Old_Notes

Nuclear Outlook Bleak

roman August 15, 2015

An interesting review of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2015 (WNISR 2015) in the current Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

Nuclear heavyweights. In both France and Japan, two of the three countries with the largest installed nuclear capacity (the United States is number one), the nuclear industry is in deep trouble. Although Japan still has 40 reactors that are counted as installed capacity, none of them operated in 2014. It was the first time in 50 years that Japan was without nuclear electricity for an entire calendar year. And no lights went out. As of today, it appears likely that two reactors, at most, will restart in Japan this year.

In France, long the world’s role model for how to successfully develop nuclear energy, the National Assembly passed an energy bill that defines a target to reduce nuclear’s share of the electricity mix from three-quarters to half by 2025. The French state-controlled energy group Areva—the self-proclaimed global leader in nuclear energy—went technically bankrupt after reporting massive losses for four years in a row. Credit-rating agencies have downgraded Areva’s long-term debt to “junk,” and the company’s share price plunged to a record low earlier this month, a level 90 percent below its record high in 2007.

Old_Notes

FoE Adelaide Annual Report 2014/15

robyn August 13, 2015

Friends of the Earth Adelaide has two main collectives. The Fair Food Adelaide collective works on food sovereignty issues including March Against Monsanto, and the Clean Futures Collective focuses on Mining and Energy; and is pro-renewables, anti-nuclear and anti-fracking.

Fair Food Adelaide

This financial year Fair Food Adelaide focussed on events for Fair Food Week held each October where we held two events – a bicycle community garden tour, and a forum on food poverty co-hosted with Foodbank SA. After a local food Long Table lunch and an end of year picnic, we’ve had a quieter 2015 as two of our main organisers have had to step down due to new jobs. Our monthly Urban Orchard food swap is continuing, and instead of rallying on the anniversary of the first March Against Monsanto we wrote letters to SA’s Agriculture Minister to congratulate him on standing strong to continue SA’s GM moratorium and championing soil improvement rather than GMO crops. We also lobbied the federal Agriculture Minister and Health Minister asking them to ban the weedkiller Roundup (glyphosate) in light of the recent announcement by the World Health Organisation that it probably causes cancer. We have received replies from Barnaby Joyce saying the approval status of glyphosate is under review. We are also collecting signatures for a petition to Bunnings asking them to stop stocking the neonicotinoid pesticides that harm bees. We also work with the GM-Free Australia Alliance as one of its member groups. Member Kim Hill hosted workshop on The End of Agriculture at the Students of Sustainability conference in July.

We’ll continue to keep members up to date with information on our Facebook page, Facebook group, googlegroup and website.

See www.facebook.com/fairfoodadelaide and www.facebook.com/groups/MarchAgainstMonsantoAdelaide

Clean Futures, Climate, FoE, Mining, Nuclear, Old_Notes, Publications, Renewables, Reports, Sustainability, Weapons proliferation

anti-nuclear, BHP Billiton; Olympic Dam, clean futures collective, climate change, community, fair food adelaide, Food, food sovereignty, friends of the earth, Mining, Sustainability

Media Release: Nuclear is the wrong direction for SA

robyn August 13, 2015

MEDIA RELEASE 13 August 2015

Three leading environmental organisations – Conservation SA, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of the Earth, Australia – have submitted a detailed joint submission to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission which forensically details an extensive series of nuclear myths and false assumptions.

“South Australia’s future lies in renewable energy, not nuclear. It’s cheaper, safer and quicker to roll out,” said Conservation SA Chief Executive Craig Wilkins.

“This week’s axing of hundreds of jobs from Olympic Dam should raise huge questions about growth potential in the nuclear industry. With renewables, we can be in charge of our own destiny, not dependent on decisions made in corporate boardrooms on the other side of the world,” he said.

“Much of the nuclear promotion in SA is premised on the idea of a global nuclear ‘renaissance’, said lead submission author Dr Jim Green. “In fact, the nuclear renaissance is stone cold dead.

