This week – in Australian nuclear and climate news
South Australia’s Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission. Australia’s top nuclear commentator Jim Green summarises the themes involved in the Commission. Vague and confusing Issues Paper No 3 released – ELECTRICITY GENERATION FROM NUCLEAR FUELS.
Nuclear wastes. Iron ore miner and Councillor in Western Australia apply to host low level nuclear waste facility Community opposition to a national radioactive waste dump in Western Australia. Morawa Shire not happy about Gindalbie Metals nuclear dump proposal, and no right to veto. Australia IS obligated to take back wastes originating from Lucas Heights nuclear reactor
American military buildup in Australia
Politics. Greg Hunt, Australia’s Environment Minister makes moves towards removing the tax exempt status of donations to environment groups , with a Committee to inquire into and report on the Register of Environmental Organisations. Submissions addressing the Committee’s terms of reference are due by by 21 May 2015
Aboriginal Land Councils distrust Northern Territory Government, reject it for running Indigenous outstation services. Uranium mining companies are selectively buying off Indigenous people
Australia’s uranium companies overseas. World Bank warns Malawi not to re-open Paladin Australia’s uneconomic uranium mine. In Greenland , environmental groups oppose Australian uranium/rare earths mining project.
Renewable energy. Labor and business groups say No to reviews of Renewable Energy Target. Queensland government pledges 50% renewable energy by 2030. Victoria wants its own renewable energy target, in light of Abbott govt’s anti climate policies. Australia has the most affordable solar systems in the developed world.Electricity utility Origin launches solar energy leasing programme. We need a proper judicial investigation of wind farm danger claims.
Climate change. As CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology warn on extreme weather, Federal Budget ignores climate change. University of Western Australia praised for ditching Bjorn Lomborg Consensus Centre. Climate Council exposes Bjorn Lomborg’s climate fallacies. Sea level rise a serious consideration for Mid North Coast councils.
Community opposition to a national radioactive waste dump in Western Australia
A genuine commitment to volunteerism would require providing affected communities with ample time to deliberate on their willingness to host or live near a facility through publishing the full list of nominated sites.
Although the government stresses that it does not want to impose a nuclear waste facility on any community, there is no guarantee that this Government (or a future one) will not revert to earlier habits of trying to do so. Community consent is in fact not a prerequisite for its siting decision.
WA actually has state legislation in place prohibiting the storage of radioactive waste from outside the state. This means that, although the National Radioactive Waste Management Act gives the Minister the right to override state legislation, the voluntary and democratic aspects of the WA nominations are highly compromised.
Don’t waste the homelands: community opposition to a national radioactive waste dump in WA http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=17346
| By Anica Niepraschk , 15 May 2015 Western Australian iron ore company Ginbalbie Metals’ nomination of a section of its land to host Australia’s proposed radioactive waste management facility comes as the third known nomination in WA. The two-month nomination period for the project closed on May 5.Another known nomination comes from a landowner in Leonora, against local opposition but supported by Leonora Shire. The Shire had been keen on nominating freehold land itself but could not identify any suitable land.
The third revealed nomination from WA involves land in Kanpa, near Warburton in the eastern part of the state, and lacks support from the Ngaanyatjarra elders. Similarly, Ginbalbie Metals’s nomination of a land near Badga station in the mid west of the state faces opposition from the traditional custodians of the land. Neither the local community nor Yalgoo shire had been consulted on the nomination. The site is even subject of a current native title claim by the Widi Native Title Claimant Group. The group expressed its strong opposition to Federal Industry Minister Macfarlane, stating that ‘the proponent has displayed an appalling level of disrespect’ for the traditional owners by failing to consult them. They generally reject radioactive waste dumps and uranium mining on their homelands. Continue reading |
Nuclear lobby’s global media spin focussing on United Nations Climate talks
The global nuclear lobby is getting a bit desperate, especially with nuclear’s ever-escalating costs and delays, and renewable energy’s rapidly declining costs, and speed of set-up.
This extract from an investment advisor shows us just what strategy the nuclear lobby is now adopting – a hypocritical story about nuclear power being “renewable” “clean” and the “answer to climate change”
Uranium’s Glow Still Smothered by Safety Concerns Wall Street Daily, Fri, May 15, 2015 | Shelley Goldberg, Commodity Strategist
“……..If you’re in the uranium market, it’s best to be short and nimble.
The first thing to do is stay focused on the United Nations Climate talks later this year in Paris. While France will likely insist that nuclear reactors are the preferred, low-carbon source, the more important issue is whether or not they can demonstrate that modern nuclear power plants can be built on time, on budget, and convincingly address the issue of radioactive waste. As it stands now, the deck is stacked against them….
