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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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[Sustain] 50 Percent Solar & Wind Power For SF Passes BUT Needs Mayor's Signature!
by Eric Brooks 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

Hi all, Please Forward Widely! Yesterday, June, 19, 2007 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed ground breaking legislation that will build enough solar, wind and energy efficiency projects to power San Francisco on 50% clean, renewable energy within the next decade. Called Community Choice, the project also puts an end to San Francisco's century long dependence on PG&E for its electricity supply. ( more details at http://our-city.org/campaigns/communitychoice.html ) Ask The Mayor To Sign Today! It is crucial that the Mayor sign this legislation into law as soon as possible, because PG&E is preparing to build 10 new polluting power plants in California, then build a pipeline from Oregon to California to pipe in massive amounts of liquid natural gas to burn in them, and finally, make us as PG&E customers pay for it all. The sooner we get the Community Choice renewable project underway, the more we will be protected from such anti-environmental and anti-consumer plans from PG&E. Tell the Mayor he needs to sign Community Choice into law today! Cut and paste the sample letter below, then add a few words of your own with your name and address, and email the message to the Mayor at: gavin.newsom(a)sfgov.org SAMPLE LETTER Dear Mayor Newsom, Thank you so much for your past support of the Community Choice renewable energy project. It is crucial that you sign the Community Choice legislation into law today so that San Francisco can immediately start leading the world to solve the global climate crisis! Thanks! [your name and address here] END OF SAMPLE LETTER

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[Sustain] CCA won approval in SF- let's celebrate!
by Don Eichelberger 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

Today, Board of Supervisors formally approved CCA on a vote of 9-2, with Alioto-Pier and Jew opposing. A few of us think it would be good to get together and celebrate. Paul is leaving with Julia next week for Europe, but said he would like to get together with others before he leaves and lift one to the CCA- Sunday evening was suggested. I'm looking for some place in D5, maybe lower Haight, where we can get together on short notice, celebrate, and wish Paul and Julia bon voyage. If you have suggestions or want to help put something together, call me. Don-- 415-567-4577

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[Sustain] David Fridley presentation on You Tube
by Don Eichelberger 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SktIYTyC1U I have uploaded the first 9 minutes of David Fridley's April presentation on the Myths of Biofuels I taped. Here is the link to it at You Tube. 10 minutes is all I can upload at a time, so as I get time : ) I can put up other clips. Now that I know I can do it, maybe next time, I can get better video quality. It's a start, Don

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[Sustain] Notes of 5/31/07 Sustainability WG meeting
by Don Eichelberger 14 Jun '07

14 Jun '07

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Re: [Sustain] Fwd: CBS's Nuclear Revival
by Don Eichelberger 13 Jun '07

13 Jun '07

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 gueststhe > > >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! AND GET FAIR FOUNDER JEFF COHEN'S NEW BOOK FOR >FREE: > > >Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media > > >http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=106 > > > > > >FAIR SHIRTS: Get your "Don't Trust the Corporate Media" shirt today at > > >FAIR's online store: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=110 > > > > > >FAIR produces CounterSpin, a weekly radio show heard on over 130 >stations > > >in the U.S. and Canada. To find the CounterSpin station nearest >you, visit > > >http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=115 > > > > > >FAIR > > >(212) 633-6700 > > >http://www.fair.org/ > > >E-mail: fair@... > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >/*Your email ID. <diaEmailID='325422084' thread=5870/>--*/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> > > <HTML> > > <HEAD> > > <TITLE>FAIR Email</TITLE> > > > > <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> > > </HEAD> > > > > <BODY style="font-family:serif; margin-top:0; >margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0,margin-right:0; >padding-right:0,padding-left:0; background-color:#FFFFFF;" >BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" LEFTMARGIN="0" TOPMARGIN="0" MARGINWIDTH="0" >MARGINHEIGHT="0"> > > > >  > > > > <table width="790"> > > <tr> > > <td> > > > > <TABLE WIDTH="760" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0"> > > <TR> > > <TD> > > >  > > > <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; >color:#015272" >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num=1&url=…"> > > <IMG ALT="FAIR Logo Top" >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_01.gif" WIDTH="266" HEIGHT="62" >BORDER="0"></A></TD> > > <TD COLSPAN="10" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> > > > <IMG ALT="Spacer" SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/spacer.gif" >WIDTH="494" HEIGHT="62"></TD> > > </TR> > > <TR> > > <TD> > > >  > > > <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; >color:#015272" >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num=2&url=…"> > > <IMG ALT="FAIR Logo Middle" >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_03.gif" WIDTH="266" HEIGHT="19" >BORDER="0"></A></TD> > > <TD> > >  > > > <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; >color:#015272" >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num=3&url=…"> > > > <IMG ALT="About Us" NAME="header_04" >SRC="http://www.fair.org/images/header_04.gif" WIDTH="57" HEIGHT="19" >BORDER="0"></A></TD> > > <TD COLSPAN="3"> > > >  > > > <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold; >color:#015272" >href="http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=325422084&url_num=4&url=…"> > > > <IMG ALT="What's wrong with the news?" 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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…"> > > > <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…"> > > > <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://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…" >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 >gueststhe 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…" >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…" >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…" >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…" >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…" >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…" >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…"><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…"><IMG >ALT="Extra!" 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[Sustain] Petition Against Liquified Coal
by Eric Brooks 07 Jun '07

