NUCLEAR. An eerie silence on the national scene. One would think that nothing is happening in the nuclear machinations in Australia. Only something is. In the rest of August alone there will be 23 more nuclear propaganda forums run by thy South Australian government. (wonder what all this is costing the tax-payer?) The whole thing is ignored in the mainstream media, though there have already been many such forums. One propaganda session in Port Pirie, was directed at an indigenous community, and that did not go down well!
The South Australian government is pressing on with its goal of removing legal restrictions on importing nuclear wastes. They’re holding a “Simplify Day” on November 15, to “repeal out-dated and redundant legislation”. Like The Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000?
Meanwhile the South Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Findings of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission continues. The hearings are up on their website, but so far the Submissions cannot be accessed.
CLIMATE and RENEWABLE ENERGY.
August 12, 2016
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Speakers in Pirie raise doubts about nuclear dump http://www.portpirierecorder.com.au/story/4087477/negative-vibes-at-nuclear-forum/ Greg Mayfield 10 Aug 2016, Speakers at an indigenous forum in Port Pirie questioned the merits of proposals for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia.
The forum was hosted by Jason Downs, of the Consultation and Response Agency set up after the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission. It was aimed at gathering informal views from the Aboriginal community on the findings of the commission.
Gregory Waldon, of Wirrabara, said radioactive contamination on the leg of a fly could be a “problem dose” amid the scenario of handling nuclear waste. He said the issue of “risk” should be reserved for the casino. Only about $230 for each resident of South Australia would flow, he said, from development instead of an original estimate of $3300, once the Commonwealth became involved.
“It is not our waste. We should not be taking any risk,” he said.
Enice Marsh, 73, of Gladstone, is an Adnyamathanha indigenous woman who was once a coal-miner at Leigh Creek. Mrs Marsh said she was on Adnyamathanha land and was the only person from this group here at the gathering. “There are lots of Adnyamathanha people living here in Port Pirie and the area,” she said.
“I really got very little notice about this gathering. It is my duty to come here to represent my country.
“We have two uranium mines on our land – Beverley and Honeymoon. “It doesn’t matter whether it is low, intermediate or high-level waste, we are saying ‘no’ from day one.”
Neville Reid, who works in Port Pirie, said that if he were not logged into the “no nuclear” website, he would not have known about the event. He queried why there were only 10 country people on the Citizens’ Jury looking at the nuclear issue when the dump was “going to be in a country area”.
He warned that steel and concrete doors on repositories would “rot away”, leading to “another site then another site” being used during the long radioactive life of the waste.
Leader for engagement with the agency Mr Downs said a private research company had been engaged to report to the next Citizens’ Jury in October followed by a report to Premier Jay Weathefill who would “make decisions” in November based on feedback.
August 12, 2016
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Sat 13/8: Marion S.C. 9am – 5pm
Tues. 16/8: Kimba Institute, High Street, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Marree Town Hall, Railway terrace 11:00am – 7:00pm
Wed. 17/8: Cummins Town Hall, Railway Terrace, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Oodnadatta Community Hall, Ikartuka terrace, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Port Pirie Global Maintenance Upper Spencer Gulf Trade Expo, Northern Festival Centre, 9:00am –5:00pm
Thurs. 18/8: Port Pirie Global Maintenance Upper Spencer Gulf Trade Expo, Northern Festival Centre, 8:30am – 3:45pm
Cowell Supper Room at Institute, 6 Main Street, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Ummona Aboriginal Community, Umoona Road, Coober Pedy, 11:00am – 5:00pm
Mon. 22/8: State Library of SA , North Terrace, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Tues. 23/8: Gawler Sport and Community Centre, Nixon Tce, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Yalata Aboriginal Community 11:00am – 5:00pm
Wed. 24/8: West Lakes Shopping Centre 9-5
Oak Valley Aboriginal Community, Lake Dey-Dey Rd, Oak Valley, 11:00am – 5:00pm
Willunga Hub Community Room, 1 St Peters Tce, 11:00am – 6:30pm
Thurs. 25/8: Victor Harbor Yacht Club, 22 Bridge Terrace, 11:00am – 7:00pm
West Lakes Shopping Centre 11-7
Fri. 26/8: West Lakes Shopping Centre 9-5
Mt Barker Town hall: Stephen St, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Sat. 27/8: West Lakes Shopping Centre 9-5
Mon. 29/8: Port Lincoln Aboriginal Community, Ravendale Rd, 11:00am – 5:00pm
Tanunda CWA Hall, 70 Murray Street, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Tues. 30/8: Koonibba Aboriginal Community, Foggos Road, 11:00am – 5:00pm
Kapunda Soldiers Memorial Hall, Hill Street, 11:00am – 7:00pm
August 12, 2016
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SA native title claims dismissed, Valerina Changarathil, The Advertiser August 10, 2016
THE Federal Court yesterday dismissed three overlapping native title claims near key exploration projects in the state’s mid-north, but the issue is far from resolved with some groups assessing their appeal options.