This is a tug-of-war between fossil fuels and clean energy. If clean proves to be a winner, it’ll then be a battle between the more traditional solar and wind power and nuclear……“http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2015/05/15/uranium-commodity-concerns/
MY COMMENT on that strategy
All very well – except that nuclear energy is NOT clean.
For one thing – the total nuclear chain from uranium mining to the burial of dead reactors – emits large amounts of CO2 – and that’s without mentioning all the transport involved.
For another thing – while coal and other mining do emit radioactive isotopes, no industry other than nuclear produces virtually eternal highly carcinogenic radioactive wastes.
No other industry runs the risk, however small, of catastrophic accidents that make large areas of land unlivable for decades.
It’s not merely a joke to call nuclear energy “clean’. It’s a lie
American military buildup in Australia
Changing face of Australia’s security posture http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/changing-face-of-australias-security-posture-20150515-gh2unk.html May 16, 2015 John Garnaut, Asia-Pacific editor So it turns out the US military is not about to base huge B-1 bombers and surveillance planes on Australian air fields to patrol the maritime peripheries of China.
David Shear, the senior Pentagon official who announced what would have been one of the most significant shifts in recent Australian military history, simply got it wrong.
But the fact that Mr Shear “misspoke” does obscure the fact that serious and lasting changes in Australia’s security posture are underway.
Last month 1150 American marines arrived for their fourth dry-season rotation near Darwin, in what is the most visible product of US President Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia. Those numbers are growing each year and will reach 2500 by 2017.
Australian and US officials have also talked about expanding the Stirling naval base at Fremantle, according to sources on both sides, but those facilities are judged to be too far from the potential action.
The allies have also actively considered using the Cocos Islands as a base for unmanned surveillance drones to patrol the lucrative sea lanes that thread through the Malacca Straits and spread across the South China Sea, according to officials.
And while B-1 bombers and spy planes won’t be based in Australia anytime soon it’s only a matter of time before they are invited to take part in exercises across the vast Delamere air weapons range near Katherine.
According to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, this mushrooming of alliance commitments is “not aimed at anyone”. It’s certainly not aimed at China, he claimed, while hosing down the explosive Pentagon claims yesterday. But none of this makes sense in the absence of China.
Defence planners and political leaders from Canberra to New Delhi to Washington are alarmed at China’s rapid military build-up, its non-transparency and, above all, the coercive measures that China has been recently taking along its southern and eastern maritime periphery.
If Prime Minister Tony Abbott is using semantics to obscure his concerns about China, why should we believe his denial of the Pentagon’s B-1 bomber basing plans? One answer is about simple logistics: Australia is too far away.
“I’m not playing with words here … I think this guy was off the reservation,” said a senior Australian official, shooting down the Pentagon official’s claims. “When they’ve got Guam why would they conduct surveillance from Australia?”
Uranium mine rejected in Arctic region
Arctic uranium mine rejected, Mining Australia, 13 May, 2015 Cole Latimer A proposed uranium multi-billion dollar uranium mine slated for Canada’s Arctic region has been knocked back.
French nuclear energy giant Areva’s Kiggavik uranium mine has been opposed by the Nunavut region’s Impact Review Board (IRB), according to CBC.
The mine was proposed on the edge of a caribou calving ground. The US$2.1 billion project would feature an underground operation, and four open pits……….
Further north in Greenland, Australian miner Greenland Minerals and Energy has taken major steps forward to develop its Kvanefjeld rare earths and uranium project, after last year signing an MoU with a Chinese firm to ramp up its supply chain and minerals processing capability.
The Greenland Government has even touted its lack of a mining tax to attract the interest of other Australian miners looking to develop the country’s rich reserves of untapped minerals. http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/arctic-uranium-mine-rejected
Uranium market down the gurgler again, and AREVA nuclear giant in trouble
Uranium’s Glow Still Smothered by Safety Concerns Wall Street Daily, Fri, May 15, 2015 | Shelley Goldberg, Commodity Strategist Just when it looked like it was time to jump back into the uranium market, prices have faltered yet again.Uranium prices have taken a turn for the worse due to a combination of factors that pulled the floor from underneath the commodity.
Back in November 2014, prices spiked from $28 per pound to $44 per pound. This was largely due to the sanctions imposed on Russia after the annexation of Crimea, thus portending a supply shortage.
But the price is currently close to $35 per pound. And technical indicators are pointing south once again……..
France was so confident in its atomic energy capabilities that, about 10 years ago, the French nuclear establishment made a bet on a new generation of reactors using European pressurize reactor (EPR) technology. These reactors were touted as the safest and most powerful ever made.
But, France isn’t living up to its promises. New plants that would ostensibly showcase the most cutting edge of nuclear energy prowess are years behind schedule and billions of euros over budget. Some are as much as three times more expensive than the original cost projections! At this point, many are questioning if they’ll ever be completed.
