Offering Alternatives-the Road To The Future-Solar Roadways

This information came in from Remy, and people should have a look. Solving Global Warming is not about re-licensing aging dangerous nuclear reactors like Entergy's Indian Point, or building new reactor on the same basic flawed technology. Solving Global Warming requires thinking outside of the box, requires bold brave initiatives. Solar Roadways could be one of those plans that just might be a part of the solution.

http://www.solarroadways.com

Get the word out:

Use whatever means you have to spread the word about the solution to global warming: email everyone in your address book, use forums, talk about it around the water cooler, participate in blogs, etc. Knowledge is a powerful thing. People need to understand that there is a solution to this problem. We're all a part of the problem. Now is your chance to be a part of the solution: make yourself heard. If nothing else, write your congressman or senator and make them aware of the project. See the bottom of the Encouragement List page to find your state representatives.

Download a copy of our flyer and post it in your business/office window, bulletin boards, etc. - anywhere in your town. Help others in your area become aware of the project that can save our planet.

Download the Solar Roadways flyer (Word document)

Wake Up People-Intentionally Or Not, Hall, Hinchey and Lowey Blowing Smoke Up Our Arse

Some on the IPSEC list are all in a tither and ready to wet themselves, because Congressman Hall and his posse have introduced legislation that would hold old reactors like Indian Point to the same standards as new reactors...WHO CARES? Simply put, the legislation is smoke and mirrors, a Dog and Pony show of the worst kind. Hall, Hinchey and Lowey all know the bill is going NOWHERE. (see this link) No such bill has any chance of passing in this Congress, zero chance of being signed into law by Nuclear President George Bush...in short, it's a publicity stunt, meant to get their names and faces into the media so they can claim in the 2008 election season that, "THEY DID ALL THAT THEY COULD FOR US." Stop buying into pablum folks. If this political group of the Three Muskateers were serious, and had an real political balls, they would file a group Petition For Rule Making that put everything on the table. Trust me, a Petition For Ruling Making signed by these three, Senators Schumer and Clinton, and our Governor Spitzer would shake the earth....shows your balls folks, or get the hell out of office.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Josh Zembik (Lowey)

May 4, 2007
202-225-6506

Meaghan Smith (Hall)
202-225-5441

Jeff Lieberson (Hinchey)
202-225-1265

Lowey, Hall, Hinchey Introduce Legislation to Raise Standards for Indian Point

Bill Would Require Old Power Plants to Meet Same Standards as New Plants

Washington, DC - U.S. Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY18), John Hall (D-NY19) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY22) yesterday introduced legislation that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to make sure nuclear power plant re-licensing takes into account the current environment in which the plant operates. The Nuclear Power Licensing Reform Act of 2007 would ensure that older power plants applying for license renewals, such as Indian Point, must meet the same stringent standards as new plants applying for the first time.

"If Indian Point were proposed today, the community would be up in arms that a nuclear plant would be built in such a heavily populated area," said Lowey. "Yet these plants are allowed to continue to operate without any consideration of how an area has changed over the past several decades. We need to reform the re-licensing process to take these changes into account."

"Indian Point's location in one of the nation's most densely populated areas creates a significant threat to public safety, and it's impossible to believe that a nuclear plant could be built in its location today," said Congressman Hall. "If Indian Point hopes to be allowed to operate for another 20 years, it is absolutely necessary that it can meet and exceed the same stringent safety standards required of new plants. For a plant with an operational record as poor as Indian Point's, it would be unacceptable for the NRC to hold it to any less rigorous standard. This legislation will help to make sure that no corners are cut in the re-licensing process, and I am proud to be a cosponsor."

"A lot of things have changed at Indian Point since the last time a license was issued for the plant and all of that must came into play as part of the license renewal process," Hinchey said. "Given that Indian Point is plagued with unplanned shutdowns, has experienced a recent fire, does not have properly installed emergency sirens, and is leaking radioactive material into the Hudson River, there is clearly a lot that needs to be addressed. It is 2007, not 1987 and Entergy must be held to much more rigorous standards in the re-licensing process. If FERC were to grant a license renewal now, Entergy would have little or no incentive to take the very important steps needed to improve safety at Indian Point."

The Nuclear Power Licensing Reform Act would:

* Make clear that any licensing, including initial licensing, must include a determination that the facility does not pose an unreasonable threat to persons or the environment because of safety or security vulnerabilities, including vulnerability to terrorist attacks;

* Require that there exist adequate evacuation plans for emergency events and that those plans have been approved by the relevant Federal agencies and States within 50 miles of the facility;

* Require that any renewed license must meet the same criteria and requirements that would be applicable for an original application for initial construction; and

* Require the NRC to determine that any changes in the size or distribution of the surrounding population have not resulted in the facility being located at a site at which a new facility would not be allowed to be built.

# # #

Meaghan Smith
Press Secretary
Congressman John Hall (NY-19)
1217 Longworth HOB
202.225.5441 (o)
202.253.7700 (c)

Sign up for Congressman Hall's E-newsletter at

http://johnhall.house.gov/emailjohn.asp It's a pathetic newsletter.

A New Idea To Consider As I Head Out To Get My Cast Off

Was sitting here having my second cup of coffee, watching the pre-Kentucky Derby hysteria on the news when it came to me...lets put Entergy and the NRC's faith in plant security to the test with a winner take all Independent Force on Force test, with the site only knowing the day of the test. We, the host team get to design the event, and put together our own independently chosen attack force. Since we are not allowed to see security related items, we'll design our team, choose their weapons and attack points with only what we ourselves can find out on our own via the Internet. I'm thinking we should use a team of 18 members (we have precedent in 9/11 of that sized terrorist group working together inside America's borders) that we divide into say three strike force teams.

The NRC will provide us with nothing more than the objectives list. Entergy can prepare its site and security staff anyway it wants, but must have for the exercise it's normal security deployment numbers...no beefing up plant security for the test.