The claims by the Kokatha, Adnyamanthanha and Barngarla people were over the lands and waters of Lake Torrens — Australia’s second largest salt lake — which is in proximity to OZ Minerals’ proposed Carrapateena copper-gold project, Argonaut Resources’ and Aeris Resources’ jointly proposed Torrens iron-oxide, copper-gold project and BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam operations.
A native title application is a claim for legal recognition that a group hold rights and interests in an area of land and/or water according to their traditional laws and customs.
Justice J Mansfield yesterday said he was not “persuaded that a determination of native title in favour of any of the three applicants should be made in respect of any part of the claim area”.
“While the archaeological evidence in this matter supports Aboriginal activity and use on and around the western shore of Lake Torrens of considerable antiquity, I have not found the archaeological evidence in this matter persuasive of a particular conclusion directed in favour of one or other of the three applicants,” he said.
He was not satisfied the Kokatha people occupied or possessed the claim area according to their traditional laws and customs at sovereignty and while the ethno-historical records provided some support for the Adnyamathanha (Kuyani) and Barngarla peoples’ connections to part of the claim area, it was difficult to date it back to the time of sovereignty or establish a continual connection to the present time.
SA Native Title Services, a solicitor for the Kokatha people, said that while applications were dismissed, there was no finding that native title rights and interests did not exist or were extinguished……..http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/sa-native-title-claims-dismissed/news-story/1b488e017dbd68c515907666b8f61f53
August 12, 2016
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aboriginal issues, South Australia |
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The foremost reason is that as the project was being discussed with the public, SKB’s research was found to be incomplete and, in certain cases, inaccurate.
When, in 2011, Sweden’s SKB first applied for a license to build the Forsmark repository, the KBS-3 project documentation was published, which made it possible to give the project a review that would be independent from the nuclear industry’s own evaluation.
In February 2016, a special expert group appointed by the government, called the Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste (Kärnavfallsrådet), published a 167-page report entitled “Nuclear Waste State-of-the-Art Report 2016: Risks, uncertainties and future challenges.” Among other things, it identifies the repository project’s risks and uncertainties having to do with earthquake impacts, with the long-term prospects of financing and monitoring the site’s condition, and with the health effects of low doses of radiation.
Finland has no such expert body. The concept of the repository, under construction in Euroajoki municipality, is criticized by many Finnish scientists, but the government is not taking notice and is likewise ignoring the scientific objections coming from its neighbor Sweden.
When haste makes risky waste: Public involvement in radioactive and nuclear waste management in Sweden and Finland – How did it happen that in Sweden, the country that developed the technology for deep geological disposal of radioactive waste, construction of a such a repository – a first of its kind in the world – has been suspended for recognized risks and uncertainties, whereas Finland, which has copied the Swedish approach, is moving full speed ahead with building one? Bellona has looked for the answer on a fact-finding visit of the two countries. Bellona August 9, 2016 by Andrei Ozharovsky, translated by Maria Kaminskaya
“……..Out of sight, out of mind?
The deep geological disposal concept was first suggested over 40 years ago to solve the problem of spent nuclear fuel, the nuclear industry’s most dangerous byproduct. To a certain degree, this was a continuation of the “bury and forget about it” principle, applied to the less radioactive and thus less dangerous waste – radioactive waste. But where radioactive waste could be placed in shallow trench-type reservoirs or semi-buried near-surface concrete vaults, for nuclear waste, disposal facilities – repositories or burial sites – were proposed for construction in rock formations at a depth of several hundred meters. To date, no such deep geological repository has been created anywhere in the world. Continue reading →
August 12, 2016
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in China, suspensions of contentious projects have a way of quietly turning into permanent cancellations, and Lianyungang appears likely to follow that pattern.
