FUKUSHIMA - Kevin Kamps joins Thom Hartmann on RT's The Big Picture

Japanese Conservatives Plan to Restart Nukes... - YouTube

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear, joins Thom Hartmann. It's been less than two years, but a new government in Japan has already forgotten all the lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear crisis. As millions of tons of radioactive debris drift toward the West Coast - find out what the Japanese government is now doing that could put the entire world in danger.

Idle No More :|: Movement Spreads Like Wildfire :|: #idlenomore

  

#idlenomore - playlist

Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire

Chief Theresa Spence on 14th day of hunger strike

- Craig Brown, staff writer

The 'Idle No More' movement, a campaign of grassroots First Nations protests, has spread like wildfire over the past week in response to bills passed by the conservative Canadian government.

First Nations protesters march towards Parliament Hill during a demonstration as part of the spreading 'Idle No More' movement in Ottawa, Canada, December 21, 2012. REUTERS/Chris WattieAnger to the recently passed C-45, the Harper government omnibus budget bill, has fueled the growing movement.

Bil C-45 includes changes to the Canadian Indian Act regarding how reserve lands are managed, making them easier to develop and be taken away from the First Nation people.

The bill also removes thousands of lakes and streams from the list of federally protected bodies of water. “This is unacceptable. They have made a unilateral decision remove the protection of waterways... Shell Canada has proposed to mine out 21km of the Muskeg River, a river of cultural and biological significance. This ultimately gives the tar sands industry a green light to destroy vital waterways still used by our people," stated Eriel Deranger, Communication Coordinator for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Atiwapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence has been on a hunger strike since December 11th, resolved to starve herself to death unless Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets to discuss treaty rights, and Canada’s relationship with its Indigenous peoples. She is currently living in a teepee on Victoria Island, in Ottawa, just a kilometer away from the Parliament buildings. So far, Harper has rejected calls to meet with Spence.

more: Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire | Common Dreams

twitter: #idlenomore

HARPER NO MORE - FLASH MOB - TREATY 7 - Calgary Alberta Canada

HARPER NO MORE - FLASH MOB - TREATY 7 - Calgary Alberta Canada - YouTube

Sean Lennon on Artists Against Fracking & Gun Violence | Artists Against Fracking

Sean Lennon on Artists Against Fracking & Gun Violence - YouTube

Published on Dec 21, 2012

All across America - gas companies are tearing up land to make room for the piping needed for hydraulic fracturing - the highly controversial process used to harvest natural gas from shale rock. And along with this destruction of land come the risks of contaminated drinking water, toxic fumes and even poisoned livestock. One of the many groups trying to shut down the dangerous fracking practice is Artists against Fracking - a group of nearly 200 members working to expose and stop the practice of fracking through mass awareness and peaceful democratic action. Musician Sean Lennon, one of the founding members of Artists against Fracking - joins us now from our New York studios.

“Right now, some people are trying to make easy money, and meanwhile ruin this country’s future, by a thing called ‘fracking.’” – Yoko Ono

Yoko and Sean were compelled into action by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that fracking might soon begin in New York – directly impacting their home in upstate New York. In less than 10 days, they gathered nearly 150 fellow artists to join them in the founding of Artists Against Fracking in August 2012.

Today, at nearly 200 members Artists Against Fracking works to expose and stop the harmful and contaminating practice of fracking for natural gas and oil through mass awareness and peaceful democratic action. At its core, we believe that fracking for shale gas is a danger to New Yorkers. Inevitably, the process leads to the  release of toxic chemicals — many of which are unknown and unreported — into our air and water.

“Though my father died when I was 5, I have always felt lucky to live on land he loved dearly; land in an area that is now on the verge of being destroyed.” – Sean Ono Lennon

Artists Against Fracking

One U.S. Nuclear Reactor Uses as Much Water as All of D.C. - Technology - The Atlantic Wire

It takes the same amount of water required by a city of 5 million to fuel a typical U.S. nuclear power plant for one hour: 30 million gallons, Fast Company reports. Charles Fishman, author of the book The Big Thirst, notes that "the U.S. has 104 nuclear power plants--more than any other country, a quarter of all plants worldwide." As the world's largest energy consumer, "49% of the water used in the U.S. goes to generate electricity," Fishman notes. That's "the single largest use of water" in the country.

One U.S. Nuclear Reactor Uses as Much Water as All of D.C. - Technology - The Atlantic Wire

see also: whats up nuclear blog

Urge the Secretary of the Interior to abandon the plan to allow seismic testing in the Atlantic! - NRDC Action Center

Urge the Secretary of the Interior to abandon the plan to allow seismic testing in the Atlantic! For the first time in 30 years the Obama administration plans to open up the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to New Jersey to high-intensity seismic airgun exploration for offshore oil and gas. This means that ocean wildlife will be subjected to constant dynamite-like blasts about every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for weeks and months on end. Even the government admits that the industry's airguns could injure up to 138,500 marine mammals and disrupt marine mammal feeding, calving, breeding and other vital activities more than 13.5 million times. There's still time to stop it -- sign our petition today!

> Urge the Secretary of the Interior to abandon the plan to allow seismic testing in the Atlantic! - NRDC Action Center

I'm writing to urge you to stop plans to open the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to New Jersey to industrial airgun blasting for offshore oil and gas. Not only is this activity the gateway to drilling off our coasts, it represents in itself a major assault on our oceans, with widespread harm to endangered whales, ocean fisheries and coastal economies. 

Offshore oil and gas exploration involves the towing of arrays of high-volume airguns behind ships. These airguns fire intense impulses of compressed air -- almost as loud as explosives -- every 10-12 seconds, 24 hours per day, for weeks and months on end. Because of the enormous distance sound can travel in the ocean, the dangerous noise from this activity can stretch many hundreds of miles and drive whales to abandon their habitats, go silent, and cease foraging over vast areas of ocean. At shorter distances, it can cause permanent hearing loss, injury, and death.

According to the Interior Department's own draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the proposal to open up a huge area of the Atlantic ocean to the industry's blasting would injure up to 138,500 marine mammals and disrupt marine mammal feeding, calving, breeding, and other vital activities more than 13.5 million times. Critically endangered species would suffer, including the North Atlantic right whale, a vulnerable population of fewer than 400 individuals.

The proposed action threatens not only whales, but ocean fish populations and coastal economies. Airgun noise has been shown to displace valuable species of fish across vast areas and depress catch rates.
You have the power to protect whales and dolphins from the relentless acoustical assault of seismic exploration. You have the power to preserve multi-billion dollar fishing, tourism, and recreational industries that support hundreds of thousands of American jobs. 

I'm asking you to abandon the proposition to open up the Atlantic Ocean to exploratory airgun blasting for offshore oil and gas.

With airgun exploration comes pressure for oil and gas drilling. If we have learned anything from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it is that the impacts of an oil spill are devastating and long term -- for the environment, for wildlife, for communities, and for economies. We must not open the east coast of America to oil and gas exploration and drilling, risking our treasured coastline and wildlife, as well as multi-billion dollar fishing, tourism, and recreational industries that support hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
For all these reasons, I urge the Department of the Interior to abandon its proposal to open up the Atlantic to exploratory airgun blasting for offshore oil and gas.