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JANUARY 11th , 2009 As
another year draws to an end, our best wishes go out to you for 2009.
Your continued interest, support and encouragement is appreciated. As
we move into the new year, we strive to provide you with articles and
information relevant to local activities as well as broader coverage of
the uranium cycle. |
| In
this issue: 1)
UPCOMING EVENTS: "Living on Earth as if we want to stay" 447Tory Building (TB). Map at: <http://www2.carleton.ca/campus/> More info at: http://www.cinemapolitica.org/carleton
2) VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION MEETINGS IN TORONTO - Tues. Jan 13th. Please let your Toronto connections know of this action. The Ontario Government intends to sign contracts for two new nuclear reactors this spring -- at a cost of $26 billion. We can't let this happen. Nuclear energy is the costliest and riskiest way to keep the lights on in Ontario . Clean green renewable energy and greater efficiency can meet all our electricity needs. See www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca for details. Will you help us get the word out in Ontario Energy Minister George Smitherman's riding of Toronto Centre? The Minister needs to hear from thousands of his constituents that they'd prefer a GREEN energy future if we are going to stop this nuclear fiasco. Please attend our second volunteer orientation meeting to learn more: Tuesday
Jan. 13: 6 - 8 p.m. Thanks!
We've got to win this one, and we can.
3)
PRESENTATION TO CANADIAN NUCLEAR SAFETY COMMISSION [The Hearing was part of the approval process to refurbish 4 nuclear reactors in Pickering so that they can continue to operate for another 25 to 30 years] The conclusion of the Screening Report on the refurbishing of Pickering B is that," the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects". The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) disagrees with this conclusion but there are larger, more important issues which the Report does not address. The problems, often in aboriginal communities, caused by uranium mining, either open pit or in-situ leaching, are not addressed. The difficulties associated with finding a secure long-term solution to the problem of storing nuclear waste are not addressed. Also not addressed is the problem of the staggering costs of building, maintaining, refurbishing, and decommissioning the reactors. So great are the problems associated with nuclear power that senior environmental officials at OPG have indicated that clean renewable power sources are preferable to nuclear power if renewable power can do the job. An argument could be made that clean alternatives to nuclear power are available and, if that is the case, why are nuclear reactors with their attendant exorbitant costs and risks still an option? We may find the answer if we examine the tangled interconnected web which is the nuclear industry in Canada. Since the nuclear industry is totally government run, there is no financial discipline imposed by the market. Even Bruce Power is not a real private company with its sweetheart deal with Ontario which guarantees its profits and subsidizes the company no matter how inefficient it is. The Canadian nuclear industry has been financed by a never-ending flow of public money by both levels of government and it has resulted in a very good living for those in the industry at taxpayers' expense. There are many fingers in the $100 billion nuclear pie. This is one of the reasons why nuclear power is still considered a viable option despite the long lead times, extraordinary costs and problems, and the degradation of the environment caused by mining. An examination of the decision-making process sheds more light on this topic. The politicians get their advice from "experts" at the Ontario Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation. These "experts" obviously have a vested interest in maintaining and promoting nuclear power because their jobs are at stake. Workers and residents in the host communities are also concerned about their economic well-being. Nuclear power offers the politicians an inordinately expensive but turnkey solution while the "experts" tell them that alternative energy is not ready. More importantly, the conservation and renewable energy route is politically very messy with no clear directions and a probable political minefield awaiting any politician who attempts it. Once the province chooses nuclear power either by way of refurbishment or newbuild, it has to go through an environmental process supervised by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission which, according to its president Mr. Michael Binder, is "independent of, but not isolated from, government". This lack of independence on the part of the CNSC was clearly and bluntly illustrated when Minister Lunn fired Linda Keen for not following orders. In this case, it would be difficult for the CNSC to refuse to approve nuclear refurbishments and newbuilds when another agency of the federal government (AECL) is trying to sell the newbuilds and do the refurbishing. CNSC president Michael Binder has been touting nuclear power as part of the remedy for global warming as well as making it clear that CNSC is part of the nuclear establishment. As a result, it is difficult to tell where the CNSC's cheerleading ends and the regulating begins. This is not very reassuring from an environmental point of view. After all, we do expect the CNSC to protect us from nuclear disasters. Pickering B's license should not be renewed. We should not be wasting precious time and taxpayers' money trying to find ways of mitigating the harmful effects of a dangerous technology. What we really need is an open, public environmental assessment by a truly independent body which would look at the real economic and environmental costs of nuclear power and compare them to conservation and alternative sources. We have to use the billions of dollars allocated to nuclear to transition nuclear jobs into green jobs.
