St Louis, USA, struggles with danger of underground fire near radioactive waste dump
“I can say with some confidence that a flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, what have you, is going to move this radioactive material and other contaminants at the landfill in a way we cannot control.”
Officials squabble as underground fire burns near radioactive waste dump in St. Louis area , LA Times, 21 Oct 15Matt Pearce Contact Reporter A fire is smoldering beneath a landfill in a densely populated suburb of St. Louis — and it has been there for five years.
Underground landfill fires, or “smoldering events” as some officials call them, aren’t rare. What makes the fire at the landfill in Bridgeton, Mo., so unusual is that it’s less than a quarter of a mile from a large deposit of nuclear waste — with no barrier in its way.
The radioactive legacy of St. Louis’ role in the World War II atomic weapons program has unleashed Cold War-style nuclear paranoia in the area, as some residents debate what kind of gas masks to buy or whether to move away. Corporate, federal and state officials don’t agree on what kind of threat West Lake Landfill poses to residents, or even if it poses a threat at all. Various scientists and officials have presented clashing stories to the public about whether the underground fire is moving and what might happen if it reaches the nuclear waste.
Energy resources of Australia abandons plan to expand Ranger uranium mine
Energy Resources of Australia Accepts Defeat on Ranger Uranium Mine Extension, http://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/energy-investing/uranium-investing/energy-resources-of-australia-accepts-defeat-on-ranger-uranium-mine-extension/ Uranium Investing News, Kristen Moran • October 19, 2015 Mining Australia reported that Energy Resources of Australia (ASX:ERA) has decided to accept defeat on plan to extend Ranger uranium mine beyond 2021.
As quoted in the market news:
A statement from ERA this afternoon revealed the Mirrar Traditional Owners and Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation do not support an extension to the authority to mine at Ranger, in Kakadu National Park.
A statement from ERA said the company respected the views of the Traditional Owners, and would undertake a business review in light of their decision.
“In light of this development, ERA has commenced a process of assessing whether the company’s assets may be impaired,” the company said.
The news was welcomed by Environment Centre NT, where Nuclear Free campaigner Lauren Mellor said it was time for “the era of rehabilitation and a staged and managed exit from Kakadu to begin”.
“ERA must now accept full financial responsibility for the costly and complex task of rehabilitation, accept Rio’s funding offer and cooperate with all stakeholders in the transition to a post-mining phase of operations,” Mellor said.
Hallelujah! Political Oblivion for climate villains Abbott and Harper
Canada’s Harper follows fellow “climate villain” Abbott into political oblivion, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 20 October 2015
It is good news for the upcoming Paris climate change talks. Both countries, under their former leaders,
ranked at the bottom of the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for their efforts on climate change. Among G20 countries, only Saudi Arabia ranked lower than them.
Since their elections – Harper in 2006, and Abbott in 2013 – they had applied the brakes on climate change and renewable energy policy, despite some strong efforts at sub-national levels (the provinces in Canada and states and territories in Australia).
During a visit to Canada last year, Abbott and Harper decided to create a “conservative alliance among ‘like-minded’ countries” to try to dismantle global efforts on climate change.
At a press conference, Harper applauded Abbott’s efforts to dump Australia’s carbon tax. Indeed, Abbott had borrowed the “axe the tax” slogan from an earlier Canadian campaign.
Now, both have gone…….http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/canadas-harper-follows-fellow-climate-villain-abbott-into-political-oblivion-43745
Queensland’s revolutionary solar energy systems – on carparks and other commercial buildings
Are these solar panels the setting of the sun for coal mines? Brisbane Times October 22, Tony Moore Solar energy systems on top of shopping centres, car park shade covers, hospitals, airports and other commercial buildings are the beginning of the end for large scale coal power stations, one alternative energy developer will explain on Friday.
Shakra Energy managing director Sam Khalil will on Friday outline how the solar energy system his company has installed as a “shade cover” over carparking at Buranda is now doubling as a solar energy generator. He says the system cut energy costs for the owner by between 30 to 40 per cent.
Mr Khalil believes companies and big energy users – like hospitals and huge retailers – are beginning to wake up the potential solar energy from their rooftops, completely separate to solar energy from homes.
It generates 147MW and save 122 tonnes of CO2 emissions from the environment each year.
“If we can save them 30 to 40 per cent on electricity bills that are $10 million, $20 million, $30 million a year, why wouldn’t you do it?” Mr Khalil argues.
“We are right at the forefront of where the future of energy production has to be in Australia,” he said.
“Right at the forefront of the job creation for making business more efficient so they can employ more people.”……..
Shakra Energy has placed solar energy panels on top of shade cloth covers that shade cars on top of PA Central on Ipswich Road at Buranda, directly opposite the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
It generates 100 kilowatts of energy, enough to power the shops and business in the Ipswich Road building, plus run the car park operations.
