news and events

we put n & e here, and they are automatically sorted into the portlets on the right, and into the news and events folder on the left.

Who Wants These Nukes?

Uranium-238 boasts a radioactive half-life of almost 4.5 billion years. The more uncommon and instable Ur-235 isotope decays half its atoms in a mere 700 million years slightly less eternal.

County's Diablo debate spreads

A range of projects across the U.S. could be affected by a recent ruling benefiting activists who urge local control over nuclear power plants

Full steam ahead for Diablo project

PG&E starts building a place to house radioactive waste despite requests for an injunction to stop construction

Nuclear's future heads to governor

Blakeslee bill would require California to evaluate the costs of continued storage of highly radioactive waste

Feds deny Mothers for Peace

NRC calls premature a motion to stop Diablo from storing radioactive fuel

Report: Long Shutdowns Prove Nuclear Power More Dangerous and Expensive than Necessary

A new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows that severe problems have caused U.S. nuclear reactors to shut down 51 times for a year or longer. More than 70 percent of those outages were caused by programmatic breakdowns that led to cumulative, systemic degradation of reactor components. Basically, the owner's failure to find and fix problems caused safety margins to deteriorate to levels so low that reactor operations could not continue. The study finds that the year-plus outages resulting from this poor management and ineffective regulatory oversight have cost ratepayers and stockholders nearly $82 billion in lost revenue.

Flyer for After Summit Mixer

 

Improving Government Oversight - Unlearned Lessons from Year-plus Reactor Outages

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) seems to be following the script of the movie Groundhog Day, reliving the same bad event again and again. This event—an outage at a nuclear power plant that lasts more than a year—has happened 51 times at 41 different reactors around the United States and shows no signs of stopping.

An interview with Amory Lovins re: Nuclear Power

The Star recently had the opportunity to speak with Lovins at his office in Snowmass, Colorado. What follows is an edited version of a rather lengthy phone interview, during which Lovins questioned the wisdom of building new nuclear reactors in Ontario. Alternatively, he said that reducing power consumption through efficiency, and embracing what he calls "micropower — solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and combined heat and power projects — offers a quicker, less risky and more environmentally responsible way of achieving the province's energy objectives.

Introducing Beyond Nuclear!

Beyond Nuclear is a new NIRS initiative that aims to educate wider audiences about the connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear promotes positive, solutions-focused messages and will provide guides to safer alternatives to these dangerous and obsolete technologies.

Uranium to Top $110 a Pound by 2010: Analyst

Uranium prices have recently gone ballistic, tacking on 7.1% last week. This climb represents the biggest weekly gain in over two decades. But according to one analyst, the party is far from over. Uranium is now trading at a 26-year high of $60/lb and hasn't had a down month in nearly five years. But that hasn't stopped Luke Burgess, managing editor of GoldWorld.com and contributor to EnergyAndCapital.com, from claiming, "the radioactive metal still has a lot of steam behind it."

Nuclear plant's cooling pump explodes: fire quickly snuffed

A loud explosion and an electrical fire in an ocean water circulation pump at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant Tuesday afternoon caused an emergency shutdown of one of the plant’s two reactors.

Nuclear association accused of false advertising

Environmental, health and church groups have filed a false-advertising complaint against the Canadian Nuclear Association over its ad campaign touting nuclear energy as clean.

Fresno Mayor Wants to Build Nuclear Power Plant in My Backyard

There is a proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Fresno. The mayor of Fresno suggested that my backyard might be a good location to build this 1,600 megawatt reactor.

Highly Radioactive Waste Storage Update For San Diego County and California (12731 Stone Canyon Road, Poway, California, from 01/28/2007 13:00 to 01/28/2007 14:30)

 

The United States Supreme Court Rejects Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Petition regarding San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC

Today, January 16, 2007, the United States Supreme Court ruled against Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E's) petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the June 2, 2006 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC, 449 F.3d 1016. The Supreme Court's rejection of PG&E's petition means that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must carry out the Ninth Circuit's mandate to consider the environmental impacts of intentional attacks on the proposed dry cask storage installation at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California.

