Clinton and NRC Commissioner Dale Klein - April 2007

Amazing IP Article by Jeffrey St. Clair

Excerpts from Jeffrey St. Clair's article:

...study conducted by the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that ominously concluded that the chances of a reactor meltdown increased by a factor of nearly 100 at Indian Point, because the plant’s drainage pits (also known as containment sumps) are “almost certain” to be blocked with debris during an accident.

Hillary’s ties to Entergy are almost primal. The Little Rock-based Entergy Corporation, which once employed John Huang, the infamous conduit to the Lippo Group, was one of Bill Clinton’s main political sponsors, shoveling more than $100,000 into his campaign’s bank accounts from 1992 to 1996.

Read the whole article on CounterPunch.

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

Like George W. Bush, Obama Is Nuclear Industry Poodle

George W. Bush sold out to the nuclear industry, became their bitch back in 1996 while he was Governor of Texas. As Senator Barack Obama plays with the idea of being President one day he seems more than willing to borrow a page out of President Bush's play book, and play the part of the nuclear industry's Poodle. In the photographs above, you can see him sucking up to the nuclear abortion monsters from Exelon...course, let's remember that Hillary Clinton wants to play both sides to the middle, flip flopping on all issues nuclear depending on where in America she is speaking. Maybe they both need to come out strongly on the side of closing the failing Indian Point reactors if they want to carry New York in 2008.

Wall Street, Beware of The Nuclear Monster

Suppose, this article could have been titled, "Citizens Beware of Nuclear Monster" as well, seeing as the AP announced earlier today that the NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) has hired one of Washington's blood sucking lobbyists, Chad Bradley & Associates to do some arm twisting and gift giving in the Congress. Guessing they are wanting to have Congress follow the Senate lead in giving the nuclear industry HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of our tax dollars in 100 PERCENT loan guarantees for any and all nuclear reactors that the nuclear industry wants to build in the name of the Nuclear Renaissance...would be interesting to know how many citizens are willing to pick up the tab for building nuclear plants, while allowing private companies to own them? Seems it would make more sense if said reactors are insured with our tax dollars, and paid for with our utility rates, that it makes more sense to have DOE build them, and us the citizens to own them in the form of cooperatives.

Even with these loan guarantees though, Wall Street, and private investors need to think long and hard after the Almost Chernobyl reactor accident at TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Karima Nuclear Plant. Even before the full investigation is complete, even before the other shoe of broken weld joints and other problems might be announced after the IAEA takes a look, the news is very grim for TEPCO who has announced that their profits for 2007 as a result of what they are calling a minor accident will tumble EIGHTY PERCENT. Original profit forecasts for 2007 were forecasted at 310 Billion Yen, have now dropped to 65 Billion Yen, and am guessing that figure is overly optimistic.

This supposedly minor accident, and the costs that will be associated with it are going to be monumental, and there is a very real chance that studies of the reactors themselves will show them incapable of being SAFELY restarted, without putting the citizens of the area in GRAVE DANGER should another earthquake hit the area, let alone one of similar magnitude to 6.8 on the Richter scale quake that just missed bringing God's vengeance down upon the nation of Japan earlier this month.

More importantly, the quake that has taken seven reactors off line in Japan shows the fool's folly that is the Price Anderson Act. Let's keep in mind that DOE, NRC, NEI and the IAEA have all down played the significance of this nuclear catastrophe. This supposedly minor event is carrying with it a very hefty price tag. Now, lets suppose that a similar quake had hit the poorly run and managed Entergy plant known as Indian Point, which is just 24 miles up the Hudson River from New York. First, because the two reactors are old, brittle and leaking, there is a very real chance they would have broken apart. Ignoring the loss of life, setting aside all the long term cancer deaths from citizens forced to shelter in place, and just focusing in on the financial losses, such and event could TOPPLE the US economy, and crash the Dow Jones as the lost dollars quickly soared into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The Nuclear Industry is quaranteed their lossed in the case of a major nuclear accident are capped at $10 Billion dollars, so who is going to pick up the slack, and the financial burdens? Is it far to risk making 21 million people in the New York City Metro homeless in the name of Entergy profits? Congress needs to rescind Price Anderson while we still have time.

