The past week in nuclear news, by Christina Macpherson

Articles on these items, and links to sources,can be found at http://www.antinuclear.net and at http://www.nuclear-news.net

AUSTRALIA

Renewables. I know that they are not strictly a nuclear topic - but what can I do? There's just a whole lot more happening there, than in the tired out nuclear stillbirth. In Queensland. Scouller Energy, is pressing ahead with a plan to build a10-megawatt solar plant near Normanton - even as the Queensland government withdraws support for solar . In Western Australia, Horizon Power comes up with a solar feed-in tariff that will reward remote communities according to the costs saved in transmission of electricity over distance. Energy efficiency gets a boost with Sydney's plan for cogeneration and on-site production of electricity

Future Fund. New Chairman David Gonski confronted with the facts on its investment in nuclear weapons, while Australia proclaims its nuclear non proliferation stand. Rising public condemnation of this hypocrisy.

Court case. Uncle Kevin Buzzacott's legal action against the planned new huge Olympic Dam uranium mine. The judge is considering the mass of doumentary evidence, and has deferred his judgment. It is not all going BPH Billiton's way. Among other considerations, there was much debate about BHP's planned use of water resources.

Climate change. While new scientific evidence confirms human caused climate change, Australia's monopoly media is shown to have given an inordinate amount of coverage to the climate denialist point of view, - all this revealed in a forensic study by Wendy Bacon, of 6 months of news coverage of the Gillard government's carbon tax plan.

INTERNATIONAL

Japan: it's a critical time. The Japanese government urgently wants to restart 2 nuclear reactors at Oi, in Fukui Prefecture. Adjoining prefectures oppose this, but the government can override them. When Japan's one functioning nuclear reactor shuts, in May, it is possible that Japan will get through the summer without needing nuclear power. That will set a precedent that will be dangerous for the future of the global nuclear industry. Something that the Japanese governmentt does not want!

Europe - The nuclear renaissance looks like being finished before it ever got started. Abandonment of UK nuclear projects by 2 major firms, and by Bulgaria and the financial failure of the super-expensive nuclear reactors still under construction in Finland and France.

France.. With elections close, President Sarkozy is embarrassed by revelations that he tried to sell nuclear technology to Gaddafi. (Was that why they sacked AREVA's CEO Anne Lauvergeon? - for objecting to this sale.)

USA. continued doubts on nuclear power's future. Safety and cost concerns over nuclear plants at San Onofre, Fort Calhoun, Watts Bar and the newly licensed double-reactor Vogtle project .

UK nuclear veterans - despite losing one legal case for compensation, they have several more court cases coming up.

Climate change. New evidence that rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to rising global temperatures.

India Farmers in Haryana have stepped up their campaign against the setting up of the Gorakhpur Nuclear Power Plant . France keen to sell nuclear technology to India, as long as they are certain that new Rules of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act gets France off the hook for any nuclear accident damages. India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and its subsidiary, Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) trying to suppress information and bypass safety procedures. Meanwhile Sri Lanka is raising objections to IAEA against India's Koodankulam and other reactors on the Southern coast, close to Sri Lanka.

Jordan's Islamic Movement calls for stop to nuclear power programme. They say that Jordan's nuclear power plan is uneconomic, unsafe, and corrupt