Plus, The New York Times reported on April 7 that one reactor, the Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, had discovered imperfections in the steel used by Areva (AREVA.PA) to make the caps of the main reactor vessel.
The caps contain the extreme heat, pressure, and radiation produced by nuclear fission. These same parts were used for a plant under construction in Taishan, China, which is being built in partnership with France……http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2015/05/15/uranium-commodity-concerns/
Despite the facts, Toro Energy’s Vanessa Guthrie optimistic about uranium market
Why believe Tor’s spin when:
Uranium prices have slumped again, with no recovery in sight?
Improved uranium price triggers drilling at a Central Australian prospect, ABC Rural, NT Country Hour 15 May 15 Nathan Coates “…….Drilling at the Wiso Project 150 kilometres north-west of Barrow Creek started this week and is expected to continue for two months.
Managing Director of Toro Energy, Vanessa Guthrie, said the joint venture project with Areva Resources is the result of surveys co-funded by the Northern Territory government. “The work that has commenced this week is a drill program,” she said. “We are targeting a sandstone hosted uranium paleochannel.”………She said environmental approval to start exploring near Barrow Creek had two levels.
The uranium that we might produce would be likely to go to the growing Asian markets of China and India and the mature markets of Korea and Japan. “Of course we needed Traditional Owner agreement which we’ve secured,” she said. “We also have the mine and exploration plan which was required by the Northern Territory government.”
Ms Guthrie said Toro Energy had in the past gone through environmental approval processes and they were very similar to those in the Northern Territory.
She added that the approval processes for uranium mining in the Northern Territory were “well established and quite mature.”…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/improved-uranium-price-triggers-drilling-in-central-australia/6463570
Australian government about to remove tax -exempt status from donations to Environmental Groups
Environmental organisations under threat again – Donations to Environmental Organisations being Questioned ! Capertee Valley Alliance Inc. 22 May 15
The Committee invites interested persons and organisations to make submissions addressing the terms of reference by 21 May 2015.
For information on how to make a submission, go to our Making a submission to a Committee Inquiry page.
Aboriginal Land Councils distrust Northern Territory Government, reject it for running Indigenous outstation services.
‘Dysfunctional’ NT Government must not run Indigenous outstations, Northern Land Council and Central Land Council say ABC News 14 May 15 Two of Australia’s most powerful Indigenous land councils have labelled the NT Government “dysfunctional and welfare dependent” and “a failed state that is almost totally dependent on the Commonwealth” as they rejected an idea for the NT to take responsibility for Indigenous outstation services.
The federal budget made provisions for a one-off payment to the NT Government of $155 million in exchange for taking over municipal and essential services in remote outstations and communities.
But the Northern Land Council (NLC) and Central Land Council (CLC) have said the NT Government would not be able to adequately run the services and would result in community closures like those planned in Western Australia. Continue reading
Opposition to Australian uranium/rare earths mining company in Greenland
Uranium opponents look to other sectors for job growth Opponents of uranium mining in southern Greenland have put forward a list of proposals they believe can create jobs and in the process make a highly contested mine unnecessary The Arctic Journal, May 13, 2015 – By Kevin McGwin In the town of Narsaq, on Greenland’s southern tip, debate is coming to a head over whether residents can make do without a near-by mine that will create jobs, but which some fear will make the town unliveable.The concerns come as Greenland Minerals and Energy, an Australia-based mining outfit, closes in on final approval to begin production rare earths, a mineral vital for use in modern technologies……
in order to extract rare earths, GME will also need to mine uranium as a by-product, and that has raised fears, particularly among farmers, sheep farmers and those making a living off tourism, that dust from the open-pit facility will taint the region’s soil and water, and in the process spoil the region’s image. Continue reading
Trans Pacific Partnership – a gift to corporations against people and the environment
Scarier still is the part of the TPP that will give corporations the right to sue governments for lost profits. The proceedings will be conducted before secret corporate tribunals.
Foreshadowing nasty corporate suits are what is happening now in Australia, Egypt, and Germany.
Philip Morris, an American tobacco company, is suing Australia for prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to underaged smokers in that country.
Why Obama Is Making the Mistake of Pushing the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Michael E. Drake Democratic Perspectives on the corporate take-over of America, 15 May 15
He has convinced himself that American labor cannot compete with labor forces in the rest of the world, particularly in Asia. He said, “That ship has already sailed.” Obama has given up. He has given in to corporate interests who want things both ways for the sake of short term profit. Corporations, who recognize no international boundaries, insist on producing goods for the lowest possible cost in labor. Continue reading
Alarmingly poor management- Santos’ uranium incident
May 15, 2015 by maxphillips The Greens coal seam gas spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham today said that the conclusions from theNSW EPA’s completed investigations into Uranium contamination at Santos’ Narrabri CSG operations revealed alarmingly poor management and insufficient monitoring and he called on Santos to abandon the Narrabri project.
