Democratic process stops the uranium mining rush into Woomera area
Senate slows deal to give mineral explorers access to Defence’s Woomera testing grounds Adelaide Now, CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL Business Editor June 21, 2013 “…..Laws to keep Defence as the prime user and controller of access to Woomera Prohibited Area but giving certainty to mineral explorers were this week shunted into a Senate committee inquiry after earlier clearing the Lower House with bipartisan support.
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee now will seek new public submissions on the pact, which had been negotiated over several years between industry, government and Defence following an inquiry by former public servant Allan Hawke.
The committee is only due to report back on August 20, just weeks before the federal election. That means the reform Bill will lapse and have to await being reintroduced by the next Federal Government……..
Greens MP Adam Bandt said his party was “absolutely opposed to mining uranium” and also had concerns about Aboriginal issues.SA Senator David Fawcett said it was quite appropriate for the Bill to go to a committee inquiry and it should not be rushed.”If it’s not dealt with this week – and clearly it won’t be – it’ll be an issue for whoever forms government after September,” he said.
Senator Fawcett, who came to politics from a military career which included working in Woomera, said the area was crucial to Defence testing.
“Just because we have a State Government and mining lobby who are saying let’s go on with it, I don’t see that – short of a national emergency – we should be circumventing the democratic process,” he said…… http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/sa-business-journal/senate-slows-deal-to-give-mineral-explorers-access-to-defence8217s-woomera-testing-grounds/story-e6fredel-1226667870070
A win for wind in Victoria – Coonooer Bridge community wind farm
Finally! First new wind farm approved under Baillieu’s anti-wind laws http://yes2renewables.org/2013/06/21/finally-first-new-wind-farm-approved-under-baillieus-anti-wind-laws/ 21 June 13, The Victorian Wind Alliance has today welcomed the approval of a new wind farm project near Bendigo – the first since the Baillieu anti-wind laws were passed.
The Coonooer Bridge wind farm – a small five-turbine project – was approved by the Buloke Shire Council overnight, the first to be approved since former premier Ted Ballieu’s restrictive laws were introduced in 2011.
Victorian Wind Alliance state coordinator Andrew Bray said that Victoria should be approving many more wind farms.“These laws were costing the state billions in investment, thousands of manufacturing jobs and income for regional farmers and communities.
“It’s great that we are going to have a new wind farm near Bendigo, as it would provide certain and steady income to a regional community and clean renewable energy.“The project will combine community and corporate ownership and is part owned by the local community which means the profits will stay in the community.
“There are 30 owners to the new wind farm – and the turbines will benefit not only those whose land the turbines rest, but on rest of the community who are part owners of the site.
“There are communities like this one around Victoria who would love to take advantage of the wind to make energy and money. “Community owned wind power is hugely popular in Europe and could work well for Victorian communities.
“However it is disappointing that other communities cannot realise these benefits because of the current Baillieu anti-wind laws.“Many people around the state are calling for farms in their area, and all the investment, income and employment that comes with it,” said Mr Bray.
AUDIO: Julian Assange speaks about whistleblower Edward Snowden
AUDIO http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/assange-wikileaks/4770642 Assange says Snowden leaks will boost Senate election chances 21 June 2013 Matt O’Neil It’s one year since Julian Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden. But the controversial WikiLeaks founder says he has a bigger battle to fight—his bid for the Australian Senate is building momentum, and he hopes recent leaks about government surveillance will bolster his party’s message…..
‘We now have a regime of secret deals between a national security agency and major organisations like Google and Microsoft and Apple.’
Speaking with Fran Kelly on RNBreakfast, Assange said that America’s surveillance policies ‘affect all Australians’—and he believes Canberra has a lot to answer for. ‘How are they involved in this? Does the Australian Government swap that information? Is the Australian Government using that information from the US government?’
‘All of that is being kept secret, and it’s completely unacceptable. What kind of world are we drifting into where we have a transnational surveillance apparatus, [with] different rules for people in that apparatus compared to the rest of society. It’s very dangerous.’ Continue reading
Youtube: Significance of San Onofre nuclear plant shut-down
TV: Expert believes shut down of Calif. nuke plant is one of most significant events in history of nuclear energy — Industry very concerned about more citizen action to close down reactors (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/tv-expert-believes-shut-down-calif-nuke-plant-one-significant-events-history-nuclear-energy-industry-very-concerned-about-citizen-action-shut-down-reactors-video
Source: Russia Today
Author: Ramon Galindo
Date: June 11, 2013
h/t onthewaytoextinction
RT: Gundersen believes the shut down is one of the most significant events in the history of nuclear energy.
Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Chief Engineer: The industry is very concerned that now citizens realize that they can do it, there may be more citizen action to shut down more nuclear plants. Watch the broadcast here
Hanford nuclear facility – the $155 billion leaking radioactive site
Today, it is the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, with cleanup expected to last decades. The effort — with a price tag of about $2 billion annually — has cost taxpayers $40 billion to date and is estimated will cost $115 billion more.
