Aust - wastes

Aust - weapons & war

world - wastes

world - weapons & war

interesting new link - Radiation and Public Health Project www.radiation.org

a cat can look at a king - COMMENT - Christina Mcpherson Up until now, the Northern Territory Government has been pretty fair on aboriginal issues.

But now, the High Court has just given them free rein to forcibly take over native land, regardless of title. For now, we might correctly trust and believe that this government will act responsibly.

But what about future governments, pressured by mining interests who are expert at bullying and bribing both politicians and aborigines?

at right - (in blue or pink ) top International items of the week - (for the 10 most recent - go to FACTS and NEWS World )

Pelindaba Working Group backs call for Commission of Inquiry into ESKOM: Legalbrief Environmental 13 May 2008 - "...............'We are concerned that while the focus is on ESKOM's mismanagement and tariff hikes, this hides its real intention - to fund an undemocratic, non-viable a nuclear future for this country'the community-based group said in a statement.

'South Africans are being steamrollered into a nuclear energy option whilst the agendas of ESKOM and its nuclear industry under the auspices of a 'Presidential Project' run through mouthpieces at ESKOM, the Department of Minerals and Energy and the Department of Public Enterprises remain non-transparent, unaccountable and at loggerheads with the concept of public participation'

Scullion still keen on Muckaty for nuclear dump

Muckaty Homestead

ABC News May 15, 2008 - "Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion is continuing to push Muckaty Station, 110 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, as an ideal spot for a national nuclear waste dump.

The Labor member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, says scientists will decide the best location, and says no dump will be built in the Territory without consulting the Territory Government and Aboriginal leaders.
There will be no impositions of a site on any persons or a community around Australia," he says.

The advantages of renewable energy (RE), in particular the huge potential that industry offers in job creation and a speedy solution to our current energy crisis has been totally ignored, when RE is scaled up to utility size, the rewards & benefits will be so apparent that plans for nuclear developments will be permanently sidelined.'.................

............. 'There remains no credible clarity on the historic social or environmental injustices perpetrated by the nuclear industry on populations - particularly the poor, nuclear workers or uranium miners. Reasoned objections to an expansion of the nuclear program on the basis of economic considerations in a country in need of poverty alleviation, job creation and energy provision have also been flagrantly disregarded'......................

The PWG congratulates the ANC for seeking an investigation into ESKOM's mismanagement and hopes that the call for a Commission of Inquiry will include issues concerning the governments planned nuclear and uranium expansion programme.........................................."

Northern Tertritory allowed to acquire native title land Sydney Morning Herald May 15, 2008 - "The Northern Territory government has been given the green light to forcibly acquire any land in the region, regardless of native title, following a landmark ruling from the High Court.
But the NT government said it favoured negotiating with traditional owners and would only use the powers as a last resort.
In a 5-2 decision, the High Court of Australia dismissed an appeal by the Ngaliwurru and Nungali people who hold native title over Timber Creek, south-west of Katherine.

The traditional owners had challenged the NT government's power to compulsorily acquire land under the Lands Acquisition Act (NT).
........................... spokesman for the Northern Land Council said the act had not been used fairly.
'This law has been used in this way only in relation to Aboriginal owned native title and only in the Northern Territory - but never in relation to NT freehold or leasehold title' he said.
......................................The spokesman said the high court judgment exposed the act 'as a recipe for racial discrimination' and flagged the possibility of a complaint to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Public money squandered on poor decisions, such as on nuclear power - from Speech by Lance Greyling Independent Democrats, South Africa, 15 May 2008 - ".....................Another example is the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, which this government has funded to the tune of over R5 billion, with almost nothing to show for it after 10 years. The ID therefore demands that a proper forensic audit is conducted into the PBMR company to ascertain what this money has been spent on and whether it is economically feasible to keep funding a project that not one international investor has put money into and which an international panel of experts said was financially risky. If we had rather invested that money in renewable energy sources we would have been able to avoid the crippling energy crisis that we now face.

Instead, Eskom is blackmailing the South African public into accepting a 60 percent increase in electricity tariffs, which will impact most heavily on the lives of the poor............

The ID also has grave concerns over our future energy planning and the type of unilateral decisions that are being made by Eskom, such as the tender that has gone out to only two consortiums to build a nuclear power station that will cost in excess of R120 billion and will only be completed in 2016.........................."

