http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/11/01/1

DOE: Expected Chu departure sparks second-term speculation

Nick Juliano, E&E reporter

Greenwire: Thursday, November 1, 2012

No matter who wins the White House next week, Steven Chu is widely expected to soon book a one-way ticket back to California, sparking heightened speculation over who may be tapped to take over after his embattled term leading the Department of Energy if President Obama is re-elected.

Chu has not announced his plans, and a DOE spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. But it is all but impossible to find anyone in Washington energy circles who thinks he will be sticking around if Obama wins re-election, after four years facing sharp criticism over nearly everything in DOE's portfolio, especially the loan guarantee program.

"The working assumption by many here is that Secretary Chu will move back to California," said one energy policy expert who works with the administration and asked not to be identified. "That's completely understandable; he's accomplished a heck of a lot in four years in Washington, particularly for someone more accustomed to the warmer and friendlier climes in California."

Supporters of the energy secretary say he has been unfairly maligned by congressional Republicans who have homed in on the handful of failed loan guarantee recipients, most notably the bankrupt solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, while ignoring companies that have succeeded after receiving DOE loan guarantees and other efforts within the department to boost clean energy research and development.

<snip>

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-02/india/34877257_1_koodankulam-nuclear-power-plant-nuclear-energy-nuclear-bomb

Noam Chomsky expresses solidarity with Kudankulam protesters

Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN Nov 2, 2012, 11.08AM IST

Internationally acclaimed academician Noam Chomsky of Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the United States has warned that Kudankulam could be another Bhopal disaster in waiting. In a solidarity letter to the struggling people he said: "Nuclear energy is a very dangerous initiative, particularly in countries like India, which has had more than its share of industrial disasters, Bhopal being the most famous."

"I would like to express my support for the courageous people's movement protesting the opening of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant," added Chomsky.

<snip>

"The support of Chomsky came as a major boost to the fishing community of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, who are unfortunately the first victims of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant," said T Peter, secretary, National Fish Workers' Forum. "We hope more and more groups and individuals will support the struggle."

"Chomsky is one of the most leading existing internationally renowned left intellectuals today. It is surprising that while such a great personality has expressed support to the Koodankulam struggle, the left in India is still confused about their stand on the hazards of nuclear energy," said Civic Chandran, activist writer. Chomsky's response came as a part of the efforts of the anti-nuclear activists to campaign on Koodankulam issue through the net in a unique manner through a well known website called www.countercurrents org. The site has been publishing posters using statements in support of the Koodankulam struggle from well known national and international personalities every day along with their photographs from October 11, onwards.

<snip>

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/sp-bgn110112.php

Public release date: 1-Nov-2012

Contact: Katie Baker
[email protected]
020-732-48719
SAGE Publications

Bulletin: German nuclear exit delivers economic, environmental benefits

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011, the German government took the nation's eight oldest reactors offline immediately and passed legislation that will close the last nuclear power plant by 2022. This nuclear phase-out had overwhelming political support in Germany. Elsewhere, many saw it as "panic politics," and the online business magazine Forbes.com went as far as to ask, in a headline, whether the decision was "Insane -- or Just Plain Stupid."

But a special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, "The German Nuclear Exit," shows that the nuclear shutdown and an accompanying move toward renewable energy are already yielding measurable economic and environmental benefits, with one top expert calling the German phase-out a probable game-changer for the nuclear industry worldwide.

In his overview article, "From Brokdorf to Fukushima: The long journey to nuclear phase-out," Princeton researcher Alexander Glaser puts the German nuclear exit in its historical context, which includes massive, civil war-like confrontations between antinuclear demonstrators and police. Because of longstanding public opposition to nuclear power, by the 1990s few in German political life seriously entertained the idea of new reactor construction. And, Glaser notes, Germany's decision last year to pursue a nuclear phase-out was anything but precipitous; serious planning to shutter the nuclear industry and greatly expand alternative energy production began more than a decade ago. "Germany's nuclear phase-out could provide a proof-of-concept, demonstrating the political and technical feasibility of abandoning a controversial high-risk technology. Germany's nuclear phase-out, successful or not, is likely to become a game changer for nuclear energy worldwide," Glaser concludes.

Also in the Bulletin's special issue on "The German Nuclear Exit": Freie Universität Berlin politics professor Miranda Schreurs says the nuclear phase-out and accompanying shift to renewable energy have brought financial benefits to farmers, investors, and small business; Felix Matthes of the Institute for Applied Ecology in Berlin concludes the phase-out will have only small and temporary effects on electricity prices and the German economy; University of Kassel legal experts Alexander Rossnagel and Anja Hentschel explain why electric utilities are unlikely to succeed in suing the government over the shutdown; and Lutz Mez, co-founder of Freie Universitӓt Berlin's Environmental Policy Research Center, presents what may be the most startling finding of all. The shift to alternative energy sources being pursued in parallel with the German nuclear exit has reached a climate change milestone, Mez writes: "It has actually decoupled energy from economic growth, with the country's energy supply and carbon-dioxide emissions dropping from 1990 to 2011, even as its gross domestic product rose by 36 percent."

