Monday, March 28, 2011

ISSUES: LePage removes historic Mural over weekend ... calls protestors "idiots".



Mural removed over weekend from Department of Labor offices
By Kevin Miller, BDN Staff
Posted March 28, 2011, at 10:22 a.m.
Last modified March 28, 2011, at 11:23 a.m.

AUGUSTA, Maine — A labor-themed mural that has become a flashpoint between Gov. Paul LePage, unions and Maine artists was removed from its prominent location in a state building over the weekend, administration officials confirmed Monday.

Administration spokespersons Dan Demeritt and Adrienne Bennett would not say when, exactly, crews took down the 11-panel mural depicting the history Maine’s labor movement.

“It is safely in storage and we are anticipating its relocation to a more appropriate location,” Demeritt said Monday morning.

Friday, more than 200 protesters gathered at the Department of Labor building in Augusta to show their opposition to the removal of the 3-year-old mural. Some in the crowd said they would employ non-violent tactics of civil disobedience to block the mural’s removal. LePage responded, in an interview with WCSH6, by saying if protesters formed a human chain around the mural as they were planning, “I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

“The Department of Labor has an important job to do for workers and employers and we just didn’t have time for distractions,” Demeritt said.

The LePage administration decided to remove the mural after receiving a handful of complaints from citizens and business owners who viewed it as too pro-union for a department that is responsible for working with both employers and employees. The painting’s defenders, meanwhile, describe it as a piece of art that depicts important events, themes and figures in Maine’s labor history.

Portland officials have indicated they might be willing to house the mural in City Hall, but such a move would have to be approved by the City Council.






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Sunday, March 27, 2011

ENERGY: Get to know your neighbourhood radionuclides.

Electron shell 094 PlutoniumImage via Wikipedia

Commonly Encountered Radionuclides

Approximately 2,300 nuclides have been identified; most of them are radioactive.

Which nuclides are radioactive?

Unstable nuclides of any element can exist. However, almost all elements that are heavier than bismuth, which has 83 protons, have an unstable nucleus; they are radioactive and are known as "heavy nuclides." Nuclides with fewer than 83 protons are known as "light nuclides."
While there are hundreds of radionuclides, many of them are rarely encountered. People are much more likely to encounter a few that are used routinely for medical, military, or commercial purposes. The list below and accompanying fact sheets discuss twelve radionuclides. They are the ones most commonly used and most commonly found in Superfund Sites.
Please note: Where an element is listed rather than an individual radionuclide, the element has several radioactive isotopes of interest:
Fact Sheets on Commonly Encountered Radionuclides
 Radiation Type
NameAtomic NumberAlphaBetaGamma
americium-24195Americium is primarily an alpha particle emitter. It also emits some gamma rays. Americium primarily emits alpha particles, but also emits some gamma rays.
cesium-13755 Cesium-137 is a beta particle emitter.Cesium-137 is a gamma emitter.
cobalt-6027 Cobalt-60 is a beta particle emitter.Cobalt-60 is a gamma emitter.
iodine-129 &-131 53 Iodine-129 and -131 are beta particle emittersIodine-129 and -131 are gamma ray emitters
plutonium94Most plutonium isotopes are alpha particle emitters; some emit other forms of radiation.Most plutonium isotopes are alpha particle emitters; some emit other forms of radiation.Most plutonium isotopes are alpha particle emitters; some emit other forms of radiation.
radium88Radium isotopes are alpha particle emitters. Radium isotopes are also gamma ray emitters.
radon86The isotopes of radon are alpha particle emitters.  
strontium-9038 Strontium-90 is a beta particle emitter.  
technetium-9943 Technitium-99 is a beta particle emitter. Technitium-99m  is a gamma emitter.
tritium * 1 Tritium is a beta particle emitter.  
thorium90Thorium emits alpha particles with gamma rays Thorium emits alpha particles with gamma rays
uranium92Uranium is an alpha particle emitter. Uranium is a gamma ray emitter.
* tritium is a specific isotope, H-3.

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Saturday, March 19, 2011

ENERGY: Ralph Nader on our Nuclear Nightmare ... who will pay and why.


Nuclear Nightmare

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.

Because of many costs, perils, close calls at various reactors, and the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, there has not been a nuclear power plant built in the United States since 1974.

Now the industry is coming back “on your back” claiming it will help reduce global warming from fossil fuel emitted greenhouse gases.