“Don’t underestimate just how determined the public is in opposition to nuclear waste, which is far more dangerous than wastewater from any paper pulp mill.”
Chinese City Backs Down on Proposed Nuclear Fuel Plant After Protests, NYT, 点击查看本文中文版 Read in Chinese By CHRIS BUCKLEY AUG. 10, 2016 BEIJING — Bowing to days of passionate street protests, a city government in eastern China said Wednesday that it had halted any plans to build a nuclear fuel plant there. The reversal was the latest indication of how public distrust could hold back China’s ambitious plans for expanding its nuclear power industry.
The government of Lianyungang, a city near the coast of Jiangsu Province, announced the retreat in a terse message online. “The people’s government of Lianyungang has decided to suspend preliminary work for selecting a site for the nuclear cycle project,” it read, referring to a proposed plant for reprocessing used fuel from nuclear plants.
No reason was given, but it appeared clear enough. In recent days, residents have taken to the streets to oppose any decision to build the plant nearby. The main urban area of Lianyungang is just 20 miles southwest of a large and growing nuclear power plant on the coast, but the idea of a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility also being built in the area seemed to push public unease to a new height……. Continue reading →
August 12, 2016
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An epic Middle East heat wave could be global warming’s hellish curtain-raiser WP, By Hugh Naylor August 10 BAGHDAD — Record-shattering temperatures this summer have scorched countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and beyond, as climate experts warn that the severe weather could be a harbinger of worse to come.
In coming decades, U.N. officials and climate scientists predict that the mushrooming populations of the Middle East and North Africa will face extreme water scarcity, temperatures almost too hot for human survival and other consequences of global warming.
If that happens, conflicts and refugee crises far greater than those now underway are probable, said Adel Abdellatif, a senior adviser at the U.N. Development Program’s Regional Bureau for Arab States who has worked on studies about the effect of climate change on the region.
“This incredible weather shows that climate change is already taking a toll now and that it is — by far — one of the biggest challenges ever faced by this region,” he said.
These countries have grappled with remarkably warm summers in recent years, but this year has been particularly brutal. Parts of the United Arab Emirates and Iran experienced a heat index — a measurement that factors in humidity as well as temperature — that soared to 140 degrees in July, and Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, recorded an all-time high temperature of nearly 126 degrees. Southern Morocco’s relatively cooler climate suddenly sizzled last month, with temperatures surging to highs between 109 and 116 degrees. In May, record-breaking temperatures in Israel led to a surge in heat-related illnesses.
Temperatures in Kuwait and Iraq startled observers. On July 22, the mercury climbed to 129 degrees in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. A day earlier, it reached 129.2 in Mitribah, Kuwait. If confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization, the two temperatures would be the hottest ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere.
[Two Middle East locations hit 129 degrees]
The bad news isn’t over, either. Iraq’s heat wave is expected to continue this week……..https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/an-epic-middle-east-heat-wave-could-be-global-warmings-hellish-curtain-raiser/2016/08/09/c8c717d4-5992-11e6-8b48-0cb344221131_story.html
August 12, 2016
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The three ways we know sea levels are rising are from physical tide gauges, from satellites that measure the water height, and from satellites that measure where ice is stored across the globe.
Climate scientists make a bold prediction about sea level rise http://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-scientists-bold-prediction-slr.html 10 August 2016 by John Abraham
One of the great things about science is that it allows you to make predictions. Three topclimate scientists just made a very bold prediction regarding sea level rise; we should know in a few years if they are correct.
As humans emit greenhouse gases, it’s causing the Earth to warm. That’s indisputable and proven. We can actually measure the amount of extra heat. Since most of it ends up in the oceans, we can also measure other changes in the oceans.
For instance, the oceans are rising. We know that’s indisputable. Measurements taken from physical gauges and from satellites confirm sea level rise. The cause of the rise is more complex. Continue reading →
August 12, 2016
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The Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor shouldn’t be delayed – it should be scrapped Hayden Wood, City AM, 10 Aug 16 Hayden Wood is co-founder of Bulb, a renewable gas and electricity supplier “……the government should stop agonising and cancel the project. There is no commercial or environmental sense in investing billions into a project that is outdated before construction has even begun.
