French Shun Nuclear Energy, Choose Conservation

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The overwhelming majority of people in France agree there is a need to conserve energy and favour renewable sources, according to a poll by CSA. 96 per cent of respondents think conserving energy should be a priority, and 94 per cent think the European country should focus on developing solar and wind power.

The overwhelming majority of people in France agree there is a need to conserve energy and favour renewable sources, according to a poll by CSA. 96 per cent of respondents think conserving energy should be a priority, and 94 per cent think the European country should focus on developing solar and wind power.

Only 35 per cent of respondents think developing nuclear power should be a priority for France, and 61 per cent think this should not be the focus of the country’s energy policy.

France generates 79 per cent of its electricity from nuclear reactors—the highest percentage of any country in the world. There are currently 59 nuclear power plants in France.

On Oct. 25, French president Nicolas Sarkozy presented his "ecological new deal", a national plan to combat pollution which includes 12 specific measures. The proposals include abolishing incandescent light bulbs by 2010, replacing all single-panel windows with thicker two-paned windows, and banning old home appliances "as soon as an alternative exists at a reasonable price."

Sarkozy said he wants to make France a leader in renewable energy but also ratified his support for nuclear power, saying, "The truth is that it is illusory in France to want to meet the climate challenge, our primary challenge, without nuclear energy. Today, we have no other choice, without renouncing growth." The legislature will have to either approve or reject the "ecological new deal" in a vote next year.

Polling Data
On the topic of energy, do you think (the following) should be a priority?

Yes No Not sure

Conserving energy
96% 4% --

Developing renewable energy
94% 5% 1%

Developing nuclear energy
35% 61% 4%

Source: CSA Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 French adults, conducted on Oct. 10, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Haale at the Paramount in Peekskill on November 18th

Haale, who invited Rock The Reactors to table at the concert she held in Woodstock, NY a few weeks ago, will be playing the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill, NY on Sunday, November 18 - 4:00 PM

The Paramount is heavily funded by Entergy, the company that owns the Indian Point nuclear power plant Rock The Reactors has vowed to shut down.

For more details on the Paramount's relationship to Entergy and the GNB/RTR actions:

http://greennuclearbutterfly.blogspot.com/2007/03/bobweirs-publicist-dances-around-indian.html

http://greennuclearbutterfly.blogspot.com/2007/03/grateful-deads-bob-weir-in-peekskill.html

Assault on the Paramount :: Vlog

FUSE USA plans to once again be outside the Paramount theater on the 18th to hand out literature about the opposition to the relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

Dennis Kucinich TOOK FIRST PLACE in the Democracy for America online poll!!!

154,391 Democrat activists voted. It is the single largest poll to date which measures the loyalties of so many informed and motivated activists.

These activists are the ones who will be getting out the vote in the Democratic primary elections and caucuses.

With this unprecedented and spectacular win, Dennis' campaign for U.S. President has received a tremendous boost of support and energy!

Dennis won 41 out of 50 states. If you want to see the details of his winning percentage in each state, then go to:

www.democracyforamerica.com/pulsepoll/results

For more info on Dennis, the candidate, his campaign, the issues, and his positions, go to:

www.dennis4president.com/home

This win was a rejection of the Washington beltway political pundits and the American mass media conventional wisdom that had basically declared that this Democratic primary contest is all but over.

Dennis' positions on peace, on the environment, on healthcare for all, on labor, on diplomacy instead of war, on impeachment of Dick Cheney AND soon of George Bush, on immediate withdrawal from Iraq, on cancelling NAFTA and the WTO, on repealing the Patriot Act, on ending NSA spying on Americans, on restoring civil rights under the U.S. Constitution - on these issues and more - his positions are unparalleled, straightforward, and consistent, and have been for many years. They are definitely in touch with the positions of the majority of the American populace who are more progressive than the current crop of political leaders.

Please continue to support Dennis, this champion for freedom and world peace with your dollars, your prayers, and your emails to people who have not heard that a progressive New America is being born.

Source: RockNet

(Dennis voted AGAINST an ALL NUCLEAR NAVY! RemyC)

Alec Baldwin Goes Through a PHASE...

Alec Baldwin in New York Monday to present medical evidence claiming nuclear power plants cause cancer.

As soon as the announcement of the PHASE press conference on Monday in New York staring Alec Baldwin appeared on list servs, did members of the Know_Nuke Yahoo Group quickly remind us of Alec's tirade (YouTube) to his daughther a few months ago, where Alec, screaming over the phone, called her a "rude, thoughtless little pig."

Alec has done some good work on behalf the anti-nuclear community, but like a few people we know, his short fuse has gotten the better of him on quite a few occasions.

Unfortunately, the spat with his daughter via cell phone happened only just a few days after a clinic symposium Alec co-hosted on behalf the effort to shut down the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey.

So here at GNB, we wonder what Alec has in store for PHASE, a new group founded by ex-FUSE USA president Susan Shapiro, in guise of unforseen future media scandals. Not that it wouldn't get Indian Point in the headlines some more, Lord knows we need to land the cover of the New York Post!