Pushed aggressively by President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu, who refuses to meet with longtime nuclear industry critics, here is what “on your back” means:

1. Wall Street will not finance new nuclear plants without a 100% taxpayer loan guarantee. Too risky. That’s a lot

March 19, 2011… “SuperMoon” or “SuperHype”?

Watch to the east tonight as the Supermoon rises. Highest tide ... highest seismic risk.
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by TAMMY PLOTNER on MARCH 10, 2011


Credit: JPL/NASA

I mean no disrespect for those who enjoy the study of astrology. Some of the greatest astronomers of the past were also astrologers. To practice either line requires a deep understanding of our solar system, its movements and the relationship to the celestial sphere. The only thing I have difficulty swallowing is how a perfectly normal function could wreak havoc on planet Earth. Does an astrological prediction of an upcoming “Extreme SuperMoon” spell impending disaster – or is it just one more attempt to excite our natural tendencies to love a good gloom and doom story? That’s what I set about to find out…

On March 19, 2011 the Moon will pass by Earth at a distance of 356,577 kilometers (221,567 miles) – the closest pass in 18 years . In my world, this is known as lunar perigee and a normal lunar perigee averaging a distance of 364,397 kilometers (226,425 miles) happens… well… like clockwork once every orbital period. According to astrologer, Richard Nolle, this month’s closer than average pass is called an Extreme SuperMoon. “SuperMoon is a word I coined in a 1979 article for Dell Publishing Company’s HOROSCOPE magazine, describing what is technically termed a perigee-syzygy; i.e. a new or full Moon (syzygy) which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth (perigee) in a given orbit.” says Richard. “In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.”

Opinions aside, it is a scientific fact when the Moon is at perigee there is more gravitational pull, creating higher tides or significant variations in high and low tides. In addition, the tidal effect of the Sun’s gravitational field increases the Moon’s orbital eccentricity when the orbit’s major axis is aligned with the Sun-Earth vector. Or, more specifically, when the Moon is full or new. We are all aware of Earth’s tidal bulges. The average tidal bulge closely follows the Moon in its orbit, and the Earth rotates under this tidal bulge in just over a day. However, the rotation drags the position of the tidal bulge ahead of the position directly under the Moon. It produces torque… But is it above average torque when the Moon is closer? It you ask a geologist, they’ll tell you no. If you ask an astronomer, they’ll tell you that just about any cataclysmic Earth event can be related to stars. But if you ask me, I’ll tell you that you should draw your own opinion. Even the American Meteorlogical Society states: “Tidal forces contribute to ocean currents, which moderate global temperatures by transporting heat energy toward the poles. It has been suggested that in addition to other factors, harmonic beat variations in tidal forcing may contribute to climate changes.”




Credit: Richard Nolle“SuperMoons are noteworthy for their close association with extreme tidal forces working in what astrologers of old used to call the sublunary world: the atmosphere, crust and oceans of our home planet – including ourselves, of course. From extreme coastal tides to severe storms to powerful earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the entire natural world surges and spasms under the sway of the SuperMoon alignment – within three days either way of the exact syzygy, as a general rule.” says Nolle. “Obviously it won’t be the case that all hell will break loose all over the world within a few days either side of the SuperMoons. For most of us, the geocosmic risk raised by SuperMoon alignments will pass with little notice in our immediate vicinity. This is a rather roomy planet, after all. But the fact remains that a SuperMoon is planetary in scale, being a special alignment of Earth, Sun and Moon. It’s likewise planetary in scope, in the sense that there’s no place on Earth not subject to the tidal force of the perigee-syzygy.”

If you take the time to really look at Nolle’s work, you’ll find that he does not believe earthquakes and volcanic eruptions go wandering all over the planet. They happen in predictable locations, like the infamous “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific plate. “If you’re in (or plan to be in) a place that’s subject to seismic upheaval during a SuperMoon stress window, it’s not hard to figure out that being prepared to the extent that you can is not a bad idea. Likewise, people on the coast should be prepared for extreme tidal surges. Severe storms on the other hand can strike just about anywhere, so it behooves us all to be ready for rough weather when a SuperMoon alignment forms.”

