Climate and uranium news this week
Bushfires tear across South Eastern Australia. Is this a taste of what is coming for this summer and beyond?
It follows Australia’s warmest 12 months on record. Our last summer broke 123 extreme weather records in 90 days. Last month was Australia’s hottest ever September on record.
The IPCC has released its Fifth Assessment Report. There’s a 95-100% probability that more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 is human induced.
And what is the Abbott government doing about climate change? The Climate Commission has been abolished. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will be abolished. We no longer have a Department of Climate Change. On October 14, the draft legislation to repeal the carbon price mechanism, to be the first item of business for the 44th Parliament, was revealed.
The planetary crisis of climate change surely shows us that it requires planetary, internationally co-operative solutions. Australia was a leader in climate action – but look at us now – an international disgrace?
Uranium. Toro Energy holds it AGM today, amid accusations that it has misled shareholders by pretending that a new uranium deposit in Western Australia has gained regulatory approval, when it in fact, has not.
Report on the Australian premiere of nuclear promotional film ‘Pandora’s Promise’
We gave out leaflets to those attending the film premiere last night. I was apparently the only anti nuclear person in the audience – a voice heckling n a pro nuclear wilderness.
- First part of the film: – established 4 or 5 speakers who all claim to have previously been anti nuclear, and shows the major nuclear accidents, faults etc. Sets up the bad things about nuclear power, and shows anti nuclear activists to be idealistc, but emotional and uninformed. Subtly denigrates and makes fun of anti nuclear activists, uses female speaker Gwyneth Craven a lot. Subtle put down of women – “brains hard wired to protect babies” Film’s protagonists changed their minds after learning from experts.
- Second part:Disillusion with environmental movement – rubbishing Kyoto Protocol, rubbishing renewable energy, rubbishing energy conservation. Stresses need for growing energy use. Harm from coal. (some good arguments here) Rubbishes fear of radiation – very poor information given here – inaccurate about radiation. repeats the “banana myth”. Misrepresents what WHO has said. Minimises Chernobyl, Fukushima’s health effects.
- Third part – safety and wastes History lesson on how USA nuclear power progress was stalled by politics, Democratic administrations. Integral Fast Reactors (Gen 1V) delayed by politics. IFRs so safe – they can use wastes as fuel, so in the meantime, Gen 3 reactors can go on, producing valuable fuel.
- Concluding part Present situation – nuclear France – hugely successful, Germany using more coal emitting more greenhouse gases. Nuclear is costly upfront, but will be much more economical than solar or wind. Nuclear wastes a valuable resource, nuclear warheads turned to fuel forreactors. especially exciting, Small Modular Reactors. Future energy needs for modern high energy resource rich lifestyle .
- inaccurate portrayal of anti nuclear people – all shown to be uninformed, anti science, pro coal, and non-expert.
- not at all up to date on renewable energy development – inaccurate picture of France today, and especially of Germany
- wrong information on ionising radiation – ?deliberate ignorance on this.
- no mention whatsoever of terrorism risks – to nuclear reactors, nuclear waste fuel pools, transport of “valuable” wastes to feed reactors
- glosses over weapons proliferation risks
- almost completely ignores economics – no mention of costs of security, eventual waste disposal from Gen 1V reactors.
- good presentation of climate change danger, and of health dangers of coal
- interesting presentation – at times amusing (though at times this is at the expense of anti nuclear people)
- music well used for emotional impact – dramatic at times, sentimental when showing happy Chernobyl residents.
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This week in Australia: nuclear, and other news
AUSTRALIA and INTERNATIONAL
This week I chanced upon a website that made me think, and reminded me that everything is inter-connected. The nuclear issue is just one part of the web of global social and environmental issues . This website is “Project New World: Let’s co-operate “ I think it originates in Germany – but anyway, it can be read in many languages, and it links up all sorts of issues.
This idea is timely, as now there’s an Australian in gaol in Russia, for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic. OK – it’s oil not nuclear. In fact, the Russians have dumped so much radioactive trash in the Arctic, that this drilling may well be very connected.
In America, 83 year old Sister Megan Rice remains in a prison cell, awaiting what could be a 30 year sentence for her anti nuclear action.
The one bright spot is that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s wheels of process for re-licensing nuclear power plants have ground to a halt, along with much else, due to the USA government shut-down. Also, for Australia and others, it might be just that bit harder for the secretive Trans Pacific Partnership to get signed up, seeing that Obama has had to cancel his Asian visit.