Over night America would be thrown into a Great Depression, far worse than after the stock market crash of 1929. As the repercussions spread around the world, as markets crashed, and stocks became worthless, world wide panic would set in...for instance, what would China's reaction be when A) they realised all the financial notes they hold on American dollars could not be paid, and B) because our economy and way of life had crumbled, it meant American orders for Chinese goods would all but vanish. Would they pick that time to ramp up their massive war machine and declare world domination? How would the American public react to becoming a third world debtor nation? How would we take care of tens of millions of retired Baby Boomers when our government was bankrupt?

Wall Street needs to wake up to the fallacy and problems inherent in the Nuclear Renaissance. You simply cannot build a new generation of nuclear reactors, while counting on and aged and failing generation of antiquated reactors to carry you through to that brighter tomorrow. The odds are greatly increased that America will see at least one, if not more Chernobyl like incidents with the NRC wrongfully licensing these ancient nuclear relics for another 20 years of operation. Most companies that make replacement parts for these reactors are long ago out of business, and the retro fit after market parts available (if you can find them) are of inferior quality, thus lowering the safety margins of each and every reactor now operating in America, and our government knows this.

If Wall Street looks closely at the Exelon's, Entergy's and First Energy's that are on the cutting edge of this so called Nuclear Renaissance, there are some very alarming Enron correlations that can be drawn. One wrong move, one even minor nuclear incident similar to the TEPCO disaster in Japan, and their houses of cards will come falling down around them with investors left holding and empty nuclear bag. Even with parent company's trying to protect themselves by placing each reactor in a Limited Liability Corporation, the nuclear industry is just one major accident away from financial ruination.

NEI is trying to buy Washington, DC, attempting to place the financial burden of the entire nuclear industry onto the backs of the people, but we have the power to stop it. Insiders within the nuclear industry have said the only way the Nuclear Renaissance can move forward in a significant way, the only way dozens of reactors will be built in America is with a government backed 100 percent loan guarantee. In short, they have stated the 80 percent loan guarantee is inadequate to assuage investors worries, stated emphatically that a loan guarantee of only 80 percent will be the death knell of the Nuclear Renaissance. So, our task is simple...call, write and fax your Congressman or woman, and demand they strip out loan guarantees for a nuclear build up here in America. Demand that billion dollar subsidies to do the industry's research for them be gutted from the federal budget. We do not need to tolerate the chicanery and trickery that saw the Democratically controlled Senate sneak through a one sentence add on in and unrelated bill that gives the nuclear industry what they want...!)) PERCENT LOAN GUARANTEES for new reactor builds. Lets pull the plug on the nuclear reactor while we still have a chance to.

More Proof That Japan Just Dodged Chernobyl Last Monday

As someone living less than three miles from the trouble plagued, mismanaged and leaking facility owned by Entergy, and known as Indian Point, I am startled at the frightening similarity between Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant and the three aging and dilapidated reactors that sit on the shore of the Hudson River here in New York. Living in the shadow of these behemoth relics of a failed nuclear industry, and having spent some time in Japan back in the 90's, I have kept a close eye on the aftermath of the TEPCO accident as it unfolds, and just as I had predicted, as information trickles 0ut, Japan and the world came much closer to a world wide disaster than was first known, and is now being admitted. Pure blind luck, not nuclear industry expertise saved us from what would/could have been a catastrophic event far worse than Hiroshima or Chernobyl.

Here in America, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant story is not getting the coverage it deserves as the media cooperates with our government, the NRC, NEI, DOE and the nuclear industry in mitigating the damage that has been done to George W. Bush's plans for a Nuclear Renaissance with 200 new reactors being built along the waters edge here in America. These high money players in the nuclear industry want the story buried, and our press seems more than ready to oblige...after all, Patrick Moore, Christine Todd Whitman, CASEnergy and the NEI have bought and sold their souls, convinced them that Nuclear Energy is the vital, safe, secure green energy that will save us from Global Warming. Now that the emperor has been shown to have no clothes, now that the naked ugliness that is nuclear energy has been exposed, they are pretending not to see, hoping the story will just go away.

