tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519896018903851722024-03-13T15:11:34.873+11:00Nuclear AustraliaTo discuss nuclear energy's role within Australia as a part of a diverse and sustainable energy mix that addresses - among other things - energy security as well as the reduction of harmful emissions suspected of contributing to climate change.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021931700499537674noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-32861590943229037532013-01-13T23:51:00.002+11:002013-01-13T23:51:24.229+11:00The need to come together is not unique to the USA
Since there really is no scientific debate on climate change.
Maybe it's time to come together and solve the problem. Actually, now it's problems. Ongoing delay and an unjustified dismissal of nuclear power's role (with conservation, efficiency, renewables, etc.) has made mitigation more relevant. That will demand even more resources to prevent wide-spread devastation. This is noNuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-22878080331140954012012-06-03T05:52:00.002+10:002012-06-03T15:59:59.191+10:00Communicating science - more difficult that you might think
The thought experiment goes, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, has it made a sound?"
Similarly, if science achieves a breakthrough, but neither the public nor policy makers are able to understand or act on it; is there any real value in that body of work?
It is on this note that I wish to congratulate the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-25001207510611662462012-04-16T02:19:00.000+10:002012-04-16T15:08:10.101+10:00Are generation technologies equally considered?
I'm curious about your opinion. Please tick an answer in the poll to the right and share your thoughts below.
Are those who we trust to lead us properly considering the risk burden from spent nuclear fuel, unabated release of carbon dioxide, hydro station dam failure, and wind turbine installation and maintenance?
What about the risk of a nuclear accident vs. the failure of a fly ashNuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com60tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-19690640526954093882012-03-11T17:46:00.000+11:002012-03-11T20:14:23.607+11:00TEPCO
Winston Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going."
This applies to many Japanese over the past year, but - aside from those who lost family members or loved ones - none so much as the operators, management, technical staff and general support staff at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi and even Daini nuclear energy stations. If a conscious decision was made to ignore warnings of Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-25438460021984866172012-02-05T21:08:00.001+11:002012-02-05T21:14:01.430+11:00UN report on Sustainability
A final draft of Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A future worth choosing, a report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability has been released.
First, statistics
Energy
20 per cent of the world’s population lack access to electricity
Water and sanitation
884 million people lack access to clean water
2.6 billion people Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-68617808596254140412012-01-18T09:17:00.000+11:002012-01-18T09:17:20.721+11:00What's your point, what do you want?
I stumbled upon an interesting New York Times Dot Earth article by Andrew Revkin. The article describes communication strategies to affect change. The theme relates to a shift from the cerebral (no shortage of that in the blogosphere or elsewhere) to the visceral. Two presentations are linked from a recent WWF event. I've embedded them below.
I do not know the position of Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-20880455173406297532011-12-09T06:24:00.001+11:002012-01-13T17:09:03.274+11:00Coal: 1 Fukushima every 600 years
[NOT EVEN CLOSE TO MY ORIGINAL CALCULATION WHICH WAS OFF BY A FACTOR OF 1,000 (not a million) - SEE COMMENTS AND CORRECTED POST BELOW - MY APOLOGIES FOR THE ERROR.]
In December 2007 Scientific American published a report on coal power plant radioactive releases and compared these with those from an operating nuclear energy station. To the surprise of many in the general public, coal Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-34261168622174885042011-11-13T01:04:00.002+11:002011-11-17T11:04:37.341+11:00OECD-IEA World Energy Outlook 2011
Some tables, trends and projections. The bottom line:
Nuclear forecasts decrease as a result of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but growth projections remain positive.
More action is required to reduce emissions (nuclear energy remains a relevant option with renewables)
With carbon pricing action well on it's way, Australia should also focus on its coal exports.
A collection of data
Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-23633548877699628852011-11-12T08:02:00.003+11:002011-11-12T08:34:42.937+11:00TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Timeline - INPOA report prepared by the North American Nuclear Industry peer group (INPO - Institute of Nuclear Power Operators) has issued a comprehensive report of the initial hours and days following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A detailed and agreed timeline was an important prerequisite to developing many significant lessons learned from the 1979 Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident in Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-74297119097914036172011-11-11T07:09:00.045+11:002011-11-16T07:08:16.933+11:00Country comparisons
Following on from the data below (which I admit is boring in list form), I generated radar graphs for select countries: The top 20 total emitters and the best of the best from below.