###

"The German Nuclear Exit" by John Mecklin published 01November 2012 in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

"From Brokdorf to Fukushima: The long journey to nuclear phase-out", by Alexander Glaser published 01November 2012 in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Select articles from the issue will be free to access for a limited time here: http://bos.sagepub.com/

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists informs the public about threats to the survival and development of humanity from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences. The Bulletin was established in 1945 by scientists, engineers, and other experts who had created the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. http://bos.sagepub.com

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014274957

San Diego media baron promotes conservative causes

Source: Associated Press

The new media barons of America's eighth-largest city are upfront about wanting to use their newspaper to promote their agenda of downtown development and politically conservative causes _ and they are making their points in a brash, bare-knuckle style.

Douglas Manchester and his partner John Lynch gave their 143-year-old newspaper a new slogan _ "The World's Greatest Country & America's Finest City" _ ran a front-page editorial that declared their plan to reshape the city's downtown waterfront their highest priority, and forecast doom if President Barack Obama wins re-election.

Manchester, who became wealthy building hotels during the dawn of San Diego's downtown renaissance and insists on being called "Papa Doug," bought The San Diego Union-Tribune last year and its most serious competitor, the North County Times, this month. As he and Lynch eye expansion to Los Angeles and other major cities, they are frank about seeking to use their new platforms to advance their agenda _ and they think they can make a profit while they're at it.

<snip>

"Hard to believe UT could go further to the right and for the developers but now it is owned by the developers!" Ron Belanger, a 70-year-old retired Navy aviator, wrote on a Facebook page for critics of the new owners called "Bring the L.A. Times back to San Diego."

<snip>

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/san-diego-media-baron-promotes-conservative-causes/article_5dab81c1-d11f-5086-b11a-b9350e51aab4.html

3. Locking. Already posted in E&E.

Not agreeing or disagreeing with the OP, just don't want to see a pro/con nuke flamewar in Science. E&E has enough of those.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/sp-bgn110112.php

Public release date: 1-Nov-2012

Contact: Katie Baker
[email protected]
020-732-48719
SAGE Publications

Bulletin: German nuclear exit delivers economic, environmental benefits

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011, the German government took the nation's eight oldest reactors offline immediately and passed legislation that will close the last nuclear power plant by 2022. This nuclear phase-out had overwhelming political support in Germany. Elsewhere, many saw it as "panic politics," and the online business magazine Forbes.com went as far as to ask, in a headline, whether the decision was "Insane -- or Just Plain Stupid."

But a special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, "The German Nuclear Exit," shows that the nuclear shutdown and an accompanying move toward renewable energy are already yielding measurable economic and environmental benefits, with one top expert calling the German phase-out a probable game-changer for the nuclear industry worldwide.

In his overview article, "From Brokdorf to Fukushima: The long journey to nuclear phase-out," Princeton researcher Alexander Glaser puts the German nuclear exit in its historical context, which includes massive, civil war-like confrontations between antinuclear demonstrators and police. Because of longstanding public opposition to nuclear power, by the 1990s few in German political life seriously entertained the idea of new reactor construction. And, Glaser notes, Germany's decision last year to pursue a nuclear phase-out was anything but precipitous; serious planning to shutter the nuclear industry and greatly expand alternative energy production began more than a decade ago. "Germany's nuclear phase-out could provide a proof-of-concept, demonstrating the political and technical feasibility of abandoning a controversial high-risk technology. Germany's nuclear phase-out, successful or not, is likely to become a game changer for nuclear energy worldwide," Glaser concludes.

Also in the Bulletin's special issue on "The German Nuclear Exit": Freie Universität Berlin politics professor Miranda Schreurs says the nuclear phase-out and accompanying shift to renewable energy have brought financial benefits to farmers, investors, and small business; Felix Matthes of the Institute for Applied Ecology in Berlin concludes the phase-out will have only small and temporary effects on electricity prices and the German economy; University of Kassel legal experts Alexander Rossnagel and Anja Hentschel explain why electric utilities are unlikely to succeed in suing the government over the shutdown; and Lutz Mez, co-founder of Freie Universitӓt Berlin's Environmental Policy Research Center, presents what may be the most startling finding of all. The shift to alternative energy sources being pursued in parallel with the German nuclear exit has reached a climate change milestone, Mez writes: "It has actually decoupled energy from economic growth, with the country's energy supply and carbon-dioxide emissions dropping from 1990 to 2011, even as its gross domestic product rose by 36 percent."