COMPANY'S PROPOSAL IN TEXAS AT STAKE - New nuclear plant hinges on fuel disposal - Exelon executive wants U.S. to build depository for spent fuel rods

Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. owner of nuclear power plants, wants government assurance of a disposal site for spent fuel before it will proceed with the reactor it has proposed in Texas, Chief Executive John Rowe said Friday.

Please sign letter re: "Reference Man

The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) invites you to sign on to this letter to President Bush to fix an important problem in public health protection: the widespread use of "Reference Man" in setting radiation protection standards, for instance, limits on how much residual radiation is allowed in soil or drinking water.

Mothers for Peace Celebration (Ludwick Center, 864 Santa Rosa, San Luis Obispo, CA, from 02/11/2007 14:30 to 02/11/2007 16:30)

 

Court Strikes Down EPA Regulations Regarding Cooling Water Fish Kills

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down in part and remanded in part for further clarification Environmental Protection Agency regulations regulating the cooling water intake structures of facilities such as the Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Connectiv Edge Moor and Connectiv Deepwater facilities that operate in the Delaware Estuary.

Sting in former Soviet republic illustrates how easy it is to obtain nuclear material

Nobody knows where Oleg Khinsagov got the 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of highly enriched uranium he tried to sell recently to security agents in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. But one thing is for sure — wherever it came from, there is plenty more. The most recent episode of international intrigue involving a radioactive substance, revealed by Georgian authorities Wednesday, demonstrates just how uncontrolled and easily smuggled nuclear bomb-making materials are in the states of the former Soviet Union.

What the state [Kansas] is doing on energy

Nuclear power accounts for about 9 percent of the energy consumed in Kansas. Despite Bush's push for more nuclear power, Westar Energy, which owns part of Kansas' only nuclear plant, says it has no plans to build another because of cost.

CA ATTY GENERAL'S PETITION FOR RULEMAKING TO AMEND 10 C.F.R. PART 51

I. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 553, subdivision (e), the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S. C. § 4332, et seq., and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (“NRC”) regulations, the State of California, acting by and through its chief law officer, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., petitions the NRC to undertake rule making to do the following: 1) rescind NRC regulations found at 10 C.F.R. Part 51, that declare the potential environmental effects of the approval, construction, and operation of high-density pool storage of spent nuclear fuel are not and cannot be significant for purposes of NEPA and NEPA analysis; 2) adopt and issue a generic determination that approval of such storage at a nuclear power plant or any other facility does constitute a major federal action that may have a significant effect on the human environment; and 3) order that no NRC licensing decision that approves high-density pool storage of spent nuclear fuel at a nuclear power plant or other storage facility may issue without 2 the prior adoption and certification of an environmental impact statement that complies with NEPA in all respects, including full identification, analysis, and disclosure of the potential environmental effects of such storage, including the potential for accidental or deliberately caused release of radioactive products to the environment, whether by accident or through acts of terrorism, as well as full and adequate discussion of potential mitigation for such effects, and full discussion of an adequate array of alternatives to the proposed storage project.

DIABLO CANYON NPP NEWS INDEX

A news index of stories regarding Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant

THE RESURRECTION OF NUCLEAR POWER: AN UPDATE FROM THE FRONTLINES (The home of J. A. Savage, Oakland, CA, from 04/01/2007 14:30 to 04/01/2007 17:00)

 

Alliance Calls for Only Energy-Efficient Lighting in U.S. Market by 2016, Joins Coalition Dedicated to Achieving Goal

The Alliance to Save Energy today joined other energy-efficiency advocates and light bulb giant Philips Lighting North America in a coalition to advocate for policies that will transform the U.S. marketplace to energy-efficient lighting products by 2016.

