Is ignorance bliss? The date for Australia Day should be changed
Most people just want a day to celebrate the place that they call home, to be part of a community, and to guide Australia into the future. I am one of these people, so why can’t we celebrate this on a day that includes all Australians? Surely there must be another historically significant date that can be trumped up to include every person in this country. But ignorance is bliss, right?
Australia Day is a time for mourning, not celebration, The Guardian 26 Jan 14 The refusal to celebrate Australia Day is part of an ongoing fight for the recognition of the abuse of Indigenous people’s rights. If we give up on protesting, we might soon no longer remember the past Nakkiah Lui
This is why, for us, Australia Day is a day of mourning. It is not a day to go over to my friends’ to sit in a blow up pool and get drunk, and it’s definitely not a day to wear red, white and blue while waving a flag with a Union Jack and a Southern Cross on it. Continue reading
Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) still a financial dud
Going nuclear-and small-with new type of reactor, 27 Jan 14 “……….recent report by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research cast doubt on the idea that SMRs could help revive the nuclear industry.
The think tank said small reactors “still present enormous financial risks,” citing the sector’s tendency to overrun on costs. It said the four reactors under construction were in part subsidized by taxpayers. The report said the mass production of SMRs could require $90 billion, and migrating from reactors to smaller modules “is a financial risk shell game, not a reduction in risk.”
Fukushima groundwater radiation levels 1000 times higher than last test
Jiji: Highly radioactive groundwater now flowing under Unit 1 — Levels skyrocket since last test, now 1,000s of times higher — 8 locations hit record in recent days at Fukushima Daiichi http://enenews.com/jiji-highly-radioactive-groundwater-now-flowing-under-fukushima-unit-1-levels-skyrocket-since-last-test-now-1000s-of-times-higher-8-locations-hit-record-in-recent-days
Jiji Press, Jan. 24, 2014: Tainted Water May Also Have Leaked from No. 1 Reactor at Fukushima N-Plant — Highly radioactive water accumulated in the basement of the turbine building of the No. 1 reactor […] may have contaminated groundwater, experts said Friday. […] TEPCO has explained that the groundwater may have been contaminated by highly radioactive water in underground cable tunnels of the No. 2 and 3 reactors […] however, 5,600 becquerels of radioactive tritium per liter was detected in groundwater taken on Sunday from an observation well near the turbine building of the No. 1 reactor. No radioactive tritium was detected in water collected in mid-November. […]
8 groundwater locations hit new highs for tritium since January 6 (Bq/liter):
0-2: 4,700 <1/12>
0-3-2: 73,000 <1/16>
0-4: 46,000 <1/12>
1-8: 12,000 <1/6>
1-17: 31,000 <1/16>
2-2: 660 <1/8>
2-7: 1,100 <1/17>
3-5: 170 <1/8>
United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, helping Pacific nations face climate change: WHY AREN’T WE?
“During the campaign we saw the impacts of climate change. We know those islands are among the most vulnerable to climate change.”The desire to more effectively conduct projects in the Pacific was also the reason the UAE signed the partnership arrangement with the New Zealand ministry of foreign affairs and trade.
Renewable energy projects key to UAE’s diplomatic efforts http://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/renewable-energy-projects-key-to-uaes-diplomatic-efforts 26 Jan 14 ABU DHABI // Renewable-energy projects are now a mainstay of diplomatic efforts with developing nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.
At Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week last week, technology partnerships were signed with New Zealand and Denmark, and plans announced to give US$20 million (Dh73.4m) in aid to Pacific Island states.
Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, director of energy and climate change at the ministry, said clean energy had been identified as a major area of focus for UAE diplomacy. Dr Al Zeyoudi said the money would go to Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Continue reading
January 26: Not Australia Day, but Invasion Day
The Native Title Act, 1993, finally acknowledged that some Indigenous Australians ‘have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs.’ But, as mining boomed on resource rich indigenous lands, corporate colonialism reared its greedy head undermining this landmark act with the Northern Territory Intervention
It’s Invasion Day, not Australia Day, Intfada, Vacy Vlazna“26 Jan 14 Imperialism after all is an act of geographical violence” Edward Said Is it just me, or do you also see a thread of colonial superiority and racism binding US, Australia, Canada to Israel?