Anger as shadow falls on solar rebate The Age Adam Morton May 16, 2008 - "THE solar power industry is predicting a dramatic decline in people installing solar panels, causing millions of dollars in lost business and job losses, after the Federal Government made it harder for households to receive an $8000 rebate.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced in the budget that only households earning less than $100,000 would qualify for the rebate, effective immediately.
……………………………..Solar retailers have reported mass cancellations of orders since the means test was announced on Tuesday night..........................Adrian Ferraretto, managing director of national retailer Solar Shop Australia, estimated he would lose about 60% of his business, costing about $2 million a month and up to 50 jobs - half his workforce…

………….He called for the rebate to be reduced to $5000 but applied to everyone..........................".

Renewable energy tax bill advances in U.S. House WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) "Legislation that would renew billions of dollars in tax breaks for solar, wind, biomass and and other renewable energy sources and extend a proposed new tax credit for ethanol fuels not produced from corn advanced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.

The bill approved by the Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 25-12 would extend about $54 billion in expiring tax breaks for renewable energy sources, education and a number of business expenses including research and development. It would also extend federal tax deductions for state and local sales taxes..................……

………….The bill also provides $2 billion in bonds to help governments and power companies to finance clean renewable energy projects.

Nuclear Blast Effects

Mashable 15 May 08 meyerweb.com

This is like putting the foot onto the solar brake pedal very fast, it could lead to the industry coming to a grinding halt, because currently 80% of our customers would pay off a house and to do that you need to earn over $100 000 as a household,' he said.

……………………'If the government is seriously trying to fight climate change and encourage the uptake of solar energy in Australia, applying a $100,000 means test on the solar rebate isn't the way to go about it.'.............................................."

Australia establishes clean energy funds ENERGY CURRENT 14 May 08 CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA- "......The Renewable Energy Fund (REF) is one of three funds focused on clean and renewable energy technologies that have been established in Australia's 2008-2009 budget............

.………Funding for solar technology research through the EIF will be administered by a new body, the Australian Solar Institute. EIF also will invest an additional A$50 million (US447 million) in other technologies such as energy storage and hydrogen.

The funds are part of the Australian government's effort to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent on 2000 levels by 2050.................................................................".

…………………….the presumed Republican presidential nominee promoted nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels that are linked to climate change. …………….'I will be a president of the United States for the environment,' McCain declared.

But not everyone was convinced that more nuclear power is a good idea …………………The Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site.

………………….The state's nuclear history also includes the massive bond defaults associated with the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS). In the late 1970s the utility planned to build five nuclear power plants, but ran into problems with rising costs and concerns about safety.

In 1983, it halted construction and defaulted on $2.25 billion in bonds - the biggest municipal-bond default in history. ………………In an interview Tuesday, Rep. Jay Inslee, a Democrat and leading advocate for clean energy, said it's cheaper to invest in wind power or more efficient use of electricity than to build more nuclear power plants..........................................".

Dumping a nuclear core election promise? ON LINE opinion By Natalie Wasely - 14 May 2008 - "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has prided himself on his commitment to keep promises made before the 2007 federal election. For this to ring true, he will need to rein in Energy and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, who is stalling on the implementation of commitments regarding nuclear waste management.

At Labor's national conference in April 2007 the party committed to repealing the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act (CRWMA) if elected..

.....................Martin Ferguson has been every bit as secretive as his Coalition predecessors on this issue.................

Iran Earthquake safety of Nuclear power plants

Iranian.ws Morteza Aminmansour May 12 2008 - "The reactor plants at Iran-Bushehr were initially built by a German, Siemens and were built to a plan closely resembling that of the Biblis A unit in Germany………

………Wiring of emergency electrical system and reactor- protection system does not meet western standards for separation-control and safety functions

.......The draconian and undemocratic Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act (CRWMA) 2005 was then pushed through Parliament, overriding NT laws prohibiting transport and storage of nuclear waste.

A raft of environmental, public health and safety protections went out the window because of this legislation. In addition, the legislation prevents the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 from having effect during investigation of potential dump sites, and it excludes the Native Title Act 1993 from operating at all.....................

...................It is time for Prime Minister Rudd to haul his maverick minister into line and to ensure that pre-election promises are not broken. Repeal of the CRWMA is a necessary first step in this process.

