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| April 26, 2011 (Endorsed by 87 Japanese NGOs) The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, precipitated by the huge earthquake and ensuing tsunamis that hit eastern Japan on March 11, has created fear of radiation exposure and radioactive contamination not just in Japan, but throughout the world. The Japanese Government, electric power companies and academics who served them boasted that Japan’s nuclear power plants were completely safe, that a nuclear accident would not occur. Their responsibility is heavy indeed. Many people had long warned of precisely the situation that is now in progress – of the danger of a huge earthquake and tsunami, of an accident caused by a loss of power supply, of the danger of concentrating several plants on a single site, of the problems facing suicide squads required to respond to a major accident, of the defects of emergency response preparations which only covered a 10 kilometer radius – but these warnings were not taken seriously. The attitude of promoting nuclear energy no matter what is one of the reasons why the response on this occasion by the Japanese Government and Tokyo Electric Power Company has at each stage been too late. To nevertheless claim that this was “beyond expectations” is both immoral and criminal. Reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have not achieved cold shut down. The situation continues to be unpredictable. It is important to maintain cooling function and to take measures to prevent further contamination from releases and leaks of radioactive material. It goes without saying that in doing so sufficient consideration must be given to the safety of the workers. Radiation exposure standards for residents should not be set excessively high to meet accident circumstances. Rather, it is necessary to rapidly take all steps to enable the earliest possible adherence to the original standard of less than 1 millisievert per year. Decommissioning and disposal of the huge heap of radioactive waste that Fukushima Daiichi has become will probably be a long battle extending over decades. We have continued to oppose nuclear power and nuclear facilities, calling for a phase out of nuclear energy through activities throughout Japan. Hoping for the earliest possible end to the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, whatever we are able to do together we wish to do it now. As a first step we are issuing this joint statement today, 25 years after the Chernobyl accident. At an appropriate time we will launch a large national action demanding a formal decision to permanently close down the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Stations, to cancel the nuclear fuel cycle program, to cancel plans to build new nuclear reactors and to shut down aging nuclear reactors and we will propose a process for achieving a steady phase out of nuclear energy. We refuse to allow the earth to be further subjected to radioactive contamination and radiation exposure. For the sake of all living beings, let us walk together towards the achievement of a nuclear-free society. Contact Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center Email: cnic@nifty.com Web: http://www.cnic.jp/english/Tel.&Fax. 81-3-3357-3810 A list in Japanese of endorsing groups can be found after the Japanese statement on the following URL: http://www.cnic.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1098http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.org/2011/04/26/joint-statement-on-the-fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-disaster-on-25th-anniversary-of-chernobyl-ter/chernobyl25japanngoe/--- Related Links: Spring Actions A list of events/actions for a nuclear-free world throughout the Spring. Let us know what your group is doing! http://www.nirs.org/action.htm"Green Action Japan" Petition Please sign & support! Citizens will be meeting with the Japanese government on Monday May 2, and will submit the signatures gathered. We will report back the results to you on this blog. http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.com/- Tags:activism, candu, chernobyl, educational, energy, energy production, event, japan, leukemia, news, non-profit (ngos), nuclear, petition, policy, politics, renewable energy, sustainable energy, waste management, world, zero waste
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| BERLIN, April 8 (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's BDEW utility industry association said on Friday for the first time that the group favoured a speedy and complete exit from nuclear power by 2020. Hildegard Mueller, the director of the BDEW, wrote in a guest column to appear in Saturday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) that the association wants Germany to shut down its nuclear power plants by 2023 at the latest. "The energy companies organised in the BDEW are in favour of a quick and complete exit from nuclear power by 2020," Mueller wrote, adding it was important that energy production, climate protection and affordability were ensured. She added that at the latest the last nuclear plant should be taken off line by 2023, as was written into a 2002 law. Mueller, a close ally to Chancellor Angela Merkel and former leader in her Christian Democrats (CDU) party, wrote that the nuclear crisis in Japan had made a revision of Germany's nuclear policies unavoidable. "We agreed on Friday to take a clear position," she said, adding there had been an intense debate about the issue before the Berlin-based BDEW made its decision. "Obviously, some individual companies will take their own positions on this decision. That's legitimate. But it will not cast doubt on the sector's compromise proposal." Utility E.ON (EONGn.DE: Quote) said the BDEW was making a mistake by mentioning a concrete exit date. Utility RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote) rejected the decision. Germany gets about 23 percent of its energy from nuclear power. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government on March 15 ordered the shutdown of over 7,000 megawatt (MW) of nuclear capacity until at least June after a tsunami crippled a Japanese plant. Germany's temporary closure of seven nuclear reactors may be the precursor for a faster-than-planned exit from nuclear altogether as voter majorities shift against it. Within days of the disaster in Japan, Merkel's conservative government said it would reconsider a decision to delay closing the nation's ageing nuclear stations by an average of 12 years and it ordered wide-ranging security checks. In the face of growing public hostility, industry experts say the three-month moratorium could lead to permanent closure for the country's seven oldest plants. http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE7371TU20110408--- Related Links: NO-NUKE Petition Campaign is on, please show your supports by signing online! http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/petition2.phpChernobyl Radiation Still in Milk, Potatoes, says Greenpeace (April 4, 2011) http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/968579Germany to Phase Out Nuclear Power: Deputy Minister (April 4, 2011) http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-germany-energy-nuclear-idUSTRE73330H20110404New Poll Finds Nuclear Power is Very Unpopular with Canadians In April 2011, Abacus Data released polling results describing Canadians’ opinions about nuclear power. The results directly contradict industry statements that nuclear power is popular. Some of the highlights: -Only 34% of Canadians support nuclear power: -Nearly 1/2 of Canadians have less confidence in the safety of nuclear power following the Fukushima crisis -Only 22% of Canadians believe nuclear power is safe and that we should build more plants -58% of Canadians think nuclear power is unsafe and that Canada should stop building new plants (43%) and also shut down existing plants (15%) -Men (32%) are almost 3 times as likely as women (13%) to believe #nuclear power is safe: http://abacusdata.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Nuclear-Power-April-1.pdf- Tags:activism, chernobyl, corporate social responsibility (csr), epidemic, health risks, human rights, japan, leukemia, news, nuclear, policy, politics, renewable energy, research, sustainable energy, thyroid cancer, toxic chemicals, world
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| Give it up for Earth Day (April 1-30) This Earth Month, challenge yourself to help create a healthier world by making some changes to your daily routine. Choose one or more actions and register your commitments on http://earthday.ca/giveitup . Participants can register anytime in April. We make it easy! Visit our campaign page regularly for tips, resources, campaign updates, blog posts and fun promotional materials. Fantastic prizes! Every participant will be entered in a draw to win prizes that support your healthy lifestyle choices after the campaign is over. Ready to Give it up? Please visit: http://www.earthday.ca/giveitup--- NO-NUKE Petition Campaign is on, please show your supports by signing online! http://www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca/petition2.php--- Community Environment Days 2011 (Apr-Oct) http://www.toronto.ca/environment_days/activities.htm--- Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival (April 5-8) Canadian Museum of Nature, 40 McLeod Street, Ottawa ON The Best of the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival The Canadian Museum of Nature is proud to join five other members of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada in presenting some of the best timely and topical environmental documentaries. Don't miss these thought-provoking productions, which were showcased at the renowned Planet in Focus Film Festival in Toronto. Look for lively discussions each night with special guest speakers! http://nature.ca/en/plan-your-visit/what-see-do/whats/best-planet-focus-environmental-film-festival--- WTF (Wannabe Toxic Free) Film Series (April 5, 12, 26, 29) Centre for Social Innovation 215 Spadina Ave., 4th Floor, 7-9 pm April is Cancer Prevention Month, WOMEN`S HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS NETWORK presents a PWYC Wannabe Toxic Free Film Series. Tuesday, April 5th • Toxic Trespass: an award winning film on children's health and the environment (53 min) Tuesday, April 12th • Exposure: Environmental Links to Breast Cancer, an award winning documentary on the primary prevention of breast cancer (53 min) Tuesday, April 26th • My Toxic Baby: What's in the products your baby is exposed to? (46 min) Friday, April 29th • Living Downstream: a film based on the life and work of renowned biologist and writer, Sandra Steingraber (53 min) DIRECTORS and/or PRODUCERS will be present for discussion following each film presentation. http://www.womenshealthyenvironments.ca/event--- FULL SIGNAL (April 8, 6-9pm) Toronto Premier Film Screening at Total Health Show Rm 206 On April 8th, join Director Talal Jabari at the Toronto Premier of this award winning documentary. In rare footage, this film shows villagers who have torn down towers after people living nearby began dying. In heartbreaking honesty, people reveal that the deterioration in their health is traceable to the installation of cell phone towers. Filmed in ten countries, Full Signal reveals who is winning when money and health collide in what is becoming a worldwide urban war against the placement of cell phone towers. (www.fullsignalmovie.com) http://totalhealthshow.com/showInfo/film.cfm--- Total Health Show (April 8-10) Total Health 2011 our nation’s premier national health show, will celebrate 34 years of striving to make a difference in the world, bringing cutting edge knowledge to the public by the leading innovators in the natural health field. "Ancient Healing Traditions" is our theme for 2011. Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Energy Medicine, and Native Medicines are holistic healing methods that have been proven over the centuries. Our speakers will focus on traditional healing, traditional herbs and medicines, the electromedicine of the future, traditional farming methods, promoting agricultural biodiversity, creating ecologically based communities, and preserving a healthy environment for our children. We as consumers must choose foods and medicines which do no harm to people, animals or our planet. Other focal points of the show include disease prevention, good nutrition, energy medicine, health effects of electromagnetic fields, natural homes, organic gardening and farming, renewable energy sources, and diverse healing modalities. Our central Gourmet Organic Cafe and relaxing Spa Oasis will create an invigorating and uplifting atmosphere. http://totalhealthshow.com/--- Organic Gardening and Permaculture Discussion Group & Field Trips (April 12) This one day discussion group is the fourth session (number 4 below) of a four part series on soil health. Please read the discussion and field-trip descriptions below to find out more about individual sessions. This facilitated group explores key readings, concepts and experiments, both in the off-season and in the garden / farm context. This group is continuing after an exciting fall and is open to newcomers. For people interested in developing leadership and technical skills around food security, community gardening and food growing. 1) Discussion - Tuesday, Feb 15th. 7-9pm, Quaker House, 60 Lowther. Discussion topic: Soil and soil health. Cost: $20-30 2) Field Trip - Sat March 12th (date to be confirmed), 1:30-5:30, Fun Guy Farm, Uxbridge: mycelium and mushroom production; remediating soil with oyster mushrooms. Cost: $30-50 3) Field Trip - Sat April 2nd, 10-5 pm (incl. lunch), John Slack's farm, Guelph area: soil minerology - reading soil profiles / reading land for mineral pockets; permaculture experiments (no till forest gardens vs tilled gardens) and more. Cost: $50-75 4) Discussion - Tuesday, April 12th. 7-9pm, Quaker House, 60 Lowther. Discussion topic: Soil and soil health. Cost: $20-30 http://gardejane.com--- Toronto Green Living Show (April 15-17) The Green Living Show is Canada’s largest green consumer show dedicated to educating the public about easy and workable solutions for leading a sustainable lifestyle. Visitors can shop the wide variety of exhibitor booths while gathering information and inspiration from a diverse selection of demonstrations, presentations, and activities. www.greenlivingonline.com/torontoshow/ --- Earth Day Ottawa Celebration Concert (April 21, 7pm-9pm) Ottawa, ON Celebrate with Earth Day Ottawa in an intimate setting with wine and cheese in the Salon of the newly renovated Museum of Nature! Come and enjoy the great music of Amanda Rheaume and Jeff Logan as lead performers! This is a free event. http://www.earthdayottawa.ca--- Canadian Aid for Chernobyl to Host Fundraising Gala (April 26) Canadian Aid for Chernobyl, a nationally registered non-profit charity which provides children's respite, humanitarian, medical aid, and much more for thousands of victims affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster, announces its dinner/auction fundraising event sponsored by Northern Cables. This event will be held on the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident. The beautiful Brockville Country Club will play host to this fundraising event scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, 2011 beginning at 6 p.m. Organizers are hopeful this event will be another successful fundraiser for their organization. The evening will consist of a gourmet dinner, live and silent auction and a guest speaker. Tickets are now available for $75 and can be purchased at Alan Brown's in downtown Brockville. Several local organizations have generously offered their support from a sponsorship perspective, including presenting sponsor Northern Cables and Bell Canada. Several others have committed to providing fantastic prizes and auction items. http://www.thebrockvilleobserver.ca/community/canadian-aid-for-chernobyl-to-host-annual-fundraising-gala-at-brockville-country-club-20112403-772--- More event listings: http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/- Tags:canada, cell phone, chernobyl, documentary, earthday, educational, electromagnetic frequency (emf), emerging contaminants, event, event calendar, film, health & safety watch, nuclear, ontario, petition, toxic chemicals
