We start the year with some concerning new evidence on climate change. Global warming is happening faster than previously estimated. Climate Change threat to global ocean circulation might be worse than we thought. The tipping point for climate change is nigh upon us.
The nuclear scene remains one of anxiety about the arms race. There are the nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan, with fear about ISIS. There’s anxiety about the situation when the Trump administration takes over in America.
On the so-called “peaceful” nuclear industry a rather distressing tendency is becoming evident. That is simply, that despite overwhelming evidence that the industry is an economic disaster, Britain, France, and in some States, America, are pressing on with it. The argument is always “JOBS”. It reminds me of the Bertolt Brecht play “Mother Courage and Her Children” – in which the mother continues her job, as that job gets all her children killed, one by one.
World Health Organisation confirmed that low dose radiation increases cancer risk.
CLIMATE. 2016 was Australia’s year of record-breaking extreme weather. It’s also tipped to be Australia’s hottest year. Turnbull government admits that Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. Australia has its very own Minister For The Coal Industry- Matt Canavan Determined local protests against Adani coal mine.
Queensland Government moving fast towards its renewable energy target.
NUCLEAR. Things seem still quiet, with the defeated push for nuclear waste importing to South Australia. The proponents are now regrouping for a new campaign. Ben Heard leads the propaganda push.
The Federal plan for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia – the Australian government plays dirty tricks with language on High Level nuclear Wastes (HLW) – it is done with deceptive labelling. The government will hold a webinar on nuclear waste dump project on 23 February.
Nuclear submarines now obsolete? New Swedish technology indicates this. Australia’s proponents of nuclear submarines are way behind the times.
Funding boost for renewable sector to prepare ACT for green future http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/funding-boost-for-renewable-sector-to-prepare-act-for-green-future-20170110-gtp8vm.html Clare Sibthorp 11 Jan 17
The ACT government hopes a funding boost to the local renewable sector will take the territory one step closer to a green future.
Two new grant programs launched by Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Shane Rattenbury aim to shape the ACT as an export-oriented hub for renewable energy innovation and investment.
The new Direct Grants Stream will provide grants of more than $30,000 to businesses developing renewable technologies.
The Innovation Connect Renewables Stream will feed extra cash into the ACT government’s existing Innovation Connect grants program, allocating $120,000 to the development of innovative products and services in the renewable sector in 2017.
Mr Rattenbury said the programs would be financed from the $12 million industry-funded Renewable Energy Innovation Fund.
He said the ACT was on track to be fully powered by renewables by 2020. “The grants announced today are designed to grow the renewable energy industry, help organisations take the next step in commercialising their technology and reduce deployment costs of renewable energy and energy storage,” he said.
Jobs growth in the ACT renewable energy sector in the past six years was 12 times faster than the national average, a report into the territory government’s action on climate change revealed.
The Minister’s Report into Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction also showed the rate of job growth in the ACT’s renewables sector was six times higher than any other state and territory, as the government invested $12 million into a renewable energy industry development strategy.
Global Photovoltaic Installation Market to Grow Nearly 11% through 2018 http://www.solarnovus.com/global-photovoltaic-installation-market-to-grow-nearly-11-through-2018_N10603.html 12 January 2017– Transparency Market Research announces the release of a new report titled “Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 2018”. According to the report, the global solar photovoltaic installation market is anticipated to expand at a 10.70% CAGR from 2012 to 2018 to reach a value of US$145.9 bn by 2018.
Solar photovoltaic is an excellent source of renewable energy that presents higher efficiency output. This is a key factor driving the solar photovoltaic installation market. In addition, wide range of applications in different sectors, the rising awareness regarding the reduction of carbon footprint, government initiatives and schemes, low cost of installation and maintenance, and constantly evolving technologies have also driven the global solar photovoltaic installation market over the years. Asia Pacific presents strong potential for growth, according to the report. On the down side, limited life of batteries, wet climate in certain regions deteriorating the quality of solar panels, revised feed in tariffs, irregular intensities of solar radiations, and oversupply conditions in certain regions are some of the major challenges that the solar photovoltaic installation market faces.
In order to give readers a better understanding of the scope and dynamics of the solar photovoltaic installation market, the report studies the overall market by segmenting it on the basis of grid type, application, technology, and geography. Based on grid type, the solar photovoltaic installation market is bifurcated into off-grid solar PV and grid-connected solar PV. By technology, the market is segmented into thin film solar PV, crystalline silicon solar PV, and others such as organic solar PV and concentrator PV.
On the basis of application, the solar photovoltaic installation market is categorized into utility scale, commercial, and residential solar PV systems. The use of solar photovoltaic installations in the commercial and residential sectors has risen substantially over the past few years, with major installations in hotels, offices, and hospitals.Geographically, the global solar photovoltaic installation market is divided into Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific, North America, and the Rest of the World. Europe currently dominates the worldwide solar photovoltaic installation market. Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness considerable growth over the next three years owing to rising demand for solar PV systems in countries such as Japan, China, and India.
