No Nukes News: Energy Trends

[Angela Bischoff]

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Nov. 5, 2018☢ 100 days to save 12% The Ford Gov't has committed to reducing electricity costs by 12%. Here's how they can do it - without any accounting trickery. 

The World

☢ Nuclear power continues its decline as renewable alternatives steam ahead Once thought of as the primary answer to the globe’s renewable energy requirements, nuclear energy is now viewed unfavourably in comparison to solar and wind alternatives. In 2017, investments in nuclear power halved.

☢ Belgium faces winter blackouts amid 6 nuclear reactor shutdowns Emergency plans for homes, roads and industry as country loses 40% of power supply.

☢ Nuclear power will not save the environment For the one-percenters, "clean growth" includes nuclear power. The military industrial complex needs nuclear power and nuclear weapons just as much as it needs fossil fuels.

☢ Is Ottawa more concerned with saving the nuclear industry than protecting Canadians from radioactive waste contamination? A backgrounder by Gordon Edwards about Canada’s promotion of a whole new generation of nuclear reactors called Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMNRs), while refusing to consult with First Nations and other Canadians about the lack of a federal policy for the long-term management of radioactive wastes.

☢ Government urged to halt push for new fleet of nuclear reactors 23 civil society organizations signed onto this joint letter decrying Canada’s investment in small modular nuclear reactors.

☢ 60,000 tons of dangerous radioactive waste sits on Great Lakes shores The effects of a worst-case scenario — from a natural disaster to terrorism — could cause unthinkable consequences for the Great Lakes region. The age of nuclear power is winding down, but the age of nuclear waste is just beginning.

☢ The Climate’s Already Too Hot for Nuclear Power For the last decade the nuclear industry has been telling us it is the solution to climate change. But if their reactors can’t work in our rapidly warming world, are we just building a whole new generation of expensive white elephants?

☢ The real cost of uranium mining Strange illnesses, withering plants and dying animals afflict Indian villages.

☢ French public opinion growing against nuclear power We have gone from a world in which French society believed that nuclear was the only choice. The public thought it was bad, but a necessary evil. But now, with the rise in renewable energy, with sun and wind, we can bypass nuclear completely.

☢ Taiwan on right rack to phase out nuclear power Taiwan's government is on the right track to install more capacity for renewable energy as it moves toward phasing out nuclear power by 2025.

☢ U.N. rights expert urges Japan to halt women and child evacuee returns to radioactive parts of Fukushima The gradual lifting of evacuation orders has created enormous strains on people whose lives have already been affected by the worst nuclear disaster of this century. Many feel they are being forced to return to areas that are unsafe.

☢ Japan to dump Fukushima wastewater in Pacific despite objections Running out of space to store water contaminated by fuel that escaped during the Fukushima meltdown, the Japanese government is preparing to release it into the Pacific Ocean – despite the presence of radioactive elements, and despite opposition.Ontario

☢ Four greenhouse gas emission reduction options for Ontario Here are four actions that ON Minister Phillips can take to reduce our GHG emissions and make life more affordable for families. Submit your comments for a made-in-Ontario climate plan here. Renewables and Conservation

☼ Global Renewable Energy Trends Solar and Wind move from mainstream to preferred Having only recently been recognized as a “mainstream” energy source, renewable energy is now rapidly becoming a preferred one.

☼ Energy Efficiency is Waning, But Could Quickly Drive Down Emissions Efficiency gains alone could allow the world to extract twice as much economic value from the energy it uses compared to today. Doing so would reduce energy bills for consumers by more than US$500 billion per year, lower energy imports, and cut air pollution in cities. More here.

☼ How 139 countries could be powered by 100% wind, water, and solar energy by 2050 The latest roadmap to a 100% renewable energy future from Stanford's Mark Z. Jacobson and 26 colleagues is the most specific global vision yet. The researchers intentionally exclude nuclear power because of its 10-19 years between planning and operation, its high cost, and the acknowledged meltdown, weapons proliferation, and waste risks.

☼ Asia Pacific To See Solar & Offshore Wind Boom In Next 5 Years The Asia Pacific region is expected to add a further 355 gigawatts (GW) of new solar PV capacity over the next five years, while the region’s offshore wind industry is predicted to grow 20-fold over the next decade.

☼ SaskPower makes agreement to buy more megawatts from Manitoba Hydro Likewise, ON should buy more megawatts from QC – doing so would save us billions by allowing us to close Pickering and avoid the Darlington rebuild.Take Action!

☢ The Federal government through the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has released a draft licence application to develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) Email your comments to cnsc.consultation.ccsn at canada.ca. For more info to help form your response, see here and here and here and here. 

☢ Calling Citizen Scientists for Radiation Collection Project We’re looking for citizen radiation monitors. A 1-day workshop to build bGeigie Nano radiation sensors will take place in January 2019, location T.B.A. (likely Oshawa or Toronto). We're looking both for keen workshop participants interested in contributing to citizen science, and for funders whose support can help make the workshop possible for those who can't afford it. For more info see here. If interested in the workshop (either as a participant, or as a funder), please send a message to mcneill.janet at gmail.com

☢ Tell the Japanese government: don’t dump nuclear waste into the ocean Please sign the petition.

☢ Sign our petitions to Close Pickering and to Buy Quebec Power. And share them with your friends. Watch our 2 min. video here.Events
 
☢ Get Active, Not Radioactive! Tuesday, November 6, noon, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 82 Kent St., Ottawa. Join our march and oppose plans to build a giant radioactive waste dump near the Ottawa River – and to bury an old reactor in cement.

☢ International Uranium Film Festival – New Mexico, USA Nov. 29 – Dec. 7
 
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