No Nukes News: nuke budget, renewables, events
Bischoff Angela
greenspi at web.ca
Fri Mar 12 22:28:50 EST 2010
No Nukes News
Mar. 12, 2010
Increasing the risk of nuclear war brings us back to climate change.
Recent scientific research details the climatic impacts of nuclear
warfare. The use of 100 weapons in nuclear warfare — just 0.03 per
cent of the explosive power of the world's nuclear arsenal — would
result directly in catastrophic climate change with many millions of
tonnes of black, sooty smoke lofted high into the stratosphere.
Needless to say the social and environmental impacts would be
horrendous. – Scott Ludlam
Whether we like it or not, we all live near nuclear power plants. The
mining of uranium and its processing and usage raises the background
levels of radioactivity and this causes genetic damage worldwide. The
good news is that nuclear is too expensive and too slow and the P.R
fiction of the so-called "nuclear renaissance" put out by the industry
will never happen. Real clean renewable energy will bypass the
reactors, Obama's political decision notwithstanding. - Wolfe Erlichman
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Federal green strategy goes from bad to worse
Thud. You hear that sound? That’s the sound of nearly half a billion
taxpayer dollars landing on the doorstep of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd.
Rudolph said the throne speech talked about the need to become a clean
energy superpower and lead in green job creation, but the government
is moving in the opposite direction. And nuclear power, he said, won’t
achieve either objective in the near term. “There is nothing ‘shovel
ready’ about investing in nuclear technology,” said Rudolph, pointing
out the long timeframes required for regulatory approvals.
… Still, as the Pembina Institute points out, the United States plans
to outspend Canada 14-to-1 per capita on renewable energy and 2-to-1
on energy efficiency in fiscal 2010. Even then, there’s concern by
some south of the border that the United States isn’t doing enough
compared to China and some countries in Europe.
http://www.thestar.com/business/cleanbreak/article/776536--hamilton-federal-green-strategy-goes-from-bad-to-worse
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Budget takes the wind out of clean energy sails
"Basically it means the federal government has no policy to encourage
renewable energy whatsoever," Estill said. "That's shocking, isn't it?"
The throne speech this week said the government will continue
investment in clean energy technologies, but the federal budget
suggests the Tory vision relies on nuclear energy, which will receive
$300 million this year, and cutting emissions from the oil and gas
sector.
Critics say that nuclear power plants and technology to trap carbon
emissions from the oilsands underground, an $800 million initiative
announced in 2009, will take years to produce tangible environmental
benefits. Renewable energy projects, in contrast, can be up and
running just months after project approvals are completed.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/federalbudget/article/775909--budget-takes-the-wind-out-of-clean-energy-sails
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tory budget ‘walks away' from renewable energy, environmentalist says
When the Canadian government put money into environmental initiatives
to stimulate the flagging economy, it focused on capturing the carbon
emissions from the oil and gas industries and building “green”
infrastructure like hydro transmission lines, landfills and sewage
systems.
Other governments around the world, meanwhile, channelled their
investments into the commercial development of renewable energy
technologies. For some of them, this was not a new venture.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/budget/tory-budget-walks-away-from-renewable-energy-environmentalist-says/article1496915/?cid=art-rail-politics
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Greenwash of the Week: Going Nuclear
5 minute youtube video - Bria and Robin take on the nuclear power
industry. (a RAN Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tub1ROKTmzo&feature=channel
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
N.B. reactor upgrade delayed again
The $1.4-billion refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear reactor in
New Brunswick is continuing to miss deadlines set by Atomic Energy of
Canada Ltd
The federal and provincial governments have been locked in a war of
words over who should cover the costs of the delays, which the New
Brunswick government says are the fault of AECL.
The Point Lepreau project is the world's first refurbishment of a
Candu-6 facility, and AECL had hoped it would act as a model process
that could be sold to other countries that purchased the same kind of
reactor.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/03/10/nb-aecl-point-lepreau-refurbishment-delay-258.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Challenging Conventional Wisdom on Renewable Energy's Limits
In making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting
energy sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation,
renewable energy advocates often confront the argument that their
scheme is impossible due to the intermittent nature of sun and wind.
But a groundbreaking study out of North Carolina challenges that
conventional wisdom: It suggests that backup generation requirements
would be modest for a system based largely on solar and wind power,
combined with efficiency, hydroelectric power, and other renewable
sources like landfill gas.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/08-3
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
B.C. fuels fight with Ontario over bioenergy
British Columbia's quest to replace Ontario as the top destination for
clean-energy investment dollars will now be headed up directly by
Premier Gordon Campbell.
Ontario's new energy pricing strategy has left B.C. behind, with new
contracts expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks under its
"feed-in tariff" policy guaranteeing prices and long-term contracts
for green power.