In Australia, Robert Stone is showing his nuclear advertising film “Pandora’s Promise”, and getting mainstream media coverage, of course. In Melbourne, there will be a protest at the launching of the film. Cinema -goers will be handed leaflets explaining what the film carefully leaves out.
‘Pandora’s Promise’ – film that is stinking its way around Australia
The nuclear advertising film ‘ Pandora’s Promise’ will be showing around Australia, and in Edinburgh and London in the next couple of weeks. It is largely funded by people from the pro nuclear Breakthrough Institute, including people like Bill Gates, who has his own nuclear power company Terra Power. It is directed by passionate nuclear enthusiast, Robert Stone, who does Q and A afterwards, and over-talks any critical questioners.
Weaknesses of this film include the way that it:
- mocks anti nuclear opinions as a bunch extremists and zealots. It makes no effort to portray any sensible opposing opinion.
- minimises the health effects of ionising radaiation with downright untruths, for instance, telling us only that Chernobyl killed 56 people. It leaves out that a United Nations World Health Organization agency predicts 16,000 more will die from Chernobyl cancers and that the European Environment Agency estimates 34,000 more. It omits that non-fatal thyroid cancer struck another 6,000, mostly children
- does not mention the crippling economics that is now closing nuclear plants in USA (Florida, Wisconsin and California), nor the imperative for tax-payer subsidy
- does not mention insurance: the nuclear industry, alone among industries is exempt from risk through USA’s Price Anderson Act, as well as every home owner’s insurance policy stating that this policy does not compensate you for any radiation damage from a nuclear power plant.
- avoids the economics of Small Nuclear reactors (SMRs) Even under the best of circumstances, there will be no SMR prototype for as long as a decade or more. There are serious questions over the economics of mass producing these, over their safety, and the huge costs of maintaining security over thousands of little nuclear reactors scattered around the land. None of this is discussed in the film.
- promotes Integral Fast Reactors (IFRs) – fast breeder reactors. but doesn’t mention the past failure of these, in USA , France (Super Phoenix) Japan (Monju), and their enormous cost.
- Dishonestly minimises the nuclear waste problems of IFR’s. Film does not explain that the final wastes, while smaller in volume, are far more radioactive and dangerous than existing nuclear wastes, and therefore require the same amount of storage space and security.
State of play in Australia’s climate and nuclear news this week
Nuclear news has gone very quiet at the moment – seeing that for Australia nuclear’s big argument was that it’s “the cure” for climate change. (But now it is not politically correct to worry about climate change?)
Uranium. Energy Resources of Australia is touting its latest method to to treat radioactive water. ERA will go out of business if it doesn’t get a new mining operation going at Ranger. Not a great prospect – with its history of spills and revenue losses.
CLIMATE CHANGE has dominated the news this week. Or, more correctly, what Australia is NOT going to do about climate change.
Tony Abbott has:
- abolished the Science Ministry
- appointed as head of his Business Advisory Council – Maurice Newman, who very recently attacked the CSIRO, the weather bureau and the “myth” of anthropological climate change.
- abolished the Climate Change Commission, – sacking its chief, Tim Flannery
- appointed as Environment MInister – Greg Hunt, who abandoned decades of personal commitment to addressing climate change in order to save his political skin. He now tacitly supports climate scepticism, and has given false information on climate change and carbon emissions
- through Greg Hunt approved a brief to begin drafting a Bill to repeal the Climate Change Authority (this requires an Act of Parliament)
- through Treasurer Joe Hockey has ordered the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to cease operations. However, this order is not lawful, it is obliged to continue to operate until the Coalition passes legislation abolishing the CEFC (that needs an Act of Parliament)
To abolish the Climate Change Authority and the CEFC Abbott’s Bills would have to pass both Houses of Parliament, This can’t happen until after July 2014, as until then Abbott would not have a majority in the Senate.
Not Surprisingly, Former Labor Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has applauded the Liberal government’s attack on renewable energy. In the Labor cabinet, Ferguson had a hard time pretending to support renewable energy. Look out for Ferguson getting a nice little job with the polluting industries?
What a week in Australia’s climate/nuclear news!
Election results show that, in fact, climate change and the carbon tax were not a major issue. The ABC’s opinion poll showed that Australians in general wanted action on climate change. However, election results suggest that this did not translate into support for carbon pricing. Nuclear/uranium issues were just not on the radar.
