No Nukes News: Nuclear Gamble

Angela Bischoff greenspi at web.ca
Sat Jun 12 09:23:42 EDT 2010


No Nukes News

June 11, 2010

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings anti-nuke, anti-coal and green energy friends.

Can you help distribute these leaflets with postcards to prominent  
politicians? Their free! Just send me your mailing address and how  
many you’d like and I’ll mail them out pronto:

We Can Stop Burning Coal TODAY:  http://www.cleanairalliance.org/files/active/0/CoalPhaseOut-web.pdf
No Need for COSTLY NUKES:  http://ontariosgreenfuture.ca/CostlyNukes_12_09.pdf

Give them to friends, pop them in your work colleagues mail slots, or  
drop them off in your neighbours’ mailboxes. Help us get the word out  
that we CAN transition away from coal and nukes to clean, green energy  
– now!

Thanks!
-angela at cleanairalliance.org

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Nuclear Power and Public Health
The full story on the health effects of nuclear energy

The public health implications for a resurgence of nuclear power  
appear to have taken a subordinate position to the economic and global  
warming arguments that the industry has advanced to justify its  
expansion. The purpose of this essay therefore is several-fold: to  
review the scientific evidence for public health impacts of nuclear  
power, to assess occupational hazards faced by nuclear industry  
workers involved in the nuclear fuel cycle, to assess the evidence for  
nuclear reactor safety and critically challenge the underlying  
assumptions which may be less than adequate. It will also examine the  
public health risks of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. The  
common thread linking these safety issues is the risk posed to public  
health by ionising radiation and in particular the cancer risk.

http://evatt.org.au/publications/papers/234.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Media watchdog finds CANDU reactor ads “inaccurate” and “unsupported”
Have you ever looked at advertisements for nuclear power and wondered  
how organizations such as the Power Workers’ Union can call nuclear  
reactors “emission free”? The problem is, it just isn’t accurate to  
say that nuclear power is “emission free”. Nuclear reactors emit all  
kinds of foul things into the environment, and industry and government  
know it. In fact, CANDU reactors at nuclear plants such as the  
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station emit many different  
contaminants: 2-propenoic acid, ammonia, aromatic hydrocarbon resin,  
benzene, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrazine, morpholine,  
nitrogen oxides, phosphoric acid, quarterly ammonium compounds,  
sulphur dioxide, suspended particulate matter, total hydrocarbons, as  
well as tritium.
Advertising Standards Canada has just posted a decision to its website  
declaring that it is inaccurate and unsupportable to call CANDU  
reactors “emission free”.
http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/06/09/media-watchdog-finds-candu-reactor-ads-inaccurate-and-unsupported/
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

A Nuclear Gamble on the Not-So-Distant Horizon
Much like Captain Renault in Casablanca, the White House is suddenly  
shocked, shocked to find that oil rigs can explode, destroying  
ecosystems and livelihoods. The Obama administration has backed away  
from its offshore oil expansion policy in the wake of the Deepwater  
Horizon catastrophe as the long-term environmental and economic  
consequences unfold in the Gulf States. Rather paradoxically,  
President Obama is using the oil spill to call for more nuclear power.
Yet, with the exception of a handful of insightful political  
cartoonists, the potential for an equally catastrophic accident in the  
nuclear sector has not been drawn. As with the MMS debacle, the NRC is  
gambling with inevitable disaster with the same spin of the wheel of  
misfortune and with potentially even higher stakes.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/06/04-8

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Union plan to starve uranium industry of labour
A major union expects others to join its campaign to "starve"  
Australia's uranium industry of workers.
The Electrical Trades Union has banned its members from working on  
uranium mines, nuclear power stations or any other part of the nuclear  
fuel cycle. The ETU says other unions have expressed strong support  
for the campaign against uranium, which it has labelled the "new  
asbestos" of the workplace.
"We're sick of hearing about nuclear power as the panacea of global  
warming, we're sick of people sweeping safety issues under the  
carpet," ETU secretary Peter Simpson said on Tuesday.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/union-plan-to-starve-industry-of-labour-20100601-wts3.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Our plan to stop the oil: 95% renewables by 2050

Want a way to stop the corruption and pollution that the fossil fuel  
industry is wreaking on our planet? We've seen a better future, and  
here's our plan to get there: the Energy [R]evolution.