Think about it. All are ex-British colonies and like Israel, have a shameful history of genocide committed against their respective Indigenous Peoples and all continue to treat their First Peoples as third class citizens. Continue reading
Jordan’s energy future – renewable, not nuclear
The cost issues of renewable energy are developing in such a way that are much cheaper than nuclear energy and safer, he said, indicating that there are many expenses associated with nuclear energy that are not applicable when utilising renewable resources, such as risks, insurance and development costs.
“Our belief is that renewable energy is the most viable approach for the future and much more environmentally safe,” Amin stressed.
Jordan’s future lies in renewable energy http://www.albawaba.com/business/jordan-renewable-energy-549840
January 26th, 2014 Renewable energy is the most viable approach for the future of Jordan and regional countries, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Director General Adnan Amin.
“Jordan is a very interesting market because it has a very developed institutional structure in terms of government agencies dealing with energy issues,” Amin said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
“Jordan is looking very positively at the future of renewable energy,” he added. Continue reading
USA nuclear veteran wins his case over radiation induced illness
WWII vet exposed to radiation wins fight with VA http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/WWII-vet-exposed-to-radiation-wins-fight-with-VA-5173107.php Kevin Fagan , January 24, 2014 MILLBRAE — John Brenan rolled his Jeep into freshly bombed Hiroshima in 1945 on a reconnaissance mission to see if there was any enemy left to fight. The only enemy the Army sergeant found in the miles of rubble pulverized by America’s atomic attack was the one he couldn’t see – radiation.
The fallout surrounded his body, and that is almost surely why he got colon cancer four decades later, his doctors told him. Brenan managed to beat the disease, but then came the follow-up battle – filing a disability claim with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
It took until last week for him to win that battle. And victory only came with the help of a member of Congress. Continue reading
Uranium marketers operate without conscience
No matter where Uranium is mined on this planet the story is the same. The marketeers operate without conscience. Uranium should not be a marketable commodity.
Lets commit to make 2014 a better year.World’s Poorest Suffer From Radioactive Sickness as Areva Mines for Uranium http://ecowatch.com/2014/01/24/worlds-poorest-radioactive-areva-uranium/Brandon Baker | January 24, 2014 More than 60 percent of Niger’s population lives on less than $1 per day, and even more have no electricity.
Still, French company Areva keeps contaminating those residents and their environment while mining away for uranium—one of the few resources the world’s poorest country still has. Continue reading
Australia’s solar pioneers predict a world powered by solar energy
Australia Day honours for solar pioneers CHRISTOPHER DOYLE, ABC, 26 JAN 14 Two Australian scientists who have paved the way for solar thermal power plants worldwide have been honoured with Australia Day medals.
A WORLD POWERED BY solar energy is inevitable according to two distinguished scientists being honoured this Australia Day. Continue reading
Learn how to cook with solar energy
Newcastle-based Sun Cooking Australia is holding a free solar-cooking workshop on Sunday, February 2, which will include sampling of food cooked in a solar oven.
The workshop will take place at 3 Lewis Street, Wallsend, from noon to 3pm
LIVING GREEN: Cooking with sunshine, NewcastleHerald By KAREN TOIRKENS Jan. 26, 2014,WHEN people talk about “going solar”, we usually think of solar hot water and solar (PV) electricity systems. There are also a growing number of people using direct solar radiation to cook outdoors.
Solar cooking involves concentrating sunlight to create heat and essentially comprises two main methods: using parabolic solar cookers, where a dish with a reflective surface focuses the sun’s heat to a central point (making them well-suited for cooking foods at high temperature, such as frying, boiling and grilling); or using solar ovens, where solar radiation is trapped inside a well-insulated box (creating an ideal environment for slow-cooking, baking and dehydrating). Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 