Nuclear/Climate News Australia- first newsletter for 2019
I’ve made my New Year’s vows – to keep this newsletter shorter, and to include good news – good things happening. I am mindful of Greta Thunberg’s dictum – “Look for action – then the hope will come” Climate change: six positive news stories you probably missed in 2018
All the same, climate change’s drastic and rapid impacts must not be ignored. Paul Beckwith keeps us up to date on developments, especially in the all-important Arctic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIbVpgejDo4&t=303s
I wish that I knew the Russian language, and had access to Russian information, because climate change in the very Northern region is profoundly affecting Russia – its business, agriculture, and especially its operations in the Arctic. It is a chilling thought (no pun intended) that Putin has now put the nuclear industry in charge of shipping safety in the Arctic.
Russia certainly has toxic nuclear sites. This, along with Putin’s fervour for nuclear imperialism, means that, without media coverage, the world is ignorant of Russia’s nuclear health, environmental, and safety toll.
Then there’s the reality of escalating nuclear weapons tensions. While there is hope, in The U.N. Nuclear Ban Treaty, the Doomsday Clock (monitoring the risk of nuclear war) is at a record 2 minutes to 12.
AUSTRALIA
CLIMATE. With heatwaves like this, what sort of future do we have in store? Australia’s wide swathe of mid-40 degree heat breaks records, and there’s more to come. Over 20 years of Australian governments failure to act on climate change. The Howard government started the hypocrisy on climate change. Victoria’s bushfires could burn for weeks
Adani’s attack on Aboriginal leader morally reprehensible.
NUCLEAR Dave Sweeney reflects on the achievements of Australia’s nuclear-free movement in 2018. ANSTO’s worrying history of covering up releases of radioactive gases from Lucas Heights nuclear reactor. Dept of Industry (DIIS) “rules out” Woomera as nuclear waste storage site, despite much waste already there. Facebook commentators not impressed with nuclear toady Australia’s Department of Industry Innovation and Science (DIIS). The global nuclear lobby co-opts academia- now they’ve got University of Tasmania.
Caloundra, South East Queensland, an ionising radiation hotspot.
What’s the radioactivity level of Lynas’ refinery thorium wastes?
ABORIGINAL ISSUES: The biggest porky pies: How fake news has shaped our history.
RENEWABLE ENERGY Despite Tony Abbott, renewable energy investment has been successfully promoted by Labor and the crossbench.
INTERNATIONAL
Weather – perhaps our best hope of bringing home the urgent message of climate change.
Between USA’s John Bolton, and Russia’s nuclear hawks – the fragmentation of nuclear arms control spells global danger.
The nuclear power industry is moribund.
Brave environmental journalists face increasing threats and dangers.
Climate change brings a boom in jellyfish, and a threat to nuclear reactors. Tons of methane being released into atmosphere by melting ice sheets.
The global nuclear lobby co-opts academia- now they’ve got University of Tasmania
IAEA and University of Tasmania Sign Practical Arrangements Agreement to Enhance Cooperation in Human Health, Agriculture, Environment and Marine Sciences , On 12 December, the IAEA and the University of Tasmania (UTAS) signed a Practical Arrangement which provides a framework for closer collaboration in the areas of health, agriculture and the marine environment. The agreement – the first signed between the two organizations – covers the period of 2018 to 2021.
Katherine Hayhoe – the voice for climate science – it’s above party politics!
Katharine Hayhoe: ‘A thermometer is not liberal or conservative’ Guardian, Jonathan Watts, 6 Jan 19 Katharine Hayhoe: ‘Fear is a short-term spur to action, but to make changes over the long term, we must have hope.’
Let Science Speak – Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
The award-winning atmospheric scientist on the urgency of the climate crisis and why people are her biggest hope “….. In 2018, we have seen forest fires in the Arctic circle; record high temperatures in parts of Australia, Africa and the US; floods in India; and devastating droughts in South Africa and Argentina. Is this a turning point?