The UK government agreed a deal with EDF, the French energy company behind the project, which locks in the price of energy at £92.5 per MWh, indexed at 2012 prices for 35 years. This cost is more than 50% higher than the cost of new onshore wind projects at £61.10 per MWh today.
Not only does the deal look bad at today’s prices, but other renewable sources, such as solar, are experiencing such rapid efficiency improvements, they are expected to reach £50-60 per MWh by 2025. As the National Audit Office has stated: “the cost competitiveness of nuclear power is weakening as wind and solar become more established.”
Advocates of Hinkley Point argue the 3.2 GW of power, equivalent to 7% of the UK’s energy requirement, is necessary to manage the intermittency of solar and wind energy. But this reveals a misunderstanding of the rapidly changing energy market. The cost of energy storage has fallen rapidly in recent years.
Today lithium-ion battery prices are around 30% third of what they were in 2010.
By investing in storage technology and renewable energy sources like wind and solar that are cheaper than the large scale nuclear project, not to mention better for the environment, Britain could create an energy market that works better for consumers and the planet.
But the government has to make smarter investments in the future of energy. Hinkley Point C is not the answer. http://www.cityam.com/247271/hinkley-point-nuclear-reactors-shouldnt-delayed-they-should
August 12, 2016
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After 60 years, the taxpayer should not continue to subsidise multibillion-dollar corporations in the nuclear energy sector Guardian, Bernie Sanders and Ryan Alexander, 13 Apr 2012 “……Nuclear welfare started with research and development. According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, since 1948 the federal government has spent more than $95bn (in 2011 dollars) on nuclear energy research and development (R&D). That is more than four times the amount spent on solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, and hydropower combined. But federal R&D was not enough; the industry also wanted federal liability insurance too, which it got back 
in 1957 with the Price-Anderson Act. This federal liability insurance programme for nuclear plants was meant to be temporary, but Congress repeatedly extended it, most recently through 2025. Price-Anderson puts taxpayers on the hook for losses that exceed $12. 6bn if there is a nuclear plant disaster. When government estimates show the cost for such a disaster could reach $720bn in property damage alone, that’s one sweetheart deal for the nuclear industry!
R&D and Price-Anderson insurance are still just the tip of the iceberg. From tax breaks for uranium mining and loan guarantees for uranium enrichment to special depreciation benefits and lucrative federal tax breaks for every kilowatt hour from new plants, nuclear is heavily subsidised at every phase. The industry also bilks taxpayers when plants close down with tax breaks for decommissioning plants. Further, it is estimated that the cost to taxpayers for the disposal of radioactive nuclear waste could be as much as $100bn……https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/13/nuclear-industry-us-welfare
August 12, 2016
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“Australian governments have proved to be very poor at understanding how to manage relations with China – they are a bit bewildered by China’s rise,” he said. “We need to figure out how we live in a world where China has become the principal economic player in our neighbourhood.”
Australia risks Chinese anger over power grid sale, BBC News Karishma Vaswani Asia business correspondent 11 August 2016
Australia’s decision to preliminarily block Chinese and Hong Kong bidders from taking a controlling stake in Ausgrid, the country’s largest Australia network, over national security concerns, is likely to be met with outrage and indignation in China. The Chinese don’t like being snubbed.
That’s not surprising – after all, who likes being dumped? And this is starting to look like a recurring pattern. Australia’s move comes as the UK has postponed approval for the Hinkley point nuclear power project, in which China’s General Nuclear Power Corp will have a minority stake, on similar concerns.
CGN is also accused of leading a conspiracy to steal American power industry secrets to speed up the development and production of Chinese reactor technology. Szuhsiung Ho, a senior adviser to CGN, is due in court in the US next week, and is accused of recruiting American experts to obtain sensitive nuclear technology for China, in a plot that prosecutors say threatened US security.
But the UK’s snub has already had serious consequences – verbally at least. Writing in the Financial Times, China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaming has said the delay to approving the plant had brought the two countries to a “crucial historical juncture.”
He hinted that “mutual trust” could be in jeopardy if the UK government decided not to approve the deal.
There’s been no official comment yet about the blocking of the Australian deal from China’s State Grid Corp. But it is a state owned enterprise, and this may be seen as an affront to China’s global ambitions, or viewed as yet another attempt to cast doubt on China’s motivations in the international business arena. Continue reading →
August 12, 2016
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General News |
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Antinuclear 