No Nukes News - Nuclear energy on downward trend

Bischoff Angela greenspi at web.ca
Sat Aug 29 10:35:41 EDT 2009


No Nukes News
Aug. 28, 2009

Quote of the Week:

"What a disaster -- billions of dollars pissed away on nothing."
Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Washington-based  
Nonproliferation Policy Education Centre, said of the Nevada Yucca  
Mountain nuclear waste repository option which has been derailed.

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Calling all Torontonians! Help us leaflet blitz the riding of St.  
Paul’s – central Toronto – with our new leaflet. http:// 
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/OntarioOption_0709_v3.pdf
Let me know if you’ve got 3 hours to spare and I’ll set you up with a  
map/leaflets/direction. Do democracy!

Calling all Canadians! Order multiple quantities of our new leaflet –  
for free! http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/ 
OntarioOption_0709_v3.pdf  Help us put the pressure on the feds to  
not subsidize ON nukes – unless you want your taxes to go up.

Thank you!
- angela at cleanairalliance.org

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Nuclear energy on downward trend worldwide

There is no renaissance of nuclear energy

The share of nuclear energy in worldwide energy consumption is  
marginal and has been declining for several years. This is revealed  
in a study by independent experts of the energy and nuclear sector  
which was published by the German Federal Environment Ministry today.

As Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said: "The renaissance  
of nuclear energy, much trumpeted by its supporters, is not taking  
place. The only thing frequently revived is the announcement. The  
study shows: the number of old nuclear power plants which are  
decommissioned worldwide is greater than the number of new ones  
taking up operation. Available resources, engineering performance and  
funds are not even enough to stop the downward trend, let alone  
increase the number of reactors. All the facts are in favour of  
phasing out this technology while at the same time expanding the use  
of renewable energies and energy efficiency, as this is a promising  
option for the future."

http://www.bmu.de/english/current_press_releases/pm/44840.php

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The search for a nuclear graveyard
40,000 metric tonnes of radioactive waste is stored at sites across  
Canada.
Wanted: Friendly, open-minded community in need of jobs and a whack  
of infrastructure cash. Must be willing to play host to nuclear  
waste, perhaps until the end of time.

More than six decades after joining the nuclear club, Canada is home  
to 22 nuclear reactors, 18 of them in operation, producing about 15  
per cent of the country's electricity. Canada also has 40,000 metric  
tonnes of radioactive waste -- and counting.

Now, Canada is preparing to get rid of its nuclear detritus once and  
for all -- by burying it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-search-for-a-nuclear- 
graveyard/article1263189/

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Background:
The human race has never successfully disposed of anything. The word  
"disposal" is undefined in scientific terms and should not be used.  
The only way we know to truly get rid of dangerous material is to  
destroy it, or to neutralize it. We do not have the ability to do  
either with radioactive waste....
Without a nuclear phase-out plan, burying nuclear waste under-ground  
can NOT make the world safe from the threat of a massive nuclear  
catastrophe caused by the dispersal of unburied waste. To understand  
why, see http://ccnr.org/K-9_syndrome.ppt .
Plans to bury irradiated nuclear fuel are really motivated by two  
desires: (1) to solve the industry's public relations problem so it  
can continue to produce more and more of the stuff, and (2) to get  
the irradiated fuel into one centralized location for reprocessing --  
which means dissolving the irradiated fuel in nitric acid to allow  
for the extraction of the small percentage of plutonium contained in  
the irradiated fuel, leaving millions of gallons of high-level liquid  
radioactive waste behind to be re-solidified and eventually buried as  
radioactive waste.
In my view, geologic disposal is not a plan to make the world safer  
from nuclear wastes, but a pretext to give the nuclear industry a  
chance to expand for centuries to come, making the world less safe by  
creating horrific security problems through the "plutonium economy",  
and making the radioactive waste problem more intractable.
- By Dr. Gordon Edwards.