If our community based and designed Force on Force attack team beats Indian Point's Security team, we win...I'd suggest my Uncle who did several tours over in Nam as a Green Beret, or someone like him act as planner of our attack design for this exercise. Entergy wins, the plant stays open, we win the plant closes. One last note...we will not be held to the worthless standards in the NRC's DBT in planning our portion of the exercise.

As the old saying goes, let the NRC and Entergy put their money where their mouth is, and prove to us how good their security team is. Put up, or shut up. Since Governor Pitzer, Hillary Clinton, John Hall, Muarice Hinchey, Nita Lowey and Spano all insist the plant be safe, would challenge these politicians to file this request jointly as a Petition for Rule Makking (2.208) but since it is doubtful they have those kind of balls, will do it myself when I return home this afternoon.

Just In, Stop DOE's Precursor To New NUKES In New York State

This just in, and too important not to share, even this late in the evening...I should be in bed, go in to hopefully get this cast off in the AM.

Tell the DOE to hold a public meeting upstate on NIETC designations!

Why:

The DOE has proposed a Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor, which would include the counties along NYRI's proposed paths.

As part of the 60-day public comment period, the DOE will hold three public meetings to examine each draft corridor designation.

All 3 public meetings are to be held in cities that will merely receive the added power these projects will bring (New York City, NY; Arlington, VA; and San Diego, CA). They are not the places in which the projects will be built , the places that will be devastated by them and in which opposition is unanimous. DOE's choice of locations will serve to heavily favor one side of this very critical public debate.

Our representatives in Congress, Mike Arcuri, Maurice Hinchey and John Hall have asked the DOE hold at least one additional meeting in upstate New York, closer to where the projects will actually be built! They are hoping to maximize public participation in these meetings and ensure that we are given fair opportunity to convey our opinions in the matter.

How:
Visit http://stopnyri.com and use the letter that we've created. All you need to do is add your own contact information and hit the GO! button. (Then print out the letter and send it, of course...)
Fight the power,

StopNYRI.com: What you can do today.

P.S. If you haven't already, donate to CARI.

Electricity Kissed By The Sun-Solar Thermal Energy Plant

Thanks to Gary from the war front to close Vermont Yankee in Brattleboro for this story lead from the UK. Electric energy completely CO2 emissions free, electrons produced from the sun in a facilty that almost resembles a modern day 40 story tall church spire...can someone give us and AMEN!

In this first of its kind pilot plant, mirrors relect incoming sun beams to a boiler that heats water to steam that turns turbines to create electrons.

Power station harnesses Sun's rays
By David Shukman
Science correspondent, BBC News, Seville

There is a scene in one of the Austin Powers films where Dr Evil unleashes a giant "tractor beam" of energy at Earth in order to extract a massive payment.

Well, the memory of it kept me chuckling as I toured the extraordinary scene of the new solar thermal power plant outside Seville in southern Spain.

From a distance, as we rounded a bend and first caught sight of it, I couldn't believe the strange structure ahead of me was actually real.

A concrete tower - 40 storeys high - stood bathed in intense white light, a totally bizarre image in the depths of the Andalusian countryside.

The tower looked like it was being hosed with giant sprays of water or was somehow being squirted with jets of pale gas. I had trouble working it out.

In fact, as we found out when we got closer, the rays of sunlight reflected by a field of 600 huge mirrors are so intense they illuminate the water vapour and dust hanging in the air.

The effect is to give the whole place a glow - even an aura - and if you're concerned about climate change that may well be deserved.

Read rest of story here. How it works.

Yucca Mountain On NRC Agenda

Yucca Mountain, and Nuclear Waste Streams, and how the NRC (does not) deal with them is on the agenda. If you have some time, register for the telephone conference to keep them honest. Click the notice to see full sized.

Is NRC Agenda and Schedule More Important Than Fairness and Justice?

The Indian Point License Renewal Application was made available online yesterday. With all of it's various and assorted under laying documents, it is almost 3,000 pages in length, with hundreds if not thousands of sites and references, all of which have to be located and read if the document they support is to be fully and completely understood. I want to know that document, am unwilling to take some bureaucrats quickly constructed explanation of it delivered at a public meeting as gospel. The NRC, its licensees may want us to trust them, but them have not earned trust, but rather our distain.

I was up until after three in the AM reading that document, and trust me, it is slow going, and that fact is why I filed a request with the NRC yesterday for an extension of time to adequately understand and know the document. As luck would have it, Neil Sheehan, the NRC's angel of darkness if ever one existed, who had called on another matter, quickly doused any hope the request would go anywhere...he made it abundantly clear that we would get the exact same identical process that every other reactor license renewal application community had so far recieved, made it clear that the NRC was on a tight schedule.

I resisted the urge to quip back, " You mean rubber stamping?", which is what the process is in its current format.

As stakeholders, we are supposed to have a fair and equitable place at the table in this process. Where is that equity when we are expected to comment on a document we do not, and cannot understand without adequate time to digest same and the contents therein? The NRC may not like it, but their regulatory process is set up not to protect citizens of a host community, but to abuse us. The licenses for reactors 2 and 3 expire in 2012 and 2015, so where is the urgency to stick to a 22-30 month schedule, if giving a community more time, allowed us the opportunity to actually understand the documents in question. We are being asked to accept the continued operation of Indian Point for 20 more years...with what is at stake, don't we deserve the time necessary to gain the knowledge needed to make heads or tails out of Entergy's application? A rhetorical question.

I know these kinds of documents, know that dissecting them piece by piece, paragraph by paragraph, and sentence by sentence is the only way to locate the truth we need to justify rejection of the application. The NRC knows this, and does not want us finding the wedge needed to split open the log, thus exposing the ugly truth hidden in the black heart of Entergy's deliberately immense documents. If you are a citizen stakeholder wanting adequate time to digest Entergy's application, I encourage you to write the chairman's office at NRC to request the same 18 month extension of time I have requested before they schedule their first public meeting. The email address is chairman@nrc.gov . You might also want to CC Neil Sheehan at nas@nrc.gov .

