Green Party Watch

In an article published at The Hill.com, South Carolina Green Party candidate for US Senate Tom Clements addressed the risks exposed by the earthquake in Virginia.

“This event affirms that reactors located outside active earthquake zones are also at risk and that increased steps to protect against earthquakes must be implemented at all sites. It is time to push aside industry and NRC foot-dragging and strengthen nuclear reactor safety regulations.”

From the Daily Loaf:

In Florida, there are currently five nuclear reactors in operation in Florida, with two at Turkey Point on Biscayne Bay, two in Port St. Lucie, and one at Crystal River. The Crystal River reactor (CR-3) has been shut down for repairs since September 2009, when a large crack was discovered in the concrete and steel containment vessel. In recent weeks, just as the plant was being prepared to go back online, new cracks were discovered.

Now the Green Party of Florida says after Japan, no more.

“Floridians must tell President Obama and Governor Scott, as well as our elected representatives in Tallahassee, that we oppose any further public subsidies for the nuclear industry,” said Jayne King, co-chair of the Green Party of Florida. “The public and the government should not be guaranteeing profits for the companies building more nuclear reactors in the state,” King added, “because there are plenty of safer and less expensive options for meeting the state’s energy needs.”

By Ralph Nader at Nader.org:

The unfolding multiple nuclear reactor catastrophe in Japan is prompting overdue attention to the 104 nuclear plants in the United States—many of them aging, many of them near earthquake faults, some on the west coast exposed to potential tsunamis.

Nuclear power plants boil water to produce steam to turn turbines that generate electricity. Nuclear power’s overly complex fuel cycle begins with uranium mines and ends with deadly radioactive wastes for which there still are no permanent storage facilities to contain them for tens of thousands of years.

Atomic power plants generate 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. Over forty years ago, the industry’s promoter and regulator, the Atomic Energy Commission estimated that a full nuclear meltdown could contaminate an area “the size of Pennsylvania” and cause massive casualties. You, the taxpayers, have heavily subsidized nuclear power research, development, and promotion from day one with tens of billions of dollars.
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The national party issued the following press release. It addresses the situation in Japan from the perspective of someone with family there. It’s by Wes Rolley, former co-chair of the Eco-Action Committee, and writer at California Greening

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Contact: Laura Wells 510.504.4254 lwells@cagreens.org
Derek Iversen 323.481.8984 diversen@cagreens.org
Cres Vellucci 916.996.9170 cvellucci@cagreens.org

Environmental watchdog, with family in Japan, says U.S. must ‘examine’ posture toward nuclear power; insists alternatives safer and more economically viable

SACRAMENTO – A Green Party environmental watchdog – whose wife’s entire family resides in Japan – said today that it is “inevitable that the United States must re-examine its own posture regarding not only the future of nuclear power, but also the management of the 104 nuclear power plants already operating” in the U.S.

“The Green Party, and especially the Green Party of California has always taken an anti-nuclear stance…based on a sober risk assessment and the knowledge that there are better alternatives which can meet our energy needs. (The) onetime cost advantage for nuclear is no longer true,” writes Wes Rolley, former co-chair of EcoAction Committee of Green Party of the U.S.
California Greening: Finding the energy to do it right

Noting that four of the 104 nuclear power plants in the US are located in California, including two reactors at Diablo Canyon constructed with full knowledge that they are close to three active faults including the San Andreas fault, Rolley said a 4th fault has been discovered under the ocean just off the Diablo Canyon site.

“There is risk,” said Rolley. “The lesson that I take from (Japan) is that we are not really good at quantifying risk. There is too much pressure to down play risk so as to not panic (the) public. If you listen to those who talk about Diablo Canyon site…they make the point that it was over designed to withstand the largest possible quake on the nearby faults. The same was said about (the nuclear plants in Japan.)

Rolley also said no one’s talking about the risk in putting “emphasis on large scale, single site capabilities. Yes, it may be economic when all is well, but the economic consequences are very bad when all is not well.

“The argument for a distributed system with multiple generation technologies: solar, wind, wave, co-generation, etc. makes the system much less prone to the effects of the loss of a single site. This would make the United State more secure. It would make the US economy more robust and better able to absorb shocks, whether from single site failure or from conflict fed spikes in the (oil) prices.”

Rolley concludes: “Follow the science for the entire process system. That is what the science of ecology tells us to do. Follow the economics that the science says is true. I don’t think that you will end up supporting nuclear or coal or any other fossil fuel.”