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US's Yucca Mountain nuclear project in meltdown

In the Nevada Desert, the US Federal government has spent the last 22  
years hollowing out the inside of a mountain – but the whole project  
has been a complete waste of time. In a staggeringly expensive about  
turn, the Yucca Mountain project is about to be canned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/6074701/USs- 
Yucca-Mountain-nuclear-project-in-meltdown.html
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A New Sound: Green For All
2 min. video

The dirty-energy economy has brought pollution and poverty to too  
many. But a clean-energy economy can bring opportunity, health, and  
wealth to struggling communities. Clean-energy jobs such as  
weatherizing homes, installing solar panels, and manufacturing wind  
turbines will put people to work in their own communities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNszFwmSg2Y

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Coal plant closures minister's priority

Renewable energy projects can create 50,000 jobs in Ontario and help  
the province finally shut down its coal power plants, Energy and  
Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman told municipal leaders here  
on Wednesday.

"In every community you find people who are opposed," said  
Smitherman. "Some will express opposition. But support for green  
energy is very, very, very high."

Ken Kozlik, chief operating officer of the Independent Electricity  
System Operator, said power consumption has fallen so dramatically at  
industrial plants that some power suppliers have had to pay the  
operator to continue pumping power into the grid.

Ontario's all-time high power use was 27,000 megawatts, but this year  
it has fallen to as low as 10,700 megawatts, where the province's  
power consumption was in 1997.

http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html? 
id=3bba87c4-33ba-452f-a607-8bec9041903d
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'Dirty timebomb' ticking in Russian nuclear dump threatens Europe

20,000 discarded uranium fuel rods stored in the Arctic Circle are  
corroding. The possible result? Detonation of a massive radioactive  
bomb experts say could rival the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/dirty-timebomb- 
ticking-in-russian-nuclear-dump-threatens-europe-14465525.html
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Going solar to heat water a way to beat energy price woes
In countries like Greece and Israel, Barber says, solar water heating  
systems are mandatory. He's encouraged by a pilot project in Markham  
where some are being installed with the municipality picking up half  
the cost.

"China is the number one producer and user of these systems. They  
have enough of these on houses over there to eliminate the need for  
40 nuclear reactors."

Barber thinks the $26 billion it will cost to build a new nuclear  
reactor in Ontario could be better spent on alternatives,

"For $26 billion you could put one of these on almost every house in  
Canada and you'd be further ahead than nuclear. There are some  
government incentives but not nearly enough to make them attractive  
yet. They will definitely save a lot of money and greenhouse emissions.

"It's a pretty simple design, a new design made for colder climates."

http://www.shieldmedia.ca/default.asp? 
sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=18477&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=& 
ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed= 
&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1944&hn=shieldmedia&he=.ca

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Radioactive cows: vandals hit ads touting nuclear power in Alberta

Bruce Power, an Ontario company exploring nuclear development in the  
province, has put up billboards pitching the power source as a clean  
energy alternative in four Alberta communities.

But one of the company’s ads recently was painted over with a  
glowing, dead cow with a nuclear symbol branded on its rump and the  
slogan “A New Brand of AB Beef.” There was also a radioactive symbol  
painted in the “o” in Bruce Power’s name.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/alberta/2009/08/13/10452671.html

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PEDAL FOR THE PLANET WELCOMES RIDERS TO TORONTO!

This Thursday, September 3rd Pedal for the Planet welcomes riders  
from across the country to Toronto at 4 pm at Queeen's Park. The  
event includes speakers, entertainment, Oxfam Canada stunts, and an  
energetic send off for riders heading on to Ottawa to carry on our  
climate change message.

Pedal for the Planet is a chance for individuals, organizations and  
communities to join together, to ensure that Canada does its fair  
share to tackle the climate crisis. Using bikes, trains and other  
modes of green transport, Pedal for the Planet will demonstrate our  
personal commitment to change, and relay our expectations for a fair  
Copenhagen climate treaty on to Ottawa.

SISTERS ON THE PLANET

KYOTOplus and Pedal for the Planet present Sisters on the Planet, an  
inspiring new film by Oxfam on the impact of climate change on women  
in developing countries. Speakers Dorothy McDougall, Dewan Afzal. Free.
Thurs. Sept. 3, 7-9 pm, Hart House Debates Room, U of T

http://kyotoplus.ca/pedal/
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Angela Bischoff
Campaign Manager
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela at cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
Our Facebook Group
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