Problem is, the story should not, and so far is not going away, but continues to get worse as news story find their way out of Japan, and onto the world wide web. Like Indian Point, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant sits atop and earthquake fault line, and like Indian Point, both Japan's regulatory agency (NISA), and the plant owners chose to ignore that reality from the very beginning, even before construction had begun. Here in Westchester county, the Indian Point site failed five out of six citing criteria, yet the NRC ignored that truth and allowed the reactors to be built. False assurances were handed out like DumDum lollipops, and the host community was assured the facilities were/are safe, that the odds of a large earthquake doing significant damage to the reactors was so small as to be almost nil...we now have quantitative proof that promise was a lie, a red herring trotted out to cloud the real risks involved in constructing and operating nuclear reactors sitting atop earthquake faults.

A look at various Japanese press sites this morning outline more problems as the investigation into TEPCO's cover up of the incident continues. Most alarming on this morning's list, is the fact that six of the transformers were damaged in the quake. Niigata prefectural government officials who inspected the plant have been quoted when asked about the transformer fire that it was, "simply by chance" that a fire broke out only at the transformer of the No. 3 reactor. It took TEPCO over two hours to extenquish the transformer fire for reactor number 3. What could/would have happened if all six damaged transformers had erupted into flames? As we contemplate that question, it should be noted here, that it has come to the light of day, that ten of the eleven companies owning nuclear reactors in Japan do not have the necessary equipment and staff on hand to fight a fire at their nuclear facilities. This information only saw the light of day as a result of the investigation now going on in Japan in the aftermath of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant debacle. Officials have been quoted as saying, "the companies did not have firefighting squads on duty around the clock and would have to summon such personnel if a fire broke out at night or during a holiday period. "

Pro Nuclear Bloggers like Rod Adams, the NEI Blog, and We Trust Lee spent the better part of last week doing damage control, trying to play with the radioactive release numbers to make the leaks seem insignificant. Meanwhile, a TEPCO official has been quoted regarding the leaks, and stated, "A considerably large amount of water" must have spilled out", the TEPCO official said. Further, we now know that irradiated water leaked out of ALL SEVEN spent fuel pools at the crippled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant site, and that company officials are refusing to quantify just how much radioactively contaminated water actually LEAKED OUT of these pools. A TEPCO official was quoted as saying, "We never assumed that water could flow out of the pool."

There is a very scary thought...earthquakes SHAKE the ground, and much like a bucket being shaken about, significant amounts of water will SLOSH out, but this NEVER occurred to company officials, never occurred to the regulators (NISA and the IAEA)? TEPCO attempts to mitigate this disturbing news by saying none of the leaked water in the other six pools contaminated the non-radioactive side of those buildings...uhhh, is it me, or does that contamination of the nuclear side of the building still have to be remediated, or are workers going to be forced to accept the additional exposure risks going forward if these reactors ever go back online?

Japan, and TEPCO have now reluctantly agreed to allow the UN (IAEA) to send and inspection team to the devastated plant site, not because it is the right thing to do, but because they want to stem negative World Wide Press coverage of the accident, fearing the negative stories, and the comparisons to Chernobyl could negatively impact their tourist industry. Funny what a difference a few days makes. Last week the government rejected the IAEA's offer of assistance in inspecting the plant, claiming the damage was so serious that the people concerned are too busy repairing it.

We are talking a huge cover up here...already the government of Japan is saying the plant will eventually reopen. Early plans see TEPCO going in, and BEEFING up the foundation, which is four stories underground. This sounds eerily similar to the never ending quilt of failing weld joints that are holding Indian Point's reactor cores in place...God Forbid a quake should hit our area, as these embrittled domes would shatter like a thermos dropped on a concrete floor, the radioactive plumes rapidly visiting death upon the populace of our area. Some would come such a statement alarmist in nature...is it? The NRC over the years has issued over 1500 Generic Findings that EXCUSE their licensees from rules and regulations meant to keep us safe. Cost benefit analysis now places company profits ahead of citizen safety, and protection of our environment, and if nuclear reactor owners cannot meet certain regulatory guidelines, the NRC simply suspends them in the name of National Security and Interest.

