Saturday, December 22, 2007

The PERFECT Entergy Christmas Card?


Walk down memory lane...

For an update on the mermaid, log on to the Winafish blog.

Litroenergy emits light without electricity or sun exposure!

(Contrary to popular opinion, the dayglo pirates have not sunk at all... Jethro Tull was wrong! They're going to save the world!)

Litroenergy is a patent pending designed light source material that emits light for 12 plus years- without electricity or sun exposure!

Our development/design of long-life, self-luminous micro particles called Litrospheres (non-toxic) emit light continuously for 12 plus years (half-life point) without any exposure to a light or other energy (not effected by cold or heat).

This extremely low cost material offers 24/7 light, which can be injection molded or added to paint. It is 5,000lb crush resistant, stable and constant light source (gives off no U.V. rays). It is designed to give off almost any color of light desired. Our goal is to mass produce this material and supply OEM’s.

Litroenergy has potential to save billions of dollars in energy costs world-wide. Litroenergy surpasses all known available lighting options for cost/durability/reliability (12+ years) and safety. The uses are unlimited as the imagination; however we predict the safety aspects to be the front runner in application (light safety tape, lighted life rafts/flotation equipment, light safety markings/equipment, etc.).

Supplemental light source will be second as the material is bright and one can read by it, if you have some Litroenergy lighting you will not need to always turn on a light source that requires electricity. The use of Litroenergy in toys, sports/camping equipment, bikes and novelty uses will be close in applications.

The fill rate of Litroenergy micro particles in plastic injection molding material or paint is about 20%. The cost to light up 8 ½ x 11 piece of plastic 1/8” thick is about .35 cents.

We appreciate this opportunity to introduce our patent pending designed Litroenergy light source material to the world.

Steve Stark (MPK Co)
Champlin, MN US

602 West Clayton Avenue
Clayton, WI 54004-9101
715-948-2100
via: Create The Future Contest
(Thanks to Patrick DonEgan for this item)

Friday, December 21, 2007

Merry Christmas to Entergy in Stamford

Yesterday, Sherwood discovered via Google maps that Entergy had an office in Stamford! I dug a little deeper, discovered it's their marketing office, and they just moved here last year.

This is an article from the Fairfield County Business Journal. This screams "demo"! Let's set a date, plan on going there with signs, call the media, make a fuss!

"shenanigans!" ;o)

Entergy Nuclear Power Marketing, LLC.
100 First Stamford Place 4th fl.
Stamford, CT 06902

(It's the old Mobil Chemical building...)

Electricity seller heading to Stamford
By David Gurliacci

Fairfield County Business Journal
Monday, May 29 2006

A company that operates nuclear power plants is moving a marketing office this summer from White Plains, N.Y., to Stamford.

The move will put Entergy Nuclear Power Marketing L.L.C., a division of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., closer to the energy traders, banks and other companies that buy power from it, said a spokesman for another Entergy division.

Even with telephones, faxes, e-mails and other technology, the spokesman said, there's no substitute for doing business face to face.

Bob Bellemare, chief executive officer of UtiliPoint International Inc., an Albuquerque, N.M.-based consulting company that provides research to energy companies, said he couldn't figure out why a company that sells electricity would need to be 15 minutes closer to its customers.

"I have a hard time coming up with a rationale," he said. He speculated that Entergy Nuclear Power Marketing might take advantage of Connecticut energy regulations, but he confessed he didn't know how.

No employee of Entergy's marketing division was available for comment last week to explain the reasons for the move.

Louis Dreyfus, Noble Energy, the PhibroEnergy division of Citigroup, Sempra Commodities, Statoil and UBS all have energy traders or commodity trading operations in and around Stamford.

Entergy Nuclear Power Marketing is now in offices also occupied by Entergy Nuclear Northeast, another division of the company, which runs the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y, on the Hudson River and other plants in the Northeast.

Although the marketing division is moving, the Entergy, Nuclear Northeast division will stay put in White Plains.

The office plans to move into 6,867 square feet of office space on the fourth floor of 100 First Stamford Place, said Jeffrey Newman, executive vice president for W&M Properties, which owns the office campus.

Newman represented W&M in negotiating the lease. William Cuddy Jr. of CB Richard Ellis represented Entergy.

The Entergy office will first move into other space in the First Stamford Place complex as its new home is prepared, Newman said.

"They very much wanted an office in Stamford, which provides easy access to Manhattan and to a lot of the companies that have chosen to relocate in Stamford," Newman said of Entergy.

