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WWF says energy saving trumps nuclear in Russian emissions cuts | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire
n seeking to reduce Russia's greenhouse gas emissions, energy saving programs are more important than increased reliance on nuclear power, a World Wildlife Fund Russia official said on Tuesday.
Commenting on widespread calls to boost the role of nuclear power, Alexei Kokorin, who heads WWF Russia's Climate and Energy program, said: "This point of view is certainly on the rise."
He said that for many countries, including France, Armenia, Finland and Bulgaria, nuclear power may prove the best option for cutting emissions, but that in Russia's case "cheaper options need to be used."
"I know that in Russia, the main way to cut emissions is energy saving and energy efficiency", he said, and highlighted the findings of an International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook report published earlier this month.
Miles to go on Livermore nuclear lab cleanup -- latimes.com
Quarrels remain as the Northern California community and the federal government search for an affordable and environmental solution.
Reporting from Livermore, Calif. - The Energy Department is spending $328 million to clean up two separate areas of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory -- the agency's largest nuclear-weapons cleanup project in California.
The cleanup is relatively minor compared with others in the U.S., but it still has led to conflicts between the local community and the federal government as both search for a solution that is affordable and environmentally acceptable.
Livermore is one of two U.S. labs that designed nuclear weapons. It continues to conduct research into plutonium behavior, high-powered lasers, computer-simulated nuclear reactions and other areas.
Illegally Dumping 100 Million Pounds of Toxic Coal Ash Waste Onto a Pristine
One of the world's largest power generating companies caused horrendous birth defects, lung injuries, and other acute and chronic medical problems from illegally dumping 100 million pounds of toxic coal ash onto a pristine Caribbean beachfront, according to a groundbreaking mass tort lawsuit filed late November 4th against Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corporation ("AES"). The eight-count lawsuit on behalf of 11 plaintiffs, living and dead, from the small rural village of Arroyo Barril in the Dominican Republic was filed in Delaware Superior Court.
Two of the children died after birth from catastrophic birth defects. Two boys survived: one with no arms; the other, born with his stomach outside his body, had to endure several surgeries. Another child was found -- in utero -- to have massive cranial defects and had to be aborted, according to Diane Paolicelli, Esq. of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg LLP in New York City. Paolicelli, who leads the firm's medical malpractice and catastrophic injury practice group, represents birth defect victims.
Nuclear power water rights protests triggers public hearing - Salt Lake Tribune
State water officials have decided to schedule a public hearing on a proposal that would transfer water rights amounting to billions of gallons from Kane and San Juan counties to a company that wants to build a nuclear power plant at Green River.
They're going to get an earful.
Hundreds of people and organizations have filed protests on the action, which would transfer 29,600 acre-feet of water from Kane County and 24,000 acre-feet per year from San Juan County to Blue Castle Holdings, a company working to secure a license to build a power plant. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons. The company would lease the water rights for 70 years.
Africa choking on West’s waste - The National Newspaper
It started with a story about nothing. Last week, Britain’s Guardian newspaper posted a short, vague article on its website about a question being asked in Parliament. But that was about it: the newspaper said it couldn’t reveal “who has asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found”. Worse, the paper couldn’t say why not, only that “legal obstacles, which cannot be identified, involve proceedings, which cannot be mentioned, on behalf of a client who must remain secret”.
A baffling story but one that, in the internet age, was soon fleshed out by intrepid bloggers. They uncovered so much of the hidden story that, by the next morning, the parties involved backed down before their court appearance with the newspaper.
Deseret News | Delay urged for water diversion
Critics of a plan to divert river water to support a proposed nuclear reactor in Emery County say any diversion should be put on hold until a new study of the Colorado River's water supplies is completed.
Additionally, they say Utah's water engineer should hold off until their protests are formally heard in the spring of 2010.
At issue is the transfer of 24,000 acre-feet of water from the San Juan River to the Green River in support of Blue Castle Holdings' nuclear reactor at an industrial park.
Another 29,600 acre-feet of water is pending for lease from the Kane County Water Conservancy District in support of the project's development.
Rialto officials say Superfund listing a win in perchlorate fight - San Bernardino County Sun
A 160-acre site in the northern area of the city known for introducing a perchlorate plume into the local ground water supply has been added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund National Priorities List.
When the listing was announced Wednesday, officials declared it as a landmark victory for Rialto residents.
"This is a very victorious day for the city of Rialto, after spending $28 million to try to get these guys to do the right thing," Councilman Ed Scott said.
The Superfund designation represents a commitment by the EPA to clean the site while making it eligible for government funding, said Wayne Praskins, Superfund project manager.
The EPA has been developing an initial cleanup proposal that should be ready at the beginning of the year, Praskins said Friday.
It will cost between $10 million and $15 million to construct the facilities needed to conduct a cleanup at the site, and $1 million per year to operate them, Praskins said.
