No Nukes News: Sale of AECL threatens nuke industry

Thu Nov 11 20:24:34 EST 2010

No Nukes News

Nov. 11, 2010

Pass this onto a friend! - a

"Any technology needs to be evaluated in terms of long-term sustainability.
Nuclear is the most totalitarian kind of energy because you are making
decisions for people who have not been consulted - people who are not yet
born." - Alternative Nobel Prize winner Raul Montenegro

"We have lost faith in the government until they prove that their politics
is for the people and not for the corporations." - NGO chief Kersin Rudek 

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Ottawa's plan to sell AECL threatens future of Canada's nuclear industry

After a year-long process to sell AECL, the government has failed to attract
any international bidders who could bring financial heft and global
marketing clout to the company, which was once a global leader in reactor
sales but is now relegated to the sidelines. 

The Harper government has been critical of AECL for many years due to its
frequent taxpayer-financed cost overruns, its inability to sell reactors and
its troubles at the Chalk River nuclear research laboratories. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-r
esources/ottawas-plan-to-sell-aecl-threatens-future-of-canadas-nuclear-indus
try/article1792762/ 

Ontario asked Ottawa to delay AECL sale

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty warned Ottawa back in June that its effort
to sell Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. could scuttle a provincial proposal to
buy new reactors from the company, a deal that would boost the long-term
value of the federally owned corporation.

The Harper government is eager to rid itself of the financial problems of
AECL, which has lost $493-million in the past two years. The government has
allocated some $1.6-billion to the company over that period, including
$446-million to cover cost overruns at its Candu refurbishment projects in
New Brunswick, Ontario and South Korea, and $228-million for development of
the ACR1000 reactor.

Without the financial backing of the federal government, it is unlikely AECL
and Ontario can reach an agreement on new advanced Candu reactors. Instead,
the province is now considering buying an enhanced version of the older
model Candu 6, which carries less development risk, though AECL boasts the
advanced Candu would be more cost effective over the long term.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-r
esources/ontario-asked-ottawa-to-delay-aecl-sale/article1794307/?cmpid=rss1

Action: With the  <http://www.cleanairalliance.org/letter_to_dalton2> click
of a button, please send Premier McGuinty an email telling him that
taxpayers and consumers should not pay for any nuclear cost overruns.
Fixed-price bids should be required. Invest in lower cost and lower risk
options.  http://www.cleanairalliance.org/letter_to_dalton2 

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German people in unprecedented rebellion against nuclear shipment

1000 injured in nuclear protests, police at breaking point

More than 50,000 people from all parts of the country and all walks of life
attended a rally on a field close to Dannenberg. Thousands then marched
through the autumn woods, splitting into small groups to descend into the
valley, break through police lines to chain themselves to the rails or
remove gravel from the  tracks to delay the train. According to Spiegel,
7000 people alone took part in the road and railway blockades along with
17,000 police officers from France, Croatia and Poland who joined in the
biggest security operation ever mounted against protestors against the a
train carrying nuclear waste to a depot in an isolated part of  Lower
Saxony's countryside. At great personal risk, tens of thousands of people
gave an example of courageous and peaceful non-violent resistance that will
surely go down in history.

http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/german-people-in-unprecedented-re
bellion-against-government/ 

Protest over nuclear 'train from hell'

Greenpeace has staged protests against a nuclear waste convoy which it
claimed was "the most radioactive shipment in history" amounting to the
radioactive equivalent of 11 Chernobyl disasters. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8113317/Protest-over
-nuclear-train-from-hell.html 

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THE 4th REVOLUTION - EnergyAutonomy 

Sun, wind, hydro and geothermal energy are natural sources accessible to
everyone all over the world without making any difference. And they are
renewable, free and available in the long run. Only the widespread knowledge
about the possibilities of renewable energy can ignite an international
movement and take the absolutely necessary energy transition. 

Watch the 8 minute trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15S-Pz3s3Rg 

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Cost overruns at Bruce nuclear refurbishment won't hit ratepayers: minister 

``What is clear is that, as of today, Bruce Power is getting money from
people who are paying for power as a way of cushioning the impact of cost
(overruns)'' said Tabuns. 

Shawn-Patrick Stensil of Greenpeace Canada explains: ``We know that nuclear
costs are going up, as we've seen with Bruce A, but we also know that green
energy costs are doing down over time,'' said Stensil. ``So commitments to
lock into these large nuclear projects today, just as we did with Darlington
in 1974, could lock us into higher electricity prices for decades.'' 