+++

This is another tenant in the building... and more at this url.

XL Weather & Energy Inc., (XLWE) is a leading provider of weather and energy risk management solutions. Our range of weather risk management products is designed to help businesses address earnings volatility associated with changes in weather conditions including temperature, rainfall, and snowfall.

In addition, we offer contingent risk management products designed to address specific energy market exposures – such as the risk of an unexpected and unplanned unit outage at a time when power prices exceed a certain level.

Depending upon the nature of the transactions and/or customer preference XLWE can structure solutions in either insurance or derivative form.

We provide these solutions through the combined expertise of XLWE and the XL Capital group of companies, which together offer global reach, financial strength, and the capacity to meet growing demand.

Nuclear evacuation plans are totally barfed out!

Two valley girls disagree about the government's nuclear evacuation plans. They are starting to pull at each other's clothing, and a full-out catfight is obviously a-brewing. Fer sure, dudes, this is the way women settle all disagreements. You should see the hair-pulling and face-scratching that happens every time Nancy Pelosi runs into Hilary Clinton in the ladies' room of the Capitol.

National Lampoon #155

From: Top Ten Sexist Covers

November 7th Radiation Leak At Indian Point...How Come We Did Not Know About It?

OK, call me VERY PERPLEXED, and more than a bit disturbed. I just found something on the Westchester Emergency Site about a LEAK AT INDIAN POINT on November 7th, and the news release says there was a partial evacuation going on? What gives, where were the sirens, where was Channel 12? If it was a test of their plan, why leave these reports laying around on the web site to worry the population? Especially those of us that were in the area supposedly being evacuated.

http://emergency.westchestergov.com/PR%20IP10%20Nov%207.htm

CONTACT: SUSAN TOLCHIN

MEDIA INQUIRY: (914) 864-5437___________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 7, 2007____________

RELEASE TIME: ____12:42 p.m.:_______ RELEASE #: 11_____

County Executive Andy Spano has announced that emergency evacuation buses for the general public will begin picking up passengers at 1:00 p.m. today in Buchanan, Peekskill, Verplanck, Montrose, Cortlandt and Croton-on-Hudson.

Entergy, the operator of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, has reported a release of radiation at the plant.

However, field monitoring teams from the county’s Health Department who took readings earlier detected only background levels of radiation. Those readings were taken at lower South Street and Welcher Ave. in Peekskill, which is within 2 miles of the plant, and Furnace Dock Road and Maple Avenue in Cortlandt, about 5 miles from the plant.

Field monitoring teams are composed of specially trained environmental health inspectors who have the capability of determining whether radiation has been released from the nuclear power plant. Field monitoring teams measure the actual amount of radiation in the environment.

County Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Lipsman M.D., M.P.H is in the Emergency Operations Center to oversee the field monitoring teams and to assess their results.

A General Emergency, which was declared at Indian Point at 11:51 a.m., is the most serious of four classifications of radiological emergency as designated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Emergency Bus Pick-up Stops are as follows:

Buchanan

W1 -- Bleakly Ave. at: Broadway; Rte. 9A at: Tate Ave., Gallagher St. and

Rockledge Ave.

W2 -- Westchester Ave. at: Buchanan/Verplank Elementary School, 4th St., 1st St., Tate Ave.; Tate Ave. at: 1st St., 4th St., Henry St. & Kings Ferry Rd

Peekskill

W5 -- Washington St. at: South St., Hudson Ave., Frost Ave., Requa St., Bay St & Franklin St

W6 -- Depew St. at: Franklin St., Bay St., Requa St., Hudson Ave., Elm St., South St., & Central Ave.

W7 -- Hudson Ave. at: Halstead St., Pomeroy St., Pine St., Wells St., Walnut St., Fremont St., Union Ave

W8 -- Elm St. at: Wells St., Fremont St. & Union Ave.

W9 -- Maple Ace at: Beverly La., Ferris St., Hudson Ave., Elm St., Riverview Ave., Nassua St. & Pine St.

W10 -- Rte. 35/202 at: South Division St., Arch St., Armstrong Ave., Finch St., Cayuga Dr. & Private Residences

W11 -- Rte. 6/Main St. at: No. James St., Broad St., Fields St., Charles St., Southard Ave., Armstrong St., Hamilton Ave., Husted Ave., Keney Dr., Beach Shopping Center, Conklin Ave., & Kissam Rd.

W12 -- Constant Ave. at: High St. & Kissam Rd., Kissam Rd.; at: James St., James St.; at: Constant Ave.