The horrific accident at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant should be the world's wake up call that nuclear cannot, must not play a key role in resolving Global Warming, proof that the risks are far too great. GNEP is a fatally flawed nuclear energy strategy that would see America playing host to the entire world's nuclear waste streams. The NRC has callously ignored reality, placed public safety at risk by rubber stamping every licensee renewal application that has come before it. However, we have and opportunity to stop George W. Bush's Nuclear 2010 wagon from racing further down the road to hell, but it requires citizens of every nation getting involved. The line in the proverbial sand is Entergy's Indian Point reactors in Westchester county, New York.

Entergy's Indian Point facility NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT, much like the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The Indian Point facility has been nothing but trouble since day one. Mismanagement, cover up and lies have been the norm through all of its various owners, and like the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, Indian Point sits atop a MAJOR earthquake fault line, and failed to meet five of the six siting criteria required at the time the plant was built. Couple this with leaking fuel pools, cracks in the reactor domes, failing spray nozzles, underground electrical cable problems, a non working evacuation plan, tritium and strontium 90 leaking into the Hudson River and the obvious lack of meaningful and effective security, and the fact that NRC is contemplating Energy's license renewal application is pure insanity. The good news if any, is that we have a chance to stop this injustice.

Politicians, and calls for and ISA will not shut down Indian Point, nor keep the NRC from rubber stamping Entergy's license renewal application like they always do. Massive public outcry and anger though will stop the relicense of the facility. With 21 million people living within a 50 mile radius of the plant, we have the numbers...but, people must get involved in the process, people must start organizing protests, and demanding accountablity from our government, and from our politicians. Hilliary Clinton pretends too be worried about Indian Point, but then goes out on the campaign trail and tells citizens in South Carolina that nuclear MUST BE ON THE TABLE as and option in addressing Global Warming...sorry babes, but you should not be allowed to claim both sides in this important debate. A few hundred protestors targeting her district offices on a regular basis would hold her feet to the fire, force her to DEMAND the closing of Indian Point.

Congressman John Hall talked a good game when he ran against incumbent Congress woman Sue Kelly, but he's become rather cool on the subject of Indian Point since being elected. If you look at John Hall's roots, he has the contacts (Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne) in the music industry to bring significant attention to this issue, can put the International Spotlight on Indian Point with a carefully orchestrated concert, by calling his grassroots supporters into the streets to march too, and onto the grounds of Indian Point. Sadly though, his campaign rhetoric was just that, and now that he is in office he is more concerned about staying in office than doing right by the people he is sworn to protect. That has got to change, and it will only change when public outcry demands that he take real action on this important issue. Decades ago he filled Madison Square Gardens, yet today as a Congressman in Washington, DC he is content with issuing meaningless press releases to our local papers.

The call for a world wide Nuclear Renaissance comes from America, the GNEP plan the tap root that must be eradicated. We can end this failed energy strategy by targeting sites such as Indian Point, we can stop nuclear proliferation by fighting Indian Point's license renewal application with everything we have. We need Greenpeace to send their boats up the Hudson River, we need the Sierra Club to take a stand. Indian Point is the battle we have to win, Entergy the nuclear licensee to go after. To be successful, we need anti nuclear groups from around the world to step in and lend us a helping hand, because the next nuclear bullet is coming, and we might not be so lucky as to dodge it when it hits.

Understanding the Lie Of The Nuclear Cycle

Friday, June 15, 2007

The Trail Of Blood...Part 1 of Understanding The Nuclear Cycle

So, the world wants to see a Nuclear Renaissance, believes that nuclear energy is the safe, vital, secure, and Green Energy Source that is going to save us from Global Warming, and give birth to the Hydrogen Economy. The young green hipsters and tricksters in the Green Fashion Industry believe it is so, after all, former Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore tells them so, just like Jesus in "The Bible Tells Us So" song shouted out by the religious right as they warn us about gays, and abortion...harsh, but then the five front runners in the Republican race to the Presidency have endorsed nuclear, opposed gays serving in the military, and except for one are against abortion and gay marriage.