Such outbursts, and here's another good one, in 1995 Alec caught celebrity photographer Alan Zanger videotaping him - proceeded to break his nose, then covered his truck with shaving cream, only gives the pro-nuclear camp amunition to discredit our spokespeoples as unbalanced and untrustworthy.

Alec now stars in the TV show 30 Rock on NBC, a comedy series about a fictitious TV show at NBC, at Rockefeller Center, poking fun at itself. This week's episode of 30 Rock was part of NBC's Green Week done in association with GE's Ecomagination campaign, transforming all NBC shows into giant GE green product placements, at times so sirupy, it's enough to make millions of Americans run the other direction.

Al Gore Saves The Whales! Funny, yes, for three seconds... how befitting the last image of the show was a happy face earth caught on fire! The mass media is now doing to the green movement, exactly what they did to the hippies in the 60's... defusing it by making light, keeping the true leaders of the movement far away from the mainstream, playing politics.

Interesting that on one hand Alec and GE are using NBC TV shows as promotional vehicles to hype energy efficient appliances, while on the other hand, GE is working to install hundreds of nuclear reactors in a whole new generation of Navy ships, a bill signed and passed into law by no less that our own Hudson Valley anti-nuclear MUSE co-founder Congressman John Hall!

No wonder Kelly Osbourne ran out of a green benefit in Hollywood screaming: "Who gives a f*** about the environment!" She's expressing a cry of desperation at the lip service celebrities, corporations and politicians have paid the movement. She wants her dad to get back in the saddle, finish the job he started with his bandmates in the late 60's... Which is exactly what the Black Sabbath Resurrection tour will be all about, it's about freakin' time the metal hordes come riding back!

Nuclear Poster Exhibition ~ Australia

The Nuclear Poster Exhibition

THE NUCLEAR POSTERS

Breakdown Press Poster Series #3

THE NUCLEAR POSTERS contains 17 intelligent, provocative and affecting political posters within one beautiful publication. Breakdown Press has published this powerful collection of posters by artists, designers and writers breaking down the nuclear industry in Australia and celebrating creative dissent. Published at a time when the Howard-led Liberal Government is taking Australia down the nuclear path with the pedal to the metal in the lead-up to the 2007 federal election, THE NUCLEAR POSTERS brings together the work of committed artists and campaigners to spark debate about the role of the nuclear cycle in Australia. The posters chosen for this publication build on the history of the political poster movement and act as an oppositional force to this vicious nuclear cycle.

ARTISTS: Aris Prabawa Arlene TextaQueen Benny Zable Bretton Bartleet Deborah Kelly Graeme Dunstan Jessie Boylan Josh MacPhee Kevin Buzzacott Lou Smith Mathew Kneebone MITCH Peter Kneebone Rodney Dekker Rose Turtle Ertler Russell Kerr Simon Bent Tim Growcott Tom Civil Van Thanh Rudd

OPENING PARTY & PUBLICATION LAUNCH

6-8PM TUESDAY 13TH NOV

THE ARTERY,

87-89 MOOR ST,

FITZROY MELBOURNE, VIC

THE NUCLEAR POSTER EXHIBITION

Featuring the 17 poster designs chosen for the publication, 2 rock posters, plus original works by Arlene TextaQueen and Aris Prabawa.

Exhibition runs from 13TH NOV - 2ND DEC ‘07

GALLERY HOURS: midday ‘til late, Tuesday – Sunday

Breakdown Press in conjunction with JBSeed (John Butler’s philanthropic arts fund) will choose two posters from The Nuclear Posters for an oversized A0 rock poster campaign in Melbourne and Sydney in the lead-up to the federal election.

BREAKDOWN PRESS

PO BOX 1283 Carlton,

Melbourne VICTORIA

Australia 3053

info@breakdownpress.org

www.breakdownpress.org

Summer Rayne Oakes & Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Masquerade

Watch an interview with Summer Rayne Oakes at the Riverkepeer Masquerade ball by Curtiss Martin:

VIDEO

Comment by Curtiss:

"On a personal note, I was absolutely floored when Summer Rayne Oakes mentioned mycoremediation within the context of our conversation. Did she know that mycoremediation has been on my mind ever since I saw Paul Stamets lecture on his experiments with Battelle and DARPA? Or is she simply in good company amongst her fellow myco-fiends?"

See pictures from the event on the FameGame and FilmMagic websites.

View the invitation.

(The use of cameras was not permitted at the event, which explains the lack of media coverage.)

FUSE USA Seeking Co-Signers For Petition

Friday, November 9, 2007

FUSE USA Seeking Petition Co-Signers

Hi All:

As some of you know, and some do not, I have been working very hard on the issue of Indian Point, trying to either A) stop it's relicensing for a period of 20 more years, or B) if said plant is relicensed, have some of the serious safety issues addressed before it is relicensed. (Examples would include for instance the strontium and tritium leaks on the Indian Point site that are finding their way into the ground water, and into the Hudson River, lack of any mention in the Environmental Report of Refurbishment-even though Entergy has two reactor vessel heads on order, as well as health concerns related to Entergy's continued operation.)