W13 -- Frost La. At: Vail Ave., Carhart Ave., Lindenberg Pl. & Oakwood Dr.

W14 -- No. Division St. at: Parkway Pl. & Lockwood Dr.; Lockwood Dr. t: King St., Albert Rd., Bernard Rd., Lyman Ave. & Highland Ave.

W15 -- Nelson Ave. at: John St., Paulding St., Orchard St & Constant Ave.; Constant Ave. at: Highland Ave.; Highland Ave. at Phoenix Ave., Liberty St., Reynolds St., Garfield Ave. & Pemart Ave.

W16 -- Division St at: Howard St., Cortlandt St., Orchard St., Constant Ave., Phoenix Ave., Warren Ave., Permart Ave. & Righi Ct.

W17 -- Rte. 6/Main St. at: Division St., Nelson Ave., Decatur St., Hadden St., Spring St. & Peekskill Motor Inn

W18 -- Lower South St. at: Welcher Ave., Louisa St., Franklin St., Old Bay St., Requa St. & Hudson Ave.

W19 -- Washington St. at: Maplewood Ave., Shenandoah Ave., Hoover Ave., Sherman Ave. & Welcher Ave.; Welcher Ave at: McKinley St. & Patricia Apartments

Verplanck

W3 -- Broadway at: 16th St., 14th St., 11th St., 8th St., & 6th St.

W4 -- Westchester Ave. at: 14th St., 8th St., & 6th St.

Montrose & Blue Mountain

W21 -- Kings Ferry Rd. at: Coachlight Sq. Condominiums, Glenwood Dr., Montrose Point Rd., Hunt Ave & Rte. 9A

W22 -- Sunset Rd. at: Kings Ferry Rd., North St., Montrose Point Rd., Meadows Rd., Tommy Thruber Lane & Dutch St.; Dutch St. at: Crugers Rd., Private Residences & Rte. 9A

W24 -- Washington St. at: Boulder Dr. & Montrose Station Rd., Montrose Station Rd. at: Travis Lane; Rte. 9A (south) at: Lancaster Ave., Victoria Ave., Trinity Ave. & Crugers Station Rd.

Mount Airy

W98 -- Rte. 129 (Yorktown Rd.) & Short Hill Rd.

Mt. Airy Rd. East at: Colabaugh Pond Rd., Joseph Wallace Dr.,

Windsor Rd., McGuire La., Hale Hollow Rd.

Colabaugh Pond Rd. at: Woodale Rd. & Private Residences to

Mt. Airy Rd. East

Croton-on-Hudson

W30 -- Rte. 129 at: Dailey Dr., Niles Rd., Batten Rd. & Wood Rd.

Cleveland Dr. at: Gerstein St., Loconto St., Peter Beet La. & Old Post Rd.

Old Post Rd. at: Sunset Dr. & Morningside Dr.

Morningside Dr. at Lexington Dr.

W31 -- Radnor Ave. at: Melrose Dr., Irving Ave., Emerson Ave.,

Thompson Ave. & Elmore Ave.

W32 -- Old Post Rd. South at: Prospect St. & Cleveland Dr.

Cleveland Dr. at: Emerson Ave., Olcott Ave., & Benedict Blvd.

Benedict Blvd. at: Young Ave. & South Riverside Ave.

Croton Point Ave. at ramp to Rte. 9 North

W33 -- Rte. 9A at: Warren Rd., Skyview Nursing Home & Wolf Rd. (both

intersections)

North Riverside Ave. (Old Rte 9A) at: Brook St., Municipal Pl.

W34 -- Stevenson Pl. at Old Post Rd.

Old Post Rd. at: Prospect Pl., Lounsbury Rd., Brook St., Grand St. &

Holy Name of Mary School

Maple street at Wells Ave., Riverside Ave.

So. Riverside Dr. at Oneida Ave.

W35 -- Mt. Airy Rd. South at: Glengary Rd., Riverview Trail, King Street &

Grand St.

Annsville, Van Cortlandtville, Crompond & Continental Village

W36 -- Gallows Hill Rd. at: Hillcrest Ave., Kingston Ave. & Pumphouse Rd. at Dogwood Rd. Dogwood Rd. at: Crescent Hill Dr., Brook St. & Albany Post Rd.

W37 -- Sprout Brook Rd. at: Schuyler La., Strang La., Sprout Park Ent., Spr. Brook Pool & Albany Post Rd.