This year has hit home how climate change loads the dice against us by taking naturally occurring weather events and amplifying them. We now have attribution studies that show how much more likely or stronger extreme weather events have become as a result of human emissions. For example, wildfires in the western US now burn nearly twice the area they would without climate change, and almost 40% more rain fell during Hurricane Harvey than would have otherwise. So we are really feeling the impacts and know how much humanity is responsible.
These assessments are important because there is a Schrödinger’s Cat element to studying climate impacts. The act of observing affects the outcome. If people aren’t aware of what is happening, why would anyone change? Assessments like these provide us with a vision of the future if we continue on our current pathway, and by doing so they address the most widespread and dangerous myth that the largest number of us have bought into: not that the science isn’t real, but rather that climate change doesn’t matter to me personally.
Compared to past studies, how much media attention did these reports receive?
Are there any signs that public opinion is shifting in the US and elsewhere?
Trump was dismissive of these reports and has repeatedly tried to deny any link between climate change and extreme weather. What are the politics behind this denial?
On current trends, if you had to give a percentage breakdown of the likelihood of the following three outcomes by 2100, what would you give: a) keeping to 1.5C; b) keeping to 2C; c) rising above 3C; and d) overshooting 4C?
I’d put my money on a gradual bend away from a higher scenario, which is where we are now, until accumulating and worsening climate disasters eventually lead to a collective “oh shit!” moment, when people finally realise climate impacts do pose a far greater threat than the solutions. At that point, I would hope the world would suddenly ramp up its carbon reduction to the scale of a Manhattan Project or a moon race and we would finally be able to make serious progress. The multitrillion-dollar question is simply when that tipping point in opinion will come, and whether it will be too late for civilisation as we know it. I hope with all my heart that we stay under 1.5C, but my cynical brain says 3C. Perhaps the reality will be somewhere between my head and my heart at 2C.
What is the best way out of the climate crisis? What policies would make a difference?
The most important thing is to accelerate the realisation that we have to act. This means connecting the dots to show that the impacts are not distant any more: they are here and they affect our lives. It also means talking about solutions. The technology and knowledge are there. The economics already make sense. In Texas, where I live, the biggest military base, Fort Hood, switched last year to renewables because they were cheaper than natural gas. And finally, it means weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, which is challenged by the fact that the majority of the world’s richest companies have made their money from the fossil fuel economy – so the majority of the wealth and power remains in their hands. ……… https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/06/katharine-hayhoe-interview-climate-change-scientist-crisis-hope
Pangea, reborn as ARIUS, waiting in the wings for the Australian govt to privatise a nuclear waste dump
Kazzi Jai Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste In The Flinders Ranges, PANGEA was leaked to the Australian Media in 1998. Although it has since changed its name to ARIUS in 2012, it still remains active, as shown clearly by the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle recently, and the very heavy push for an International Nuclear Dump by invested interests.But South Australia said NO MEANS NO!
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the ENDGAME.
The fact that this current proposal by the Federal Government does not address the Intermediate Waste final disposal AND that the Intermediate Waste will be part of the dump – as “temporary storage” has all of the hallmarks of a Claytons INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR DUMP. …..All it needs is a stroke of a pen, PRIVATIZATION, and WHAM, BAM – THERE YOU GO! https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556/
STAND UP TO NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP BULLIES
The Federal Liberal Govnt Nuclear Waste Dump Process is subjecting people to intimidation, insults, threats and bullying.
The Federal Liberal Govnt process has been appalling and is feeding the bad behaviour of pro nuclear waste dump bullies.
The Federal Liberal Govnt nuclear waste dump process has fractured the communities in the Flinders Ranges and Kimba regions (near the proposed nuclear waste dump sites) and has encouraged intimidation, insults, threats and bullying.
Pro nuclear waste dump bullies have also come to my facebook page and insulted me and insulted my facebook friends because we express views they disagree with.
Pro nuclear waste dump bullies can insult me as much as they like, but it wont change the Facts :
A Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump facility study in 2005 conducted by URS Australia for the EPA (SA) and SA Govnt, found the Flinders Ranges and Eyre Peninsula regions unsuitable for a low level Radioactive Nuclear Waste dump, let alone intermediate level nuclear waste – which the Federal Liberal government have obviously ignored.
