RSN: Harvey Wasserman | Three Mile Island Nuke Plant Closure Strengthens Call for Renewable Energy Future

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FOCUS: Harvey Wasserman | Three Mile Island Nuke Plant Closure Strengthens Call for Renewable Energy Future 
 
Harvey Wasserman, EcoWatch 
Wasserman writes: "Tuesday's announcement that the Three Mile Island Unit One nuclear plant will close unless it gets massive subsidies has vastly strengthened the case for a totally renewable energy future." 
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uesday's announcement that the Three Mile Island Unit One nuclear plant will close unless it gets massive subsidies has vastly strengthened the case for a totally renewable energy future.

That future is rising in Buffalo, and comes in the form of Tesla's massive job-producing solar shingle factory which will create hundreds of jobs and operate for decades to come.

Three Mile Island, by contrast, joins a wave of commercially dead reactors whose owners are begging state legislatures for huge bailouts. Exelon, the nation's largest nuke owner, recently got nearly $2.5 billion from the Illinois legislature to keep three uncompetitive nukes there on line.

In Ohio, FirstEnergy is begging the legislature for $300 million per year for the money-losing Perry and Davis-Besse reactors, plagued with serious structural problems. That bailout faces an uphill battle in a surprisingly skeptical legislature. FirstEnergy is at the brink of bankruptcy, and says it will sell the reactors anyway.

To make matters worse, Ohio lawmakers have imposed unique spacing restrictions on the state's wind industry, blocking at least $1.6 billion in investments poised to build eight wind farms now waiting in the wings. Those turbine developments would go far in providing jobs to those who will inevitably lose them at FirstEnergy's uncompetitive nukes.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants a staggering $7.6 billion for four uncompetitive upstate reactors. That bailout is being challenged in court by environmental groups and by industrial players angry about unfair competition and soaring rates. Their owners concede these old nukes can't compete with renewables or gas, and have wanted to shut most or all of them.

Now, Three Mile Island's owners say without millions more in handouts from Pennsylvania rate payers, the reactor will close in 2019. A battle over the handout will be upcoming in the Pennsylvania legislature. Ironically, the Quad Cities plant in Illinois, which is in line for huge subsidies, could not compete with gas or renewables at a recent power auction, and may have to shut despite the handouts.

Meanwhile, coming on line this year, Tesla's Buffalo Billion gigafactory has the power to transform our entire national economy.

It's the core of a plan to fulfill America's direst needs—a reliable supply of safe, cheap energy, and a base of good long-term employment for the nation's battered working class.

Costing about $750 million, it will bang out solar roofing shingles by the end of this year. It will directly create at least 500 high-paying, clean, safe jobs that will last for decades and turn our energy economy green. Another 1,440 jobs are slated to come from spin-offs. Still more will be created by lowered electric rates and increased clean energy production.

The Buffalo factory joins Tesla's new plant outside Sparks, Nevada—housed in the biggest building in the world—now producing a new generation of batteries. They will bridge the green energy gap when "the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow."

These two job-producing powerhouses are at the core of the Solartopian revolution. Solar panels, solar shingles, wind turbines, high-efficiency LED lighting and advanced batteries are key to our global survival and prosperity. Along with the hardware needed for tidal energy, ocean thermal, geothermal, advanced conservation and other renewable industries, gigafactories producing these technologies will be the engine for the 21st century economy.

If Gov. Cuomo's $7.6 billion bailout ask went instead to build seven gigafactories like the Buffalo Billion, New York would gain thousands of jobs directly and thousands more through the industry powered by lower electric rates. They would be safe, secure, clean, good-paying jobs that could transform the state's energy and employment situation.

Cuomo's bailout plan, however, would raise rates on New Yorkers far outside their upstate service area. That even includes Long Island—hundreds of miles away—whose angry citizens rose up decades ago to kill the infamous failed $7 billion Shoreham reactor, which Cuomo's father Mario helped bury when he was governor.

Ferocious opposition to this bailout has arisen throughout New York. A critical court case will open on June 5. Support for this litigation can be sent to Rockland Environmental Group, LLC 75 North Middletown Road, Nanuet, NY 10954.

New developments at Sempra and other major electric utilities now make it possible for renewables to sustain a central grid 100 percent of the time, without the fluctuations critics claim make a green-powered future difficult to achieve.