When will we stop believing the 30 second sound bites fed to us on network TV, when will we take the time to educate ourselves before taking a position on any issue? In our convenience driven society where the need for energy rules the day, the citizens of Yuppieville, USA and their 20-30 something children are content to accept on face value the nuclear industry's huge propaganda campaign to sell them on nuclear energy...where is the disconnect, how can almost 70 percent of America oppose the Iraq War, support bringing our troops home, be against the use of depleted uranium, yet believe nuclear energy is safe, vital, secure and green. Don't you realize it's all the same damn thing? If you look at nuclear, if you look at the entire cycle, you have to accept that DOD (Department of Defense), DOE (Department of Energy) and the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) are all a part of the same train. There is no commercial nuclear industry without its Siamese twin, the military nuclear industry, the two of them joined forever at the hip.

Congressman John Hall in and off the record conversation told one of my anti nuclear friends that wants to close down Indian Point, that we had no idea how tied into the Middle East nuclear power was/is...went on further to explain that his access to documents we could not see truly was opening his eyes, and that shutting down any of America's nuclear reactors was not going to be easy because of the situation in the Middle East, and he was not just speaking of the quagmire that is Iraq, though it was and is a part of it. You see, our Pentagon needs the commercial nuclear industry, and the infrastructure it takes to power it for its own evil purposes, including vast stockpiles of Depleted Uranium, which is used in numerous weaponry to make armor piercing ammunition's and war heads.

Going further, George Bush, our government, our military machine opposes Iran gaining the capability of enriching uranium for a very simple reason...with the capability of enriching said uranium for nuclear reactors, you gain as a part of the waste stream from said enrichment operations the byproduct of Depleted Uranium. Oh My God! Iran already has a vast supply of oil, they have already developed long range missiles capable of striking various western societies, and now they are on the brink of having Depleted Uranium. Such a reality might mean America has to negotiate with Iran as equals, heaven forbide. Let them get the BOMB, and we might even have a new super power to contend with, someone to take Russia's seat at the grown ups table.

That's one of the big problems with the nuclear cycle...there is no such thing as the peaceful atom, no matter how you try to dress it up. Additionally, anywhere nuclear goes in all of its various forms, death is soon to follow. From its earliest days, even pre-dating the Manhattan Project, the exploration and exploitation of uranium has brought with it horrid deaths, devastating cancers, birth defects and destruction on a level almost unimaginable. Problem is, you have governments, and various assorted private corporate interests trying to hide the ugly truth, trying to convince us that uranium and nuclear energy are safe.

Do some homework, explore the hundreds of millions of dollars the DOE has spent on attorneys to fight union workers claims that their illnesses and cancers were caused by their exposure to elevated work place radiation levels. Look just under the surface of the commercial nuclear industry, and you find a trail of death...it is no coincedence that every county within 100 miles of a nuclear facility has elevated cancer rates when compared with counties outside of that 100 mile circle. Look at both wars in the Middle East (Desert Storm, and the Iraq War), and you find our soldiers coming home with strange illnesses, illnesses caused by their overexposure to depleted uranium. Already in Iraq, mothers are giving birth to children with horrible deformities, deformities caused by that same exposure to Depleted Uranium, and where does that Depleted Uranium come from? The production cycle employed to produce fuel for commercial nuclear reactors.

McCain in a nationally televised debate on CNN boldly lied like no other man before him. Not only did he embrace nuclear as a CO2 free clean source of energy, but he claimed that the Nuclear Navy in over 50 years of operation had never had and accident...funny, I know of numerous examples of nuclear sea going vessels accidently ramming into other ships, and know of at least 37 times (up through 1983) when said nuclear vessels had MAJOR releases of radioactive materials into the environment, and I believe we have even had at last one nuclear sub sink. As a Senator, as a member of the military, he KNOWS the truth...do we want such a liar as our next president? Why can't he, the other candidates, our president, and even the nuclear industry come out and BE HONEST WITH THE PUBLIC? What is it that is really driving this insane push for a Nuclear Renaissance, what lunacy sees the world wanting to build 2200 new nuclear reactors when the first 437 aging reactors have been such a dismal failure, and killed so many innocent people?