The Flinders Ranges proposed nuclear waste dumpsite near Hawker, is on a floodplain, 5.5kms from the nearest ranges, 6.5 kms from extensive natural springs and 3 kms from Hookina Creek.
The Flinders Ranges and Outback contributed $425 million in tourism to South Australia in 2017 and projected $452 million in 2020 (SATC regional profile). How will establishing a nuclear waste dump in the Flinders Ranges affect tourism??? – Will the one off payment of 30 million carrots (20 million carrots to become available after the dump is established) compensate for lost tourism numbers and revenue???
The Flinders Ranges proposed nuclear waste dump site is in a seismically active region, on a floodplain, that flows into Lake Torrens – remnants of past major flooding and seismic activity are obvious.
The Eyre Peninsula proposed nuclear waste dump sites, near Kimba, are on farmland and next to Lake Giles Conservation park.
The Eyre Peninsula farming region contributes a third of all the grain grown in South Australia, worth $1.7 – $2 billion annually to South Australia – why would you even contemplate establishing a nuclear waste dump on farmland ??? – and if there is a nuclear waste accident – what then ???
Recent ABC News : “Lucas Heights facility fails modern nuclear safety standard, independent review finds”. ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Org), the organisation that manages the Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor facility near Sydney, the same organization that will manage the National Nuclear Waste Dump facility, was found to have a culture of “make do and mend”.
The Federal Liberal govnt propose to transport radioactive nuclear waste thousands of kms, from all over Australia, to a national nuclear waste dump in South Australia. Not only will South Australians and all future generations be burdened with the nuclear waste dump for eternity, so will communities along the transport route. And just like 99% of South Australians, those communities along the transport route will have no say. Spencer Gulf cities will become nuclear waste dump transport central, with radioactive nuclear waste being transported several times a week (for the first 4 years) to the proposed nuclear waste dump, through Spencer Gulf ports, roads and rail.
There was nothing scientific about the way the proposed sites were chosen – land owners were asked to nominate their properties for a nuclear waste dump and get paid 4 times what the property owners say the property is worth – and no need to consult with neighbours or the community. And the cattle property owner at the proposed site in the Flinders Ranges (long term lease) is an ex Federal Liberal president (doesn’t live at the property), who chaired a failed attempt in the 90’s to establish a nuclear waste dump in South Australia.
Even after 30 years, high-level nuclear waste is still 10,000 times more radioactive than uranium ore and will take 10 million years to get to the same radioactivity as uranium ore.
No Respect – No Trust : How can we trust a Federal Govnt that keeps on stabbing their leaders (prime ministers) in the back????
Why on earth would the Federal Liberal govnt want to dump nuclear waste (intermediate-level and low-level) in the Flinders Ranges, on a floodplain, in a seismically active region, bordered by natural springs, in an iconic tourism destination, or on Eyre Peninsula farmland, near Kimba and next to Lake Gilles Conservation Park?????
Each state should establish their own low-level Nuclear Waste Dump and the intermediate-level and high-level radioactive nuclear waste produced at the Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor should stay on the grounds at Lucas Heights until a permanent solution can be found. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1021186047913052/
Plutonium and health
TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR PLUTONIUM , Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine/Applied Toxicology Branch, Atlanta, Georgia
” …….Plutonium may remain in the lungs or move to the bones, liver, or other body organs. It generally stays in the body for decades and continues to expose the surrounding tissues to radiation. Lung, liver, and bone cancer You may develop cancer depending on how much plutonium is in your body and for how long it remains in your body. The types of cancers you would most likely develop are cancers of the lung, bones, and liver…….
The risks of mortality and morbidity from bone and liver cancers have also been studied in Mayak workers. Increasing estimated plutonium body burden was associated with increasing liver cancer mortality, with higher risk in females compared to males…….
Cardiovascular Effects. Epidemiological Studies in Humans. Possible associations between exposure to plutonium and cardiovascular disease have been examined in studies of workers at production and/or processing facilities in the United Kingdom (Sellafield)…….. within a cohort of Sellafield workers morality rate ratios for plutonium workers were significantly elevated for deaths from circulatory disease and ischemic heart disease . ….
the Mayak studies provide evidence for increased risk of cancer mortality (bone, liver, lung) in association with increased internal plutonium-derived radiation dose and/or body burden, with approximately 4-fold higher risks in females compared to males…….
