Nuclear and Climate News this week in Australia
Prime Minister Abbott has done several worrying things this week. As I wrote this, I watched Liberal Cabinet member Malcolm Turnbull on ABC television adroitly parrying Leigh Sales’ questioning about the ABC. As well he might, as his boss, Abbott has launched an attack on the ABC, and in particular, on its coverage of climate change.
Abbott is setting up an inquiry into the health impacts of wind energy. Presumably he does not trust several Australian inquiries , nor the 19 reviews overseas, that found no health impacts.
Abbott’s appointments:
- Alan Moran (anti- wind anti-solar energy campaigner) to the review panel for the Renewable Energy target. Moran also keen to have a radioactive waste importing facility in Australia.
- Peter Cosgrove (miltary man and nuclear power enthusiast) for Governor General
- Tim Wilson (wants to weaken Racial Discrimination Act) as Freedom Commissioner
- Sophie Mirabella (former right wing Liberal MP) to submarine corporation ASC – at a time when nuclear submarines are advocated.
New South Wales government – toeing the Abbott line on climate change, instructs coastal Councils to ignore “doomsday” UN scenarios of global sea-level rises
Also New South Wales -construction of Australia’s largest solar PV plant – to be operational by June 2015. (Imagine any nuclear plant going up that fast!)
Toro’s Wiluna uranium project’s costs blow out: not a good omen
Just a quick update on Toro – they released their quarterly report yesterday – revealling the estimated start up costs of the Wiluna project has jumped $47 million. With a slump in the uranium price, lack of new investments in mining, and a $47 million cost blow out before they’ve even got final approval does not bode well… http://www.businessnews.com.au/article/Toro-reveals-Wiluna-cost-increase?utm_source=Business+News+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=75e9eadd22-dba&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e5391356e5-75e9ead
ERA uranium company’s losses, and closed operations due to radioactive spill
ERA narrows loss to A$136m, says toxic spill probe continuing Mining Weekly By: Esmarie Swanepoel 31st January 2014 “…..During the year, revenue from sales decreased 10%, to A$355.8-million, while revenue from continuing operations was down 12% on the previous financial year to A$370-million…..
ERA produced some 2 960 t of uranium oxide in the year under review, which was 20% less than that produced in 2012, as lower mill rates affected output. The suspension of processing operations following the failure of a leach tank in December also negatively affected operations, ERA said.
Processing operations at the Ranger mine, in the Northern Territory, remain suspended pending the completion of a full investigation and regulatory approvals to restart.
ERA was conducting an independent investigation that would run in parallel with the government investigation.http://www.miningweekly.com/article/era-narrows-loss-to-a136m-says-toxic-spill-probe-continuing-2014-01-31
Japan stamping out information on Fukushima
NHK broadcaster quits in protest over nuclear issues — Professor censored after 20 years on air — Was to reveal ‘extraordinarily high’ damages — Newly installed NHK chief ‘enthusiastic’ to help spread gov’t messages to audience tinyurl.com/lna4lk9 31 Jan 14
Asahi Shimbun,: A veteran radio show commentator quit his job at [NHK] after the public broadcaster told him to drop the subject of nuclear power during the Tokyo gubernatorial election, sources said. For about 20 years, Toru Nakakita, a professor of economics at Toyo University, had been in charge of the “Business Outlook” segment of the “Radio Asa Ichiban” show aired weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. on NHK Radio Daiichi. […] the Jan. 30 program pointed out the increase in costs for the resumption of nuclear reactor operations, saying “damages to be paid in the wake of a nuclear plant accident are extraordinarily high.” […] Nakakita, formerly with the Foreign Ministry, served as the deputy chairman of the Council for the Asian Gateway Initiative in the first Shinzo Abe Cabinet.