While national attention is focused on outcomes of the 2020 summit, Territorians are left pondering the effects of current radioactive waste policies on the next 20 generations....".

for separation-control and safety functions are inter connected in ways that may allow failure of a control system to prevent operation of a safety system.Quality-control, design and construction significantly deficient by U.S standards. Fire-protection systems that do not appear to differ substantially from earlier VVER modes , which do not meet western standards. …………………The Germans who designed the Bushehr plant and Russians who are building it assure everyone that it could withstand tremors of up to 7.2 on the Richter Scale………….But there is no guarantee that a higher- intensity tremor will not strike in the future……

……Earthquake Danger at Slovenian nuclear plant The Slovenian nuclear plant Krsko is not designed for stronger earthquake shocks. The new report reveals that the danger of earthquakes for the site of the plants has been underestimated against better knowledge. The plant is not designed for earthquake of a size that already happened in the region around Krsko at earlier dates

The plant is designed for earthquake in the magnitude of 5,8(on Richter-scale) ; in 1976 two earthquake with a magnitude of 6(on Richter-scale) took place .

. . …………Turkish government and foreign reactors vendors are engaged in a mutual conspiracy of silence to conceal the real risk of earthquake damage to a nuclear plant at Akkuyu . Earthquake can simultaneously accident and destroy multiple operating and safety systems in nuclear reactors

The other reason for concern is that government corruption and the failure to enforce building standards may be an indicator of future accident in nuclear safety regulation. , .

Do you see the Australian connection? - Christina Macpherson 14 May 08

TEHRAN, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday he thought relations with Moscow would continue to develop following the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as Russian president May 7........................

.....……………..Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Iran's southwestern city of Bushehr. Western countries suspect Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, but Tehran insists it needs nuclear energy for civilian purposes.............".

Nuclear power industry executive first appointed RF energy minister OIL-GAS-BIZ 12 May 08 The former president of CJSC "Atomstroyexport", Sergey Shmatko has been appointed energy minister of the Russian Federation. In recent years, CJSC "Atomstroyexport" has made substantial progress in promotion of Russian nuclear technologies to international markets. The major player of Russia's nuclear power industry, CJSC "Atomstroyexport" is successfully operating in China, India, Iran, Bulgaria and other countries.

Nuclear boom prompts proliferation concerns ABC News By Ashley Hall May 13, 2008 - "....................The director of operations and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Dr Andrew Davies, says the soaring cost of fossil fuels is partly to blame......

..........At least 11 of the 40 countries starting or expanding their nuclear programs are within the Middle East, among them Kuwait, Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Each of them has abundant reserves of oil and gas, so some nuclear proliferation experts are worried that their nuclear plans may be focused more on Iran's nuclear ambitions than they are on generating domestic electricity.

'Whenever a country goes down the path of acquiring the technologies required for nuclear weapons, the countries around it sit up and take notice but Iran is certainly well down that path,' Dr Davies said...................................................".

Livermore lab fails terror test Contra Costa Times By Betsy Mason 13 May 08 - "Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's protective force failed to deter a mock terrorist attack during a recent security drill, according to a Time magazine report online Monday.
During the simulated night-time attack several weeks ago, a team posing as terrorists was able to defeat the lab's defenses and get hold of their target of pretend nuclear material, according to unnamed sources.
.......................'Failing an exercise like a mock terrorist attack highlights serious and unacceptable security shortcomings,' said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo. 'I have insisted that the plutonium housed at Livermore be consolidated and moved away from Livermore to a safe location away from population centers as soon as possible.'..............

..........National Nuclear Security Administration director Thomas D'Agostino told the Times that it makes sense to move Livermore's plutonium to its sister nuclear weapons lab in New Mexico because "you don't have communities growing up around Los Alamos."

Governor General urges solar power SKY NEWS May 12, 2008 - "Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffrey has called for research and development into solar power as an alternative renewable energy source.

Speaking at a Future Summit in Sydney,………..he stressed that improving solar technology should be the priority.

'he Australian scientists suggest that they could meet the total energy needs of Australia with a solar panel array of around 50 kilometres squared' he said...................................."

Sky-Rocketing Reactor Costs Hit Europe: Beyond Nuclear Bulletin 7 May 08 " Several weeks ago we revealed that cost estimates for new U.S. reactors were soaring to more than $12 billion, well above the commonly touted $3-4 billion per unit.

This week, Wulf Bernotat, the head of the world's largest power company, Germany's E.ON, predicted that new reactors proposed for Great Britain could cost at least $9 billion apiece, double their original estimates. The prices do not of course include the potentially massive costs of decommissioning reactors, once closed, nor dealing with the nuclear waste they produce...................more - go to world - business