Expansion plans for Olympic Dam uranium mine need public scrutiny
BHP upgrades Olympic Dam forecasts | Adelaide Now SARAH MARTIN,The Advertiser October 15, 2010 “ …..Greens MLC Mark Parnell said the company’s plans to double expansion should require it to submit a revised EIS allowing further public consultation.”This has major implications for BHP Billiton and its shareholders,” Mr Parnell said.
“The State Government and BHP Billiton need to come clean with the South Australian people and reveal the full extent of this project, before any approvals are given,” he said…….BHP upgrades Olympic Dam forecasts | Adelaide Now
Western Australian govt’s Aboriginal land grab opposed by Greens
Greens slam compulsory WA land grab, Sydney Morning Herald, October 14, 2010 AAP Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has slammed West Australian Premier Colin Barnett’s decision to compulsorily acquire land in the Kimberley for a gas hub
Senator Brown on Wednesday toured James Price Point, the site chosen for the $30 billion Woodside Petroleum-led project, 60km north of Broome.The Greens leader told a public meeting that night in Broome he would work hard to put the issue on the national agenda……Greens slam compulsory WA land grab
ERA’s uranium profit fell 82% !
ERA in July reported an 82% plunge in first-half net profit to 22.7 million Australian dollars (about US$22.4 million), largely thanks to the lower ore grades.
Uranium Miner Expects Profit Hit – WSJ.com, By ROSS KELLY, 14 Oct 10, SYDNEY—Energy Resources of Australia Ltd., the uranium arm of mining giant Rio Tinto, on Wednesday downgraded its annual production guidance for the second time this year, ….The production shortfall means ERA will have to cover some supply requirements with purchases, further eroding its earnings. Continue reading
Uranium miner ERA: costs high, profits low
‘This is expected to adversely impact ERA’s 2010 earnings, as the small price margin associated with the sale of the purchased material is more than offset by the ongoing costs of operation,’’ the company said.
ERA shares fall on production downgrade, Sydney Morning Herald, October 13, 2010 – 1 Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia has downgraded its 2010 production guidance, saying ore grade in the September quarter was lower than expected. Continue reading
“Nuclear Renaissance” dream becoming a financial nightmare
There’s no gainsaying that nuclear construction projects are looking riskier all the time, especially in the United States, where many factors have conspired to spoil dreams of a big nuclear renaissance: declining energy demand since the onset of the global economic crisis (down 4 percent since 2007 in the States); plummeting natural gas prices (down almost half from what they were a few years ago); collapsing prospects for enactment of a U.S. climate bill (which would have raised the costs of fossil-fuel-generated electricity); and soaring reactor construction costs (with EDF’s current reactor 40 or 50 percent more expensive than originally billed).
Cancellation of Maryland Plant Delivers Double Whammy IEEE Spectrum: Bill Sweet, October 13, 2010 Continue reading
BHP Billiton- uranium and coal miner – not an ethical investment
the problems of decommissioning nuclear power plants and disposal of waste and proliferation, as well as BHP’s carbon footprint, – reasons for not holding the company.
Turbocharged: ethical investments beat the market, Sydney Morning Herald John Collett, October 13, 2010 “…….Some of the largest that run ”socially responsible” funds have BHP Billiton among their biggest shareholdings. It means their investors have more money in BHP than any other company. Continue reading
Poles unaware of secret uranium transport
Top secret uranium shipment passes through Poland, TheNews.pl :: News from Poland, 12.10.2010 It has been reported that three shipping containers with thick metal flasks containing highly enriched uranium, or HEU, were loaded onto a specially converted Russian ship in the Baltic port of Gdansk on 26 September….
The Polish uranium shipment was big enough to construct eight nuclear bombs, writes “The Sunday Telegraph”, a British weekly whose reporters observed the shipment organised by American specialists…..The shipment travelled across half of Poland in total secrecy.
Polish police and maritime border guards refused to confirm or comment on the secret shipment…. Top secret uranium shipment passes through Poland – TheNews.pl :: News from Poland
Greens call to stop Marathon uranium mining in world renowned wilderness
Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.. “This is an important area not just for South Australians but globally and it deserves the highest level of protection.”
