Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Arkaroola uranium mining threatens rare frog species

Mining worries as frog species found – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 16 June 2010, The owner of Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary says discovery of a new frog species is yet another reason to be wary of mining in the Flinders Ranges region of outback South Australia.Scientists say it is the first new species to be identified in SA in 45 years.The species was found this month at Arkaroola, where Marathon Resources is involved in a uranium exploration project at Mount Gee.Sanctuary owner Marg Sprigg says she is worried Marathon’s initial drilling program could lead to it getting a full drilling licence later in the year.”I’m a geologist, I’m not against mining but I don’t think you have to mine everywhere and there were a lot of geologists who put in submissions saying ‘leave Arkaroola alone, it is too special, it’s a brilliant geological teaching laboratory’.”Ms Sprigg says mining could prevent more unique species being found in the Flinders Ranges.

Mining worries as frog species found – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

June 17, 2010 Posted by | environment, South Australia, uranium | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bleak future for uranium, but not because of resources tax

The mining lobby, and their media servants revel in attacking the Australian government over the proposed super profit resources tax. They blame theis for a poor outlook for for example, the expanded Olympic Dam uranium mine.

But the truth of the poor uranium outlook is otherwise.

Tax gains from bad apples: reduce your tax bill | The Australian, 16 June 2010, Guadagnuolo sees little prospect of a sustained recovery for uranium miner Energy Resources Australia ………”Further, we think the market has overestimated the scarcity of uranium, while advances in reactor technology will limit demand as reprocessing becomes increasingly effective, with the added benefit of limiting the proliferation of nuclear materials,” he says…..PRIME CANDIDATE FOR TAX LOSS SELLING……Energy Resources of Australia (ERA): Down 43 per cent since June 30.

June 16, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, secrets and lies, uranium | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia’s trade sanctions against Iran

Australia is pretty good at posturing as a leader in nuclear weapons non-proliferation.  Trouble is, Australia is also a leader in selling nuclear fuel to several nuclear weapons countries.

Australia unveils unilateral Iran sanctions , PRESSTV, 15 Jun 2010 Less than a week after the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, Australia says it is planning unilateral punitive measures. Continue reading

June 16, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war | , , | Leave a comment

Uranium mining guzzles Australia’s precious groundwater

water from the Great Artesian Basin in Central Australia is being depleted to keep residual radioactive dust from uranium mining wet in order to keep it from blowing across the continent. Seven million gallons of water is being extracted from the basin per day to keep the radioactive dust in place

Unhappy Anniversary for the Atomic Bomb,  Streetvibes Newspaper , June 15, 2010 Anti-nuclear activists want it to retire By Jeremy Flannery ” …..Riley is traveling across the United States with a fellow member of Think Outside the Bomb and two Australian members of Footprints for Peace to campaign for the end of nuclear energy. Continue reading

June 16, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, uranium, water | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

W.A. way behind in clean energy, despite its renewable resources

Perth comes last for sustainability,  ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 15 June 2010, Perth has been ranked the least sustainable city in an assessment of the carbon footprint of Australia’s 20 largest cities….. Continue reading

June 15, 2010 Posted by | climate change - global warming, energy, solar, Western Australia, wind | , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Share prices suffer as S.A. uranium companies wrangle

Quasar Resources challenges Alliance in court over Four Mile uranium project, Adelaide Now SARAH MARTIN

  • June 15, 2010 QUASAR Resources is accusing junior joint venture partner Alliance Resources of frustrating development of the Four Mile uranium mine in SA’s north. Continue reading

June 15, 2010 Posted by | legal, South Australia, uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

Smart grid – Australia’s opportunity to develop efficient renewable energy

Australia going smart-grid | Green Tech – CNET News, by Candace Lombard, 9 June 2010, Newcastle, in the state of New South Wales, will be the first Australian city to move onto a smart grid in what the government says could be a nationwide change……. Continue reading

June 14, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy, solar, wind | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Renewable energy option for Australians

