Friday, August 30, 2013

Vermont Yankee Joins the Tsunami of U.S. Reactor Shutdowns - Truthdig



By Harvey Wasserman

In a huge victory for the grass-roots movement for a green-powered earth, Entergy has announced it will shut its Vermont Yankee reactor by the end of next year.

“It’s fantastic,” says longtime safe-energy activist Deb Katz. “This is such a win for the people, for the state of Vermont and for democracy.” 

The Green Mountain State’s only commercial reactor was recently relicensed to operate another two decades. Entergy spent millions in legal fees to establish a right to resist Vermont’s attempt to shut Yankee on safety grounds. Announcing this shutdown just two weeks after an apparent victory in federal court indicates the legal battle was really a holding action to protect its other reactors. 

But the decision also opened Entergy to other challenges, especially in front of Vermont’s Public Service Board. “Hidden in the federal ruling Entergy ostensibly won was a confirmation that the state, through the PSB, had the right to reject Vermont Yankee’s continued operation on reliability, economics and more.”

And, says Katz, “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted our petition to pry open Entergy’s finances.”

This is the fifth shutdown announcement since 2013 began with 104 licensed U.S. reactors. Barring other closures—which now seem more likely—Yankee’s demise will bring us to 99.  Nebraska’s Ft. Calhoun is still down after being flooded. As many as seven more proposed U.S. reactors have been canceled since January, turning the much-hyped “nuclear renaissance” into a rapidly rising rout. Upgrades at five other reactors have also been canceled. 

Entergy’s double-reactor complex at Indian Point, north of New York City, is now under intense political fire. Water and other permits there and at the upstate Fitzpatrick reactor are being bitterly contested in Albany. 

Entergy’s embattled Pilgrim reactor at Plymouth, south of Boston, recently had to reduce power due to global-warmed Cape Cod cooling water. Its Palisades reactor on Lake Michigan has been linked to heightened local cancer rates.

Entergy says Yankee’s closure will add more than $100 million to its cash flow over the next few years. Wisconsin’s Kewaunee has been shut for financial reasons by Dominion Power. Nuclear experts like Arnie Gundersen warn that funds set aside to decommission these dying reactors may be inadequate and that the process could take far longer than we are being told.

With gas relatively cheap and renewables dropping in price while rising in efficiency, the financial vise is tightening around the world’s remaining reactors. 

As Amory Lovins has shown, Germany’s decision to shut its nukes and transition to renewables looms large over a technology whose credibility has been decimated by the ongoing catastrophe at Fukushima. 

Any talk of nuclear power being a solution for global warming has exploded with that disaster and the rapid deterioration of the U.S. industry.

As Jon Wellinghoff, chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, puts it, solar power is about to “overtake everything.”

The regional nonviolent movement to shut Vermont Yankee stretches back four decades. This victory was preceded by the 1990s closure of the nearby Yankee Rowe reactor, the cancellations of construction downwind at Seabrook Unit Two, of two proposed units at downriver Montague, and much, much more. 

Thoroughly linked with national and international activism, the Yankee shutdown derived from the tireless work of seasoned campaigners who have never stopped. Like the recent victories at San Onofre and elsewhere, this New England campaign has been built around countless individual actions, organizing meetings, public hearings, marches, concerts, rallies, picket lines, nonviolent civil disobedience and a savvy, in-it-for-the-long-haul dedication from people for whom ridding the world of nuclear power is the only end point.

It stands a model for peaceful democratic social change that has cleared a visible path to a sustainable, socially just and ecologically sound planet on which to live.



Harvey Wasserman edits www.nukefree.org. He wrote “Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth” and hosts the “Green Power and Wellness” show at Prn.fm. This article is dedicated to Tony Mathews.

Vermont Yankee Joins the Tsunami of U.S. Reactor Shutdowns - Truthdig


Tuesday, August 27, 2013

VT YANKEE - Nuke Plant to Shut Doors: Environmental Victory But Vital Work Still Ahead


99 Nuclear Plants on the Fall,
99 Nuclear Plants!
Shut one more down,
pass the word 'round!
98 Nuclear Plants on the Fall...