###

"The German Nuclear Exit" by John Mecklin published 01November 2012 in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

"From Brokdorf to Fukushima: The long journey to nuclear phase-out", by Alexander Glaser published 01November 2012 in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Select articles from the issue will be free to access for a limited time here: http://bos.sagepub.com/

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists informs the public about threats to the survival and development of humanity from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences. The Bulletin was established in 1945 by scientists, engineers, and other experts who had created the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. http://bos.sagepub.com

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/sp-bgn110112.php

Public release date: 1-Nov-2012

Contact: Katie Baker
[email protected]
020-732-48719
SAGE Publications

Bulletin: German nuclear exit delivers economic, environmental benefits

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011, the German government took the nation's eight oldest reactors offline immediately and passed legislation that will close the last nuclear power plant by 2022. This nuclear phase-out had overwhelming political support in Germany. Elsewhere, many saw it as "panic politics," and the online business magazine Forbes.com went as far as to ask, in a headline, whether the decision was "Insane -- or Just Plain Stupid."

But a special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, "The German Nuclear Exit," shows that the nuclear shutdown and an accompanying move toward renewable energy are already yielding measurable economic and environmental benefits, with one top expert calling the German phase-out a probable game-changer for the nuclear industry worldwide.

In his overview article, "From Brokdorf to Fukushima: The long journey to nuclear phase-out," Princeton researcher Alexander Glaser puts the German nuclear exit in its historical context, which includes massive, civil war-like confrontations between antinuclear demonstrators and police. Because of longstanding public opposition to nuclear power, by the 1990s few in German political life seriously entertained the idea of new reactor construction. And, Glaser notes, Germany's decision last year to pursue a nuclear phase-out was anything but precipitous; serious planning to shutter the nuclear industry and greatly expand alternative energy production began more than a decade ago. "Germany's nuclear phase-out could provide a proof-of-concept, demonstrating the political and technical feasibility of abandoning a controversial high-risk technology. Germany's nuclear phase-out, successful or not, is likely to become a game changer for nuclear energy worldwide," Glaser concludes.

Also in the Bulletin's special issue on "The German Nuclear Exit": Freie Universität Berlin politics professor Miranda Schreurs says the nuclear phase-out and accompanying shift to renewable energy have brought financial benefits to farmers, investors, and small business; Felix Matthes of the Institute for Applied Ecology in Berlin concludes the phase-out will have only small and temporary effects on electricity prices and the German economy; University of Kassel legal experts Alexander Rossnagel and Anja Hentschel explain why electric utilities are unlikely to succeed in suing the government over the shutdown; and Lutz Mez, co-founder of Freie Universitӓt Berlin's Environmental Policy Research Center, presents what may be the most startling finding of all. The shift to alternative energy sources being pursued in parallel with the German nuclear exit has reached a climate change milestone, Mez writes: "It has actually decoupled energy from economic growth, with the country's energy supply and carbon-dioxide emissions dropping from 1990 to 2011, even as its gross domestic product rose by 36 percent."

###

"The German Nuclear Exit" by John Mecklin published 01November 2012 in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

"From Brokdorf to Fukushima: The long journey to nuclear phase-out", by Alexander Glaser published 01November 2012 in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Select articles from the issue will be free to access for a limited time here: http://bos.sagepub.com/

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists informs the public about threats to the survival and development of humanity from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences. The Bulletin was established in 1945 by scientists, engineers, and other experts who had created the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. http://bos.sagepub.com

An Open Letter to the American People

America’s economic future, the quality of our health, and the quality of our environment depend on
our ability to continue America’s proud legacy of discovery and invention. As winners of the Nobel
Prizes in science, we are proud of our contribution to the extraordinary advances American science
has made in recent years. But we’re deeply concerned that without leadership and continued
commitment to scientific research the next generation of Americans will not make and benefit from
future discoveries.

President Obama understands the key role science has played in building a prosperous America, has
delivered on his promise to renew our faith in science-based decision making and has championed
investment in science and technology research that is the engine of our economy. He has built
strong programs to educate young Americans in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
and programs to provide Americans the training they need to keep pace with a technology-driven
economy.

His opponent supports a budget that, if implemented, would devastate a long tradition of support for
public research and investment in science at a time when this country’s future depends, as never
before, on innovation. He has also taken positions that privilege ideology over clear scientific
evidence on climate change.

As a nation we must continue the investments that revolutionized agriculture, invented the Internet,
gave us modern medicine and enabled a strong national defense. Abandoning this tradition would be
a devastating step backwards. If you believe, as we do, that America’s future is bound in essential
ways to science and innovation, we urge you to join us in working to ensure the reelection of
President Obama.

<snip list of signers>