Darlington was supposed to cost $3.9 billion but ended up costing more than
three times that amount, $14.4 billion, and is largely responsible for the
'stranded debt retirement' charge still levied on electricity bills.  The
industry vowed in 2005 that it had tackled the delays and cost overrun
problems with nuclear projects, but the Bruce refurbishment is proof that's
not true, added Stensil.  ``It would be cheaper to use a portfolio of green
energy options than new reactors at Darlington, but both Hudak and McGuinty
refuse to look at that option.'' 

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/11/07/bruce-power-refurbishment8
39.html 

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Keeping an eye on nuclear industry 

Members of Northwatch and affiliated groups from across the province spent
Sunday sharing information and forming strategies to counter nuclear
industry plans to expand production and bury its waste. Shawn-Patrick
Stensil, of Greenpeace Canada, told about two dozen people taking part that
the nuclear industry's survival plan will effectively put a cap on how much
green energy can be integrated into the grid in the future. Brennain Lloyd,
of Northwatch, gave an overview of the industry's strategy to bury the high
level waste from generating stations deep into the ground. "The technical
case (for a deep underground storage system) has not been made," she said.
Lloyd said an informed community "will decide not to bring this into their
territory" and Northwatch suggests that the sooner they say no, the sooner
the industry will focus on ways of managing waste closer to where it is
created.

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2835485

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Vermont's Great Green Election Day Victory -- Kick out the Nuclear Plant

Vermont has elected a governor pledged to make the state truly green by
shutting its decrepit, leaking nuclear plant. And the town closest to that
reactor has voted to take it by eminent domain if necessary, a step
unprecedented in world history.  In reaction, the nuke's owner (Entergy) has
turned tail and put the plant up for sale. (So far, no bidders). 

In direct opposition, this post-election week has been marked by radioactive
crowing from a dark age industry demanding massive government loan
guarantees from "free market" Congressional Republicans. Armed with oceans
of unaccountable corporate/billionaire cash, Karl Rove's new nuclear GOP
wants to dump Adam Smith and pump public billions into a failed industry
that cannot compete. The industry continually points to France's industry as
a model. But it's mute to the fact that France's leaky, error-prone nukes
are owned, operated and regulated (sort of) by the French government. A
national socialist prototype, the EDF/Areva edifice---like its counterpart
in Japan---would melt and die in an open market.

http://www.alternet.org/story/148755/vermont%27s_great_green_election_day_vi
ctory_--_kick_out_the_nuclear_plant/ 

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Vermont nuclear plant shuts down after radioactive water leak

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101108/ap_on_bi_ge/us_vermont_yankee

Explosion Shuts New York nuclear plant 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/world-news/4323275/Explosion-shuts-U
S-nuclear-plant 

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Nuclear smuggling: Insider thieves are the new nuclear threat. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/nuclear-terrorism-expert-view

Nuclear bomb material found for sale on Georgia black market

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/nuclear-material-black-market-g
eorgia>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/nuclear-material-black-market-ge
orgia

Nuclear smuggling: large rewards  tempt desperate and poor into trade

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/nuclear-smuggling-large-rewards
-trade>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/nuclear-smuggling-large-rewards-
trade

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IEA urges G20 to end fossil-fuel subsidies

The International Energy Agency wants to wean the world off fossil-fuel
subsidies that it says artificially inflate global energy demand. The agency
is urging Group of 20 nations to slash their estimated $312-billion (U.S.)
in annual support. It is estimated, however, that support for renewable
energy is only about 60 per cent of the amount provided to fossil-fuel
producers.  In Canada, the federal government provides roughly $1.4-billion
in tax breaks and support for R&D to the oil industry, while three provinces
- Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador - account for roughly
the same amount, said the International Institute for Sustainable
Development in a report released last week.

<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-
resources/iea-urges-g20-to-end-fossil-fuel-subsidies/article1792514/>
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-r
esources/iea-urges-g20-to-end-fossil-fuel-subsidies/article1792514/ 

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Dirty Business: Clean Coal and the Battle for our Energy Future

Dirty Business reveals the true social and environmental costs of coal power
and tells the stories of innovators who are pointing the way to an
alternative energy future. The film examines what it means to remain
dependent on a 19th century technology that is the largest single source of
greenhouse gases. Can coal really be made clean? Can renewables and
efficiency be produced on a scale large enough to replace coal? 

