Review: Uranium and nuclear skulduggery
Australia: – Corrupt dealings over Marathon’s uranium exploration. Telstra closes down nuclear veterans’ website – under govt pressure? The case against the govt’s plans for radioactive waste dumping in NT – is taken internationally. mainstream media wrongly portrays Peter Beatties as pro-nuclear. A High Court ruling further limits aborigines’ land rights
International: Nuclear lobby aims to take over US Climate Bill. Revelations of France and Germany’s unsafe radioacttive waste dumping in Siberia. AREVA’s half-built nuclear reactors in Finland and France are plagued with problems, lawsuits, and ever-escalating costs. French govt not likley to compensate Polynesian nuclear bomb test victims. – the week that has been
Review: opinion polls, BHP, Greens, and nuke-hype
Review of the week that has been. In Australia, 2 opinion polls – one showing that women are 4 times more opposed to nuclear power than are men. One showing that 49% of Australians think that the govt should consider nuclear power, and 43% are conmpletely opposed to it. (Hardly a ringing endorsement of nuclear power!).
BHPB rushing ahead with uranium mine in WA, with the help of an outdated, and too narrow assessment process. BHP B keeping quiet about a prolonged shutdown of Olynpic Dam uranium mining (at 20% capacity) following an accident.
Greens come up wilh a forward-looking plan for the government’s Emiisions Trading Scheme.
Gareth Evans aiming to get “peaceful” nuke power into the Non-Prolifertaion Treaty. Meanwhile, overseas, US senators John Kerry and Lindsay Graham try to get nuclear into US Climate Bill. France’s nuke salesman, Sarkozy, spruiking everywhere (Bulgaria this week, Australia when?)
Pro nuke hype hotting up inAustralia
Fairfax newspapers come out today with headlines about Australians wanting nuclear power. In fact, Australian were asked if they thought the Federal Government should “consider” nuclear power. Not quite the same thing as wanting it. Continue reading
Review – Gareth Evans – weak sop, and so on
Well, well, Gareth Evans, ? champion of nuclear disarmament has now come out in favour of Australia taking in everybody else’s dirty washing – i.e. nuclear wastes. I always though he was a weak sop, anyway.
Australia’s Paladin uranium company hopes nobody is noticing that it mucks up Malawi’s drinking water, and that it attacks the Malawi Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice – (bet it wouldn’t dare have a go at Australia’s)
BHP is lying low – hoping we’ll all forget about the predicted dust storms, as we have apparently forgotten about Maralinga. Russia plans to join forces with Cameco, in Australia uranium mining.
The nuclear industry is quietly worrying about the falling uranium price, and dimming prospects for commercial nuclear power – hence the increased nuclear hype. Marshall islanders fear sea level rise, to add to their radiation-induced problems.
Some really interesting ideas coming on in how energy efficiency, and smart grids, combining with renewables have great potential for Australia’s energy future. That’s some of the week that has been………….
Gas beats nuclear, and it’s a good transition to renewables
I realise that I am out of step with many environmentalists, but I am a fan of gas as an energy source. We cannot just shut down all our big fossil fuel industries. Nuclear power just adds damage and danger, along with its greenhouse gases. Continue reading
Nuclear hype, but nuclear future uncertain
Review, by Christina Macpherson. It’s been an interesting week. Internationally – two blatant lies are being taken up by prominent world leaders:
1. that developing nuclear power is an essential part of nuclear disarmament
2. that nuclear power is the solution to global warming.
Meanwhile, the global nuclear energy leader, AREVA, is in debt as “poster boy” new reactors in Finland and France continue to have troubles. Thousands of Russians protest against a new nuclear plant.
In Australia, Liberal party MP’s disagree on nuclear policy. The nuclear lobbyist Ziggy Spinowsky is frantically busy pushing nuclear, (as uranium prices remain low). In W.A., BHP is gently “advised” to consider the Ngalia people’s views on uranium developments. Dust storms, with more predicted, raise fears of radon gas reaching millions of Australians and New Zealanders.
Weak WA govt message to BHP on uranium and aborigines
Christina Macpherson – With BHP Billiton’s poor international track record on care and concern for indigenous peoples, I wouldn’t put much faith in their pious statements to the W.A. govt.
Sure, it’s great that the Ngalia people’s ecological knowledge has been publicly recognised, but there won’t even be a rap over the knuckles if BHP Billiton completely disregards this at the Yeelirrie uranium project. Note the wording of the article below – “…………..…..state Environment Minister Donna Faragher did not order BHP to consult the Ngalia, she made it clear they should..………”
pro-nuclear hype, Italy and France’s nuclear wastes
In Australia, Paul Howes the very right-wing union leader, and hopeful ALP politician, is to speak on nuclear power, at a Liberal Party seminar! ANU to pursue nuclear research with ANSTO. Ziggy Spinowski spruiking nuclear power for Australia.
Internationally, the push to include nuclear at climate talks continues. The nuke lobby, (including Ziggy) tout Italy and France as winning nuclear examples. But Italy is in the throes of a nuclear waste scandal – ships scuttled in the Mediterranean . In France AREVA’s finncial problems continue, and its nuke waste disposal is coming under scrutiny, too.