The B.C. Premier plans to introduce a new Clean Energy Act this spring
to exploit his province's beetle-killed forests as a bioenergy
alternative, and to open up new energy trading opportunities across
Western Canada and into the U.S.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-fuels-fight-with-ontario-over-bioenergy/article1495726/
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
First FIT Projects cleared to proceed
The OPA has just announced its first release of approved FIT (feed-in-
tariff) applications for capacity allocation exempt facilities.
510 projects approved range from 10 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts and
have a total generating capacity of 112 megawatts.
About 95 percent of the projects are for solar generation. The
remaining projects are biogas (20), water (4), onshore wind (3) and
biomass (1).
Notable on the list was Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest
grocery retailer, which has been approved for FIT applications for
rooftop solar installations on 136 of its Ontario stores. The grocery
retailer will initially launch four pilot projects in select stores
across the province and then evaluate the next phase of rollouts.
The list of approved projects is available here:
http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/Storage/100/10900_Listing_of_CAE_FINAL.pdf
The OPA press release is available here:
http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/Storage/100/10898_FIT_-_CAE_Event_News_Release_-_FINAL.pdf
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/loblaw-to-tap-ontario-program-with-solar-panels/article1495770/
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Ontario Reaches 46 MW of Solar PV in 2009
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reports that 40 MW of solar
photovoltaic (PV) contracts were in commercial operation by the end of
2009 – about enough electricity for some 4,000 typical Ontario homes
for the next 20 – 30 years. In a few short months Ontario has become
a major market for solar PV in North America.
http://www.altaterra.net/members/blog_view.asp?id=511177&post=93720
--------
Solar panel startup to lease residential rooftops
A Toronto startup has come up with a way to put solar power systems on
the rooftops of new homes at no cost to the owners. In fact, the
homeowner would get paid to let it happen.
http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/articlePrint/777492
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Forget Nuclear
By Amory B. Lovins, Imran Sheikh, and Alex Markevich
Isn’t it time we forgot about nuclear power? Informed capitalists
have. Politicians and pundits should too. After more than half a
century of devoted effort and a half-trillion dollars of public
subsidies, nuclear power still can’t make its way in the market. If we
accept that unequivocal verdict, we can at last get on with the best
buys first: proven and ample ways to save more carbon per dollar,
faster, more surely, more securely, and with wider consensus. As often
before, the biggest key to a sound climate and security strategy is to
take market economics seriously.
http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid467.php
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
For those of you interested in learning more about nuke power, here
are some highly recommended books:
In Mortal Hands - a cautionary history of the nuclear age by Stephanie
Cooke, Bloomsbury, New York, 2009.
Atomic Accomplice - how Canada deals in deadly deceit, by Paul McKay,
privately published, 2009 (You can order this through angela at cleanairalliance.org
- $20 plus $3 postage)
Uranium - war, energy and the rock that shaped the world, by Tom
Zoellner, Viking, 2009.
Order them from a book store or better yet, get your local library to
order them.
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Ontario’s Green Future: How Ontario Can Move Towards a 100% Renewable
Electricity Grid
With keynote speaker Jack Gibbons of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Monday March 15th, 5 - 6 p.m.
Room GB120 in the Galbraith Building, 35 St. George St. (just above
College), U of T, Toronto
Sponsored by: Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Power of Activism
A public forum on effective social change. Learn from successful
social movements.
Thursday March 18, 7:30 PM
Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave, (St. George subway station) Toronto
With Lyn Adamson, Angela Bischoff and others
Free. For more info: peaceworks at primus.ca
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
We can stop burning coal today! - New leaflet
Ontario now has a large surplus of coal-free electricity and according
to the Independent Electricity System Operator it will stay that way
between now and the official coal phase out deadline of 2014. That
means that Ontario can stop burning coal today and avoid releasing
millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases and air polluting emissions
simply by putting our remaining dirty coal plants on standby reserve.
This would be an excellent way to demonstrate to the world at the G20
Summit in June that Ontario is serious about meeting its greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets and that Canadians do care about
climate change.
By not operating our coal plants except in the case of a true power
emergency, we can proudly point to a major climate achievement when
the world gathers on our doorstep in June!
Help us get the word out about this magnificent climate opportunity –
order pamphlets, with postcards addressed to Premier McGuinty, to
distribute to your friends, family and community calling for Ontario’s
coal plants to be put on standby reserve immediately. Order now –
they’re FREE! And thank you so much for helping us help the planet.
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Angela Bischoff
Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela at cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
Our Facebook Group
Sign Our Petition
No Nukes News
Health Power
_______________________________________________
To be added or removed from the No Nukes News Mailing list, please
click <a href="http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/no_nukes_news">here</
a>
------
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Eulogies and Condolences for Tooker
and Stories of ecology and activism
http://www.greenspiration.org
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Join my email list by emailing Angela at:
greenspiration at web.ca
Write "subscribe" in the subject line
and tell me what city/country you live in
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/pipermail/greenspirationto-l/attachments/20100312/fbeabf4b/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 7524 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/pipermail/greenspirationto-l/attachments/20100312/fbeabf4b/attachment.png>
More information about the greenspirationto-l
mailing list