Friday, January 25, 2013

Put uranium mining to a vote / Va. county home to uranium deposit backs ban / Danville City Council Unanimously Votes Against Uranium Mining / Uranium opponents offered free bus trip to Richmond on Monday / Halifax County Officials Urge Locals to Attend Anti-Uranium Rally / Canada's Uranium One to go private in $1.3 billion deal / Swiss want early nuclear phase out /

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Uranium opponents offered free bus trip to Richmond on Monday

Last Updated on 06:31 AM 01/24/13
BY The Gazette-Virginian
We the People of Virginia, Inc. is sponsoring a free bus trip for opponents of uranium mining on Monday, Jan. 28, but they bus will leave earlier than previously announced.
According to Jack Dunavant, chairman of We the People, the bus will leave St. John’s Church parking lot in Halifax at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, instead of the previously announced 9:30 a.m. because the group needs to be in Richmond earlier.
The bus will return by 5 p.m. the same day.
Dunavant encourages those going on the trip to bring lunch or have money to buy lunch.
“The people need to descend on the Capitol in the hundreds even thousands to send a message to our elected officials to stop uranium mining in Virginia now,” he said. “Our politicians will decide our fate in the next few weeks. They need to know that the people overwhelmingly say no to uranium mining.”
“Please take a day from work to save your property values and your family’s health. Come join us, and let’s take our message to Richmond,” he added.
Also, Dunavant urged opponents of uranium mining to visit www.generalassembly.gov and call or email all the representatives and tell them to keep the moratorium on uranium mining.
“We all can play a part, but we really need you on this trip,” he added.
For more information or to register for the bus ride to Richmond, call 434-476-6648.

Halifax County Officials Urge Locals to Attend Anti-Uranium Rally

Posted: Jan 24, 2013 5:48 PM EST
Halifax Co., VA - Officials in Halifax County are urging locals that oppose uranium mining to join them at an anti-uranium rally in Richmond.
The rally will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday at Capitol Square in Richmond.
Folks from all over the state are expected to be there, letting their voices be heard in support of keeping the ban.
We The People of Virginia, Inc., a Halifax County based opposition group, will be offering free transportation to the rally.
For more information on the free trip, contact Jack Dunavant at 434-476-6648
http://www.wset.com/story/20680884/halifax-county-officials-urge-locals-to-attend-anti-uranium-rally



Canada's Uranium One to go private in $1.3 billion deal
Reuters) - Russian state-controlled miner JSC Atomredmetzoloto has agreed to raise its stake in Uranium One Inc (Toronto:UUU.TO - News) to 100 percent in a deal that values the Canadian miner at C$2.74 billion ($2.8 billion).
Atomredmetzoloto, or ARMZ, already owns 51.4 percent of Uranium One. It will pay C$1.3 billion, or C$2.86 per share, for the rest of the company before delisting it from the Toronto Stock Exchange, both companies said on Monday.
ARMZ's offer is at a 19 percent premium to the stock's Friday close. Uranium One's shares have fallen to C$2.41 from a peak of C$18.65 in March 2007, when spot uranium was trading at more than triple current prices.
The acquisition will give ARMZ full control of Uranium One's assets in Kazakhstan, the United States and Australia. The Toronto-based company has almost tripled production since 2009.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/canadas-uranium-one-private-1-141738164.html

Swiss want early nuclear phase out



Read more: Swiss want early nuclear phase out - FierceEnergy http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/swiss-want-early-nuclear-phase-out/2013-01-24#ixzz2J0kLaAFT
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Put uranium mining to a vote

The Editorial Board | Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 6:00 am
To the editor:
As an attorney and property owner in Pittsylvania County for some 20 years — with ample opportunity to observe the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors at work in board and committee meetings and in work sessions — I believe I speak with some authority in concluding that the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors is, has been and will continue to be a pervasively dysfunctional, embarrassing, self-serving political body incapable of competent governance.
In this low opinion of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors I am not alone. It is an opinion also shared by Virginia Uranium Inc.
More than two years ago, I was assured by one of VUI’s principals, who understood my very public concerns regarding the incompetence of this board that VUI would make sure that any taxable income from uranium mining would go into a trust, and would not be made available for discretionary spending by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors.
Sure enough, the proposals put forward by VUI’s lobbyists through the two legislators from Powhatan County include a provision that any tax proceeds from VUI’s uranium mining and milling activities must go into a trust, and not into the hands of Pittsylvania County’s Board of Supervisors.
Harville, as chairman of the "gang of four" that has made the board so dysfunctional, may still think uranium money will be coming his way.
But if Harville were truly convinced that citizens of Pittsylvainia County are the ones who must answer the "important questions" regarding whether or not to allow uranium mining — as he wrote in a column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Jan. 17 — he would be asking the Virginia legislature to enact Local Option legislation allowing citizens to vote by referendum.
"Local Option" legislation would take the uranium mining question out of the hands of local politicians and their political cronies appointed to planning commissions, and would allow the electorate directly to decide the question of whether it wants uranium mining and milling in their locality.
I’m fairly certain that Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, in expressing its opposition to uranium mining, reflects the majority of the electorate in this locality, and in doing so has rejected Harville’s incredible assertion that uranium mining and milling is a perfectly safe activity.
BARBARA HUDSON
Chatham
http://www.newsadvance.com/go_dan_river/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_bae0f098-64f1-11e2-b1bb-001a4bcf6878.html

