Ever Later and More Expensive in Olkiluoto

Slip sliding away.

Areva Faces 50 Percent Cost Rise for Finnish Nuclear Reactor - AFP - 27 Aug 08

"The cost of constructing the plant at Olkiluoto has risen from three billion to 4.5 billion euros (6.7 billion dollars), the paper reported citing an unidentified source. The increase was due not only to the global rise in prices, but Areva's having to send in additional workers to 'ensure work proceeds better,' the report said."

"Areva has been forced to set aside one billion euro in provisions to absorb the rise in costs, the newspaper said, but the company will still announce Friday record profits of nearly 750 million euros. Construction delays have already forced Areva to push back the target date for the reactor to enter service to 2011 from 2009. "

Ever Later and More Expensive in Olkiluoto

Slip sliding away.

Areva Faces 50 Percent Cost Rise for Finnish Nuclear Reactor - AFP - 27 Aug 08

"The cost of constructing the plant at Olkiluoto has risen from three billion to 4.5 billion euros (6.7 billion dollars), the paper reported citing an unidentified source. The increase was due not only to the global rise in prices, but Areva's having to send in additional workers to 'ensure work proceeds better,' the report said."

"Areva has been forced to set aside one billion euro in provisions to absorb the rise in costs, the newspaper said, but the company will still announce Friday record profits of nearly 750 million euros. Construction delays have already forced Areva to push back the target date for the reactor to enter service to 2011 from 2009. "

Pigs Seen Flying in Santa Barbara

I guess Hummers trump oil rigs these days.

Santa Barbara County Supervisors Give Support to Offshore Oil - New Times SLO - 27 Aug 08

"Santa Barbara County, the center of a national movement against offshore offshore oil drilling following a 1969 spill, has now, officially, changed its mind.

At an Aug. 26 hearing of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, a 3-2 majority opted to send a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger requesting a change in state policy to allow the expansion of oil exploration—especially offshore drilling—in the county. The board heard presentations from county staffers and several representatives of pro- and anti-oil organizations describing the current state of oil and natural gas production in the county.

The board also listened to comments—both for and against the expansion of oil exploration—from 80 speakers, including environmentalists, economists, and concerned citizens. Heavy on the minds of everyone involved was the disastrous 1969 spill that dumped approximately 80,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara."

Back to the future quote:

"I am amazed at the publicity for the loss of a few birds." - Fred L. Hartley, President, Union Oil Company

It's all under control now. Right.

Exxon Let PCBs Leak for Years Off Santa Barbara Coast - ENS - 25 Aug 08

"Between 2002 and 2005, two large electrical transformers on an Exxon Mobil offshore oil and gas platform in the Santa Barbara Channel leaked nearly 400 gallons of fluid contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs."

"In 2005, Exxon replaced the two transformers with others that contain no PCBs, but the company 'allowed one of the transformers to leak for almost two years before repairing it,' said the EPA in a statement announcing the fine. Exxon also failed to ensure that workers who cleaned up the leaked fluid were provided with protective clothing or equipment to guard against direct contact with and inhalation of PCBs."

Pigs Seen Flying in Santa Barbara

I guess Hummers trump oil rigs these days.

Santa Barbara County Supervisors Give Support to Offshore Oil - New Times SLO - 27 Aug 08

"Santa Barbara County, the center of a national movement against offshore offshore oil drilling following a 1969 spill, has now, officially, changed its mind.

At an Aug. 26 hearing of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, a 3-2 majority opted to send a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger requesting a change in state policy to allow the expansion of oil exploration—especially offshore drilling—in the county. The board heard presentations from county staffers and several representatives of pro- and anti-oil organizations describing the current state of oil and natural gas production in the county.

The board also listened to comments—both for and against the expansion of oil exploration—from 80 speakers, including environmentalists, economists, and concerned citizens. Heavy on the minds of everyone involved was the disastrous 1969 spill that dumped approximately 80,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara."

Back to the future quote:

"I am amazed at the publicity for the loss of a few birds." - Fred L. Hartley, President, Union Oil Company

It's all under control now. Right.

Exxon Let PCBs Leak for Years Off Santa Barbara Coast - ENS - 25 Aug 08

"Between 2002 and 2005, two large electrical transformers on an Exxon Mobil offshore oil and gas platform in the Santa Barbara Channel leaked nearly 400 gallons of fluid contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs."

