… http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/52227
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 