No Nukes News: Pickering was to close today

[Angela Bischoff]

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Dec. 28, 2017☢ It’s a sad day. The Pickering Nuclear Station’s licence was to end today, Aug. 31, 2018. Actually, it was supposed to close in 2007. Then it got an extension till 2013. Then till 2018. But this summer, the CNSC granted it yet another extension, this time till 2028! And the Ford gov’t has given its blessing. First we mourn, then we organize.☢ Nuclear critics pan licence renewal for Pickering “It took the CNSC less than five weeks to review and dismiss dozens of submissions pointing out the Pickering Station’s terrible location surrounded by millions of people, the lack of thorough emergency planning despite 50 years of operations, and the absence of plans for better dealing with the tonnes of radioactive waste stockpiled at the plant with nowhere to go,” As the CNSC has never denied a licence renewal, the hearings were never more than a “rubber stamp” process. Decommissioning the station would generate thousands of jobs and open up new economic opportunities on the city’s waterfront. 

The World

☢ Canada may have unintentionally killed Westinghouse nuclear deal with Saudis Did a tweet about women’s rights just make the world safer? The diplomatic scuffle between Canada and Saudi Arabia threatens to dash Westinghouse’s hopes for a lucrative nuclear power deal with the Saudis.

☢ How nuclear is preparing (or not) for climate change At least 100 nuclear power stations built just a few meters above sea level could be threatened by serious flooding caused by accelerating sea-level rise and more frequent storm surges.

☢ Fukushima clean-up workers, including homeless, at grave risk of exploitation, say UN experts Japan must act urgently to protect tens of thousands of workers who are being exploited and exposed to toxic nuclear radiation in efforts to clean up the damaged Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station.

☢ French Environment Minister Hulot quits in major Macron blow Hulot's resignation is a stunning setback to the French government and to the anti-nuclear and environmental community. Hulot suggested that Macron's government has paid little more than lip service to environmental issues such as the government's pledge to cut back reliance on nuclear energy to 50% by 2025.

☢ South Africa drops nuclear push in favour of renewables “In keeping to our climate change commitments, the country has also introduced renewable energy through independent power producers.”

☢ Radioactive waste stranded as U.S. shifts from nuclear energy Lack of a long-term repository leaves communities as de facto storage sites.

☢ South Australians reject proposed nuclear waste dump The federal government has whittled down its list of potential sites to two communities. But local populations, lead by local Indigenous communities, have come out strongly against what they see as a natural disaster coming their way.

☢ Israel's Great Weakness: An Attack on Its Nuclear Reactors Fears about the vulnerability of Israel and other countries’ nuclear reactors are growing.

☢ Activists concerned by Pinawa, Manitoba nuclear burial plan Experts are calling for a moratorium on all nuclear energy production within Canada, until the country figures out how it will store nuclear waste. Canada does not yet have a federal policy for the long-term management of non-fuel radioactive waste.

☢ Is Canada Ready for the Age of Nuclear Waste? 9 min. CBC radio interview with Dr. Gordon Edwards. Our toxic nuclear wastes are going to be around for hundreds of thousands of years. We need a robust federal policy for the long-term management of non-fuel radioactive waste, which means consulting the public and First Nations.Ontario

☢ Critics blast decision to renew Pickering nuclear licence Replacing Pickering with low-cost water power from Quebec would save the province billions. We need an unbiased review of the true costs and benefits of continuing to operate this high-cost, high-risk facility, which should have been closed years ago.
 
☢ Canada needs nuclear waste policy: critics Environmental groups say Canada should stop producing nuclear energy until the federal government replaces its "pathetic" waste disposal policy with something more meaningful and scientific. The groups are particularly concerned about the proposal to build a surface-level disposal site at Chalk River, about two hours northwest of Ottawa, that would house a million cubic metres of waste just a km from the Ottawa River, and to bury nuclear reactors at the sites in concrete. This does not meet international guidelines for the handling of nuclear waste.
 
☢ Environmental activists call for independent audit of federal nuclear waste disposal plan CNL (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories) is the “multinational consortium” that got a contract from the previous Conservative government to “quickly and cheaply reduce Canada’s $10 billion worth of federal nuclear legacy liabilities” — and is now “turning federal nuclear reactor sites into permanent nuclear disposal facilities that flout international guidelines." Opponents have issued a public call for the federal auditor general to investigate the program. Read the press release signed by 40 groups. See news from the rally here.Renewables and Conservation

☼ Nova Scotia Launches SolarHomes Program Efficiency Nova Scotia (ENS) has officially launched its SolarHomes residential solar photovoltaic (PV) incentive program.

☼ Renewable Energy Could "Effectively Be Free" by 2030 A research analyst at Swiss investment bank UBS believes the cost of renewables could be so near to zero by 2030 “it will effectively be free.”

☼ 8 Incredible Renewable Energy Projects That Launched in 2017 The future looks greener than ever.

☼ US renewables outshine nuclear, closes gap on coal US renewable energy sources accounted for one fifth of the country’s electrical generation during the first half of 2018, just ahead of nuclear. Coal continues to hover around the 25% mark.

☼ In Australia, new renewables are lowering overall power prices Meanwhile back in Ontario, nuclear prices keep rising, and are predicted to double in the next decade.

☼ California moves towards 100% renewable electricity after landmark vote  

☼ When the wind doesn’t blow don’t worry, the sun shines Wind and solar can balance each other out.Take Action!

☢ Tell Doug Ford: Save green jobs in Ontario! Doug Ford’s gov’t is scrapping 758 renewable energy projects across the province, threatening over 6,000 middle class, green jobs, costing billions in lost revenue and trashing our climate targets.☢ Sign our petitions to Close Pickering and to Buy Quebec Power. And share them with your friends. Watch our 2 min. video here.☢ Can you spare a few hours to leaflet blitz your neighbourhood mailboxes? Help us make the closure of the Pickering nuclear station a public issue. Contact: angela at cleanairalliance.org☢ Support Saugeen Ojibway Nation's right to prior consent on the Bruce nuclear rebuild Petition opposing the Bruce nuclear rebuild.

☢ Stop OPG's  Nuclear Waste Dump Before It's Too Late Learn more about OPG’s nuke waste dump proposal in Kincardine, ON, and write Minister McKenna, Premier Wynne and PM Trudeau here.

☢ Tell the Japanese government: don’t dump nuclear waste into the ocean Petition

☢ Order your free KI (anti-thyroid-cancer) pills here if you live within 50 km of an ON nuclear facility - that includes all of Toronto and beyond. Download your anti-thyroid cancer posters hereto post in your office, school, or local cafe.Events

☢ No War 2018: designing a world beyond war, legalizing peace Toronto Sept. 21-22

☢ ClimaCon – Canada’s largest convergence of climate heroes Oct. 11-12, York University, Toronto
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