No Nukes News: nuke budget, renewables, events
Angela Bischoff - OCAA
angela at cleanairalliance.org
Fri Mar 12 17:53:22 EST 2010
No Nukes News
Mar. 12, 2010
Increasing the risk of nuclear war brings us back to climate change. Recent
scientific research details the climatic impacts of nuclear warfare. The use
of 100 weapons in nuclear warfare - just 0.03 per cent of the explosive
power of the world's nuclear arsenal - would result directly in catastrophic
climate change with many millions of tonnes of black, sooty smoke lofted
high into the stratosphere. Needless to say the social and environmental
impacts would be horrendous. -
<http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/nuclear-does-not-have-the
-answers-we-need-20100309-puao.html> Scott Ludlam
Whether we like it or not, we all live near nuclear power plants. The mining
of uranium and its processing and usage raises the background levels of
radioactivity and this causes genetic damage worldwide. The good news is
that nuclear is too expensive and too slow and the P.R fiction of the
so-called "nuclear renaissance" put out by the industry will never happen.
Real clean renewable energy will bypass the reactors, Obama's political
decision notwithstanding. - Wolfe Erlichman
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Federal green strategy goes from bad to worse
Thud. You hear that sound? That's the sound of nearly half a billion
taxpayer dollars landing on the doorstep of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd.
Rudolph said the throne speech talked about the need to become a clean
energy superpower and lead in green job creation, but the government is
moving in the opposite direction. And nuclear power, he said, won't achieve
either objective in the near term. "There is nothing 'shovel ready' about
investing in nuclear technology," said Rudolph, pointing out the long
timeframes required for regulatory approvals.
. Still, as the Pembina Institute points out, the United States plans to
outspend Canada 14-to-1 per capita on renewable energy and 2-to-1 on energy
efficiency in fiscal 2010. Even then, there's concern by some south of the
border that the United States isn't doing enough compared to China and some
countries in Europe.
http://www.thestar.com/business/cleanbreak/article/776536--hamilton-federal-
green-strategy-goes-from-bad-to-worse
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Federal Budget takes the wind out of clean energy sails
"Basically it means the federal government has no policy to encourage
renewable energy whatsoever," Estill said. "That's shocking, isn't it?"
The throne speech this week said the government will continue investment in
clean energy technologies, but the federal budget suggests the Tory vision
relies on nuclear energy, which will receive $300 million this year, and
cutting emissions from the oil and gas sector.
Critics say that nuclear power plants and technology to trap carbon
emissions from the oilsands underground, an $800 million initiative
announced in 2009, will take years to produce tangible environmental
benefits. Renewable energy projects, in contrast, can be up and running just
months after project approvals are completed.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/federalbudget/article/775909--budget-take
s-the-wind-out-of-clean-energy-sails
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Tory budget 'walks away' from renewable energy, environmentalist says
When the Canadian government put money into environmental initiatives to
stimulate the flagging economy, it focused on capturing the carbon emissions
from the oil and gas industries and building "green" infrastructure like
hydro transmission lines, landfills and sewage systems.
Other governments around the world, meanwhile, channelled their investments
into the commercial development of renewable energy technologies. For some
of them, this was not a new venture.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/budget/tory-budget-walks-away-f
rom-renewable-energy-environmentalist-says/article1496915/?cid=art-rail-poli
tics
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Greenwash of the Week: Going Nuclear
5 minute youtube video - Bria and Robin take on the nuclear power industry.
(a RAN Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tub1ROKTmzo
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tub1ROKTmzo&feature=channel>
&feature=channel
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N.B. reactor upgrade delayed again
The $1.4-billion refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear reactor in New
Brunswick is continuing to miss deadlines set by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd
The federal and provincial governments have been locked in a war of words
over who should cover the costs of the delays, which the New Brunswick
government says are the fault of AECL.
The Point Lepreau project is the world's first refurbishment of a Candu-6
facility, and AECL had hoped it would act as a model process that could be
sold to other countries that purchased the same kind of reactor.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/03/10/nb-aecl-point-leprea
u-refurbishment-delay-258.html
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Challenging Conventional Wisdom on Renewable Energy's Limits
In making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting energy
sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation, renewable energy
advocates often confront the argument that their scheme is impossible due to
the intermittent nature of sun and wind.
But a groundbreaking study <http://www.ieer.org/reports/NC-Wind-Solar.html>
out of North Carolina challenges that conventional wisdom: It suggests that
backup generation requirements would be modest for a system based largely on
solar and wind power, combined with efficiency, hydroelectric power, and
other renewable sources like landfill gas.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/08-3
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B.C. fuels fight with Ontario over bioenergy
British Columbia's quest to replace Ontario as the top destination for
clean-energy investment dollars will now be headed up directly by Premier
Gordon Campbell.
Ontario's new energy pricing strategy has left B.C. behind, with new
contracts expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks under its "feed-in
tariff" policy guaranteeing prices and long-term contracts for green power.