One hundred kilowatts – depending on what is in the house or the business and the size of the house of the business – could power between five and 30 homes or premises……..
Mr Khalil says their Buranda plant was the first commercial solar production facility in Queensland, outside a similar scheme on the rooftop at one building of the University of Queensland.
He said his company has recently been invited to lodge tenders for similar schemes at large commercial properties.
“Let’s just say hospitals, airports, major shopping centres,” he said.
Oxley Federal MP Bernie Ripoll and Greens Senator Larissa Waters will be at the launch on Friday……..
Greens Senator Larissa Waters praised the concept.
“This is just the kind of innovation that our Sunshine State needs to shine as a leader in the clean energy future,” Senator Waters said.
“The Palaszczuk Government needs to hurry up and implement the 50 per cent renewable energy target it promised in the election, instead of pushing ahead with coal exports through the Great Barrier Reef,” she said. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/are-these-solar-panels-the-setting-of-the-sun-for-coal-mines-20151022-gkg8nc.html#ixzz3pcc0G4N0
Australian government withdraws funding offer to Bjorn Lomborg’s anti climate action centre
Bjorn Lomborg: Government withdraws $4 million funding offer for controversial research centre, ABC News, By political reporter Francis Keany and Sara Phillips 22 Oct 15 The Federal Government says it has withdrawn a $4 million offer to help establish a research centre headed by Danish academic Bjorn Lomborg.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham has told a Senate estimates hearing the proposal was quietly dropped in the week when Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister.
“Certainly, a specific incentive from the Government for such an institute is no longer available,” Senator Birmingham said……..
Greens Senator for South Australia Robert Simms described the withdrawal of funding as “welcome” and said it was “in response to a really strong campaign that’s been run across the community”.
“It’s good to see the Turnbull Government making a break with the Abbott era and dumping Dr Lomborg,” he said…… http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-21/govt-withdraws-funding-from-lomborg-centre/6873238
Bizarre UK nuclear deal with China hands huge debt to grandchildren
These nuclear power plans are bizarre in every way. Hinkley Point will be the most expensive plant in the world, at £24bn. To pay for it, monumental subsidies lasting until 2060 will dwarf any PFI ever devised. Osborne begs the Chinese to pay for this and for HS2 as well on a never–never bill for our grandchildren,
This nuclear power deal with China is one of the maddest ever struck http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/21/nuclear-power-deal-china-uk Polly Toynbee
The decision to allow China to build nuclear power stations in the UK is sheer folly, especially at a time when Cameron is shutting the door on renewable energy.
Australia’s chance to become a renewable energy superpower
For Australia, “abundant, low-cost renewable energy, land availability, and proximity to the emerging Asian region,” make it a perfect fit.
“Managed well, the transition to renewable energy will restore and enhance former strengths, this time built on sustainable foundations,” the report says.
How Australia can become a renewable energy superpower http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/how-australia-can-become-a-renewable-energy-superpower-35215 By Sophie Vorrath on 19 October 2015 (EXCELLENT TABLES and GRAPHS) Australia has the opportunity to become a renewable energy superpower – giving it a global economic advantage much greater than that ever gained from fossil fuels – a new report has suggested, but only if it seizes three key areas of opportunity, based heavily on innovation; and only if it acts quickly and doesn’t miss the wave.
The report, published on Monday by Beyond Zero Emissions, notes that Australia – despite having one of the best renewable energy resources in the world – is currently on the back foot in the global energy stakes.
Its “fossil fuel advantage” is fast disappearing , and it has an outdated and gold-plated electricity network that has acted as a ball and chain to progress. But it also suggests that Australia could turn this position around, by building an industry that supplies the renewable and energy efficiency market; by assisting the migration of energy intensive industries to renewables; and by harnessing the trade of renewable energy commodities.
The global shift to renewable energy – while largely a democratising force – will still bring advantages to some nations, the report says.
“The value associated with renewable energy is largely accounted for by the harvesting equipment, with very little ongoing costs and zero fuel costs. This is completely different to fossil energy where the majority of the value is in the ongoing consumption of fuel. Continue reading
Japan officially recognises cancer in worker caused by Fukushima radiation
Fukushima worker diagnosed with leukaemia after shocking radiation leak at nuclear plant, news.com.au OCTOBER 20, 2015 A FORMER Fukushima nuclear plant worker has been diagnosed with radiation-linked cancer, making him the first such confirmation more than four years after the worst atomic accident in a generation.
An official with the health ministry said the ex-employee, who was in his thirties while working at the plant following the 2011 crisis, has developed leukaemia. He is now 41 years old, local media reported.
“The case has met the criteria” to link his illness to the accident, the official told a Tokyo press briefing on condition of anonymity, adding that other possible causes have been ruled out.