Bill extends life of Diablo Canyon emergency fund

Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee has introduced legislation that would extend to 2019 funding for the county’s emergency preparedness activities for Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

DIANE WILSON - IN PERSON (San Luis Obispo Public Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo CA, from 04/22/2007 16:00 to 04/22/2007 17:30)

Diane Wilson, renowned environmentalist, co-found of Code Pink and author of "An Unreasonable Woman" will be speaking at the San Luis Obispo Public Library followed by a reception in San Luis Obispo (by reservation only)

AN EVENING WITH HARVEY WASSERMAN - PIONEER ENVIRONMENTALIST, “GREEN ENERGY ACTIVIST” (San Luis Sustainability Group, 16550 Oracle Oak Way, Santa Margarita, CA, from 06/03/2007 18:30 to 06/03/2007 20:30)

 

HARVEY WASSERMAN EVENT FLYER

 

MAP & DIRECTIONS TO SLO SUSTAINABILITY GROUP

 

Request for Proposals # 150-07-101 - AB 1632 Nuclear Power Plant Assessment

For those who are interested in proposal for the California Energy Commission's cost benefit and risk analysis.

Mon. June 25 - CA Energy Commission Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) Committee Workshop on Nuclear Power Issues (CA Energy Commission, 1516 9th St, 1st Flr, Hearing Room A, Sacramento, CA, from 06/25/2007 09:00 to 06/25/2007 17:00)

 

Thurs. June 28 - CA Energy Commission Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) Committee Workshop on Nuclear Power Issues (CA Energy Commission, 1516 9th St, 1st Flr, Hearing Room A, Sacramento, CA, from 06/28/2007 09:00 to 06/28/2007 17:00)

 

NRC PUBLIC MEETING WITH PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY (Embassy Suites Hotel, 333 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405, from 06/26/2007 14:30 to 06/26/2007 17:00)

 

NRC MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC (Embassy Suites Hotel, 333 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405, from 06/26/2007 18:30 to 06/26/2007 21:00)

 

Doubts over future of nuclear power plants hit BE's share price

BRITISH Energy shares suffered again after production fell and it revealed two of its nuclear plants may never again reach full capacity.

Westinghouse/CBS: The No. 1 Nuclear Company Wants the No. 3 Network

The prospect of CBS being taken over by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation - the biggest nuclear power plant manufacturer in the world; the No. 3 U.S. government contractor for nuclear weapons; the manager of a string of government nuclear weapons facilities, including several heavily polluted sites - is being met with sharp criticism by safe energy activists.

Calif Nuclear plant ok as fire nears-So Cal Edison

Wildfires at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County on Tuesday burned within seven miles of Southern California Edison's oceanside San Onofre nuclear power plant, the company said.

Becker Wins Sierra Club National Award

San Luis Obispo’s Rochelle Becker has joined a former vice president, a New York Times reporter, and a California Assemblyman and Congressman who have helped raise awareness of global warming as a recipient of the Sierra Club’s 2007 environmental awards. The awards were given out at the Sierra Club’s Annual Dinner in San Francisco on September 29.

Sanders pushes for inspections of reactors

The nation's top official overseeing the safety of nuclear power plants resisted Sen. Bernard Sanders' request Wednesday to organize independent inspections of Vermont Yankee and the 103 other plants in the country. With a poster of Vermont Yankee's crumbled cooling tower cell behind him, Vermont's independent senator suggested that the three-person Nuclear Regulatory Commission favors industry interests over enhanced safety measures that could siphon regulatory power from Washington. He pointed to the sudden collapse at Vermont Yankee on Aug. 21, and an emergency shutdown following a stuck steam valve on Aug. 30. "Problems happen when nuclear power plants get old," Sanders told the trio in a Senate hearing. "If you were living in southern Vermont, or New Hampshire, or northern Massachusetts, would you have confidence in the NRC after this series of events?"

Managing Nuclear Wastes for the Millennia

U.S. Courts have decreed that the federal government must come up with a system for managing nuclear wastes that will ensure the safety of the public and environment for one million years, a period that is 200 times the length of recorded history.