Right now, I am putting the final touches on a Petition to Intervene, and Formal Request for a hearing that will be sent off to the NRC. Said Petition raises 17 Contentions specifically related to Indian Point 3, and I and FUSE USA are looking for a few people concerned with our environment to co-sign this petition today. Do apologize for such short notice, but sometimes time is of the essence. If you would like to support this effort by co-signing, all you need to do is send your name and address for inclusion. Send it by the end of the day to roycepenstinger@aol.com Also, please feel free too forward this email to any and all of your friends that might be interested in supporting this important cause.

If you would like to read a copy of the Petition, please email me off list, and I'll be happy to send it off to you.

Respectfully,

Sherwood Martinelli
FUSE USA

They Lied To You About Iraq! They're Lying To You About Nuclear Power!!!

Same People... Same Lie!!!
John Hall... step out of the Dark Side!!!



Impeach BUSH, CHENEY, RUMSFELD... the whole lot of'em!!! Before they destroy the entire planet with their fundamentalist paranoia.

Last week Donald Rumsfeld fled France fearing arrest over charges of "ordering and authorizing" torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. military's detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay.

(This does not express the opinion of Green Nuclear Butterfly, these are my own personal opinions as a blogger... I shan't be held accountable for my rants... RemyC.)

New York AREA - Strategic Alliance Formed

From:
www.rocklandbusiness.org

We are pleased to announce that the Rockland Business Association and New York AREA have forged a strategic alliance to help advocate for the “end user” of our electricity supply.

New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA) was formed in the wake of the 2003 blackout which cost New York more than $1 billion in lost economic activity in less than forty-eight hours. Due to the pressing need for an advocacy organization of its type, 17 business and labor groups united with the commitment of making sure New York maintained the electricity needed to meet its ever increasing demand for power.

Today New York AREA is a coalition of more than 150 members united with a broad mission that helps promote issues and policies that will provide New York with an ample supply and efficient distribution of affordable reliable electricity.

New York has some of the fastest rising electricity costs in the nation, including rates that are 66% above the national average. This puts an enormous burden on our manufacturers, small businesses and other entrepreneurs who are trying to compete in a global marketplace.

New York AREA’s broad agenda includes advocating for policies that aid in the development of energy sources to meet the growing demand for power in New York as well as ensuring New York has a sensible and balanced energy portfolio.

“We look forward to working closely with New York AREA over the coming months and years to help foster solutions to our State’s energy crisis that affects so many of our members,” noted Al Samuels, President/CEO.

Rockland Business Association
One Blue Hill Plaza
P.O. Box 1567
Pearl River, NY 10965
Phone: 845-735-2100
Fax: 845-735-2482
rba@rocklandbusiness.org

Patrick Moore shills at Rockland Business Association's annual meeting

Nuclear power advocate calls for Indian Point relicensing
By LAURA INCALCATERRA AND GREG CLARY

THE JOURNAL NEWS
(November 9, 2007)

BLAUVELT - A Greenpeace founder who now advocates for nuclear energy addressed about 100 people yesterday during the Rockland Business Association's annual meeting.

Patrick Moore used the opportunity to call for the relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plants. He said an increasing number of countries were turning to nuclear energy and that the United States should as well.

Moore said nuclear power plants were safe and, unlike coal-burning plants, did not produce carbon dioxide and other forms of air pollution. He said politicians who advocated shutting down Indian Point used the issue to gain support and that many environmentalists used scare tactics in their efforts to close them.

He also asserted that the anti-nuclear movement was all but dead and that most opposition nowadays was seen in California and the Northeast.

"There is a very strong majority of support for nuclear in the future of the energy mix in the U.S.," Moore said.

Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which owns and operates Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3, has applied for license extensions for both. If granted, the renewals would allow the plants to operate until 2033 and 2035, respectively.

The original 40-year license for Indian Point 2 will expire in 2013. Indian Point 3's will expire in 2015.

Some community activists have raised concerns, which led Rockland and Westchester counties to go to court to try to force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to change its relicensing criteria.

The NRC does not consider such factors as population density and the ability to conduct an effective emergency evacuation as part of its relicensing process.

Among those opposing the relicensing is Tarrytown-based Riverkeeper organization, whose policy director, Lisa Rainwater, criticized Moore's view of nuclear energy yesterday.

"It's difficult to call any form of energy clean when it produces waste that is deadly for hundreds of thousands of years," Rainwater said by telephone yesterday.

"Indian Point's 1,500 tons of waste are stored on the banks of the Hudson River in leaking, spent fuel pools that are poisoning the river and groundwater," she said. "If that's clean energy, Riverkeeper would like to know what constitutes dirty energy."

Moore is a consultant to the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance, whose members include Entergy. The alliance is helping the company in its relicensing effort, spokesman Paul Steidler said after the meeting.

Moore spent 15 years as a leader of Greenpeace, but said he decided he wanted to work on building consensus among competing concerns rather than continue in the "politics of confrontation."

He said many people call for the shutdown of nuclear plants without offering an alternative. He said sites for hydroelectric plants have all been taken and that natural gas was too expensive to use as a fuel for power plants.