-30-

FOR MORE:

http://cagreening.blogspot.com/2011/03/finding-energy-to-do-it-right.html

H/T to Frank Habineza of the Rwanda Green Party, and to the Sri Lanka Green Alliance.

The press release can be viewed or downloaded in PDF format here, or the text can be read here.

Asia Pacific Greens Statement on Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disasters

On the afternoon of March 11, 2011 a major earthquake occurred in North-East Japan, destroying and severely damaging many cities and towns on the Pacific Coast.

Currently more than several tens of thousands of people are dead or unaccounted for.

This catastrophe caused a cut off-off of cooling water into several reactors of nuclear power plants located in Fukushima. As a result of reduced water, the nuclear reactors may face a melt-down. If this occurs, it could be the worst case of nuclear accidents all over the world.

At present, the Japanese government and electric company specialists are attempting to prevent radioactive leaks from the reactors, but they are not disclosing information such as potential size of accidents, possibility of radioactive exposure etc.

The Asia Pacific Greens Network calls upon the Japanese government: read more »

Watch GreenStream Wednesday March 16 Nuclear Power in Japan & the US
By US Green Party on LIVESTREAM

Watch GreenStream Wednesday tomorrow night, March 16 at 6pm PT, 9pm ET. We’ll be discussing Japan’s nuclear disaster, US nuclear power plants and the 32rd anniversary of Three Mile Island with special guests, Howie Hawkins and Randall Amster. The show will be hosted by Marian Douglas-Ungaro. Another guest, yet to be confirmed, will also be on the show.

Watch GP-TV at: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Participate in our live chat room!

Brought to you by the Green Party Livestream Team:

Starlene Rankin, Producer

Craig Seeman, Director

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator

Bios:

Howie Hawkins is a politician and activist with the Green Party of the United States. He co-founded the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in 1976 and the US Green Party in 1984. In 2010, he ran as the Green Party’s candidate for Governor of New York. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howie_Hawkins

Randall Amster is an author, activist, and educator in areas including peace and ecology, including how nuclear power effects the environment. He lives in Arizona, where he teaches Peace Studies at Prescott College and writes for outlets ranging from academic journals to online news media. His partner is a Co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Amster

Marian Douglas-Ungaro is Co-Chair of Green Party’s International Committee and is a Washington, DC native. She’s a writer, editor, speaker, broadcast journalist and international consultant. Her family are survivors of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. That event pushed her to work full-time in the U.S. environmental movement. In 1986, her alma mater, Penn State University, and U.S. Dept of Energy, produced her concept for a national teleconference for nuclear power plant technicians and engineers on the clean-up of the TMI nuclear plant. Marian’s Blog: http://marian.typepad.com/about.html

In a statement issued at the Green Party of the United States detailed website, Green Party leaders called for a moratorium on nuclear plants.

Green Party leaders call for a moratorium on nuclear plants, insist that the Fukushima catastrophe quashes the myth that nuclear energy is a safe alternative

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

US Greens send a message of sympathy and solidarity to the Japanese Green Party, urge monitoring of radiation in the US and availability of potassium iodide pills for young people in Hawaii, Alaska, and the west coast in the event of a radiation plume from Japan

GreenStream Wednesday, March 16: discussion of Japan’s nuclear disaster and the 32rd anniversary of Three Mile Island, 10 pm ET, 7 pm PT on the Green Party’s Livestream channel: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on nuclear energy, foreign policy, and related topics: http://www.gp.org/speakers/subjects.php

read more »

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders and candidates are calling President Obama’s resurrection of nuclear power with a multi-billion-dollar taxpayer-funded subsidy for a Georgia plant his “worst idea yet” and warned about serious public health threats posed by mining, waste transportation, and waste storage. The Green Party disputes the myths that nuclear power is ‘green energy’ or a solution to the advance of climate change.

“The twin nuclear reactors in Burke County, Georgia, would be financed with $5.4 billion in loans from the Federal Financing Bank with money of the US Treasury. According to the GAO, this investment has a 50/50 percent or worse chance of failing. President Obama wants taxpayers to assume 80% of the financial risk to turn the southeast Atlantic states into a big open-pit radioactive barbeque. This investment is a terrible idea — President Obama’s worst yet,” said Lisa Green, Green candidate for California Assembly Candidate, 53rd Assembly District (http://www.votelisagreen.net). read more »

In a message to South Carolina clean energy activists, Tom Clements of Friends of the Earth shared a report from the Charlotte Business Journal in which Duke Energy announces plans to postpone construction of a proposed nuclear power plant, with two generating stations, near Gaffney, SC. Along with Santee Cooper’s announcement that they will not build a coal burner near Flornce, SC, this bolsters the South Carolina Green Party’s contention that new generation is not needed and that our utilities should be expected to make major investments in efforts to curb consumption. This plant was first proposed back in the 70s or 80s, and shelved. Now it may be ready to be shelved again.

