State of play in Australia’s climate and nuclear news this week
Nuclear news has gone very quiet at the moment – seeing that for Australia nuclear’s big argument was that it’s “the cure” for climate change. (But now it is not politically correct to worry about climate change?)
Uranium. Energy Resources of Australia is touting its latest method to to treat radioactive water. ERA will go out of business if it doesn’t get a new mining operation going at Ranger. Not a great prospect – with its history of spills and revenue losses.
CLIMATE CHANGE has dominated the news this week. Or, more correctly, what Australia is NOT going to do about climate change.
Tony Abbott has:
- abolished the Science Ministry
- appointed as head of his Business Advisory Council – Maurice Newman, who very recently attacked the CSIRO, the weather bureau and the “myth” of anthropological climate change.
- abolished the Climate Change Commission, – sacking its chief, Tim Flannery
- appointed as Environment MInister – Greg Hunt, who abandoned decades of personal commitment to addressing climate change in order to save his political skin. He now tacitly supports climate scepticism, and has given false information on climate change and carbon emissions
- through Greg Hunt approved a brief to begin drafting a Bill to repeal the Climate Change Authority (this requires an Act of Parliament)
- through Treasurer Joe Hockey has ordered the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to cease operations. However, this order is not lawful, it is obliged to continue to operate until the Coalition passes legislation abolishing the CEFC (that needs an Act of Parliament)
To abolish the Climate Change Authority and the CEFC Abbott’s Bills would have to pass both Houses of Parliament, This can’t happen until after July 2014, as until then Abbott would not have a majority in the Senate.
Not Surprisingly, Former Labor Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has applauded the Liberal government’s attack on renewable energy. In the Labor cabinet, Ferguson had a hard time pretending to support renewable energy. Look out for Ferguson getting a nice little job with the polluting industries?
Traditional land owners want troubled ERA uranium mining to shut down by 2021 (or earlier)
traditional owners of the land want ERA to stick to the 2021 deadline.
“It’s never crossed our mind that they would mine beyond 2021,”
Rio Tinto may decide to walk away from the project at its mandated deadline. “They will be acutely aware that they will be judged long into the future on how they exit Kakadu,” Sweeney says.
Debate warming up over Ranger mine future, The West Neda Vanovac, AAPSeptember 19, 2013, The operators of the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory have unveiled a new water processing machine they say will give it a future beyond 2021.
But not everyone’s happy……. Traditional owners and environmental groups want to see ERA exit in 2021. Continue reading
Uranium mining might commence again at Ranger, Northern Territory
NT uranium mine gets future beyond 2021, Yahoo 7 Finance, 19 Sept 13 The Northern Territory’s Ranger uranium mine has unveiled a new water processing machine it says will prolong its future beyond a planned 2021 closure. Mining has been completed at the site, which is located within but is not a part of the world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. It’s operated by Energy Resources Australia (ERA), which is owned by Rio Tinto.
The $220 million brine concentrator unveiled on Thursday will improve the mine’s ability to treat water and progressively rehabilitate the site, which must be completed by 2026, when it must be of a standard to be reintegrated into Kakadu.
Previous attempts to treat water properly were either too small for requirements or unsuccessful, CEO Rob Atkinson said………
Although the Ranger mine is now only processing stockpiled ore as its open pits are slowly being backfilled, exploration for a possible underground mine is underway at a neighbouring site called Ranger 3 Deeps.
If feasible, mining could begin in 2015 but would only be able to operate for five years under the current lease agreement.
Mr Atkinson said it was too early to be talking about future negotiations with stakeholders such as the Jabiru community and the Mirarr people, the transitional owners of the land….. http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/nt-uranium-mine-gets-future-052217361.html
Earthquake hits Fukushima, 50km southwest of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
Earthquake rocks Japan’s Fukushima http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=907741 20 Sept 13, A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has rocked Japan’s Fukushima prefecture.
The epicentre of the earthquake was 22km below the ground, according to the US Geological Survey. It struck 20km west of the city of Iwaki, bordering the Pacific Ocean, at 2.25am (3.25am AEST) on Friday.
The epicentre was about 50km southwest of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which was crippled by the major quake and tsunami in March, 2011. The Japan Meteorological Agency, which put the quake at magnitude 5.8, said no tsunami warning had been issued.
The tremor caused buildings to shake in the capital Tokyo, 175km away, an AFP reporter there said.
It came just hours after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured the Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, ordering its operator Tokyo Electric Power to fix radioactive water leaks there. TEPCO said in a statement to Kyodo news agency that no abnormalities in radiation or equipment were observed at the plant after the quake.
Dan Tehan, Liberal MP for Wannon urged to save jobs, business, by keeping Clean Energy Finance Corporation
MP urged to help save clean energy fund ABC News, 19 Sep 2013, The Victorian Wind Alliance is calling on the Liberal Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan, to help stop the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) from being axed.