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| Japan's damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has been emitting radioactive iodine and caesium at levels approaching those seen in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Austrian researchers have used a worldwide network of radiation detectors – designed to spot clandestine nuclear bomb tests – to show that iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl. The difference between this accident and Chernobyl, they say, is that at Chernobyl a huge fire released large amounts of many radioactive materials, including fuel particles, in smoke. At Fukushima Daiichi, only the volatile elements, such as iodine and caesium, are bubbling off the damaged fuel. But these substances could nevertheless pose a significant health risk outside the plant. The organisation set up to verify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) has a global network of air samplers that monitor and trace the origin of around a dozen radionuclides, the radioactive elements released by atomic bomb blasts – and nuclear accidents. These measurements can be combined with wind observations to track where the radionuclides come from, and how much was released. The level of radionuclides leaking from Fukushima Daiichi has been unclear, but the CTBT air samplers can shed some light, says Gerhard Wotawa of Austria's Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics in Vienna. ILL WIND For the first two days after the accident, the wind blew east from Fukushima towards monitoring stations on the US west coast; on the third day it blew south-west over the Japanese monitoring station at Takasaki, then swung east again. Each day, readings for iodine-131 at Sacramento in California, or at Takasaki, both suggested the same amount of iodine was coming out of Fukushima, says Wotawa: 1.2 to 1.3 × 1017 becquerels per day. The agreement between the two "makes us confident that this is accurate", he says. So do similar readings at CTBT stations in Alaska, Hawaii and Montreal, Canada – readings at the latter, at least, show that the emissions have continued. In the 10 days it burned, Chernobyl put out 1.76 × 1018 becquerels of iodine-131, which amounts to only 50 per cent more per day than has been calculated for Fukushima Daiichi. It is not yet clear how long emissions from the Japanese plant will continue. Similarly, says Wotawa, caesium-137 emissions are on the same order of magnitude as at Chernobyl. The Sacramento readings suggest it has emitted 5 × 1015 becquerels of caesium-137 per day; Chernobyl put out 8.5 × 1016 in total – around 70 per cent more per day. "This is not surprising," says Wotawa. "When the fuel is damaged there is no reason for the volatile elements not to escape," and the measured caesium and iodine are in the right ratios for the fuel used by the Fukushima Daiichi reactors. Also, the Fukushima plant has around 1760 tonnes of fresh and used nuclear fuel on site, and an unknown amount has been damaged. The Chernobyl reactor had only 180 tonnes. The amounts being released, he says, are "entirely consistent" with the relatively low amounts of caesium and iodine being measured in soil, plants and water in Japan, because so much has blown out to sea. The amounts crossing the Pacific to places like Sacramento are vanishingly small – they were detected there because the CTBT network is designed to sniff out the tiniest traces. DANGEROUS ISOTOPES The Chernobyl accident emitted much more radioactivity and a wider diversity of radioactive elements than Fukushima Daiichi has so far, but it was iodine and caesium that caused most of the health risk – especially outside the immediate area of the Chernobyl plant, says Malcolm Crick, secretary of a United Nations body that has just reviewed the health effects of Chernobyl. Unlike other elements, he says, they were carried far and wide by the wind. Moreover the human body absorbs iodine and caesium readily. "Essentially all the iodine or caesium inhaled or swallowed crosses into the blood," says Keith Baverstock, former head of radiation protection for the World Health Organization's European office, who has studied Chernobyl's health effects. Iodine is rapidly absorbed by the thyroid, and leaves only as it decays radioactively, with a half-life of eight days. Caesium is absorbed by muscles, where its half-life of 30 years means that it remains until it is excreted by the body. It takes between 10 and 100 days to excrete half of what has been consumed. While in the body the isotopes' radioactive emissions can do significant damage, mainly to DNA. Children who ingest iodine-131 can develop thyroid cancer 10 or more years later; adults seem relatively resistant. A study published in the US last week found that iodine-131 from Chernobyl is still causing new cases of thyroid cancer to appear at an undiminished rate in the most heavily affected regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Caesium-137 lingers in the environment because of its long half-life. Researchers are divided over how much damage environmental exposure to low doses has done since Chernobyl. Some researchers think it could still cause thousands of new cases of cancer across Europe. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20285-fukushima-radioactive-fallout-nears-chernobyl-levels.html--- Related Links: New Reactors Mean More Cancer: Critic http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/business/article/813044--new-reactors-mean-more-cancer-criticScientists Lack Full Answers on Radiation Risk http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/life/article/807369--scientists-lack-full-answers-on-radiation-riskGermany: More than 200,000 People Rally Against Nuclear Power http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110326/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_germany_nuclear_protests- Tags:activism, chernobyl, corporate social responsibility (csr), epidemic, health risks, human rights, japan, leukemia, news, nuclear, policy, politics, renewable energy, research, sustainable energy, thyroid cancer, toxic chemicals, world
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| For Canada, the danger of nuclear power lies not in a Japanese-style meltdown. When industry boosters say such an event is unlikely here, they are right. But what the boosters don’t talk about is radioactive waste. That’s the main hazard, the part of the nuclear question that has never been properly addressed. No one knows what to do with nuclear fuel rods that remain highly radioactive for thousands of years. The industry talks of burying them. But this is not a real solution. Sealed containers leak. Ground shifts. Over decades, unforeseen events occur. That’s why the federal Nuclear Waste Management Organization, which is charged with disposing of these used fuel rods, has so far been unable to find a place willing to take them. The industry-dominated body says that over 40 years Canadian nuclear power stations, (most of them in Ontario) have already stockpiled 48,000 metric tonnes of used radioactive fuel. An additional 2,000 metric tonnes are added to these stockpiles annually. Used fuel is toxic and dangerous. It’s the spent fuel atop one of the reactors at Japan’s ill-fated Fukushima nuclear plant that keeps catching fire and spewing radioactive particulate into the air. Canadian power plants also keep their used fuel rods on site. First they plunk them into pools of water until they cool down. That can take ten years. Then they put them in silos, hoping that — eventually — someone will figure out what to do with them. Since Japan’s nuclear disaster started to unfold, the industry and its friends have been quick to assure the public that such a thing couldn’t happen here. Up to a point, they’re right. Ontario’s reactors at Pickering and Darlington, as well as the Bruce nuclear plant on Lake Huron, are not situated near major geological fault lines. Earthquakes in Ontario tend to be smaller than those which routinely rock Japan. A quake along the scale of the one that touched off last week’s Fukushima disaster would be highly unlikely in southern Ontario. As well, Canadian plants use a different kind of radioactive fuel. Fukushima’s number three reactor, for instance, is loaded with a particularly vicious mixture of enriched uranium and plutonium called MOX that Canadian nuclear generators don’t use. Still, there are unsettling similarities. Fukushima is an old plant, first commissioned in 1971. Ontario’s Pickering nuclear plant too dates from the ’70s. Two of Pickering’s older reactors have been refurbished. Four more were initially due to be retired within a couple of years. But Ontario is too dependent on nuclear power to be able to ditch any of its reactors. So these four are to be fixed up instead, in the hope they’ll last until at least the end of the decade. Indeed, the most unnerving similarity between Ontario and Japan is this dependence. Japan gets about a third of its electrical power from nuclear plants. Ontario, with more than 50 per cent of its electricity generated by the province’s three atomic plants, is even more reliant. In practical terms, this means that any significant shift away from nuclear power in Ontario is inconceivable to politicians. Both Premier Dalton McGuinty’s governing Liberals and the opposition Conservatives are committed to building new nuclear plants. The New Democrats are opposed — although it’s worth remembering that when the NDP won power in Ontario 21 years ago, their critique of nuclear energy quickly evaporated. Friends of the nuclear industry like to point out that every energy source has risks. Windmills make noise; gas-fired turbines contribute to global warming; even hydro dams interfere with the environment. But nuclear waste lasts forever. That’s the real horror of Fukushima — that the spread of radioactive material could make an entire chunk of Japan uninhabitable. We could afford to be smug if we knew how to deal with our nuclear waste. But we don’t. http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/957483- Tags:canada, candu, chernobyl, educational, energy, energy production, event, health risks, japan, news, nuclear, ontario, renewable energy, toronto, toxic chemicals, waste management, world