Va. county home to uranium deposit backs ban

Posted: Thursday, January 24, 2013 6:34 am
CHATHAM, Va. (AP) — The Board of Supervisors in Pittsylvania County is asking Virginia lawmakers to keep in place a moratorium on uranium mining.
The Danville Register & Bee (http://bit.ly/10StlzJl) says supervisors approved the resolution Wednesday.
The General Assembly is considering legislation in Richmond that would end the 1982 ban on uranium mining, which would clear the way for a mining company to tap a 119-million-pound deposit outside of Chatham.
The legislation proposed in the General Assembly would limit uranium mining to the Pittsylvania County deposit and the company proposing to mine it, Virginia Uranium Inc.
Many in the Roanoke Valley, including civic groups, chambers, local governments and elected leaders, have come out against lifting the mining ban.
Many cities that draw their water supplies from Lake Gaston fear the contamination of drinking water, adding Virginia would face formidable challenges to ensure the safe mining and milling of uranium, something that has never been done on the East Coast.
Locally, state Rep. Michael Wray, D-Gaston, has already spoken to the Virginia governor in person, saying Bob McDonnell received a letter from the N.C. General Assembly speaking in opposition to lifting the ban on uranium mining.
The Roanoke River Basin Association, a leading organization in the fight against lifting the ban on uranium mining in Virginia, is calling on Roanoke Valley residents to take a stand.
Concerned residents can visit www.commonhealthva.org for information on how to contact Virginia legislators.

http://www.rrdailyherald.com/access/va-county-home-to-uranium-deposit-backs-ban/article_0aa97e00-661a-11e2-a782-0019bb2963f4.html

Keep Uranium Mining Ban, Sen. Ruff Says

January 12, 2013
By Samantha Morgan
Capital News Service
RICHMOND – Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Clarksville, says Virginia should keep its moratorium on uranium mining – despite a flurry of activity in recent days to lift the ban.
“We believe the ban on mining and milling in Virginia must be maintained, and any legislative effort to lift the ban must be defeated,” said Ruff, who represents a swath of Southside Virginia where a rich uranium deposit has been found.
Ruff, who has been a senator since 2000, joined five other legislators this week in submitting a letter to the General Assembly in support of the state’s existing moratorium against mining uranium.
A member of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, Ruff represents Senate District 15, which includes parts of Brunswick and Pittsylvania counties and surrounding areas.
Also signing the letter were Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Moneta, and Republican Delegates Tommy Wright of Victoria, Danny Marshall of Danville, Don Merricks of Chatham and James Edmunds of Halifax.
They cited recent studies about the proposed mining of a uranium deposit at Coles Hill near Chatham in Pittsylvania County.
“The people we represent have formed an opinion based on what they have learned from these studies,” the letter said.
“The majority of the people in our region want the ban on uranium mining and milling in Virginia to remain. Period. They have concluded that the unknown potential rewards of uranium mining are far outweighed by the unknown risks that may confront their families in future years.”
For example, the Southside Virginia lawmakers said they feared that mining operations could pollute water supplies.
“Understand that over 99 percent of the radioactive rock will be left on site for future generations to worry about polluting drinking water from Pittsylvania to Virginia Beach,” the letter said.
The letter came as proposals to lift the state’s 31-year ban on uranium mining ban gained momentum this past week:
· On Monday, the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission, an advisory panel, voted 11-2 to recommend lifting the moratorium. (Merricks and Sen. Ralph Smith, R-Roanoke County, voted against the idea.)
· On Thursday, Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, and Delegate Jackson Miller, R-Manassas, said they will introduce legislation to establish regulatory and licensing requirements for Virginia Uranium Inc. That company hopes to mine the Coles Hill deposit. Senate Democratic Leader Richard Saslaw of Fairfax also backed lifting the mining ban.
· Dozens of Southside Virginia residents traveled to Richmond and joined Watkins, Miller and Saslaw at a news conference to urge that uranium mining be allowed.
Lifting the ban would create jobs and have a positive economic impact, according to Virginia Uranium Inc. The company said Coles Hill holds an estimated 119 million pounds of uranium that could be used to fuel Virginia’s nuclear power plants.
http://capitalnews.vcu.edu/2013/01/12/keep-uranium-mining-ban-sen-ruff-says/

Danville City Council Unanimously Votes Against Uranium Mining

Posted: Jan 03, 2013 10:30 PM EST

TAKE ACTION: Ranger 3 Deeps uranium mine.

