Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Uranium mining should be included in Australia’s mining tax

Australia Greens Want Mining Tax Raised, Uranium Added in Gillard Hurdle, Bloomberg, By Marion Rae – Sep 16, 2010 The Australian Greens Party wants Prime Minister Julia Gillard to increase a proposed levy on coal and iron ore profits and expand it to include uranium, underscoring the pressure on her two-day old minority government……
The Greens Party won a record 12 percent of the national vote at last month’s national elections, giving them nine seats in the upper house Senate and one in the lower house. Gillard’s Labor Party must placate the Greens to pass legislation and do so without alienating three independent lawmakers who also helped her secure a parliamentary majority…….Australia Greens Want Mining Tax Raised, Uranium Added in Gillard Hurdle – Bloomberg

September 16, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, uranium | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear power financially dangerous for India, and USA

Indians have little to gain from caving to U.S. pressure….nuclear electricity is still one of the most uneconomical ways for it to meet its near and mid-term power requirements……..

More important, domestic U.S. legal nuclear liability caps will sunset in 15 years and leave firms totally exposed in the case of a nuclear accident…….

India Unmasks America’s Nuclear Liabilities – WSJ.com, * SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 Private companies should insure themselves, not ask Delhi to do it for them. By HENRY SOKOLSKI Continue reading

September 16, 2010 Posted by | uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

South Australian Liberal Party will reject uranium mining in Arkaroola Wilderness

  • “The state Liberal Party has decided very clearly that it will reject any move by the State Government to change the environmental status of Arkaroola

  • Isobel Redmond vows to block uranium mining in the Arkaroola mining  Adelaide Now, Daniel Wills,  September 14, 2010 OPPOSITION Leader Isobel Redmond has declared her party will block any future moves to allow uranium mining in the Arkaroola Wildness Sanctuary. Continue reading

September 15, 2010 Posted by | politics, South Australia, uranium | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sinking prices, not the Greens, threaten Australia’s uranium industry

“In contrast to claims put out by the uranium industry about its supposed financial benefits, we have seen proposed uranium projects on increasingly shaky financial ground.

“They won’t admit it, but right now volatility in global uranium prices is probably a bigger worry for the industry than the Greens,”

Greens to Stick to Uranium Mining Ban Policy, Mathaba, 15 Sept 10, The Australian Greens have confirmed they will continue to push for a ban on uranium mining across Australia, in line with long-held Greens policy. Continue reading

September 15, 2010 Posted by | General News, uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear reactors are massive Dirty Bomb targets

Nuclear reactors are massive Dirty Bomb targets. Reactor materials can be used to make atomic weapons. Nuclear waste can be quickly and cheaply used to make deadly carcinogenic Depleted Uranium weapons. The world’s plutonium repositories, which contain hundreds of tons of plutonium extracted from civil reactors, are literal Doomsday Weapons.

Nuclear Renaissance  ? : The Market Oracle, By Andrew McKillop, 15 Sept 10, The 2010-2020 decade marks the world’s “Nuclear Renaissance” according to triumphal industry spokesmen. It may result in the construction of 200 – 250 new reactors, mostly in the Emerging countries. The countries signing up to the New Nuclear Miracle, which extends to its debt-linked financing, now range far and wide in the low and mid income South. They include Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and plenty others. Continue reading

September 15, 2010 Posted by | uranium | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear war danger escalates as India gets nuclear fighter jets

The most likely candidates to unleash an atomic holocaust are rivals India and Pakistan, who share a border, a legacy of war, and a tendency to test nuclear weapons.

India’s Nuclear Weapons Take to the Skies, TakePart –  Adam Trunell 15 Sept 10, With most of the Armageddon-fearing planet apparently losing its taste for nuclear weapons, India’s upped its investment in the end of civilization with the planned purchase of 40 nuclear-capable fighter jets. Continue reading

September 15, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Concern about nuclear weapons make Greens oppose uranium to India

India has never signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,


Greens party says no to uranium export to India. ZEENEWS.com, September 14, 2010, Melbourne: Australia’s Greens party which sent its first lawmaker to the parliament this election, has strongly opposed uranium mining and its export to non-Non Proliferation Treaty  countries like India, saying the move could have global repercussions. Continue reading

September 15, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international | , , , | Leave a comment

Anti-nuclear sentiment building in Germany

apparent skipping of parliamentary process in such a significant policy for Germany’s energy future will form the crux of the anti-nuclear lobby’s opposition

The Social Democratic Party and the Greens have made it clear that if the deal goes ahead they will make it a major issue in the next election and overturn it if elected.

