JUST LIKE SUMMER THINGS ARE HEATING UP!!
A Message from Rochelle
Holding the PG&E to its promise to wait until the California Energy Commission's analysis of the costs, benefits and risks of our state's dependence on aging nuclear plants turned out to a real challenge in Sacramento last week.
During a heated session of the assembly, with bills being voted on practically around the clock, The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility was busy sponsoring AB 1046 [Leno—D—San Francisco]. This bill was a responsible and courageous response to a March decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), who approved $16.8 million of our ratepayer dollars for an in-house feasibility study on license renewal for Diablo Canyon, even though told by consumer, environmental organizations as well as legislative leaders that this funding was premature. It doesn't even allow time to see the results of the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) full cost, benefit risk study (AB 1632—Blakeslee), which will be completed in 2008.
It seems that Southern California Edison (SCE) wants the same short-sighted deal that the CPUC gave PG&E back in March. What PG&E, SCE and SEMPRA did was send in the unions to tell the Utilities and Commerce Committee that thousands of jobs would be lost, and that SCE and PG&E might not replace components (steam generators, reactor vessel heads, turbine rotors) needed to safely operate their aging nuclear plants. It wasn't really what they said in the hearing, it was the heavy lobbying in advance hinting loss of union support if members voted for the bill. And it wasn't true—because the requests for all that major construction work had already and irrevocably been approved!
David Weisman, Mark Skinner, and Sierra Club lobbyist, Jim Metropulos walked the halls, made calls and helped to educate over half of all assembly members before the hearing on June 12th, but Committee members felt they needed more information (and less union pressure) before a decision could be voted upon. We hope the CEC analysis will help them come to the conclusion that this study must be completed before further ratepayer money is expended.
AB 1046 http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1001-1050/ab_1046_bill_20070607_amended_asm_v94.pdf [D. Leno –San Francisco] remains pending in the Utilities and Commerce Committee without a deadline (waived by the speaker, Fabian Nunez) until Jan 31, 2007. Assemblyman Leno—Chair of Appropriations—and his steadfast staff worked diligently to convince the unions they would be protected, offering extremely responsible amendments to the bill – but they were rejected.
The Alliance hopes the that we, along with our many supporters nationwide, will be able to convince the unions that AB 1046 is about 4000 megawatts of job opportunity. ANR was the only organization that requested that the California Energy Commission include the loss of jobs, property taxes and other externalities in its analysis. We want make sure that the issues of reactors communities, who have the most to lose in terms of jobs and funding, as well as the risks of increasing stockpiles of highly radioactive waste on our seismically active coast are included in the upcoming study.
The Alliance will join nationwide experts as panel members to discuss the full economic implications of continuing to rely on aging nuclear plants on our fragile coast next week. We invite you to listen, to send us questions and to become involved in the process which we hope will begin a nuclear domino effect – closing reactor after reactor AND provide job after job of new forward-looking energy generation.
The Workshop Agenda can be found at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/2007_energypolicy/documents/2007-06-25+28_workshop/2007-06-25-28_AGENDA.PDF
Our presentation http://a4nr.org/library/07.2007-cechearings/06.2007-anrpresentation/view will be heard on June 28, 2007, we hope that minds are open to listening to what might be at risk from not responsibly planning to replace aging reactors and from not encouraging new generation, new jobs and a new vision for California’s future. You can tune into the hearings by following this link: www.energy.ca.gov/webcast/ The webcast will begin at 9am on June 25 & 28.
In Peace Rochelle
"The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something, but by refraining from doing. Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth."
-Aldous Huxley
Rochelle Becker, Executive Director Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
www.a4nr.org
(858) 337 2703
Upcoming Events
Important events for the Alliance
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Rochelle's Annual Peace Potato Party
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EPIC to Host Lectures on Carbon Free Energy in California
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.
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THE FUTURE OF ENERGY with S. DAVID FREEMAN & ARJUN MAKHIJANI
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.
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NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING SEPT. 23 IN NYE COUNTY, NEV., TO DISCUSS REVIEW PROCESS FOR YUCCA MOUNTAIN APPLICATION
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Breaking News
Here's the latest news
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Most States Can Be Energy Independent, New Report Shows
A new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) suggests that at least half of the fifty states could achieve energy self-sufficiency with the help of locally-focused federal energy policy. The findings should inform the energy policy of President-elect Barack Obama.
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State poll: People like wind power, not nuclear waste
A new type of polling done for the Department of Public Service found most respondents "extremely concerned" about nuclear waste and so supportive of wind power they wouldn't mind a wind farm within sight of their homes.
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REASONABLE DOUBT
Among the many environmental concerns surrounding nuclear power plants, there is one that provokes public anxiety like no other: the fear that children living near nuclear facilities face an increased risk of cancer. Though a link has long been suspected, it has never been proven. Now that seems likely to change.
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The Unquenchable Fire - Is Nuclear Power Green?
We are told that nuclear power is about to achieve a "green renaissance," "clean coal" is just around the corner, and municipal garbage is a "renewable resource," which, when burned, will yield "sustainable energy." On the other hand, sometimes we are told that solar, geothermal and tidal power are what we really need to "green" our energy system.