He said solar and wind power were not enough to ensure an adequate supply of energy and that coal was too polluting, leaving nuclear power plants as an alternative. He said such plants were also much cheaper to build than coal-burning units outfitted with the best-available pollution controls.

Reach Laura Incalcaterra at 845-578-2486 or lincalca@lohud.com.

Back in 2006...

Nancy Burton, Green Party candidate for Connecticut Attorney General discusses imminent danger two local nuclear power plants pose to all Connecticut residents, Millstone nuclear power plant, Waterford, CT, and Indian Point, Buchanan, NY. She describes how three pet goats on this Connecticut tour contracted Strontium 90 from local nuclear power plants.

6 Pages about Indian Point in Fall 07 Riverkeeper magazine

Indian Point Campaign.

Unpeeling the Layers:
Understanding Entergy’s Latest Media Tactics.
Reenergizing New York with Governor Spitzer Leading the Way.
Environmental Review, Terrorism and Indian Point.


By Lisa Rainwater & Renee Cho contributing to this article.

PDF... starts on page 19.

French nuclear group Areva to build 'evolutionary' reactor in U.S. in 2010

By Laetitia Bachelot-Fontaine
Nov 7, 2007

PARIS (Dow Jones) French nuclear group Areva (CEI.FR) will build its first evolutionary power reactor, or EPR, in the U.S. in 2010, Chief Executive Anne Lauvergeon said Wednesday on French radio station BFM.

"There are 103 EPRs in the U.S. but none have been built by a European company. We hope to start our first EPR in the U.S. in 2010," Lauvergeon said.

She added that Areva already had six pre-orders in the US and that the group was currently in negotiations with several electricity power producers.

"Areva's ambitions in the U.S. are very big," Lauvergeon said, adding that "things are also going really quickly in Asia."

Lauvergeon confirmed she will take part in French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to China at the end of November.

Areva is expected to announce a EUR5 billion contract with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co. for the sale of two reactors.

The French government is currently reviewing the future of French nuclear power operations, including those of Areva.

The scenario favored by French state-owned nuclear research organization CEA is a merger between the nuclear firm and French engineering company Alstom SA (1022047.FR)

At present, the French state owns 87% of Areva, while Germany's Siemens AG has a 34% stake in the firm's nuclear reactor unit Areva-NP.

Contact: 201-938-5400

(Photo below: Areva head Lauvergeon)

Sherwood Martinelli of FUSE USA Files Formal Request for Extension of Time

Press Release

Sherwood Martinelli of FUSE USA has just filed a Formal Request for and Extension of Time to file Petitions to Intervene, and Requests for Hearing in Entergy's License Renewal Application Process. This is the second such request filed, with the first one successful in moving the deadline back until November 30th, 2007.

The Formal Request for and Extension became necessary when Sherwood Martinelli of FUSE USA ran into numerous difficulties in gaining access to necessary documents needed to review Entergy's License Renewal Application for Indian Point. Many of these difficulties are a result of the DOE and NRC review processes that greatly slows their ability to make documents public in a timely fashion.

For a copy of the Formal Filing please email fuse_usa@yahoo.com

Mythbusters to Test Cockroach Radiation Myth

(photo: Summer Rayne Oakes and her pet giant Madagascar hissing cockroach Hercules.)

Posted by Zonk on Fri Oct 19, 2007
redwoodtree writes

"An article on the site for the Tri-City Herald sums it up perfectly:

'Contrary to popular belief, not a significant amount of research goes into cockroach radiation.'

To test the old saw about 'the cockroaches being the only survivors of a nuclear war' Discovery Channel's Mythbusters are going out to Hanford Site, where plutonium was manufactured for the first nuclear bomb. It's the single most polluted nuclear waste site in the U.S.

The Mythbusters are going to take cockroaches and other insects and apply successively higher doses of radiation in a controlled setting."

The show is expected to air in about 4 months.

Discovery Channel testing cockroach resistance to radioactivity

Published Friday, October 19th, 2007
The Associated Press

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - Can you save yourself by jumping in a falling elevator? Is a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building lethal? Would cockroaches survive a nuclear holocaust that killed everything else?

The final question is being tested this week at the nearby Hanford nuclear reservation by a team from the "Mythbusters" show on the Discovery Channel, which expects to air the episode in about four months.

"It's been on the original list of myths since day one," said Kari Byron, who appears on the cable television series and was in town with Grant Imahara and Tory Belleci for the tests.

The crew is using an irradiator in the basement of Hanford's 318 Building just north of Richland.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory usually uses the device to calibrate dosimeters, which measure radiation exposure to humans and animals, and to check for radiation damage of video cameras, fiber optic cables and other equipment.

Lab operators agreed to the research for purposes of science education and workers donated their time, in some cases using part of their vacation allotments.

On Thursday afternoon, Byron and Imahara were cramming their uncooperative critters into a specially built roach condo to be exposed in the irradiator.

"I had to put myself in quite the mind-set to do it," Byron said.

