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WillyT
WillyT's Journal
WillyT's Journal
September 1, 2013
Fukushima showed us the intolerable costs of nuclear power. The citizens of Vermont show us the benefits of shutting it down
Amy Goodman - theguardian.com
Thursday 29 August 2013 10.30 EDT
<snip>
Welcome to the nuclear renaissance.
Entergy Corp, one of the largest nuclear-power producers in the US, issued a surprise press release Tuesday, saying it plans "to close and decommission its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vermont. The station is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle and move to safe shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2014." Although the press release came from the corporation, it was years of people's protests and state legislative action that forced its closure. At the same time that activists celebrate this key defeat of nuclear power, officials in Japan admitted that radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe are far worse than previously acknowledged.
"It took three years, but it was citizen pressure that got the state Senate to such a position", nuclear-energy consultant Arnie Gundersen told me of Entergy's announcement. He has coordinated projects at 70 nuclear plants around the country and now provides independent testimony on nuclear and radiation issues. He explained how the state of Vermont, in the first such action in the country, had banned the plant from operating beyond its original 40-year permit. Entergy was seeking a 20-year extension.
Despite prevailing in the courts, Entergy bowed to public pressure.
Back in 2011, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, who called Entergy "a company that we found we can't trust", said on "Democracy Now!":
The nuclear-power industry is at a critical crossroads....
<snip>
More: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/29/nuclear-power-dangers-fukushima-vermont
Just Say No To Nuclear Power – From Fukushima To Vermont - Amy Goodman/Guardian UK
Just say no to nuclear power – from Fukushima to VermontFukushima showed us the intolerable costs of nuclear power. The citizens of Vermont show us the benefits of shutting it down
Amy Goodman - theguardian.com
Thursday 29 August 2013 10.30 EDT
<snip>
Welcome to the nuclear renaissance.
Entergy Corp, one of the largest nuclear-power producers in the US, issued a surprise press release Tuesday, saying it plans "to close and decommission its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vermont. The station is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle and move to safe shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2014." Although the press release came from the corporation, it was years of people's protests and state legislative action that forced its closure. At the same time that activists celebrate this key defeat of nuclear power, officials in Japan admitted that radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe are far worse than previously acknowledged.
"It took three years, but it was citizen pressure that got the state Senate to such a position", nuclear-energy consultant Arnie Gundersen told me of Entergy's announcement. He has coordinated projects at 70 nuclear plants around the country and now provides independent testimony on nuclear and radiation issues. He explained how the state of Vermont, in the first such action in the country, had banned the plant from operating beyond its original 40-year permit. Entergy was seeking a 20-year extension.
The legislature, in that 26-to-4 vote, said: 'No, we're not going to allow you to reapply. It's over. You know, a deal's a deal. We had a 40-year deal.' Well, Entergy went to first the federal court here in Vermont and won, and then went to an appeals court in New York City and won again on the issue, as they framed it, that states have no authority to regulate safety.
Despite prevailing in the courts, Entergy bowed to public pressure.
Back in 2011, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, who called Entergy "a company that we found we can't trust", said on "Democracy Now!":
We're the only state in the country that's taken power into our own hands and said that, without an affirmative vote from the state legislature, the public service board cannot issue a certificate of public good to legally operate a plant for another 20 years. Now, the Senate has spoken ... saying no, it's not in Vermont's best interest to run an aging, leaking nuclear-power plant. And we expect that our decision will be respected.
The nuclear-power industry is at a critical crossroads....
<snip>
More: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/29/nuclear-power-dangers-fukushima-vermont
September 1, 2013
Anybody Else Here Sick To Your Stomach Depressed About The Syria Situation ???
Man... I haven't felt this way in a long time.
September 1, 2013
By Jim Axelrod - CBSNews
8/31/13
<snip>
(CBS News) This past week marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and one of the most important speeches in the history of this country. But more than one man articulated a dream that day -- even if the power of Martin Luther King overshadowed him.
It was the toughest time slot of the day. Never mind having to follow Mahalia Jackson -- the "Queen of Gospel".
"I wish I could sing," Rabbi Joachim Prinz told the audience fifty years ago at the podium on the day of the March on Washington. He was the last man up before Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime," he continued.
The horrors this rabbi witnessed in Nazi Germany in the '30s compelled him to challenge America in the '60s.
"Bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problems," he said in his speech. "The most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence!"
<smip>
More: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57600884/a-rabbis-moment-at-the-march-on-washington/
A Rabbi's Moment At The March On Washington - CBSNews
A rabbi's moment at the March on WashingtonBy Jim Axelrod - CBSNews
8/31/13
<snip>
(CBS News) This past week marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and one of the most important speeches in the history of this country. But more than one man articulated a dream that day -- even if the power of Martin Luther King overshadowed him.
It was the toughest time slot of the day. Never mind having to follow Mahalia Jackson -- the "Queen of Gospel".
"I wish I could sing," Rabbi Joachim Prinz told the audience fifty years ago at the podium on the day of the March on Washington. He was the last man up before Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime," he continued.
The horrors this rabbi witnessed in Nazi Germany in the '30s compelled him to challenge America in the '60s.
"Bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problems," he said in his speech. "The most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence!"
<smip>
More: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57600884/a-rabbis-moment-at-the-march-on-washington/
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