Has The Wind Industry Become The Corrupted Step Child of The Nuclear Industry

It would be nice to claim absolute knowledge of mankind's first original intent in using wind as energy. Seeing as the first use of windmills goes back to the Persians some 500-900 years before the birth of Christ, long before the invention of the modern day grid, that is impossible to do. The first known uses for the energy produced from windmills was the pumping of water, and from there, the grinding of grains. One of the most beautifully scenic and successful applications of windpower based on longevity (and one that still exists), is use of water pumping machines on the island of Crete. Here, hundreds of sail-rotor windmills pump water for crops and livestock. Regardless of original intent, wind energy has a long, clean and noble heritage

As a child growing up in rural America, I have fond memories of small windmills operating on nearby farms. To this day, cannot drive past one of the old steel bladed water pumping windmills without stopping to take a picture, though most of them are now rusted and inoperable. Time rushes down the river into the ocean of forever, and the world changes in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it is these childhood memories of mine, a leftover naivete from youth that had me believing in wind as a pure, clean and noble source of renewable energy.

So, what went wrong, when did wind become corrupt? Or perhaps, it is not the wind itself, but the wind industry that has become corrupt, its honor tarnished, its nobility long ago lost as it prostitutes itself to the highest bidder as earth raping utilities fight among themselves in the war to green their images in the public eye.

As we have seen, wind energy is not new, nor is the concept of using wind mills for the production of electricity. The first use of a large windmill to generate electricity was built in 1888 by Charles F. Brush in Cleveland, Ohio and operated successfully for almost 20 years. The wind industry as we know it today was born. In 1891, the Dane Poul La Cour designed and built the first electrical output wind machine to incorporate the aerodynamic design principles used in the best European tower mills. These safe, vital and secure wind mills were quite practical for electricity generation. At the end of World War I, the use of 25 kilowatt electrical output wind machines had spread throughout Denmark, but sadly larger fossil-fuel steam plants soon put the operators of these mills out of business and wind energy was relegated to some shelf waiting for a time when it would be of use and value once more.

Find it rather tragic that a renewable energy so pure, that was pushed aside by the vast over consumption and burning of fossil fuels, is now being adopted as the bastard child of the coming Nuclear Renaissance, given a place at the table for no other reason than to green the image of some of the largest and most vile polluters of the 20th and young 21st century. Some folks, including, ACE NY, tell me it does not matter how the windmills are built, only that they are...their reasoning, we need the energy. Where is the nobleness in that, where is a concern for making our mother earth a cleaner greener place in such mindsets? If wind power is nothing more than an addition to the grid to feed our ever growing demand for more and more electrons, rather than a means to remove foul, polluted energy from it, what is the purpose, why are we fooling ourselves with yet another feel good placebo that we gladly pay an extra 2.5 cents a unit for?

Can see all the PTA mothers in their Hummers strutting their stuff, proudly proclaiming their self important contribution to a cleaner, greener earth thanks to their participation in Exelon's Pecowind green energy program. It's OK, Exelon tells you so on their GREEN SITE when they state, "Strengthen your organization’s image while doing your part for the environment and your community." Am I the only one hearing the voice of the Church Lady as she loudly exclaims, " Well, isn't that SPECIAL?" Al Gore, and his inconvenient electric bill, Patrick Moore cashing in his honor for a pocket full of gold as the iceburgs melt away towards the ocean's floor.

Lemmings marching towards the cliff, ready to plunge to their death, and most seem so self absorbed that they have no clue. We have John Hall in the Congress, but he seems to have sold out to the perks that come with the title in front of his name. Hillary is the forked tongue Mistress of the dark dreaming of being president, and even Barrack Obama is not without sin as we wait for Mr. Bojangles or the Tamborine Man to ride into town to save the day. Wake up America, it does not happen that way, the world cannot be saved waiting on others to do the work. Global Warming will not dissappear if Wind Energy is used as a feel good placebo, instead of a true alternative energy.

EXAMPLES OF THE UGLY TRUTH THAT IS WIND ENERGY

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER (AEP)-spent $175 million to buy the 160-megawatt (MW) Indian Mesa wind plant in West Texas. Previously, AEP had invested $160 million to build its own 150-MW wind farm at Trent Mesa, also in West Texas.

Criminal Investigation Sought Following Whistleblower Claims of Pollution Violations
By Sandy Smith
http://www.occupationalhazards.com/News/Article/37092/Criminal_Investigation_Sought_Following_Whistleblower_Claims_of_Pollution_Violations.aspx
"BP's chief pipeline inspection expert in the United States took the Fifth Amendment under oath rather than explain what he knew about corrosion in the company's oil pipelines in Prudhoe Bay."

Bowoto v. ChevronTexaco Case History
http://www.earthrights.org/site_blurbs/bowoto_v._chevrontexaco_case_history.html

Written by Marco Simons
In May of 1999, victims of gross human rights abuses associated with Chevron's oil production activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria filed suit against Chevron in federal court in San Francisco. The case is based on two incidents: the shooting of peaceful protestors at Chevron's Parabe offshore platform and the destruction of two villages by soldiers in Chevron helicopters and boats. It was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which permits suits in U.S. courts against individuals or corporations that commit international human rights violations anywhere in the world, if that person or corporation resides in or visits the United States, as well as under several other laws. The lawsuit has been brought by a coalition of private civil rights and human rights lawyers

ENTERGY, a major utility based in New Orleans, La., purchased a majority interest in the 80-MW Top of Iowa wind farm from Houston, Tex.-based Zilkha Renewable Energy and its partner, Midwest Renewable Energy Corp. Lets not forget, second largest owner of aging reactors in America.

http://riverkeeper.org/campaign.php/indian_point/the_facts/1169

RIVERKEEPER NOTIFIES ENTERGY NUCLEAR NORTHEAST OF INTENT TO SUE FOR VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL TOXIC WASTE LAW AT INDIAN POINT

Under a green pricing program, Entergy Gulf States customers in Baton Rouge and western Louisiana can choose to pay 2.25 cents per kilowatt hour more to buy green or renewable power.

