The White House to get its solar panels back
These new panels go far beyond what Jimmy Carter installed and then Ronald Reagan tore down. Carter’s $30,000 rig was installed in 1979 to heat water, which it did.
Reagan’s tear down was part of his assault on the green power industry on behalf of big oil and nuclear power.
Obama says he’ll now re-instate solar water heating to the White House roof, AND will add photo-voltaic cells that will generate electricity. by Harvey Wasserman, 6 Oct 10, Continue reading
BHP Billiton and uranium mining – a bad investment
Across the globe from uranium mines to coal, nickel and copper BHP have a trail of bad human rights records, poor working conditions for workers, environmental damage and dodging responsibilities.
Tell BHP Billiton Uranium mining is bad investment! – Uranium Free, Oct 10, In 2006 BHP Billiton bought up Western Mining Corporation and with it their uranium mine assets at Olympic Dam in South Australia and Yeelirrie in Western Australia. Since then people around Australia and internationally have been calling on BHP to back out of uranium, an expensive, toxic industry which produces radioactive waste and weapons usable material. Continue reading
Uranium company ERA fined for radioactive pollution of workers
Twenty-eight workers had fallen ill with spontaneous vomiting, gastric upsets, headaches or skin rashes after drinking or showering in the water, which contained 400 times more uranium than recommended
When PR Goes Nuclear | Green Hybrid Cars , 29 Sept 10, Northern Territory based miner and producer of uranium oxide Energy Resources Of Australia Limited (ERA) were today fined $150,000 Continue reading
UK Feed In Tariff delivering solar energy boost
“The scheme is delivering exactly what it was meant to do in terms of a rapid increase in the number of installations, creation of jobs and increase in the amount of renewable energy generated
UK Solar Power Feed In Tariffs Delivering : Renewable Energy News, 5 Oct 10, Rooftop solar energy systems are driving uptake of the UK government’s pilot solar feed-in tariff scheme, Continue reading
ANZ, National, CBA, Westpac hypocrites with their huge investment in coal
the ANZ, National, Commonwealth and Westpac are investing billions of dollars into the coal industry while promoting an image of community responsibility and environmental sustainability…
Greenpeace Slams Australia’s Big 4 Banks’ Coal Power Investment, Renewable Energy News, 4 Oct 10, A report prepared for Greenpeace Australia Pacific has found Australia’s big four banks are pouring huge amounts of money into the most polluting form of power generation: coal. Continue reading
USA renewable energy gaining, while nuclear power stagnant
“Renewable energy has proven itself to be a solid investment – growing rapidly and nipping at the heels of the stagnant nuclear power industry.”…..
(USA) Renewables Gaining Ground, Without Congress’ Help , E Magazine.com (By Brita Belli), 4 Oct 10, Continue reading
Solar electricity in direct competition with coal
“Germany is a world leader in solar power but it has half as much sun per square metre as Australia,” he adds. … solar power is in direct competition with coal- generated electricity.
Solar Energy Gets a Boost, But Offers Much More, By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct 4, 2010 (IPS) – Proponents of renewable energy say that a planned large-scale solar power plant in Australia’s northern Victoria state, which will produce enough output to provide electricity to 60,000 homes, is just a fraction of what could be achieved if federal and state governments were fully committed to harnessing solar energy. Continue reading
Ontario closes coal plants with private investment in renewables
The Ontario Government says the province has attracted over CAD $1 billion in private sector investment through these three renewable energy projects, which will add almost 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity….. more than 80 per cent of power generation came from emissions-free sources. Ontario has already closed four coal-fired powered generation four years ahead of schedule.
Ontario’s Government Showcases Wind And Solar Power Projects : Renewable Energy News, 4 Oct 10,”……. in the province of Ontario, solid headway is being made in renewable energy, Continue reading
Renewable energy is happening, and nuclear isn’t
I know that this is supposed to be an anti-nuclear blog. But I get bored with all the stuff in the media about nuclear. For one thing, it’s just not happening – the “nuclear renaissance”.
For another thing, the Australian media is full of hype about uranium. Today – several articles on how wonderfully well Paladin Energy is doing in Africa- oh you gotta invest! Nary a word about how Paladin is pulling out of Niger because uranium workers are getting kidnapped by al-Qaida.
But for the main thing – Renewable Energy is happening! It’s happening both on a big scale – how business and the media love BIG!
It’s happening on a small scale – where communities, schools and households are getting truly clean energy, and making a profit out of it.
Not apparently a scenario for Australia. Are we some sort of cultural outpost – where the idea of energy has to be always BIG, corporate-owned, and coal or uranium fueled?
Australia’s brain drain for solar, and now wave power
Clean energy advocates are concerned that wave power could experience the same sort of brain drain that has hit the Australian solar industry over the past decade.
Rough ride for sea power, Sydney Morning Herald, Mathew MurphyOctober 4, 2010 A LACK of government support for the fledgling wave-energy industry is forcing Australian companies to increasingly invest overseas despite having the world’s best wave resource off our coastline. Continue reading
Campaign for localised renewable energy in India
Campaign for an energy revolution in Bihar, Sify News, Patna, Oct 2 (IANS) Greenpeace India along with a coalition of civil society groups Saturday launched a campaign to demand an energy revolution in Bihar. Continue reading
How to lie about nuclear power funding and still sound “ethical”
In this month of focus on lies and secrets, we might ponder what Westpac Bank actually does mean when it promises to favour “clean” energy projects.
In the USA, the word “clean” is routinely applied to nuclear power. In China, even the word “renewable” is applied to nuclear power. We regularly hear of “green” nuclear power, along with other amazing lies like “cheap”.
Most (not all) of Australia’s “ethical” investments fund any uranium mining that is not specified as intended for nuclear weapons – in other words, they fund any uranium mining – and still call themselves “ethical”
Hypocrisy of Australian banks over finance for renewable energy
Most Australian banks are signed up to the Equator Principles for project finance……the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment….the equator principles are “pretty loose … they don’t compel banks to do or not do particular things”. At worst, they are a dangerous aid to bank greenwashing.
Banks under scrutiny over coal funding, Sydney Morning Herald, Paddy Manning, 2 Oct 10, Australian banks, highly dependent on offshore capital, will face increasing international scrutiny of their lending practices – particularly, their exposure to the coal industry. Continue reading
Radiation, environmental, causes of breast cancer
widely understood risk factors for breast cancer such as genetic mutations, reproductive history and lifestyle factors do not address a considerable portion of risk. “A substantial body of scientific evidence indicates that exposures to common chemicals and [ionising] radiation also contribute to the unacceptably high incidence of breast cancer,”
New Report Catalogues Chemical and Radiation Links to Breast Cancer, PR Newswire, 1 Oct 10, Scientists, health advocates call for national breast cancer prevention plan – A report released today by the Breast Cancer Fund presents a comprehensive summary of the scientific data on the environmental causes of breast cancer. Continue reading
A negative thought for Australian solar energy industry
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is urging government incentives to promote Australian solar panel makers. Sounds good – BUT – as things stand now, such a plan would also indirectly promote the nuclear industry (ANSTO’s baby)
Call to foster local solar panel makers Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, October 2, 2010The main beneficiary of the union’s plan would be SilexSolar, a subsidiary of a nuclear energy research company, “……. which bought a photovoltaic manufacturing plant at Homebush from BP Solar last year, after BP decided to source its panels from China.The factory turns out less than 100 megawatts worth of panels a year, though that still makes it the largest in the southern hemisphere…” Call to foster Australian solar panel makers
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 