Vladimir Slivyak of Ecodefense in Russia wins Right Livelihood Award!

Vladimir Slivyak of Ecodefense in RussiaAs announced at the Right Livelihood Award website:

"For his defence of the environment and for helping to ignite grassroots opposition to the coal and nuclear industries in Russia."

Vladimir Slivyak [pictured] is one of Russia’s most committed and knowledgeable environmentalists, who has been spearheading important grassroots campaigns against environmentally damaging practices for decades. He has stopped projects related to the exploitation of fossil fuels, the use of nuclear power and coal, and the shipment of radioactive waste from abroad.

As co-chairman and co-founder of Ecodefense, one of Russia’s leading environmental organisations for decades, Slivyak has worked extensively on reducing environmental risks, mitigating the climate crisis and promoting renewable energy in Russia.

Led by Slivyak, Ecodefense was the first environmental group in Russia to start an anti-coal campaign in 2013, which helped to empower local communities suffering from the impacts of coal mining and transportation. Connecting local communities around the country and information sharing led to a rapid growth of anti-coal protests in various parts of Russia.

Slivyak has also opposed Russia’s promotion of nuclear energy both at home and abroad. These enormous successes have proven that even in authoritarian Russia, grassroots activities can effectively challenge government-backed projects.

In recent years, Slivyak and Ecodefense have been targeted by Russian authorities for their work. However, Slivyak has stayed the course heartened by the growing influence of young climate activists. Standing with them, he is committed to ushering in a cleaner and more sustainable future for Russia and the world.

[Read more at the Right Livelihood Award website.]

Nuclear Hotseat: Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump Dangers – Kevin Kamps

Listen to the Nuclear Hotseat interview, by host Libbe HaLevy, of Beyond Nuclear's radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps, HERE. (Introduction begins at the 3 minute, 40 second mark; the interview proper begins at the 4 minute, 45 second mark, and concludes at the 35 minute, 40 second mark.)

This Week’s Featured Interviews:

• Radioactive nuclear waste dump dangers are the primary wheelhouse of Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog (bullldog?) for Beyond Nuclear.  Kevin specializes in high-level waste management and transportation; new and existing reactors; decommissioning; environmental and public health risks associated with government and industry efforts to dump commercial irradiated fuel rods on Native American lands in the western United States. We spoke on Thursday, September 23, 2021.
• LINKS mentioned in the episode:
  • New Beyond Nuclear fact sheets opposing Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities
    Eight fact sheets intended for members of Congress and their staff members as well as other officials at all levels of government — federal, state, county, local, and Indigenous.

• • Beyond Nuclear’s Centralized Storage website sub-section:
    Links to a timeline of articles dealing with West Texas nuclear waste storage parking lot, uhr, radioactive waste storage facility.

Sun Day Campaign NEWS RELEASE: U.S. Renewable Energy Production Hits All-Time High in First Half 2021

SUN DAY CAMPAIGN   

6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite #340; Takoma Park, MD 20912   

sun-day-campaign@hotmail.com   

Twitter: Follow @SunDayCampaign   

Brief News Update   

AT MID-YEAR, 

U.S. RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION HITS AN ALL-TIME HIGH 

AS NUCLEAR POWER AND FOSSIL FUELS DECLINE 

For Release:  Wednesday - September 29, 2021   

Contact:         Ken Bossong, 301-588-4741 or 301-270-6477 x.6   

Washington DC -- Domestic production of renewable energy (i.e., biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) reached an all-time high in the first six months of this year, according to a SUN DAY Campaign analysis of new data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). [READ MORE]

Why Louisiana’s Electric Grid Failed in Hurricane Ida

Much of the state, including New Orleans, lost power for days because many of Entergy’s electrical poles and towers were not built to withstand a major hurricane, energy experts said.

As reported by the New York Times.

The Washington Post has previously reported similar stories.

New Orleans-based Entergy owns and operates several nuclear power plants across multiple Southern states.

It used to own merchant atomic reactors in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York, but closed them and sold the contaminated sites, and highly radioactive wastes stored on those sites, off to decommissioning companies (namely, NorthStar and Holtec).

Entergy still owns and operates the Palisades atomic reactor in southwest Michigan, but has applied, along with Holtec, to transfer away the license, after closing the reactor by May 31, 2022. The long-closed Big Rock Point nuclear power plant site in the northwest Lower Peninsula of MI would also be transferred from Entergy to Holtec, if NRC approves the scheme. Along with its environmental coalition partners, as well as the Office of the State of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Beyond Nuclear has intervened against the license transfer.

Update on September 24, 2021 by admin

"Lights Out: Living without Power in the Wake of Hurricane Ida," as reported by the Washington Post.

U.S. Rep. Kildee Introduces Bipartisan Resolution Opposing Proposed Canadian Permanent Nuclear Storage Site Near Great Lakes

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (Democrat-Flint Township, Michigan)Resolution Asks Biden Administration to Work with Canada to Prevent New Permanent Storage of Nuclear Waste in the Great Lakes Basin

See U.S. Rep. Kildee's press release, here.

Beyond Nuclear has endorsed U.S. Rep. Kildee's resolution.

Update on September 18, 2021 by admin

Media coverage: Newsradio WSGW; WJRT ABC12 TV; NBC25 News; ExchangeMonitor (article is behind a paywall); Holland Sentinel.