FPL ENERGY, a subsidiary of FPL Corp., which also owns the large utility Florida Power & Light, announced that it had added 844 MW of wind power to its power generation portfolio during 2001. FPL Energy owns 43 wind farms in 15 states throughout the U.S. One particular wind farm, Cerro Gordo Wind Farm, is located in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

FPL has a HORRID Nuclear Safety record.

GE POWER SYSTEMS signed an agreement to purchase the manufacturing capability of Enron Wind Corp., the largest U.S.-based utility-scale wind turbine manufacturer.

http://www.cleanupge.org/gemisdeeds.html

GE has a lengthy record of criminal, civil, political and ethical transgressions. Here are a few examples:

In 1995 -- with the establishment of a Presidential Advisory Commission -- the full extent of GE's human experiments with nuclear radiation were revealed. General Electric ran the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland, Washington as part of America's weapons program; beginning in 1949, General Electric deliberately released radioactive material to see how far downwind the radioactive material would travel. One cloud drifted four hundred miles, all the way down to the California-Oregon border, carrying perhaps thousands of times more radiation than that emitted at Three Mile Island.

In 1986 Congressman Edward Markey held hearings in which he disclosed that the United States and General Electric had conducted experiments on hundreds of United States citizens who became "nuclear calibration devices for experimenters run amok." According to Markey: "Too many of these experiments used human subjects that were captive audiences or populations ...considered 'expendable' ...the elderly, prisoners and hospital patients who might not have retained their full faculties for informed consent. "

One of GE's most gruesome experiments --disclosed in the Markey hearings --was performed on inmates at a prison in Walla Walla, Washington, near Hanford. Starting in 1963, sixty-four prisoners had their scrotums and testes irradiated to determine the effects of radiation on human reproductive organs.

PACIFICORP POWER MARKETING (PPM), affiliated with Pacificorp, a large utility based in Portland, Ore., is playing a major role in building the market for wind in the Northwest. The company is purchasing and marketing power from three wind plants in the West, including the 261-MW Stateline Project, and has said it plans to add substantial wind capacity to its portfolio over the next few years.

http://rogueimc.org/en/2007/01/7821.shtml

PacifiCorp to be sued for polluting Klamath
Klamath Riverkeeper , 18.01.2007 13:36

YREKA, CA- Klamath Riverkeeper sent a 60 day notice of intent to file a lawsuit today against Warren Buffett’s PacifiCorp for polluting one of the nation’s most important and controversial salmon rivers, the Klamath. Klamath Riverkeeper’s lawsuit asserts that operation of the Iron Gate Dam hatchery is just one of the ways that PacifiCorp, as the owner of the four Klamath dams, is destroying the River, its salmon runs, and the coastal fishing economies.

SHELL subsidiary Shell WindEnergy, Inc., purchased an 80-MW wind plant near Amarillo, Tex. "We are delighted to have moved so quickly in making a second major investment in the U.S. wind power market," said David Jones, Director of Shell WindEnergy, Inc. "Wind energy is not only the fastest-growing area of power generation worldwide but it is also one of the cleanest sources of energy." Shell WindEnergy also owns a 50-MW wind project in Wyoming, and Shell is developing or operating more than 1,000 MW of wind in the U.S. and Europe.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aFuUrktb3BjM&refer=europe

Russia Sues to Halt Shell's $20 Billion Oil Project (Update5)

By Lucian Kim

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Russia sued to halt Royal Dutch Shell Plc's $20 billion Sakhalin oil and gas project as President Vladimir Putin's government increased pressure to gain control of the development.

The Natural Resources Ministry is citing environmental violations at Sakhalin-2, which will produce the equivalent of a third of China's gas needs. Sakhalin is key to Shell's plans to increase output and take on more projects in Russia, the world's biggest exporter of natural gas and second-largest oil supplier.

TXU, a large utility based in Dallas, Tex., announced in early January that it plans to purchase a 40% equity stake in two wind farms under construction in central Spain. TXU is already one of the largest U.S. purchasers of wind-generated electricity, buying the output of several Texas wind plants. Also has ugly ties to nuclear.

http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2006/10/02/daily5.html

Groups give TXU 60-day warning
Two environmental groups have sent a letter to TXU telling the company to correct alleged violations of clean air standards related to a proposed coal-fired plant -- or else.

CleanCOALition and Robertson County Our Land Our Lives, say TXU's permit application for the Oak Grove coal-fired plant in Robertson County fails to analyze the impact of the plant's emissions on downwind cities. Some preliminary research has found wind blows nitrogen oxide, or NOx, into the Dallas-Fort Worth area from outside nine area counties.

*TXU is also in the nuclear reactor business.

PECOwind, Owned by Exelon-largest owner of failing reactors in America.

Strengthen your organization’s image while doing your part for the environment and your community. Exelon's sales pitch to companies wanting to GREEN their image.

Could Someone Give John Hall A Clue-We Already Get Hearings

Give us a break already...Reps. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison; Eliot Engel, D-Bronx; John Hall, D-Dover Plains; Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley; and Christopher Shays, R-Bridgeport, Conn. all trotted out to the press today to let us know they have sent a blistering letter off to the NRC demanding "A SERIES OF ROBUST PUBLIC HEARINGS" on Indian Point's brittling failing reactors. WOW, nothing like demanding what the NRCs 10 CFR Rules and Regulations already guarantee us...WAY TO STICK YOUR NECKS OUT GUYS!

Do hope this is not what Congressman John Hall meant when he stated last Saturday that he has some ideas and plans in the works to halt relicensing. In the meantime, the Indian Point license renewal package is now on the NRC web page...all 1600 plus pages of it. Below is the information you need to access it.

Indian Point Energy Center - License Renewal Application
On this page:

Application Information
License Renewal Review Schedule
Public Involvement
Project Managers for Indian Point Energy Center

Application Information:

The following links on this page are to documents in our Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS documents are provided in either Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) or Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). To obtain free viewers for displaying these formats, see our Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools. If you have problems with viewing or printing documents from ADAMS, please contact the Public Document Room staff.