Communities celebrate, but demand corporate owners be held accountable for safe decomissioning process and 'just transition' for workers


In a victory for decades-old movements against nuclear power in Vermont, the state's only nuclear power plant will be permanently shuttered by the end of next year, corporate owner Entergy announced Tuesday.
As many celebrate the shutdown of the 'Vermont Yankee' nuclear plant, similar in design to the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi facility currently wreaking environmental and humanitarian havoc in Japan after a 2011 reactor explosion, environmental and workers' organizations acknowledge that the fight to ensure a safe decommissioning process and just transition for workers has only just begun.
"We cannot treat these workers like they're disposable," James Haslam of the Vermont Workers Center told Common Dreams. "The plant needs to be decommissioned in a way that promotes healthy community and healthy environment."
The New Orleans-based owner of the 4 decades-old facility has been fighting against the state of Vermont since 2010, when the Senate struck down a measure that would have extended plant authorization by decades, citing concerns about the safety and age of the plant.
“Each day of news from the widening catastrophe in Japan brings a grim reminder that this design is inherently dangerous and fundamentally flawed, a known fact since the first day Vermont Yankee came on line in 1972,” declared Paul Gunter, director of reactor oversight for Beyond Nuclear.
Entergy officials announced that the plant will cease production after it spends its current fuel cycle and decommission at the end of 2014, a process that will be overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Once it ceases functioning, the plant will be in a state of "safe store" and remain shuttered as its radioactive components cool for up to 60 years, theAP reports...


more > Nuke Plant to Shut Doors: Environmental Victory But Vital Work Still Ahead | Common Dreams



Monday, August 26, 2013

9.14 METZ, FRANCE: Internationale Demo - Cattenom Non Merci




Internationale Demo in Metz
zur Schließung des Pannenmeilers CatteNOm am Sa. 14 Sept. 2013 weiter

TERMINE / AGENDA - Cattenom Non Merci


The Cattenom Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant located in Lorraine in the Cattenom commune, France on the Moselle River between Thionville (10 km upstream) and Trier (80 km downstream). It is close to the city of Luxembourg (35 km) and Metz(40 km).



Treffpunkt und Kommunikations-Zentrale für alle, die meine Bürgerpetition "AKW Cattenom abschalten! Kein Fukushima 2 im Herzen Europas!" bei Avaaz unterstützen - oder auch nicht ;-)
Impressum < Bitte hier klicken
AKW Cattenom abschalten, kein Fukushima 2 im Herzen Europas (facebook)




PETITION -------------- 

Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident, ich fordere Sie auf, Ihre Position zum französischen Atomprogramm zu überdenken und im Sinne eines innovativ denkenden und handelnden Europas den Ausstieg Ihres Landes aus der Kernenergie zu beschließen. Als Signal Ihrer Entscheidung und Wertschätzung aller Bürger Europas fordere ich Sie insbesondere dazu auf, das AKW Cattenom kurzfristig mit sofortiger Wirkung stilllegen zu lassen.

FRANCAIS:
Monsieur le Président, je vous demande solennellement de revenir sur vos positions sur le programme nucléaire de la France et de décider, au nom d’une Europe qui agit et qui innove, de la sortie du nucléaire de votre pays. Je vous somme en particulier de procéder à l’arrêt immédiat

hier klicken, um den gesamten Text zu lesen.

AKW Cattenom abschalten! Kein Fukushima 2 im Herzen Europas!


Nuclear Map of France ~ Nucléaire : Danger Permanent



8.30 大飯原発を停止せよ!首相官邸前抗議! 首都圏反原発連合





大飯原発を停止せよ!
首相官邸前抗議
日時:2013年8月30日(金)18:00~20:00 予定
場所:首相官邸前および永田町・霞が関一帯
(霞ヶ関駅、虎ノ門駅、桜田門駅をご利用ください)
※千代田線・丸ノ内線の国会議事堂前駅は混雑が予想されます。
呼びかけ:首都圏反原発連合



Whatever stop Oiigenpatsu!
Prime Minister's Office before protest
Friday, 18:00 to 8:00 p.m. scheduled August 30, 2013: date and time
Nagata-cho, Kasumigaseki region and the Prime Minister's Office before Location:
(Please use Kasumigaseki station, Toranomon station, the station Sakuradamon)
※ congestion is expected to parliament station of Chiyoda Line, Marunouchi Roh extension.