The research report features a detailed section on the competitive landscape of the solar photovoltaic installation market. Key players are identified and reviewed based on key criteria such as business overview, financial standing, recent developments, and business strategies. With the help of SWOT analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the major players are discussed. In addition, Porter’s Five Forces give readers a clear understanding of the impact of buyers, suppliers, competitors, substitutes, and new entrants on the overall vendor landscape.
The noteworthy players competing in the global solar photovoltaic installation market include Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd., Solar World AG, Trina Solar Ltd., Sun Power Corporation, Suntech Power Holding Co. Ltd., Jinko Solar Holding Company Ltd. Corporation, Schott Solar AG, Canadian Solar Inc., First Solar Inc., Solar Frontier Ltd., and Sharp Corporation.
State Political Editor Daniel Wills, The Advertiser January 11, 2017 
Delays of years in construction times and the doubling of costs, are the new normal, while the prices of low-carbon alternatives, wind and solar, which can be deployed in weeks rather than decades, have continued to fall. It is now clear that solar farms and wind turbines produce cheaper power than new nuclear will ever be able to. In some cases even old nuclear stations are so costly to run that new wind and solar are cheaper.
Nuclear Revival Looks Bleak as Solar and Wind Costs Continue to Drop http://www.ecowatch.com/nuclear-revival-bleak-2188785870.html By Paul Brown, 12 Jan 17
The prospects for expansion of the nuclear industry worldwide look worse in 2017 than at any time since the first atom stations were built in the 1950s.
Toshiba, the giant Japanese company that owns the American reactor designer Westinghouse, is the latest company to face financial difficulties due to unforeseen cost overruns and delays that run into billions of dollars.
Westinghouse Electric’s troubles began after it bought construction contractor CB&I Stone & Webster and then had to write down the value of the acquisition by billions of dollars because of problems with building four new reactors for U.S. utilities.
Nuclear Problems
Électricité de France (EDF), the French company with ambitious plans to build four nuclear reactors in Britain, is in ever-deepening financial difficulties because it has failed to build new stations on time or on budget at Olkiluoto, Finland and Flamanville, in France. It is also embroiled in an ongoing scandal over faulty reactor parts.
Even Rosatom, the state-owned Russian company, keen to expand sales outside its own borders, is pegging back on its building plans at home. Alexander Lokshin, the first deputy director general, said on the company’s website that, because forecasts of energy use growth in Russia have proved to be inaccurate, the company had settled for life extensions of existing plants rather than a large program of building new ones.
While China and India continue to press ahead with nuclear projects, both countries are putting ever-greater effort into renewables, which provide much quicker returns. Continue reading
Thirty years later, Blackfoot tribes see environmental win on sacred grounds
U.S. officials on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the final two oil and gas leases in a wilderness area bordering Glacier National Park that’s sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of Montana and Canada. Christian Science Monitor, Matthew Brown Associated Press JANUARY 10, 2017 BILLINGS, MONT. —U.S. officials on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the final two oil and gas leases in a wilderness area bordering Glacier National Park that’s sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of Montana and Canada, more than three decades after the tribes said the leases were illegally sold…….http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0110/Thirty-years-later-Blackfoot-tribes-see-environmental-win-on-sacred-grounds
Ex-Lib senator Sean Edwards backed by nuclear dump supporters The Australian, MICHAEL OWEN, 12 Jan 17 A high-powered group of South Australians, angry over the abandonment of bipartisan support to study a nuclear waste repository, are backing a push by former Liberal senator Sean Edwards to enter state parliament.
Mr Edwards, who lost his seat at last year’s election after being bumped down his party’s ticket, is an outspoken advocate of South Australia playing a greater role in the nuclear fuel cycle……
South Australians are due to go to the polls in March next year, with a redistribution putting the Liberals in the box seat.
The Australian understands Mr Edwards is set to nominate for preselection for the seat of Frome, a traditionally Liberal electorate seated in the industrial city of Port Pirie and the agriculture areas of Clare and Gilbert valleys, where the former senator owns a wine business…..
Several of those understood to be backing Mr Edwards were among a group of 21 who last month signed an open letter urging politicians to continue to explore a nuclear waste dump.
Adelaide Crows chairman Rob Chapman, Coopers brewery chief Tim Cooper, former Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O’Connor and industry chief Robert Gerard were among the signatories. Mr Gerard has donated more than $1 million to the Liberals. Dr Cooper donated $22,000 to the party in 2014-15…… http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/exlib-senator-sean-edwards-backed-by-nuclear-dump-supporters/news-story/7825d323332eb36c6577cee2357c940a
East Timor villages lit up by solar from Australian not-for-profit http://www.pv-tech.org/news/east-timor-villages-lit-up-by-australian-not-for-profit By Tom Kenning Jan 12, 2017
An Australia-based not-for-profit, the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), has installed hundreds of household solar lighting systems across 12 villages in East Timor.
The two-year project was completed in partnership with two local partners, CNFP and Natiles, and with funding from the Google Impact Challenge 2014, four East Timor Friendship Groups and public donations.