Matters of Controversy - Special Guest: Diane Wilson (First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4190 Front St, Hillcrest, San Diego, CA (opposite UCSD MedCenter), from 04/05/2008 19:00 to 04/05/2008 23:00)

 

Matters of Controversy - Special Guest: Diane Wilson

A flyer to download for the April 5, 2008 Diane Wilson event in San Diego

MOTHERS FOR PEACE PRESSES FOR COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF TERRORIST ATTACK

On January 15, 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted a request for a hearing by San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (MFP) regarding the NRC's proposal to license a new spent fuel storage facility at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The purpose of the hearing will be to allow MFP to challenge some of the deficiencies in the NRC staff's Environmental Assessment (EA) for that facility. Ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the EA claims that the environmental impacts of intentional attacks on the facility would be insignificant.

Nuclear power called 'too risky' - Expert opposes reactors, citing high cost, waste

. . .Dr. Gordon Edwards, a physicist and mathematics professor at Montreal's Vanier College, disputes nuclear's claim of clean energy, and has been doing so for more than 30 years.

Money Is the Real Green Power: The hoax of eco-friendly nuclear energy

Nuclear advocates in government and the nuclear industry are engaged in a massive, heavily financed drive to revive atomic power in the United States — with most of the mainstream media either not questioning or actually assisting in the promotion.

Nuclear Power, Not Renewable Energy, is Risky Course for U.S.

Given the seriousness of the climate crisis, many thoughtful people, including Deseret Morning News Editor Joe Cannon, have argued that coal cannot be the source of our energy growth. I agree. He also advocated the revival of nuclear power as the mainstay of electricity growth amounting to 300 large power plants. This is risky, costly and unnecessary. Contrary to widely held opinion, renewable energy sources are quite sufficient to provide ample and reliable electricity for the United States.

RENOWNED ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST DIANE WILSON TO SPEAK IN SLO! (San Luis Obispo Library, 995 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, from 04/01/2008 19:00 to 04/01/2008 20:30)

 

Private Reception for Diane Wilson (reservations required) (Private residence - call for reservations and directions, from 04/02/2008 18:30 to 04/02/2008 21:00)

 

SANTA LUCIA CHAPTER SPRING BENEFIT BANQUET - CELEBRATING OUR 40TH BIRTHDAY (Temple Beth David - Foothill Blvd. and Los Osos Valley Road, from 05/31/2008 18:30 to 05/31/2008 23:00)

 

Responsible Energy Choices - Tue., Apr. 8, 15, 22, 10:00 am - Noon (Congregation Beth David, 2932 Augusta St, San Luis Obispo, CA, from 04/08/2008 10:00 to 04/22/2008 12:00)

Without doubt, climate change is the most urgent threat of our time. This course will provide its participants with scientific evidence that shows that nuclear power is not the way to reduce greenhouse gasses or to provide reliable energy for the future of California. It will also examine the responsible energy choices which have been proven to be affordable and environmentally sound.

PALM SPRINGS MTG - NOTICE OF PUBLIC MTGS REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING PROPOSED RATE INCREASES SCE COMPANY (Palm Springs City Hall Council Chamber, 3200 Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, from 04/14/2008 18:00 to 04/14/2008 21:00)

.

VISALIA MTG - NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING PROPOSED RATE INCREASES SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY (Visalia Convention Center - Sequoia B Room, 303 E. Acequiz Avenue, Visalia, from 04/15/2008 18:00 to 04/15/2008 21:00)

.

LONG BEACH MTG - NOTICE OF PUBLIC MTGS REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING PROPOSED RATE INCREASES SCE COMPANY (Long Beach Public Library - Main Library Auditorium, 101 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, from 04/28/2008 18:00 to 04/28/2008 21:00)

.