The Federal Government’s ministry was sworn in yesterday and it is understood legislation to abolish the clean energy fund is to be drafted immediately.The corporation recently granted a loan to a Portland wind project by Pacific Hydro and renewable energy businesses are concerned their projects will no longer get the investment needed.
Andrew Bray of the Victorian Wind Alliance says a strong industry has developed in Victoria’s south-west and Mr Tehan should move to protect that.
“For the Government to be moving in this way, in a way that’s so contrary to this area is not really a good look,” he said. “So we would really like to see Dan Tehan take up the fight for south-west Victoria, from within Government.
“We think there’s room for them, now they’re in Government, [to] adjust some of their thinking on this.” Keppel Prince Engineering general manager Steve Garner says the corporation has helped renewable energy projects be approved faster.
He says without the grants, business may drop off. “That’s the impact that we would see, is a lull between projects and if that happens then we really do have to assess whether this business is something we want remain in, because it has huge costs and huge impact on us,” he said.
“It’s disappointing that the Liberal National Party are continuing with this push to try and abolish the CEFC,” he said.
“I’m hopeful that those people are able to convince the Libs of a different position because I see them as an absolute asset for Australian manufacturing, Australian jobs and for getting the country moving in relation to renewable energy.”……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-19/mp-urged-to-help-save-clean-energy-fund/4967196
To shut the Climate Change Authority is an attack on future generations
Abbott shuts down Climate Commission (includes opinion poll) Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age 19 Sept 13 A spokeswoman for Mr Hunt said he had also approved a brief to begin drafting a bill to repeal the separate Climate Change Authority as part of the Coalition’s broader efforts to remove the carbon price.
She said the government would hold more discussions with the authority in coming weeks.
While the Climate Commission could be abolished by the minister at any time, the authority can only be shut down by an act of Parliament.
The authority was created to advise the government on emissions-reduction targets and caps and to detail international efforts to combat climate change. It was due to release a draft of a report on targets and caps next month.
A Climate Change Authority spokeswoman said it believed the government intended to abolish the agency through the repeal of legislation, but it did not have any further information at this time.
Greens leader Christine Milne said said issuing instructions to close the authority was irresponsible in the face of dangerous climate change.
“The Climate Change Authority was set up to de-politicise the process of setting greenhouse emission reduction targets. Everyone knows that a 5 per cent emission reduction target is woefully inadequate,” Senator Milne said. “Shutting down the Climate Change Authority, ahead of its first report on fair and science based emission reduction targets for Australia, is cowardly and an attack on current and future generations.” http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-shuts-down-climate-commission-20130919-2u185.html#ixzz2fSelP96C
Legislation needed to axe Climate Change Authority. Public to be kept in the dark
”what will the future think of the people who voted for this action?”
Mr Hunt declined to respond to questions from Fairfax Media.
Scientists say climate cuts leave public in the dark September 19, 2013 Peter Hannam, The Age Carbon economy editor The Abbott government’s plan to make scrapping the Climate Commission and the Climate Change Authority among its first priorities will deprive Australians of independent information on global warming just when it is needed most, leading scientists say.
Staff at the Climate Commission, a federal body set up to publicise climate-change science, have all but ceased work as they await instructions from new Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
The Climate Change Authority, a statutory body that will need a change in legislation before it can be axed, is continuing work on a draft report due out next month. That report will recommend the level of cuts to greenhouse gas emissions Australia should set and also details international efforts to combat climate change.
Ice wall around, slushy soil underneath Fukushima nuclear reactors may cause them to topple
Asahi: Buildings at Fukushima plant can start floating from too much groundwater — Expert: Blocking groundwater with ice wall may weaken soil and cause buildings to topple (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/asahi-buildings-at-fukushima-plant-could-start-floating-from-continuous-flow-of-groundwater-expert-ice-wall-may-weaken-soil-and-cause-buildings-to-topple-audio
Asahi Shimbun,, Sept. 18, 2013: […] The site receives so much groundwater that special equipment–rendered useless by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami–was set up to prevent the plant’s buildings from floating on the continuous flow. […] The original site of the Fukushima No. 1 plant was a cliff more than 30 meters high. But 20 meters was lopped off […] putting the groundwater level only a few meters below the surface. The plant itself was constructed on land containing gravel layers through which water can easily pass through. In the past, a brook trickled by the No. 4 reactor. […] Without that pumping, the buildings faced the danger of being buoyed by rising groundwater. […] TEPCO officials have pinpointed only two locations, including the turbine building of the No. 1 reactor, where groundwater is entering the building basements. They believe there are many more breaches. […]
Atsunao Marui,, head of Groundwater Research Group at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology: “About 4 million tons of rain falls on the plant site over the course of a year. Of that figure, it is believed that between 1 million and 1.5 million tons seep into the ground.”
