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"Vermont is showing the nation that it doesn't need nuclear power, said Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., on Wednesday during an Environment and Public Works Committee oversight hearing on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Green Mountain State has proven people can rely on energy efficiencies to reduce their electric consumption and on renewables to provide the supply that they need, he said. "Vermont is a leader in energy efficiency," he said. "We have reduced our electric consumption thanks to ... energy efficiency (and) our people do not live in caves." Over the past 10 years, said Sanders, the state has cut its electric consumption by 1.5 percent each year. By 2020, if the nation were to be "slightly more aggressive" than Vermont in its energy efficiency implementation, it could reduce its peak electric demands by 117,000 megawatts. "That would save more power than the entire capacity of the existing United States nuclear power plant fleet," said Sanders. "

The question of a controversial law's constitutionality could halt new nuclear reactors in Georgia, such as the proposed Plant Vogtle. A group opposed to reactors on environmental grounds is using a legal challenge to the financing mechanism granted to Georgia Power during the last legislative session as a way to prevent what it considers to be an ecological mistake. Senate Bill 31 violates the state and federal constitutions on several points, argue lawyers for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The group, which is based in Tennessee but has members and offices in Georgia, has often spoken out against nuclear power and in favor of solar and wind power. Sara Barczak, of the group's Savannah office, relied on environmental arguments in December when she testified against the plant before the Public Service Commission. "Downstream communities should be concerned about project water consumption at the proposed Vogtle site because consumptive water loss, especially during low river flows, can pose significant negative impacts to water quality and aquatic resources," she said.

"It's easy to get into a conversation about nuclear power in Idaho. After all, the Idaho National Laboratory is the nation's lead nuclear energy and research facility, touted by our senators and congressmen who assert that nuclear power is the solution to climate change. Chances are good that the power structure of the state, the nation and even some turncoat environmentalists will bole you over with glossy facts. A wise person will want to have his or her own stockpile of retorts to enliven the conversation. Consider these points: · Nuclear power plants, like coal-fired plants and natural gas, are about maintaining the infrastructure of centralized power and the habits of excessive consumption, which rely on big power while decimating the Earth. Localized, regionalized energy production from renewable sources-wind, solar, geothermal, biomass-involves the community in responsible energy consumption. "

A proposed energy park at Hanford could include piped natural gas, a biofuel plant and acres of solar panels that may help power the vitrification plant and one day produce commercial power. Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford programs for the Tri-City Development Council, told Benton County commissioners Wednesday that Cascade Natural Gas has proposed piping natural gas to the future site, which could supply a significant amount of the energy needed to power the vitrification plant being built there. Two Cascade pipelines could be used. One would have to cross the Yakima River and the other would have to cross the Columbia. Natural gas is one of four proposals being eyed to offset energy consumption by the massive plant being built to turn some of Hanford's worst waste into a stable glass form.

A proposed energy park at Hanford could include piped natural gas, a biofuel plant and acres of solar panels that may help power the vitrification plant and one day produce commercial power. Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford programs for the Tri-City Development Council, told Benton County commissioners Wednesday that Cascade Natural Gas has proposed piping natural gas to the future site, which could supply a significant amount of the energy needed to power the vitrification plant being built there. Two Cascade pipelines could be used. One would have to cross the Yakima River and the other would have to cross the Columbia. Natural gas is one of four proposals being eyed to offset energy consumption by the massive plant being built to turn some of Hanford's worst waste into a stable glass form.

China has approved the construction of a new nuclear plant in its eastern coastal region, in the latest step in Beijing's plan to include more clean energy in the country's consumption mix. The State Council, or cabinet, issued a licence last week for the building of the first phase of the Haiyang nuclear power station in Shandong province, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission announced. Two reactors will be built initially, both using US-based Westinghouse Electric's AP 1000 third generation technology, the commission said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday. Each reactor will have a capacity of 1.25 gigawatts, the statement said. The reactors will be operational in May 2014 and March 2015, respectively.

China has approved the construction of a new nuclear plant in its eastern coastal region, in the latest step in Beijing's plan to include more clean energy in the country's consumption mix. The State Council, or cabinet, issued a licence last week for the building of the first phase of the Haiyang nuclear power station in Shandong province, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission announced. Two reactors will be built initially, both using US-based Westinghouse Electric's AP 1000 third generation technology, the commission said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday. Each reactor will have a capacity of 1.25 gigawatts, the statement said. The reactors will be operational in May 2014 and March 2015, respectively.

