1. OPPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER ARE TRYING TO USE 9/11 TO CLOSE DOWN REACTORS. A reply from Edward (Ted) L. Quinn, Past President, American Nuclear Society
http://www.sepp.org/NewSEPP/NuclearPlantSafety-EdwardQuinn.htm

2. INDIA WILL BUILD BREEDER REACTORS TO UTILIZE ITS THORIUM RESOURCES

3. BRITISH NUCLEAR POWER IS STUCK WITH A CARBON TAX

4. WORLD OUTLOOK FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY PROMISING

5. COAL IS TOP SOURCE FOR ELECTRIC POWER IN THE WORLD, BUT REQUIRES SUBSIDIES IN GERMANY

6. DESPITE LOWER CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS, DIESEL CARS MAY PROMOTE MORE GLOBAL WARMING THAN GASOLINE CARS

7. BIG PROBLEMS WITH ZERO-EMISSION CARS IN CALIFORNIA

8. CALIFORNIA SUES EPA OVER ETHANOL MANDATE

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2. India plans fast breeders

India plans to complete construction of a prototype by 2008 and start operation in 2009. It will permit the exploitation of India's considerable resources of thorium" (SVA-Bulletin, 14, 2002).

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3. Energy markets in Britain rigged against nuclear power for political reasons

Proponents of nuclear power in the British energy ministry argue that nuclear energy is the easiest way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. However, nuclear power opponents want to dismantle the industry instead. The political compromise is a nuclear industry saddled with numerous burdens:

· Britain's nuclear generator must spend over $300 million annually for its waste to be reprocessed at an expensive state-owned facility.

· This not only avoids the politically unpopular (but cheaper) storage of nuclear waste, but also keeps the state-owned reprocessing facility financially afloat.

· Nuclear power must also set aside funds for future plant decommissioning.

· In addition, the nuclear industry must pay a special tax ($125 million yearly) aimed at reducing CO2 emissions -- even though they emit no carbon.

The British government justifies this because the tax is designed to "encourage" renewable energy rather than penalize carbon producers. Nuclear power plants also pay higher local taxes than their competitors that pollute more. Because of these factors, British taxpayers were forced to bail out Britain's privatized nuclear power company.

Source: "Nuclear Industry: Fallout," The Economist, September 14-20, 2002.
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4. Many countries see a great future for nuclear power

The VDI news service reports (Oct 18) from a nuclear conference in Lille, France:
In the US, over half of the 103 reactors have applied for an extension of their operating license to 60 years; 10 have already been granted. Other nations reported on construction of new reactors

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5. Some coal statistics

Coal supplies 22% of world energy and is the leading source for electric power generation. Production in 2001 was 3.5 Billion metric tons, with China at 958 Mmt, followed by US, India, Australia, and South Africa. Importers were Asia at 56%, Europe at 35%, and the Americas at 9%. Government subsidies for German coal production are running at 3.5 billion euros, following approval by the EU.

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6. Black carbon from diesels is an important source of warming

Laws that favor the use of diesel, rather than gasoline, engines in cars may actually encourage global warming, according to a new study. Although diesel cars obtain 25 to 35 percent better mileage and emit less carbon dioxide than similar gasoline cars, they can emit 25 to 400 times more mass of particulate black carbon and associated organic matter ("soot") per kilometer [mile]. The warming due to soot may more than offset the cooling due to reduced carbon dioxide emissions over several decades, according to Mark Z. Jacobson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

Writing in the Journal of Geophysical Research--Atmospheres, Jacobson describes computer simulations leading to the conclusion that control of fossil-fuel black carbon and organic matter may be the most effective method of slowing global warming, in terms of the speed and magnitude of its effect on climate. Not only does soot warm the air to a much greater extent than does carbon dioxide per unit mass, but the lifetime of soot in the air (weeks to months) is much less than is that of carbon dioxide (50 to 200 years). As such, removing soot emissions may have a faster effect on slowing global warming than removing carbon dioxide emissions.

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7. Pulling the Plug - Carmakers Scrap Electric Vehicles (SF Chronicle) -

Bush Administration is Against California's Zero Emissions Requirement for Cars (Associated Press) -
The Bush administration sided with auto manufacturers in opposing a California requirement that a percentage of passenger vehicles sold in the state achieve zero emissions, meaning reliance on all-electric cars.

Meanwhile, nearly all the big carmakers, including Ford, GM and Honda, are scrapping their "EV" programs, saying there's just no market for cars that come with a leash. Now, the few people who have actually tried out the cars are staging protests to press their claim that these cars aren't the dogs their manufacturers say they are.

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8. The state of California is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to drop a fuel-additive requirement that would force the state to require the use of ethanol in gasoline. "The EPA made a decision that failed to follow sound science," Gov. Gray Davis said. - From Ottawa Citizen, 2002 September 20, p. F5

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