Risks of mortality and morbidity from bone and liver cancers have also been studied in Mayak workers ….. Increasing estimated plutonium body burden was associated with increasing cancer mortality, with higher risk in females compared to males…..
U.K. Atomic Energy Authority and Atomic Weapons Establishment Workers. ………..The mortality rate ratio was significantly elevated for breast cancer and cerebrovascular disease in a cohort of female Sellafield workers identified as plutonium workers……..
Comparisons of mortality rates between plutonium workers and other radiation workers yielded significantly elevated mortality rate ratios for all deaths , all cancers , breast cancer, circulatory disease , and ischemic heart disease.
GENOTOXICITY Abundant information is available regarding the genotoxicity of ionizing radiation……….Although epidemiological studies do not provide conclusive evidence that plutonium produces genetic damage in humans, results of some studies provide suggestive evidence of dose-related increases in chromosomal aberrations in plutonium workers with measurable internalized plutonium……. ……https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp143.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1iffNMF8xj33aBhDW-zhtFzPejF0eNlQ5QUaIgxBhCcujUKU0XRC8NvMc
Bill Gates’ Plutonium Pipe Dream
Bill Gates’ nuclear ambitions go beyond mere ideas. He actually possesses financial holdings in one very dangerous situation indeed – a situation that is presently causing residents around St. Louis, Missouri to live under an all-out nuclear nightmare
Bill Gates’ Plutonium Pipe Dream: Convert Mountains of Depleted Uranium at Paducah to Power Earth for Centuries (Pt. 2) EnviroNews DC News Bureau on March 14, 2016
Voice of Bill Gates – Excerpt #2: The concept of this so-called “TerraPower reactor” is that you, in the same reactor, you both burn and breed. So, instead of making plutonium and then extracting it, we take uranium – the 99.3 percent that you normally don’t do anything with – we convert that, and we burn it.
[Editor’s Note: Bill Gates is the current Chairman of the Board of TerraPower — a Washington-based nuclear power technology company.]
Cunnings:Now get this, only 60 seconds after Gates acknowledges the tremendous problem of bringing more plutonium into this world, he turns around and makes a joke about it to a crowd filled with university students from nuclear programs – all this, only a few months after the catastrophic triple melt-through at Fukushima Daiichi.
Bill Gates – Excerpt #3: Our flame is taking the normal depleted uranium – the 99.3 percent that’s cheap as heck, and there’s a pile of it sitting in Paducah, Kentucky that’s enough to power the United States for hundreds and hundreds of years. You’re taking that and you are converting it to plutonium (humorously under his breath) – and then you’re burning that.
Cunnings: Oh yes, Mr. Gates seems to have a little love affair going on with plutonium – and the notion is that we need nuclear power to save ourselves from climate change. ……
Bill Gates Excerpt #8: I love nuclear. It does this radiation thing that’s tricky (laughter). But they’re good solutions. You know, it was interesting; recently, in Connecticut this natural gas plant blew up 11 guys. It just blew them up.
Bill Gates Excerpt #8: Murray: But you are personally investing in nuclear?
Gates: Right.
Cunnings: EnviroNews Editor-in-Chief Emerson Urry chatted with the esteemed nuclear industry expert and whistleblower Arnie Gundersen to explore whether Gates’ plan is a good idea or not.
Emerson Urry: Let’s go back to Bill Gates again, [and] the fourth generation nuclear power. I’ve heard him out there speaking about this, and essentially his ambition to, let’s say, convert Paducah, Kentucky [to plutonium]..
