June 2007 - Sustainability - list.sfgreens.org

Re: [Sustain] Fwd: CBS's Nuclear Revival
by Cal Broomhead 02 Aug '07

02 Aug '07

How about eliminating the Price Anderson Act? No insurance waiver means no nukes. We pushed a proposition in 1976 but it failed, though it sparked a lot of debate. Cal Broomhead and Kathleen Ribeiro broomhead(a)igc.org > [Original Message] > From: Don Eichelberger <done7777(a)sbcglobal.net> > To: Susan Swift <vencejo(a)mindspring.com> > Cc: <sustainability(a)sfgreens.org>; Lynda Hernandez <redwoodsforever(a)verizon.net>; <GPCA-Energy(a)yahoogroups.com>; <TrueGreen_NoNukes(a)yahoogroups.com> > Date: 6/12/2007 6:43:37 PM > Subject: Re: [Sustain] Fwd: CBS's Nuclear Revival > > I hope they were responsive to working together. > Seems we have "allies" almost everywhere we > look. It is a matter of finding ways to keep > each other in each other's loops and, if not > "coordinating efforts", at least making a buzz in unison. > > Overcoming the other side's media blitz will be a > big part of it. I am ccing the state Green Party > media guy, Cres, with a heads up that his help > would be good to have. The main media strategy > at present seems to be writing and responding to > blogs (my first blog is > www.greenuprising.blogspot.com) and writing > letters to editors for newspaper articles that promote nukes > > We need to do something newsworthy. We (SF Green > Sustainability Working Group) are considering > pushing Leno for stronger legislation than a > study, including opposing renewal of nuke > operating licenses in the state on the same grounds we now oppose new licenses. > > I would like to get something happening, > > Don > > At 07:48 AM 4/19/2007, you wrote: > >Great News! We have some allies outside the immediate environmental > >ncommunity. Thanks for sharing this Don. I'll write to CBS and FAIR. > > > >-Susan > > > >-- In TrueGreen_NoNukes(a)yahoogroups.com, Don Eichelberger > ><done7777@...> wrote: > > > > > > I looked at the 60 Minutes segment and said to > > > myself, "Noooooo! Not 60 Minutes, too!" I had > > > intended to respond to them, but got turned to > > > other things, until I got this alert. In case you want to respond.... > > > > > > Glad FAIR is doing this. > > > > > > Don > > > > > > >Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:27:06 -0700 > > > >From: "Richard A. Knee" <rak0408@...> > > > >To: "Knee Richard A." <rak0408@...> > > > >Subject: Fwd: CBS's Nuclear Revival > > > >------- Forwarded message ------- > > > >From: FAIR <fair@...> > > > >To: rak0408@... > > > >Cc: > > > >Subject: CBS's Nuclear Revival > > > >Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:34:18 -0700 > > > > > > > >http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3086 > > > > > > > >Action Alert > > > > > > > >CBS's Nuclear Revival > > > >60 Minutes' critic-free boosterism > > > > > > > >4/18/07 > > > > > > > >On April 8, the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes aired a segment about the > > > >"resounding success" of the French nuclear power program, > >suggesting that > > > >"emission-free" nuclear power might offer an easy solution to the > >problem > > > >of climate change. The report protected this dubious assertion from > > > >skeptical scrutiny by failing to quote a single bona fide critic of the > > > >nuclear industry. > > > > > > > >The segment was titled "Vive Les Nukes," which gave a good > >indication of > > > >the slant it took. Describing it as "an efficient means of > >producing large > > > >amounts of carbon-free energy," correspondent Steve Kroft announced > >at the > > > >top of the segment that nuclear power is "a technology whose time > >seemed > > > >to come and go, and may now be coming again." The notion of a nuclear > > > >power renaissance was bolstered by CBS's choice of interview guests�the > > > >program spoke only to nuclear power supporters (in France and > >elsewhere), > > > >thereby allowing their rhetoric to go unchallenged. > > > > > > > >Guests on the segment were French energy official Pierre Gadonniex, > >French > > > >nuclear industry executive Bertrande Durrande, White House deputy > > > >secretary of energy Clay Sell (Bush's "point man on nuclear power"), > > > >French nuclear executive Anne Lauvergeon, MIT nuclear researcher Andrew > > > >Kadak and David Jhirhad of the World Resources Institute, described > >as "an > > > >environmental think tank in Washington." > > > > > > > >Jhirhad was the only potentially balancing source, but he is quoted > >only > > > >to make Kroft's point that "even some environmental groups