★0830 大飯原発を停止せよ!首相官邸前抗議! 首都圏反原発連合
首都圏反原発連合


首都圏反原発連合 (facebook)
Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes on Facebook (English)



Speak Up Against Dangerous Radiation Protection Rollbacks - PSR


Speak Up Against Dangerous Radiation Protection Rollbacks

The comment period for these PAGs ends September 16, 2013. We need you to speak up and tell the EPA that these proposed rule changes are unacceptable! Submit a comment to the EPA! - Note: Comments submitted by email will be added to the EPA electronic docket. Your name and information will be visible.

Speak Up Against Dangerous Radiation Protection Rollbacks - PSR: Physicians for Social Responsibility


Sunday, August 25, 2013

10.13 TOKYO: No Nukes Day – United Action for Zero Nuclear Power Plants | Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes (en)





OCTOBER 13 is No Nukes Day – United Action for Zero Nuclear Power Plants ☆ Don’t Forget Fukushima! No More Restarts!



Help us spread the word on twitter!
Please tweet the following message>> OCTOBER 13 is No Nukes Day! United Action for Zero Nuclear Power Plants. Don’t Forget Fukushima! No More Restarts!  http://coalitionagainstnukes.jp/en/oct13/

Details of assembly/protest march
Date: October 13, 2013 (Sunday)
Organizer: Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes
Co-organizers:
Citizens’ Committee for the 10 Million People’s Petition to say Goodbye to Nuclear Power Plants
Genpatsu wo Nakusu Zenkoku Renrakukai
Cooperating organizations:
Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World
Protest Action against METI’s eviction order
Keisanshou-mae Tent Hiroba
Saikado Soshi Zenkoku Network
Details:
13:00~ Assembly at Hibiya Kokaido (Hibiya Public Hall)
(Co-organizers: Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes / Sayonara Genpatsu 10 Million People’s Action / Genpatsu wo Nakusu Zenkoku Renrakukai)
14:00~ Massive protest march
(Co-organizers: Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes / Sayonara Genpatsu 10 Million People’s Action / Genpatsu wo Nakusu Zenkoku Renrakukai)
17:00~19:00
Large protest in front of Diet Building
(Organizer: Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes)


OCTOBER 13 is No Nukes Day – United Action for Zero Nuclear Power Plants Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes (en)
1013 No Nukes Day 原発ゼロ☆統一行動 -福島を忘れるな・再稼働を許すな- 首都圏反原発連合 (jp)
首都圏反原発連合

首都圏反原発連合 (facebook)
Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes on Facebook (English)



If a Tree Falls in the Forest...




If a Tree Falls in the Forest...
from Fairewinds Energy Education (1 week ago)

This week's podcast features the testimonies of people living near the Three Mile Island nuclear plant at the time of the accident in 1979. Unlike most of our podcasts which feature scientists and other nuclear experts, today you will be hearing from ordinary citizens who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. These powerful testimonies are available in the NRC archives, but buried under thousands of other documents they rarely see the light of day. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, did it make a sound? If somebody signs a non-disclosure agreement, were they ever officially harmed? Today we challenge the misconception that nobody was hurt in the Three Mile Island accident, because history is repeating itself at Fukushima Daiichi.
If a Tree Falls in the Forest... from Fairewinds Energy Education


Saturday, August 24, 2013

▶ Fukushima is 1,000x's worse than we thought! - YouTube



▶ Fukushima is 1,000x's worse than we thought! - YouTube


Published on Aug 21, 2013Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear explains what the increase severity at Fukushima really means for the planet. http://BeyondNuclear.org


9.1&14: SAYONARA NUKES - 9.1さようなら原発講演会 &9.14さようなら原発大集会 | さようなら原発1000万人アクション




■9月1日(日)
9.1さようなら原発講演会
つながろうフクシマ!くりかえすな原発震災(東京・日比谷公会堂)


■ 1 September (Sun)
Follow us on Fukushima nuclear power plant lecture goodbye 9.1! Nuclear power plant disaster not repeat (Tokyo Hibiyakokaido)


■9月14日(土)
再稼働反対!
9.14さようなら原発大集会in亀戸(東京・亀戸中央公園)
■ 14 September (Sat) Re-running the opposite! (Kameidochuokoen Tokyo) Kameido rally in large primary goodbye 9.14 