There are fewer reactors now than there were a decade ago. Nuclear fuel cycle markets for enrichment, conversion and fuel fabrication are oversupplied. And as the continuing job losses at Olympic Dam demonstrate, the uranium market is extremely weak and will remain so for years,” he said.

As well as highlighting the contested and constrained status of the current nuclear sector the 248 page report makes a compelling case that the industry’s future will be no brighter.

“So-called Generation 3 reactors projects such as the French EPR and Westinghouse AP1000 are in trouble, with multi-year delays and multi-billion dollar cost blowouts,” said Dr Green. “So-called Generation 4 reactors are decades away and, as a recent report by the French government concludes, safety claims made by Generation 4 advocates do not stand up to scrutiny.”

Many environment, public health and Aboriginal groups have expressed concern that the Royal Commission is being used by the nuclear industry as a Trojan Horse in an attempt to open national and international radioactive waste dumps in SA.… Read more >>

Clean Futures, FoE, Media releases, Mining, Nuclear, Old_Notes, Reports, Weapons proliferation

anti-nuclear, BHP Billiton; Olympic Dam, climate change, friends of the earth, Mining, Sustainability

FoE Submissions to the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel “Cycle”

robyn August 13, 2015

Friends of the Earth Adelaide have been busy the last few months preparing submissions to the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle.

The issues papers are on the Royal Commission website along with many others.

Issues Paper 1: Exploration, Extraction and Milling

FOE Issues Paper 1: Mining Expansion Submission Final July 2015

Appendix 2 Pt Augusta Statement

Issues Paper 2: Further Processing and Manufacturing

FOE Issues Paper 2: Enrich-Final

Issues Paper 3: Electricity Generation

FOE Issues Paper 3: Electricity Generation Final July 2015

Appendix 1: Nuclear Power – Still Not Viable Without Subsidies

report by the Union of Concerned Scientists

Issues Paper 4: Management, Storage and Disposal of Waste

FOE Issues Paper 4: Nuclear Waste Submission

Appendix 1 Pt Augusta Statement

CFC member Philip White’s individual submission addressing Issues Paper 3: Philip White Submission

Clean Futures, FoE, Mining, Nuclear, Old_Notes, Publications, Renewables, Reports, Weapons proliferation

Adelaide, anti-nuclear, BHP Billiton; Olympic Dam, clean futures collective, climate change, friends of the earth, Mining, Sustainability

CANE Update

Nectaria August 11, 2015

FOE Adelaide has of late been focused on critical engagement with the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Submissions have been made on all four of the Issues Papers, which cover the four areas the Royal Commission is tasked to consider – the expansion of uranium mining, nuclear energy generation, processing and waste storage. Last month our anti-nuclear campaigner travelled to Copley to attend a community meeting about the Royal Commission and to support submission drafting. FOE Adelaide has also been convening the anti-nuclear coalition meetings, held every 3 – 4 weeks at Mad Mouse Alley.

FOE has communicated to the Royal Commission concerns regarding various issues that have arisen since the Royal Commission was announced that seriously undermine its claimed impartiality, including:

• The lack of balance on the Royal Commissions Expert Advisory Committee between proponents and critics of the nuclear industry

• The pecuniary interests in nuclear related companies of the Royal Commissioner and some of his staff

• The potential conflict of interest of Expert Advisory Committee member Tim Stone, who is non-executive director of Horizon Nuclear Power, a UK nuclear energy company, and wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi

• The restrictive and formalistic submissions process, including the requirement that they are signed by a Justice of the Peace

• Failure to produce the Issues Papers in any Aboriginal language, despite the fact that the nuclear industry disproportionately affects Aboriginal communities in South Australia, and that in some Aboriginal communities English is not spoken as a first language

• A factual error in Issues Paper 1, misrepresenting the legal framework of Aboriginal Heritage in South Australia, and completely omitting any reference to the extraordinary legal exemptions enjoyed by BHP Billiton at its Olympic Dam mine and the surrounding area, which would also apply to any future expansion by the company

FoE, Old_Notes