Green World Blog
News, views & musings for our nuclear-free, carbon-free future
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Nuclear Newsreel, Monday, May 5, 2014
Police use water cannons on anti-nuclear protestors conducting a die-in in Taiwan in April. The protests led to suspension of construction of Taiwan’s fourth nuclear reactor. Happy Cinco de Mayo! We couldn’t fit in a Nuclear Newsreel last week, so there’s a lot of news to catch up on; here are some of the highlights:…
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NY Times learns nothing from Chernobyl, evades reality of nuclear failure in U.S.
The New York Times somehow thinks the lesson of the Chernobyl disaster is more nuclear power in the U.S. The New York Times has done probably the best reporting on Fukushima and its aftermath of any U.S. mainstream media outlet. This piece for example, published last week, paints a clear and disturbing picture of the…
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NRC can’t document assertions made in denial of nuclear emergency planning petition
Traffic on New York’s Tappan Zee bridge near the Indian Point reactors can be a nightmare under the best of circumstances. In a natural disaster–ice storm, snow storm, hurricane, earthquake, compounded by a nuclear accident, the transportation network may be nearly impossible to navigate. Yet the NRC doesn’t require emergency drills to train personnel to…
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Koch Brothers, fossil fuel interests take on renewables, and that benefits nuclear industry too
Koch Industries headquarters. Their anti-renewables, pro-coal campaign could leave the sky as black as their building… We’ve written a lot in recent weeks about the nuclear industry’s recent change in focus, primarily through astroturf front groups like Nuclear Matters and corporate funded pseudo-environmental groups like Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (and, for good reason,…
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Nuclear boosters scramble to protect industry as EIA predicts reactor shutdowns
Yesterday was a telling day to contemplate the future of nuclear power, renewables, and the future of energy generally, as I did while moderating an excellent webinar on nuclear power and climate change for some key NIRS supporters, featuring Dr. Arjun Makhijani of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Mark Cooper of the Vermont…
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NRC sends mixed signals on foreign involvement in U.S. reactors
The existing reactors at South Texas. NRG Energy had wanted to build two more at the site, but has dropped that idea–now only Toshiba thinks it’s a good idea. Different parts of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission took opposite positions this month on how the agency will enforce its Atomic Energy Act-mandated rules prohibiting “foreign ownership,…
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The nuclear industry’s Earth Week assault on renewables, electricity markets
The Clinton nuclear reactor nearly bankrupted the small utility and rural co-ops that originally built it. Despite being bought for a few cents on the dollar by Exelon, it still isn’t economic and may face shutdown. Photo by cryptome.org. As we’ve warned several times over the past few weeks, the nuclear industry is not taking…
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New report says renewables make up most of planned new U.S. generating capacity–and the reality is even better.
If there was any lingering doubt that the tide has swung away from nuclear power and fossil fuels, consider this: a new report from SNL Financial finds that renewables represent–by a large margin–most of the new electrical generating capacity currently planned to be built in the U.S. Fully 56.58% of new capacity is to come…
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Nuclear Newsreel, Friday, April 18, 2014
It’s Friday! Time for an abbreviated, and mostly optimistic, Nuclear Newsreel… Department of Energy workers yesterday made it far enough into the WIPP site to reach the contaminated area, according to the Associated Press. However, the workers were unable to remain deep in the site long enough to determine what caused the February and March…
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Nuclear Newsreel, Thursday, April 17, 2014
Nuclear Power New confirmation. New study: wind, solar power is cheaper than new nuclear. A new European study confirms what by now almost everyone except the U.S. Congress and White House seem to know: renewables are cheaper than new nuclear power–20% cheaper, even if construction of natural gas backup plants were to be required. Renewables…
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