AUDIO: Why did we have nuclear bomb testing in Australia?
AUDIO THE HISTORY OF NUCLEAR TESTING IN AUSTRALIA HTTP://WWW.ABC.NET.AU/OVERNIGHTS/STORIES/S3924604.HTM?SITE=MELBOURNE Monday, January 13, 2014 by Helen Richardson Nuclear Testing in Australia Why did we have Nuclear Testing in Australia? What were the reasons for the tests, the role of the Australian government, how much did the Australia people know and what has been the long term impact? Trevor Chappell discussed this with Richard Broinowski, a former diplomat and author of “Fact or Fission”
As Australia cooks, Abbott aims to stall renewable energy and promote coal
Why is Abbott calling for this redoubled effort to find negative health impacts associated with wind farms when it seems like ignoring climate change is the real danger?
Abbott has also recently indicated that he will likely weaken or scrap the country’s mandated target for producing 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020, saying that “lower power prices are the government’s primary goal.”.
During Fiery Heatwaves Australian PM Looks To Stall Thriving Clean Energy Sector, Climate Progress BY ARI PHILLIPS ON JANUARY 13, 2014 A pattern is emerging in which Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott chooses to ignore the prominent signs that climate change is severely impacting Australia and instead focus on rapidly extracting more fossil fuels from the ground.
In December, his environmental minister, Greg Hunt, approved a massive coal mine in northeastern Australia that will produce up to 40 million tons of coal a year and emit as much CO2 as a small European country. Abbott has also denied any link between harmful bushfires and a changing climate — evidenced by Australia experiencing its hottest year on record in 2013. Continue reading
State of Fukushima’s damaged nuclear reactors is unknown
Japan TV: ‘State’ of Fukushima melted fuel unknown — Asahi: They “still do not know exactly what is going on inside” — U.S. NRC: Increased radioactive leaks at plant are “traveling underground to sea” (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/japan-tv-fukushima-melted-fuel-in-unknown-state-asahi-no-one-knows-whats-going-on-in-the-reactors-nrc-contamination-leaks-out-into-soil-and-is-traveling-underground-to-the-sea-video
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission document on ‘Water Situation at Fukushima’ as of Sept. 20, 2013 (.pdf link here): Over the past three months, radiation measured within the plant site […] has been increasing. The increase in radiation in the water is caused by contaminated water traveling underground to the sea. Sources of the contaminated water include […[ continued cooling of the damaged cores leaking directly from the reactor buildings. […] contaminated water leaks out of the basements into the soil and the groundwater, despite the outside water table being higher. This contaminated water includes radioactive cesium, strontium, and tritium. Cesium moves very slowly in groundwater, since the soil adsorbs (holds on its surface) the Cesium. Strontium is adsorbed less than cesium and moves faster […] TEPCO has plans to impede the flow of groundwater.
NHK,, Jan. 12, 2014: A Japanese research institute on nuclear decommissioning will ask 3 non-Japanese experts for advice on scrapping reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi […] The organization has been soliciting technological assistance in Japan and abroad. […] Under the present plan, removing nuclear fuel debris from the reactors will start as early as in the first half of 2020. How that will be done is yet to be decided as not much is known about the exact state of the damaged fuel that will require sophisticated technologies to remove.
Abbott removing words “climate”, “clean energy”, “cleantech” from the political dialogue
it’s about time the PM accepts that Australia has a “super-abundance” of wind and solar, just as it has of coal and gas. The only difference being is that wind and solar generation will be cheaper – as the government’s own economic advisor suggests – and cause a lot less pollution.
Abbott won’t let facts derail his anti-renewables campaign REneweconomy. By Giles Parkinson on 13 January 2014 Last week it was quietly announced that the Australian Cleantech Competition would hitherto be known as the Australian Technologies Competititon. It was another subtle reminder of how the new Australian conservative government is going about the re-phrasing of Australia’s energy future. Anything that involves the words climate, clean energy, or cleantech are considered projects or institutions -non-grata.
In the public arena, it’s not just a rephrasing that’s taking place, but a concerted attack on renewables. Continue reading
Fukushima fish at 124 times over radiation limit.
Fish testing at 124 times over radiation limit caught off Fukushima, Rt.com Fish with deadly levels of radioactive cesium have been caught just off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, as scientists continue to assess the damage caused to the marine food chain by the 2011 nuclear disaster.
One of the samples of the 37 black sea bream specimens caught some 37 kilometers south of the crippled power plant tested at 12,400 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium, making it 124 times deadlier than the threshold considered safe for human consumption, Japan’s Fisheries Research Agency announced. ……..
Professor Chris Busby from the Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk and a member of the UK Department of Health Committee Examining Radiation Risk for Internal Emitters (CERRIE), says that despite a high level of radiation in the marine food chain, Japan so far is the only one dealing with a direct threat.
“The concentrations of radionuclides, which are going to the Pacific or have been injected to the Pacific, by the time they get to the US, and to China and to South East Korea and so on will not be enormously high,” Busby told Voice of Russia.
Yet the scientist warned that nuclear contamination of Japan could result in 400-800 extra cancer cases in Japan in the next fifty years. “We’ve already seen some effects in infant mortality and thyroid cancer in Japan,”Busby said. “So I think this is just going to get worse. I think we are going to see a major effect on the general health of the Japanese population in Northern Japan. There’s going to be a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in the death rate.”
In the meantime, TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear site, reported radiation levels 8 times government safety guidelines. TEPCO told press that the predominant reason behind the sharp increase in radiation at the plant was X-rays coming from storage tanks holding radioactive water that has been leaking from the Fukushima facility. http://rt.com/news/fukushima-fish-cesium-radiation-548/
US Congress threatens to scuttle Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran
Is Congress about to kill Iran nuclear deal against Obama’s wishes?(+video) Congress appears to be moving toward approving new sanctions against Iran with a veto-proof majority, potentially undermining the interim nuclear deal now being implemented.
Christian Science Monitor, By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer / January 13, 2014 Sen. Robert Menendez (D) of New Jersey,, has been a leading voice in the push to pass new sanctions against Iran. WASHINGTON
President Obama is warning Congress against steps that could scuttle a deal that he says is the best chance to peacefully stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But a dubious Congress appears close to taking veto-proof action to approve new economic sanctions on Iran – a step the United States has specifically agreed not to take in the nuclear accord with Iran, and one which officials from countries that are party to the agreement say would likely doom diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Continue reading
Australia Day has become jingositic, nationalistic, racist
Australia Day nationalism walks in the footsteps of ugly precedents, The Conversation, Robin Tennant-Wood, 14 Jan Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Government at University of Canberra “……Australia Day has always been problematic as a national day of celebration. The “Est 1788” line only serves to emphasise this point. Apart from being offensive to indigenous Australians, it is, quite simply, historically incorrect…….
Tony Abbott praises coal energy, talks down renewables
Australia should be the affordable energy capital of the world. We have a superabundance of coal – Tony Abbott
RET – Will Greg Hunt Be The Last Man Standing? http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4122 14 Jan 14 As Prime Minister Abbott continues to talk down renewables, it seems Environment Minister Greg Hunt and one other are the only remaining Ministers supporting the Renewable Energy Target.
According to The Australian, a senior government figure says Greg Hunt and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane are the only cabinet members left supporting the RET.
The news comes just days after Prime Minister Abbot again gave ominous signs with regard to the future of the Renewable Energy Target after this year’s review.
1 This month
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