さようなら原発1000万人アクションでは、9月の連続行動として、1日には小出裕章さんらを迎えて講演会を開催。
また、14日には都心を離れた初めての試みとして、亀戸中央公園を会場に、再稼働反対の大集会を呼びかけます。
詳細は随時更新してまいります。4色版 2色版(PDF)


9.1さようなら原発講演会&9.14さようなら原発大集会 | さようなら原発1000万人アクション


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Call for UN intervention in global Fukushima nuclear disaster


The enormous quantities of radioactive water being pumped into the Pacific daily by TEPCO pose a grave risk to human and animal populations. Another leak of almost of almost 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water was recently discovered. Fukushima workers have also expressed fears that another disastrous explosion is imminent, which would further shower the atmosphere with life threatening radiation. In the two and a half years since the Fukushima disaster, both TEPCO and the Japanese government have proven themselves to be unwilling and incapable of dealing with the issue in a responsible and transparent manner. TEPCO has been active in covering up the real effects of the disaster and the Japanese government has been complicit in this. TEPCO has proven itself to be incapable of handling the cleaning up process due to their incompetence and dishonesty thus far. Although much of the damage is irreversible, our greatest hope in limiting the damage for present and future generations lies in international awareness, recognition and immediate, decisive action. We call on the UN to remove TEPCO from the management of the disaster and organise an independent team of scientists and experts to take over the cleaning up and monitoring process.

For more information about the true nature of the disaster: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23779561


Call for UN intervention in global Fukushima nuclear disaster


10.19 SF: #Fukushima Is Here




Please Join us for a day of recognition: Radioactive contamination from Fukushima threatens life everywhere... And it will for generations to come. 

The nuclear reactors that exploded in Japan pose a terrible problem: to keep the escaped corium from bursting into uncontrollable fire or bigger explosions, incredible amounts of water must be poured into a damaged and very radioactive site. The plant has always had a problem mitigating heavy groundwater seepage; now it's swamped with highly contaminated water from both sources, making the ground that supports the site soggy and unstable. 

This nuclear emergency is not over. 

The world is a round planet and the nuclear fires burning in these destroyed reactors will not be extinguished for centuries. Dangerous levels of radioactive contamination have leaked into the Pacific Ocean, into our rain, into our food chain, into the very fabric of our DNA gene pool, every day for two and a half years. 

We have seriously fouled our nest, folks, and it's time to start talking about it. 

We are all connected by bodies of water and we are mostly made up of water. We have one globally connected ocean and each of us has one body. All life was born in this ocean. It needs our help now, to tell others what we know. 

One ocean, One chance. 


Fukushima is Here.


Fukushima Is Here


Petition | President Obama, Secretary Kerry: Protect Our Communities - Fix Fukushima NOW! | Change.org


After more than 2 years, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is neither contained nor stable. The reactors are in meltdown, a massive amount of nuclear waste sits on top of a badly damaged building, and radioactive water constantly leaks into the ocean whose currents carry it to the West Coast of the United States.
A second earthquake or explosion could release a catastrophic amount of radiation that would travel far beyond Japan’s borders into North America. Children, including the unborn, are especially vulnerable to radiation. Already the health of newborns has been shown to be in jeopardy. 

Japan cannot fix Fukushima alone. 

We therefore call on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to lead the world’s nations in offering technical and financial assistance to Japan to FIX FUKUSHIMA NOW, and save humanity from further nuclear disaster.


Petition: President Obama, Secretary Kerry: Protect Our Communities - Fix Fukushima NOW!


Sunday, August 18, 2013

9.14-15 CZECH REPUBLIC: 3rd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO STOP ‪#‎TEMELIN



3 International Conference
STOPS TEMELIN
With Jan Haverkamp, ​​Greenpeace
Atomic expert on Central and Eastern Europe

14th to 15 September 2013 at Temelin / Hluboka

Organizer: The Greens in the Fichtelgebirge / BI STOPS TEMELIN
Moderation and organization: Brigitte Artmann


    Registration: http://gruene-fichtelgebirge.de/akw-temelin-info-fahrt-2013/
    Please spread the news, there are some places left for participants. Thank you!