License Renewal Application
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Environmental Report

License Renewal Review Schedule*

*These schedules reflect work plans that are subject to change. Early completion of a milestone may affect the target date of future milestones. Subsequent meetings and comment periods may change based on the revised schedule. This work plan will be updated on a periodic basis. Please see the NRC Public Meetings Page or contact the listed PM for the latest information on meetings and status.

Public Involvement

The public is encouraged to participate in the reactor license renewal process through public meetings, and public comment periods on rules, renewal guidance, and other documents. The Reactor License Renewal Public Involvement page provides general information to help the public participate.

Mark Gillis Admits First Energy Reactors Poison?

Mark Gillis (gillism@firstenergycorp.com), involved in Fleet Design Engineering for First Energy of David-Besse hole in the reactor dome fame, read Green Nuclear Butterfly's expose on ACE NY that was posted over the weekend. Seems he was impressed by the scope of our research, but confused with our position that A) the nuclear industry is not to be trusted, and B) the wind industry (ACE NY) is wrong to let the nuclear industry use them to green their image for 35 pieces of silver. More interesting, were comments within his email on his own industry, and a suggestion that we should allow as much alternative energy onto the grid as possible so that big time polluters could be shut down...sure in his own mind, aging brittling reactors are not included in that list of BIG TIME POLLUTERS who could/should be removed from the grid.

First, Mark Gillis refers to his company's, the industry's fleet of reactors as poison toads:

"In the swamp ofhuman suffering, it seems you are more interested in trying to kill a peskypoison toad while ignoring all the much more dangerous alligators."

We have a significant nuclear industry admitting here that reactors are POISON! He tries to paint reactors as the lessor of various issues, but admits the reactors are poison. Significant admission considering the Nuclear Industry's BATTLE CRY of vital, safe and secure.

Mark's comment on Green Energy as arguement for taking polluting energy off the grid reads as follows:

"The more "green" power on the grid, the easier it is to make the argument that we should shut down the big polluters."

Governor Spitzer has said Indian Point should be closed when it's energy on the grid can be replaced. ACE NY has a stated goal of putting 3000 Megawatts of wind power up on too New York's grid by 2015. Based on Mark Gillis of First Energy's email statements, ACE NY's stated wind goals, and Elliot Spitzer's own publically stated policy goals, the Green Nuclear Butterfly calls on Governor Spitzer, ACE NY, Mark Gillis and First Energy (a member of ACE NY) to publically pledge to the citizens and grassroots of New York that ACE NY's wind additions to our grid will count towards the necessary electron flows needed to shut down Entergy's aging, brittling and failing Indian Point Reactors.

We encourage our readers to email Mark encouraging him to make this public pledge, or if you like, give him a ring!

Mark R. Gillis Fleet Design Engineering, AK-GO-14 8-825-5540 (330-384-5540), Cell 330-472-7559

Vermont Citizen Speaks Out

Our thanks go out to Evan Mulholland from Vermont for sharing his letter to the editor on the failing, brittling sister reactor to Indian Point, the Vermont Yankee in Brattleboro, also owned by the environmental rapist at Entergy.

I rate Vermont Yankee a zero.

New England needs to shut down the aging Mark I GE Boiling Water reactors, including Vermont Yankee. The Sale and Uprate were travesties and, as a result, Vermont is hosting a pre-deployed weapon of mass destruction that siphons millions of dollars out of state to Entergy and its shareholders.

It is unarguable that there exists a residual probability of an accident at Vermont Yankee, as well as a possibility of an intentional terrorist attack. The results of such an accident or attack would be truly horrific and catastrophic: hundreds of people would die, the land surrounding Vernon would be uninhabitable, the tourism industry would end, and thousands of Vermonters (and residents of NH and MA) would suffer from cancer in the ensuing decades.

The Vermont Yankee reactor has a maximum dependable capacity of about 650MW, of which about half is used by Vermont individuals and businesses. This approximately 325 MW is about 1% of the installed generating capacity in New England (not counting HydroQuebec). Since 1997, 9300MW of new generation capacity has been interconnected to the New England grid -- most of this new capacity is in the form of relatively efficient natural gas fired generators.

Some time this month or next, Vermont Yankee will shut down for 20-40 days for a periodic refueling outage. Hot, highly-radioactive, spent fuel rods will be removed from the reactor and placed (for safe-keeping) in an enclosed swimming pool 7 stories above the ground. During this time, Vermont's lights will not go out. Instead GMP and CVPS will purchase power from the grid. This power will be from gas-fired plants, from hydro, from wind (Searsburg), and from other nuclear plants in the region. This is exactly what will replace Vermont Yankee when it is shut down as planned in 2012, but the utilities will negotiate fair contracts in advance.

In the past few years, the peak electricity demand in Vermont has occurred in the summer, as opposed to during the winter, as was typical until the late-nineties. This peak is mainly due to air conditioning.

For me the choice is simple: When I weigh air conditioning and cheap toast against the low-probability but catastrophic result of an accident or terrorist attack at Vermont Yankee, I prefer conservation over nuclear power hands down.

Entergy Has Filed For Indian Point License Renewal, The Battle is Joined, GNB Mounts Its First Counter Offensive

Plans are afoot, a counter offensive is about to be unleashed as the Anti Nuclear Grassroots Green movement prepares for the battle that must be waged to stop Entergy's wrongful re-license of Indian Point. Individual stakeholders have rights in the process that we must all exercise. To that end, as publisher of GNB, today I've launched the first of my own counter attacks against a corrupt and bankrupt NRC regulatory process. I encourage our readership to take similar actions, here and in every reactor host community across America. The battle is joined, and we can only lose if we believe the lie that we cannot effect change.

Letter of Allegation Sent Today:

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of the Inspector General
Mail Stop T5-D28
11545 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852-2738

Dear Inspector General:

Please consider this letter as a formal allegation and/or verified complaint against employees of the NRC, as well as the Commissioners who voted on the currently used/in force DBT (Design Basis Threat). Said persons have in the past, and continue to place human health and safety at risk through their wantonly and egregiously negligent, perhaps criminal actions aimed at protecting licensees at the expense of the safety and well being of citizens living in reactor host communities, specifically the host community in and around Entergy's Indian Point facility, of which I am a member/stakeholder.