Greenpeace teamed up with more than 30 scientists and engineers from  
universities, institutes and the renewable energy industry to create  
our Energy [R]evolution Scenario. Using only existing technologies, it  
charts a course by which we can get from where we are now, to where we  
need to be:decreasing CO2 emissions after 2015; 95% renewable  
electricity by 2050; a phase out of nuclear power; 12 million jobs by  
2030, with a third more jobs in the global power supply sector than in  
a business as usual scenario.

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/Our-plan-to-stop-the-oil-95-renewables-by-2050/

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Weaning the world off oil - Can we really kick the habit?
- an interview with Tom Rand
Solar plants as big as coal plants can produce power 24 hours a day.  
Untapped resources like enhanced geothermal can power our entire  
civilization by themselves. It turns out that the amount of  
(renewable) energy available is absolutely stupendous and that the  
technology we have can mitigate the transfer of this energy.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/08/f-qa-environment--oil-tom-rand.html#ixzz0qXrBrcSA

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Activists take aim at coal-fired power plants
Ontario continues to put health and lives at risk by failing to lower  
emission limits at its coal-fired electrical plants, environmentalists  
and health officials said Monday.
"The most appalling part there is enough capacity without the coal  
plants. It's hugely frustrating. It's creating a huge amount of smog  
and greenhouse gases. Closing the plants now would be an enormous  
improvement for human health."
http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Activist+take+coal+fired+power+plants/3124473/story.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

McGuinty OKs 17% increase in dirty coal-fired electricity generation

The McGuinty Government has issued a shareholder directive giving  
Ontario Power Generation permission to increase the output of its  
dirty coal-fired power plants by 17%, in each year from 2011 to 2014  
inclusive, relative to its actual level of coal-fired electricity  
generation in 2009.

Despite the fact that Ontario can achieve a virtually 100% coal phase- 
out today by simply ramping up the output of its newer and cleaner  
natural gas-fired power plants, Premier McGuinty’s actions could lead  
to up to 1,148 needless deaths and up to 575,000 needless asthma  
attacks according to his Government’s own statistics.

To add insult to injury, Ontario’s coal-fired power plants are no  
longer profitable.  In 2009 the Ontario Electricity Financial  
Corporation (an agency of the Government of Ontario) gave Ontario  
Power Generation $412 million to subsidize the financial losses of its  
Nanticoke and Lambton coal-fired power plants.

Premier McGuinty’s decision to permit Ontario Power Generation to  
increase the output of its dirty coal-fired power plants by 17% is a  
cynical betrayal of the public trust. To save lives, reduce asthma  
attacks and to help prevent dangerous climate change, Premier McGuinty  
should direct Ontario Power Generation to put its coal-fired power  
plants on standby reserve and only operate them if they are absolutely  
necessary to keep the lights on.

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, the Canadian  
Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Cities of Hamilton,  
Kitchener and Guelph and the Toronto Board of Health are also calling  
for the Government of Ontario to direct Ontario Power Generation to  
put its dirty coal plants on standby reserve and only operate them if  
they are absolutely needed to keep the lights on.

Premier McGuinty’s decision to betray his 2003 election promise to  
phase-out coal as soon as possible is testimony to the immense  
political power of Ontario Power Generation and the Power Workers’  
Union.

Please contact Premier McGuinty and ask him to phase-out our dirty  
coal plants now.

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Waterloo Region embraces the power of the sun

Local politicians are mounting solar panels on 37 more roofs, to help  
promote solar energy and earn provincial cash.
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/725178
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Green schools program money well spent

It’s well established that energy-efficiency retrofits offer the  
biggest emissions-reduction bang for the scarce public buck. Energy  
savings of between 15 per cent and 30 per cent can be achieved with  
proven and widely available technologies. That being the case, why not  
just loan the money to schools and other public institutions, and then  
have these institutions pay back that loan – and maybe 2 or 3 per cent  
interest – from the energy savings that result? What you end up with  
is a revolving fund, which is essentially the gift that keeps on giving.

http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/819404

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Woe, Canada!

