No Nukes News: ON green deal

Mon Feb 1 11:54:21 EST 2010

No Nukes News

Feb. 1, 2010

Authorizing construction of new nuclear reactors without first constructing
a radioactive waste disposal facility is like authorizing construction of a
new Sears Tower without bathrooms.

-          Dave Kraft, director of Nuclear Energy Information Service.

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Help with distro!

As you know the province of Ontario has asked the federal gov't to subsidize
the purchase of 2 new nuclear reactors to be built at Darlington. We don't
think federal taxpayers in Halifax, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Parry Sound or
Montreal should pay for our costly electrical supply. And if the feds don't
subsidy the purchase, it'll die on the drawing board! 

Would you consider ordering free copies of this leaflet
http://ontariosgreenfuture.ca/CostlyNukes_12_09.pdf and distributing it to
your friends around the country? I'll mail you multiple copies for FREE.
They contain postcards to Harper and Ignatieff saying essentially "don't
subsidize ON's nukes". Thanks for your help getting these out across the
country. Send me your address and I'll mail them out to you pronto.

Thanks.

angela at cleanairalliance.org

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Ontario green energy deal: Sellout or sweet deal?

Holy Samsung. The green energy dream is not just waking up, it's moving in.
Who knew it would have a brand name and be an immigrant from Korea? Has the
provincial government sold our renewable soul to some foreign demon?...

The problem, he says, is that the government has placed a de facto cap on
the development of green energy by its 2006 decision to set aside the
majority of the space for nukes. "The next and best step for Ontario is to
replace the Pickering B nuclear station -- just 10 per cent of Ontario's
generation -- with green energy when it comes offline in 2016," he says.
"The potential is obvious, and it's way cheaper than building a new nuke."

http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2010/01/ontario-green-energy-deal-sellout-or
-sweet-deal

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Noise from roads is more disruptive to people's lives than that from wind
turbines

according to the president of the Institute Of Acoustics (IOA)

"For every person who might be annoyed by wind farms, there are hundreds
more annoyed by roads."

http://www.planningresource.co.uk/bulletins/Planning-Resource-Daily-Bulletin
/News/980376/Road-noise-more-disruptive-turbines/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin

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Bruce A Unit 1 Alpha Contamination

On January 7, 2010, Bruce Power informed the CNSC of the discovery of alpha
contamination in Bruce A Unit 1.

http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/updates/bruce_power_alpha_con
tamination_jan21_2010.cfm

Background:

Alpha radiation is a non-penetrating form of radiation which is harmless
outside the body, but which is at least 20 times more harmful (per unit of
energy deposited) than penetrating gamma radiation, once it is inside the
body and in contact with living cells. See
http://ccnr.org/alpha_in_lung.html

Once inhaled, or absorbed through the gut, these radioactive elements can
remain lodged in the body for protracted periods of time, constantly
irradiating the sensitive cells.

Although there are regulatory limits on the amount of these alpha-emitting
materials allowed in the body, there is no such thing as a safe dose, as
even small exposures are capable of causing cancer or other diseases.

- Gordon Edwards.

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Conference urges Canada to press policies against nuclear weapons

Anti-nuclear groups including Project Ploughshares and the Canadian Network
to Abolish Nuclear Weapons want Prime Minister Stephen Harper to speak out
on disarmament. They say Canada should press NATO to review its nuclear
strategies and urge the removal of tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/canada/article/434754--conference-urges-canad
a-to-press-policies-against-nuclear-weapons

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UK new nuclear build will not get government subsidies

The British government will not use taxpayers' money to subsidize  the
construction of new nuclear power plants.

In an online question and answer session with 'The Guardian' newspaper, Lord
Hunt said the government had made it "absolutely clear" that the cost of new
nuclear power plants must be met in full by the commercial companies
themselves, including the cost of decommissioning and waste management. 

http://theenergycollective.com/TheEnergyCollective/57202 

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Tell President Obama: Nuclear Power is Neither Safe Nor Clean

If you were watching the State of the Union address, I'm sure you were as
appalled as I was when President Obama suddenly spoke in support of "safe,
clean nuclear power" (not to mention support for offshore oil drilling and
"clean" coal).

Politically, Obama likely was simply parroting the effort being led by Sens.
John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham to gain support for a climate
bill by adding massive subsidies for nuclear power, offshore oil and "clean"
coal. But recycling George W. Bush energy talking points is no way to solve
the climate crisis or develop a sustainable energy policy.

Please tell President Obama that he's wrong: nuclear power is neither safe
nor clean. 

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=167
7 

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U.S. 'nuclear renaissance' had roots in Bush-Cheney

The "nuclear renaissance," hailed in many headlines and speeches over the
last few years, started under President George W. Bush.