1. The 2005 Energy Policy Act among other things spells out MANDATORY STEPS that the NRC were/are required to take to ensure the public that nuclear reactor sites are safe, and that NRC's DBT is designed in a fashion to assure success against such a terrorist attack and/or nuclear incident. In his Senate sub-committee testimony, Marvin Fertel, vice-president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, acknowledged that the current DBT does not represent the full spectrum of terrorist threats. The key reason for this, is that the NRC and the commissioners themselves gave the NEI undue influence, allowed the NEI to draft a DBT to their liking, rather than drafting a DBT which would provide the public with any real level of adequate protections against a terrorist attack. In fact, Mr. Fertel in his testimony all but admits to their organization's undue influence in NRC's policy and rule making process when he states, "NEI is responsible for developing policy for the commercial nuclear industry." (emphasis added) A cursory examination of NRC's underlying documents would show time and again NEI's desires were heeded by NRC staff, too the point where the NRC even uses the NEI's exact wording in the creation of NRC policy and rules.

Throughout the entire creation of the DBT, the NRC staff and Commissioners gave the NEI and those it represents too much sway in the creation of the DBT, and without exception, public health and safety took a back seat to the nuclear industry's financial concerns, and corporate bottom lines. Specific areas where public safety has taken a back seat to shareholder interests include, but are not limited to the following:

A. The NEI is allowed to create the attack teams for force on force exercises, thus allowing their members advance notice of what they will be defending against. The DOE's offer of providing an attack team for these force on force exercises, similar to the ones employed to test defense readiness at DOE nuclear sites, was given no real due consideration by the NRC staff, primarily because NEI objected to it. This has created a situation wherein citizen/stakeholders living within close proximity to DOE facilities are afforded a far higher level of protection than those of us living within close proximity of commercial nuclear reactor sites.

B) When the NRC team of staffers created the first draft of the DBT, it included a host of commonly used terrorist weapons of choice. This list was compiled after careful discussion with law enforcement, and a full review of inter/intra agency intelligence. The NEI immediately objected to this list, claiming the costs of defending against such a list was cost prohibitive, and that two of the weapons on the list (even though standard terrorist issue weaponry) would render almost all current reactor site defensive structures obsolete. NRC staff gave into the NEI's wishes/demands and removed all but two of the weapons (Shoulder Launched Grenades [SLG] and a high power rifle using armor piercing bullets. When the commissioners voted on the DBT, after private back room discussions with the higher echelons of NEI, these two weapons were removed from the list. Fact...these two commonly used terrorist weapons render bullet resistant guard towers and shielded areas within the reactor and control room employing bullet resistant glass useless and in grave peril if attacked by a well trained, well armed and dedicated group of terrorists. Rather than protect human health and safety, rather than creating a DBT that would adequately prepare sites for a terrorist attack both NRC staff and commissioners sacrificed our safety on the altar of nuclear industry profits and convenience. The GAO's report to Congress tends to agree and support this allegation.

C. The NRC staff charged with creating the DBT settled upon a particular size explosives-laden vehicle. The NEI objected, claiming that protecting against a vehicle of such enormous size was overly expensive. The commission again gave the nuclear industry their way by GREATLY DECREASING THE SIZE/WEIGHT of the explosives laden vehicle. One commissioner seemed to justify this decision with the failed logic that a vehicle any larger would more than likely be spotted by and stopped by off site law enforcement before reaching the reactor site. It is noted here, that such thinking includes off-site security measures in protecting a reactor site, yet the NRC does not include testing of said off-site security they are relying on in the force on force exercises.

D) The NEI objected to both the size of the terrorist attack force, and the amount of weight (thus weaponry) each attack force member could carry. Again, everything the NEI wanted, they were given as both the size of the attack force, and the weight allotted for weaponry of each member was significantly reduced, thus GREATLY REDUCING the attack a nuclear reactor site would have to defend against in force on force exercises, which in turn, greatly reduced safety levels for members of the general public in the case of a terrorist attack on a nuclear reactor facility.

2. To avoid the transparency that would expose the DBT for what it is, to allow the continued rubber stamping of every license renewal application coming into the NRC headquarters, the agency and staff members involved in re-licensing (directly and/or indirectly) are ignoring federal law and statute where it suits them, specifically, but not limited to NEPA's requirement that the potential impact of terrorist attacks at nuclear facilities be considered in the license renewal application process. Knowing full well that many reactor communities do not have the financial means to litigate against the NRC and a well funded nuclear industry, the NRC has decided to ignore a recent Ninth Circuit Court decision on this very issue...in fact, Neil Sheehan was callously quoted as saying, "What happens in California stays in California..." when he was asked what effects that ruling would have on other license renewal applications. The NRC's relying on a community's financial inability to defend itself ADEQUATELY in the federal courts amounts to defacto Economic Racism on the part of the NRC and its staff, including the commissioners, and the Atomic Safety & Licensing Board, which has held that no such analysis is required.

These egregious actions on the part of the NRC, their collusion with the NEI and key nuclear industry players (Entergy, Exelon, NuStart, Duke Power, TVA) has threatened the lives, safety and security of every stakeholder citizen living within 50 miles of a reactor, with those of us living within ten miles of same at the most peril. Because of the imminent danger we are in due to the negligent and capricious acts spelled out above, as the filer of this allegation, I seek the following actions and protections:

1. A fast-tracked investigation of the allegations and charges contained herein with any criminal wrongdoing found being turned over to the United States Department of Justice for criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

2. Evaluation of the issues as spelled out to determine if there exist any issues that have abridged my civil liberties, as defined in both the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

3. There be issued by the NRC Commissioners an order halting all license renewal activities until the issues contained herein have been resolved, as allowing them to move forward when a woefully inadequate DBT, which was created through criminal collusion, fails in providing the bare minimum security and safety protections afforded by NRC 10 CFR Rules and Regulations, and other federal statutes and laws, puts every nuclear reactor licensee in a position where they are defacto in violation of their licenses, and thusly subject to license revocation, and or other penalties.

