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
Sign Our Petition
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