So we can bail out Three Mile Island, Perry, Davis-Besse and a rising tide of our 99 obsolete, dangerously decayed atomic dinosaurs at a cost of untold billions? Do we want to escalate the risk of reactor disasters, create tons more radioactive wastes and temporarily preserve a few thousand dead-end jobs?

Or do we want to bang out these Buffalo Billion plants and join Germany, Switzerland, India and other major nations soaring to a Solartopian future.

Is there really a choice?

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/43888-focus-three-mile-island-nuke-plant-closure-strengthens-call-for-renewable-energy-future

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CLG: Clinton researcher Victor Thorn found at top of mountain near his home, an apparent victim of gunshot wound, Obama predicts TPP 'trade' deal will be ratified after election, Exelon, Entergy Hazardous Nuclear Reactors Get $500 Million in Subsidies From New York

News Updates from CLG
03 Aug 2016

http://www.legitgov.org/
All links are here:http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news

 

Previous edition:  Growing fears Rio Olympics could be hit by an ISIS radioactive 'dirty bomb'

 

Breaking: Woman killed and five people injured in a 'terrorist knife attack in central London' --Scotland Yard said the incident is being treated as possible terror offence | 03 Aug 2016 | A woman has died and up to five people have been injured after a man allegedly 'went on the rampage' in a possible terror-related knife attack in central London. Police confirmed a man was arrested after he was seen 'brandishing a knife' and 'injuring people' in front of horrified onlookers in Russell Square last night. Fears that the knifeman operated with an accomplice were raised in the early hours as the Met refused to rule out further suspects. One witness said he saw 'a man flee on a motorbike'.

 

Mass stabbing in central London leaves woman dead and six injured --Police explore possibility of 'terrorism' after man arrested following the incident in Russell Square in the centre of the city | 03 Aug 2016 | A woman has been killed and up to six people have been injured in a mass stabbing in the centre of London. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that at least six people were injured in the incident at Russell Square. A statement said a woman was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later.

 

Anti-terror cops on permanent alert for France-style attacks in UK | 02 Aug 2016 | UK counter-terrorism cops are going on permanent standby amid fears of a Europe-style assault on targets across Britain. Specialist armed police units will provide 24 hour coverage ready to respond to attacks like those in Nice in July if there is an attempt to replicate them on British streets. London Police Chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe wrote in the Mail newspaper that his force was "training hundreds of extra officers so they are ready to supplement our numbers during an attack similar to that seen in Paris. This increases armed officers by 600 to 2,800."

 

Bomb threat at Rio Olympic pool sees athletes evacuated just before the Australian swim team was due to train | 02 Aug 2016 | The Olympic aquatic centre in Rio has been evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious package. Bomb squads descended on the facility 90 minutes before the Australian swim team were due to train on Tuesday night. According to reports the package was in fact an electrician's tool box which was discovered during a security sweep.

 

DC Metro Transit police officer charged with aiding ISIS | 03 Aug 2016 | A Washington, D.C., Metro Transit police officer who was a convert to Islam and once dressed up as Jihadi John for Halloween was charged on Wednesday with attempting to provide material support to ISIS [I-CIA-SIS] -- the first time a law enforcement officer has been charged with an ISIS-related crime. Virginia resident Nicholas Young, 36, who had served with the department since 2003, was arrested Wednesday morning by FBI agents at Metro Transit Police headquarters in Washington, DC. Young, 36, will be held in Alexandria until his detention hearing, which is set for Friday at 2 p.m.

 

Insane in the membrane: Struggling U.S. Gives Israel Largest Aid Package Ever | 01 Aug 2016 | By many yardsticks, Israeli citizens enjoy higher living standards than US citizens. With more unemployed people than at any time in U.S. history, President Obama next week is scheduled to sign the most lavish foreign aid package in the country's history - $3.1 billion in military assistance to Israel - raising an urgent question: can the U.S. afford it? The United States already transfers 3.1 billion in taxpayer m-ney to Israel every year, far more than any other country, but the deal that will be signed into law next week will guarantee foreign aid to the country until the year 2027, a decade after Obama has left office.