Most Texas homes weren't built as if energy mattered. Despite 100-degree summer days, our roofs are still covered in heat-absorbing black-tar shingles. Cheap insulation in the attic, leaky doors, and single-paned windows mean when the air conditioner runs, it runs loads of cooled air right out the house. San Antonio's CPS Energy plans to spend $850 million to eliminate 771 megawatts of wasteful energy consumption through weatherization programs and rebates to help residential and commercial customers replace lights and appliances, and hoist solar panels onto their roofs by 2020. To do that will cost roughly $1,100 per saved kilowatt, according to the utility. However, 80 miles to the northeast, municipally owned Austin Energy has already cut 800 megawatts through energy efficiency over the last 20 years at a cost of roughly $350 per kilowatt, said Scott Jarman, consulting engineer with Austin Energy's efficiency program. But after 20 years of efficiency work, the savings are increasingly hard to find, and accordingly, more costly.

Most Texas homes weren't built as if energy mattered. Despite 100-degree summer days, our roofs are still covered in heat-absorbing black-tar shingles. Cheap insulation in the attic, leaky doors, and single-paned windows mean when the air conditioner runs, it runs loads of cooled air right out the house. San Antonio's CPS Energy plans to spend $850 million to eliminate 771 megawatts of wasteful energy consumption through weatherization programs and rebates to help residential and commercial customers replace lights and appliances, and hoist solar panels onto their roofs by 2020. To do that will cost roughly $1,100 per saved kilowatt, according to the utility. However, 80 miles to the northeast, municipally owned Austin Energy has already cut 800 megawatts through energy efficiency over the last 20 years at a cost of roughly $350 per kilowatt, said Scott Jarman, consulting engineer with Austin Energy's efficiency program. But after 20 years of efficiency work, the savings are increasingly hard to find, and accordingly, more costly.

The Government is considering fresh tax breaks for Britain's nuclear power industry that could smooth the way for the construction of a new generation of UK reactors, The Times has learnt. Whitehall insiders have told The Times that officials at the Department for Energy and Climate Change have been studying the possibility of an exemption for nuclear electricity from the climate change levy, a tax on industrial energy consumption that was created to boost energy efficiency. The levy, which was introduced in 2001, raises an estimated £1 billion a year for the Treasury. Suppliers pay the levy on electricity provided to businesses to Customs & Excise and then pass on the costs to customers.

The Government is considering fresh tax breaks for Britain's nuclear power industry that could smooth the way for the construction of a new generation of UK reactors, The Times has learnt. Whitehall insiders have told The Times that officials at the Department for Energy and Climate Change have been studying the possibility of an exemption for nuclear electricity from the climate change levy, a tax on industrial energy consumption that was created to boost energy efficiency. The levy, which was introduced in 2001, raises an estimated £1 billion a year for the Treasury. Suppliers pay the levy on electricity provided to businesses to Customs & Excise and then pass on the costs to customers.

"Just once, it would be nice if a president would level with Americans on energy. Barack Obama isn't that president. His speech the other night was about political damage control -- his own. It was full of misinformation and mythology. Obama held out a gleaming vision of an America that would convert to the "clean" energy of, presumably, wind, solar and biomass. It isn't going to happen for many, many decades, if ever. For starters, we won't soon end our "addiction to fossil fuels." Oil, coal and natural gas supply about 85 percent of America's energy needs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects energy consumption to grow only an average of 0.5 percent annually from 2008 to 2035, but that's still a 14 percent cumulative increase. Fossil fuel usage would increase slightly in 2035 and its share would still account for 78 percent of the total. "

"The issue of energy subsidies is heating up. The cards are out, positions are being redefined and bargaining is in process. A concerted effort is on to get this anomaly to the maximum possible and the issue was mentioned at the just-concluded G20 summit in Toronto too. The final communiqué at the end of the G20 summit here in Toronto not only noted with appreciation the report on energy subsidies from the International Energy Agency, OPEC, OECD and the World Bank combined, but also welcomed the work of the finance and energy ministers "in delivering implementation strategies and timeframes, based on national circumstances, for the rationalization and phase out - over the medium term - of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourages wasteful consumption, taking into account vulnerable groups and their development needs." The IEA, OPEC and the World Bank report on fossil fuel subsidies was prepared at the request of the previous G20 summit in Pittsburgh."