Germany’s ‘hot autumn’ of nuclear discontent, Sydney Morning Herald, James Norman and Dave Sweeney, September 15, 2010, AUSTRALIA we often view Germany as at the forefront of the global green energy revolution. So the news that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat coalition will move a new accord to extend the life-span of Germany’s 17 existing nuclear power plants by 12 years has been reverberating here.

The move has signalled a new “hot autumn” of anti-nuclear sentiment in Berlin and beyond. The German policy shift back toward nuclear energy also has clear implications for the country with the world’s largest uranium reserves — Australia. Continue reading

September 15, 2010 Posted by | uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

Just a step to the Right – Australia’s new govt on environment

It’s a bit of a worry. No Education Ministry for Australia -( it’s as if education is just about training kids for jobs – not about an informed, creative minded society in all age groups). As for Environment, – tucked away in a new portfolio (Sustainable Population, Communities, Environment and Water) under Tony Burke.  He could be good – we don’t yet know.

Meanwhile, higher in the Ministerial food chain, are Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy and  Greg Combet, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Combet was a coal engineer, degrees in mining engineering and economics.

Lurking in the wings, Bill Shorten, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation,  a leader of the putsch that elevated Julia Gillard, and an ardent pro-nuclear advocate. – Christina Macpherson

September 14, 2010 Posted by | Christina reviews, energy, uranium | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Greens bring anti-nuclear muscle to Canberra

the Greens’ strong election result – and its Senate balance-of-power role from next July – had strengthened its push to ban uranium mining and stop a nuclear power industry emerging in Australia.

Greens fight Labor on uranium  Andrew Burrell and Sid Maher  The Australian  September 14, 2010 THE Greens have threatened to use their historic alliance with Labor to stop billions of dollars of planned uranium projects from securing government approval…

Greens nuclear spokesman Scott Ludlam told The Australian his party would use its new-found leverage to attempt to stop all new uranium mines, including those planned in the next few years by BHP Billiton and Canadian giant Cameco. Continue reading

September 14, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, uranium | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

USA – no new nukes, and crumbling old ones,

Because atomic energy can’t compete with natural gas or renewables and efficiency, Exelon has withdrawn its application to build two reactors in Victoria County, Texas.

Is the “Nuclear Renaissance” Dead Yet?, HUFFINGTON POST, Harvey Wasserman: 13 Sept 2010, America’s much hyped “reactor renaissance” is facing a quadruple bypass. In actual new construction, proposed projects and overseas sales, soaring costs are killing new nukes. And the old ones are leaking like Dark Age relics on the brink of disaster. Continue reading

September 14, 2010 Posted by | uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

Moscow’s nuclear radiation scandal

no fewer than 18 dangerous radioactive objects within the capital.And they can be found in heavily built-up areas like Kuzminki,…..In Moscow… the map of the radioactive dumps has not been made and all the more so published. People just do not know whether any nuclear waste is nearby and what the level of radiation on the surface is.

Radiation scare for Moscow parks  | The Moscow News, – Evgeniya Chaykovskaya – 13 Sept 10, Levels of radiation on Moscow’s streets have reached a level so high that the authorities are about to spend 4.7 billion roubles to get rid of it. Continue reading

September 14, 2010 Posted by | uranium | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Racism in Australia- Northern Territory Intervention, Western Australian land grab

events that revealed the level of racism in Australia: the compulsory acquisition of Aboriginal land for mining in WA; the ongoing NT intervention

NT intervention ‘a big lie’ , Green Left, September 11, 2010,By Peter Robson, Jeff McMullen , 14 Sept 10, Journalist Jeff McMullen used his speech at the September 8 Building Bridges forum at Parramatta Town Hall to condemn ongoing government support for the NT intervention. Continue reading

September 14, 2010 Posted by | General News | , , | Leave a comment

Cancer causing effects of ionising radiation

The Bystander Effect  may be more damaging in the longer term than direct radiation exposure.

Emerging role of radiation induced bystander effects:Cell communications and carcinogenesis, 7th Space.3 Sept 10, Rajamanickam Baskar, Ionizing radiation is an invaluable diagnostic and treatment tool used in various clinical applications. On the other hand, radiation is a known cytotoxic with a potential DNA damaging and carcinogenic effects. Continue reading

September 14, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , | Leave a comment

Australian, New Zealand, UK, veterans were guinea pigs for nuclear radiation

In total, 25,000 forces members from the UK, Australia and New Zealand were stationed near the blast sites.

Their lawyers claim many were there simply as guinea pigs to gauge the impact of nuclear explosions on human health.

LibDem Armed Forces minister betrayed us by dropping U.S support, say atom-test veterans, Daily mail, By Ian Drury 11th September 2010 The Armed Forces minister was last night condemned as a hypocrite who has betrayed nuclear test veterans by dropping his support after getting into power. Continue reading

September 13, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, legal | , , , , | Leave a comment