Why nuclear power is utterly incapable of tackling climate change
Despite the events in Fukushima, which many observers consider a
disaster, nuclear still gets a look in as a policy response to climate
change. Most of the commentary surrounding the release of the White
Paper focused on the favoritism or otherwise shown for nuclear power,
and public advocates like Barry Brook still poke their head up and
shout “NUCLEAR” from time to time. …… anyone seriously advocating
nuclear power as a policy response to global warming in Australia
doesn’t understand the problem……
the simple energy cost of production against the time it takes to generate that much electricity. Often called energy payback. The graphic below plots “energy return on investment” for various sources,
The Offshore Valuation: A valuation of the UK’s offshore renewable
energy resource. Published in the United Kingdom 2010 by the Public
Interest Research Centre. ISBN 978-0-9503648-8-9
http://www.offshorevaluation.org PE (2006)
If the answer is nuclear you don’t understand the question, evcricketenergy, 2 Jan 12
“…. Eligibility criteria are the must haves; if you are
selecting a new machine to generate electricity “does it generate
electricity” is the obvious one…
Merit criteria are what you use to split all of the options that pass.
Say you’re comparing a diesel or natural gas engine to power a remote
site, a merit criterion could be “is fuel available all year round?”
In this post I will focus on the eligibility criteria for powering
Australia while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with
electricity production. I will spend a long time arguing that, no,
nuclear should not be considered, because it is utterly incapable of
solving the problem. In later posts I will discuss the merit criteria,
where again nuclear falls down….. Continue reading
Australian government considering changes to communications and privacy laws
Australia’s electronic spy agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, (DSD) is Australia’s equivalent to America’s National Security Agency( NSA) and has no qualms advertising its twin missions: “One is collecting foreign intelligence by interception. The other is working to stop people doing the same to us,” Burgess says….. The ordinarily shadowy DSD has published a detailed study on its top 35 cyber “mitigation strategies”.
Under Operation Australia, which has protested new data retention proposals, Anonymous shut down more than 10 Australian government sites, including ASIO’s, in July last year using denial of service attacks.
ASIO advocates reforms to communications and privacy laws to provide basic cyber-insurance.
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has referred the proposals to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
It’s global cyber war out there, Financial Review, Christopher Joye, 2 Jan 13,
“..Australia’s most experienced spy master, the director-general of ASIO, David Irvine, has a lot on his mind
…… with the privatisation of so many utilities over the past three decades, government has unwittingly delegated national security to business.
This is why ASIO believes national security reforms need to be made to the regulations governing essential infrastructure, including telecommunications.
“The more rocks we turn over in cyberspace, the more we find . . . the internet and increased connectivity has expanded infinitely the opportunities for [these threats]”, Irvine says. Continue reading
Spying operations targeted Australian businesses
BHP and Rio’s networks were infiltrated by Chinese hackers. The campaign also expanded to both companies’ advisers.
The Wikileaks cables revealed that BHP boss Marius Kloppers told a US consul-general in Melbourne that he was so fearful of Chinese spying that he shifted his export contracts to market prices because arms-length negotiations were impossible
It’s global cyber war out there, Financial Review, Christopher Joye, 2 Jan 2013, “:……….OPERATION AUSTRALIA There are a range of cyber-menaces that keep Australia’s spooks awake at night. The first is the usual state-on-state espionage. When officials refer to the “big C”, they are not talking about cancer.
Notwithstanding rhetoric from businesses keen to promote prosperous relations with the Middle Kingdom, the national security community says China is responsible for cyberthefts of Australian assets at every imaginable level. Continue reading
Australian mining companies are lobbying to remove Aboriginal right to veto mining on their land
Northern Territory Review of Aboriginal Land Rights https://www.amec.org.au/northern-territory-review-of-aboriginal-land-rights-4030 Association of Mining and Exploration Companies
December 10, 2012
Part IV of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (1976) is under review to ensure that the regulations are fulfilling the purposes that were intended. AMEC, in consultation with various members that operate in the Northern Territory, have responded that significant and often unnecessary delays are inherent in the current system.
The main recommendations from the AMEC submission is the removal of the right of veto from traditional owners and the instating of the “Right to Negotiate” system that is used under Native Title Acts. Using this system, negotiating is not threatened by 5 year moratoriums and both parties have an opportunity to negotiate in good faith. Letter and submission to NT Aboriginal Land Commissioner re ALRA review
How the Western Australian govt and mining companies sabotaged Aboriginal land rights
By December 1984, the government’s commitment to national land rights
was in disarray as the mining industry dug in and Mr Burke introduced
legislation that did not permit any veto over mining or exploration,
restricted Aboriginal applications to land with little economic
potential, retained the state’s power to resume land and imposed a
four-year time limit on claims.
