Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2684

@Pedro Jesus In the US it isn't just that thorium is a dead end. It is the political tactic of who and why it is being fed to the public. We have so much scam and dishonesty in the media that is driven by money.
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:18:34 PM

I heard India decided to end the thorium program?
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:19:38 PM

Edano did you see this? 2 genkai reactors not allowed to restart mdn.mainichi.jp
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:20:08 PM

I see some contradictory information on thorium research in that article Edano posted, comparing to other articles I've read. There's a lot of misleading information on the subject everywhere we look. Maybe you're right Lilly, maybe some effort should be spent on trying to sort the truth out.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:22:49 PM

@Pedro Jesus There are two dual issues. The technical misinformation and there is lots of it. These articles created for public consumption give a very inaccurate and rosy view of the technology. Then there is the behind the scenes push for thorium. Are you all seeing the same push in the EU or is this more a US thing?
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:25:39 PM

Getting some Japan Fuku news loaded into the website. I kept all the Chernobyl data I was working on. In case we decide later we need to reconsider it related to the EU issue.
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:27:22 PM

@lillymunster I don't think it is an issue in Europe. I had never heard of it around here before it was first mentioned months ago here on our Scribble page. But bare in mind I was born and live in a country where nuclear is out of the political loop. We taken the renewable path decades ago with very good results so far (check my electricity bill stats that I posted earlier today).
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:28:52 PM

Lightbridge Corporation is a leading thorium lobbyist: www.ltbridge.com

"Our Strategic Advisory Council, which brings together global leaders from international relations, politics, finance and academia, counsels and advises the company on management on nuclear diplomacy, policy issues and non-proliferation solutions."
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:28:59 PM

"Nuclear diplomacy"... what a joke.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:30:14 PM

Just over 80% of the electricity I spend here in the south of Portugal comes from renewable sources. There's a 1.5% of nuclear energy share that comes from the fact that we import some energy from the Spanish grid.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:33:54 PM

When our Alqueva dam is completed and working at full capacity we won't need to import any energy from Spain, so coal and nuclear sources will go out of our grid.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:36:20 PM

www.opensecrets.org
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:36:34 PM

The slimy underbelly of US politics.....
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:38:18 PM

I always find the US concept of lobbying funny. Lobbying is illegal in Portugal. It's actually considered a crime equivalent to active and/or passive corruption depending on the circumstances.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:39:37 PM

Our media does use the term to describe influential political pressure, but lobbying in the sense of what you have in the USA is not allowed.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:41:15 PM

@Pedro Jesus It should be here. The original intent was to allow the people to bend the ear of their representative. It is now nothing but big money influence. There are also still lots of ways they give bribes to politicians in the form of various gifts, trips etc. One politician in Alaska got in trouble for having a lobby group pay for an addition on his already huge house.
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:41:38 PM

There was an excelling 60 minutes news piece last week that pointed out that members of Congress can do insider trading in the stock market and not be legally punished due to a loophole in the law.
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:42:44 PM

The article about thorium powered cars, the website is sponsored by GE.....
www.txchnologist.com
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:43:49 PM

two hours of brain washing:
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:43:52 PM

by Edano 11/19/2011 4:43:59 PM

@lillymunster Weird. Here, if a politician uses sensitive information to profit from stock exchanges, that is considered a serious crime. It's fraud at the least.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:44:35 PM

leading thorium fans:
Gordon McDowell gordonmcdowell.com
Kirk Sorensen Flibe Energy flibe-energy.com
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:45:00 PM

@Edano I'll need coffee and a couple of beers before I dare take a look at that video clip.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:46:44 PM

@Pedro Jesus the point I think was to expose how corrupt congress is vs. Wall Street and that many political moves may be done to make some quick money.
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:47:03 PM

Is that video 2 hours of babble about thorium?
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:47:25 PM

Sorensen seems to be a big active promoter of thorium <a
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:49:18 PM

Sorensen left another company to found that thorium start up. So of course he is promoting it he is trying to make money. nextbigfuture.com
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:51:00 PM

Teledyne Brown (sorensen's previous employer) was just an engineering firm www.tbe.com
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:53:17 PM

Drive to Build Thorium Reactor Prototype Launched In U.K.