What Australia’s election results did show, is that a sustained barrage of attack against climate action policies, run over the past 3 years by the Murdoch media, in tandem with its attacks on the Labor government, had its effect.
Disinformation about climate change surely contributed to the confusion in the electorate, resulting in the extraordinary proliferation of silly little mini parties. Most of these new single issue new Senators are quite ignorant of general political issues, and can be relied on to vote mindlessly with the Abbott Government, when these Senators take up their seats in July.
For this reason, Abbott may well say that he will act quickly, but his best bet is to hang off on his most extreme, and anti climate action policies, until July.
However, Abbott is doing what groundwork that he can. Only yesterday, he’s been talking with President Obama, about the Trans Pacific Partnership, (TPP). You may well wonder about this – it’s a secretive pact designed to give American corporations a lot of power, for example, ability to sue Australian State governments – in effect, to override environmental laws. The Labor Government was being very careful about this. But does Tony even understand it?
Labor re-groups. No, Tony, they’re not going to “man up” and dump carbon pricing and climate change action. On the contrary, both Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese see action on climate change as a central issue
Christina’s election comfort – Tony Abbott is a Tall Poppy – TEMPORARILY
Yes. It’s a sad week for democracy in Australia’s MURDOCHRACY.
My one comfort.
Murdoch media, America’s Tea Party, and multinational fossil fuel corporations, have groomed the seemingly vacuous Tony Abbott into an Australian Tall Poppy. My comfort is – we all know what Australia does to Tall Poppies – cuts ’em down. And this couldn’t happen to a better fellow.
Nuclear and climate news in this election week
AUSTRALIAN ELECTION
NUCLEAR and URANIUM Well, you’d be forgiven for thinking that no Australian political party is the slightest bit interested in nuclear and uranium issues. However, there’s an underlying push in the Liberal Party to overturn Australia’s law against importing international nuclear wastes. And some Labor heavies join in that push. The Liberal Coalition’s goals of weakening environmental regulation will of course impact on the uranium mining industry. The Australian Greens remain steadfast – in both opposing these dirty and dangerous industries, and in promoting clean and practicable renewableenergy solutions. Choose Nuclear Free is the place to go For detailed analysis of party policies.
Both Liberal Coalition and Labor are hellbent on getting rid of Scott Ludlam from the Senate. That’s understandable. He is far too intelligent, far too articulate – and worse too ethical, too courteous. The mad monk could well say of Ludlam – “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?”
CLIMATE. Words almost fail me (you might be glad to know?) But Tony Abbot has abdicated from any pretense of action on climate change. I don’t think he’s all that bright. He thinks that the environment, climate change, action etc, might be tacked on at the end of he economy, if there’s a bit of spare money. He has no concept of teh basic role of environment and climate underlying the economy.
By the way – Tony’s a Rhodes scholar. You might think that that means he’s really intelligent. However – major criteria for Rhodes scholarship are not so much brains. More emphasis is on ” fondness for and success in sports” and on ” instincts to lead”. – i.e. desire To Be Topp
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Australian nuclear news this week
Well, in the election fever, I thought that there was no nuclear news. However, I’ve learned that there has been a series of radio broadcasts – Radio Adelaide – covering the push for the full nuclear cycle in South Australia. And it’s worse than I had thought. I have listened to only the latest of these broadcasts, but it really did wake me up as to what is being proposes for South Australia.
I had thought that it was motivated by money – the idea of somehow making money out of nuclear power. Well, of course, it IS money. But the big connection is really uranium enrichment plans for the nuclear weapons industry, and USA’s nuclear war strategy. South Australia’s already got Beverley and Heathgate uranium mines, owned by nuclear weapons giant General Atomics. No surprise that some want to further entrench Adelaide’s military-industrial -intelligence complex in the nuclear war machine. Envouragment is provided by professor Stefan Simons, of UCL Adelaide, funded by BHP. Anyway, I have transcribed this broadcast .
Election. I am so fed up with all the rubbish. That includes the Liberal Coalition saying on Tuesday that they would use Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to fund a solar power station in Victoria. and on Thursday that they would cut the funding of ARENA. But I did like Guy Rundle’s respectful and insightful story about Greens leader, Christine Milne.