Map-NT-antinukeTake action on plans for further uranium mining in the Kakadu region. Last week Energy Resources of Australia referred their plans for Ranger 3 Deeps to the Federal Government, which signals the formal start of the environmental assessment process. This initial period will decide at what level the mine will be assessed. We believe that this serious development must be assessed at a very high level, we want to ensure a full Environmental Impact Statement is required. You must make your submission by January 30 2013.
The Environment Centre NT will be fully exploring the two subsequent stages of formal public consultation, so and stay tuned for further developments and opportunities to voice your concerns on uranium mining inside Kakadu.
Take action today - submission cut off by WED JAN 30, 2013.
To make your submission, download the referral information from the Federal Environment Department’s website here: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/epbc/epbc_ap.pl?name=current_referral_detail&proposal_id=6722
You can use the pro forma submission in the attachment at the bottom of this page: http://www.ecnt.org/campaigns/kakadu-uranium
 
 

Fracking for uranium permitted by USA’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA)

water-radiationGoliad skeptics have been fighting UEC’s plans for five years. At Goliad the uranium ore is located just 400 feet deep within the same rock as a groundwater reservoir that ranchers tap for drinking water, both for themselves and their livestock. Water, not oil, is the region’s long-term liquid gold. “We are running out of water; I don’t want mine ruined,” said one rancher who asked not to be named. “When you’re out of water, you’re out of everything.”….
A 2009 study of Texas in situ mines by the U.S. Geological Survey … found no instance in which there wasn’t more selenium and uranium in the water than before mining.
Energy’s Latest Battleground: Fracking For Uranium This story appears in the February 11, 2013 issue Fracking for uraniumof Forbes. No tour of Uranium Energy Corp.’s processing plant in Hobson, Tex. is complete until CEO Amir Adnani pries the top off a big black steel drum and invites you to peer inside. There, filled nearly to the brim, is an orange-yellow powder that UEC mined out of the South Texas countryside
http://antinuclear.net/

French army to protect AREVA’s uranium mines in Niger

flag-franceFrance orders special forces to protect Niger uranium: source PARIS Jan 24, 2013 (Reuters) - France has ordered special forces to protect uranium sites run by state-owned Areva in Niger as the threat of attacks on its interests rises after its intervention against rebels in Mali, a military source said on Thursday protest-NigerReporting by John Irish, Geert de Clercq, Muriel Boselli, Michel Rose in Paris and Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey; …….
The military source confirmed a report in weekly magazine Le Point that special forces and equipment would be sent to Areva’s uranium production sites in Imouraren and Arlit very quickly, but declined to go into further details.
http://antinuclear.net/

Germany going really well without nuclear energy

solar,-wind-aghastGermany Thrives Without Nuclear http://www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/flag_germanygerman-renewable-energy-impresses/2179 By January 24th, 2013
Freezing temperatures in both Belgium and Germany have put both countries’ power systems to the test this week, but neither country has experienced electricity blackouts despite the lack of nuclear power.
Two of Belgium’s seven nuclear reactors – Doel 3 and Tihange 2 – were switched off this summer, following the discovery of cracks, cutting 2,000 MW of electricity-generating capacity from Belgium’s electricity network. Even without this nuclear capacity online, the network survived this winter’s peak electricity demand of 13,166 MW on 17 January, L’Echo, a Belgian newspaper, reported.
http://antinuclear.net/

As radiation levels rise, USA government raises the levels of radiation considered “safe”

text ionisingIn the wake of the continuing nuclear tragedy in Japan, the United States government is still moving quickly to increase the amounts of radiation the population can “safely” absorb by raising the safe zone for exposure to levels designed to protect the government and nuclear industry more than human life.”
Flag-USAThe Radiation Warnings You Won’t Get from the Mainstream Propaganda Machine January 22, 2013, The mainstream media and the federal government will soon have the blood of the world on it’s hands.
Radiation from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster in Japan is now actively in the ecosystem all along the North American west coast… even the sea weed is now radiated. The Vancouver Sun reported one year ago that the seaweed tested from waters off the coast of British Columbia were 4 times the amount considered safe. No further test results were released after the initial report.
The governments of the United States and Canada are not conducting tests for radioactivity – at least not to the knowledge of the public. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has agreed to continue purchasing seafood from Japan, despite the fact that the food is not being tested for radioactive contamination. Last November, independent testing in Japan showed 65 per cent of the catches tested positive for cesium (a radioactive material). Instead of refusing to purchase the poisoned fish, food safety agencies in both the United States and Canada have simply raised the “acceptable level of radiation.” We can’t go offending the Japanese after promising to buy their tainted goods, now can we?
http://antinuclear.net/


Fukushima, from Nuclear Power to Wind Power

http://blog.cleantechies.com/2013/01/22/fukushima-from-nuclear-power-to-wind-power/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cleantechies+(CleanTechies+Blog)

EnergyRefuge.comPublished on Date January 22nd, 2013 by EnergyRefuge.com