Green becomes an easier option, Sydney Morning Herald, June 10, 2010 All power companies must offer renewable energy options, writes Keeli Cambourne. With environmental awareness increasing, most energy companies are responding to demands from consumers for green power options. Continue reading

June 14, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, energy, solar, wind | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ranger uranium mine’ s salty leak into freshwater creek

Uranium mine caused abnormal salt levels in Kakadu creek – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)  12 June 2010, The company that operates the Ranger uranium mine has confirmed higher-than-normal salt levels in a creek in Kakadu National Park is a result of its operations.Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) has investigated two salinity spikes in Magela Creek downstream of the mine in April.Chief executive Rob Atkinson says run-off water from the mine had flowed into the creek….

June 12, 2010 Posted by | environment, Northern Territory, uranium, water | , , , , | Leave a comment

BHP Billiton fudges radiation exposure levels of uranium mine workers

The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government…..managed to manipulate the sampling by transferring workers, whose exposures were escalating, to a different area

Radiation unsafe at BHP’s Olympic Dam: whistleblower, Sydney Morning Herald, June 4, 2010 Workers at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. Continue reading

June 11, 2010 Posted by | secrets and lies, South Australia, uranium | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia to fund renewable energy for Observatory

Govt to Fund Renewable Energy to Power Observatory | theangle.org By Rich Bowden 11 June 2010, The Australian Government has announced that it will release $47.3 million to the CSIRO to fund renewable energy solutions for a radio observatory.The funding will go towards supporting “renewable energy infrastructure projects for the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory and the Pawsey High-Performance Computing Centre for SKA Science in Perth,” Continue reading

June 11, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy, solar, wind | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Whistleblower on ANSTO’s nuclear radiation leak now dubbed a “security risk”

Ansto whistleblower now ”security risk’‘ St George & Sutherland Shire Leader, BY ROSITA GALLASCH, 09 Jun, 2010 DAVID Reid, the whistleblower who raised safety concerns about yje Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s radiopharmaceuticals and industrials (ARI) facility last month, is now regarded as a security risk.

ANSTO’s chief executive officer Adi Paterson said Mr Reid, who was a safety officer for six years and an employee for 28, now posed a security threat.

“I cannot be satisfied, from a security point of view, of him entering a nuclear facility,” Dr Paterson said. Continue reading

June 10, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, civil liberties | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Honeymoon uranium mine to be controlled by Russian govt

Moscow moves on global uranium mines  The Australian * June 10, 2010 RUSSIA has moved to boost its holdings in global uranium mines, with state-owned Rosatom agreeing to take a controlling stake in Canada’s Uranium One……If the deal goes ahead, it will put the Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, scheduled to come into production at the end of the year, under the control of the Russian government.…. Continue reading

June 10, 2010 Posted by | politics international, South Australia, uranium | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australian uranium will help Russia to run Iran’s nuclear plant

Rosatom Agrees to First Asset Sale to Foreign Investor, The Moscow Times, 09 June 2010By Anatoly Medetsky…..Kiriyenko announced that Russia and Iran would jointly run Iran’s first nuclear power plant that Rosatom plans to launch in August…..

Under a deal signed in 2007, which Australia also has yet to ratify, Russia will be able to import Australian uranium for use at its own nuclear power plants after enrichment…….Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said at the end of April that the country would ratify the agreement. He didn’t say when.Rosatom Agrees to First Asset Sale to Foreign Investor | Business | The Moscow Times

June 10, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international, uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

Australian city to lead in smart-grid renewable energy

help households save energy, connect renewable energy to the grid and tackle climate change.

$100m ‘green city’ trial in Newcastle, Kidsolo’s Newspaper , 8 June 2010, Newcastle is about to become the nation’s greenest city and is about to undergo one of its biggest transformations yet.  A consortium led by EnergyAustralia won the federal government’s $100 million Smart Grid, Smart City bid yesterday. Newcastle will soon be the heart of Australia’s first commercial-scale smart grid. Continue reading

June 9, 2010 Posted by | climate change - global warming, energy, New South Wales, solar, wind | , , , , , , | Leave a comment