The article, in full, can be read at the first link above, or here below the fold.
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At the recent Green Party national convention the delegates decided that energy would be part of our focus over the next year. This has been an important decision for Greens in South Carolina.

The state’s electric suppliers have proposed building four new nuclear power plants. Two are proposed near Jenkinsville, and two near Gaffney.

In addition, utilities have proposed a coal burning power plant near Florence. Recently Santee Cooper, the utility, decided to cancel their plans to build this coal burner.
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Craig Pittman of the St. Petersburg Times recently reported that the Green Party of Florida, along with allied groups, successfully gained legal standing to challenge the federal permit of a new nuclear plant in Levy County. This means that planners of the nuke plant will need to address issues with the ecological impact of the plant, such as where to store the radioactive waste.

Progress Energy’s plans for its new Levy County nuclear plant hit another potential roadblock Wednesday when an arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ruled that the Green Party of Florida and two other groups can challenge the plant’s federal permit.

read more »

Editor’s note: Dennis Spisak is co-editor of GreenBeat and Green Party Watch’s newest writer. The full text of GreenBeat can be found by clicking on this article’s headline.

GreenBeat April 25, 2009
In this Issue …

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Clean Energy Economy – Dennis Spisak
Bad Dreams and Earth Day – Anita Rios
National call for “FIRST FRIDAY Actions to demand good jobs for all NOW!” – Logan Martinez
Ohio Green Party Co-Convener Elected Chairperson of Toledo NOW – Anita Rios

read more »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Thursday, April 2, 2009

GREENS BLAST LEGISLATIVE MOVE TO REPEAL NUCLEAR MORATORIUM; CALL ATTEMPT AN EFFORT TO UNDERMINE RENEWABLE ENERGY

Green Party leaders condemned legislative attempts to repeal the Illinois moratorium against new nuclear production. House Bill 875 and Senate Bill 2162 would delete the provision in state law prohibiting the construction of new nuclear facilities until the nuclear waste storage issue is resolved.

“Nuclear power is bad for the economy, bad for the environment, and bad for the people of Illinois,” said Phil Huckelberry, Illinois Green Party Chair. “We need to be phasing out nuclear production. It is completely irresponsible for legislators to champion it.”
read more »

Is the Green Party too rigid in its opposition to nuclear power? Is nuclear power a safe alternative to fossil fuel? Are the Green Party concerns about the long term (seven generations) impact of nuclear power more important than the short term energy consumption needs of today’s generation?

Based on the interest in this story last week, I felt compelled to post this interesting story out of the UK. A Green Party Candidate for Parliament is finding himself in hot water for suggesting that atomic energy might have a role in fighting climate change. From The Independent:

Chris Goodall, prospective parliamentary candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, upset many party members with his assertion in yesterday’s Independent that atomic energy has a role to play in the fight against climate change. Mr Goodall was one of four prominent environmentalists disclosed as having had a change of heart about the nuclear issue, having moved from an anti-nuclear stance to believing that atomic power is a necessary part of the energy mix in the struggle to cut carbon emissions and halt global warming.
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Green Party files Petition to Intervene in NRC licensing of Levy County Nuclear Plant,joins Nuclear Information and Resource Service to challenge deficiencies in Progress Energy Combined Operating License Application (COLA)

Gainesville, FL — On February 6, 2009 the Green Party of Florida (GPF, http://www.floridagreens.org) joined with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS, http://www.nirs.org) and the Ecology Party to file a legal challenge to a new nuclear power plant proposed by Progress Energy Florida (PEF) for a site in Levy County, near Inglis, Florida.

The filing is a formal Petition to Intervene in the NRC’s licensing process for nuclear power plants, the latest in a series of such actions taken by NIRS and other groups nationwide to protect the health and safety of the public and the natural resources that are placed at risk by this industry. The interventions by parties with standing, which must follow rules established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), are intended to stop these nuclear boondoggles before construction work starts and millions of dollars are wasted.
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