"In 2005, Exxon replaced the two transformers with others that contain no PCBs, but the company 'allowed one of the transformers to leak for almost two years before repairing it,' said the EPA in a statement announcing the fine. Exxon also failed to ensure that workers who cleaned up the leaked fluid were provided with protective clothing or equipment to guard against direct contact with and inhalation of PCBs."

Areva's Flagship Nuke in France Nine-Months Behind

More from the experts in France. From the niftly titled Le Canard enchaîné newspaper. (Translation: the chained-up duck, with duck slang for newspaper in French.)

Greenpeace Reaction to France's Nine-Month Nuclear Delay - Greenpeace - 27 Aug 08

"Just nine months into construction, Areva's new flagship nuclear reactor is already nine months behind schedule. This delay echoes the problems at Areva's previous site in Olkiluoto, Finland, where construction is more than two years behind schedule, more than 2 billion Euro over budget and beset with safety problems."

"French newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reports that problems with concrete pouring and the reactor liner have led to the delay. These mirror the problems at the Olkiluoto 3 construction site."

Areva's Flagship Nuke in France Nine-Months Behind

More from the experts in France. From the niftly titled Le Canard enchaîné newspaper. (Translation: the chained-up duck, with duck slang for newspaper in French.)

Greenpeace Reaction to France's Nine-Month Nuclear Delay - Greenpeace - 27 Aug 08

"Just nine months into construction, Areva's new flagship nuclear reactor is already nine months behind schedule. This delay echoes the problems at Areva's previous site in Olkiluoto, Finland, where construction is more than two years behind schedule, more than 2 billion Euro over budget and beset with safety problems."

"French newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reports that problems with concrete pouring and the reactor liner have led to the delay. These mirror the problems at the Olkiluoto 3 construction site."

McCain's Family Values

A sad story but someone certainly should note it. Anyone think the NY Times or WaPo would touch this with a ten foot pole?

The Wife John McCain Callously Left Behind - Daily Mail (UK) - 08 Jun 08

". . . there is another Mrs McCain who casts a ghostly shadow over the Senator’s presidential campaign. She is seldom seen and rarely written about, despite being mother to McCain’s three eldest children.

And yet, had events turned out differently, it would be she, rather than Cindy, who would be vying to be First Lady. She is McCain’s first wife, Carol, who was a famous beauty and a successful swimwear model when they married in 1965. She was the woman McCain dreamed of during his long incarceration and torture in Vietnam’s infamous 'Hanoi Hilton' prison and the woman who faithfully stayed at home looking after the children and waiting anxiously for news.

But when McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries."

"For nearly 30 years, Carol has maintained a dignified silence about the accident, McCain and their divorce. But last week at the bungalow where she now lives at Virginia Beach, a faded seaside resort 200 miles south of Washington, she told The Mail on Sunday how McCain divorced her in 1980 and married Cindy, 18 years his junior and the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, just one month later."

"Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics. 'McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,' he said. 'After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.'"

McCain's Family Values

A sad story but someone certainly should note it. Anyone think the NY Times or WaPo would touch this with a ten foot pole?

The Wife John McCain Callously Left Behind - Daily Mail (UK) - 08 Jun 08

". . . there is another Mrs McCain who casts a ghostly shadow over the Senator’s presidential campaign. She is seldom seen and rarely written about, despite being mother to McCain’s three eldest children.

And yet, had events turned out differently, it would be she, rather than Cindy, who would be vying to be First Lady. She is McCain’s first wife, Carol, who was a famous beauty and a successful swimwear model when they married in 1965. She was the woman McCain dreamed of during his long incarceration and torture in Vietnam’s infamous 'Hanoi Hilton' prison and the woman who faithfully stayed at home looking after the children and waiting anxiously for news.

But when McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries."

"For nearly 30 years, Carol has maintained a dignified silence about the accident, McCain and their divorce. But last week at the bungalow where she now lives at Virginia Beach, a faded seaside resort 200 miles south of Washington, she told The Mail on Sunday how McCain divorced her in 1980 and married Cindy, 18 years his junior and the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, just one month later."

"Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics. 'McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,' he said. 'After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.'"