AUSTRALIA
Australia's comedy shows are getting poor audiences this week. Everyone's focussed on New South Wales and federal politics. My thanks to tweeters "Barry walks the plonk" Che Shiraz Shiraz - whatever will be , will be"
Sorry - I digressed badly there.
Uranium Now we're going to sell uranium to Saudi Arabia. Such a stable, democratic, Middle Eastern power - no worries about a Middle East nuclear arms race ?
Uranium mining at Ranger: Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) trying to pull a real swiftie. They say they won't rehabilitate this polluting mine in Kakadu National Park, unless they get approval to start a new underground mine. Meanwhile the parent company Rio Tinto is not prepared to pay for the Ranger clean-up - saying it's the responsibility of the loss-making ERA. All bad news for the Mirrar people - they're ing exploited again , as always, by the nuclear industry.
Australia's participation in Hiroshima meeting on nuclear disarmament. We refuse to join the non nuclear nations movement towarsds banning nuclear weaposn. We mustn't be "emotional" about nuclear bombing,, said our Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, in Hiroshima.
Politics . (No this is not about a bottle of wine. Stop it!) The Australian Labor Party in its Not wisdom, is pushing to have mining, uranium mining too, in the radioactively polluted Woomera nuclear weapons test area.
The Liberal government's response to the IPCC report on climate change? The Anti Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, announced yesterday that Australia would promote coal and nuclear industries. Not renewable, not energy efficiency. Is it any wonder people are turning to the Greens? Looks as if Liberal and Labor are now joined at the hip.
New South Wales. A nifty new solar project that should revolutionise remote area energy systems.
Victoria. I bet Greg Hunt wishes that those pesky Morwell people would just shut up, and look after their coal -caused asthma, emphysema, etc. They have started a campaign to keep the Renewable Energy Target. And they want the government to put money that's pledged for new brown coal projects into cleaning up Morwell after the Hazelwood coal fire. Who do they think they are? ("Ohmigawd", - thinks the Napthine govt - "they're voters!")
INTERNATIONAL
Climate change in the news, following the IPCC report . The nuclear front group The Breakthrough Institute fraudulently pitches that report as a pro nuclear document
Economics.
Germany’s renewable energy output lowers European electricity prices
Some top nuclear executives are selling their stock. Commercial nuclear power shrinking, while plenty of uranium will last. Bavaria shuts down uneconomic nuclear plant. Czech Republic cancels nuclear power expansion
But there's a bright side to nuclear economics , as nuclear companies get together to organise the global lucrative business of shutting down nuclear reactors.
Japan Harrassment of Mari Takenouchi a freelance Japanese journalist, who writes about radiation and Fukushima's children - has escalated. A very worrying tip of the iceberg of silencing independent opinion about nuclear power and Fukushima.
Decision to restart nuclear reactors may backfire politically and economically on the Abe government. Much opposition from public and influential community leaders Government duplicity in radiation readings
UK. David Cameron acknowledges damage to offspring of nuclear test veterans. UK defence heavies bullying Scotland which wants to get rid of nuclear weapons base.
South Africa - boosting renewable energy