The Weinberg Foundation says success with thorium-based reactors could lead to rapid deployment

Thorium8 Sept (NucNet): A new London-based lobbying organization aimed at promoting nuclear technologies fuelled by thorium is calling for the UK's Sellafield site to be used as a research centre into next-generation reactors. theenergycollective.com
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:53:37 PM

@lillymunster We have our fair share of political corruption and fraud here as well. It's a huge issue. I hope the new government can begin to mend things. There are a lot of such cases in court right now. A lot of once untouchables are going down in the next few years... hopefully. One of them, a former deputy, is even being charged in Brasil for murder. More recent charges include 40 million € worth of non-availed credit for personal benefit. Our current economic situation reflects the level of corruption we've had in the last 15 years (maybe more according to some).
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 4:54:44 PM

The Weinberg Foundation is a newly created, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to driving the uptake of safe, clean and affordable energy.

Inspired by the compelling evidence behind thorium as a viable alternative to uranium and driven by the vision of safe and abundant nuclear power held and proven by the late Alvin Weinberg in the 1960's, the Foundation was established in September 2011 to act as a communications, debate and lobbying hub to promote thorium energy. the-weinberg-foundation.org
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:55:48 PM

Flibe's board gives an idea of who is behind this. flibe-energy.com
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:55:57 PM

@Edano They found a Baroness they could baffle with their BS. :-)
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 4:57:30 PM

Conference convenes in New York to discuss thorium energy

Read more: www.theengineer.co.uk
by Edano 11/19/2011 4:59:01 PM

Sorensen at a fake "TED" copycat event. I wonder who put that on? supercoolwaystomakemoney.com
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 5:00:21 PM

i wish renewables had a lobby like this.
by Edano 11/19/2011 5:03:12 PM

Flibe has ties to Weinberg in the UK energyfromthorium.com
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 5:03:36 PM

thorium advocates launch pressure group www.guardian.co.uk
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 5:06:11 PM

The big difference is renewable are cost effective on the short term whereas a new nuclear technology will only be profitable in the far future. I think it would be wise, from a political and economical point of view, to invest more in renewable energy than in any other source.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 5:06:52 PM

We don't even have to go through humanitarian and environmental issues to figure out that nuclear fission has got no future.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 5:08:05 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Tourists from Taiwan arrive at Fukushima airport
Tourists from Taiwan arrive at Fukushima airport in northeastern Japan on Nov. 19, 2011. (Kyodo)
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 11/19/2011 5:09:01 PM

The head of Weinberg is an entrepreneur. He seems to have the same motivation as Sorensen

by lillymunster 11/19/2011 5:09:02 PM

I'm going out to get some food, coffee and beer. Might be back later. See you all soon.
by Pedro Jesus 11/19/2011 5:10:10 PM

A few posts down someone calls BS on the thorium car fuel promotion hardware.slashdot.org
by lillymunster 11/19/2011 5:10:46 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

23 prefectures not planning to accept disaster debris for disposal

MORIOKA, Japan, Nov. 19, Kyodo

More than half of 43 prefectures surveyed by the Environment Ministry about their plans for accepting debris from areas stricken by the March earthquake and tsunami say they are not considering doing so, local government officials said Saturday.

Their reluctance to help dispose of debris piled up in the disaster-hit region in northeastern Japan reflects their residents' fears over contamination by radioactive fallout from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the officials said.

With the volume of debris too large for local governments to handle on their own, the central government is concerned that limited help from other municipalities will significantly delay reconstruction work.

Of the 43 prefectures excluding Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures -- the three prefectures hit hardest by the March catastrophe -- 23 said none of their municipalities are currently considering accepting disaster-generated debris, the officials told Kyodo News.

The last of the country's 47 regions -- the Tokyo metropolitan government -- earlier this month became the first local government outside the disaster-hit Tohoku region to accept debris from Iwate Prefecture. It has also agreed to bring in rubble from Miyagi.

The bulk of the rubble is in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which together have over 20 million tons, according to a government estimate.

Those 23 prefectures include 16 prefectures in western and southern Japan, such such as Hyogo, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka and Kagawa.

Osaka and 12 other prefectures said some of their municipalities are considering bringing in some of the debris to their waste disposal facilities, while seven prefectures including Hiroshima declined to respond.

The Environment Ministry has asked local governments except the three hardest-hit prefectures and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to consider helping with the debris disposal, but it did not name municipalities in its interim progress report released earlier this month.

==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 11/19/2011 5:11:31 PM