……….. the Paducah site is a very expensive cleanup that is going to take 20 or 30 years to decontaminate. You know, it’s like all of these bomb legacy sites – Hanford in Washington State…
Gundersen: Hanford is going to take 70 years and cost 110 billion dollars to clean up. So, here we are paying over half of a century for the legacy of building bombs for five years in 1940. And so, Paducah is another one of those sites. It was built to enrich uranium. Why did we do that? Because we had a bomb program. And now we’re stuck with these huge costs that are underfunded or unfunded by Congress. That plant is going to sit there for 30 years. It will create a lot of employment for a lot of people knocking it down, but it also is highly radioactive, and it’s got to be done so cautiously, and it’s a really difficult problem.
Cunnings: There’s no known disintegration of plutonium small enough that doesn’t possess the ability to cause cancer. To be clear, there is no safe amount to be exposed to whatsoever.
Plutonium, though a naturally occurring element was virtually non-existent on planet earth before the dawn of the nuclear age. Now, each of the roughly 400 uranium-powered nuclear reactors in the world create approximately 500 pounds of plutonium each year – or enough to create about 100 nuclear warheads each.
…….. Bill Gates’ nuclear ambitions go beyond mere ideas. He actually possesses financial holdings in one very dangerous situation indeed – a situation that is presently causing residents around St. Louis, Missouri to live under an all-out nuclear nightmare……https://www.environews.tv/031416-paducah-bill-gates-nuclear-pipedream-convert-mountains-depleted-uranium-plutonium-power-earth-centuries/
TEACHER ATTEMPTS TO DERAIL PATH TO ECOCIDE TO ENSURE FUTURE FOR STUDENTS
 Frontline Action on Coal , 8 Jan 19
Early this morning, 37 year old teacher Jesse Secomb brought coal trains to a halt in protest of the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine. Securing himself to a concrete barrel located on the railway tracks, Jesse has blockaded the transport of coal into Abbott Point Coal Terminal situated just outside of Bowen in Queensland. Jesse’s protest marks the first of its kind against Adani for 2019, following a magnitude of demonstrations in previous years as part of a nationwide movement against the mine after growing concern on the impacts the proposed mine will have on the environment and climate. Jesse stated that concerns about recent planned work by Adani on the mine inspired him to take urgent action. After declaring that work on the mine would start by Christmas, Adani has yet again failed to meet a self imposed deadline, instead blaming the QLD Governement after a recent request to review and resubmit their groundwater management plan after concerns were raised. When asked why action was needed, Jesse said “Working as a teacher, you really grow to care for your students and want to support them in realising their hopes and dreams. But what’s the good of dreaming about the future, if the future of the planet is in crisis? If the Adani mine goes ahead it will pump an extra 705 million tons of deadly carbon into the air, making it almost impossible to make the necessary changes over the next 12 years to avert a climate catastrophe.” He refers to the recent IPCC report by the worlds leading climate scientists which states that we only have 12 years to act on climate change and keep global warming within 1.5C, avoiding extreme heat, droughts, floods and poverty. Despite recent claims by resources minister Matt Canavan that communities of “David’s” were facing huge battles with Goliath’s of green activists, many of those protesting the mine are every day Australian’s who don’t want to see the even more Australians suffer from further drought, fires and heat as a result of inaction on climate change. |
January 7 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Hydrogen May Have a Future on the Rails” • Perhaps, finally, hydrogen’s moment has arrived. Electricity from renewable sources can be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen through electrolysis. That “green hydrogen” can then be used in fuel cells to generate electricity. It can also be used to power rail transportation. [Red, Green, and […]
Building a solar-powered Ethiopia — Beyond Nuclear International
Samson Tsegaye’s solar program has transformed lives
via Building a solar-powered Ethiopia — Beyond Nuclear International
Can the Green New Deal be saved? — Beyond Nuclear International
Congressional progressives and youth activists delivered it. Democratic leadership killed it. What happens now?
via Can the Green New Deal be saved? — Beyond Nuclear International
Adani tries to bankrupt Wangan and Jagalingou man, Adrian Burragubba, I
It’s the multi-billion dollar mega-mine set for Queensland. But one man is trying to stop it going ahead. And he isn’t going away. news.com.au Adrian Burragubba has been a thorn in Adani’s side for years and now the mining giant has had enough. Last month Adani filed an order seeking to bankrupt the Wangan and Jagalingou man by demanding payment of more than $600,000 in legal costs.