Does this mean I’m about to buy into astrology? Not hardly. But what I do believe in is respect for other’s work and opinions. It’s very obvious that Nolle has done his astronomy homework – as well as paying close attention to current political and social situations. “That said, there’s no harm in making sensible preparations for this year’s SuperMoons.” quips Richard. “The worst that can happen, if the worst doesn’t happen, is that you end up with a stock of fresh batteries and candles, some extra bottled water and canned goods, maybe a full tank of gas and an evacuation bag packed just in case. (The US Department of Homeland Security has a detailed evacuation kit inventory that, to quote them, “could mean the difference between life and death”.) And maybe you’ll think twice about being in transit and vulnerable to the weather hazards and delays that are so common during SuperMoon alignments. These are the kind of sensible precautions that can make a big difference if the worst does come to pass.”

What do I believe will happen during an Extreme SuperMoon? I think if we aren’t having two snowstorms followed by a nocturnal tornado and then chased down by a week of flooding in Ohio, that the March Worm Moon will appear to be about 30% brighter and about 15% larger than a “normal” full Moon. If I were an astrophotographer, I’d be getting out my camera (and hip waders) to do a few comparison shots with upcoming full Moons. But considering all things are equal?

I think I’ll just stay home.

Be sure to visit Richard Nolle’s page SuperMoon for more insight!


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Thursday, March 17, 2011

NUCLEAR CONCERNS: Report outlines problems at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant

Report outlines problems at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant

March 17, 2011 | 2:28 pm



The reactor at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo operated for a year and a half with some emergency systems disabled, according to a 2010 safety review by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The incident was one of 14 “near-misses” the NRC uncovered in its inspections of nuclear power plants where problems had been occurring. An analysis by the group Union of Concerned Scientists concluded that “many of these significant events occurred because reactor owners, and often the NRC, tolerated known safety problems.”

The NRC found a range of problems at the 14 plants, including poor design, equipment failure, poor training and human error.

The issue at the Diablo Canyon plant, which is operated by Pacific Gas & Electric, involved malfunctioning valves that prevented other valves from opening. The valves were improperly repaired and subsequent tests failed to detect the problem, according to the report.

Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that the NRC’s inspections suggest that nuclear plants “continue to experience problems with safety-related equipment and worker errors that increase the risk of damage to the reactor core.”

The UCS report also cited three instances in which NRC inspectors aggressively pursued power plant operators to enforce safety standards.

-- Julie Cart

Photo: Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Credit: Los Angeles Times

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ENERGY:Nuclear Power Plants in Canada.

For the record. Here is a list of all Canadian nuclear reactors.



Courtesy Canadian Nuclear Society

On the map, circles represent research reactors, triangles represent commercial facilities. Please refer to CNS' site map for more detail.

Research 1-Univ Alberta, Edmonton (S), 2-Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon (S), 3-AECL Whiteshell (WR-1, S Demo), 4-McMaster Univ, Hamilton (P), 5-Univ. Toronto (S), 6-Royal Military College, Kingston (S), 7-AECL Chalk River Laboratories (NRU, NRX, PTR, ZED-2, ZEEP), 8-Nordion, Kanata (S), 9-Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal (S), 10-Dalhousie Univ., Halifax (S). S=Slowpoke II (20 kw); P=Swimming Pool (5 MW). AECL's Whiteshell reactors and Chalk River NRX and ZEEP reactors are shutdown.

Commercial 1-Bruce and Douglas Point, 2-Pickering, 3-Darlington, 4-Gentilly, 5-Point Lepreau, 6-NPD. Douglas Point, Gentilly 1, and NPD have been decommissioned; Bruce A2 is mothballed.

Canada has focused on the CANDU (Canadian Deuterium-Uranium) design, which uses heavy water as the moderator and coolant and natural uranium as the fuel. Canadian companies operating the reactors are - Ontario Power Generation (Nuclear division), Bruce Power, and Quebec Hydro - and the New Brunswick Power Commission operate the commercial facilities.

Canadian nuclear reactors are regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the successor to the former Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB)

More information here.

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ENERGY: LePage administration still eyeing nuclear, despite Japan crisis

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.Image via WikipediaBy Kevin Miller, BDN Staff
Posted March 16, 2011, at 8:54 p.m.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Gov. Paul LePage still regards nuclear power as a potential option for Maine’s future energy mix despite the unfolding crisis in Japan, according to his spokesman.

“What is happening in Japan is tragic,” Dan Demeritt, the governor’s communications director, said Wednesday. “But we are not changing our position that we need to consider all energy options going forward.”