are taking a > > > >second look at nuclear power." This is an emerging line in much of the > > > >corporate media (e.g., Washington Post, 4/16/06; New York Times, > >2/27/07), > > > >though the actual number of green groups embracing nuclear power is > >quite > > > >small. The World Resources Institute receives contributions from > >several > > > >energy companies and other major polluters, information that would have > > > >been useful for CBS viewers in evaluating Jhirad's claim that the > >nuclear > > > >industry's "safety record has been pretty good." > > > > > > > >The segment's one-sided sourcing was made all the more problematic when > > > >the White House's Sell claimed that "no serious person can look at the > > > >challenge of greenhouse gases and climate change and not come to the > > > >conclusion that nuclear power has to play a significant and growing > >role > > > >in meeting that challenge worldwide." Of course, "serious people" do > > > >question precisely that--and CBS should have interviewed them. > > > > > > > >Excluding such sources meant excluding important information. While > > > >France's nuclear power is portrayed as widely popular, CBS failed to > > > >mention large protests held across the country on March 17 (Agence > >France > > > >Presse, 3/17/07) against construction of a new nuclear plant. Nor, in > > > >touting the massive nuclear reprocessing plant France has built in > > > >Normandy, did the show refer to the radiation it releases into the > >English > > > >Channel (NIRS Nuclear Monitor, 3-4/00) or the cluster of leukemia cases > > > >occurring around the plant (British Medical Journal, 1/11/97). > > > > > > > >Kroft even adopts industry-friendly language in describing the push to > > > >revive U.S. nuclear power, discussing the "financial incentives" and > > > >"streamlined regulatory system" intended to encourage nuclear energy > > > >development. Such "incentives" might better be described as government > > > >subsides, which have long been criticized by nuclear industry > >critics as a > > > >waste of taxpayers' money. Unmentioned in the CBS report were similar > > > >subsidies in France; according to the U.S.-based Institute for > >Energy and > > > >Environmental Research (5/4/06), $1 billion a year in government > >subsidies > > > >go to plutonium production alone. > > > > > > > >Excluding critical voices allowed grossly misleading information to go > > > >unchallenged, as when nuclear executive Lauvergeon claimed, in the > > > >segment's conclusion, that "wind and solar are, you know, temporary > > > >sources of energy. It works when you have wind, it works when you have > > > >sun. No sun, no wind, no energy. You don't want to watch TV only > >when you > > > >have wind." Of course, wind and solar energy are not "temporary" > >sources > > > >of energy; power generated by both can be stored. Airing this sort of > > > >misinformation eliminates any real consideration of viable > >alternatives to > > > >nuclear energy. > > > > > > > >At one point, Kroft says that "the Bush administration is pushing a > > > >nuclear revival." The same could be said for CBS. > > > > > > > > > > > >ACTION: > > > >Contact 60 Minutes to ask why its report on nuclear energy excluded the > > > >views of the industry's numerous critics. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >CONTACT: > > > >CBS 60 Minutes > > > >60m@... > > > >(212) 975-3247 > > > > > > > >****** > > > >Our subscriber list is kept confidential. To unsubscribe from this > >list > > > >at any time, visit our web at: > > > >http://www.demaction.org/fair/unsubscribe.jsp and follow the > > > >instructions. Or send an email to fair@... with > > > >"unsubscribe" in the subject line. > > > > > > > >Feel free to respond to FAIR ( fair@... ). We can't reply to > > > >everything, but we will look at each message. We especially appreciate > > > >documented examples of media bias or censorship. And please send > >copies of > > > >your email correspondence with media outlets, including any > >responses, to > > > >fair@... > > > > > > > >Your donation to FAIR goes a long way. Help us hold mainstream media > > > >accountable. Make a difference -- support FAIR today! > > > >http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=103 > > > > > > > >If you would prefer to receive these messages in HTML format, > >please visit > > > >our website to change your Email Preferences. Go to: > > > >http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/fair/signUp.jsp?key=708. > > > > > > > >SUBSCRIBE TO EXTRA! 