Nuclear

ODAC newsletter – Apr 1

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The oil price firmed to around $117 this week as evidence emerged of the impact of the Libyan crisis on the oil supply. Bloomberg reported that OPEC oil output dropped in March as Saudi Arabia failed to make up the loss in production from Libya. Reuters reported that Saudi has unexpectedly called on oil companies to expand its drill count by 30%. It is not clear whether this is in an attempt to add further spare capacity, or whether the kingdom is struggling to raise production.

New report picks apart George Monbiot’s support for nuclear power

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Today, environmental consultant and author Paul Mobbs has released a detailed analysis of George Monbiot’s claims regarding nuclear power. Published as part of his ‘ecolonomics’ newsletter series, it takes, point by point, Monbiot’s claims regarding the environment movements position on nuclear power, radiation and health, and the significance (above over kinds of human activity) of coal burning on carbon emissions.

Fukushima Dai-ichi status and prognosis

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The disjointed news flow from Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) continues to provide a confusing picture of the status of the 4 crippled nuclear power stations at Fukushima Dai-ichi on the East coast of Japan. This is leading to a very broad spectrum of opinion on the actual status and future consequences. The spectrum of opinion ranges from those who argue that Fukushima Dai-ichi is on course to become a Chernobyl scale incident or worse, to those who argue this is a storm in a teacup pointing out that reactors have been hit by a large earthquake, gigantic tsunami and survived with minimal casualties so far. So where does the truth lie?

Radiation in Japanese Food: Interview with David Waltner-Toews

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There are so many things to consider here—the actual safety, the consumer acceptance, and what other food is available. In some countries after Chernobyl, health and environment officials simply increased the threshold for safety. The rationale was that it was better to eat some fresh foods that had a bit of radioactivity than to eat only processed, imported foods. It will take a lot of monitoring to sort through this over time.

Dr. Helen Caldicott on the nuclear disaster in Japan

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Dr. Helen Caldicott is a physician, author, and speaker known throughout the world for her clear warnings about the dangers of nuclear weapons, and nuclear power. (transcript and audio)

“It’s the end of the nuclear industry. As soon as I heard about this accident, that’s what I thought … I’ve been doing this crazy work for 40 years, and I said all that time: it will take a major melt-down to end the industry. And here we have not one, but six possible melt-downs, and cooling pools as well.”