Fibs and half-truths told by the South Australian Nuclear Royal Commission
Confusing and dishonest propaganda is already the modus operandi of South Australia’s Nuclear Royal Commission.
How Kevin Scarce, the (only known) Commissioner reported on their visit to Mt Gambier:
1. Public response “It is clear from our first public forum held in Mount Gambier this week that the community is keenly interested in having their say on the nuclear fuel cycle.
2. Information provided “It was also clear that the Issues Papers were a valued source of information for the community, as the information is evidence-based and provides helpful guidance on the topics which submissions will best assist the inquiry”.
What really happened at Mt Gambier.:
1. Public (dubious) response Royal Commission (presumably Kevin Scarce + unknowns) held public forum at Mt Gambier on April 20. Only 35 people attended. Then Commissioner talked with “business leaders” . – a lot of secrecy about who’s involved in this Royal Commission.
2, Information (not) provided. Out of 4 Issues Papers touted by the Commission, in fact only one EXPLORATION, EXTRACTION AND MILLING (of Uranium and Thorium) (very narrow and inadequate) has yet been released..
Nepal earthquake catastrophe would be unimaginably worse, if nuclear reactors were in the region
The world is shocked by the earthquakes catastrophe unfolding in Nepal, with the death toll expected to be rising, perhaps to 10,000 or more.
It is just as well that there are no nuclear power plants in the affected areas. Things would be unimaginably worse if releases of radiation were spread across the area.
“The earthquake also caused loss of life and damage in other countries. At least 34 people died in India, and casualties were reported in Tibet and Bangladesh. India’s foreign secretary, S. Jaishankar, said in a news conference that a building at the Indian Embassy complex in Nepal collapsed and the daughter of an employee had been killed.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/magnitude-79-earthquake-hits-densely-populated-area-of-nepal/2015/04/25/1c1b3f46-eb21-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html
Australia – a military colony of USA
THE US OF AUSTRALIA’S MILITARY PRESENCE, Curiouser and Cruriouser e musing APRIL 26, 2015 SAGEOTHYME It is no real secret that the United States has had a military presence in Australia for a long time. I would speculate this presence became permanent as far back as WWI. The post WWII era saw the building of Pine Gap [plus at least 2 other US controlled bases on (under) Australia’s soil]… Pine Gap is still a vital component of the US arsenal according to the Age in July 2013…
and a potential pivotal target for a false flag event or other sinister plot…………..http://www.e-musing.net/?p=195
Australia an international pariah for its anti climate action policies
Australia seen as ‘public enemy No.1’ on climate, Peter Doherty says, The Age April 25, 2015 Dan Harrison Health and Indigenous Affairs Correspondent Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty says Australia is being seen internationally as “public enemy number one” on climate change and risks being isolated as China seeks to reduce its reliance on coal.
Professor Doherty, who is in Hong Kong for an Asia Society symposium on making cities more sustainable, said there was a perception that Australia was not playing a constructive role in the lead-up to the United Nations climate change conference in Paris later this year, which many see as the world’s “last best chance” for global action to reduce carbon emissions.
“Australia is being regarded as public enemy number one,” said Professor Doherty, who won the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 1996.
“That’s a statement that’s been made to me by a couple of people – so that’s obviously a kind of buzz that’s going around the climate change community.”
He said the Abbott government seemed to have “firmly popped themselves into the climate change denial camp”.
“I don’t know if that’s necessarily the position of the Environment Minister [Greg Hunt] but you can’t say that you accept the realities of climate change and then want to maximise the sale of coal – it just doesn’t make sense.”
He said Australia had gone from being seen as a global leader in addressing climate change under the former Labor Government, to being “behind the game,” under Mr Abbott’s leadership.
He said he was concerned Australia could be isolated internationally as China reduced its reliance on coal and made greater use of solar, wind and nuclear power.
“What worries me is that Australia will kind of be seen as the fall guy for this – the guys that didn’t do anything and really behaved irresponsibly – and we’re pretty vulnerable.”…….
Professor Doherty attacked the government for its decision to allocate $4 million to establish a think tank headed by “sceptical environmentalist” Bjorn Lomborg.
“It’s in character, but it’s a pretty extraordinary thing to do, after all the talk about the need to constrain resources,” Professor Doherty said.
“To hand our that sort of money, presumably on the basis of no peer review whatever for what is really a blatantly political exercise – well, you know they’re the government and they can do it, but it certainly doesn’t cause you to have any great respect for them.”
He said Australia needed to do more to foster the use of renewable energy and sustainable building technologies, and said massive continued urbanisation in Asia offered enormous opportunities for Australian companies that excelled in these fields……..http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-seen-as-public-enemy-no1-on-climate-peter-doherty-says-20150425-1mt5fe.html
Chernobyl nuclear plant in danger due to Ukraine instability
Ukraine instability threatens efforts to keep Chernobyl plant safe http://www.newstalk.com/Ukraine-instability-threatens-attempt-to-keep-Chernobyl-plant-safe, 26 Apr 15 Today marks the 29th anniversary of the disaster
Aid agencies in Ukraine say instability in the region is threatening efforts to make the Chernobyl power plant safe for the next 100 years.
