Radwaste
Quite how they came to be preserving the Lake District “brand” instead of considering the potential effect on the environment and people’s well-being is unclear, but a useful tactic for diverting from the real matters which need to be considered.
Toxic Coast 28th April 2012 more >>
EON
Energy supplier E.ON has been forced to apologise to 65,000 companies after telling them they would have to pay a climate change tax at 1,000 times the real rate.
Telegraph 28th April 2012 more >>
Japan
JAPAN will take its last operational nuclear reactor offline next weekend, but the country may not be nuclear-free for long. Since the earthquake and tsunami devastated the country’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility on 11 March last year, all but one of Japan’s 54 reactors have been taken offline for routine maintenance or safety checks. With public opposition to nuclear power strong, none has yet restarted. Japan’s last operational reactor, on the northern island of Hokkaido – will go offline on 5 May. But with a third of Japan’s energy previously nuclear, political pressure to reopen the reactors is mounting. Last week the country’s prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, laid out the case in The Washington Post. He argues that importing energy is a crippling cost to industry.
New Scientist 28th April 2012 more >>
Iran
The United Nations has confirmed that talks with Iran over its nuclear programme will resume in Vienna next month.
Guardian 28th April 2012 more >>
The former head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency has accused the country’s leadership of “misleading” the public on the merits of a possible military strike on Iran. Yuval Diskin said an attack might speed up any attempt by Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb. The comment follows remarks by other leading figures contradicting the prime minister and defence chief’s views on the subject.
BBC 28th April 2012 more >>
North Korea
NEW satellite imagery appears to show preparations under way at a North Korean nuclear test site. Early this month South Korean intelligence reported the digging of a new tunnel at the Punggye-ri site, which it took as a sign that North Korea was covertly preparing for a third nuclear test, following previous ones in 2006 and 2009.
Sunday Herald 29th April 2012 more >>
Telegraph 28th April 2012 more >>
Renewables
Stepping from a plane into Kenyas bright sunshine, Simon Bransfield-Garth knew that his bag was packed perfectly for the climate. In his hand luggage was a simple keypad linked to a solar panel, a battery and some low-energy lights. The kit, developed by Eight19, a company spun out of Cambridge University and led by Bransfield-Garth, was the prototype for Indigo, a pay-as-you-go solar electricity system now being rolled out in rural communities across Africa. In Kenya, where the average income is $2 to $3 a day, the $50 (£30) cost of a modest solar lighting kit is the equivalent of buying a second-hand car in Britain. That cost is the main barrier to the take-up of solar power in countries such as Kenya where many homes are miles from the electricity grid but there is plenty of sunshine.
Sunday Times 29th April 2012 more >>
THE owner of the seabed around the UK yesterday opened up the Pentland Firth to wave and tidal power devices, allowing firms to bid for spaces to test their equipment in the waters that First Minister Alex Salmond once described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power. The Crown Estate, which manages British waters on behalf of the Queen, said companies that are competing for the Scottish Governments saltire prize and taking part in the UK-wide demonstration projects can now apply for licences to use the sea between Caithness and Orkney.
Scotsman 28th April 2012 more >>