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NAME="header_13" > >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_13.gif" WIDTH="82" HEIGHT="40" > >BORDER="0"></A></TD> > > > <TD COLSPAN="2"> > > >  > > > > > <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; > >color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 13&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D5"> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Counterspin" NAME="header_14" > >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_14.gif" WIDTH="123" HEIGHT="40" > >BORDER="0"></A></TD> > > > <TD COLSPAN="2"> > > >  > > > <a > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 14&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D6"> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Activism" NAME="header_15" > >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_15.gif" WIDTH="96" HEIGHT="40" > >BORDER="0"></A></TD> > > > </TR> > > > <TR> > > > <TD COLSPAN="11"> > > > <IMG ALT="Extra Collage" > >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_17.jpg" WIDTH="760" > >HEIGHT="27"></TD> > > > </TR> > > > <TR> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="266" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="57" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="39" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="97" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="9" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="68" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="5" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="60" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="29" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > <TD> > > > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" > >WIDTH="67" HEIGHT="1"></TD> > > > </TR> > > > </TABLE> > > > </td> > > > </tr> > > > <tr> > > > <td font-family:serif; font-size: 86%;> > > >  > > >  > > > <table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="3" width="769" border="0"> > > > <tr> > > > <td style="font-family:serif; font-size: 86%;" valign="top" > >width="526"> >color=#8f4444> >class=communique_category><a > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 15&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D3086">http://www.fair. org/index.php?page=3086</A>  > > > >class=communique_category>Action > >Alert >face=Georgia>CBS's Nuclear > >Revival >size=3>60 Minutes' critic-free > >boosterism >class=date>4/18/07 >class=published-content-body>On April 8, the > >CBS newsmagazine > >60 Minutes <a > > title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 16&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fstories%2F2007%2F04%2F06%2F60minutes%2 Fmain2655782.shtml" > >target=_blank>aired a > >segment</A> about the > >"resounding success" of the French nuclear power program, suggesting > >that "emission-free" nuclear power might offer an easy solution to the > >problem of climate change. The report protected this dubious assertion > >from skeptical scrutiny by failing to quote a single bona fide critic > >of the nuclear industry. The segment was titled "Vive Les > >Nukes," which gave a good indication of the slant it took. Describing > >it as "an efficient means of producing large amounts of carbon-free > >energy," correspondent Steve Kroft announced at the top of the segment > >that nuclear power is "a technology whose time seemed to come and go, > >and may now be coming again." The notion of a nuclear power > >renaissance was bolstered by >class=media_outlet>CBS's choice of interview > >guests�the program spoke only to nuclear power supporters (in France > >and elsewhere), thereby allowing their rhetoric to go > >unchallenged. Guests on the segment were French energy official > >Pierre Gadonniex, French nuclear industry executive Bertrande > >Durrande, White House deputy secretary of energy Clay Sell (Bush's > >"point man on nuclear power"), French nuclear executive Anne > >Lauvergeon, MIT nuclear researcher Andrew Kadak and David Jhirhad of > >the World Resources Institute, described as "an environmental think > >tank in Washington." Jhirhad was the only potentially balancing > >source, but he is quoted only to make Kroft's point that "even some > >environmental groups are taking a second look at nuclear power." This > >is an emerging line in much of the corporate media (e.g., >class=media_outlet>Washington Post, <a > > title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 17&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F20 06%2F04%2F14%2FAR2006041401209.html" > >target=_blank> >size=3>4/16/06</A>; >class=media_outlet>New