Watch the 3 min. trailer here:
http://www.dirtybusinessthefilm.com/dirty-business-trailer

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California vote illuminates Ontario's energy future

Just last week, the Windsor economic development agency said up to one in 10
of that battered city's new jobs are in renewable energy. That's up to 600
new jobs making new, clean energy. A couple of weeks ago, a second solar
manufacturing plant was announced for Guelph. Almost 600 direct jobs will be
created, with hundreds more in spinoffs. It's no accident that just the week
before, four more units of a polluting coal power station were shut. Other
manufacturing plants have been announced in Windsor, London and Toronto.
With each one that opens, the California-style constituency for renewable
energy grows; it's not just about clean air, it's about pay cheques, too.

Across rural Ontario, we're seeing an economic rejuvenation thanks to clean
energy. Farm families have already begun to receive cheques thanks to the
solar panels and windmills they've installed. Over the next three years, the
province will see 10 times as many solar panels installed than existed
across the whole country at the end of 2009. These will come through the
15,000 rooftops and fields due for solar power - pumping more than 1,000
megawatts into our electricity grid. Enough power for a million homes.
Consider this: the world's largest solar farm is in Ontario. It pumps in 80
megawatts into the grid, and employed 800 people to build it.

Then there's wind. In about a year, contracts have been awarded for more
than 1,500 megawatts of wind capacity. That's 650 windmills about to go up,
each one employing someone, each one generating clean energy to replace
coal.

<http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/886860--california-
v>
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/886860--california-v

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Warning Port Hope a toxic time bomb; the only solution? Move

Port Hope is sitting on a carcinogenic time bomb that residents can only
escape by moving out of town, a renowned doctor and anti-nuclear activist
warns. Historic low-level radioactive waste buried in parks, ravines,
streets, industrial sites, the harbour and hundreds of backyards poses a
"life or death" threat and can't be safely remediated, according to Dr.
Helen Caldicott. Digging out more than 1.2 million cubic metres of soil,
enough to fill 500 Olympic-size pools, will take a decade and cost at least
$260 million. The final scope and price tag are unknown.

<http://www.thestar.com/news/article/888301--warning-port-hope-a-toxic-time-
bomb-the-only-solution-move>
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/888301--warning-port-hope-a-toxic-time-b
omb-the-only-solution-move 

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Dr. Helen Caldicott - She knows something you should know!

Tues. Nov. 16, 7:30 pm

St. Mark's Parrish Hall, 51 King St, Port Hope, Ontario

Tickets: $15 Adults, free for students with student card

Order tickets here: ph. (950) 885 1572

Dr. Caldicott is founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and a
nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. For 30 years she has educated the public
about the medical hazards of the nuclear age. 

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Pugwash Canada and Science for Peace present:

Eric Fawcett Dinner and Forum

Sunday 14 November, 1:30 - 4:00 PM, Toronto

Forum One: International Law & Institutions: Building Peace & Security

Forum Two: Towards an Arctic Nuclear Weapons Free Zone

For more info:
<http://www.scienceforpeace.ca/eric-fawcett-dinner-and-forum>
http://www.scienceforpeace.ca/eric-fawcett-dinner-and-forum

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Community Power 2010

The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association <http://www.ontario-sea.org/>  is
hosting its 2nd annual Community Power Conference 2010
<http://cpconference.ca>  this November 15-16 at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre. 

Do not miss the Community Power sector's premier event of the year.
http://cpconference.ca/ 

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Climate Refugees

95 min. documentary film, USA

Thursday November 18th, 7:30 PM 

National Film Board Cinema, 150 John Street, Toronto 

PWYC at the door (suggested donation $5).

Amnesty International Toronto celebrates its fifth annual Reel Awareness
Film Festival with four days of some of the best human rights documentary
and feature films shown around the world. 

See film description here:
<http://www.aito.ca/reelawareness/films/climate_refugees/index.html>
http://www.aito.ca/reelawareness/films/climate_refugees/index.html

See full festival program here:
<http://www.aito.ca/reelawareness/index.html>
http://www.aito.ca/reelawareness/index.html 

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Order FREE anti-nuke and anti-coal postcards/leaflets to distribute to your
friends and neighbours!
<http://www.cleanairalliance.org/get_involved_order_pamphlets>
http://www.cleanairalliance.org/get_involved_order_pamphlets 

And watch the 11 minute video with Jack Gibbons, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
on how the proposed Darlington nuclear re-build will drive up electricity
bills  <http://www.cleanairalliance.org/> http://www.cleanairalliance.org/

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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 

Our Facebook Group

 <http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/petition.php> Sign Our Petition

 <http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/nonukesnews.php> No Nukes News

 <http://www.healthpower.ca/> Health Power

 <http://coalmustgo.ca/> Coal Must Go

  <http://cleanairalliance.org/get_involved_donate> 

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