Nuclear Power

Israel Moves to Muzzle Nuclear Whistleblower

At a preliminary court hearing, Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu declined to enter a plea on twenty-one charges that he spoke with U.S., British, Australian and French journalists. After revealing the existence of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times in 1986, Vanunu was imprisoned for eighteen years.

Warm Feelings for Dirty Energy

At the Australian coal industry's annual conference, Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane chastised attendees "for allowing the debate over the nation's future energy supply to be hijacked by a 'green media machine.'" Macfarlane suggested the industry "start telling consumers about the work being done on low-emissions technology" and warning about renewable energy costs.

Nuclear Energy Is the New Black

At a conference on the future of nuclear power, International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei "pointed to nuclear energy policy plans in China, Finland, the United States and possibly Poland as proof that nuclear power may be returning to vogue." U.S.

Feeling Noncommittal

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is "wondering just what the nation's nuclear power companies are up to these days." While "taking steps toward building new reactors," the companies are "each emphasizing they have 'made no commitment' at all to actually building new nuclear plants." According to the paper, "The industrywide use of the 'no commitment' mantra is no accident.

Playing Spin the Atom, Once Again

"The new year saw the launch of a well-orchestrated, multi-pronged campaign calling for America to end its dependence on oil through massive federal investments in nuclear energy," warns Patrick Doherty.

Chain Reaction Letters

A "rare mailing" sent to 100,000 homes within 10 miles of "the oldest commercial [nuclear] reactor in the country," New Jersey's Oyster Creek plant, informed residents that "radiation is everywhere - in the air, in the soil and even in their bodies." AmerGen, which owns the plant, said the mailing "help[s] the company meet federal requirements mandating that reactor owners teach the public about radiation and its effects." The Asbury Park Press writes that the mailing "coincides with a push by AmerGen," as it prepares "to apply for

Nuclear Energy's Green Glow

The nuclear industry is painting itself green. Proclaiming nuclear power as a clean-air solution to coal and gas fueled power plants, industry lobbyists are trying to win credits for not polluting the air. ''We have all this generation and it produces zero emissions," Brent Dorsey, director of corporate environmental programs for Entergy, which owns Vermont Yankee and the Pilgrim plant, told the Boston Globe.

Future's So Bright, Gotta Wear Shades

"As part of the Bush administration's effort to boost the nuclear power industry, physics students at Langley High School will become the first in the country to use a new curriculum from the U.S. Department of Energy that promotes nuclear energy," reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Image Over Substance: Nuclear Energy in the News

The New York Times profiles Jim Steets, Entergy Nuclear Northeast's external communications manager, who, we learn, has "an easy smile"; waxes "rhapsodic about the benefits and proficiencies of Indian Point," a nuclear power plant near New York City; and is "boyish-looking" and "well, a nice guy." In a shorter piece (albeit one further up in the paper), the Times reports that a Government Accountability Office auditor c

Dumping the Dump

After years of trying to build an unpopular nuclear waste dump in South Australia, Prime Minister John Howard has reversed himself and abandoned the project, fearing a voter backlash. "As he pressed the flesh in four key marginal seats, Mr. Howard became acutely aware of the resentment in the community over a nuclear dump being forced on the state and the potential electoral fallout," report Paul Starick and Leanne Craig. "Having declared repeatedly that his government is only eight seats from oblivion, Mr. Howard needed to shake off the dump as an electoral liability. ...

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