Water pact gambles with health of Utah families - Salt Lake Tribune
In 1991, facing obvious limits to growth from meager water resources, Las Vegas power brokers decided to bring the drama of high stakes gambling from the casinos to the board room of the Southern Nevada Water Authority headed by the Bernie Madoff of Western water, Pat Mulroy.
The strategy was even proudly Ballyhooed in public. Las Vegas would just keep building beyond the capacity of its Colorado River allocation and dare other states or the federal government to stop them.
At the time, a spokesman for Nevada's Colorado River Commission even announced, "The federal government will never let Nevada go dry."
Letter: FPL reactors will destroy local water supply - Coral Gables / South Miami - MiamiHerald.com
Florida Power & Light must be stopped from endangering our lives, destroying our water supply and making us pay for it.
FPL plans to double the number of nuclear reactors at Turkey Point and to continue storing nuclear waste on-site indefinitely.
Radioactive tritium leaks reveal the existing cooling canals already push saltwater into South Dade well fields -- new reactors will hasten this process. Further, FPL intends to run above-ground 230,000 volt transmission lines through Biscayne and Everglades National Parks, then up U.S. 1 adjacent to schools, hospitals, residences, businesses and commuter lines.
In study after study, cancer rates are elevated along high voltage transmission corridors.
FPL's own consultant stated these cancer risks cannot be dismissed.
Hazardous Chemicals at Vieques: Is U.S. Accountable? - TIME
When Hermogenes Marrero was in Marine boot camp, he recalls being the only recruit who didn't panic during simulated-chemical-warfare drills. "I'd sit there calmly with my gas mask on," Marrero says, "while a lot of other guys got scared and ran away." It was 1969, and Marrero, a New Yorker born in Puerto Rico, was fresh out of high school at the age of 17. But his composure caught the eyes of Marine instructors — and the next year, he says, he was at Camp Garcia on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, helping guard for 18 months chemical agents being tested by the U.S. Navy.
Call for positive decisions to be taken in Western Basin – directive unreasonable
The Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE) informs Mining Weekly that two of the three mining companies responsible for cleaning and treating the toxic mine water in the Western Basin have once again stopped pumping and treating the mine void water.
The mines were instructed earlier this year by the Depart
ment of Water and Environ-mental Affairs (DWEA) to pump and partially treat the toxic water that rose up to just 0,6 m from the surface.
The department further directed that, after October 31, 2009, the water had to be pumped and treated to values with sulphates of less than 600 mg/ℓ, failing which it might take any measures it considered necessary to remedy the situation, which could include taking the measures itself and recovering all reasonable costs for measures taken by the department from the parties to whom the directive was issued as well as taking legal action against the parties.
The Ranger San Antonio College - Town hall renews nuclear questions
Concerns center on water usage, cost and spent fuel disposal.
The future of San Antonio’s ever-growing power needs was addressed Aug. 26 in McAllister Fine Arts Center during KSTX’s Town Hall forum on energy.
While the topic of the forum was all things energy, most of the evening’s questions centered on CPS’ proposed $10 billion-$13 billion expansion of the South Texas Project nuclear power plant in Bay City, which intends to add two additional nuclear reactors, as well as conversation on use of alternative and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Construction for the new reactors, dubbed STP 3 & 4, is slated to begin in 2012.
CPS’ use of renewable resources, including solar, wind and natural gas, equals over 11 percent of the city’s peak energy demand, according to the company’s Web site. The Web site also lists a goal to increase that percentage to 20 percent by 2020.
Hanford News: Email Story Print Story AddThis tool name close tool goes here Report: Gov't agency waives rules for hazardous materials shippers
The federal agency that regulates the transport of explosives, toxic chemicals, fireworks and other hazardous materials has for years quietly waived safety regulations because of its cozy relationship with industry, according to a congressional report.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which regulates shipment of potentially dangerous cargo by land, sea and air, also has ignored whether shippers have been involved in accidents or cited for violating regulations before granting or renewing the waivers, the report said.
The report was based on an investigation by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on whether PHMSA is doing its job. The chief witness scheduled to testify at the hearing is Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel, who warned administration officials in late July that a separate investigation by his office had uncovered significant concerns.
Duke official says lake levels to decline : Anderson Independent-Mail
Managing lake levels is a delicate balancing act at best, a Duke official said Thursday, but the general outlook calls for levels of some lakes to decline.
Lake Jocassee can expect to take the biggest hit, said George Galleher of Duke Energy hydroelectric operations, because of the lake’s part in the whole balancing act.
Galleher spoke at a forum on the overall health of the Duke Energy lakes and their watershed. The forum was sponsored by the Friends of Lake Keowee Society and held at Duke Energy’s World of Energy center north of Seneca.