York Times, <a > >title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 18&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2007%2F02%2F27%2Fscience%2Fearth%2F27t ier.html%3Fei%3D5088%26amp%3Ben%3Dde61beaa4b05ed09%26amp%3Bex%3D1330232400%2 6amp%3Bpartner%3Drssnyt%26amp%3Bemc%3Drss%26amp%3Bpagewanted%3Dprint" > >target=_blank> >size=3>2/27/07</A>), though > >the actual number of green groups embracing nuclear power is quite > >small. The World Resources Institute <a title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 19&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wri.org%2Fpartners%2Fcontrib_financial.cfm" > >target=_blank>receives > >contributions</A> from > >several energy companies and other major polluters, information that > >would have been useful for >class=media_outlet>CBS viewers in evaluating > >Jhirad's claim that the nuclear industry's "safety record has been > >pretty good." The segment's one-sided sourcing was made all the > >more problematic when the White House's Sell claimed that "no serious > >person can look at the challenge of greenhouse gases and climate > >change and not come to the conclusion that nuclear power has to play a > >significant and growing role in meeting that challenge worldwide." Of > >course, "serious people" do question precisely that--and >class=media_outlet>CBS should have interviewed > >them. Excluding such sources meant excluding important > >information. While France's nuclear power is portrayed as widely > >popular, CBS failed > >to mention large protests held across the country on March 17 ( >class=media_outlet>Agence France Presse, > >3/17/07) against construction of a new nuclear plant. Nor, in touting > >the massive nuclear reprocessing plant France has built in Normandy, > >did the show refer to the radiation it releases into the English > >Channel (NIRS Nuclear > >Monitor, <a title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 20&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nirs.org%2Fmononline%2Fcogemamonitor.htm" > >target=_blank> >size=3>3-4/00</A>) or the > >cluster of leukemia cases occurring around the plant ( >class=media_outlet>British Medical Journal, > ><a title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 21&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmj.com%2Fcgi%2Fcontent%2Ffull%2F314%2F7074%2F101" > >target=_blank> >size=3>1/11/97</A> >size=3>). Kroft even adopts industry-friendly language in > >describing the push to revive U.S. nuclear power, discussing the > >"financial incentives" and "streamlined regulatory system" intended to > >encourage nuclear energy development. Such "incentives" might better > >be described as government subsides, which have long been criticized > >by nuclear industry critics as a waste of taxpayers' money. > >Unmentioned in the >class=media_outlet>CBS report were similar > >subsidies in France; according to the U.S.-based Institute for Energy > >and Environmental Research (<a title="" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 22&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ieer.org%2Freports%2Fenergy%2Ffrance%2Flowcarbonrepo rt.pdf" > >target=_blank> >size=3>5/4/06</A>), $1 > >billion a year in government subsidies go to plutonium production > >alone. Excluding critical voices allowed grossly misleading > >information to go unchallenged, as when nuclear executive Lauvergeon > >claimed, in the segment's conclusion, that "wind and solar are, you > >know, temporary sources of energy. It works when you have wind, it > >works when you have sun. No sun, no wind, no energy. You don't want to > >watch TV only when you have wind." Of course, wind and solar energy > >are not "temporary" sources of energy; power generated by both can be > >stored. Airing this sort of misinformation eliminates any real > >consideration of viable alternatives to nuclear energy. At one > >point, Kroft says that "the Bush administration is pushing a nuclear > >revival." The same could be said for >class=media_outlet>CBS. >class=sub_headline>ACTION: Contact >class=media_outlet>60 Minutes to ask why its > >report on nuclear energy excluded the views of the industry's numerous > >critics. >class=sub_headline>CONTACT: >class=media_outlet>CBS > > >class=media_outlet>60 Minutes <A > >title="" href="mailto:60m@..."> >color=#015272 size=3>60m@...