After pilot projects in 2015, now 607 solar systems have been installed in villages in the districts of Aileau, Viqueque and Baucau, affecting 4,000 people.
In each village, Natiles liaised with the community, providing training to a management committee and helping it set up its own maintenance fund, while CNEFP trained 30 local technicians to install, maintain and repair the systems. Participating villagers pay a US$10 installation fee, followed by a monthly subscription of US$2, which will be held by the management committee to fund ongoing maintenance and repairs.
This monthly payment is less than the cost of candles and kerosene for a month, said the ATA.
Lighting was installed inside and outside the front of each house, and each household also received a USB-rechargeable torch on a wristband. The systems are designed to be easy to fix and tamper-proof.
The solar systems allow villagers to charge mobile phones via the USB port and to work or study in the evenings.
The ATA has worked closely with the East Timor Government and the United Nations Development Program on the future of the country’s renewable energy rollout since 35% of Timorese households still have no access to the grid.
Tillerson and Trump at odds on nuclear http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/tillerson-and-trump-at-odds-on-nuclear/news-story/20c6219abce5929b3aa29ef8f2095b8d JANUARY 12, 2017 US Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson says that he doesn’t agree with President-elect Donald Trump’s comments that it would not be a bad thing if other countries, including Japan, acquired nuclear weapons.
Asked by Democratic Senator Edward Markey about Trump’s comments, Tillerson said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he did not think anyone would advocate for more nuclear weapons on the planet.
Pressed further by Markey on whether he agreed with Trump’s remarks, Tillerson replied: “I do not agree.”
Renewable investment hampered by policy void (subscribers only)
http://www.afr.com/personal-finance/superannuation-and-smsfs/vision-super-boss-says-climate-policy-uncertainty-not-good-for-investment-20170111-gtpfoz
Death of the Great Barrier Reef: One scientist’s planetary tipping point, Independent Australia 12 January 2017 Nearly a quarter of the Great Barrier Reef is dead and there has been no discernible political response, writes Dr Geoff Davies.
THERE WAS no big revelation, just a train of thought. Nearly a quarter of the Great Barrier Reef is dead and there has been no discernible political response. Global temperature is rising off the chart, only glancingly noted in the torrent of chatter. The decades-long trend of ever-more perverse and destructive politics continues. Societies are fragmenting.
For perhaps two decades I have held to the thought that while ever there was a chance of avoiding a planetary tipping point I would continue explaining how we can avoid the worst. Through that time, the path to a healthy, stable world has become clearer and more obvious, demonstrated in a thousand practical, small-scale ways. All that time, the window of opportunity was closing. It is, in my judgement, barely open any more.
Few seem to understand that even if we ceased greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow the world would still warm for two or three decades more. That is about the time marine scientists give for the rest of the Great Barrier Reef to be killed off on present trends. I can’t see how the Reef can survive. Its loss, along with vast stretches of mangroves in our north, kelp forests in the west and rich continental shelf life across the south, will be see major collapses of ocean ecosystems, with unknown consequences for life on this Earth…….https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/death-of-the-great-barrier-reef-one-scientists-planetary-tipping-point,9917
By TATSUYUKI KOBORI/ Staff Writer
January 11, 2017 Coral bleaching has killed 70.1 percent of the nation’s largest coral reef as of the end of 2016, up from 56.7 percent just a few months earlier, the Environment Ministry said.
Warmer seawater temperatures last summer are believed to have caused coral bleaching to spread to 90 percent of the Sekiseishoko coral reef in Okinawa Prefecture…….http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201701110028.html
A Bellona remembrance.
Alexei Yablokov, the towering grandfather of Russian ecology who worked with Bellona to unmask Cold War nuclear dumping practices in the Arctic, has died in Moscow after a long illness. He was 83. Alexei Yablokov, the towering grandfather of Russian ecology who worked with Bellona to unmask Cold War nuclear dumping practices in the Arctic, has died in Moscow after a long illness. He was 83. As a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, he was also the lead author of the seminal 2007 book, “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment.” The book presented the conclusion that the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was responsible for 985,000 premature deaths – the boldest mortality tally to date – by analyzing 6,000 source materials on the accident. Bellona President Frederic Hauge Tuesday remembered Yablokov as a friend of three decades standing. “He was an inspiration, a…
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The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2002, before the 2011 explosion. The EPA is poised to issue new radiation limits for a nuclear emergency set thousands of times higher than allowed by federal law.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to issue guidelines that would set radiation limits for drinking water during the “intermediate period” after the releases from a radioactive emergency, such as an accident at a nuclear power plant, have been brought under control. The emergency limits would allow the public to be exposed to radiation levels hundreds and even thousands of times higher than typically allowed by federal law.
Opponents say that under the proposed guidelines, concentration limits for several types of radionuclides would allow a lifetime permissible dose in a week or a month, or the equivalent of 250 chest x-rays a year, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a watchdog group that…
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of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 