Australia large scale solar output breaks through 1GW on Sunday
REneweconomy 22 October 2018 The rapidly emerging large scale solar sector achieved a significant milestone on Sunday, October 21, when their combined output in the National Electricity Market broke through the 1GW barrier for what is believed to be the first time.According to this graph below [on original] sent to us by Mike Hudson, using data he sourced from the Australian Energy Market Operator, the 1GW level was first breached in mid morning, and continued until almost 3pm in the afternoon.
Flinders Ranges – planned area for nuclear waste dump – the most seismic active area in Australia
I was at the meeting where the alleged reported claims from the Department of Industry, Innovation and science, geologist as saying that Hawker is seismically sound for the proposed radioactive dump, and all anyone heard him say to the public was “Hello.” (And yes I know hell is in hello).
However senior seismologist Johnathan Bathgate has reportedly claimed that the Flinders Ranges is the most seismic active area in Australia which maybe throwing doubt at the credibility of the DIIS’s geologist, and if he has any accreditation’s in seismology and why there are media release on the Modified Mercalli scale based at Hawker and yet we hear nothing on the scale of galileo’s, and though S&L-waves come with a guarantee of a seismic record, its known “P-waves” between the angles of 103 and 145 degrees can not be guaranteed on some seismograms. https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556/
Australia’s Opal nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights – safety problems, needs lotsa money, (or better, shut it down)
Nuclear facility needs overhaul: report https://www.sbs.com.au/news/nuclear-facility-needs-overhaul-report–21 Oct 18
An independent report has recommended that the federal government’s nuclear medical facility at southern Sydney be replaced or rebuilt due to safety concerns. The federal government’s nuclear medical facility at Lucas Heights in Sydney should be replaced or rebuilt with contributions from the private sector, an independent report says.
The report, to be published on Monday, found there is a “make do and mend” culture at the facility and that it fails nuclear safety standards, The Australian reports.
In August 2017 a technician’s hands were contaminated through two pairs of gloves after he dropped a vial at the Lucas Heights medical facility, putting him at a higher risk of cancer.
The incident was the only safety failure in the world in 2017 that was rated by the International Atomic Energy Agency at a Level 3 or above. It was followed by three more incidents within the next 10 months.
“It should be noted that Level 3 events are regarded as serious events in the nuclear industry and any additional events at this level may result in loss of confidence in the organisation,” the report says.
Climate change now firing up raging fight in Australia’s Morrison govt, after Wentworth byelection fiasco
Wentworth byelection backlash reignites tensions inside the Morrison government over climate policy, Canberra Times, By David Crowe & David Wroe, 21 October 2018 A ferocious voter backlash has inflamed the Morrison government’s internal row on climate change as Liberal MPs call for stronger policies to assure voters that Australia can meet the Paris agreement to cut carbon emissions.
The government is reeling from a savage swing in the Wentworth byelection, sparking renewed argument over decisions including a sudden shift in foreign policy on Israel, and deepening fears of a wipeout at the federal election due by May.
As Parliament resumes on Monday, the Liberal Party was on track to lose Wentworth to independent candidate Kerryn Phelps, with an update on Sunday night giving her almost 51 per cent of the vote.
Dr Phelps had a lead of 1626 votes in the update posted by the Australian Electoral Commission at 6.45pm on Sunday. Even the best postal vote scenario for the Liberal Party over coming days would still see the independent win Wentworth.
The result represents an extraordinary 18 per cent swing against the federal government, one of the biggest in Australian history, but the Australian Electoral Commission is yet to count thousands of postal votes that could favour Liberal candidate Dave Sharma.
Government ministers and backbenchers told Fairfax Media they believed one lesson from the Wentworth result was to develop a stronger message on cutting emissions in order to win back voters concerned about climate change.
“I think we will, by the time of the next election, have to have a more credible answer on how we meet our targets,” one minister said.
“I don’t think it’s viable to remain silent on this between now and the next election.”
Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman said the Liberal Party’s own research showed climate change and the removal of Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister were the two biggest concerns for Wentworth voters……
The government believes the latest advice from the Energy Security Board is that generation from wind and solar will grow by 256 per cent over the next three years. ……..
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg brushed aside suggestions the Morrison government needed to overhaul its 
climate policies, saying they were “settled” and were enough to “meet and beat” Australia emissions reduction pledges.
“It’s clearly an important issue for the people of Wentworth, but our policies have been settled for some time,” he told the Sky News.
An exit poll of 985 Wentworth voters commissioned by the left-leaning Australia Institute on Saturday found that climate action and replacing coal with renewable energy was the top issue that decided how they voted.