“This person went to see a doctor because was not feeling well. That was when he was diagnosed with leukaemia.” The ministry revealed few details about the man, but said he had worked at a destroyed building that housed one of the crippled reactors.
The man, who wore protective equipment during more than a year spent at Fukushima, will be awarded compensation to pay for his medical costs and lost income, the official said, without elaborating on the amount.
Three similar cases of cancer in plant workers are still awaiting confirmation of a link to the accident…….
The announcement Tuesday will likely further inflame widespread public opposition to nuclear power……..
The case was likely to deal another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s unpopular attempt to switch on Japan’s stable of atomic reactors………http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/fukushima-worker-diagnosed-with-leukaemia-after-shocking-radiation-leak-at-nuclear-plant/story-fnh81fz8-1227576166328
Malcolm Turnbull won’t back Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Malcolm Turnbull refuses to back Clean Energy Finance Corporation Labor uses question time to attack the prime minister and the Coalition over its climate change policies, Guardian, Lenore Taylor, 20 Oct 15 Malcolm Turnbull says the need for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation remains an “open question” and has dismissed emissions trading schemes as simply another “piece of economic plumbing”, as Labor attacked the credibility of the Coalition’s climate policies.
Turnbull lost the Liberal leadership in 2009 over his backing for the former Rudd government’s emissions trading scheme, and was forced to pledge to retain the current Direct Action climate plan in order to win support from conservative and climate-sceptic colleagues before becoming prime minister, despite having once described it as “bullshit” and a “recipe for fiscal recklessness on a grand scale.”
Under Tony Abbott, the coalition unsuccessfully tried to abolish the corporation, which the former prime minister derided as the “Bob Brown bank”.
The CEFC lends to clean energy projects on commercial terms and has so far lent $1.4bn, which will reduce emissions by 4.2m tonnes annually and also achieve a positive return on the commonwealth’s investments.
Under Turnbull the CEFC has been transferred to the environment department and the government has apparently dropped plans to hobble its mandate by banning investments in wind farms and small scale solar and has suggested it plays an important role in its climate plans.
But despite this, during question time on Tuesday, Turnbull refused to say he backed the institution – instead hedging his answer and pointing out the government had been unable to get the Senate to agree to the CEFC’s abolition…….http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/20/malcolm-turnbull-refuses-to-back-clean-energy-finance-corporation
Environment Minister Greg Hunt full of praise for Clean Energy Finance Corporation
the new Greg Hunt was full of praise for ARENA and the CEFC, listing them as one of the “successes and tangible outcomes” his government had overseen.
“The Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency are our major instruments to research, develop, test, and demonstrate emerging technology and solutions,” Hunt said.
while we welcome this change in tone, it is worth noting that the ARENA, CEFC and CCA Abolition Bills are still on the House of Representatives and Senate Notice Papers, meaning the government hasn’t formally changed their policies to abolish them.
Hunt hails ‘green shift’, praises ARENA, CEFC http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/hunt-hails-green-shift-praises-arena-cefc-24228 By Sophie Vorrath on 14 October 2015 Pop news quiz: Which Australian politician said the following this week: “It gives me great pleasure today to share my views on the required ‘green shift’ toward a more vibrant, resilient and low emissions society.”
If you answered Richard di Natale, you are wrong. It was Greg Hunt, in a speech titled “Australia’s Green Shift”, delivered to Australia’s Norwegian Embassy on Wednesday.
Yes, the federal environment minister – who as recently as July this year described the Labor Opposition’s comparatively ambitious renewable energy and emissions reduction targets “a triple-hit on electricity prices” – is now all about shifting to green, and wants everyone to know it.
“The Australian Government is driving this transformation in Australia and working globally to build a future that reflects the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said – a sentence it is safe to say he would never had uttered under his former boss, Tony Abbott. Continue reading
New study finds climate change even more costly than previously thought
A cliché repeated in some scientific circles suggests that there are three possible responses to climate change: mitigation (the word wonks like to use instead of prevention), adaptation, and suffering.
Climate change slams global economy, study from Stanford and Berkeley shows, SMH October 22, 2015 Eric Roston Climate change could cause 10 times as much damage to the global economy as previously estimated, slashing output by as much as 23 per cent by the end of the century, a new research paper from US universities Stanford and Berkeley finds.
Looking at 166 countries between 1960 and 2010, the researchers identified an optimal average annual temperature that coincides with peak productivity. It’s 13 degrees celsius, or approximately the climate of San Francisco’s bay area (Sydney’s mean temperature last year was 19.3 degrees).