W38 -- Route 9 North at: Reef & Beef Restaurant (Annsville Circle),

Private Residences, Jean Dr., Jack Rd. & So. Mountain Pass.

W39 -- Rte. 6 at: Lexington Ave., Baker St., Westchester Mall Entrance,

Renee Gate, Westbrook Dr., Jerome Dr. & Locust Ave.

W40 -- Westbrook Dr. at: Cynthia Rd. & Fawn Ridge Rd.

Fawn Ridge Rd. at Birch La.

South Hill Rd. at: Arthur St. & Red Mill Rd.

Red Mill Rd. at: Monroe Pl. & MacArthur Dr.

MackArthur Dr. at Lockwood Rd.

W41-- Locust Ave. at Frederick St.

Frederick St. at Allan St.

Dale Ave. at Linda Pl.

Richmond Pl. at Aqueduct Pl.

W42 --Terrace Pl. at Alpine Dr.

Varian Rd. at Oregon Rd.

Oregon Rd. at: Root La., Skylark Dr., Westbrook Dr., School St.,

Young St. & Old Oregon Rd.

W43 -- Oregon Rd. at: Catherine Street, Gilbert St., Pumphouse Rd.,

Gallows Hill Rd., Locust Ave., Durrin Ave., Adams Rush St. &

Knollwood Rd.

W44 -- Gilbert St. at Revolutionary Rd.

Eton La. at Fox Hill Rd.

The Oval at Waterbury Parkway

Waterbury Parkway at Ridge Rd.

Fairview Place at Gabriel Drive

Gabriel Dr. at Locust Ave.

Locust Ave. at: Broadie St., Rancho Dr. & Oregon Rd.

W45 -- Lexington Ave. at: Morris Lane, Dyckman Dr., Private Residences &

Crompond Rd.

Crompond Rd. at: Baron De Hirsch Rd. & Maple Row

W46 -- Maple Row at Paulding La.

Paulding La. at: Pine Rd. & Townsend Rd.

Townsend Rd. at : Baron De Hirsch Rd. & Briar La.

W52 -- Lexington Ave. at: Nelma Ave., Lakeland Ave., Lawrence Rd.,

Crawford Rd., Decatur Rd., High St. & Rte. 6

Toddville and Quarry Acres

W29 -- Croton Ave. at: South Gate Estates, Mtn. View Rd., Maple Ave.,

Baptist Church Rd. & on demand to Rte. 129

W47 -- Furnace Dock Rd. at: Gilman La. (Harmony Hill ) & Croton Ave.

Croton Ave. at: Lynwood Rd., Croton Park Rd. & Crompond Rd.

W48 -- Lafayette Ave. at: Lyncrest Rd. & Ridge Rd.

Rte. 202/35 at: Conklin Ave., Northridge Rd., Clinton Ave.,

Crestview Ave., Forest Rd. & Rick La.

Mohegan Lake & Shrub Oak

W49 Rte. 6 at: Barger St., Sunnyside St., Mountain Brook Rd. & Mill St.

Strawberry Rd. at: Rte. 6, Briarhill St., Eleanor Dr. & Foothill St.

Lexington Ave. at: Strawberry Rd. & West Rd.

W50 Rte 6 at Mohegan Ave.

Mohegan Ave. at Sagamore Ave.

Sagamore Ave. at: Delaware Rd. & Narraganset Rd.

E. Main St. at: New Rd., Stoney St., Gino’s Restaurant, James St. &

Barger St.

W51 Stoney St. at: Winding Court, Quarry Dr., Judy Rd., Scofield Rd.,

Ivy Rd. & Glen Rd.

W52 Lexington Ave. at: Nelma Ave., Lakeland Ave., Lawrence Rd.

Crawford Rd., Decatur Rd., High St. & Rte. 6

W53 Lexington Ave. at Amazon Rd.

Amazon Rd. at: High St., Mogul Dr., Sylvan Rd. & Dale St.

Dale St. at: Winonah Trail

Mohegan Ave. at: Christine Rd. & Kimble Ave.

Furnace Woods, Pleasantside & Peekskill Heights

W20 -- Watch Hill Rd. at: John Alexander Court, John Cava La.

Mountainside Trail, Furnace Woods School & Furnace Woods Rd.

Furnace Woods Rd. at: Blue Ridge Lake Estates, Galloway La. &

Maple Ave.

W27 -- LaFayette Ave. at Matasac Rd., Lafayette Ave. on demand to Maple Ave.

Maple Ave. on demand to Croton Ave.

W28 -- Maple Ave. at Furnace Dock Rd.