When the NRC staff allow lobbying to cross the line into collusion, not only is the public trust eroded, but our health, safety and security is put at grave risk. When corporate profits supercede the NRC's duty and responsibility to protect human health and safety, the agency stands at the brink of a dark abyss, ready to sell its soul for the goal of a Nuclear Renaissance, and has sacrificed its own right to govern and regulate the industry.

Respectfully Submitted

Sherwood Martinelli


Reference Documents

http://italy.usembassy.gov/pdf/other/RS21131.pdf

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06555t.pdf

http://www.securitymanagement.com/library/gao041064t_nuclear1204.pdf

http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/IG-0749.pdf

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0739.pdf

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=1898

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/POSTpr222.pdf

http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/archives/budget/FY05_HRpt_108_554.pdf

http://www.totse.com/en/politics/us_military/162581.html

http://www.numat.at/list%20of%20papers/gesamtproceedings.pdf

http://www.iae.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kbutsu/files/AR/AL2002.pdf

http://www.wtec.org/loyola/pdf/nanousws.pdf

http://hss.energy.gov/SecPolicy/directives/M_470.4-1c1_Planning.pdf

Sheltering In Place-NRC Verse State Department Views

The basic concept of our United States democracy is justice and fairness for all. We have this sense if you will of societal equity. What does this have to do with the NRC, evacuations and/or readiness plans, and nuclear reactors...perhaps everything.

For reasons of convenience (for their licensees), the NRC would have us believe that sheltering in place is A) highly unlikely, and B)if necessary would only be for a few hours, a couple of days at most. If you research the United States Department of State web page regarding issues of radioactive terrorism, or a nuclear incident at a reactor site, they have a far different opinion, CLEARLY the possibility of citizens being sheltered in place not for days, but weeks.

Reactor host community evacuation plans have not prepared any of us for a weeks long period of in home sheltering, none of us are truly prepared for such a reality. Further, many people simply do not have the financial ability to properly prepare and stock a sheltering area in their home for such a significantly long period of time.

With Entergy having just filed their application for license renewal of the Indian Point reactors, thinking we need to get this sheltering discrepancy resolved. With this in mind, was thinking it might be good for a few thousand of us to give Condi Rice and her staff a phone call to verify the information on the Department of States web site. To help us in that goal, I've taken the liberty of having the phone numbers readily available for your dialing pleasure.

Preparing For Battle-Indian Point's License Renewal

We cannot allow an American Host Community to Become the next Chernobyl

Last week, some important information came out of the Annual Assessment meeting, including a statement, that Entergy needs to submit their license renewal application by the end of the month. If the source (Sam Collins of the NRC) is correct, then the clock starts ticking on Wednesday, May 1st, 2007. NRC gives a 24-30 month time line for license renewals, but have accomplished the task with another Entergy reactor in as little as 17 months. There are hundreds of reasons to deny Indian Point's license renewal application, but if other reactors serve as example, the NRC is unwilling to consider any of them, which means we as a community need to make hard decisions, and depending on what they are, draw the proverbial line in the sand as we prepare our battle strategy.

With this reality before us, there was a second very important fact that came out in the NRC's Annual Assessment meeting. After Mark Jacobs delivered his impassioned condemnation of both Entergy's Indian Point facility, and NRC for their lack of any meaningful regulatory control, Sam Collins again spoke on behalf of his agency. Some may have missed two crucial admissions as he spoke. In case of a FAST MOVING EVENT, evacuation will not work, the NRC, Entergy and FEMA will have no choice but to rely on sheltering in place.

First, we have a key employee of the NRC admitting publicly in and open meeting that the evacuation plan will not work, cannot be implemented in the case of a fast moving event or terrorist attack at the Indian Point facility...within that admission is the cold tacit truth that none of the evacuation plans for every reactor in America are workable in the case of a fast moving incident or terrorist attack. If you look at the action plan, the only kind of event that would elevate to a level that the sirens and evacuation plan would come into play, is a fast moving event.

Secondly, Sam admitted that the Emergency Response teams would rely on sheltering in place in the case of a fast moving event. Being blunt, sheltering in our homes in the case of a fast breaking significant event will sentence many of us to death. The State Department's website envisions a scenario wherein citizens could be sheltered in place for a period of up to two weeks, perhaps longer. Without an adequately supplied and equipped shelter, we as citizens are vulnerable to the ravages of the radioactive fallout from a significant radiological event. The NRC attempts to mitigate this reality, by mitigating the odds of such an event occurring.

I've alienated some with my blunt assessments, with my in your face approach to this battle as it looms ever closer. Apologize for that, but we do not have time on our side, do not have the luxury of hammering out and reaching consensus between the various groups and factions in this fight...the leaders have to step up with a battle plan, or plans, and the foot soldiers need to be ready for deployment where and when needed, or we are doomed to failure, in this case failure being saddled with Indian Point for a period of forty more years.

So, what is a workable strategy? Sadly, I do not have a crystal ball, no soothsayer with whom to consult. However, do have some hunches, do feel we can greatly weaken the entire license renewal process by attaching the NRC's flanks, using their own bureaucracy to slow them down, if not stop it in its tracks. For the strategy to have a chance, we need volunteers, not just here in our own community, but in every reactor community in America.

The NRC's 10 CFR Rules and Regulations provide numerous avenues for citizen stakeholders to get involved in the process. There is the NRC's Office of The Inspector General, there is the ability to file for intervenor status, and there is the ability to file a petition for rule change. With these access tools, we have the ability to swamp if not collapse the NRC's regulatory process. Yes, we use their own rules and regulations to strangle them, we barage the agency with hundreds of thousands of pages of paperwork they have to deal with and address.

