As the country braces itself for the National Treasury’s Medium-Term Budget, the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) joins other NGOs, faith leaders and citizens from around the country to present its comments on the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2018 proposed by the Department of Energy (DOE). In recent years, the IRP has been at the … [Read more...]
Fukushima plant to leak radioactive water for 4 more years
Operators of Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant Fukushima have warned that it will take a further four years to fix the problem of contaminated water leaks. The admission was made as a sombre nation prepared to mark the fifth anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which triggering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in decades. The problem of dealing … [Read more...]
Court action launched against illegal nuclear metal smelter
Did you know that the National Energy Corporation of SA (NECSA) has permission to smelt and release radio active metal into the South Africa marketplace? Last week a court action was launched to call for a halt of the operations at Pelindaba (just outside Tshwane), and a new process for authorisation to commence. According to papers filed in court this week, the test … [Read more...]
Fukushima radiation devastates fishing industry
Third-generation fisherman Fumio Suzuki sets out into the Pacific Ocean every seven weeks, not to catch fish to sell, but to catch fish that can be tested for radiation. For the last 2½ years, fishermen from the port of Yotsukura near the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant have been mostly stuck on land with little to do. There is no commercial fishing along most of … [Read more...]
72 hours to save our oceans
Our oceans are dying. Beset by pollution and demolition by industrial fishing, the magical and bountiful deep blue is turning into a barren desert. But in the next 72 hours, governments are considering a new rescue plan - and we can help push it through. Shockingly, governments spend billions subsidising the commercial fishing industry to pillage our seas. The new plan would … [Read more...]
Fundamental leadership failure threatens our future
“The current response to our climate crisis in nothing but incremental tinkering. Rearranging the deckchairs. Those in power are doing system maintenance and re-arranging instead of redesigning them. Our current system is fundamentally broken, but our leaders are suffering from what’s called ‘cognitive dissonance’ – all the facts are there, but those in power block them … [Read more...]
Justice organisation calls for public hearings
The events at Fukushima over the past few weeks have raised public awareness about the health risks of nuclear power. Earthlife Africa is calling for a firm stand against nuclear energy: 'Around Fukushima Daiichi Station, on March 23rd, they measured 400 millisieverts - that's per hour. With this measurement (Chief Cabinet Secretary) Edano admitted for the first time that … [Read more...]
Nuclear confusion a smokescreen?
We were shocked by the article circulated on the internet where a serious environmental author, George Monbiot (pictured), author of 'Heat - how to stop the planet from burning' turned pro-nuclear since the disaster in Japan. Many people were confused about this sudden turn and concerned that Monbiot had used his good name to potentially damage the anti-nuclear … [Read more...]
Greenpeace response to radioactivity release from Fukushima reactor
Reacting to reports that radioactive materials including the isotope Cesium-137 have been released from the Fukushima power plant, and that increased levels of radiation have been detected in the immediate vicinity, Jan Beranek, Head of Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaign said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the Japanese people as they face the threat of a nuclear … [Read more...]