Meanwhile, officials with the decommissioned Maine Yankee nuclear power plant, say the events taking place in Japan could not happen at the Wiscasset site due to differences between an operating plant and a non-working facility.

“It’s just not comparable,” said Maine Yankee spokesman Eric Howes.

Not long ago, nuclear was part of Maine’s energy mix, and LePage has said that he supports keeping nuclear power on the table as Maine seeks to reduce energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Demeritt said Wednesday the governor continues to support exploring “any option that would safely reduce the costs for Maine businesses and families” as the state seeks a broader energy mix.

That said, Demeritt said, to his knowledge, the administration is “not having those conversations at this point” with any potential developers.

The situation in Japan appears to be cooling the appetite for nuclear energy elsewhere in New England and across the country, however. In Vermont, the trouble-plagued Vermont Yankee nuclear plant likely faces even more opposition in the legislature to its request for a 20-year license extension after the nuclear disaster in Japan.

“I don’t think they had a pulse last week, but we’ve picked out the casket now,” Rep. Tony Klein, chairman of the Vermont House committee that oversees Vermont Yankee, said of the plant’s political prospects in the state.

When Maine Yankee was operating in Wiscasset, it generated nearly 120 billion kilowatts of electricity between 1972 and 1996. The plant was shut down and gradually dismantled beginning in 1997.

Today, all that is left of the Maine Yankee plant on Bailey Point is 64 “dry cask canisters” that hold the spent nuclear fuel rods and other radioactive materials. Those dry canisters are different from the spent fuel pools formerly used in Wiscasset and still used at the Japanese plants facing potential meltdowns, Howes said

The spent fuel in Wiscasset is encapsulated in thick, sealed stainless steel canisters which are then encased in a 2 ½-inch thick steel liner plus 28-inch thick concrete cylinders reinforced with steel.

Howes did not have specific numbers handy on Wednesday but said that, as part of Maine Yankee’s safety permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the facility was designed to withstand an earthquake bigger than the largest recorded ever for that region. Maine Yankee’s fuel storage facility is also designed to withstand tornadoes and hurricanes of historic proportions for that area, he said.

In fact, the 300,000-pound concrete canisters are designed so that even if they toppled over they would stay sealed, he said.

Additionally, unlike at an operating nuclear plant, there are no high-pressure pipes or other mechanical systems that would propel radiation into the atmosphere if there was a leak.

As a result, the “emergency planning zone” or exclusion zone is restricted to the 300-meter site around the storage facility, whereas during Maine Yankee’s operating days the zone surrounded the plant for 10 miles.

Instead, the storage canisters use a passive system of air to cool the rods.

“It’s a passive system that doesn’t require any electricity or pumps,” Howes said. The facility is nonetheless monitored around the clock.

The federal government was supposed to remove the spent fuel from Wiscasset and other plants across the country. But that never happened amid the political battles over where to site a large storage facility. As a result, Maine Yankee and ratepayers pick up the estimated $6 million to $8 million annual tab to store and monitor the radioactive fuel.

Across the country, the nuclear industry is coming under new scrutiny with questions being raised about whether a big dose of bad news about the technology might cool the ardor for a renaissance in the industry.

“The timing could not be worse,” said Richard Levick, CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington-based firm that advises companies on how to handle public-relations crises. “We saw the American nuclear industry really starting to reposition itself for growth. At best this is a short-term setback.”

As the crisis in Japan worsened, U.S. nuclear industry officials were scrambling to reassure the public. New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., which owns Vermont Yankee and other plants, issued a statement saying “lessons will be learned and translated to even greater safety and effectiveness to meet the challenges of the most adverse and unexpected events, creating stronger public confidence in U.S. nuclear programs.”

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last week that it would grant the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant a 20-year extension on its operating license. However, in Vermont, the state legislature must also sign off on granting an extension, and legislative leaders suggested they have no interest in bringing the issue up for a vote.

Vermont Yankee is a General Electric boiling-water reactor with a GE Mark 1 containment dating from the early 1970s — the same as the Fukushima reactors in Japan. Vermont Yankee spokesman Larry Smith said the plant was designed to withstand a magnitude-6.2 earthquake, slightly larger than the strongest recorded earthquake to hit the region, a magnitude-6 temblor centered in East Haddam, Conn., in 1791.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

FUNDY NUCLEAR: Things you need to know about radiation.