A scientific supply company sent 200 cockroaches for the tests, "all laboratory-grade, farm fresh," Imahara said.

A control group of 50 will get no radiation, 50 others will be exposed to 1,000 rad, a lethal load of radiation for humans, 50 will be exposed to 10,000 rad and the last 50 to 100,000 rad.

The bugs will be watched over the next couple of weeks to see how soon they die.

"Contrary to popular belief, not a significant amount of research goes into cockroach radiation," Imahara said.

Flour beetles and fruit flies, also being irradiated for comparison, were a snap compared with the cockroaches, which did not take well to being corralled within a tiny block arrangement designed to make sure each bug gets the same dosage.

"They are very fast. They are very aggressive. They want to get away," Byron said. "They are opportunists."

The surviving bugs get a chauffeured ride back to San Francisco. A "Mythbusters" employee has been detailed to drive them because airlines won't let them in the passenger cabin and they can't be placed in the baggage hold without wrecking the experiment.

"We have to maintain reasonable temperature and humidity so they don't go into shock," Imahara said.

The show, while perhaps best known for exploding outhouses and cement trucks, presents good examples of scientific method and encourages developing a questioning attitude, said Michelle Johnson, a technical group manager for the national lab.

"(Viewers) should learn that things don't glow if exposed to radiation," she said. "And they won't be radioactive after being exposed to radiation."

But will the roaches grow really, really large?

"Some of our staff do believe in comic book logic," Byron said.

And if that happens, it will be a really good show, she said.

Apple Says NO to Nuclear Reactors

Just in from Nuclear Jesus, an interesting little story on Apple and the nuclear industry. It would appear that Apple is ahead of the Bill Gates and Microsoft when it comes to being a truly GREEN technology company. But then, we all know Bill Gates is anything but Mr. Green Jeans.

No Nuke Apple

This as they say, just in from the newswire...Apple forbids the use of its software for use in Nuclear Reactors on the grounds they don't want to be responsible for KILLING PEOPLE or damaging the environment. Thanks to Paul McDougall for giving the world another reason to consider owning an Apple.

Apple Bans Nuclear Plants From Running 'Leopard' OS

Leopard is "not intended for use in the operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control systems, life support machines or other equipment in which the failure of the Apple software could lead to death, personal injury or severe physical or environmental damage."

Lafayette, here we come!!!

The Network ‘SORTIR DU NUCLEAIRE’ is currently the main French anti-nuclear coalition, with a membership of over 700 organizations and more than 14,000 individual subscribers.

It is completely independent, entirely funded by donations and the subscriptions from its members.

Their mission is to unite everyone concerned with phasing out nuclear power, convince France to phase out nuclear power generation by rethinking its energy policy, improving the efficiency of electricity use, developing alternative and sustainable generation scenarios.

GNB spoke with press representative Stéphane Lhomme to learn that the unified media front presented by new French president Sarkozy, allied with French Greens, is deceptive.

The world press reported a French moratorium on new nuke construction, when it fact it's a moratorium on the siting of new construction. Since there are already over 100 sitings in France, this means nothing, allowing EDF to go forward with the construction of new nukes.

The 58 (most of them Westinghouse) reactors in France are rapidly aging and need to be decommissioned. Sherwood Martinelli discovered that no monies have been set aside by the French utility EDF for this decommissioning period, and therefor, without the profits generated from new construction, the French nuclear industry will quickly go bankrupt, facing billions in decommissioning costs. Sherwood is preparing a full report on the French situation.

GNB also learned from Stéphane Lhomme that during the very violent storm that blew through France a couple years ago, the nuclear power plant near Bordeaux, was completely flooded, much like the two Entergy nuclear power plants in New Orleans during Katrina, except in this case, the situation became so critical, it is believed that Bordeaux nearly escaped a major nuclear disaster.

GNB and Rock The Reactors will remain in close touch with "Sortir Du Nucleaire" to keep each other abreast of our activities. Stéphane Lhomme understands that to stop nuclear up the Hudson, also means stopping nuclear in his country, as the two are so closely inter-related.

EDF plays a big part in the funding of NuStart here in the USA, the organization beating the drum for a wave of new nuke construction to fuel the hydrogen economy.

There will be a large anti-nuclear demonstration in Marseille on November 10th.

For more information:
www.sortirdunucleaire.org

Ownership Change At Indian Point During License Renewal Process!

First, we here at Green Nuclear Butterfly saw this one coming...Entergy is going to spin off five of its Non-Regulated reactors into a brand new venture.

Now, this brings up a whole lot of questions for us as relates to License Renewal, both here, and in Vermont...any attorney's out in the audience care to give us a read on this fast breaking news story? Does this significantly change Entergy's pending License Renewal Application. Would they have to start all over at square one, or does the fact they are going to maintain 50 percent ownership keep things kosher with the NRC...what am I asking here, the NRC could care less what effects this action will ultimately have, they only care about rubber stamping the process.

Entergy to spin off five nuclear plants

http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSN0564678520071106

By Lisa Lee and Matt Daily

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Entergy Corp (ETR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the second-largest U.S. nuclear power generator, said on Monday it would spin off five nuclear plants into a new company in a bid to capitalize on rising power prices for nuclear generation.