</A> >face=Georgia> (212) 975-3247 </td> > > > > > > <td style="font-family:serif; font-size: 86%;" valign="top" > >width="205"> > > > > > >  > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 23&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.democracyinaction.org%2Fdia%2Forganizations%2Ffa ir%2Fshop%2Fcustom.jsp%3Fdonate_page_KEY%3D2024"><IMG > >ALT="Donate" BORDER="0" > >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/side_donation.jpg"></A> > > >  > > > > > >  > > > <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="5" > >BORDERCOLOR="#464F5C"> > > > <TR><TD WIDTH="190" BGCOLOR="#464F5C"> > > > > > > <a > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 24&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D4"><IMG > >ALT="Extra!" 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And please send copies of your > > > correspondence with media outlets, including any responses, to > > > <A style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="mailto:fair@...">fair@...</a>. > > > </blockquote> > > > > > > </td> > > > </tr> > > > <tr> > > > > > > > > > <td style="font-family:serif; > > font-size: 86%;" align="center"> > > > > > > > > > <hr style="border:1; > > width=80%; color: #33516B; height:1px;" > >align="center"> > > > > > > <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; > >color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 33&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demaction.org%2Ffair%2Funsubscribe.jsp">Unsubscribe< /a> > >from the FAIR list > > > > > > If you would prefer to receive these messages in text format, > >please visit > > > our > > > website to <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; > >color:#015272" > > > > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 34&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demaction.org%2Fdia%2Forganizations%2Ffair%2Fprofile %2Flogin.jsp">change > > > your email preferences</a>. > > > > > > If you were > > forwarded this message and you want to receive > >future FAIR alerts > > > delivered directly to you, subscribe by clicking <a > >style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 35&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D129">here</a>. > > > > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 36&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php">Home</a> > >| > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 37&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D105">Contact > >Us</a> | > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 38&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D139">Support > >Us</a> | > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 39&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D144">RSS</a> > >| > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 40&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D145">Privacy > >Policy</a> | > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 41&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D130">Copyright > >Policy</a> > > > > > >  > > > <a > > style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >rel="license" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 42&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcreativecommons.org%2Flicenses%2Fby-nc-nd%2F2.0%2F"><img > >alt="Creative Commons License" border="0" > >src="http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gif" > >/></a> > > > > > > This work is licensed > > under a <a style="text-decoration:none; > >font-weight:bold; color:#015272" rel="license" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 43&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcreativecommons.org%2Flicenses%2Fby-nc-nd%2F2.0%2F">Crea tive > >Commons License</a>. > > > > > >  > > > > > > <hr style="border:1; > > width=20%; height: 1px; color: #33516B; > >text-align:center;"> > > > Site designed by the <a style="text-decoration:none; > >font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 44&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mayfirst.org">May > >First Technology Collective</a> > > > Email list services by > > <a style="text-decoration:none; > >font-weight:bold; color:#015272" > >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num= 45&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demaction.org">Democracy > >in Action</a> > > > > > > </td> > > > </tr> > > > </table> > > > > > > </BODY> > > > </HTML> > > > > > > <img width=1 height=1 > >src="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/TrackImage?key=325422084"><diaEma ilID='325422084' > >thread=5870 /> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sustainability mailing list > Sustainability(a)sfgreens.org > https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainability

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[Sustain] Newsom 'Signs' Community Choice Energy BUT With Insidious G.W. Bush Style Signing Statement
by Eric Brooks 30 Jun '07

30 Jun '07

Mayor Newsom signed the Community Choice renewable energy project into law at around 3pm today, but he included what is basically a George W. Bush style signing statement saying all the things he thinks are wrong with the legislation and directing the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission(SFPUC)to, on its own initiative, issue the Request For Information(RFI)* and thereby bypass the Local Agency Formation Commission(LAFCO) which was granted clear advisory oversight by the legislation to oversee all implementation documents before they are released. *(RFIs are released to get feedback from potential contract bidders, customers and the general public, before issuing a Request For Proposals(RFI) which is a document specifically calling for contract bids from companies that want to take on the project.) Newsom's signing statement is in blatant defiance of the will of the Board of Supervisors, which voted unanimously to give the LAFCO the oversight role. peace Eric Brooks

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[Sustain] Fwd: VICTORY - Black Mesa Water Coalition Stops Peabody Coal Installation
by Eric Brooks 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

*From Stop Peabody Coal, http://www.stoppeabody.org <ttp://www.stoppeabody.org%22>* * * *OSM has suspended work on the Environmental Impact Statement!* Southern California Edison terminated funding of the EIS on *May 18, 2007*. Southern California Edison announced its decision to discontinue efforts to sell the Mojave Generating Station to new owners who would restart the power plant. The Mojave Generating Station itself is not a part of the proposed Black Mesa Project, but the Black Mesa mining operation, coal slurry preparation plant, coal-slurry pipeline, and proposed Coconino water-supply system are dependent on resumption of operation of the power plant. See http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/WR/BlackMesaEIS.htm /and, from the Office of Surface Mining - Department of the Interior:/ / / *Black Mesa Project Draft EIS* <ttp://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/WR/BlackMesaDraftEIS.htm%22> http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/WR/BlackMesaDraftEIS.htm *NEW** Suspension of work on EIS* OSM has suspended work on the EIS. Southern California Edison terminated funding of the EIS effective May 18, 2007. By report [155KB, http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/WR/SCE%20PUC%20Filing.pdf ] to the California Public Utilities Commission on May 22, 2007, Southern California Edison announced its decision to discontinue efforts to sell the Mojave Generating Station to new owners who would restart the power plant. The Mojave Generating Station itself is not a part of the proposed Black Mesa Project, but the Black Mesa mining operation, coal slurry preparation plant, coal-slurry pipeline, and proposed Coconino water-supply system are dependent on resumption of operation of the power plant. ###

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[Sustain] Hearing Alert - SFPUC Will Discuss Williams Nat. Gas Turbines (CTs) At Its Next Meeting
by Eric Brooks 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

Hi all, I was watching this past Tuesday's San Francisco Public Utilities Commission(SFPUC) hearing and saw staff director Susan Leal on two occasions being openly defiant and manipulatively opposing Commissioners Brooks and Sklar when the issue of the Williams natural gas turbines (CTs) was brought up. A majority of the Commissioners, because of increasing public opposition, have been insisting that SFPUC staff (like Leal) no longer consider the new polluting gas turbine installation in Bayview Hunters Point as a certainty, and to instead follow the Commissioners' lead in pursuing other options. Because Leal and the Commissioners practically got into an open verbal conflict over the issue, a discussion of the turbine installation has been calendared for the next regular SFPUC meeting (which I assume will be Tuesday, July 10). This will be another opportunity for the public to speak against the turbines. peace Eric Brooks

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[Sustain] Sus WG Meeting thisThursday
by Don Eichelberger 25 Jun '07

25 Jun '07

This Thursday is the 28th, fourth of the month, and another time to get together and discuss sustainability. Thursday, 7:30 P.M. Sustainability Working Group meeting at the Green Party office, 1028-A Howard, near 6th. There is much going on, with CCA, the tidal power deal making going on between Newsome and PG&E, global warming/peak oil. Lots... See you there, Don

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[Sustain] Hoist a toast to CCA...
by Don Eichelberger 23 Jun '07

23 Jun '07

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[Sustain] EXTREMELY URGENT! Newsom May Veto Community Choice Renewable Energy - Flood His Offices With Calls - Inform All Phone Trees
by Eric Brooks 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

All, **Please Forward This Message Widely** We've just learned from Newsom's office that they are considering vetoing Community Choice. This is nothing short of a complete betrayal. After all our work, after all his statements of support, after addressing 3 years of interference from his appointees at the SFPUC, to even suggest he won't sign is unacceptable. Please help generate the uproar that is necessary. Please call your friends, volunteers, colleagues and activists and have them call Newsom at: 415-554-6141. We should shut the switchboard down. If that number stops working, call to leave a message at the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services: 554-7111 The Mayor's FAX is: 554-6160 Let's flood those suckers! And if those start getting blocked - CALL 311 they're not going to block that phone number!