The B.C. Premier plans to introduce a new Clean Energy Act this spring to
exploit his province's beetle-killed forests as a bioenergy alternative, and
to open up new energy trading opportunities across Western Canada and into
the U.S.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-fuels-fight
-with-ontario-over-bioenergy/article1495726/
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First FIT Projects cleared to proceed
The OPA has just announced its first release of approved FIT
(feed-in-tariff) applications for capacity allocation exempt facilities.
510 projects approved range from 10 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts and have a
total generating capacity of 112 megawatts.
About 95 percent of the projects are for solar generation. The remaining
projects are biogas (20), water (4), onshore wind (3) and biomass (1).
Notable on the list was Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest grocery
retailer, which has been approved for FIT applications for rooftop solar
installations on 136 of its Ontario stores. The grocery retailer will
initially launch four pilot projects in select stores across the province
and then evaluate the next phase of rollouts.
The list of approved projects is available here:
http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/Storage/100/10900_Listing_of_CAE_FINAL.pdf
The OPA press release is available here:
http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/Storage/100/10898_FIT_-_CAE_Event_News_Relea
se_-_FINAL.pdf
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/loblaw-to-tap-ontario-prog
ram-with-solar-panels/article1495770/
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Ontario Reaches 46 MW of Solar PV in 2009
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reports that 40 MW of solar photovoltaic
(PV) contracts were in commercial operation by the end of 2009 - about
enough electricity for some 4,000 typical Ontario homes for the next 20 - 30
years. In a few short months Ontario has become a major market for solar PV
in North America.
http://www.altaterra.net/members/blog_view.asp?id=511177
<http://www.altaterra.net/members/blog_view.asp?id=511177&post=93720>
&post=93720
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Solar panel startup to lease residential rooftops
A Toronto startup has come up with a way to put solar power systems on the
rooftops of new homes at no cost to the owners. In fact, the homeowner would
get paid to let it happen.
http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/articlePrint/777492
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Forget Nuclear
By Amory B. Lovins, Imran Sheikh, and Alex Markevich
Isn't it time we forgot about nuclear power? Informed capitalists have.
Politicians and pundits should too. After more than half a century of
devoted effort and a half-trillion dollars of public subsidies, nuclear
power still can't make its way in the market. If we accept that unequivocal
verdict, we can at last get on with the best buys first: proven and ample
ways to save more carbon per dollar, faster, more surely, more securely, and
with wider consensus. As often before, the biggest key to a sound climate
and security strategy is to take market economics seriously.
http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid467.php
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For those of you interested in learning more about nuke power, here are some
highly recommended books:
In Mortal Hands - a cautionary history of the nuclear age by Stephanie
Cooke, Bloomsbury, New York, 2009.
Atomic Accomplice - how Canada deals in deadly deceit, by Paul McKay,
privately published, 2009 (You can order this through
angela at cleanairalliance.org - $20 plus $3 postage)
Uranium - war, energy and the rock that shaped the world, by Tom Zoellner,
Viking, 2009.
Order them from a book store or better yet, get your local library to order
them.
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Ontario's Green Future: How Ontario Can Move Towards a 100% Renewable
Electricity Grid
With keynote speaker Jack Gibbons of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Monday March 15th, 5 - 6 p.m.
Room GB120 in the Galbraith Building, 35 St. George St. (just above
College), U of T, Toronto
Sponsored by: Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy
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The Power of Activism
A public forum on effective social change. Learn from successful social
movements.
Thursday March 18, 7:30 PM
Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave, (St. George subway station) Toronto
With Lyn Adamson, Angela Bischoff and others
Free. For more info: peaceworks at primus.ca
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We can stop burning coal today! -
<http://www.cleanairalliance.org/files/active/0/CoalPhaseOut-web.pdf> New
leaflet
Ontario
<http://www.cleanairalliance.org/files/active/0/phaseout%20progress%202010.p
df> now has a large surplus of coal-free electricity and according to the
Independent Electricity System Operator it will stay that way between now
and the official coal phase out deadline of 2014. That means that Ontario
can stop burning coal today and avoid releasing millions of tonnes of
greenhouse gases and air polluting emissions simply by putting our remaining
dirty coal plants on standby reserve.
This would be an excellent way to demonstrate to the world at the G20 Summit
in June that Ontario is serious about meeting its greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets and that Canadians do care about climate change.
By not operating our coal plants except in the case of a true power
emergency, we can proudly point to a major climate achievement when the
world gathers on our doorstep in June!
Help us get the word out about this magnificent climate opportunity - order
pamphlets, with postcards addressed to Premier McGuinty, to distribute to
your friends, family and community calling for Ontario's coal plants to be
put on standby reserve immediately. Order now
<http://www.cleanairalliance.org/get_involved_order_pamphlets> - they're
FREE! And thank you so much for helping us help the planet.
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Angela Bischoff
Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
<mailto:angela at cleanairalliance.org> angela at cleanairalliance.org
<http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/> www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
<http://www.cleanairalliance.org/> www.cleanairalliance.org
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<http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/petition.php> Sign Our Petition
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