In their report, the EPA have said that they “have concerns with aspects of the site operations and management” and are issuing Santos with two legally binding Pollution Reduction Programs (PRPs) to improve groundwater monitoring.
“The myth that no cases of aquifer contaminations have occurred in NSW was busted by this incident where elevated levels of Uranium and other heavy metals were found in the groundwater near Santos’ holding ponds,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.
“No level of Uranium or other heavy metal contamination from coal seam gas is acceptable and the pathetic $1500 EPA at the time is hardly a deterrent to Santos or other companies.”
“It is alarming that the EPA have confirmed Santos does not have a sufficient monitoring program in place. Yet again we find that the management of a coal seam gas operation is not up to scratch and that pollution incidents cannot be properly assessed.”
“The Greens believe that coal seam gas is unnecessary, unwanted and unsafe and that Santos should pack up and leave NSW,” Mr Buckingham said. Contact: Max Phillips – 9230 2202 or 0427 713 101
East Australian Current is changing with Climate Change
Going with the flow: scientists probe changes in the East Australian Current The Age May 15, 2015 –Peter Hannam Environment Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald The East Australian Current, a pivotal driver of climate for Australia’s eastern states, is changing as the planet warms but scientists know little about its dynamics.
That knowledge gap should start to close with CSIRO’s new research ship, the RV Investigator, soon to deploy an array of six sensors moored off Brisbane from 40 metres below the surface out to waters almost five kilometres deep……….
Without the East Australian Current, coastal regions would be much colder. Data on any changes will help climatologists better understand how much future climates may be affected by global warming.
Existing climate models “are quite good”, Dr Sloyan said. “These observations allow us to work with the modelling community on how to improve” those models, she said.
Pacific Ocean currents are affected by many factors, including El Nino, the climate pattern that results in the central and eastern Pacific warming faster than regions to the west. Easterly trade winds during El Nino events weaken or even reverse.
“If we are out there long enough, we will see changes” from the El Nino, Dr Sloyan said, noting the Bureau of Meteorology had declared such an event to be under way this week.
The US National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday that there is an 80 per cent chance that the El Nino will persist until the end of 2015.
A prolonged event could be bad news for Australia, with most such events linked to below-average rainfall for most of Eastern Australia, along with abnormally warm temperatures. http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/going-with-the-flow-scientists-probe-changes-in-the-east-australian-current-20150515-gh2fvj.html
Australia has the most affordable solar systems in the developed world.
But while this was happening a revolution was unfolding in the affordability of solar power systems. Rather fortunately for Australia, we are one of the best positioned nations to take advantage of this revolution. Continue reading
50% renewable energy by 2030 – Queensland government pledge
Queensland government pledges to reach 50% renewable energy by 2030 Australian states are finally taking action, Science Alert MYLES GOUGH 15 MAY 2015 Queensland’s newly elected Labor government plans to generate 50 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy by 2030, and wants one million homes to have rooftop solar systems within five years.
The 50 percent renewable energy target was outlined in the party’s pre-election policy, and the new energy minister recently confirmed that the government is determined to make it happen, and will establish a productivity commission to come up with the right policy pathway to get them there. The government also has a plan to see the number of households with rooftop solar more than double by 2020, growing from 400,000 to one million.
“Renewable energy has long since stopped being a fringe issue, now is the time for Queensland to make this happen,” said energy minister Mark Bailey, before a speech at the Australian Solar Conference in Melbourne. As Giles Parkinson points out for RenewEconomy, there was some speculation that the ambitious target represented “the aspirations of a party that expected to remain in Opposition.”……..
the political tide has turned in Queensland, and with this commitment, all three Labor states – including Victoria and South Australia – are planning ambitious renewable energy targets. South Australia, which is already at 40 percent renewables, wants to make the jump to 50 percent by 2025. And Victoria is looking to sidestep recent legislation, which prevents it from having a state-based scheme, to try and install a similar target.
The federal government, by comparison, seems to be going in the wrong direction. It’s looking to cut the national target for large-scale renewables from a planned 41,000 GWh by 2020, to 33,000GWh. This has already caused the renewable energy industry a lot of grief, as investment in large-scale projects has virtually stalled over the uncertainty……
Still,several large-scale solar plants have been proposed in the state, along with a large wind farm in the north near Mount Emerald, Parkinson reports……http://www.sciencealert.com/queensland-government-pledges-to-reach-50-renewable-energy-by-2030
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 