Miners and Brian Burke sank land rights hope
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/cabinet-papers/miners-and-brian-burke-sank-land-rights-hope/story-fngr9pxq-1226545827125
BY: STUART RINTOUL The Australian January 01, 2013 A CONCERTED
campaign by the mining industry, backed by the Burke Labor government
in Western Australia, left the commonwealth’s commitment to national
land rights in disarray by the end of 1984. Continue reading
Past Queensland govt wanted uranium enrichment, and no federal control over uranium industry
the Queensland Government had told the
Commonwealth it wanted control over dealing with nuclear materials in
its state.
In a submission to the Federal Government on the Atomic Energy Act
1953, the Queensland Government argued any new legislation should
reflect the state’s right to control the minerals.
Caboolture was earmarked for Qld uranium plant by Joh, Caboolture News,
Ava Benny-Morrison 1st Jan 2013 CABOOLTURE was
earmarked for a potential uranium plant by the Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Government, previously confidential cabinet documents have revealed.
The papers showed that a long-running, secretive investigation into a
plant in Australia identified Caboolture as well as Ipswich as
notional sites.
The Bjelke-Petersen Government had its vision for uranium exploration
in Queensland in full swing in 1982, pitching its interest to be home
of an east coast enrichment plant. Continue reading
Unpopularity of USA missile testing in Australia
US missile tests backfired for PM BY: BRENDAN NICHOLSON The
Australian January 01, 2013 WHEN Bob Hawke gave the nod to an American
plan to fire some of their new MX intercontinental ballistic missiles
into the ocean 220km east of Tasmania, the Labor leader made one of
the biggest miscalculations of an illustrious career.
His decision triggered a wave of renewed anti-American feeling,
protests and, cabinet documents reveal, a carefully planned backdown
by the Labor government.
In 1981 the Fraser government had told the Americans it was fine for
them to carry out the tests but, probably not wanting to startle the
Tasmanians, Malcolm Fraser’s team neglected to tell anyone about this
undertaking. Continue reading
Australia’s media quality and independence down the gurgler if Murdoch/Abbott win 2013 election
Firstly, there will be no legislation to inhibit the absolute freedom
of the press in Australia. They will be able to print any damn thing
they want. Truth will be shredded and thrown out the window, personal
privacy of targeted individuals will be rampantly invaded and their
characters destroyed.
Murdoch will insist on selling the ABC
Australia will never again abstain in a U.S. promoted vote in the
United Nations. Australia will return to lockstep the US in
international affairs.
If Rupert Murdoch wins in 2013 , (includes video) Independent
Australia, 29 Dec 12
Rodney E. Lever provides a chilling preview of what will happen if
Rupert Murdoch gets his wish and Tony Abbott & Co win the Federal
election next year. LET’S JUST PUT our thinking caps on for a minute
and imagine what Australia would be like if Rupert Murdoch gets his
wish and in 2013 installs a coalition government led by Tony Abbott,
Joe Hockey, Julie Bishop and Mal Brough. Continue reading
Murdoch’s AUSTRALIAN news compares wind energy proponents to paedophiles!
The day The Australian died, Independent Australia
28 December, 2012
Professor Stephan Lewandowsky reports on the exchange that finally,
completely, destroyed Australia’s national newspaper credibility.
“………In May 2012, The Australian ran an opinion piece by Mr James
Delingpole in which he riled against wind energy under the title:
“Wind farm scam a huge cover-up.”
Wind turbines actually constitute an increasingly important tool in
our arsenal of alternative energy to wean the planet off fossil fuels;
however, Mr. Delingpole begs to differ. Among other arguments, Mr.
Delingpole cited an unnamed Australian sheep farmer’s opinion that:
“The wind-farm business is bloody well near a paedophile ring. They’re
f . . king our families and knowingly doing so.”
Yes, that did appear exactly as quoted in The Australian. Continue reading
Quite a litany of mothballing of fossil fuel power generators in Australia
Gas fired power stations for NSW and Victoria placed on hold as demand slumps http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/28/gas-fired-power-stations-for-nsw-and-victoria-placed-on-hold-as-demand-slumps
28 Dec 2012
By takver
EnergyAustralia has announced shelving plans for construction of a 1000MW gas fired power station in the Latrobe Valley at it’s Yallourn site saying that low wholesale energy prices and reduced electricity demand did not make the project viable. Continue reading
Jim Green exposes the pro nuclear bias of Australia’s “independent think tank” Lowy Insitute
Despite its claim to champion “open debate” and to “encourage the widest range of opinions”, the Lowy Institute refused to publish a critique of Medcalf’s propaganda. Friends of the Earth will soon be writing to the Institute’s sponsors suggesting they redirect funding to organisations upholding reasonable intellectual standards and promoting peace instead of militarism and WMD proliferation. We don’t expect a positive response from at least two of those sponsors − uranium miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.