There is no bigger myth within the nuclear energy than their claim that nuclear energy and commercial reactors are and environmentally friendly CO2 source of electricity. From the very beginning of the uranium fuel cycle, the massive creation of and dumping of CO2 into our environment begins, as well as a trail of far deadly contaminants. First, you have to get the uranium out of the ground...uranium mining is very equipment intensive, and the large pieces of equipment use MASSIVE amounts of fossil fuels. Further, it takes tons and tons of of ore containing trace amounts of uranium to get enough actual raw uranium to be of any use. This means said materials have to be carted to processing plants...again, said transportion of such vast quanities of these raw start up materials burn up vast amounts of carbon based fuels, adding to nuclear CO2 contributions to Global Warming.

Once the materials have been mined, they then must be milled, or crushed. These milling operations are usually fairly close to the mines. Once the materials are crushed, various impurities are removed (creating vast amounts of waste), and the end product of this segment of the processing creates what is known as yellowcake. This yellow cake is then packaged into 55 gallon drums, and is ready...TO BE SHIPPED AGAIN, thus using even more fossil fuels.

This yellow cake is about 70 percent pure, but still needs further processing to remain more impurities. A refining facility handles this purification, and then chemically transforms the yellow cake into uranium trioxide, which is now suitable for FURTHER PROCESSING. Think about much CO2 has been pumped into the environment already, and we are still not even close to being done with the process of having fuel that can actually be used to power a nuclear reactor.

Depending on the country, and enrichment means to be used, the uranium trioxide goes through even more processing at a conversion plant, where it is transformed into either uranium dioxide or uranium hexafluoride, the feedstock for enriched light water reactor fuel. At this point, the materials are ready...TO BE SHIPPED AGAIN, this time to a fuel fabrication facility. Using Canada as one example...once they have created uranium hexafluride, said materials are sent for fuel fabrication to the United States, France, the U.K., Germany or the Netherlands. Sure is a whole lot of CO2 being created that the commercial nuclear industry does not want to admit too.

For over five decades, most fuel rods produced for commercial reactors were fabricated at the Gaseous Diffusion plants in Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky, with most of that production under the watchful eye of the DOE until 1992 when then President George Bush privatized the facilities and transferred oversight over to the NRC with the signing of the 1992 Energy Policy Act. This is where the nuclear industry's CO2 contributions to Global Warming really sky rocket.

Looking just at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants 50 years of operation, you realize the true folly that is nuclear energy. First, this plant is the largest under roof manufacturing facility ever built in its time. Sadly, it was built less than one mile from the Sciota River, less than 20 miles upstream from the Ohio River, and sits atop the largest underground aquifer in the United States of America...BRILLIANT SITING decision!

This plant was fueled by nine coal burning energy plants, and used enough electricity each and every day of operation to power all of Los Angeles county for a year. If you do the math, the Portsmouth Gasesous Diffusion Plant burned enough coal, used enough electricity to power all of Los Angeles county for six million, six hundred and sixty one thousand, two hundred and fifty days, or 18, 250 years! America is just over 200 years old folks! Imagine how much CO2 would not be in the atmosphere if it were not for those 9 coal burning power plants running 24 hours a day, all to supply America's nuclear reactors with fuel rods. Even scarier...these figures do not include the CO2 and energy consumptions for the Piketon, Kentucky plant.

Factor in the building of the nuclear facilities, and the vast amount of fossil fuels that will be burned in decommissioning, and it is obvious who the major contributor to Global Warming really is.

It would be nice if this was the end of nuclear entergy's CO2 contributions to the environment, but it is not. It would be nice if these CO2 emissions were the only contaminants and contributions to Global Warming that nuclear reactors created, but sadly, it is but the tip of the iceberg. The fuel rods as one example still have to be SHIPPED to the reactor sites. Again, additional fossil fuels being burned up, and we have not seen one watt of electrical energy produced as of yet.

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.

Hillary Pretends Again To Be On Our Side

As I am sure by now everyone knows, Entergy's Indian Point siren system failed miserably, and it is looking very iffy that they can meet the Sunday (April 15th) deadline...If they cannot meet the deadline, the solution is simple. Moth ball reactors 2 and 3 until they can. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, and do not operate the facility without a warning system that passes muster.

Sadly, we know that is not going to happen. Instead, we'll have Entergy Northeast writing yet another letter asking for yet another extension of time, and the NRC rubber stampers gladly will grant their REASONABLE (cough, cough) request.