Greens urge against mining licence renewal – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 11 Oct 10, Continue reading
Greenpeace demonstrates Europe’s unsoved nuclear waste problem
The nuclear sector has no idea what to do with this waste, let alone the far more dangerous and long-lived waste that also continues to pile up. As the vast majority comes from the power sector, the only logical step is to phase out nuclear power.
Greenpeace takes radioactive waste to the European Parliament, International Media-Newswire.com, by Jack Hunter, 8 Oct 2010, – Greenpeace delivered radioactive waste to the door of the European Parliament today to remind MEPs in their last plenary session before considering a new nuclear waste law that there is no solution to nuclear waste. Continue reading
Nuclear lobby’s puppet political hope, Paul Howes
Paul Howes has lately been speaking out against Julia Gillard’s policies. I guess that getting rid of Kevin Rudd was just the first part of the agenda of Howes’ corporate backers – Christina Macpherson
Paul Howes a headache for Julia Gillard Peter van Onselen The Australian * October 11, 2010 “…… Howes was one of the Labor powerbrokers who helped orchestrate the removal of Rudd from the prime ministership shortly before the federal election.
In Rudd’s first term he was a vocal critic of the government’s approach to issues such as nuclear power and the treatment of refugees…..
Huge anti-nuclear protest in Munich
Tens of thousands take part in Munich anti-nuclear protest | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 09.10.2010Richard Connor (dpa/AFP) Opponents of the German government’s plans for nuclear power claim success after a major demonstration in Munich. The event was the largest of its kind in Bavaria for more than two decades. Tens of thousands of people turned out on the streets of Munich on Saturday against the nuclear power policy of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government.A focus of the protest was the formation of a human chain, about 10 kilometers long, through the center of the city……..
Tens of thousands take part in Munich anti-nuclear protest | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 09.10.2010
Nuclear Secrecy- Australia – theme for October
Australia has long been involved in the secrecy surrounding the nuclear industry, and still is today.
It started in the early 1940s, as Australia supplied uranium for the nuclear weapons of America and Britain. From 1952, the UK’s atomic weapons were tested in South Australia and Western Australia.
Australia’s Atomic Energy Commission was set up in 1953, with the purpose of developing nuclear power, and the later option of nuclear weapons. In the 1960s and ’70ssecret litary bases at North West Cape, Pine Gap and Nurrungar tied Australia to the US nuclear war-fighting machine.
It is generally accepted that the CIA engineered the dismissal of Australia’s Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, due to particular concern of the USA government to keep Australia in the dark over these bases, particularly Pine Gap. In America, Christopher Boyce was gaoled as a traitor, 1n 1977. He alleged that the CIA had engineered Whitlam’s downfall and had not honoured the 1966 agreement to share the military information gained at Pine Gap.
Nuclear power dead in the water, no chance in Australia
Nuclear,again, John Quiggin, 8 Oct 10, “……. Except in China (and maybe India) nuclear power isn’t getting bigger any time soon. Following the failure of Obama’s energy bill and the GFC, the US “nuclear renaissance” is dead in the water, and the same is true in Europe. Continue reading
Australia’s uranium – part of a dangerous nuclear cycle
There is no way the use of uranium purchased from countries such as Australia can be policed. Once another country owns the uranium it can use it for military purposes,
The Danger of Nuclear Power Stations, Adventure Australia, October 07, 2010 Countries are going ahead with investment in nuclear power despite very real dangers. Similar crises to Chernobyl and Three Mile Island will definitely occur in the future with catastrophic results for resident of neighboring nations of the country experiencing the problem. Continue reading
Robots to guard 1,360 square miles of radioactive ground
The Nevada National Security Site is the location of a thousand nuclear weapons tests that have left the site contaminated with tens of millions of cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste. The site spans 1,360 square miles
Robo Tanks to Guard Nuclear Facility. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? | Discover Magazine,7 Oct 10, Who needs people to guard a nuclear weapons facility when you can build an autonomous robot to do it? Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 