To generate the graphs, I ranked each country from 0 to 66 (0 being the best performer and 66 the worst) in the following categories: 2010 total CO2 emissions, 2008-2010 change in emissions (absolute), 2008-2010Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-19647821693165299242011-11-06T00:46:00.028+11:002011-11-06T18:41:34.737+11:00Updated global emissions data: a closer lookLots of buzz at the moment about data recently published by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) at the US Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The website for the report may be found here. The scope of the study includes carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from: coal, liquid fuels, gas fuels, cement production and gas flaring. Data are provided for 67 individual countries. Others are Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-42541499486390308922011-10-08T19:04:00.017+11:002011-10-08T21:04:24.454+11:00Dangerous trends with hard evidence and supporting analysisAfter one whole week on Twitter, a review of the information I chose to share may make for a blog post of potential interest. So here goes...There's a concerning, hopefully short-term, trend back to fossil fuel use. Many surmise this is a reaction to events in Japan - and I see no reason to disagree. Specifically:Japan buys Australian Coal MineA partially constructed nuclear energy station will Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-70893571327258509032011-10-02T06:19:00.007+11:002011-10-06T05:14:51.541+11:00Tumbling further down the rabbit hole...Not that my abilities are all that great, but I'd like to think that one or two of my 333 posts have been fairly well crafted.For what it's worth, I've gotten very busy over the past year. I no longer have time to research, digest, compile, compose, review and correct posts of any significant detail. But I will continue to do what I can.I do, however, have access to some hefty research Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-75638107690853170322011-09-29T05:04:00.007+10:002011-09-29T06:05:05.280+10:00Redundant indicationSome key components of training in any nuclear energy facility I've ever been in (and principal lessons learned from the Three Mile Island accident) are the concepts of redundant indication, conservative decision making and maintaining a questioning attitude.Nuclear Energy Station - Control Console and PanelsRedundant IndicationNuclear Operators will seek multiple, independent sources of Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-21306651795404841652011-09-21T13:44:00.007+10:002011-09-21T14:36:20.183+10:00Australia-Japan: Energy CommerceAustralian Energy and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and leading players from the LNG and coal industries have converged on Japan in recent weeks to promote Australia's wealth of resource projects as medium and long-term sources of extra energy.In an interview with The Australian in Tokyo, Ferguson describes the present conditions as a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for Australia's LNG, Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-25934378288636265762011-09-13T04:38:00.004+10:002011-09-13T04:49:16.027+10:00One of the worst accidents ever in the country's energy sectorAt least 61 people were killed earlier today - no, not as a result of the explosion at the French waste processing facility being splashed all over everywhere - but in Kenya, after a gasoline pipeline exploded.My thoughts and sympathy go out - equally to both the Kenyans and the French - to the injured, their families, and of course to the friends and families of those who were killed.Just Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-13443089599200669842011-09-02T04:28:00.006+10:002011-09-02T05:11:31.005+10:00A climate change skeptic for a Nuclear AustraliaTerry Krieg, retired secondary school teacher of geography and geology from Port Lincoln, South Australia was recently interviewed for the ABC's Ockham's Razor. Terry describes himself as a climate skeptic but begrudgingly accepts the worldwide decisions and trends toward emissions reduction.
The teacher's done some homework and concluded the right path, the logical path, the only path, for Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-41758411530681572362011-08-15T14:01:00.004+10:002011-08-15T14:08:58.056+10:00What are we trying to achieve?In this piece, the UK's George Monbiot, with input from Chris Goodall, continues a discussion with Jonathon Porritt. The article covers climate change, nuclear energy, renewables, Japan and Germany (as well as the UK of course).
Monbiot poses a key question, "...we should ask ourselves what our aim is. Is it to stop climate breakdown, or is it to engineer the maximum roll-out of renewable Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-19249484966528988132011-03-13T18:22:00.009+11:002011-03-13T22:37:47.547+11:00Nuclear Information from JapanBest to keep your expectations low for now.Think about it. These guys have just been hit by a double-whammy. First an earthquake that has to be close to what the plant was designed to withstand, if not beyond. And then a tsunami that takes their station to blackout conditions. I'm confident they have emergency procedures to deal with this situation - not this specific chain of events, but their Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-90341699238278735882011-03-08T16:13:00.002+11:002011-03-08T16:21:34.004+11:00Greenfield to head ANSTO boardProfessor Paul Greenfield AO has been appointed to head the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) board. Announcing the appointment, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said Greenfield's experience on the board since 2007 and his skills in science and senior management made him an outstanding candidate for the position.The ANSTO chair was vacated on December 31 when Dr Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-9094473063714294132011-03-04T21:56:00.005+11:002011-03-04T22:25:30.339+11:00Carbon tax receives economist’s endorsementDr Eric Knight, a research associate at the ANU's centre for climate economics and policy and at the University of Oxford, believes Julia Gillard’s current proposal needs a bit of tweaking though. Specifically he’s calling for some detail on how to distribute the collected revenue as well as Australia’s consideration of Nuclear Energy.Specifically Knight’s proposing a form of ‘dividend’ known as Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-40934905018998350102011-03-03T16:29:00.002+11:002011-03-03T16:35:46.639+11:00Hansen's Eerie Forecast: one year onNearly one full year ago, Professor James Hansen tried to explain the risks facing Australia. Check out just the first two paragraphs: AUSTRALIA will suffer if fossil fuel use continues unabated. Climate extremes will increase. Poleward expansion of the subtropics will make Australia often hotter and drier, with stronger droughts and hotter fires, as the jet stream retreats southward.But when Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-51828382687577913482011-03-02T22:47:00.005+11:002011-03-02T23:11:33.180+11:00SMH – Gives a voice to Special InterestsHell-bent on maintaining the status quo. Shame!Note the contributor is affiliated with the Institute of Public Affairs. Per their website, they are: an independent, non-profit public policy think tank, dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of economic and political freedom. Our author, Alan Moran is Director of the IPA's Deregulation Unit, is an economist who has made a Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-53261617461507362282011-02-27T21:29:00.004+11:002011-02-28T04:05:45.793+11:00Chill, baby, Chill!!In a recent post, I declared victory on behalf of science and engineering—noting the requirement for immediate action to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration has been adequately proven and that worldwide experience has demonstrated the availability of deployable technologies—including nuclear energy—capable of achieving the necessary goals. But the lack of political Will, baby, Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451989601890385172.post-3494395542183634552011-02-26T20:38:00.008+11:002011-08-10T11:16:34.666+10:00Welcome Christina[I received a comment to a recent post from Christina Macpherson. To be fair to Ms Macpherson, she is an anti-nuclear campaigner who, among other efforts, published a blog linked here. To extend me the same courtesy, some time ago, I submited detailed comments to several of her posts... not one of which was published, to my knowledge.
This post is my reply to her comment. It's size exceeded Nuclear Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626325905460792450noreply@blogger.com5