Magaret Mead stated, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, devoted citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that has" , and my idea takes that truth and multiplys it across America as Aging Reactor host communities join together as one to take on the entire nuclear industry. 104 reactors in 67 American communities, and almost every community hosting a reactor wants them shut down...it can happen if we use our grassroots organizations, and numbers to our favor and advantage.

In our own area of Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties how many individual citizens want Indian Point shut down? How many members can Riverkeeper, IPSEC and Clearwater rally to our cause? Multiply that times 67 reactor communities, and how many others around other dangerous sites such as Barnwell would join in the fight? Nationwide, we could have a veritable Army of activists waiting on their marching orders. So, what do we do?

We use the regulatory process to our advantage by having this citizen army file individual separate petitions for rule making. We have these citizens write up and mail in allegations to the NRC's Office of The Inspector General. We have this citizen army of activists all across the nation mailing in letters demanding intervener status for their own reactor sites. Imagine for a moment even 67,000 citizens (1000 from each reactor community) each mailing in one petition for rule making, one letter of allegation, and one letter demanding intervener status. That's 201,000 documents that the NRC has to deal with! With three simple letters from each activist, we have a great chance of bogging down the NRC, forcing them to come to the negotiation table, forcing them to end a re licensing process that is corrupt to its core.

NRC does NOT consider:

Fatally Flawed Emergency Evacuation Plan

Population changes/density of surrounding area,

Ongoing leaks of strontium 90 and tritium

Terrorism, or Plant security

The hour grows late, and our communities are running out of time. The call for and ISA is non-workable, and is not going to occur. Desperate times call for bold and decisive actions. If others have ideas, lets hear them now, and map out our plan. One thing is certain...we need a miracle, and most miracles come from a lot of hard work, and the willingness to take risks.

Why The Independent Safety Assessment For Indian Point Is a Dead Strategy

IPSEC, Riverkeeper, Clearwater and more politicians than you can shake a stick at seem to be putting far to much faith in and ISA (Independent Safety Assessment) closing down Indian Point. Both Hillary Clinton and Congressman John Hall got some press coverage announcing their introduction of bills calling for and ISA, yet both knew going in the bills were meaningless fluff, placebos to make the citizens around the reactors feel good, create the impression they were doing all they could on our behalf. In a blog chat yesterday, John Hall felt sorry that I was/am so pessimistic...lets not confuse pessimism with being brutally honest with myself, and the world around. The call for an ISA here, and else where in America is wasted time, energy and effort, and the sooner we accept this reality, the sooner we can move on to exploring other options.

In the Senate, New York has Clinton and Schumer supposedly representing our interests. Do your homework, and what you will find, is two savvy politicos trying to have their cake and eat it too. Neither Clinton or Schumer has ever called for, or supported the closure of the Indian Point reactors. They are trying to walk a political tight rope, in the hopes of serving two masters. Hillary introduced the same bill last year that she brought forward this year...have you ever asked yourselves why last year she never got so much as one co-signer on board that legislation? Not even Schumer. Introducing the bill gives her cover, nothing more, and she has no intentions of moving the bill forward towards passage. Schumer gives us even less, meekly stating the facility should be operated safely.

John Hall's bill is nothing but a rehash of Congressman Hinchey's bill from last year, a bone tossed to his hopefully rising star freshman John Hall, a means to give him some cover in a still Republican district that will be hotly contested in 2008. Go take a look at the bill, see how many co-sponsors are on it...it's a dog and pony show, a tool to get John Hall some face time in the local media. It's like that TV commercial with the phrase, "I'm working on it."

Even if the above scenario were not true, if Peter Pan showed up with some fairy dust, no bill asking for and ISA has a chance of being signed into law while George Bush is president. ZERO, ZIP, is not going to happen. To understand this, to grasp the why of Bush's push for the Nuclear 2010 Iniative, you have to understand how deep his ties to the nuclear industry really are, and to grasp that reality, you have to go back to his time as the Governor of Texas when the foundation stones were put in place.

Do a Google search for Valhi Inc., WCS and one man by the name of Simmons who with his friends [WCS president Ken Bigham, and WCS board member and lobbyist (and former U.S. Congressman) Kent Hance] donated some $170,000 to then Governor Bush and his Lt. Governor, Bob Bullock. The donations paid off, as George Bush cleared all obstacles for the siting of a Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site owned by WCS, of which simmons had a huge ownership stake in. The fact that the site was to be forced upon a poor mixed (Mexican/Anglo) border town just 16 miles from the Rio Grand was not a problem for Bush...he'd put on a sombrerro, smirk, and all would be forgiven. Despite considerable public opposition, the Sierra Blanca dump was opened, and ethically challenged Bush and Simmons were both happy.

Bush and his handlers wanted him to be president. In helping Simmons, they had found a good supporter for George Bush's cause who had very deep pockets, the nuclear industry. Think about it. He could do a lot worse...GE, a nuclear titan owns a television network in NBC. Having a network in your corner in the build up for a presidential run can never hurt, and so the mold was cast to make George Bush the nuclear president. He was already more than cozy with two reactor owners in Texas Utilities and Houston Lighting and Power. In fact, two of his top staffers had left the governors office to lobby on behalf of the industry (Reggie Bashur and Cliff Johnson).

Bush's efforts and plan to woe the entire nuclear industry started paying big dividends almost immediately. Large donations started flowing in from various out of state nuclear titans such as Duke Power, Southern Company, and yes, Entergy Corporation, all of whom owned or operated nuclear power plants. These were three of the largest corporations in the South, giant companies whose major investors included some of the world's most powerful multinationals and global banks. Big enough friends, to get George Bush to the White House.

The plan worked, and now George Bush is repaying that loyalty. Who says there is no honor among thieves? This reality, this set of facts is why any legislative attempts to get and ISA are dead. The NRC knows this, the nuclear industry knows this, and George Bush not only knows it, but has assured it while he is president. It is reality, it is truth, and reactor host communities have to accept this and find new workable stategies if we are going to stop the continued wrong rubber stamping of license renewal applications for these troubled reactors. Call up Congressman John Hall's office, and if his office staff is honest and truthful, they will tell you that I speak the truth.