    EU Kommission: Temelin Neubau mit Staatsgarantien
    Wirtschaftsminister Rösler für Tschechisches Energiekonzept mit fünf Reaktoren

    Marktredwitz, 23. Juli 2013.
    Während die EU Kommission für den Temelin Neubau mit Staatsgarantien plädiert, unterstützt Wirtschaftsminister Rösler das Tschechische Energiekonzept mit fünf neuen Atomreaktoren. DIE GRÜNEN im Fichtelgebirge sind Veranstalter  der 3. Internationalen Konferenz  STOPPT TEMELIN vom 14. bis 15. September 2013 in Temelin/ Hluboka (Tschechien) mit Teilnehmern aus Tschechien, Österreich, der Slowakei, Deutschland und Polen. Die Organisatorin Brigitte Artmann sagt: „Selbst die HSBC schätzt den Bau eines Reaktors auf unwirtschaftliche 8 Milliarden Euro Minimum. Atomlobbyismus in Brüssel hat bereits die gefährliche Sschweißnahtsituation in Temelin Reaktor 1 verschuldet. Bereits im Jahre 2001 wandte sich Greenpeace damit an den ehemaligen EU Kommissar Günther Verheugen. Dieser attestierte: Temelin ist sicher. Dabei sind bis heute elementarste Fragen zur Schweißnaht 1-4-5 im Unklaren. Der tschechische Umweltminister Tomas Podivinsky, der deutsche Umweltminister Peter Altmaier und Österreichs Umweltminister Nikolaus Berlakovich weigern sich die bestehende Aktenlage 15/2001/SUJB trilateral auf Vollständigkeit zu überprüfen. Jan Haverkamp von Greenpeace wird über den neuesten Stand berichten“. Auf der Agenda der Konferenz steht weiter die Bildung von Klageallianzen aus Deutschland, Tschechien und Österreich gegen die zu erwartende Baugenehmigung der beiden neuen Temelin Blöcke. Sowohl die deutsche Bundesregierung als auch die bayerische Staatsregierung lehnen es ab im Namen der Öffentlichkeit und deren Sicherheit Klage zu führen. Bereits am Samstagvormittag wird die Maschinenhalle im Hochsicherheitstrakt des AKW inspiziert. Danach ist Start der „1000 Kraniche  gegen Atomenergie“. 50 dieser Tiere werden symbolisch um Temelin fliegen. Alle anderen starten bereits am 7. September 2013 um 12:00 in verschiedenen Orten in Deutschland und auch am geplanten AKW in Lubiatowo in Polen. Man kann sich an dieser Aktion noch beteiligen.

    Grüner Kreisverband Wunsiedel: Home


    Thursday, August 15, 2013

    10.19 CAPISTRANO VALLEY Symposium - Decommissioning #SanOnofre & Ongoing Nuclear Waste Dangers


    SAN ONOFRE THE RISKS LIVE ON

    Our Coalition to Decommission San Onofre can now proudly announce that nationally-regarded nuclear experts Dr. Marvin Resnikoff and Dr. Arjun Makhijani have confirmed they will be joining us for the October 19 symposium at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley, 1201 Puerta Del Sol, Suite 100, San Clemente, California 92673.Registration will start at 12 noon and the program will begin at 12:30 PM...

    more info > Symposium on Decommissioning San Onofre and the Ongoing Dangers of Nuclear Waste | Residents Organized for a Safe Environment


    Wednesday, August 14, 2013

    Is there a Nuke in Your Neighborhood? – Sierra Club, Ohio Chapter


    interactive map

    Operating Nuclear Reactors
    There are currently 100 operating reactors and 15 shuttered power reactor sites. In addition to being allowed to have routine radioactive releases to the air and water, all have had numerous accidents and radioactive spills. All are high-level radioactive nuclear waste storage sites.  The fuel pools of operating plants are overcrowded with as much as 5 times as many irradiated fuel rods (high-level waste) as they were designed to hold.  Dry casks holding older fuel are aging dangerously. The Sierra Club’s position is that the first solution to waste is to stop making it. Safer Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel is urgently needed. For a more detailed analysis see Spent Nuclear Fuel Pools in the U.S.:  Reducing the Deadly Risks of Storage.  

    Sierra Club – Ohio Chapter - Is there a Nuke in Your Neighborhood?