Conflict of interest in Abbott’s panel to review Renewable Energy Target ?
Mr Warburton declined to say whether he or his family held any interest in fossil-fuel companies that might benefit from a reduction in the renewable energy target.
The Abbott government’s handling of the RET review may come under Senate Estimates scrutiny on Monday
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‘I have zero confidence in the independence or rigour of this anti-renewable energy review,” Greens leader Senator Christine Milne said. ”It is no more than a hatchet job on the RET by a team of people notorious for their opposition to strong action on global warming or the roll-out of renewables.”
Disclosure doubts cloud renewable energy target panellists, February 24, 2014 – Peter Hannam Environment Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald Doubts have arisen over potential conflicts of interests of a controversial panel appointed by the Abbott government to review the Renewable Energy Target after contradictory statements about the process used to select its members.
The appointment last week of former Caltex chairman and prominent climate change sceptic Dick Warburton to head the panel had already ignited fears in the renewable energy sector that the government intends to slash the target of sourcing at least 20 per cent of electricity from clean energy sources by 2020. Continue reading
Deliberate cover-up of radiation exposure from Fukushima nuclear disaster
Tokyo Press Conference: “Deliberate cover-up” of public’s exposure to Fukushima radiation and the health problems they are suffering from… This is now Japan’s biggest problem — “Continual, purposeful concealment of facts” — “Media will not properly report” what’s going on (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/tokyo-press-conference-deliberate-cover-up-of-publics-radiation-exposure-and-health-problems-they-have-after-fukushima-this-is-now-japans-biggest-problem-continual-purposeful-conceal
NPR’s ‘Weekend Edition’, Feb. 15, 2014: The cleanup at the crippled nuclear reactor at Fukushima, Japan has been plagued by problems. Contaminated water has leaked into the ocean, radiation levels are higher than originally announced and the Japanese public is suspicious that [TEPCO] isn’t telling the whole story. Continue reading
High electricity prices due to network costs, not carbon tax
Michael West: Study shines a light into dark corners of electricity pricingIf Tony Abbott truly wants to achieve lower power prices, he will need to be better advised. He could start by recognising for instance that it is not the carbon tax and renewable energy costs that are primarily responsible for energy price hikes. The culprit is network costs; and it is his own state governments that are making the killing. http://www.theage.com.au/business/study-shines-a-light-into-dark-corners-of-electricity-pricing-20140223-33ah7.html
UK taxpayer liable for any nuclear leaks
Nuclear leaks bill will be paid by taxpayer http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/23/nuclear-leaks-bill-paid-taxpayer The Observer, Sunday 23 February 2014 Private contractors not liable for accidents during decommissioning The private consortium that will manage the decommissioning of Britain’s ageing Magnox nuclear reactors will not be held financially liable if they suffer a major radioactive incident – even if it costs billions of pounds to clear up, it has emerged.The government has rejected this claim.
The government will indemnify the private contractors, which means the taxpayer will be left to foot the bill for any leak, a similar arrangement to how things stand now. Critics complain that granting the multimillion-pound contract to a private consortium while freeing it of liability for a nuclear incident is such a poor deal for the taxpayer that it will render its new management unaccountable. Continue reading
Abbott govt will today try to block Clean Energy Regulator
Carbon credit crunch as federal government takes first step to scrap the tax THE DAILY TELEGRAPH FEBRUARY 24, 2014 THE federal government will today take the first step in scrapping the carbon tax by introducing a surprise regulation to cancel an auction of billions of dollars of carbon credits.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt will block the Clean Energy Regulator from selling any more credits to businesses, which was to be conducted before June this year. In an unexpected move that will take Labor and the Greens by surprise, a regulation signed secretly last week will be tabled in both houses of parliament this morning.
……, the move will also force Labor leader Bill Shorten to side with the Greens in the senate to veto the government……http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/carbon-credit-crunch-as-federal-government-takes-first-step-to-scrap-the-tax/story-fni0xqrc-12268354407
The nuclear industry in never never land
BOOK REVIEW ‘Fukushima’ sounds warning on nuclear energy A clear-eyed overview of the nuclear industry and the Japanese disaster doesn’t split hairs over the risk: It can happen here. LA Timeds, By Michael Hiltzik February 21, 2014, On March 18, 2011, an official from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission named Chuck Casto called together the NRC delegation on assignment with him in Tokyo.
“We’re in never-never land,” he told them. Continue reading
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