The new company, which will be spun off in a tax-free deal, would have nearly 5,000 megawatts of generating capacity, located largely in the U.S. Northeast, which has some of the highest power prices in the country.

Entergy also plans to form a 50-50 joint venture with the new company to run and operate the nuclear plants, whose prices are not regulated the way other utility plants' are.

After the spin-off of the nuclear plants, planned for the third quarter of 2008, Entergy would consist of five electric utility subsidiaries across four states and the stake in the new unit.

The U.S. nuclear industry foresees a resurgence driven largely by expectations that the federal government will create new rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions that are blamed for global warming. Nuclear generating plants do not emit the greenhouse gases that fossil-fuel plants do.

Chief Executive Wayne Leonard does not see the new stand-alone nuclear company building any new nuclear plants. "I can't imagine," he told Reuters at an industry conference on Monday in Orlando, Florida.

But the new company could be ripe to make purchases or be an acquisition target. If it were to pursue the acquisition path, Leonard could see the new company buying natural gas plants.

As for new nuclear building plans for the regulated Entergy, Leonard said the process has been "slow and frustrating," adding that "getting a firm price on what it will cost has been difficult."

Entergy had previously said it was considering a spin-off, joint venture or sale of the nuclear plants, and Leonard said he remained open to selling a stake in the new company.

"There is no shortage of interest," he said.

The new company spun off by Entergy would have debt totaling $4.5 billion, a director at Fitch Ratings said at the conference. That debt would be "not commensurate with investment grade," Fitch's Justin Bowersock said.

Leonard told Reuters he did not expect the new company to receive investment grade rating, adding that the nuclear company could have been configured to get one but that "it didn't make economic sense."

Entergy said the new company would target earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2 billion by 2012 based on an average power price of about $95 per megawatt hour. That would leave the business $500 million to $1 billion annually for acquisitions or share repurchases.

Leonard said he expected the new company to have double-digit growth, and sooner or later become a business with $20 billion in market capitalization.

"In the not too distant future," he said.

The plants included in the new company would be the Pilgrim station in Plymouth, Massachusetts; the Fitzpatrick and Indian Point plants in Oswego and Buchanan, New York; the Palisade plant in Covert, Michigan; and the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon, Vermont.

The remaining Entergy company expects to announce a new share buyback plan "right out of the box" after the spin-off is completed, Leonard said.

Entergy said it expected 2008 earnings to be between $6.50 and $6.90 per share. Analysts' average forecast is for earnings of $6.87 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Third-quarter earnings rose 19 percent, helped by higher wholesale power prices and recent rate increases.

Net income was $461.2 million, or $2.30 per share, up from $388.9 million, or $1.83 per share, a year earlier.

The earnings-per-share gain of nearly 26 percent lagged the 27 percent the company forecast on October 17.

Entergy shares rose $5.46, or 4.6 percent, to close at $124.15 on the New York Stock Exchange, outpacing the 0.5 percent gain in the broader Standard & Poor's Utilities index.

Sustainability Expo in Garrison, NY ~ Nov 10th

3rd ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY EXPO
Saturday, November 10th
9:00am - 1:00pm (House Tour 1:00pm - 3:00pm)
The Garrison, Route 9, Garrison, NY

PROGRAM SCHEDULE:
9:00am - 1:00pm
Visit Expo Booths Featuring a Diverse Array of Sustainable Technologies and Green Products

10:00am - 11:00am
Welcome:
HHLT Chairman Chris Davis

ACTOR CHEVY CHASE AND JAYNI CHASE
Founders of the Center for Environmental Education Online, the Chases will speak to the importance of sustainability education for both children and adults in the U.S. today.

Kids Eco-Art Workshop will run con-currently

11:30am - 12:30pm
Topical Breakout Workshops:

This Old House Wants to be Green:
Advice on Retrofitting Your Home Using Sustainable Technologies

Going Green as a Family:
How the "Just One Thing" Initiative Can Motivate your Entire Household
How Green is Your Lawn?:
Eco-friendly Products and Practices to Keep Your Lawn Healthy and Beautiful

The Greening of the Next Generation:
Teens as Sustainability Consultants

1:00pm - 3:00pm
Sustainable Design House Tour
Tour Plan TBD
THE EVENT IS FREE AND GREAT FOR KIDS!
Sponsored by
Hudson Highlands Land Trust & Teatown Lake Reservation
With the Generous Support of Turner Construction Company and The Garrison

From:
Teatown Calendar & Mary Hegarty of RockNet

Uncovering The Ugly Truth ABout John Hall's New Nuclear Connections

As most of the Anti Nuclear community aimed at shutting down Indian Point is aware of, Green Nuclear Butterfly stirred up a nest of hornets this weekend when we were perceived as attacking one of the stalwarts of the Anti-Nuclear Movement, Congressman John Hall who was the driving force behind the No Nukes concerts almost 30 years ago. If one looks closely at the Defense Appropriations Bill passed by the Congress for 2008, there is a provision in the bill that would make it MANDATORY that all naval vessels of the future be Nuclear Powered. The Three Musketeers in Congress, Maurice Hinchey, Nita Lowey and John Hall all voted for this bill, and thus that provision.

