This week in Australia: nuclear, and other news
AUSTRALIA and INTERNATIONAL
This week I chanced upon a website that made me think, and reminded me that everything is inter-connected. The nuclear issue is just one part of the web of global social and environmental issues . This website is “Project New World: Let’s co-operate “ I think it originates in Germany – but anyway, it can be read in many languages, and it links up all sorts of issues.
This idea is timely, as now there’s an Australian in gaol in Russia, for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic. OK – it’s oil not nuclear. In fact, the Russians have dumped so much radioactive trash in the Arctic, that this drilling may well be very connected.
In America, 83 year old Sister Megan Rice remains in a prison cell, awaiting what could be a 30 year sentence for her anti nuclear action.
The one bright spot is that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s wheels of process for re-licensing nuclear power plants have ground to a halt, along with much else, due to the USA government shut-down. Also, for Australia and others, it might be just that bit harder for the secretive Trans Pacific Partnership to get signed up, seeing that Obama has had to cancel his Asian visit.
In Australia, Robert Stone is showing his nuclear advertising film “Pandora’s Promise”, and getting mainstream media coverage, of course. In Melbourne, there will be a protest at the launching of the film. Cinema -goers will be handed leaflets explaining what the film carefully leaves out.
Politically biased media climate coverage is not a coincidence
Let’s be honest – the global warming debate isn’t about science by Dana Nuccitelli Friday 4 October 2013 theguardian.comThe scientific evidence on human-caused global warming is clear. Opposition stems from politics, not science.The 2013 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states with 95 percent confidence that humans have caused most, and probably all of the rapid global warming over the past 60 years. Approximately 97 percent of climate experts and peer-reviewed climate science studies agree…….
Politically biased media climate coverage is not a coincidence
The scientific evidence is what it is, and it has no political bias. The same is not true of the media outlets that cover the topic. It’s not a coincidence that politically conservative tabloids and newspapers like the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Australian, and Wall Street Journal spend a disproportionate amount of time amplifying the voices of the less than 3 percent of climate contrarian scientists, as well as many non-scientist contrarians.
It’s certainly not the case that David Rose has some brilliant insight into the state of climate science that climate scientists don’t have. He and his fellow climate contrarians simply approach the question backwards. They start from their political ideological opposition to climate solutions and work backwards, seeking out cherry picked evidence to justify their predetermined conclusions, thus ignoring the 97 percent of inconvenient scientific evidence. This climate contrarianism ideological bias is illustrated in a new study, summarized by Graham Readfearn: Continue reading
St George and Sutherland Shire still want ANSTO’s nuclear facilities – just not the wastes!
‘The people of Sutherland Shire call on the government to address the long-term future of nuclear waste associated with the continued operation of the ANSTO reactor and increased waste production associated with the new nuclear medicine centre.’
‘‘The continued transportation of intermediate level radioactive waste to Lucas Heights in the form of reprocessed fuel represents an unnecessary risk to the surrounding residents and communities.’’.
Mayor reacts to ANSTO licence for new nuclear medicine facility at Lucas Heights St George and Sutherland Shire Leader Oct. 4, 2013, .The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) has issued a licence to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation to prepare a site for the ANSTO Nuclear Medicine Molybdenum-99 Facility at Lucas Heights.
The move prompted Sutherland Shire mayor Steve Simpson to renew the council’s calls for the federal government to address the problem of long-term management of radioactive waste from the Lucas Heights centre and establish a national nuclear waste repository as priority.
Fukushima’s radioactive water spill – 6,700 times more radioactive than legal limit
Water 6,700 times more radioactive than legal limit spills from Fukushima By Arata Yamamoto and Alexander Smith, NBC NewsTOKYO — Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has suffered yet another leak, spilling out 430 liters of contaminated water thousands of times more radioactive than legal limits, its operator said Thursday. Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said the water which spilled from the storage tanks had radiation readings as high as 200,000 becquerels per liter — almost 6,700 times higher than the legal limit of 30 becquerels.
Although sandbags have been placed to prevent further spread of the leak, some of that water may have already reached the plant’s harbor on the Pacific Ocean through a drainage trench, TEPCO said.
The leak comes one day after Japanese fast food company Yoshinoya Holdings announced plans to grow vegetables on a farm just 60 miles from the nuclear plant…… http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/03/20797895-water-6700-times-more-radioactive-than-legal-limit-spills-from-fukushima?lite
Investors warned about the fading glow of the uranium market (The Australian!)
The price fall that started six years ago could continue, especially with major new reserves being readily discovered in Australia and Africa. And it seems nuclear incidents are never too far away.
Those holding shares in uranium companies, or considering them, should handle them with great care.
Uranium best handled with care TONY KAYE THE AUSTRALIAN OCTOBER 05 IT isn’t all about Japan, Iran, the “China syndrome”, or even the swarm of moon jellyfish that forced a shutdown this week of all three reactors at Sweden’s Oskarshamn nuclear plant.
But the cold reality of the meltdown afflicting the uranium sector globally was best demonstrated on Wednesday when Australian group Paladin Energy announced it was slashing its operating costs across the board in the face of a further weakening in the spot price of the nuclear fuel it mines in southern Africa.
Paladin, based in Perth, has watched its share price dive more than 90 per cent since 2007 at the hands of a uranium price that has plunged about 75 per cent over the same period. Compelled to address the issue, the company has taken the knife to its cost structure, cutting head-office jobs, exploration expenses, executive pay by 10 per cent, and cash costs by $23 million.
Paladin is also attempting to sell its stake in its flagship Namibian mine to pay down $US750m ($794m) in debt. “Optimisation strategies have now become even more pertinent with the further incremental weakening of the uranium spot price,” the company said.
So what are the factors behind uranium’s fading glow? The answer is not rocket science. Continue reading
Unusual health problems in japan – connected with Fukushima radiation?
Over 3000 People In Japan Cite Severe Nosebleeds & Radiation Type Symptoms In 11 Days http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=11537 October 1st, 2013 Takahiro Katsumi has been following an unusual trend on twitter in Japan. People began posting complaints of severe nosebleeds, then the complaints grew and grew with more people every day citing the problem. Many of these also included complaints of nausea, fatigue and other symptoms similar to the run of complaints found among the population in Japan right after the 2011 triple meltdowns. Most of the nosebleeds have been severe with many unable to stop the problem.
There has been some speculation that the recent typhoon that crossed Japan on Sept 16th could have disturbed contamination in the soil and environment causing some re-exposure. This has not been clearly documented. It may be hard to document if the rises in airborne contamination were brief or localized. Some small increases in air dose as the typhoon passed were notedbut monitoring posts may not be capable of picking up such an event reliably and these small increases are within the ranges seen at these stations.
Others have wondered if it is a hay fever type trend. While this is not a scientific study it does seem to indicate something is going on. Since most people are not seeking any sort of treatment it isn’t being recorded in the medical sector’s tracking of health problems.
Read all the reports about the health problems being found on social media here:
https://www.facebook.com/GivingTreeIntnl?fref=ts
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 