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| Japan's nuclear accident exposes the dilemma of whether to build powerplants on tsunami-prone coasts or inland sites where water supplies are unreliable, a problem likely to be aggravated by climate change, experts say. Many of the world's 442 nuclear power reactors are by the sea, rather than by lakes or rivers, to ensure vast water supplies for cooling fuel rods in emergencies like that at the Fukushima plant on Japan's east coast. Inland, water supplies can be more vulerable to heatwaves, floods, temperature swings and dam failures. Water is a prime consideration in siting decisions that include staying clear of geological fault lines, flight paths or cities. Heat waves may be worened by climate change, straining the water supply to inland plants, but another product of global warming, rising sea levels, can also exacerbate the effect tsunamis can have on coastal nuclear plants. EU to Test Nuke Plants Shocked into action by Japan's atomic crisis, European energy officials agreed last week to apply stress tests on nuclear power plants and Germany moved to switch off seven aging reactors - one of them permanently. The European Union's energy chief called for a reassessment of the 27 nation bloc's energy policy, and questioned what role nuclear power should have in the future. "We have to ask ourselves: Can we in Europe, within time, secure our energy needs without nuclear power plants?" EU energy comissioner Guenther Oettinger told German ARD television. Energy ministers, nuclear regulators and industry officials meeting in Brussels found "general agreement" on the need for tough tests to check whether the EU's 143 nuclear reactors could withstand earthquakes and other energencies, Oettinger said. The stress tests will be devised using the "strictest" nuclear standards in the bloc and be applied in the second half of the year, he said, adding that plants that fail the tests would have to shut down. He invited non-EU nations including Russia and Switzerland to join the initative. http://euobserver.com/9/31992http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-japan-quake-sites-idUSTRE72D53P20110316--- Related Links: Nuclear in the Spotlight on March 30th - a chance to express hope for Japan and a green future http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/events.php?id=13988Artists Help Japan – Earthquake & Tsunami 2011 http://give2asia.org/artistshelp?sms_ss=livejournal&at_xt=4d7d58904f763fd9%2C0- Tags:canada, candu, chernobyl, educational, energy, energy production, europe, event, health risks, japan, news, nuclear, ontario, renewable energy, toronto, toxic chemicals, waste management, world
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| 24 years ago today the Chernobyl nuclear disaster sent a radioactive cloud over Europe. But as countries struggle to meet CO2 emission reduction targets, nuclear power is making somewhat of a comeback. Last year Belgium decided to extend the operation of its three newest nuclear power plants by ten years. And while the German government contemplates a similar move, over one hundred thousand protesters took to the streets on Saturday to voice their opposition. Cinnamon Nippard has more from Berlin. Around 120 thousand people formed a 75-mile human chain between two nuclear power plants in the north of Germany on Saturday, making it the largest anti-nuclear demonstration in the country to date. The human chain stretched from the Brunsbüttel nuclear power plant at the mouth of the river Elbe, down past Hamburg to the Krümmel nuclear plant. Both facilities have been plagued by frequent accidents in recent years. Anti-nuclear demonstrators are angry about the centre-right government's intention to extend the life of its 17 nuclear power plants. Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to revoke the nuclear phase-out law where all nuclear plants would be shut down by 2020. Tina Löffelsend from Friends of the Earth Germany says that the massive turn-out of people on Saturday sends a clear message to the government. "I think they can hardly ignore this public protest. And even those that are pro nuclear energy certainly heard this very loud voice of the movement. I do believe it has an impact and this will certainly not be the last protest we will stage against nuclear this year." The German government intends to finalize its national energy plan in October. Cinnamon Nippard, FSRN, Berlin. http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0426/chernobyl.html- Tags:activism, chernobyl, educational, europe, health risks, news, nuclear, renewable energy, soviet union, uk, world
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| April 26th, 2010 marks the 24th Anniversary of Chernobyl disaster, let us all remember why our world should go without nuclear power... ~ V.Kam --- Nuclear power has never lived up to the promises of its backers. Their latest claim -- that nuclear energy represents an easy answer to global warming -- has as much validity as that old industry chestnut of producing energy “too cheap to meter.” Let’s not be duped again. Four decades ago, when I served as national coordinator for the first Earth Day, millions of Americans mobilized on behalf of the environment. This year, we know that the centerpiece of a healthy environment is safe, clean and sustainable energy. Climate change was a phrase unknown back in 1970; today it is part of our popular vocabulary. Halting the advance of global warming tops the priority list of environmental issues that threaten our