Everybody knows that Canada has walked away from its Kyoto targets,  
but you may not have heard yet just how fast they’re sprinting in the  
other direction.

In recent weeks, a chorus of leaders – including UN Secretary-General  
Ban Ki-moon, the EU’s Jose Manuel Barroso, and Mexican President  
Felipe Calderon – have pointedly called on Canada to step up its  
effort on climate, both at home and during the G8/G20 meetings it will  
host later this month.

http://www.climateactionnetwork.ca/e/news/latest/index.php?WEBYEP_DI=3

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
OPG and Moose Cree start new hydro development
Ontario Power Generation and the Moose Cree First Nation have kicked  
off construction on Northern Ontario’s biggest hydro project in 40  
years.
The Lower Mattagami project will nearly double the output of four  
existing hydro stations on the river, which flows into James Bay.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/821340--opg-and-moose-cree-start-new-hydro-development

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Success!  COAT's antiCANSEC weapons bazaar campaign

This year's campaign against CANSEC -- spirited by the Coalition to  
Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) -- was a lot of work, but it was well  
worth it!  We raised public awareness, strengthened our community of  
opposition to Canada's war-industry, and held a festive peace rally  
with 300 people outside this country's largest weapons bazaar.

http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/Success.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Let Green Power Grow: Stop New Reactors at Darlington

When: Sunday, June 13th – 12 – 4.   Meeting begins at 1.   Lunch  
served at noon.
What: Information and Organizing meeting to stop approval of the new  
Darlington reactors.
Where: Toronto Free Space Gallery, 1277 Bloor St West (Landsdown  
Subway), Toronto
Why: Learn about environmental impacts of new reactors at Darlington  
and find ways to stop them.

This is to invite you or a representative from your organization to  
attend an information and organizing meeting on the federal review now  
underway of the McGuinty government’s proposal to build new reactors  
at the Darlington site east of Toronto. These proposed new reactors  
are the biggest threat to building a  renewable and sustainable energy  
system in Ontario.  While the McGuinty government has taken some steps  
to develop green energy, its plan to build new reactors at Darlington  
will effectively stop the growth of green energy. To build an Ontario  
built on 100% green power, we must stop the approval of the Darlington  
reactors. This is why we need your help.

An alliance of environmental organizations, including Northwatch,  
Greenpeace, Safe and Green Energy (SAGE), has been working to stop  
Harper government’s free pass for Dalton McGuinty’s reactors. Join us.  
The session will present the environmental threats posed by new  
reactors at Darlington and allow for a discussion on how groups can  
get involved and help stop the approval of the Darlington reactors.

RSVP:  shawn.patrick.stensil at greenpeace.org

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Peak Oil - The Road Ahead for Canadians

Speaker: the Rt. Hon. Ed Schreyer - former Premier of Manitoba, former  
Governor General of Canada, and current head of ASPO Canada (Assoc.  
for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas)

Tues. June 15, 7 p.m.
at Toronto City Hall Committee Room #2

Organized by Post Carbon Toronto
For more info: info at meetup.com

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

G8/G20 happenings in Toronto

The 2010 People’s Summit: Building a Movement for a Just World
Fri. – Sun. June 18th-20th, Toronto
The 2010 People’s Summit is civil society’s alternative “counter  
Summit” to the G8 and G20 Summits.  Together we will create a space  
where diverse local and international movements can democratically  
organize to advocate and educate for global justice. Over 100 groups,  
organizers, and activists from around Canada and the world will offer  
workshops, skillshares, panels, plenaries, strategy sessions, art,  
performance, and plenty more.
Registration, program, accommodations, billeting, posters and more can  
be found here: http://peoplessummit2010.ca/section/2

.....

Week of Action
June 21-27

And after the People’s Summit, the Toronto Community Mobilization  
Network is coordinating a Week of Action from June 21st to 27th.  For  
full details of actions and events planned that week, please visit www.g20.torontomobilize.org 
.

----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------


Angela Bischoff
Outreach Director
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
No Nukes News
Health Power








-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/greenspiration/attachments/20100612/3ca419ca/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1784 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/greenspiration/attachments/20100612/3ca419ca/attachment-0001.jpg>


More information about the Greenspiration mailing list