Furnace Dock Rd. at: Fieldcrest Ct.,

Sniffen Mtn. Rd., Hillside Dr., Lakeview Dr., Inwood La., Brook La.,

Washington St. & Mt. Airy Rd. West

The buses are available for anyone who doesn’t have their own transportation out of the area or who can’t arrange a ride with a neighbor. Buses will take passengers to designated reception centers outside the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone. Please be at one of the bus stops by 1:00 p.m. as there will only be one round of pickups.

Residents in these areas with mobility impairments are advised to call (914) 493-8251 if they need assistance in evacuating the area. TDD for the deaf is available by calling (914) 593-5905.

Residents within the Emergency Planning Zone are urged to tune into a local or New York City radio station for up-to-the-minute information.

These areas are being taken for the protection of the public. County officials are continuing to monitor the situation at Indian Point.

Those leaving their homes are asked to lock all doors and windows and take blankets and pillows as well as any important medications and to swallow one 130 milligram dose of KI – potassium iodide (Children under 1 year should be given a 65 milligram dose – one half the tablet). If you do not have KI you will be able to get it at your reception center. In Westchester County, KI can be obtained at two additional locations: Rockefeller State Park, Route 117 in Mount Pleasant; or the South rest stop on Route 684 near Katonah.

No pets will be allowed on the buses.

A General Emergency is the highest of four classifications of radiological emergency as designated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Area residents who want more information on plant conditions and the ongoing emergency response can call the Public Inquiry Line at (914) 995-1111 or log onto http://www.westchestergov.com.

# # # #

Note to editors and news directors: The Transportation Management Center (TMC) is located in Hawthorne and is the primary source of official information. For more information, reporters should come to the TMC at 200 Bradhurst Avenue, which can be reached from the Hawthorne exit on the Sprain Brook Parkway.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Utne Reader Cover: The Nuclear Option

All-- does not seem to be available (for free) on-line -- By Jason Mark (the piece first appeared in Earth Island Journal and is available on-line for a fee)

My new copy of the Utne Reader came in the snail mail today -- The piece is an interesting survey of history and the current juxtaposition of climate crisis truth and rhetoric -- though unfortunately Jason missed the mark -- he himself makes the point that nuclear is impotent as a real climate crisis remedy -- but then throws the whole discussion into the need to remake society and THAT will make the "nuclear option moot."

I bring this out because I think it is exactly that we must go INTO the climate debate and agree that the climate crisis is immediate and top priority and claim our anti-nuclear activism as a form of fighting the climate crisis.

A young activist I work with recently said "yeah, but nuclear power is not a root cause of the climate crisis" -- I replied "YES IT IS! If the federal government had not squandered 70% of all energy R & D $$$ on nuclear power in the second half of the 20th century -- and had instead supported the growth and development of solar energy instead -- WE WOULD NOT BE IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS!"
This made sense...Anyway, nice that NIRS and many allies (Jim Riccio, Betsy Taylor, Geoff Fettus, Matt Reitman) are liberally quoted in the piece -- and VERY nice that Utne Reader adds a side-bar interview with Bill McKibben basically saying that nuclear is irrelevant to addressing the climate crisis.

Ok, if you read this far I have to add one more thought -- folks have been acting like a democratic Congress was going to go against nuclear energy all by itself. I do believe it is possible for us to get there-- but please look back at history to see that the first generation of reactors were built under the deft leadership of people like John Dingell and Bennett Johnston (good democrats!) ... ANY change is going to come because we build a movement strong enough to demand it... and that is another reason we have to make the climate crisis movement ours too!

Mary Olson
NIRS Southeast

Monday, December 17, 2007

Portable Nuclear Reactor on Utne Reader

This Nuke’s For You
by Morgan Winters
The hottest portable gadget released this holiday season isn’t Amazon.com’s new e-book, the Kindle. It’s a nuclear reactor. Depending on whom you talk to, the portable nuclear reactor is either the most significant development in energy technology since the invention of the wind turbine, or it’s a harbinger of the apocalypse.
The portable nuke is the brainchild of Hyperion Power Generation, a company created last month to bring nuclear technology into the private sector, Dave Mass writes for the Santa Fe Reporter. Hyperion is promoting the portable nuclear reactor as a means of ending dependency on fossil fuel and abolishing poverty in the developing world.
Anna Lagerkvist reports for the technology news site Tech.co.uk (article no longer available online) that Hyperion’s claims have been met with considerable skepticism from anti-nuke activists. "Nuclear power is an expensive distraction from the real solutions we need to tackle climate change, like energy efficiency and renewables, ” said Ben Ayliffe, a spokesman for Greenpeace UK. “We should be concentrating on these rather than on crack-pot ideas about portable reactors."
Hyperion Power Generation, Inc..
369 Montezuma Street Suite 508
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Deborah Blackwell
Deborah@HyperionPowerGeneration.com