Green Nuclear Butterfly's going public with this information, in attacking the integrity of Congressman John Hall was accused of sacrilege, even treason, and numerous groups and individuals started to instantly disavow and distance themselves from us, and from myself as the publisher of the blog. Somehow, no one seemed upset at the prospect of 300-400 floating nuclear reactors cruising the world's oceans, but instead were/are more concerned with not attacking someone/anyone that could be of help in shutting down Indian Point. Setting aside the hypocrisy of such beliefs, I decided to spend my day today doing a bit of digging to see if perhaps there was more to this vote than first meets the eye.

The logical direction of choice, was to start browsing through Congressman John Hall's PAC contributions. It did not take very much searching (noticed it as soon as the page was opened up) to find something very disturbing. Both Congressman John Hall and Congresswoman Nita Lowey were/are taking money from the "International Union of Operating Engineers (as in nuclear reactors) local 137 out of Briarcliff, NY.

Now, to understand the significance of this find, lets get a bit of a history lesson from easily found facts on the Internet. Most of us all know who CASEnergy is, but for those of you who not, CASEnergy was founded by Christine Todd Whitman and the no longer GREEN Patrick Moore, disgraced co-founder of Greenpeace. The primary funding source for CASEnergy is the entire nuclear industry, and NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute). Among its membership is Jebb Bush, brother of our disgraced Nuclear President, George W. Bush. The Singular purpose of CASEnergy is to push the Nuclear Renaissance agenda, to spread pro-nuclear propaganda out to the masses.

Included in the membership of CASEnergy is every single local chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers, including our own Local 137. Now, if you believe that John Hall and Nita Lowey are the two most naive human beings to walk God's green earth, you'll see their taking PAC money from this group as nothing more than an oversight, a WHOOPSIE if you will. We see it as far more devious in nature and spirit, as a betrayal of who they claim to be, a betrayal of their promised agenda to SHUT DOWN INDIAN POINT.

International Union of Operating Engineers

To verify International Union of Operating Engineers Local 137 in CASEnergy, click here.

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS-LOCAL 137 PAC
Candidate Contributions: 2007-2008 Campaign Cycle
Total 2007-2008 campaign contributions: $4500
Sort by: Total Name State Party

Candidate & Total
Oberstar, James (D-MN) $500
Hall, John (D-NY) $500
Lowey, Nita (D-NY) $3500

Heavy Metal Songs About Nuclear War

(First in a long series of posts about the deep relationship between Heavy Metal & the anti-nuclear movement. RemyC.)

From:
Scopecreep

We all know that heavy metal has an obsession with death and destruction. It’s just part of the genre’s mystique. And there’s no man-made weapon capable of more destruction than nuclear weapons. This playlist examines the subject of nuclear war through the window of heavy metal songs.

Although there are metal songs that revel in the pain, death and destruction of nuclear annihilation, most of the songs are really a protest against nuclear weaponry.

This playlist kicks off with a band whose image and sound oozed evil, and paved the way for the genre, but whose lyrics could be very socially conscious; Black Sabbath. In all, the playlist contains 19 metal songs, and spans many sub-genres. You’ll find classic metal by the previously mentioned Black Sabbath as well as Iron Maiden and Deep Purple, but also pop metal by the likes of Dokken and Def Leppard, hardcore stuff by Slayer and Sepultura, and alt metal by System of a Down and Rage Against The Machine. They’ve all used the powerful imagery of nuclear war to get their points across and this playlist is a good example.

Heavy Metal Songs About Nuclear War Playlist

Electric Funeral - Black Sabbath
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album ReunionLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Rust In Peace…Polaris - Megadeth
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Rust In PeaceLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

2 Minutes To Midnight - Iron Maiden
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album PowerslaveLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

South Of Heaven - Slayer
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Soundtrack To The Apocalypse (Parental Advisory)Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Beneath The Remains - Sepultura
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Beneath The RemainsLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Aftershock - Anthrax
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Spreading The DiseaseLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Surgical Strike - Queensrÿche
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Rage For OrderLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Child In Time - Deep Purple
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Knocking At Your Back DoorLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Thank God For The Bomb - Ozzy Osbourne
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album The Ultimate SinLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Gods Of War - Def Leppard
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album HysteriaLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Children Of The Grave - Black Sabbath
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Live EvilLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Will The Sun Rise - Dokken
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Under Lock And KeyLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Thermonuclear Warrior - Carnivore
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Carnivore (Parental Advisory)Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Boom! - System Of A Down
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Steal This Album!Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Born As Ghosts - Rage Against The Machine
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album The Battle Of Los AngelesLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

After The Bomb - Doom
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Total DoomLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Nuclear Winter - Dawn Of Oblivion
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album Mephisto’s AppealingLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Set The World Afire - Megadeth
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album So Far, So Good… So What? (Remixed & Remastered)Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Blackened - Metallica
on Yahoo! Music Jukebox
From the album …And Justice For AllLast.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

More on that ALL Nuclear Navy bill...