Today is the 29th anniversary of the world’s worst ever nuclear accident, which affected the lives of more than seven million people.
Adi Roche, voluntary chief executive of Chernobyl Children International, visited the site in recent weeks.
She said people don’t realise that the radioactive material released in 1986 represents just a fraction of the toxic material still inside the crumbling complex:
29 years later, Chernobyl still highly radioactive, and funds needed for cover
The reactor itself is still too contaminated for workers to approach. Removal of radioactive materials there will only begin once the new confinement structure has been finished.
Chernobyl arch faces €265m funding gap ahead of disaster’s 29th anniversary, Arthur Neslen, Guardian 24 Apr 15 World must plug funding gap for massive 100-metre steel arch being built to contain remaining radioactive waste at the site. A massive engineering project to make the Chernobyl nuclear power plant safe is facing a €265m (£190m) funding shortfall.
Next week a conference held by Germany in London will call on countries to make up the gap, but the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it may have to ask its shareholders to make up the shortfall if donations dry up.
This Sunday marks the 29th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, when a power surge blew the roof off a reactor, spewing radioactive clouds across Russia, and eastern Europe. Continue reading
10,000 Turkish anti nuclear protesters mark anniversary of Chernobyl disaster
Anti-nuclear demonstration marks anniversary of Chernobyl disaster http://www.todayszaman.com/national_anti-nuclear-demonstration-marks-anniversary-of-chernobyl-disaster_379011.html The Sinop Anti-Nuclear Platform (Sinop NKP) held a demonstration on Saturday in Sinop province in order to mark the 29th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine and to raise their voices against the Turkish government’s plans to construct nuclear power plants in Sinop and the Akkuyu district of Mersin province. Continue reading
New Matilda’s Guide to Greg Hunt’s Climate Nonsense
A Simple Guide To Understanding Greg Hunt’s ‘Nonsense’ Carbon Con, New Matilda 26 Apr 15 More than a decade in, Australia still doesn’t have a credible carbon abatement policy. Thom Mitchell explains.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt is doing a stellar job of muddying the rising, warming waters which threaten to submerge the government’s “inadequate” climate policies, but experts say his claims are “quite outrageously misleading”.
After half a decade of rhetoric the government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), the centre-piece of its ‘Direct Action’ climate policy, has faced its first real test. Continue reading
Religious campaign to act on climate change
Believer among the skeptics: A Canadian’s crusade to convert Christians to climate change belief, National Post William Marsden | April 24, 2015 WASHINGTON — Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, a cheerful, Toronto-born evangelical Christian, has become the hottest ticket in the highly polarized U.S. debate over climate change.
Named in 2014 by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in America, she is sought out by Hollywood stars, applauded by environmentalists and fellow scientists, and a huge draw on the Christian speaking circuit because she has opened the door, if only a crack, to the largest and single most stubborn community of climate skeptics in America — evangelicals.
She has essentially become a missionary among her own people. And in doing so she has single-handedly raised hopes of a potential breakthrough in U.S. climate politics. Continue reading
Japan’s large solar floating power plant
JAPAN OPENS MEGA FLOATING SOLAR POWER PLANT, CLIMATE GROUP, 26 APR 15 LONDON: JAPAN HAS JUST OPENED ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR POWER PLANTS, SIGNALLING INCREASING ADOPTION OF THE EFFICIENT AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IN THE COUNTRY, WHICH IS DUE PARTLY TO LACK OF SPACE ON LAND.
As highlighted in a report released this week by The Climate Group, regions with more land space, specifically the UAE with its huge solar resources, are primed to benefit from the fast-growing low carbon economy.
The giant plant in Japan was inaugurated last March but has only just opened, as announced by Kyocera and Ciel et Terre International, two manufacturers that are heavily investing in this technology. The system is made up of two solar parks, at Nishihira Pond and Higashihira Pond in Kato City in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, with a capacity of 1.7 megawatts (MW) and 1.2 MW respectively.
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is becoming more wide-spread in Japan, driven in part by the closure of the country’s fleet of nuclear plants following the Fukushima disaster – even if there are some concerns about the possibility the country could soon reopen them.
… total solar PV capacity has moved from just 19 MW in 1992 to 13,532 MW in 2013 –more than double the previous year.
FLOATING SOLAR
However, with a landmass slightly smaller than California and a population density closer to India, this expansion in PV collides with the lack of space. Thankfully, Japan is surrounded by sea and has many water reservoirs to cater for its seasonal variation in rainfall levels, so is experimenting more frequently with floating PV systems.
Not only is floating solar more convenient, it is also more energy efficient. A study by Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) claims the technology is more efficient because it has a lower temperature during the day when compared to overland PV modules. This should be achieved due to the reflection of light from the water surface, which keeps the PV modules cooler………http://www.theclimategroup.org/what-we-do/news-and-blogs/japan-opens-mega-floating-solar-power-plant/
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 