Countries in the tropics, already hotter than this optimal temperature, are likely to face the most dramatic economic pain from warming, found the study, published in the latest issue of Nature. Countries at or just past the 13-degree annual average, like the US, China, and Japan, may be increasingly vulnerable to losses as the temperature warms. Northern countries well below the ideal average may see benefits as opportunities open up for agriculture and industry.
But this was the least robust finding. And even if the warming improves the lot of Scandinavia and Canada, such nations may not have many healthy trading partners left as others suffer. Also, higher temperatures in northern countries don’t take into account changes in precipitation, more extreme weather, and the many other risks in a warming world. Continue reading
Finland’s New Nuclear – a Warning to UK and Others
“what’s most striking at the experience of Olkiluoto — just how many different things have gone wrong.”
New nuclear: Finland’s cautionary tale for the UK , Carbon Brief, 20 Oct 15,Finland has a 15-year-old problem called Olkiluoto 3. This nuclear plant was once the bright star of Finland’s energy future and Europe’s nuclear renaissance.
It was seen as a key component in Finland’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsby 80% by 2050 and end reliance on foreign imports of electricity, even during its long, dark Arctic winters. It is supposed to provide Finland with a low-carbon source of electricity for at least 60 years.
A 2006 article in the Telegraph spoke of the rebirth of Finnish love for nuclear power, describing the Olkiluoto site in phrases that could have been lifted from a pastoral poem: a “Baltic island of foraging swans”, “pine-scented” air and “unusually large salmon”.
But this source of hope has turned sour. Olkiluoto 3 — almost unpronounceable to non-Finns — is now nine years behind schedule and three times over budget. It has been subject to lawsuits, technology failure, construction errors and miscommunication. A rift between the companies behind the plant has been describedas “one of the biggest conflicts in the history of the construction sector”.
At best, it has been a turbulent lift-off to the lauded rebirth of nuclear power in western Europe. For the UK, which hopes to be a part of this renaissance, the story of Olkiluoto 3 offers a cautionary tale.
Background Continue reading
With solar power, rooftop panels have exceeded grid parity
Rooftop solar costs vs the grid: A city by city guide http://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/rooftop-solar-costs-vs-the-grid-a-city-by-city-guide/ By Giles Parkinson on October 21, 2015 You may have heard of the expression “grid parity”. In the case of rooftop solar panels, it is the point where the cost of energy supplied from your own rooftop solar array falls below the cost of grid-power.
It is also known as “socket parity”, because it compares the price of rooftop solar power to the cost of grid-sourced power at the electricity sockets in your house.
Australia was one of the first countries in the world to reach grid or socket parity – thanks to its high electricity prices (largely due to soaring network costs), and its excellent sunshine. There are now nearly 100 countries that have reached the same benchmark.
But Australia has not just reached socket parity, it has smashed it. In most cities in Australia, the cost of rooftop solar is now less than half the price of grid-based power. Indeed, even some utilities offer to install rooftop solar on your roof for free, and charge only 11c/kWh for the output.
A new report from Beyond Zero Emissions, which recommends Australia set a path to 100 per cent renewable energy, highlights those cost differences. Continue reading
Deloitte Access Economics warning after Turnbull government approves Adani mine
Gareth Hutchens & Heath Aston, Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/deloitte-access-economics-warning-after-turnbull-government-approves-adani-mine-20151018-gkbz27.html 19 Oct 15: “Deloitte Access Economics has warned of a “deflationary
pulse” wending its way through the global economy, with the world “awash in supply” of hard commodities, just as the Turnbull government has re-approved the $16 billion Adani Carmichael coal project in central Queensland.
The economic consultancy firm says deflationary pressures have been building globally for “the better part of three years,” with almost all of Asia – particularly China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia – seeing factory gate prices falling. But prices for bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore are now “well and truly broken”, it says, and could tumble further and faster than forecasts allow. … ”
with Nicole Hasham
Carmichael coal mine conditions are not ‘strict’
Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF): http://www.acfonline.org.au/news-media/media-release/carmichael-coal-mine-conditions-are-not-%E2%80%98strict%E2%80%99 20 Oct 15:
“Far from being ‘strict’ the Federal Environment Minister’s conditions for the re-approved Carmichael coal mine let project proponent Adani amend environmental management plans without Ministerial approval, the Australian Conservation Foundation said today. When he re-approved Adani’s Carmichael coal mine last week Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the project had been approved “subject to 36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history”.
But scrutiny of those conditions shows the plans that must be developed to mitigate the project’s environmental impacts can be changed by the company without getting the Minister’s approval.
Adani is required merely to ‘notify’ the Department of changes. “These changes significantly weaken the environmental conditions put on the proposal to dig the biggest coal mine in Australia’s history,” said ACF CEO Kelly O’Shanassy. … “ACF is closely studying the re-approval and will use all
appropriate means to stop this mine,” Ms O’Shanassy said.”
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 