COMPTON MTG - NOTICE OF PUBLIC MTGS REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING PROPOSED RATE INCREASES SCE COMPANY (Compton City Hall Council Chambers, 205 S. Willowbrook Avenue, Compton, CA 90220 , from 06/30/2008 19:00 to 06/30/2008 22:00)

 

SAN CLEMENTE MTG - NOTICE OF PUBLIC MTGS REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING PROPOSED RATE INCREASES SCE COMPANY (San Clemente City Hall, 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente, CA 92672 , from 06/19/2008 19:00 to 06/19/2008 21:00)

 

THE "INVISIBLE" U.S. ENERGY EFFICIENCY BOOM: ACEEE REPORT FINDS U.S. ENERGY CONSUMPTION CUT IN HALF BY ONE MAJOR MEASURE SINCE 1970 … BUT MUCH OF THE UNTAPPED ENERGY EFFICIENCY POTENTIAL COULD BE WASTED

It's the U.S. energy boom that no one knows about. Energy efficiency may be the farthest-reaching, least-polluting, and fastest-growing energy success story of the last 50 years. But it also is the most invisible, the least understood, and in serious danger of missing out on needed future investments. In the first attempt to quantify the overall impact of the hidden U.S. energy efficiency boom, a major new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows that U.S. energy consumption (as measured per dollar of economic output) will have been slashed by the end of 2008 to half of what it was in 1970, from 18,000 Btus to about 8,900 Btus.

Nuclear power carries problems

There's more than one hindrance to turning to pollution-free nuclear power to help contain the escalating costs of energy and reduce the increasingly dangerous climatic impact of fossil fuels - oil, coal and natural gas.

NRC TO HOLD TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS ABOUT DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR PLANT ON JULY 2 (Embassy Suites Hotel, 333 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, from 07/02/2008 18:30 to 07/02/2008 21:30)

 

Five Myths About Nuclear Energy

Atomic energy is among the most impractical and risky of available fuel sources. Private financiers are reluctant to invest in it, and both experts and the public have questions about the likelihood of safely storing lethal radioactive wastes for the required million years. Reactors also provide irresistible targets for terrorists seeking to inflict deep and lasting damage on the United States. The government’s own data show that U.S. nuclear reactors have more than a one-in-five lifetime probability of core melt, and a nuclear accident could kill 140,000 people, contaminate an area the size of Pennsylvania, and destroy our homes and health.

Glow Train Catastrophe - History Channel Special (, from 06/24/2008 22:00 to 07/09/2008 03:00)

 

The Misconception of Nuclear Power

 

Notice of Joint Committee Workshop and Report Availability - AB 1632 Nuclear Power Plant Assessment (California Energy Commission, 1516 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA, from 09/25/2008 09:00 to 09/25/2008 17:00)

 

CODE PINK PRESENTS AUTHOR-ACTIVIST DIANE WILSON and SINGER LIZZIE WEST (CHUMASH AUDITORIUM, CAL POLY UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO, from 10/19/2008 19:00 to 10/19/2008 21:00)

 

THE FUTURE OF ENERGY with S. DAVID FREEMAN & ARJUN MAKHIJANI (PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (PAC), CAL POLY, SAN LUIS OBISPO, from 10/29/2008 18:00 to 10/29/2008 20:00)

CALIFORNIA CAN CREATE AN ENERGY FUTURE WITHOUT CARBON OR NUCLEAR POWER…The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility in association with the Empower Poly Coalition presents and evening of presentations and discussion with distinguished authors and energy experts S. David Freeman and Arjun Makhijani.

Flyer for CALIFORNIA CAN CREATE AN ENERGY FUTURE WITHOUT CARBON OR NUCLEAR POWER

The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility in association with the Empower Poly Coalition presents and evening of presentations and discussion with distinguished authors and energy experts S. David Freeman and Arjun Makhijani. Here is a flyer to download, print and distribute.

EPIC to Host Lectures on Carbon Free Energy in California (University of San Diego, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA, SOLES Building , from 10/30/2008 17:30 to 10/30/2008 19:00)

The Energy Policy Initiatives Center is hosting the next talk in its Climate Change Lecure Series. The event, entitled California's Carbon Free Energy Future: Options and Opportunities, will explore the policies and technologies that can help California meets its future energy needs while at the same time reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.