No Nukes News: Ford's Hydro (non) solution

[Angela Bischoff]

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April 19, 2018☢ Ford’s hydro solution a few volts short of a load Doug Ford thinks firing the CEO of Hydro One will lead to lower electricity bills. While we agree that $6 million/yr is way over the top, firing him would only lead to a 3/100ths of 1% decrease in our rates. Fortunately, we can reduce our electricity costs by $1.1 billion per year by importing Quebec water power and closing the Pickering Nuclear Station when its license expires in August. 

The World

☢ Too little information clouds real impact of TMI The disaster at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, began on March 28, 1979. Today, 39 years later, the reality, of what really happened, and how many people it harmed, remains cloaked in mystery and misinformation. Plants exhibited strange mutations, and cancer rates and stillbirths increased among animals. Evacuation failed. One study team concluded that lung cancer and leukemia rates were 2 to 10 times higher downwind of the Three Mile Island reactor than upwind.☢ Uranium miner Cameco’s losses continue to mount Annual report says Saskatoon-based company lost $205M in 2017

☢ New evidence of nuclear fuel releases found at Fukushima Uranium and other radioactive materials, such as cesium and technetium, have been found in tiny particles released from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors. This could mean the environmental impact from the fallout may last much longer than previously expected.

☢ Few return to Fukushima schools after evacuation lifted Just 3% of the 4,000 children who were enrolled at 21 local schools prior to the disaster returned after the evacuation lifted. The low return rate highlights the daunting task for officials trying to revitalize local communities.
 
☢ 3 US nuclear stations to be shuttered On the 39th anniversary of the Three Mile Island Pennsylvania meltdown, First Energy announced the shutdown of 4 nuclear reactors in Pennsylvania and Ohio by 2021, continuing the procession of old, corroding, dangerous reactors shutting down permanently since 2013.
 
☢ Uncertain future after Indian Point, NY nuclear plant closes in 2021. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called it a "ticking time bomb."
 
☢ With nuke plant shutting down, community inherits 1.7M pounds of waste As nuclear power plants around the US continue to shut down — 20 reactors are already on their way out, and several more are expected to follow — questions remain about what to do with the nuclear waste they leave behind.

☢ Workers' radiation exposure halts nuke plant demolition Radioactive particles are known to have contaminated 42 workers, which led to the shutdown of demolition at Hanford.

☢ France's nuclear plans under pressure Western Europe is increasingly turning its back on the technology. On 31 March, the Belgian government confirmed that its future energy strategy included a plan to shut down all nuclear power plants by 2025, and Germany, Spain and Switzerland have also made plans to phase out nuclear power by the 2020s. Even President Emmanuel Macron's French election campaign included a promise to cut nuclear power generation from 72% to 50%.  Ontario

☢ What you need to know about the Pickering Nuclear Reactors A Greenpeace fact sheet.

☢ An Assessment of the Ontario-Quebec Electricity Trade Agreement – FAO (Financial Accountability Office of ON) “Quebec generates a large surplus of electricity, primarily from emissions free hydroelectric generating stations, and electricity prices in Quebec are the lowest in Canada. The proximity of Quebec to Ontario’s major cities presents an attractive opportunity for Ontario to meet its electricity needs with imports from Quebec.”  [pg. 4]

☢ ‘Without exports, our profits are in trouble’: Hydro-Quebec plugs into U.S. markets for growth Hydro Quebec can generate power from its reservoirs at around 2 cents / kWh. By comparison, OPG is requesting 16.5 cents to rebuild Darlington, and we pay OPG 9 cents for Pickering's power. #ClosePickerign #BuyQuebecPower

☢ Green Party of ON Energy Platform "Nuclear power is outdated technology. It locks us into an old, centralized system that limits opportunities for taking advantage of new low cost opportunities. A better plan is to purchase low cost water power instead of high cost nuclear power. We can reduce demand for new power sources by helping people save energy and money. And we can tap into the clean energy technology to modernize and economize our system."

☢ Re-affirming Toronto as a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone On April 16, Toronto’s Board of Health discussed this issue. You can watch the deputations here, including Setsuko Thurlow’s who was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Zach Ruiter discusses the uranium processing plant at Lansdown and Dupont, Toronto.
 