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[Sustain] Excellent Economist Article On Biofuels
by Eric Brooks 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Hi all, Here is a great article to share with our skeptics on the economic, agricultural, and land use dangers of biofuels, from the most respected journal on economics in the world, The Economist. See below, or http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9378875 Agricultural commodities Biofuelled Jun 21st 2007 From /The Economist/ print edition Grain prices go the way of the oil price EVERY morning millions of Americans confront the latest trend in commodities markets at their kitchen table. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, rising prices for crops---dubbed "agflation"---has begun to drive up the cost of breakfast. The price of orange juice has risen by a quarter over the past year, eggs by a fifth and milk by roughly 5%. Breakfast-cereal makers, such as Kellogg's and General Mills, have also raised their prices. Underpinning these rises is a sharp increase in the prices of grains such as corn (maize) and wheat, both of which recently hit ten-year highs. Analysts are beginning to ask, as they have of oil and metals, whether higher prices are here to stay. On the face of it, that is an odd question. After all, if the world runs short of corn or wheat, farmers can simply grow more, weather permitting. That is exactly what they have been doing. In the coming year, the International Grains Council, an industry group, estimates that global production of grains will reach a record of 1,660m tonnes, well above last year's figure of 1,569m. But demand for grain is growing even faster. The council reckons it will reach 1,680m tonnes this year. In three of the past four years, demand has exceeded supply. The culprit is the growing use of grains to make biofuels, such as ethanol. Most grains are used as food either for people or for livestock. But the increase in human consumption has been slowing for decades as population growth moderates. Demand for animal feed, meanwhile, has grown steadily, as more people in booming countries such as China grow rich enough to afford meat. Demand for biofuel feedstocks, by contrast, is soaring. The amount of corn used to make ethanol in America has tripled since 2000; ethanol distilleries now consume a fifth of the country's corn crop. And America is only one of 41 countries where governments are encouraging the use of biofuels to reduce oil consumption. As a result, demand for grains has accelerated. During the 1990s, when oil was cheap and biofuels unheard of, demand grew by 1.2% a year, according to Goldman Sachs. But in recent years, it has increased by 1.4%, and over the next decade, Goldman projects, it will rise by 1.9% annually. Farmers are struggling to keep up. The Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company of /The Economist/, projects that demand for corn, at least, will continue to exceed supply until at least 2009. Moreover, even to produce as much corn as they are now, farmers are growing less soya and wheat, and so pushing up the prices of those crops too. With all the main grains to feed poultry and livestock becoming more expensive, the cost of meat and eggs is rising, and so it goes on. When demand was growing more slowly, farmers could meet it through gradual improvements in their yields. But to cope with today's boom, yields will have to rise much faster, or farmers will have to bring more land into production. Both are possible. Greater adoption of genetically modified strains of corn and wheat, for example, could improve yields. But they are expensive and politically controversial. There is also quite a bit of fallow land to be sowed, especially in developing agricultural powers such as Brazil and Ukraine. But those countries are far from the biggest markets and their idle land tends to be found in areas with poor transport links. A strong price signal will be needed to overcome such obstacles and induce extra supplies. But even if new land is planted, argues Jeffrey Currie of Goldman Sachs, it will not necessarily reduce the cost of grains. Since high oil prices and generous government subsidies ensure that biofuels are profitable, any extra grain will be used to make more of the stuff. That will not dent the oil price, since the volumes remain tiny compared with global oil consumption. Instead, the price of biofuels has risen to that of petrol, and the price of corn and crude oil, the main feedstocks for the two, have converged (see chart). For grain prices to fall, Mr Currie argues, either governments must pull the plug on biofuels programmes, or the oil price must fall. Neither seems very likely in the near future. This week America's Congress is debating whether to double its targets for biofuel production. At the same time, the oil price rose to its highest level in ten months, thanks to a strike and other disruptions in Nigeria. The chaos in the Niger delta, it turns out, has a surprising amount to do with the price of eggs.

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[Sustain] Fwd: CPUC01-#285132-v1-Answer_to_Amended_Complaint__EL07-49-000.DOC
by Michael Boyd 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Eric, Read your e-mail the SF peakers are under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. I've attached the response we received today from the CPUC to our complaint. Any letters you get against the project should also be forwarded to FERC under docket EL07-49 so that have them on file. Mike Boyd-CARE Note: forwarded message attached.

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[Sustain] New Campaign: Stop SFPUC Gas Power Plant In Bayview & Fully Implement CCA
by Eric Brooks 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Hey all, Now that we've passed Community Choice energy, and there will likely arise a successful project bid, we need to fight hard to stop the SFPUC's proposed new polluting gas power plant installation in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point. With large scale renewables coming on line, there is no need for this throwback to the 20th century to be built. Our City has run a letter writing campaign to the SFPUC Commissioners and Bevan Dufty for a couple of months now, and the Commissioners are starting to turn against building the plant. (However the SFPUC -staff- is still pushing them hard to build it!) Please see Our City's new campaign page at http://our-city.org/campaigns/index.html and please help spread the word. cheers, Eric Brooks

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