"Grandey, chief executive of Cameco Corp, admits to being an anti-nuclear activist in his youth. His company is now among the leading foreign investors in Kazakhstan's fast-growing uranium sector. Kazakhstan surpassed Canada last year as the world's largest uranium miner. With more than 15 percent of global reserves, the Central Asian state is poised to become the primary supplier of the metal to a new generation of nuclear reactors worldwide. "The uranium potential of Kazakhstan is remarkable," said Gregory Vojack, an Almaty-based attorney at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP who advised state nuclear firm Kazatomprom on a $500 million Eurobond last month. The issue was eight times oversubscribed. Global uranium consumption is forecast by the World Nuclear Association to reach 91,537 tonnes by 2020 and 106,128 tonnes by 2030, increases of 33 percent and 55 percent respectively from the 68,646 tonnes forecast for this year."

Steve Fetter, dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, supplies an answer: If the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has accurately estimated the planet's economically accessible uranium resources, reactors could run more than 200 years at current rates of consumption. Most of the 2.8 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity generated worldwide from nuclear power every year is produced in light-water reactors (LWRs) using low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. About 10 metric tons of natural uranium go into producing a metric ton of LEU, which can then be used to generate about 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, so present-day reactors require about 70,000 metric tons of natural uranium a year.

The 2009 legislative session will address the need for more base-load electricity generation in Missouri. Ameren Corp. serves 1.2 million Missouri electric customers representing nearly 50% of Missouri's total consumption. They expect demand to increase 30% by 2020. Ameren is seeking the necessary licenses and funding to construct a second nuclear unit at their existing Callaway nuclear facility near Fulton, MO. Some changes to Missouri laws regulating electric utilities may be needed in order for Ameren or any utility to finance new base-load plants.

Self-proclaimed "sensible environmentalist" Patrick Moore opened the UW Energy Hub Conference Friday by advocating nuclear energy, calling it the most effective way of reducing carbon emissions and consumption of fossil fuels. Although he was a founding member of Greenpeace, Moore left the organization, feeling his colleagues created policies based on sensation rather than science. He is now a co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, a pro-nuclear energy association.

Proponents of nuclear power speak of a "nuclear renaissance." The facts show that rather than a renaissance, we face a nuclear apocalypse, heralded by, instead of the traditional four horsemen, five horsemen: cost, proliferation, risk, waste, and water consumption. Consider them individually:

With the launch today of its first Nuclear Energy Outlook, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) makes an important contribution to ongoing discussions of nuclear energy's potential role in the energy mixes of its member countries. As world energy demand continues to grow unabated, many countries face serious concerns about the security of energy supplies, rising energy prices and climate change stemming from fossil fuel consumption.

The mining of uranium has long been a controversial public issue, and a renewed debate has emerged on the potential for nuclear power to help mitigate against climate change. The central thesis of pro-nuclear advocates is the lower carbon intensity of nuclear energy compared to fossil fuels, although there remains very little detailed analysis of the true carbon costs of nuclear energy. In this paper, we compile and analyze a range of data on uranium mining and milling, including uranium resources as well as sustainability metrics such as energy and water consumption and carbon emissions with respect to uranium productionsarguably the first time for modern projects.

On a Connecticut public radio program I listened to recently, two guests discussed their views of the growing energy problem overwhelming the US economy. Both pundits, who are political columnists for national magazines, agreed that in addition to conservation measures and an increase in renewable sources, nuclear power is a card that the US must hold in its hand in order to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and our consumption of fossil fuels. Both speakers agreed that nuclear was a good investment, as it was "clean and had almost no carbon footprint."

The consumption of well water in three towns in the Vaucluse region and the irrigation of crops using water from the Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers are also prohibited. France's nuclear safety agency said liquid containing traces of unenriched uranium leaked from the Tricastin nuclear site near Avignon and that uranium concentrations in the Gaffiere river were initially about 1,000 times the normal levels. The agency said the uranium is toxic but only slightly radioactive.

Article Highlights * Developing countries that have expressed interest in French nuclear power technology can't implement it anytime soon. * A French-led global nuclear power renaissance is problematic, since the country's nonproliferation record is poor. * French nuclear reactors aren't as safe as its promoters claim. * Nuclear power provides only a small portion of total French energy consumption.

Amid heightened international interest in nuclear energy, countries are paying closer attention to a finite resource that helps to make nuclear power possible: uranium. A report released today finds that new discoveries and re-evaluations of known conventional uranium resources will be adequate to supply nuclear energy needs for at least 100 years at present consumption level. Growing demand and higher prices have spurred greater investment in exploration and led to larger identified conventional uranium resources over the past two years.