Hillary Clinton who has embraced nuclear industry as a solution to global warming, is out issuing empty press releases, so that we here in her home state think she's on our side, decrying the situation, but FALLING FAR SHORT of calling for plant shut down until the warning system has passed muster...any one want to bet that A) Hillary and Bill have a real shelter at their Chappaqua compound, or B) a helicopter would pick them up and whisk them out of harms way in case of a nuclear event at Indian Point. No wonder she has no problems playing both sides of the nuclear coin depending on what audience she is playing to on a given day. Bet the farm that she will be a no show at the yearly Indian Point Assessment Review later this month.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON REGARDING ENTERGY REQUEST FOR DELAY ON INDIAN POINT SAFETY SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

“It is completely unacceptable that Entergy will not have the new siren system into place by the prescribed deadline. The failure of over thirty emergency sirens during today’s test is extremely troubling. These failures are deeply alarming, particularly in light of last week’s fire and shutdown at Indian Point Unit 3. This is merely one in a long litany of concerns related to safety system failures at Indian Point. If Entergy fails to meet the April 15 deadline, then the NRC should take whatever action is necessary to ensure public safety.”

In July of 2005 Senator Clinton authored legislation included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requiring backup power for Indian Point’s emergency notification system and complete installation of new emergency notification sirens in the areas around Indian Point. In February 2006 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an order to implement the Senator’s legislation. In January, Entergy was granted an extension until April 15, 2007.

Major Local Groups NEED TO WAKE UP

Yesterday I, as publisher of the Green Nuclear Butterfly got two emails from folks suggesting that I am being too hard on local groups like IPSEC and Riverkeeper. With all due respect, would tend to disagree. For instance, IPSEC has posted on their website a notice to their people encouraging them to contact Hillary Clinton to urge passing of her bill introduced LAST YEAR.

Now, let's be honest here...that bill was WINDOW DRESSING, and had NO CO-SIGNERS. In short, it was Hillary playing to the local crowd while intending to do NOTHING OF MERIT to stop the relicensing of Indian Point...this author would strongly encourage our readers to take a look over at the FEC...you'll find that Hillary has taken quite a bit of money from people tied to Entergy, had DIRTY HANDS.

The next BIG ACTION, one that has HAD NO EFFECT FOR YEARS is IPSEC/Riverkeepers efforts to pass more meaningless proclamations/resolutions against Indian Point...the NRC has shown over and over again that they pay those resolutions NO HEED.

The reapplication process officially begins on March 7th, 2007...surely our two main groups for fighting relicensing should have more of an ACTION PLAN at this stage? 20 MILLION PEOPLE...surely we can organize putting say 200,000 of them in front of the facility? Surely Riverkeeper on any given Saturday could organize say 2-300 boaters to park in front of the facility boat ramp....what, do you really think the National Guard is going to fire on innocent Americans trying to exercise their citizens rights to peaceful protest? It's OUR HUDSON, lets take it back...OH WAIT, that's too RADICAL for Riverkeeper.

Imagine say 600 hot air balloons over Indian Point? 2-300 boats on the river, and 200,000 citizens out front all ON THE SAME DAY, or on the same weekend. Imagine NRC wanting to hold public hearings, and finding themselves facing 20,000 angry citizens demanding closure. We have IPSEC with all their member organizations bragging about their 2005 KICK OFF CAMPAIGN to shut down Indian Point, and the over 200 people said event drew! HELLO, does any one think that kind of pathetic public participation is going to shut down ANYTHING? 20 million people living within 50 miles of Indian Point, and a kick off event draws 200 people! Give us a break! WE NEED BIG, WE NEED HUGE, we need RADICAL.

Meanwhile, we have IPSEC denying access to members of the Grassroots anti nuclear movement...WHY IS THAT, perhaps Mark Jacobs could explain that to us here at the Green Nuclear Butterfly, explain why people are kept from posting anything on the IPSEC list serves that are the least bit controversial. In short, perhaps if IPSEC is too afraid to get its hands dirty, maybe it needs to STEP ASIDE, get out of this fight, and go hold bake sales at the local Walmart. If instead, they are ready to be serious leaders in this fight, then they need to end their exclusionary membership practices, stop the BIG BROTHER censorship on their list servs.