Exposing Ziggy’s spin
Ziggy Switkowski is pretty careful these days, on where he spouts his pro-nuke spin. He doesn’t want demonstrations and hecklers. So, it’s usually to the refined world of corporate Australia. Or at Lucas Heights, where he recently spruiked on the seemingly inevitable move to nuclear power.
Ziggy talks about Australian public pro-nuke opinion, without any evidence to support this. He does not mention cost, nor water use, nor waste disposal.
Ziggy continues to tout nuclear as the solution to global warming, ignoring the factors of nuclear fuel cycle carbon emissions, and the fact that even if it did work, nuclear power would supply only electricity, and would be years too late.
Ziggy prophesies a future of continued unbridled energy consumption while the world is waking up to newer ways, energy conservation, energy efficency, cogeneration. Of course, Ziggy dismisses renewable energy sources, rather as horse and buggy experts might have dismissed the automobile a century ago.
Nuclear lobby in top gear, as nuclear “renaissance” failing
Review. Christina Macpherson 15 Sept 09
The nuclear lobby is pushing US and Chinese governments to get nuclear included, at Copenhagen, as a global warming solution. Meanwhile the development of nuclear power slows down, and uranium is in oversupply, with the price dropping.
In Australia, despite the anti-nuclear choice of the 2007 election, tax-payer money goes to an expensive survey of public opinion on nuclear power. No doubt the pro-uranium.nuclear media hype will be stepped up now, in preparation. John Howard planned a pro-nuke PR campaign. It seems that Rudd is carrying on the Howard agenda – review of the week that was
A wasteful and very dubious nuclear opinion survey
The news item below is a bit of a worry.
by Christina Macpherson 11 Sept 09 Now why would the govt want to waste our tax money on the nuclear question, just 2 years after it was clearly answered by the voters?
Is the uranium/nuclear lobby is dictating government action here, in the same way that the fossil fuel industries are determining climate change policy?
Survey Project leader Daniela Stehlik may be very well intentioned, but her comments published today do not inspire confidence .
First of all, Stehlik is calling nuclear power the “more emissions-friendly option”. Doesn’t she know about the carbon emissions from the whole nuclear fuel cycle?
Then she says “… with nuclear, Australians can’t tell what it’s like … they haven’t actually seen a plant in operation …. No direct experience” (So, apparently we can’t have a valid opinion?)
Amazingly, Stehlik thinks that internationally, nuclear power is OK with communities. Doesn’t she know about the turmoil in USA and UK over the nuclear’s costs, and wastes.? About the fiasco of France’s new reactors? About the massive anti-nuclear protest in Germany?
And – Stehlik seems to brush off the (?silly) negative connotations of nuclear bombs and nuclear accidents- “it’s in our imagination”!
Oh dear – we are in for a wasteful tax-funded nuke-hype!
Uranium for China, disadvantage for aborigines
Christina Macpherson 9 Sept 09
Today’s news mix shows where the Rudd government’s priorities lie, and where they get their policy from.
I guess that the uranium mining companies designed the new uranium royalties bill. After all, everybody knows that the commercial nuclear power industry is in terminal illness. Also the uranium industry could collapse almost instantly, in the event of a nuclear accident. Therefore, let’s rip off the aborigines now, while the going’s good, and too bad, if the industry all goes sour for them later.
Only in nuclear weapons dictatorships like China is the nuclear industry more secure. As government and Ziggy Switkowski delight in China’s uranium appetite, the uranium salesmen conveniently ignore China’s nuclear weapons buildup.
And with the help of the mainstream media, the Australian public sleeps on – “She’ll be right, mate”. But will she?
Review: nuke news of the past week
By Christina Macpherson
Australia: ERA hypes up its image, by flying a Melbourne Age reporter to the Ranger uranium mine, to report on Rio Tinto’s drive to employ aboriginal uranium miners.
International: US residents near nuclear plants to get anti-radiation pills. France’s nuclear company AREVA in dire financial straits due to troubles of its ‘new generation’ reactors in Finland and France. America and China to push for nuclear to be part of Copenhagen climate program
Asbestos and Uranium
Christina Macpherson 3 Sept 09
It’s hard to get your head around the magnitude of the asbestos scandal, world-wide. Phillip Adams covered this very recently, in ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live (podcast available at ABC Radio National – Late Night Live – Home
Matt Peacock’s new book “Killer Company” details the James Hardie asbestos story in Australia. Another author’s new book tells the world-wide, and continuing story of asbestos contamination, corporate cover-up, and huge profits gained by companies which vanish long before they can be held accountable.
Meanwhile, the same process now kicks on, with uranium mining. But with one significant difference. It is actually easy to prove that a person’s nasty, fatal mesothelioma cancer was caused by asbestos. It is difficult to prove that invisible, unsmellable, tasteless radioactivity has caused a person’s nasty fatal cancer.
Hence the uranium mining corporations, and their investors, can relax. Their money will be made long before the scandalous health cost becomes public knowledge.
Uranium mining hype about aborigines
Christina Macpherson 3 Sept 09
As the commercial nuclear industry founders, uranium corporations hurry to expand their hype, while there’s still time. Continue reading
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