Nuclear News Australia – mercifully short this week
AUSTRALIA
Yes – mercifully short. We are swamped with tripey media about the coming election. It’s all too much. Except for the Greens, political parties pretty well ignore climate change and renewable energy. Debates ?- Christine Milne doesn’t get a look in. Preference deals ? very confusing. here’s a good link to advise on preference matters http://www.belowtheline.org.au/
Renewable energy. Just as nuclear propagandist Martin Nicholson tells us, (in impenetrable jargon) how cheap nuclear power will be for Australia, Giles Parkinson reports on the Australian government now acknowledging that renewable energy is no more costly than fossil fuels.
INTERNATIONAL
I could go on about the parlous state of the uranium market, and of the nuclear industry in USA.
However, the overwhelming new is about Fukushima. New radioactive water leaks are appearing. Some from the water storage tanks? Some from welling up of groundwater?. Anyway this is recognised as a new crisis, with no solution coming any time soon.
Meanwhile, the nuclear propagandists have gone very quiet on what a success the Fukushima clean-up is. Indeed, the nuclear propagandists have gone very quiet. Except in Australia – where Martin Nicholson continues his proud history of damning renewable energy, praising nuclear power, and dazzling us all with impressive, but unintelligible blather.
Four Mile uranium project – Australia’s dirtiest and most dangerous uranium connection
(Christina Macpherson, originally posted on 4 Nov 2012) Leaving aside its nasty little internal squabbles, Australia’s fifth uranium mine Four Mile uranium project in South Australia is without doubt the most striking example of all that is wrong about Australia’s uranium industry. Well, next door, is Beverley mine – equally bad. But they’re practically the same, in that they are both practically owned by USA’s General Atomics. Neal Blue is the chairman of Quasar Resources, which is affiliated with General Atomics, a major United States weapons and nuclear energy corporation. He is CEO of Heathgate Resources. a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of General Atomics (GA) which owns Beverley uranium mine. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors for General Atomics
General Atomics has a murky history It develops nuclear technologies including arms manufacture. Especially those Predator drones which kill anybody that the Pentagon thinks is “suspicious” in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neal Blue was one of the designers of Predator. At its uranium processing plant on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma, General Atomics for years covered up radioactive water and gas leaks.
General Atomic has spent $thousands’ lobbying and ferrying of USA politicians to Australia, , and Australian federal and state politicians to USA . In 2000 Heathgate applauded police brutality against environmentalists and local Aboriginal people. An online video clip details this brutality. the police action (in a 2000 media release which is no longer available online). After a 10-year legal case, 10 people were awarded a total of $700,000 damages.
General Atomics flew a group from the US Congress to Australia, accompanied by company executives, to persuade the Federal Government to buy the company’s Predator unmanned aircraft
As well as its interest in unmanned spy planes, General Atomics has employed human spies. In 2008 it was caught hiring a former undercover police officer turned private investigator to infiltrate Australian environment groups and report on their actions.
In 2008 General Atomics and Neal Blue were sued for fraudulently hiking uranium prices and manipulating costs. In the settlement One of General Atomics’s customers, Exelon, received $US41 million from the company. It is estimated Mr Blue made $US200 million by breaking the contracts and selling uranium on the spot market
Heathgate Resources have been promoting the view that low-level radiation is beneficial, and funding the Australian visits of people like Dr Doug Dr Boreham prepared to promote those views.
Heathgate is not required to clean up Four Mile uranium mine. and there is no requirement it decontaminate the Beverley site when mining ceases. Christina Macpherson 25 Oct 12,
Go-ahead for disputed uranium joint venture BY: BARRY FITZGERALD From: The Australian October 25, 2012 THE much-delayed Four Mile uranium project in South Australia – a joint venture between ASX-listed Alliance Resources (25 per cent) and US group Heathgate (75 per cent) – is finally being developed.
Minister Gary Gray is disingenuous about radioactive wastes
Christina Macpherson, 15 Aug 13, Australia’s new Energy Minister Gary Gray appears to be an improvement on the previous Minister, in that Gray at least met with some Traditional owners of land in Northern Territory – designated for a nuclear waste dump.
Nuclear and energy issues this week in Australia
Election mania grips the media. Not a mention of nuclear/uranium issues. But Gem Romuld of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons- has come up with a nifty little table, to show you where the major parties stand on these issues.