☢ Board of Health passes motion to report on potential health hazards from uranium plant at Lansdowne and Dupont, Toronto “You have an active nuclear weapons manufacturer working with 53% of all uranium used in Canada’s reactors in Toronto’s west end, and it’s spewing uranium down the drain and into the air, and the people who are living closest in the low-income housing towers and the new condos right there, they’re getting even more exposure than the rest of us.”
 
☢ A Case of Double Jeopardy by Dr. Gordon Edwards All cities are vulnerable to devastation by nuclear attack, but Toronto is in double jeopardy because of the very close proximity of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station with its over 400,000 irradiated fuel bundles in the spent fuel pools. A fire there would release far more radioactivity into the environment than has been released hitherto by all 2000 test nuclear explosions conducted to date, as well as all previous nuclear core meltdowns, such as at Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi, leaving a legacy of contaminated land that would remain totally uninhabitable for centuries.

☢ Toronto's Emergency Management Program and Revisions to the Toronto Municipal Code Toronto's Executive Committee passed the motion mandating staff to make a submission to the Pickering hearings as well as the Minister of Community Safety to request strengthened emergency management plans, the expansion of pre-distribution of KI (radiation) pills beyond the 10 km zone, a study of the potential impacts of a nuclear accident on the Great Lakes and drinking water, and more.Renewables and Conservation

☼ We Can Solve This: 100% Renewable Cities 2 min. video of the US cities movement to go 100% renewable.

☼ Portugal reaches 100% renewables for entire month of March, ends fossil fuel subsidies

☼ Solar Power Investment Outstripped Coal, Gas And Nuclear Combined In 2017

☼ Ontario businessman who saved millions by going green reveals his secret He outfitted his plant with newer equipment that uses less energy and requires less maintenance, changed the plant's electricity-use patterns to avoid being dinged at higher rates, and tightened up factory floor rules to better conserve heating in the winter. The changes have cut his greenhouse gas emissions 77%. With the help of purchased offsets, the plant now bills itself as carbon neutral.Events

☢ Earth Day Presentation by Angela Bischoff, OCAA - Nuclear vs. Renewables in ON Sun. April 22, 12:15 p.m. Bloor Street United Church, 300 Bloor St. W, Sanctuary, Toronto. All welcome. Live webcast on my personal Facebook page.
 
☢ Radioactive Waste and Canada’s First Nations Mon. April 23, 1:15 - 2:30 pm. Live webcast from the UN Headquarters during the 17th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, hosted by the Anishinabek Nation and the Iroquois Caucus, Canada. There will be a concurrent press conference in Ottawa.
 
☢ Energy Democracy Fri. May 4, 1:15 p.m. 90-minute webinar about the emerging field of energy democracy, a movement that frames the struggle of working people, low income communities, and communities of color to take control of energy resources and use those resources to empower their communities.
 
☢ No War 2018: designing a world beyond war, legalizing peace Toronto Sept. 21-22 
Take Action! ☢ No Olympics or Paralympics in Radioactive Fukushima Petition

☢ Sign our petitions to Close Pickering and to Buy Quebec Power. And share them with your friends. Watch our 2 min. video here.

☢ Stop OPG's  Nuclear Waste Dump Before It's Too Late Learn more about OPG’s nuke waste dump proposal in Kincardine, ON, and write Minister McKenna, Premier Wynne and PM Trudeau here.

☢ Tell the Japanese government: don’t dump nuclear waste into the ocean!

☢ Canada - do not let corporate profits dictate what we do with our nuclear waste Petition. 
 
☢ Protect Kyoto! Prevent another nuclear disaster in Japan. Stop the dangerous Ohi plantPetition.

☢ Westinghouse - Quit India International statement against the Kovvada nuclear station.

☢ Can you spare a few hours to leaflet blitz your neighbourhood mailboxes? Help us make the closure of the Pickering nuclear station a public issue. Contact: angela at cleanairalliance.org

☢ Order your free KI (anti-thyroid-cancer) pills here if you live within 50 km of an ON nuclear facility - that includes all of Toronto and beyond. Download your anti-thyroid cancer posters hereto post in your office, school, or local cafe.

☢ Canada – Sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Last year 122 member states of the United Nations voted to approve the text of a Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, but the Nuclear Weapons States voted against it as did most NATO countries including Canada. This petition asks Canada to sign the Treaty.
 
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