Artwork by Howie Green

(This is in fact a post I made to the IPSEC list serv in response to FUSE USA board members shooting the messenger...i.e. ME... Since this post was not allowed through, and since nobody has volunteered to tell me who in fact "monitors" the IPSEC list, playing God as to who gets to speak and who gets shut out, I am posting my reply here... RemyC.)

Nay TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
Nay OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]

This is how some other Congresspeople voted on this said ALL NUCLEAR NAVY bill.

Read the rest of the votes here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1585

Know who your anti-nuclear green friends are!
Demand answers from your Congressmen!

NO to an ALL Nuclear Navy!
No Nukes, Period! No quarter, no half measure
no ifs, buts or maybes...
Save The Planet!
and if you think for one second this is naive, think again... the people of the Earth are FED UP with the monsters we let in power here wrecking our precious jewel!

War Pigs!

Nothing's changed... wake up... stop kowtowing like whimps...
John Hall folded... with his tail between his legs, to vote the overwhelming majority to destroy the ocean, perpetuate the culture of death.
For a paycheck, for job security... because he forgot to be an artist and a musician!
True blue to the cause...

Kucinich and Ron Paul did not... They stuck to their guns... and millions on MySpace now support them...

Yes Ron Paul is PRO-Nuclear, but he's also smart enough to know putting hundreds more nuclear vessels on the seven seas, is NOT the brightest idea in the world!

They are the minority voices of reason left in Congress... a minority perhaps, but expressing the strong sentiments of the rest of the world... who the US has bullied into submission... The American way or the Highway... the US, consuming 35% of the world's resources, spending a trillion dollars a year on war toys...

Black Sabbath hit the nail on the head back in the 70's... their first albums were a call to arms, that was crushed by crass commercialism...
limos, laziness, bad drugs and lies...

Bonnie, Graham, Harvey, Jackson...
WHERE's NEIL YOUNG?
Give NUKE FREE some gonads for Pete Sake...
DO SOMETHING!
Why is ReverbRock excluding Metal, Punk, all the angry ones?
angry for GOOD reason...
If you don't channel that energy, if you ignore it, it will just come back to haunt you, as it is now...

Nothing's been resolved... Earth First! never sold out...
Greenpeace International never sold out, it's just the DC office lets Patrick Moore have the run of the place!
Do something, or watch your precious Earth melt away...
into a desert of sand...
Cause Al Gore and Leo ain't gonna do it for you! They're company men, through and through!
Buying bamboo flooring and Summer Rayne Oakes sanctified organic 501 jeans (bless her heart) is a good start...
But it's not going to stop the war machine!!!
And that's "really" what's killing us, collapsing the biosphere... and you, on this indianpointsec list serv, know this better than anyone else!

Maureen, Susan, you're aiming your anger in the wrong direction.
There's a revolution brewing out there, over the horizon, you can't see it because you're too concerned about what your neighbors are going to think...
Trying to keep Manna Jo and Robert Jr. happy...
(Who we're told sold out Indian Point in favor of Utility-sanctified solar stocks!)

Desperate Stepford Housewises on Prozac...
That's why young people don't give a hoot...
They've given up... they're just looking at the last polar bears eat the last seals on TV...
and like Kelly Osbourne, spoiled little brat, they say screw it... because all her life, all she's ever heard is Daddy bitch about how messed up this planet is, drinking himself into oblivion because he's felt helpless all his life, not able to do anything... I KNOW Ozzy's heart, OK? Look what you people have done to him!!! These guys were my friends, my heroes, before you sucked them into your pathetic universe of Lamborghinis, cribs and cocaine haze!

That's why I went to Woodstock, to "remind" everyone up there what it was all about... did anybody from Ipsec, Riverkeeper or Clearwater bother to support the Rock The Reactors event at the Colony? NO! How sad...

As the ice melts... and Mexico drowns...
and soon... hundreds of nuclear power plants will flood...
the oceans will become a radioactive wasteland...
Is that the future you want for your children?
and you're blaming Green Nuclear Butterfly?
Wake up people... get off your behind...
DO SOMETHING for the love of all that's divine...
Read Shirley MacLaine's new book...
Seek a new perspective...
Go ask the official Peekskill historian
what's "really" going on in your Sleepy Hollow towns!

How about attending a Greendrinks in Manhattan once in awhile?
Get out of your suburb!
Renew your taste for the highlife.
Recruit some new blood...
Otherwise you're going to have Indian Point
to bitch about for another 40 years...
unless an accident or the radiation
gets to your bone marrow first!

We're planning the overthrow of an old regime.
What are YOU doing?
We're making darn sure all these contentions lead to a flamboyant court case...
so the fate of Indian Point can be tried in the court of public opinion,
because that's the ONLY place our side, OUR side, has a chance to win!

And if John Hall can't understand that, he's working the wrong side of the street.
And he's fair game.
He and I have a deal, I will hold him up to it!

Rem
www.rockthereactors.com
yes, also an IPSEC member...
www.winafish.blogspot.com