As far as I could tell, the Australian media did not see fit to commemorate Hiroshima Day. However, there were many events around Australia, where people came together for this. – such as Melbourne’s Hiroshima Day Vigil, Sydney’s Sunday March and Rally. There will be more, as Nagasaki is remembered, too – August 10 – Melbourne – Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Concert 2013, and August 9 – Sydney Nagasaki Day Film screening.
The media is a real worry in Australia. They have HAD to report on the crisis now at Fukushima, as there seems no workable solution to the escalating problem of radioactive water leaking. I predict that the nuclear lobby’s next push will be a renewed attack on radiation as a health hazard. They’ll need this, as radioactive water pours into the ocean, from Fukushima, and enters the marine food chain. We will be told yet again that “low dose radiation” is OK. Ionising radiation is a complex topic, and now that the Australian mainstream press have pretty well sacked all their science writers – just who is going to give the facts to the public?
Renewable energy. Even though the brakes are on, in the very real fear of an Abbott government destroying Australia’s clean energy laws, still, things are happening.
- A large scale solar photovoltaic plant to go ahead in New South Wales.
- Work started on the Ararat (Victoria) wind farm, today.
- The Zero Carbon Australia Buildings Plan was launched today – a foresighted plan for energy efficiency.
- The Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australia National University reports that Australia could be 100% powered by renewable energy by 2040.
Uranium price has sunk to an unsustainable level – media takes this as proof that it will have a booming future – a kind of religious belief?
Australian media in its own little bubble of nuclear/uranium enthusiasm
Oblivious of the USA nuclear industry crisis, oblivious of the uranium glut, the good old Australian media cheerleads on.
If you tap “nuclear” into Google News search – you will find page after page telling you how in Australia, nuclear power is becoming more and more popular, scientists love it, it will save Australia $billions.
If you tap “uranium” into Google News search – there will be even more pages, all even more enthusiastic about how you’d better invest in uranium NOW – because clearly, it has such a great future!
That is the Australian news media bubble.
Where does this media enthusiasm come from? Well – for nuclear, it’s the usual suspects, South Australia’s stooges for the nuclear industry, and a couple of well-paid imported nuclear engineers. Why now – it’s a sign of desperation.
If the nuclear lobbyists are getting desperate, – that’s nothing to the poor old uranium industry. The spot price for uranium has collapsed to half what Toro Energy would need it to be, to make their Western Australian Wiluna 
Project halfway viable. Now the term, or contract price for uranium is plunging too.
There’s a touching religiosity about Australia’s uranium lobby – they see this collapse as some kind of proof that Australia’s uranium industry will rocket up.
That’s OK for the Australian uranium and nuclear lobbies. But does the Australia media have to be so blindly subservient to those lobbies? Why doesn’t the Australian media notice what is happening overseas? Especially in the USA – original home and enthusiast for the nuclear industry?
See the articles below page, on what’s really happening to these industries. And -please do find the time to hear the splendid David Freeman (former head of the Tennessee Valley Authority) – in the Youtube presentation at right of this page
Pro nuclear hype in Australia
Lots of hype going on in Australia, as the nuclear advertising group winds up its con conference in Sydney.
Some South Australians are particularly keen to “embrace nuclear power”. Today’s Telegraph reports on South Australia’s London-based agent general Bill Muirhead enthusing over his vision of South Australia as a world hub for nuclear power and nuclear waste dumping.. Defence Teaming Centre chief executive officer Chris Burns predicted the state could become the “future Dubai of the world” if it went nuclear.
South Australia is a wonderful and beautiful State in its history and environment, But it has been an unlucky state, having arguably the world’s most radioactively contaminated area foisted upon it by the British government and spineless Australian governments.
South Australia has been viewed as a backward State, economically.
What an irony – as the world turns away from nuclear power – if South Australia were to get even more backward, lumber itself with an out-dated, uneconomic and dangerous nuclear industry! Fortunately, South Australia is in fact well ahead on wind energy, and this is looking far 
more likely to make South Australia a 21st Century energy leader.
But there’s New South Wales, too, where THE AUSTRALIAN today reports that the University of New South Wales is to re-open its nuclear engineering course. Not that they really expect Australia to develop nuclear energy. But Professor Davies said that UNSW graduates could go overseas. Now that’s not such a bad idea.
As the nuclear industry dies, its radioactive trash remains, and there will be plenty of work for nuclear experts in dealing with that nuclear industry.
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 