4)
COUNTDOWN TO COMMENT ON THE MINING ACT- MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE Several
comments including CCAMU's can be viewed at 5) SUBMISSION ON MODERNIZING THE MINING ACT: investor's perspective. Quote from submission: "We believe that incorporating a permit-based tenure system and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent into the Mining Act would increase investment certainty and reduce risk, to the benefit of investors, mining companies and other stakeholders. With $4.7 billion in assets under management, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s approach to investing incorporates the thesis that companies integrating best environmental, social and governance practices into their strategy and operations will provide higher risk-adjusted returns over the long term." Submission
at:
6)
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CANADA'S SUBMISSION to
the review of the Ontario Mining Act - October 15, 2008 7)
UPCOMING CONFERENCES: Ardoch lawyer,
Chris Reid, Frontenac Ventures lawyer, Neal Smitherman and National Chief
Phil Fontaine, Assembly of First Nations, are among the many speakers.
and 8)
URANIUM UPROAR OVERTAKES N.B. IN 2008 There is currently no uranium exploration going on in New Brunswick and if the public furor over the past year is any indication, that's good news for many of the province's citizens. Department
of Natural Resources Minister Wally Stiles, who took over from Donald
Arseneault as minister in November, confirmed recently that those
Beacon Star,
by Evan French Dec. 19, 2008 "We
assumed they are staking uranium, as it was found there years back."
10) CAMECO TIES FOR 7th WORST COMPANY IN THE WORLD IN POLL Narcosphere by Brenda Norrell, December 31, 2008 Cameco uranium mining and Sithe Global/Navajo Nation, tied for the seventh Worst Company in the World. Cameco is
the Canadian company which purchased the mysterious shipment of
11) EXCERPTS FROM W-5's SHOW: 'Fight for your Rights' aired Nov. 29, 2008 12) NUCLEAR CARIBOU: On the front lines of the new uranium rush with the Inuit of Nunavut Orion magazine
by Mark Dowie January/February 2009 June days
lengthen and snow melts to reveal tiny bright wildflowers and nutritious
lichens. Thousands of pregnant caribou gather in tight circles. They are
gaunt and exhausted from their six-hundred mile migration from the boreal
13) THE DARK SIDE OF NUCLEAR: Dear editor In mid-December,
44 Peace country residents returned from an all-expenses paid tour of
a Kincardine, Ont. nuclear power facility. Should our minds be set at
ease by the glowing reports of these Bruce Power guests? Sorry, but I
am not comforted. When separated from the sales pitch, a different picture
emerges. There is good news though. Progressive governments from around the world are moving ahead with proactive green power generation. Germany has a mandated green policy. It is replacing its aging reactors with wind, solar and bio-mass. Ironically, it is a Canadian company, Arise Technologies of Windsor Ont. that has located in Germany. Their technologically advanced PVC solar cell manufacturing plant is employing workers in Germany. Spain has an awesome technologically advanced solar tower plant in operation in Saville, powering thousands of homes (Google Solucar). Why is this province and this area flirting with a dangerous and risky technology when so many other safe and greener forms of electrical power production are now coming on stream around the world? Nuclear is anything but green if you take the time to consider the glutonous amounts of hydrocarbon fuel that goes into mining and processing the uranium fuel for a reactor. It gets worse, as more concentrated ore bodies are being depleted around the world, larger amounts of over-burden and rock have to be mined and milled to get at the scarce uranium. Finally, did the Bruce Power guests consider the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste worldwide and the mounting security risk which that bomb making material presents? Just wondering? K. Norman Dyck, Grande Prairie 14) MADOC MINE FACES NUMEROUS ENVIRONMENTAL CHARGES: Canada Talc's former manager also named Belleville Intelligencer, By Jeremy Ashley, Dec. 22, 2008 MADOC One of North America's oldest mining operations is facing a number of environmental charges, including three counts of lying to Ministry of Environment officials regarding discharges pumped into area river systems. http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1359535 15) BACKGROUND ON MINING IN ONTARIO Extracts from Facts about Exploration and Mineral Development in Ontario, April 2007 and Frequently Asked Questions about Mineral Staking in Ontario, April 2007, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Article at: http://www.pattersonlake.ca/miningbackground.pdf Link to
MNDM information on mining and surface rights: Additional links for information related to the Ontario Mining Act: www.mndm.gov.on.ca 16) CANADIAN MINING PERSPECTIVES: What the industry needs now Canadian
Mining Journal News, By: Marilyn Scales December 28, 2008 Article
at: www.canadianminingjournal.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id= 17)
MININGWATCH CANADA NEWSLETTER No. 26: Autumn 2008 |