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Under Obama, nuclear industry faces tough test - President-elect still vague about his degree of support
The nuclear industry's hopes for a renaissance are still on. But with President-elect Barack Obama taking office in January, and Democrats retaining control of Congress, the industry knows its uphill battle has not gotten any easier on Capitol Hill - especially with the instability of the world's financial markets.
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Areva's Finnish nuclear costs rise sharply
France's Areva will have to take a provision because of a nuclear reactor project in Finland where costs have spiralled to 4.5 billion euros ($6.66 billion) from a planned 3 billion, French newspaper Les Echos said on Thursday.
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Duke doubles cost estimate for nuclear plant
Duke Energy Carolinas has raised the expected construction costs of its proposed Lee Nuclear Station to $11 billion, excluding financing costs. That's roughly twice the company's original estimates.
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Green Investments and Jobs: A Response to the Heritage Foundation
Over the long term, a $1 million increase in green investment spending that is offset by a $1 million reduction in spending within the oil industry will still produce a net increase of 12.5 jobs.
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Forget Nukes, Go Renewable Energy
Governor Schwarzenegger endorsed Senator McCain for president and supported his energy proposal to build more nuclear reactors. Yet, our new president has expressed his concern for nuclear safety and the lack of a permanent solution to nuclear power's deadly byproduct: high-level radioactive waste.
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Fire Hazards at Reactors Leave Millions at Risk (from Beyond Nuclear)
Deliberate bureaucratic negligence has left millions of Americans exposed to unnecessarily high risks from fire hazards at the nation’s nuclear power reactors for more than a decade, according to a new report written by experts at Union of Concerned Scientists, Beyond Nuclear and NC WARN.
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THE FLAWED ECONOMICS OF NUCLEAR POWER
“Over the last few years the nuclear industry has used concerns about climate change to argue for a nuclear revival. Although industry representatives may have convinced some political leaders that this is a good idea, there is little evidence of private capital investing in nuclear plants in competitive electricity markets,” says Lester R. Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, in a recent release, The Flawed Economics of Nuclear Power. “The reason is simple: nuclear power is uneconomical.”
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Conclusions - CEC Draft Report Sept 2008
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Recent Articles
Recent articles of interest posted on the ANR website
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YES WE CAN. . .Phase out aging nuclear reactors on California’s precious coast!
(This is used on the home page as part of a content panel)
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DRAFT REPORT & PUBLIC MEETINGS - FALL 2008
Here you will find the draft report, conclusion and links to the public hearings and testimonies.
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Foreign Nuclear News and Information
The US is not the only country with nuclear power plants. Here you will find information from all over the world regarding nuclear power in places other than the US.
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Nuclear France - Myths and Fantasies (from Beyond Nuclear)
France gets nearly 80% of its electricity from its 58 reactors. However, such a heavy reliance on nuclear power brings with it many major, unsolved poblems, most especially that of radioactive waste. Despite assertions to the contrary, the French nuclear story is far from a gleaming example of nuclear success. The example, set by the French nuclear infrastructure - and best exemplified by its giant nuclear corporation, Areva, is not to be emulated.
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AB 1632 Assessment of California's Operating Nuclear Plants - Draft Report
Posted 9/12/08. (Acrobat PDF file, 326 pages, 3.7)
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Carbon Free Nuclear Free Website
Here is the link for the Carbon Free Nuclear Free Website
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Uranium Mining, Enrichment & Waste
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Sign Petition to NRC to Block Yucca Mountain Dump
Background: In early June, the U.S. Dept. of Energy filed a license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, seeking permission to construct and operate the still pending high-level radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain , Nevada . The NRC will now review and then docket this application, allowing only a small window for any remaining public intervention. Although the DOE application is more than 8,000 pages long with 30 million pages of supporting documents, the NRC contends it will docket the application in three months. Once docketed, a three- to four-year licensing proceeding would commence, ending around 2012, most likely with NRC approval. The culmination of this review comprises the biggest NRC licensing proceeding in history. Our View: NRC is rushing its docketing review in order to launch the Yucca licensing proceeding before George W. Bush and his pro-Yucca Mountain administration exit the White House. But despite its huge size and cost – more than $11 billion to date that will likely balloon to at least $70 billion if the dump is built and operated – the DOE application and document collection is missing the most important pieces. These include: a final repository design; final national transport plan; final design for the "Transport, Aging, and Disposal" canister in which the waste would be “permanently” sealed; final EPA regulations on radiation releases; and meaningful treatment of Western Shoshone Indian land rights at Yucca under the "peace and friendship" Treaty of Ruby Valley signed by the U.S. government in 1863. Consequently, the NRC should not docket the application and should halt the Yucca licensing proceeding. What You Can Do: Follow the link where you will find U.S. Senator Harry Reid's "Petition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Reject the License Application for a Nuclear Waste Dump at Yucca Mountain ." Please sign it, and circulate it to others for signatures.
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Executive Summary: Special issue of Science for Democractic Action
Executive Summary: Special issue of Science for Democractic Action [PDF 2.43MB]
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Sign on to the Statement of Principles to Achieve a Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free U.S. Energy System by 2050
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Rochelle's Annual Peace Potato Party
Most States Can Be Energy Independent, New Report Shows