well-being. The nuclear industry -- and some in Washington -- would like us to believe that building new reactors will solve this threat. To hear them talk, the nuclear option sounds alluring. Certainly the promise of an energy source that is a low-greenhouse gas emitter might carry some weight with those concerned about climate change. But let’s look at the facts. • Economics: No nuclear reactor has ever been built on time or on budget. That was what killed the market for new reactors in the 1970s. In recent months, tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies have been promised just to begin to resuscitate the nuclear industry. Tax money is needed for this half-century-old technology because the private sector wants no part of it -- with good reason. It is too risky. It is one more federal effort to socialize all risk and privatize all profit. Equally worrisome is this fact: Nuclear is poised to soak up billions that could be invested far more prudently in hyper-efficiency and renewable energy. Energy efficiency can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of a new reactor, and produces immediate results. New reactors won’t come online for at least decade or more, meaning we’ll be that much further behind in slowing global warming. Renewable energy produces no radioactive waste, bomb-grade materials or terrorist risks. • Environmental responsibility: Greenhouse gases are the waste from our unchecked consumption of fossil fuels. The nuclear industry has skillfully wrapped itself in a mantle of green, but it has a massive waste problem of its own. We must not swap one problem for another. Nearly 63,000 metric tons of highly radioactive nuclear fuel currently sits at “temporary” storage sites in 33 states. Plans to dispose of this waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada have been abandoned after 35 contentious years. The U.S. is now back at the starting line in finding a place that will accept this deadly garbage. Enough waste already exists to fill one Yucca Mountain. How responsible is it to talk of building new reactors that will produce tons more waste when we don’t have a place to get rid of what we’ve already got? • Security: Last week, President Obama warned that the risk of nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists is on the rise. Global leaders have pledged to reduce access to those materials which, even in minute amounts, could be used to fashion a deadly bomb. The expansion of nuclear power, here and abroad, raises the very real threat that terrorists will see the trade, transport and storage of fissile materials as a tempting source for bomb-making. Even in the U.S., security of spent fuel is lax and experts warn it is a prime target for terrorists. Until the waste problem is permanently and safely resolved, that threat remains. Four decades of environmental activism have produced tangible results on many fronts. The one problem we have yet to wrestle to the ground is energy. We started down a vigorous path of efficiency and renewables in the Carter administration but the Reagan administration crushed the effort. Forty years ago, when invited to rally to the defense of their environment, Americans rose to the occasion. The last four decades have brought revolutionary changes in the healthiness of our air and water and the vitality of our natural areas. We’ve been offered a lot of false promises and greenwashing during those years, and we have acquired what Hemingway called the indispensable “crap detector.” Only the most gullible are buying what the nuclear industry is selling. The climate clock is ticking. Achieving a safe, self-reliant, prosperous future now will be more expensive and more painful than if we had simply stayed the course 30 years ago. Let’s not hop from the climate frying pan to the nuclear fire. Let’s not waste more time and money on an outdated nuclear technology that has already flunked the market test. http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/article_7ced5f7b-59c0-5e9d-ba9a-444a7742d155.html--- Related Links: In 2009, Britain's Farmers Still Restricted by Chernobyl Nuclear Fallout From 1986's Accident http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/12/farmers-restricted-chernobyl-disasterIf Societies Worldwide Want to Continue Using Nuclear Power, the Benefits Must be Balanced Against the Risks http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/hazmat/articles/chernobyl3.htmlMore on Chernobyl http://community.livejournal.com/sustainable_sos/tag/chernobylMore on Nuclear Power http://community.livejournal.com/sustainable_sos/tag/nuclear- Tags:activism, chernobyl, earthday, educational, europe, health risks, news, nuclear, renewable energy, soviet union, uk, world
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| http://www.nirs.org/petition/index.php?r=sbQuestions for those of you who are in favor of nuclear energy, ask yourself honestly... (i) Would I be comfortable with the concept of building more nuclear power plants even when these facilities are to be built next to my own backyards? (ii) Could I guarantee there will NEVER be any fatal accidents and/or contaminations from nuclear power plants and the dealings of radioactive wastes? And of course, unless you had answered YES on both questions, you should belong to the anti-nuclear group. ~ V.Kam | |
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