Within months after he took office in 2001, an internal briefing paper for
Vice President Dick Cheney noted that expanding the use of nuclear power
would be "a bold step" that could help lower carbon-dioxide emissions. 

>From 2002 through 2007, nuclear programs got $6.2 billion for research and
development, up 59%.

http://www.theolympian.com/election/presidential/story/1106054.html 

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Iraq littered with high levels of nuclear and dioxin contamination, study
finds

. Greater rates of cancer and birth defects near sites
. Depleted uranium among poisons revealed in report

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/iraq-nuclear-contaminated-sites

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Germany's waste removal decision
Thousands of barrels are to be removed from Germany's Asse radioactive waste
disposal facility, a salt dome which has proven unstable.

It was decided to use Asse in the 1960s and 1970s but this is seen as a
licensing failure: The complex is in the upper portions of the salt, which
are now unstable and increasingly allowing the ingress of groundwater.
Ultimately this would be expected to erode waste canisters and allow
contamination of groundwater.

While deciding on removal to the surface, the BfS warned that none of its
options were optimal and all were uncertain. 

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR_Germanys_waste_removal_decision_1801101
.html 

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Ontario's wind power snags lamented 

Wind turbines offshore in the Great Lakes have the potential to generate a
huge chunk of Ontario's power, but a more streamlined approval process is
needed if the offshore industry's potential is to be achieved.

That's the conclusion of a report from wind developer Trillium Power Wind
Corp., which calculates that the Ontario government has received
applications for offshore projects that would generate almost 21,000
megawatts of power, if they all came to fruition.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ontarios-wind-power-snags-
lamented/article1435873/ 

Lakes wind could power Ontario: report

Offshore turbines would spawn huge industry that has potential of outpacing
entrenched generators such as nuclear, hydro, developer says

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-r
esources/great-lakes-wind-could-power-ontario-report/article1435455/ 

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Wind Power Use Rises 39% In 2009

The use of wind power in America rose 39% last year according to a report
from American Wind Energy Association cited in The New York Times. "The
amount of capacity added last year, 9,900 megawatts, was the largest on
record," the
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/business/energy-environment/26wind.html?r
ef=business> report says.

http://247wallst.com/2010/01/26/wind-power-use-rises-39-in-2009/ 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/business/energy-environment/26wind.html?th
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/business/energy-environment/26wind.html?t
h&emc=th> &emc=th 

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Grassroots Communities 

Mining Mini-Grant Program

NEXT DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 1, 2010

The goal of the Mining Mini-grants Program is to support and enhance the
capacity building efforts of mining-impacted communities in the U.S. and
Canada to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect human,
cultural, and the ecological health of communities.  

The applicant must be a grassroots or indigenous community program with
limited funds that have demonstrated the capacity to successfully carry out
the project.  Individual grants will not exceed $3,000 U.S. and cannot be
used for general programmatic or operating expenses. 

Sponsored by: Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and 

Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) 

For more info and applications: Sarah Keeney, WMAN Network Coordinator at
(503) 327-8625 ~ sarahekeeney at comcast.net or Simone Senogles, Indigenous
Environmental Network, (218) 751-4967 ~ simone at ienearth.org.

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Dave Martin, Climate and Energy Coordinator of Greenpeace Canada will
present a 

Report back on the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen -
Toronto

Wednesday, February 3, 7 PM
Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2172 University of
Toronto Campus

Dave Martin has 25 years of experience working in the Canadian non-profit
sector on energy-related issues, including conservation, renewable
technologies, nuclear power, nuclear weapons proliferation and climate
change.

He has been a researcher, policy analyst and campaigner for several
environmental groups. He has spoken widely on energy issues and has served
as a consultant in various regulatory proceedings. 

He was Research Director for the former Nuclear Awareness Project from 1996
to 2000, and was a policy advisor on energy issues for Sierra Club Canada
from 2000 to 2004. Since July 2004, Dave has been Climate and Energy
Coordinator for Greenpeace Canada.

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Stephen Harper has had a change of heart about global finance - watch this 1
minute video for details:

http://www.we-forum.org/en/events/AnnualMeeting2010/harper.shtml 

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, speaks about the climate crisis
and the issue of responsibility

Brought to you by the Yes Men. http://theyesmen.org/ 

And if you're in Toronto, catch the Yes Men Fix the World:

Canada Square (Cineplex), 2190 Yonge St. (at Eglinton Ave. W.)
Fri: 4:20, 6:45, 9:15
Sat, Sun: 2:00, 4:20, 6:45, 9:15
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu: 4:20, 6:45, 9:15 p.m.

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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

angela at cleanairalliance.org

www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca <http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/> 

www.cleanairalliance.org <http://www.cleanairalliance.org/>  

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Group

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