 

Clinton researcher Victor Thorn found at top of mountain near his home, an apparent victim of gunshot wound --Prominent AFP Clinton Researcher Found Dead | 01 Aug 2016 | Prolific author, American Free Press writer and seasoned Clinton researcher Victor Thorn was found at the top of a mountain near his home, the apparent victim of a gunshot wound. Family and some close friends contend Thorn took his own life on his birthday, August 1. Thorn would have been 54. At the peak of his writing career, the author of some 20 books and 30 chapbooks, Thorn had reported for this newspaper for over a decade, writing thousands of articles on myriad subjects from conspiracy to health-related topics. Best known for his investigate research on the Clintons, Thorn wrote the Clinton trilogy--three definitive works that delved into the history of the power couple. 

 

Exelon, Entergy Hazardous Nuclear Reactors Get $500 Million in Subsidies From New York | 01 Aug 2016 | Exelon Corp. and Entergy Corp. have won subsidies totaling about 500 million a year for their m-ney-losing nuclear reactors in New York, the first state to [insanely] throw such a lifeline to an industry struggling with weak demand and low prices. The state Public Service Commission voted for the funding on Monday as part of a broader plan to spur the development of clean energy. [?!?] Exelon Corp. said following the decision that it would invest about 200 million in two nuclear plants next year and continue discussions to buy a third from Entergy that is slated to close.

 

Newborn dies from whooping cough weeks after pregnant mom is given pertussis vaccine | 29 July 2016 | A California couple grieving the loss of their infant son from whooping cough is vowing to raise awareness of the disease. Ty'Ree Rodgers of San Diego told ABC News that his 3-week-old, Jaxon Rodgers, died July 15 from the effects of whooping cough...Jaxon was born healthy on June 6 and was brought home from the hospital three days later, Rodgers said. He added that Jaxon's mom, Lema, breastfed the whole way...One week before Jaxon was born, his mother was offered a vaccine for pertussis at the medical clinic she attended, Rodgers said. Rodgers said he would like to explore further whether the time frame in which Jaxon's mother received the vaccination may have contributed to the child's death. [Maybe the vaccine itself 'contributed to the child's death.']

 

The people will stop this, dirt-bag: Obama predicts TPP 'trade' deal will be ratified after election | 02 Aug 2016 | President Barack Obama dismissed Hillary Clinton's [phony] opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement corporate takeover Tuesday and suggested that her disapproval of the deal may be politically motivated. [*Duh.*] "Right now, I'm president, and I'm for it," he said at a news conference with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong...While Obama and Lee were speaking, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was addressing supporters at a rally in Ashburn, Virginia, just miles from the capital. In a statement, Trump said a victory by him in November is the only way to stop a "TPP catastrophe."

 

Trump acolytes campaign to defeat Ryan | 03 Aug 2016 | With the relationship between [TPP-pusher] Paul Ryan and Donald Trump already increasingly fraught, POLITICO has learned that a group of former Trump campaign hands is quietly working to defeat the House speaker in his primary election next week. More than half a dozen of Trump's former campaign staff members or leading volunteer organizers from around the country -- and many more local volunteers -- have signed on to the long-shot campaign of Ryan's primary challenger, businessman Paul Nehlen, who openly embraces Trump and casts Ryan as an impediment to Trump's agenda...Nehlen, in an interview conducted Tuesday during a break in door-knocking here in Ryan's hometown, accused the speaker of taking "every opportunity to undermine Mr. Trump. He's not been loyal to him."

 

Green Party's Jill Stein Selects Human-Rights Activist Ajamu Baraka as Running Mate | 01 Aug 2016 | Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate running for President against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump,announced Monday that she has selected Ajamu Baraka, a human-rights activist and intellectual, as her prospective Vice President. Stein, a doctor turned politician who also ran for the country's highest office in 2012, described Baraka as an "activist, writer, intellectual and organizer with a powerful voice, vision, and lifelong commitment to building true political revolution" in a statement. Baraka, the founding executive director of the U.S. Human Rights Network, is known for his decades-long social-justice efforts and his opposition to the death penalty.

 

 'World's saddest polar bear' is still stuck in Guangzhou aquarium; 500,000 sign petition calling for animal's release | 29 July 2016 | The Grandview Aquarium, located inside a sprawling shopping mall in Guangzhou, has become notorious for its questionable treatment of its animals, in particular one very sad-looking polar bear named Pizza. Day in and day out, people crowd around the outside of Pizza's pen prison, tapping on the glass, trying to get the mopey bear to move around and pose for a good picture. The blinding flash of cameras has become a non-stop annoyance for the poor creature. In March, the animal welfare group Animals Asia posted a video featuring Pizza -- "the world's saddest polar bear." They followed that up byreleasing a petition [now at over 520,000 signatures] calling for the aquarium to be closed and Pizza freed. [Please sign petition.] 