07 Jun '07

Hi all, Even though this came from MoveOn, it looks legit and important. Congress could vote in the next fews weeks on a bill that would double our greenhouse gas emissions from planes and cars. This is exactly what will happen if a current plan to use "liquid coal" passes. Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels and we have a serious global warming problem. Sign a petition urging Congress to vote no on tax breaks and subsidies on coal at: http://pol.moveon.org/stopkingcoal/?r_by=10484-8333195-ITr6O8&rc=taf_addres…

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[Sustain] Leno Measure On Nuke Plant Renewal
by Eric Brooks 05 Jun '07

05 Jun '07

Hey all, Odd development below in light of the fact that Leno just passed PG&E and Mayor Newsom friendly solar legislation. Keep in mind though that it only delays re-licensing until the California Environment Commission (a very corporate co-opted agency) completes a study on the matter. Eric Originally From: "Velayas, Shannan" <Shannan.Velayas(a)asm.ca.gov> Date: June 1, 2007 11:56:45 AM PDT Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Leno Measure Delaying PG&E's Effort to Re-license Aging Nuclear Plant Wins Committee Approval For Immediate Release Contact: Shannan Velayas Friday, June 1, 2007 (916) 319-2013 Leno Measure Delaying PG&E’s Effort to Re-license Aging Nuclear Plant Wins Committee Approval Licenses for California ’s nuclear power plants aren’t scheduled to expire until 2021 and 2023 SACRAMENTO, CA— Assemblyman Mark Leno’s AB 1046 which would put re-licensing of California’s aging nuclear power plants on hold until the California Energy Commission (CEC) completes their in-depth economic and reliability study was passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee yesterday. “There are few decisions we make as a society that have as many far reaching implications as nuclear power,” said Leno. “The waste it generates will remain radioactive for 300,000 years and a single nuclear disaster has the potential to contaminate vast regions of our planet. Moving nuclear plant reauthorizations forward 15 years before expiration of their current licenses and without a careful and deliberate analysis that is independent of vested interests is bad public policy,” he said. AB 1046 would prohibit the California Public Utilities Commission from approving the further use of ratepayer funds for costs associated with re-licensing of nuclear power plants until the Energy Commission completes a study required by AB 1632, authored by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R- San Luis Obispo) last year. The study, which is scheduled to begin in July 2007 and conclude in November 2008, will assess the costs and impacts associated with accumulating radioactive waste at California’s two operating nuclear power plants, as well as evaluate the vulnerability of the 4000 megawatts they generate to major disruption from aging equipment or a major earthquake. The study is projected to cost $800,000. In March, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) allowed PG&E, which owns the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, to spend16.8 million ratepayer dollars on an in-house study by the utility examining the feasibility of license renewal for the aging Diablo reactors. Despite calls from legislative leaders that the PG&E study be delayed until the Energy Commission completes its work on the issue, the CPUC only suggested that the utility “defer to the extent feasible” the work on their in-house study. AB 1046 does not reverse the CPUC decision, but delays further spending of ratepayer dollars on re-licensing costs until completion of the Energy Commission review. Rochelle Becker is Executive Director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, which along with Sierra Club California, is co-sponsoring AB 1046. “The Legislature and the Governor have asked the Energy Commission to review the impacts of accumulating radioactive waste along our seismically active coast. This bill reasonably asks utilities to wait until the review is completed before rushing to re-licensure,” said Becker. AB 1046 will be heard next on the Assembly Floor. # # #

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