Jacques Cousteau on Nuclear Power

The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus: Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World
by Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schiefelbein
Bloomsbury USA

In this magnificent last book, finally available for the first time in the United States, Cousteau describes his deeply informed philosophy about protecting our world for future generations. Weaving gripping stories of his adventures throughout, he and coauthor Susan Schiefelbein address the risks we take with human health, the overfishing and sacking of the world’s oceans, the hazards of nuclear proliferation, and the environmental responsibility of scientists, politicians, and people of faith.

Cousteau’s lyrical, passionate call for action to protect our earth and seas and their myriad life forms is even more relevant today than when this book was completed in 1996. Written over the last ten years of his life with frequent collaborator Schiefelbein, who also introduces the text and provides an update on environmental developments in the decade since Cousteau’s death, this prescient, clear-sighted book is a remarkable testament to the life and work of one of our greatest modern adventurers.

+++

Review By Kay Cumbow

There is a remarkable hardcover book on sale at the bookstores just in time for Christmas written by Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schiefelbein titled: "The Human, the Orchid and the Octopus - Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World." Bill McKibben has written a superb foreward. On the inside jacket cover: " The legendary Ocean Explorer's Passionate Plea for Sustaining Life on Earth." "...In this magnificent last book, available for the first time in the United States, Cousteau describes his deeply informed philosophy about protecting our world for future generations."

There is one whole chapter devoted to nukes titled: "The Hot Peace: Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Energy" that is 58 pages long, and well worth your time to read. He had written about nukes in earlier books, but many libraries no longer carry those tomes. It was while reading one of his books in a Michigan library years ago, that I first learned that plutonium crosses the placenta. Snap this up, it is worth every penny! (All of the chapters, not just the one on nuclear) It was 20% off at Barnes and Noble.

Snip: " Then suddenly I was an innocent no longer. Crackling over the headphones came the voices of a few technicians who urged that irradiated waste be cast into the sea. Their nations, they boasted, had even sunk some loads of radioactive waste already....I resolved not ...to be swept along in the uproar. After all, I thought, one of the world's preeminent marine scientists was scheduled to appear the next day; certainly he would put an end to all discussion of ocean dumping. When the illustrious expert arrived, I brought him to my home for lunch, where several of the distinguished international specialists, including officers of the IAEA, joined us....Someone mentioned ocean dumping. Our celebrated guest expert settle back comfortably in his chair. 'The sea, ' he began, 'being obviously the natural receptacle for atomic wastes...' Now my heart raced. I'd spent years diving among the ocean's astonishing life, fragile life, improbable life....How, I asked, could he even imagine allowing seas to steep in radioactive poisons?....Before that day, my career had been governed by my love for the sea. After that day, I devoted myself to defending the sea....Nearly forty years have passed. Nations passed the 1994 amendment to the London Convention, banning all ocean dumping of nuclear wastes."

There is, of course, much more. He ends by saying: "We cannot merely ban the production of fissionable materials; we must ban their existence, ban plutonium and highly enriched uranium on Earth. A world without atomic bombs, atomic terrorism, and atomic contamination can be achieved only by a world without atomic energy. Si vis pacem, para bellum declared the Romans; if you want peace, prepare for war. Throughout history , humans have obeyed the dictum and have failed. If we want peace in the twenty-first century, we should prepare for peace.The leader who uses the bomb will destroy the world. But the one who finds a way to ban the bomb will rule it."

Good words to quote for the rest of our lives.

Kay Cumbow
Citizens for a Healthy Planet, and
Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination
8735 Maple Grove Road
Lake, MI 48632

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Enviro-mag GOOD Goes Pro-Nuke


From GOOD magazine:

Ever since the Chernobyl disaster and the Three Mile Island scare, the idea of nuclear power in America has been marred by visions of radioactive meltdowns. But now that more and more people accept that the imminent threat of climate change is fueled by coal-burning power plants, scientists and policymakers are reconsidering the nuclear option. Inspired by skyrocketing energy prices and generous federal subsidies, utility companies want to build more than two dozen reactors over the next decade. At last, the environmental movement, after fighting new plants for decades, has warmed up to the idea. ???