 

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Maybe you believed

They told you the tax cuts were to return your money to you even though they were tax cuts for the wealthy.

Maybe you believed.

They told you tax cuts for the wealthy created jobs....Trickle Down they said.

Maybe you believed.

They told you deficits didn't matter.

Maybe you believed.

They told you nuclear energy was safe.

Did you believe? Did residents surrounding Fukishima believe? 

Did they tell you nuclear energy was 100% taxpayer subsidized? Did they tell you the nuclear power plants are unprepared for Global Warming Extreme Weather?

What else did they tell you on Fox News?  

 

Problems at Five Nuclear Plants - Hurricane Sandy 30 Oct 2012 The nation's oldest nuclear plant declared an alert and a second plant just 40 miles from New York City was forced to shut down power as five different nuke plants in Hurricane Sandy's path experienced problems during the storm. Indian Point in Buchanan, New York, on the Hudson River north of New York City, automatically shut power to its unit 3 on Monday night "as a result of an electrical grid disturbance," according to Entergy, the plant's operator... Operators also declared an alert at the nation's oldest nuclear plant, Oyster Creek in Lacey Township, New Jersey, on Monday evening after the center of Sandy made landfall, "due to water exceeding certain high water level criteria in the plant's water intake structure." The plant also lost power, which is critical to keep spent fuel rods from overheating, but "the station's two backup diesel generators activated immediately," Exelon said.

NJ nuclear plant on alert as state struggles to cope with Sandy's surge 30 Oct 2012 America’s oldest nuclear power plant is on alert after waters from a colossal storm reached high levels. Oyster Creek in Lacey Township, New Jersey, was already offline for regular maintenance before Sandy, a superstorm downgraded Monday night from a hurricane, slammed the East Coast. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says an "unusual event" was declared around 7 p.m. when water reached a high level. The situation was upgraded less than two hours later to an "alert," the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system.

Japan-Style Nuclear Safety Errors Abound, Regulator Warns 30 Oct 2012 Japan's nuclear safety failures that led to last year's disaster at Fukushima are being repeated in other countries that operate atomic reactors, according to France's top regulator. Nuclear safety focuses too much on technology and not enough on the human side of preventing accidents, Andre-Claude Lacoste, 70, the outgoing head of the French Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, said in an interview. Regulators in some countries, which he declined to name, lack enough independence from industry and government to be able to identify nuclear safety shortfalls, Lacoste said.

Sandy's mammoth wake: 46 dead, millions without power, transit --Storm's impact to widen as it disperses north to Canada, south to Tennessee 31 Oct 2012 The sweep of devastation from Superstorm Sandy became heartbreakingly clear Tuesday: At least 46 people are dead, and authorities face the unimaginable task of restoring power and transit for millions of others. "We have not seen damage like this in a generation," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, assessing the scope of a hurricane that swept homes into the ocean, flooded large swaths of coastal areas, left millions of people without power and crippled transportation, told NBC News.

First an electricity blackout and now CELL PHONE coverage is down as users in Manhattan battle signal failures --Many people are virtually cut off and have no way of calling for help if there are further emergencies 30 Oct 2012 Thousands of people in Manhattan woke to find they had no cell phone coverage this morning after Superstorm Sandy battered the city's phone masts. Cell phone users in large swathes of Lower Manhattan suffered the signal failures after 24 hours of devastating weather. For many it means they are virtually cut off and have no way of contacting friends or family or calling for help if there are further emergencies.

Transformer explosion at 14th St Con Edison building 30 Oct 2012 A transformer reportedly exploded last night as Hurricane Sandy slammed the city, shortly before power was lost throughout much of lower Manhattan. A power failure struck the Con Edison command center near Union Square around 8pm, according to the Wall Street Journal, following a substation failure that is reportedly responsible for loss of power in Greenwich Village and Lower Manhattan. Con Ed had preemptively cut power to residents south of the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan to protect underground equipment from water damage, in a move described as unprecedented.