Japan Times,, Jan. 30, 2014: [Nakakita] resigned from the program in protest over the public broadcaster’s demand that nuclear power not be discussed until after the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election. [He] said the director of the “Radio 1″ morning news program told him Wednesday to change the subject of his commentary […] the director of the news program told him to wait until after the election, on grounds his comments “would affect the voting behavior” […] Last week, Peter Barakan, a freelance radio show host, revealed […] he had been pressured by “two broadcasting stations” not to touch on nuclear power issues until after Feb. 9. He didn’t identify the stations, but he works for NHK FM Radio and NHK World, as well as other private TV and radio stations.
Prof. Nakakita: “The director kept insisting that people vote based on ‘impressions.’ But I wonder if it’s OK to say we can talk about (contentious issues) at length only after the election. What if I had talked about welfare? Wouldn’t that have affected the voting behavior? The media should choose various issues especially during the campaign […] If they don’t, voters will go to the polls with no information to base their judgments on. Isn’t it the mission of the news organizations to have the guts to give more information to the public?”
Asahi Shimbun, , Jan. 28, 2014: “The highly controversial remarks made by Katsuto Momii, the new chairman of Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), have raised serious concerns […] In his inaugural news conference as chief of the public broadcaster on Jan. 25, Momii expressed views and opinions that sounded like a faithful echo of the government’s positions. He showed enthusiasm for the idea of using NHK […] as a means to relay to overseas audiences the government’s positions […] “It would not do for us to say ‘left’ when the government is saying ‘right,’” Momii said. […] Momii indicated his willingness to accept the government’s argument for the [state secrets] legislation. […] his green light will be needed for any program on a controversial subject […] If its programs are regarded as government propaganda, NHK will lose credibility with overseas audiences.”
USA uranium company giving up project, due to dismal uranium market?
Price of uranium another twist in Virginia mining plans 31 Jan 14 A continued drop in the projected long-term price of uranium — combined with Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s recent statements affirming his opposition to uranium mining — has been a one-two punch to uranium mining efforts in Virginia.
Virginia Uranium Inc. recently announced it would not pursue legislation in the 2014 General Assembly that would have drafted regulations for uranium mining in the state…….
legislative hurdles aren’t the only concern facing the company. According to the most recent data, declines in the global price of uranium may also affect the mining conglomerate’s future plans.
Tony Abbott’s pathetic performance at Davos, on climate change
there is a growing view among business leaders and mainstream economists who see global warming as a force that contributes to lower gross domestic products, higher food and commodity costs, broken supply chains and increased financial risk.
Shipping Oars,The Australian Independent Media Network BY KAYE LEE on JANUARY 26, 2014 Tony Abbott’s brief sojourn in Davos left most of us cringing and somewhat bemused as to the purpose of his journey. He met with some Australian big business leaders and delivered a speech that had nothing to do with the stated priorities of the forum – the problem of increasing income inequality and the economics of climate change. Le Figaro noted Abbott’s address as a footnote, quoting him as calling for more free trade, an idea that was a long way from the agenda – très loin de la thématique – of earlier gatherings. In fact, Tony left before any of these meetings took place.
But he did fit in a few personal meetings.
Apparently the Dutch Prime Minister also requested a meeting. Tony suggested it was a meet-and-greet but I suspect there was a bit more to it than that. Continue reading
By 2040: Fukushima Province to have 100% renewable energy
“The Japanese government is very much negative,” said Tetsunari Iida, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Japan. “Local government like the Fukushima prefecture or the Tokyo metropolitan government are much more active, more progressive compared to the national government, which is occupied by the industry people.”
A recent survey found that 53% of Japanese people wanted to see nuclear power phased out gradually, and 23% wanted it scrapped instantly.…….
Fukushima to use 100% renewable energy by 2040 RTCC 31 January 2014 Japanese province hit by nuclear disaster aims to generate all its own energy within 30 years By Sophie Yeo
The Japanese province of Fukushima has pledged to switch to 100% renewable energy by 2040, turning its 2011 nuclear disaster into an opportunity to tackle climate change. Continue reading
Danger of transporting nuclear waste
the only sane thing is to stop making the stuff
Plans to move nuclear waste by road branded ‘dangerous’.BBC News 31 Jan 14The government wants to transport waste from Oldbury power station near Bristol, to Hinkley A in Somerset and Berkeley in Gloucestershire.
