Plutonium is Forever

Been reading a book called "The Cult of the Atom: The Secret Papers of the Atomic Energy Commission" by Daniel Ford (circa 1984).  It has been a real eye opener on the degree of influence the industry and their political pals had on trumping safety decisions in this industry over decades.  It was way worse than I ever thought.  And that was pretty bad to start with.  I wonder if there are equivalent books on the development experience in other countries.

And related older news tidbits....

Nuclear Power Station Runs Without Safety Device - The Ecologist (UK) - 18/06/2007

"The Independent on Sunday received documents released under the Freedom of Information act which showed that the Nuclear Installation Inspectorate, Britain's nuclear watchdog, judged Oldbury to be unsafe for operation during the next 18 months, but operation was allowed to continue anyway."

"The power station is now closed indefinitely, after a non-nuclear fire broke out elsewhere in the facility."

Scotland Says No to Nuclear Waste - The Ecologist (UK) - 27/06/2007

"The Scottish Executive has firmly refused to have nuclear waste buried north of the border, when asked as part of a new government consultation exercise.  But it appears that the Executive's decision was based on a technicality.

First Minister Alex Salmond made his decision not to allow 'deep geological disposal' - burying waste at a depth of many hundreds of metres underground - but said that 'near surface disposal' would have been a suitable option."

Seems like an odd form of "No" to me.

Plutonium is Forever

Been reading a book called "The Cult of the Atom: The Secret Papers of the Atomic Energy Commission" by Daniel Ford (circa 1984).  It has been a real eye opener on the degree of influence the industry and their political pals had on trumping safety decisions in this industry over decades.  It was way worse than I ever thought.  And that was pretty bad to start with.  I wonder if there are equivalent books on the development experience in other countries.

And related older news tidbits....

Nuclear Power Station Runs Without Safety Device - The Ecologist (UK) - 18/06/2007

"The Independent on Sunday received documents released under the Freedom of Information act which showed that the Nuclear Installation Inspectorate, Britain's nuclear watchdog, judged Oldbury to be unsafe for operation during the next 18 months, but operation was allowed to continue anyway."

"The power station is now closed indefinitely, after a non-nuclear fire broke out elsewhere in the facility."

Scotland Says No to Nuclear Waste - The Ecologist (UK) - 27/06/2007

"The Scottish Executive has firmly refused to have nuclear waste buried north of the border, when asked as part of a new government consultation exercise.  But it appears that the Executive's decision was based on a technicality.

First Minister Alex Salmond made his decision not to allow 'deep geological disposal' - burying waste at a depth of many hundreds of metres underground - but said that 'near surface disposal' would have been a suitable option."

Seems like an odd form of "No" to me.

Down Brasil Way (and Elsewhere)

Been very interested recently in how more direct democracy can be implemented in our local political scene. Kind of like the weather, everyone talks about more democracy but no one much does anything about it.

Interesting things have been happening with "participatory budgeting" in Latin America and I downloaded a bunch of pdf and ppt files from a Google search on this term. Very interesting indeed.

There are several really excellent articles on what else is going on progressively in Latin America these days. Workers-cooperatives in Argentina and Venezuela, doctor training in Cuba, various new participatory democracy models, etc.. Worth a look.

Summer 2007 Issue: Latin America Rising - Yes Magazine

"Democracy: Latin America Leaps Ahead

Change is the rule in today's Latin America. The people demanded a new direction, and dictatorships have given way to democracies. After 20 years of stagnation, economies are taking off, and people are rising out of poverty. Here are stories of change from the bottom up—Latin America shows us the way."

Down Brasil Way (and Elsewhere)

Been very interested recently in how more direct democracy can be implemented in our local political scene. Kind of like the weather, everyone talks about more democracy but no one much does anything about it.

Interesting things have been happening with "participatory budgeting" in Latin America and I downloaded a bunch of pdf and ppt files from a Google search on this term. Very interesting indeed.

There are several really excellent articles on what else is going on progressively in Latin America these days. Workers-cooperatives in Argentina and Venezuela, doctor training in Cuba, various new participatory democracy models, etc.. Worth a look.

Summer 2007 Issue: Latin America Rising - Yes Magazine

"Democracy: Latin America Leaps Ahead

Change is the rule in today's Latin America. The people demanded a new direction, and dictatorships have given way to democracies. After 20 years of stagnation, economies are taking off, and people are rising out of poverty. Here are stories of change from the bottom up—Latin America shows us the way."