VIDEO: Gutless Australian government is gutting environmental protection laws
VIDEO Australian Government Abandons World Heritage Sites http://larissa-waters.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/australian-government-abandons-world-heritage-sites 01 Nov 2012 | Larissa Waters Australia’s World Heritage sites, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and the Franklin River, will be abandoned by the Federal Government and left to the whim of the state governments, as revealed in Senate Question Time today.
“Senator Evans has confirmed today that, in a reversal from the Prime Minister’s statements in April, the protection of World Heritage sites will indeed be given to the pro-mining states, and the federal government will no longer have any right to intervene,” Australian Greens environment spokesperson, Senator Larissa Waters, said. Senator Waters’ Take Note Speech
“The Australian Government has taken another step towards the complete gutting of environment protection in this country.
“Only uranium mining will still require federal oversight – and as the Australian Government is intent on shipping uranium to India, it would seem that they’re keeping this power to ensure the uranium gets dug up, not to protect the environment from its toxic effects.
“The major environment wins of the past – like the Franklin River – are now up for grabs again. This is the Labor Government using John Howard’s laws to trash Bob Hawke’s legacy.”
With climate change, nuclear power plants are a danger to humanity
Keeping nuclear plants safe from severe weather, WP Linda Pentz Gunter, November 2 Protecting nuclear plants from the catastrophic consequences of failure during a natural disaster will take more than higher sea walls and backup generators .
Even if diesel generators keep reactors running in the event of a loss of off-site power, the fuel pools have no such backup. Spent-fuel pools across the United States hold hundreds of tons of irradiated nuclear fuel. Without power, water-circulation pumps stop operating. If the pool water then boils down to the tops of the irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies, the assemblies could catch fire once exposed to air, causing radioactivity releases.
It is not nuclear plants that need protecting from nature. It is humanity that needs protecting from nuclear plants. Rather than risk such a disaster, the United States should shut its nuclear reactors, remove the fuel to fortified casks and begin to implement wide-scale renewable energy and energy-efficiency measures while emphasizing conservation.
Parramatta riverside sites under threat from rising sea levels
Rising sea a threat to riverside homes November 3, 2012 SMH Nicole Hasham WATER will swamp homes and businesses from Haberfield to Homebush as rising sea levels inundate the Parramatta River foreshore over the next century, a new analysis shows. The findings are critical as valuable river frontage becomes increasingly urbanised and former industrial sites are redeveloped into housing. Continue reading
10,000 Japanese seek criminal charges against nuclear power officials
Second mass complaint coming over Fukushima disaster,Asahi Shimbun November 02, 2012 By MASAKAZU HONDA/ Staff Writer FUKUSHIMA—More than 10,000 people from across Japan are seeking criminal charges against officials of Japan’s government and the utility that operates the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, after a similar mass complaint this summer accused 33 officials of causing death and injury through negligence. Continue reading
Wind farms lower power bills: authorities Samantha Landy | WIND energy is helping decrease South Australian energy bills, not increase them, clean energy authorities say.Weekly Times, 3 Nov 12 Continue reading
Doubters frustrate climate-change expert Canberra Times, November 3, 2012 Larissa Nicholson After more than two decades researching the health consequences of climate change, Tony McMichael admits it has been frustrating to see policy makers and even other scientists unable to comprehend the scale and scope of the looming human problem. Continue reading
Nuclear power plant problems during Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy: Problems at Five Nuke Plants http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/14275-focus-hurricane-sandy-problems-at-five-nuke-plants By Mark Schone, ABC News 31 October 12 The nation’s oldest nuclear plant declared an alert and a second plant just 40 miles from New York City was forced to shut down power as five different nuke plants in Hurricane Sandy’s path experienced problems during the storm. Continue reading
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