The world's worst polluter: U.S. military | Foreign Policy Journal
No matter what we’re led to believe, the world’s worst polluter is not your cousin who refuses to recycle or that co-worker who drives a gas guzzler or the guy down the block who simply will not try CFL bulbs. “The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest polluter in the world, producing more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined,” explains Lucinda Marshall, founder of the Feminist Peace Network. Pesticides, defoliants like Agent Orange, solvents, petroleum, lead, mercury, and depleted uranium are among the many deadly substances used by the military.
What does this mean for us? To start with, it can help illustrate how to best foment a green revolution. As Derrick Jensen reminds us: “Even if every single person in the United States were to change all their light-bulbs to fluorescent, cut the amount they drive in half, recycle half of their household waste, inflate their tire pressure to increase gas mileage, use low flow shower heads and wash clothes in lower temperature water, adjusts their thermostats two degrees up or down depending on the season, and plant a tree, it would result in a one time, 21% reduction in carbon emissions.”
Water looms as key issue for nuclear proposal
Sitting in on Mayor Julián Castro's town hall meeting Monday evening felt like watching some old movie in which you know all the lines by heart.
It probably served some purpose on the front end — forcing CPS Energy officials to realize that their proposal for a $5.2 billion investment in two nuclear plants falls well short of a sure thing — but it didn't seem to shift opinions around much.
Still, with all the talk about how the Big Decision will affect our grandchildren, it was easy to wonder which question will appear most prescient decades from now.
Perhaps it will be the handwritten, photocopied ‘No Nuclear Energy!' sheet passed out at the front door, on which a man named Ray Davidson Hillman guaranteed that if all North American nuclear plants are not shut down soon, the planet won't support life in one or two hundred years. If he's right, of course, no one will be around to realize how smart he was.
Looking for signs of contamination in Hanford-area fish (w/gallery) - Breaking News - Yahoo | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news
Employees of Environmental Assessment Services are living the good life this summer, getting paid to go fishing.
To make final plans for the environmental cleanup of the Hanford nuclear reservation, the Department of Energy and its regulators need to know more about the extent of contamination in the Columbia River.
That requires checking hundreds of fish, in part to assess their condition, but chiefly to test for any Hanford chemicals or radionuclides that could harm anyone eating those fish.
Someone has to catch the fish. And Environmental Assessment Services of Richland has been given that dirty job.
This past week, employees were fishing for sturgeon and walleye.
Activists battle new uranium mine - Salt Lake Tribune
Two environmental groups are trying to block Utah's first new uranium mine in three decades.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Uranium Watch want the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to rethink its approval of the Daneros Mine, located about 10 miles from Natural Bridges National Monument.
The groups also want the federal agency to stop Australia-based White Canyon Uranium from mining its Daneros claim until BLM's Utah director, Selma Sierra, determines whether her agency studied the environmental consequences sufficiently.
"There are a lot of issues associated with uranium mining that were not adequately assessed before the permits were issued," Liz Thomas, an attorney for SUWA, said Friday.
Deseret News | Too hot for nuke power
Proponents of nuclear power in Utah probably have not noticed an article in the UK Times (July 13, 2009) regarding the problems France is having with its nuclear-power plants, problems that bear on the feasibility of nuclear power in Utah.
France is in the grips of another hot summer, with air temperatures in the 80s. Water temperatures have exceeded the limits under which plants cooled by river water can safely operate.
As a result of the heat, France has had to reduce power generation by one-third and is now importing power from England. Much the same thing happened during the heat wave of 2003.
Reading this, I couldn't help thinking about the nuclear plant proposed for Green River, where summer temperatures are regularly in high 90s. The water temperature of the Green River at Jensen on July 13, 2009, was 23.5 degrees Celsius, almost as high as the maximum allowed for water returned to rivers from France's nuclear plants. During the drought of 1999-2005, Green River water temperatures reached 25.4 degrees.
Public Citizen - Congress, Obama Urged to Address Mountain of Unheard Mining Safety Cases
Thousands of Safety Violations Still Pending Because of Lack of Funding; Agency Needs New Leadership
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Facing a backlog of more than 13,000 unheard safety cases, the federal agency responsible for ruling on mine safety violations is in urgent need of more resources and new leadership, Public Citizen said in letters sent today to President Obama and members of Congress.
Agency officials estimate that under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission’s current funding level, the commission will need at least five years to address its existing case backlog, excluding any new cases that arise during that time, according to Public Citizen’s letter.
Public Citizen is calling on Congress to increase the budget of the mine safety commission to bring it in line with other agencies that fill similar roles. For example, the mine commission’s budget is $2 million lower than that of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, despite having 6.5 times as many outstanding cases. The public interest group also is calling for Obama to replace the current chairman, a Bush administration holdover and a former attorney for the mining industry’s lobbying organization, who has done little to garner additional resources for the mining commission.
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