More at: http://www.scribd.com/my_document_collections/2915013

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Started Point Lepreau Nuclear Files Collection


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PEI storm surges the new normal, residents hear. What about the Bay of Fundy?

CBC News
Posted: Mar 16, 2011 8:15 AM AT
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2011 8:15 AM AT
A storm surge on Dec. 21 swamped a number of buildings, including this barn in Long River. (Submitted by Marion Paynter)


Coastal communities along P.E.I.'s North Shore need to prepare themselves for the impacts from climate change, a watershed management group was told Tuesday night.
'People living around the coast are noticing big changes.'— Erin Taylor, climate change coordinator

About two dozen residents gathered at the North Rustico Lions Club to hear a panel of experts discuss how climate change will hit North Shore communities.

Flooding from storm surges, a combination of high tides and water driven on shore by strong winds, was a major focus of the meeting.

"We're going to see bigger storm surges and they're going to occur more frequently," said Erin Taylor, climate change coordinator for the provincial Department of Environment.

Taylor said storm surges like the one the North Shore saw on Dec. 21, in the 3.6-metre range, currently come about once every 20 years. By the 2050s, they are expected to happen once every two years.

"I think with some of the recent storms we have had people living around the coast are noticing big changes in erosion," said Taylor.

"They've seen flooding in areas perhaps they haven't seen flooding before, and we heard that tonight. So those are some of the issues that they're dealing with." The encroaching sea is also affecting local wells, with salt water creeping in.

Jim Newson, who operates an organic farm and bed and breakfast in New Glasgow, said he's worried about how his property will stand up to more storm surges and soil erosion in the future.

"I do have a bank that's fairly high, 20 to 30 feet. And at the bottom of that bank there's some of the actual bank that's eroding away," said Newson.

"It's a concern."

Research is underway at the Department of the Environment to help prepare coastal communities for the impacts of climate change. It's currently collecting data to project which communities will be most at risk of bearing the brunt of future storm surges. Those findings will be released next year.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

BREAKING NEWS: Downeast LNG is still in the game in Passamaquoddy Bay

A liquefied natural gas tanker arrives in Bost...
Submission to FERC just in:

On March 12, 2009, Downeast LNG’s option to purchase the proposed site land was extended for a period of four years (See Exhibit-1). The current option to purchase the proposed site land expires on June 16, 2013.
Respondent: Robert C. Wyatt, Downeast LNG
Position: Environment and Permitting


Image via Wikipedia

Sunday, March 13, 2011

ECONOMICS: It's the environment Stupid!



How to get it through their stupid heads. The environment IS economics! The battle over LNG in the International Quoddy Region would see the loss of thousands of jobs based on the environment with UNDER 100 jobs being created and the loss of over a quarter of a billion dollars in annual income with virtually no dollars staying in the region. Not to mention that the environment is the foundation of all life including us. Stupid or what!

Art

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Letters to the editor March 12, 2011

Posted March 11, 2011, at 8:33 p.m.

Investment delayed

I was shocked and saddened to read of Gov. LePage’s proposal to zone three million acres of Maine’s irreplaceable North Woods for development. My family has vacationed in the state since the 1930s and owned property here for most of this time.  As a result of the governor’s actions, we have unfortunately placed our future plans on hold, including a major new investment in the state.

These are difficult economic times, but this is exactly the wrong approach to solving them. Maine has one defining characteristic that sets it apart from most of the East Coast — its quality of life. This is the Maine “brand” that supports a $10 billion tourism industry and is a major draw for new businesses. How can a proposal that  detracts from the current economic base, hurts our ability to attract progressive growth businesses (and their high paying jobs), and permanently destroys the very definition of Maine be a step forward? Are strip malls and condos the vision we all share for Maine’s future? I think not.


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POLLUTION:Domoic acid may be reason for sardine kill in California.

Why we need close inspection of our fisheries in the Bay of Fundy. Art

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Millions of dead sardines with neurotoxin to be used as food fertilizer

More than 85 tons of sardines that died late Monday in King Harbor, California, have been scooped up and hauled away to a composting center where they will be turned into fertilizer. High levels of a powerful neurotoxin were found in their bodies. Domoic acid has been linked to neurological disorders, illnesses and deaths of seabirds, sea lions, sea otters and whales. When it accumulates in edible fish and shellfish, it can sicken humans. University of Southern California biologist David Caron warned that animals feasting on the sardines will probably die. So why are they putting the sardines in human food fertilizer? ~ Ed.
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