Gordon Edwards, nuclear expert (at 39:45 in): This underground river that we talked about flowing thorough — the problem with this is they don’t really know how to stop it. […] They really don’t know how to stop this flow because it’s a major aquifer. One of the plans that they are talking about is… a wall of ice a mile long to act as a barrier to prevent the groundwater from going in to the cores of these damaged reactors, in order to try and solve the problem… And nobody knows if it’s actually going to work. In fact, some of the experts in Japan have said that by diverting the groundwater around the sides of the building, you may weaken the soil to the point where the buildings themselves topple — and that could be a far worse problem. So, they really don’t know what they’re going. They literally don’t know what they’re doing.
Japan’s government punishing those who speak out about Fukushima, says famous actress
Famous Japanese Actress: Gov’t is covering up Fukushima crisis — “Our nation has a right to know” — People who write the truth on Internet will be punished under new law — TV stars in Japan are to never discuss political views http://enenews.com/famous-japanese-actress-accuses-govt-of-fukushima-cover-up-our-nation-has-a-right-to-know-says-people-who-write-the-truth-on-internet-will-be-punished-under-new-law-stars-expected-to-ne
Japan Times, Sept. 18, 2013: Norika Fujiwara [former Miss Japan] has broken an unwritten rule of the television business: sharing her political views. The popular model and actress has come out against a bill that stiffens penalties against civil servants who leak classified information. […] In a message posted on Friday, Fujiwara accused the government of covering up the truth about the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, and spreading misinformation about radiation and leaks of radioactive water there. “As a citizen I am really concerned about it,” Fujiwara wrote in another message. “Our nation has a right to know.” […] “Once the bill is signed, the people who will write the truth on the Internet (or through other means) will be punished,” she stressed. […]
Tokyo Reporter,, Sept. 15, 2013: Norika Fujiwara says Secret Security Act could allow government to withhold information, such as radiation readings […]
Release of New South Wales Renewable Energy Plan
Final NSW Renewable Energy Action Plan released http://ecogeneration.com.au/news/final_nsw_renewable_energy_action_plan_released/083533/ Fri, 20 September 2013
The final New South WalesRenewable Energy Action Plan has been launched, detailing three goals and 24 actions to grow renewable energy generation in the state.
The Plan’s three key goals are:
- Attract renewable energy investment and projects
- Build community support for renewable energy
- Attract and grow expertise in renewable energy technology.
The Plan positions New South Wales to increase the use of energy from renewable sources at the least cost to the energy customer.
Key actions of the plan include: Continue reading
Forums to explore rural New south Wales attitudes to wind power
Hope renewable energy co-op lead study will discover why concerns exist about wind power ABC News, 18 Sep 2013, A series of forums will start in the region next week, as part of an investigation into community concerns about wind energy.
The state government’s provided the Central New South Wales Renewable Energy Cooperative with $60,000 to help fund the study.
Chairman Pat Bradbery says Charles Sturt University will participate in the investigation and in a fortnight a video-conference forum will be held at the Bathurst, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Albury campuses.
There’s been a lot of research about community attitudes, but what hasn’t been done, and what we’re trying to address with this grant money, is what are the concerns people still have about, in particular, wind energy.
Mr Bradbery says the group is using a Sydney University of Technology literature review into community attitudes to wind power as a starting point……..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-18/wind-study/4964506?§ion=news
With Climate Commission gone, Australia lacks authoritative information source
Abbott shuts down Climate Commission (includes opinion poll) Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age 19 Sept 13 Scientists say climate cuts leave public in the dark “………Professor Flannery said Mr Hunt did not indicate to him why the Coalition had abolished the commission. He said a formal letter from the government was on its way.
He said the commission in its work had stayed out of politics and stuck to the facts. “As a result we have developed a reputation as a reliable, apolitical source of facts on all aspects on climate change,” Professor Flannery said.
“I believe Australians have a right to know, a right to authoritative, independent and accurate information on climate change. “We have just seen one of the earliest ever starts to the bushfire season in Sydney following the hottest 12 months on record. Last summer was the hottest on record, breaking over 120 heat records across Australia.
“As global action on climate change deepens, propaganda aimed at misinforming the public about climate change, and so blunting any action, increases.”
Since its creation two years ago, the commission has produced 27 public reports on topics including the effect of climate change in Australia, global action being taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the potential of renewable energy. It has also held public forums across the country.
Professor Flannery said it was increasingly difficult for other institutions – such as the CSIRO and universities – to carry out the same role as the commission because of the breadth of information dealt with and that they may be constrained politically.
He said the commission’s activities were to cost about $5 million over four years. “I am extremely proud of what we did. I would have been happy to have continued on but the government has made a decision so that is the way it is,” he said.
In a statement Mr Hunt confirmed that he had dissolved the commission. “As part of the Coalition’s plans to streamline government processes and avoid duplication of services, the commission’s function to provide independent advice and analysis on climate change will be continued by the Department of the Environment,” he said…… http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-shuts-down-climate-commission-20130919-2u185.html#ixzz2fSelP96C
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 