The most challenging task so far has been the removal of highly radioactive waste from the 177 aging, underground tanks and construction of a plant to treat that waste.
U.S. Energy Dept.: Worst Hanford tank may be leaking nuclear waste into soil Shannon Dininny, CTV News The Associated Press , June 21, 2013 An underground tank holding some of the worst radioactive waste at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site might be leaking into the soil.
The U.S. Energy Department said workers at Washington state’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation detected higher radioactivity levels under tank AY-102 during a routine inspection Thursday.
Spokeswoman Lori Gamache said the department has notified Washington officials and is investigating the leak further. An engineering analysis team will conduct additional sampling and video inspection to determine the source of the contamination, she said. State and federal officials have long said leaking tanks at Hanford do not pose an immediate threat to the environment or public health. The largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest — the Columbia River — is still at least 5 miles away and the closest communities are several miles downstream.
However, if this dangerous waste escapes the tank into the soil, it raises concerns about it travelling to the groundwater and someday potentially reaching the river.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement that the situation “must be treated with the utmost seriousness.”……… Continue reading
Impact of climate change on business
Environment holds business risk: UN Herald Sun AAP JUNE 21, 2013 RISING temperatures, storms linked to climate change and growing competition for water and land point to tough times ahead for the business sector, but also a chance for profitable innovation, the United Nations says.
Citing the ravages of floods in Australia in 2010-11 which cost insurer Munich Re $US350 million ($A382 million) and mining group Rio Tinto another $US245 million, the report on Friday said companies had no choice but to adapt.
“From extreme weather events, to rising pressures on finite natural resources, changes in the global environment will increasingly impact operating costs, markets for products, the availability of raw materials, and the reputation of businesses, from finance and tourism, to healthcare and transport,” said the UN Environment Program document.
“The future of the private sector will increasingly hinge on the ability of businesses to adapt to the world’s rapidly changing environment and to develop goods and services that can reduce the impacts of climate change, water scarcity, emissions of harmful chemicals, and other environmental concerns.”….. HTTP://WWW.HERALDSUN.COM.AU/NEWS/BREAKING-NEWS/ENVIRONMENT-HOLDS-BUSINESS-RISK-UN/STORY-FNI0XQLL-1226667796488
Radioactive wasteland caused by Utah’s Moab uranium mine
TV: Western U.S. turned into “radiant wasteland” by nuclear-related facilities http://enenews.com/tv-western-u-s-turned-into-radiant-wasteland-by-nuclear-related-facilities
Title: Moab, Utah: Beauty and the Nuclear Feast
Source: KCET
Author: Char Miller
Date: June 19, 2013
[…] The [uranium] tailings made Moab [Utah] glow — and not in a good way. For nearly 30 years, the various companies that operated the facility dumped ton after ton of the radioactive sandy byproduct into an unlined impoundment area located 750 feet from the river. Over the decades, this Geiger-hot waste, which ultimately totaled 12 million cubic yards, was spread over 130 acres at a depth of more than 80 feet. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), which took over remediation of the site, the tailings “have an average radioactivity of 665 picocuries per gram of radium-226,” and because the center of the monstrous pile has a “high water content…excess water in the pile drains into underlying soils, contaminating the ground water.”
Some the deleterious consequences are revealed in “The American West at Risk,” an illuminating book whose authors pay special attention to the Moab mill. It’s hard to dispute their claim that it ranks “high in the annals of indiscriminate disposal,” for the tailings each day continue to release “an estimated 28,000 gallons of radioactive pollutants and toxic chemicals into the only major river draining the southwestern United States.” […]
The Moab mine, like Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Rocky Flats weapons facility in Colorado, and Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, helped turn the west into a radiant wasteland. […]
See also: Los Angeles-area Meltdown: Cesium-137 still up to 1,000 times higher than standard — Plutonium also detected — Located between Chatsworth and Simi Valley
Troubles continue for Tanzania uranium mining project
Tanzania’s first uranium mine under pressure http://www.mining.com/tanzanias-first-uranium-mine-under-pressure-59241/ Vladimir Basov | June 20, 2013 After the announcement of the forthcoming commissioning of the first uranium mine in Tanzania, the country’s officials claim the start of the project is not clear so far because of pending issues yet to be agreed on with the investor.
“We have already submitted our proposals. The offer is on the table, to take it or leave it,” said the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals, Stephen Maselle, in Parliament.
Maselle further said the new investor owed the Tanzania’s government millions of dollars in capital gains tax from the sale of the Mkuju River uranium project by Mantra Resources Pty Ltd of Australia to a Russian state-owned company, ARMZ Uranium Holding (ARMZ).
Tanzania claims almost $206 million in taxes from ARMZ, which gained control of the Mkuju River project in June 2011 after the acquisition of Mantra Resources of Australia, who was the previous owner of the project.
The government, through the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), filed a case in court to press ARMZ for immediate payment of the capital gains tax. ARMZ disputed the tax claim and the matter is now awaiting a court ruling.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 