The Lowy Institute’s dangerous nuclear propaganda, Online Opinion, Jim Green, 28 December 12m “….. The Lowy Institute, a well-resourced think-tank with considerable foreign policy experience, ought to have played a constructive, educational role. Executive Director Michael Fullilove claims the Institute is “independent, non-partisan and evidence-driven; that we encourage the widest range of opinions but are the advocate of none.” Bollocks. The Institute − led by staff member Rory Medcalf − has run a disgraceful propaganda campaign in support of uranium sales to India. Continue reading
Inquiry into Australia’s fig leaf on the nuclear industry – Lucas Heights nuclear reactor
Nuclear facilities under scrutiny St George and Sutherland Shire
Leader, By Murray Trembath Dec. 28, 2012 A PARLIAMENTARY committee
inquiry into ANSTO’s proposed new nuclear medicine and Synroc waste
treatment plants is routine.
The Standing Committee on Public Works has begun a consultation
process into the $168million project, which will include a public
hearing in February.
A spokeswoman for the committee said the inquiry was ‘‘standard
procedure’’, required by law.
She said the committee had to be notified of all government works with
a proposed cost of more than $2million, and hold a public inquiry into
those valued at more than $15million to ensure they were fit for the
purpose and represented value for money. The committee comprises three
members from the Senate and six from the House of Representatives.
Under the proposal, the new nuclear medicine manufacturing plant would
be completed by 2016.
It would produce molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), used for the diagnosis of
heart disease, cancers, and kidney and gastrointestinal tract
disorders…..
For details of the proposal, or to make a submission to the inquiry,
visit: aph.gov.au/pwc.
Submissions close on January 24, and a public hearing is due to be
held in February, with details yet to be
announced.http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1200232/nuclear-facilities-under-scrutiny/?cs=12
New fossil fuel plant shelved, as Victorians use less electricity, (and more from solar power)
Solar Helps Delay Power Station Construction http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3532 28 Dec 12, In another example of solar power helping to stave off construction of fossil fuel based power plants, Energy Australia has decided to put the brakes on what was originally to be a 1GW gas fired power station. According to The Age, Energy Australia had applied to build the station at Yallourn in Victoria, but then revised plans to construct a smaller peaking power plant – which it has now also shelved due to suppressed wholesale electricity prices and demand for electricity less than expected.
The company says there is no need to build the facility until much later this decade.
The Australian Energy Market Operator stated earlier this year weakening demand was due to a number of factors, including uptake of rooftop solar panel systems and households and businesses stepping up energy efficiency efforts. Continue reading
Background to Australia’s story of uranium sales to India
The Lowy Institute’s dangerous nuclear propaganda, Online Opinion, Jim Green, 28 December 12 The Lowy Institute portrays itself as an independent think-tank. But a close looks at the Institute’s work in relation to uranium sales to India suggests it is a dangerous, reactionary propaganda outfit.
First to briefly recap the debate over uranium sales to India (as discussed in Online Opinion earlier this year). India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are the four nuclear weapons states outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Five countries are ‘declared’ nuclear weapons states within the NPT − the USA, Russia, UK, France and China. The declared weapons states are obliged under the NPT to seriously pursue nuclear disarmament, though none of them do so and nothing is done to hold them to account.
For many years it was bipartisan policy in Australia to permit uranium sales to NPT states (including declared weapons states) but not to countries outside the NPT. The Howard government reversed that policy in 2007, the Rudd Labor government held firm on the principle of refusing uranium sales to non-NPT states, but Julia Gillard orchestrated a policy reversal at the 2011 ALP National Conference. Bilateral uranium export negotiations are slowly progressing between Australia and India. Continue reading
Australia and China to join in war games
Report: Australia Plans War Games with China, Defense News,
Dec. 27, 201 By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE SYDNEY — Australia and China
are planning joint military exercises that may also include the United
States as the nations work to ensure stability in the region,
Canberra’s defense chief said Dec. 27.
Gen. David Hurley told The Australian newspaper that the war games
were “on the short-term horizon.”
“We’re working our way towards that,” he said.
The planned exercises come as Washington pushes to bolster its
military might in the strategically vital Asia-Pacific amid concerns
about China’s increasing assertiveness and territorial tensions with
its neighbors.
This includes an enhanced U.S. naval presence in the region and the
deployment of up to 2,500 Marines to a barracks near the northern
Australian city of Darwin.
The Marines contingent has irked Beijing, which has described its
presence as proof of a “Cold-War mentality”.
Hurley revealed that Australian and Chinese military leaders had
discussed joint exercises “in principle.”…. “When, where and in what
form would be the next iteration of the discussion.”…. Hurley said
he wanted to see strong military-to-military links throughout the
region, including with Beijing…..
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121227/DEFREG03/312270002/Report-Australia-Plans-War-Games-China?odyssey=nav%7Chead
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
.
Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 