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On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into the law the energy bill; on July 28,the U.S. House of Representatives voted 275 to 156 to approve the energy bill; and on July 29, the U.S. Senate voted 74 to 26 to approve the energy bill. Since 2001, energy corporations have showered federal politicians with $115 million in campaign contributions-with three-quarters of that amount going to Republicans. This cash helped secure energy companies and their lobbyists exclusive, private access to lawmakers, starting with Vice-President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, whose report provided the foundation of the energy bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on August 8.

The parliament's committee for constitutional matters and legislation has concluded that there are no legal obstacles to the adoption of a law banning the building of nuclear power stations in Montenegro. The committee has backed the amendments to the law on the budget, a package of laws on agriculture and the draft law on national parks. Milutin Tomasevic has the report: [Reporter Tomasevic] If at its next session the parliament votes the same as the committee for constitutional matters and legislation, no nuclear plants will be built in Montenegro, and this will be Montenegro's official position in relation to its environment. Deputy of New Serb Democracy Emilo Labudovic defended an opposing view during the debate, declaring himself against such a ban. He maintains that nuclear energy is clean and safe.

The Maryland Public Service Commission's (PSC) issuance today of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to UniStar Nuclear is a costly step in the wrong direction for Maryland's energy future. This permit serves as the state's nod to construct a new uranium-fueled reactor in southern Maryland, a decision that not only could prove to be extraordinarily costly for taxpayers - as testimony provided to the PSC made clear - but tethers Maryland to continued reliance on dirty energy generation rather than moving our state toward becoming a leader in clean energy. The permit in its current form subjects UniStar Nuclear - a joint venture between Constellation Energy and the French-state controlled Electricite de France (EDF), which increasingly controls Constellation itself - only to some minor conditions.

The first comprehensive survey of soil contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant showed that 33 locations spread over a wide area have been contaminated with long-lasting radioactive cesium, complicating Japan's effort to clean up the disaster-hit region, the government said Tuesday. The survey of 2,200 locations within a 100-km radius of the crippled plant found that those 33 locations had cesium-137 in excess of 1.48 million becquerels per square meter, the level set by the Soviet Union for forced resettlement after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Another 132 locations had combined amount of cesium 137/134 over 555,000 becquerels per square meter, the level at which the Soviet authorities called for voluntary evacuation and imposed a ban on farming.