Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Energy & Nuclear

Give Me Nuclear Power: George Monbiot

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IN an article entitled ‘Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power’ environmental activist and Guardian columnist, George Monbiot, explains why he favours nuclear over many renewable…

“A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy of poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, as far as we know, no one has yet received a lethal dose of radiation.

“Some greens have wildly exaggerated the dangers of radioactive pollution. For a clearer view, look at the graphic published by xkcd.com. It shows that the average total dose from the Three Mile Island disaster for someone living within 10 miles of the plant was one 625th of the maximum yearly amount permitted for US radiation workers. This, in turn, is half of the lowest one-year dose clearly linked to an increased cancer risk, which, in its turn, is one 80th of an invariably fatal exposure. I’m not proposing complacency here. I am proposing perspective.

Read more here:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima

Fears Over Fukushima Radiation Overblown: Lawrence Solomon

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“The immense suffering that the Japanese are enduring in the aftermath of their earthquake and tsunami is now compounded by torment over radiation releases from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

“While the torment is understandable, based on the reported amounts of radiation released, it is uncalled for. The evidence from Japan’s populace — inadvertent guinea pigs in the largest radiation experiment ever, in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 — indicates that fears over radiation can be overblown.

“Those who survived the immediate atomic blasts but were near Ground Zero died at a high rate from excess exposure to radiation. The tens of thousands more distant from Ground Zero, and who received lower exposures to radiation, did not die in droves. To the contrary, and surprisingly, they outlived their counterparts in the general population who received no exposure to radiation from the blasts.

Read more here:  http://opinion.financialpost.com/2011/03/21/lawrence-solomon-reactor-victims-will-benefit-studies-show/

by Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post, Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Australia to Become ‘Saudi Arabia’ of Biorefining: Media Release

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Norwegian Bio-refining specialist, ENEnergy, has announced that it has identified an ideal Australian location for an ethanol bio-refinery which could be producing the equivalent of 7500 barrels of fuel per day within 4 years.

The site, located in Western Australia’s West Canning Basin, is just one of many massive areas of land across Australia’s northern regions that ENEnergy has identified as well-suited for large-scale bio-refining projects that can turn low value crops into valuable fuel and livestock feed.

If all of these areas were ramped into full production for bio-refining, it could generate exports or import replacements worth $AU410 billion per year to become Australia’s largest industry.

It could also make Australia’s entire coal-fired energy sector carbon-neutral and make the country the first carbon negative economy in the world.
ENEnergy is currently in discussions with potential investors to secure funding to complete the pre-construction and finance feasibility phase for the West Canning project prior to seeking full-development financing.

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Tsunami Not Earthquake Wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

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ACCORDING to US nuclear expert, Mark Mervine, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant withstood the earthquake but the tsunami destroyed its backup power which is necessary for cooling the reactor.   The situation is critical.    Furthermore, there are another five reactors at that site that were in commercial operation.

Following is an extract from an interview recorded by Mr Mervine’s daughter, Eveyln.   

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The Base Load Misconception (Part 1): A Note from Tony

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FOR a long time now, the term Base Load Power has been misinterpreted, and used incorrectly.    Those who support the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Greenhouse Gas Warming Theory have taken the term out of context to describe those large coal fired power plants that in their minds are the largest offenders. They use the word as Baseload, one word, and then attach it to those power plants as a descriptor, Baseload Power Plants, usually also adding the term ‘coal fired’.   However, the term is not a one word adjective.  It is two words and describes most effectively the actual physical electrical power that is being consumed.

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