Anti-nuclear groups say the waste should be stored in-situ and “properly looked after” rather than driven.
The industry claims road transport is standard practice and it would be “business as usual”…..
‘Stop making more’
Nickki Clark, from the pressure groupStop Hinkley, said that the waste “needs to stay where it is [at Oldbury] and be properly looked after”.
“If people don’t like having it in their backyard then the answer is quite simply – stop making more,” she said……
Last week, West Somerset Council said it was opposed to the proposals. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25961326
A caution on cancer risks from medical radiation, especially CT scans
We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/opinion/we-are-giving-ourselves-cancer.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0
By RITA F. REDBERG and REBECCA SMITH-BINDMANJAN. 30, 2014 DESPITE great strides in prevention and treatment, cancer rates remain stubbornly high and may soon surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. Increasingly, we and many other experts believe that an important culprit may be our own medical practices: We are silently irradiating ourselves to death.
The use of medical imaging with high-dose radiation — CT scans in particular — has soared in the last 20 years. Our resulting exposure to medical radiation has increased more than sixfold between the 1980s and 2006, according to the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements. The radiation doses of CT scans (a series of X-ray images from multiple angles) are 100 to 1,000 times higher than conventional X-rays.
Of course, early diagnosis thanks to medical imaging can be lifesaving. But there is distressingly little evidence of better health outcomes associated with the current high rate of scans. There is, however, evidence of its harms.
The relationship between radiation and the development of cancer is well understood: A single CT scan exposes a patient to the amount of radiation that epidemiologic evidence shows can be cancer-causing. The risks have been demonstrated directly in two large clinical studies in Britain and Australia. Continue reading
A new direction for renewable energy: governments co-operate
European partnership could signal a new direction for renewable energy Berkley education Patrick Donnelly-Shores, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management student | 1/30/14 | President Francois Hollande of France announced a new renewable energy partnership between the French and German governments last week. The idea, modeled on the Airbus partnership, would expand cooperation between the governments on renewable energy projects……
Right wing columnist Andrew Bolt’s claim to be “indigenous”
Bolt also plays mischief-maker, claiming to be an Indigenous Australian.
Andrew Bolt, Indigenous Australian? Come off it Michael Mansell theguardian.com, Friday 31 January 2014 I support Bolt’s right to participate in the constitutional recognition debate, but he should avoid inflaming prejudice against Aboriginal people while doing so Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull, Maurice Newman, Tony Abbott, on climate change
What Malcolm Turnbull thinks. “……the fact is that Tony and the people who put him in his job do not want to do anything about climate change. They do not believe in human caused global warming. As Tony observed on one occasion “climate change is crap” or if you consider his mentor, Senator Minchin, the world is not warming, its cooling and the climate change issue is part of a vast left wing conspiracy to deindustrialise the world……”
“there is a major issue of integrity at stake here and Liberals should reflect very deeply on it…..”
Many Liberals are rightly dismayed that on this vital issue of climate change we are not simply without a policy, without any prospect of having a credible policy but we are now without integrity. We have given our opponents the irrefutable, undeniable evidence that we cannot be trusted……
When You Have Advisers Like Newman Why Would You Need Scientists? The Australian Independent Media Network BY JOHN LORD 2013 on JANUARY 1, 2014 In The Australian newspaper December 31 (otherwise known as the official newsletter of the LNP) there appeared an article by 
the Prime Minister’s business adviser Maurice Newman. Creditable broadsheets would not have given it a column inch but that’s Murdoch for you. What follows is lying at its most blatant.
In one of those rare moments I have momentarily found myself lost for words so I have decided to rely on the commentary of others with the final word left to Malcolm Turnbull….
In an interview, Mr Newman said protection of climate change policies and the renewable energy industry by various state governments smacked of a “cover-up”…… Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 