The extreme action follows numerous failed court actions that Mr Burragubba has been party to since 2015 to stop Adani’s coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin from going ahead.
Mr Burragubba is part of the W&J People, who have a native title claim over about 30,000sq km of land in central Queensland, west of Rockhampton, including the townships of Clermont, Alpha, Rubyvale and Capella.
He’s a vocal member of the W&J Family Council disputing the validity of the indigenous land use agreement (ILUA) which Adani has secured from the traditional owners of the land.
The W&J had been negotiating with Adani since 2011 but were unable to reach an agreement so the company applied to the National Native Title Tribunal to grant them two mining leases.
The tribunal can order that mining leases be granted even if an agreement with traditional owners has not been reached.
In October 2013, the Queensland Government gave notice it intended to grant the leases and a six-month negotiation process started between the mining company and native title holders.
Australia’s first Indigenous silk Tony McAvoy has previously criticised the native title system because the tribunal rarely rejects applications for mining leases.
Mr McAvoy is a W&J traditional owner and he said Aboriginal people were being coerced into agreements with mining companies because if an agreement was not reached, they lost their opportunity to negotiate compensation or royalties.
“If we don’t agree, the native title tribunal will let it go through, and we will lose our land and won’t be compensated either. That’s the position we’re in,” Mr McAvoy told The Guardian.
…….At the meeting, which Mr Burragubba has claimed is not valid, there were 294 votes to approve the agreement and only one against.
But Mr Burragubba said the company failed to explain that once native title is relinquished it cannot be reclaimed.
“Our position has always been the same — that there has never been any free or informed consent with any agreement with Adani,” Mr Burragubba said in August.
However, legal action challenging the registration of the land use agreement was dismissed on August 17, 2018.
The decision was delivered after the Federal Government passed legislation to override a separate Federal Court ruling that all members of a native title group had to approve of an agreement for it to be valid.
The law change was important for Adani because its agreement did not get approval from all 12 families represented.
At that point, state and federal governments had already granted Adani all necessary state and federal approvals, although it still needs to submit groundwater and other plans.
But Mr Burragubba has refused to give up.
Another appeal was filed on September 7 and is due to be heard in May.
Adani tried to stop the most recent action, which was originally scheduled for February, by asking the court to force W&J representatives to pay $160,000 in security costs or have their appeal dismissed.
Adani’s lawyers said it had tried to recoup payment of $637,000 in legal fees from previous cases and had been unsuccessful. While the court agreed to the payment, it reduced the amount to $50,000 that must be paid by the end of January.
The decision was a blow to Adani, partly because its move also saw the court case delayed further and it will be heard in May instead.
After weathering years of legal actions from the W&J Family Council and other environmental activist groups, Adani appears to have had enough and is playing hardball. https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/mining/adani-tries-to-bankrupt-wangan-and-jagalingou-man-adrian-burragubba/news-story/46aefeeca5f02c61f73b3840cfdddad1?fbclid=IwAR1NuyfNRGivxa72zmUl0lBVb91I074dPmTeHqGzIfA6If0_ukjHTkVqepQ
1.This month.
The Road to War brings a sharp focus to why it is not in Australia’s best interest to be dragged into a war with China which will almost inevitably go nuclear very quickly. The filmmaker has interviewed some of Australia’s senior foreign policy analysts who have vast experience behind them in analysing what really is going on here as the United States rattles its sabres with China. And sets us up to be its proxy, like the poor Ukranians have been fed into the Meatgrinder. So America can remain the Top Dog. The Road to War reveals how the United States through its spy base at Pine Gap and by stationing six nuclear capable B52 bombers in the Top End (without permission from the traditional owners) is making Australia a prime nuclear target if the current war of words suddenly melts down into full scale war.
The Road to War shows the implicit connection between Carbon emissions (the US military uses a whopping 70% of America’s annual petroleum to move its armies and vast War Machine around the globe to its 800+ military bases..but under a loophole wangled at Kyoto, the US military does not have to report its C02 annual emissions). The Road to War starts screening at selected cities and regional centres in March. See the trailer end for details.
Antinuclear 