Among people who had abandoned the Liberal Party since the last election in 2016, the top reason why was the toppling of Mr Turnbull at 40 percent of voters, but climate change came second at 31 percent. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/federal/wentworth-byelection-backlash-reignites-tensions-inside-the-morrison-government-over-climate-policy-20181021-p50b2d.html
Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg sticks to his pro fossil fuel guns
Wentworth won’t prompt climate rethink, says Frydenberg, Treasurer says government does not intend to ‘reduce emissions at the expense of people’s power bills’, Guardian Katharine Murphy, political editor@murpharoo 21 Oct 2018 Josh Frydenberg has played down the need for a significant shift in the Morrison government’s stance on climate change before the next federal election after the strong protest vote in the seat of Wentworth.
Australian govt abandons promotion for dubious climate group
Fairfax Media has learned the government has scrapped the $10 million reef communication campaign outlined in this year’s federal budget.
The campaign would have sought to give the public hope that the reef can be saved and outlined action being taken to protect it, after devastating back-to-back coral bleaching events brought on by climate change.
The government had been skittish about the spending measure, as reported last month when it emerged the Department of the Environment and Energy instructed officials to avoid revealing its true price tag.
In response to questions from Fairfax Media, the department confirmed the campaign “is not going ahead”. ……..
A major report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this month warned that an average global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees would substantially and irrevocably damage the world’s coral reefs, and a 2 degree rise would virtually destroy them. The world is currently on track for a global temperature rise of 3 to 4 degrees by 2100.
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is supported by corporations including those from the polluting fossil fuel industry. It does not lobby for emissions reduction, despite recognising that climate change is the biggest threat facing the reef…….https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/federal/government-ditches-10m-promotion-blitz-amid-great-barrier-reef-furore-20181020-p50av5.html
October 21 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Is Climate Science Denial Leading to Human Rights Violations, Asks Philippines Commission” • As climate change liability increasingly lands in courtrooms around the globe, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights is taking a different and unique approach, investigating climate change impacts as a human rights infringement. [DeSmog] Science and Technology: ¶ “Scientists Warn […]
Algerians still suffering from French atomic legacy decades later
Compensation scheme has aided very few people, as Saharan residents experience cancers, blindness and birth defects
By Johnny Magdaleno
Ahmed el-Hadj Hamadi was huddled into a building with the rest of his community by French soldiers early in the morning. They were instructed to lie down, close their eyes and cover their ears. He then remembers a sound like “the world coming to an end” and the windows turning white. A cord above their prone bodies swung erratically until the light bulb it held shattered.
“I thought it was the apocalypse. We all did,” he said. “We all thought we might die.” Later, the French military began tasking out labor to residents in the isolated desert region of Algeria. “They had built a kind of village at the explosion area, and even put animals in it,” Hamadi added. “After the blast we were sent out to gather all the rubbish…
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“The Last Victim”
Karipbek Kuyukov of Kazakhstan dedicates his life to ensuring that no one will ever again be afflicted by atomic bomb tests
By Linda Pentz Gunter
Karipbek Kuyukov, who will receive the 2018 Nuclear-Free Future Award for Education in October, likes to say: “I have no arms, but I join you in waving goodbye to nuclear weapons.”
Kuyukov was born in the small Kazakhstan village of Yegyndybulak, without arms, a result of his parents’ exposure to the Soviet atomic bomb tests. There were 456 of these in all, conducted between August 1949 and November 1989 at the Semipalatinsk test site — also known as The Polygon — just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Kuyukov’s family home.
Today, Kuyukov is his country’s foremost campaigner against any resumption of nuclear testing and also for justice for those afflicted by atomic tests, not only in Kazakhstan, but around the world. And he is…
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Wentworth election – a preview of climate change issue for Australia’s coming federal election
 Wentworth becomes test bed for how federal election will treat climate change, Coalition of green groups has been working hard to ensure voters realise they have a chance to give Liberals a wake-up call, Guardian, Anne Davies@annefdavies19 Oct 2018
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Kiribati’s Anote Tong, (slighted by Minister Melissa Price says Australia must act on climate change
Liberal Party moderates blame climate policy for Wentworth by-election debacle
Moderates blame climate policy for Wentworth by-election debacle THE AUSTRALIAN 21 Oct 18 GREG BROWN, Moderate Liberal MPs have urged Scott Morrison to take action on climate change and embrace the “broad church” of its voters after the mammoth swing in the Wentworth by-election.Trent Zimmerman, Jason Falinski and Tim Wilson — who represent blue-ribbon electorates that are affluent and socially progressive — say the government needs to do more to show it is serious about combating climate change and working to meet the Paris targets.
Wentworth wipe-out won’t shift Coalition on climate and energy — RenewEconomy
For the second time in two months, a long-held conservative seat is lost to an independent campaigning on climate and energy. But don’t expect the idiocy of the Coalition to stop. The post Wentworth wipe-out won’t shift Coalition on climate and energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Wentworth wipe-out won’t shift Coalition on climate and energy — RenewEconomy
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 