From Savannah River Site Watch (Columbia, SC)

Nuclear Watch New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM)

Tri-Valley CAREs (Livermore, CA)

Media Advisory -- June 14 forum in Aiken, SC on Expanded Production of Plutonium "Pits" - for Nuclear Weapons

 

Columbia, SC - The controversial proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy to expand production of plutonium "pits"- the core of all nuclear weapons - will be the subject of a public forum in Aiken, South Carolina on Friday, June 14, 2019. The event is free and open to all members of the public. 
www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/pit_fourm_media_advisory

Savannah River Site Reveals "Occurrence" with Receipt of Radioactive Contamination on Incoming Waste Shipment from Unnamed University, Disposition Unknown

Questions Posed by SRS Watch about the Incident Go Unanswered

Columbia, SC - The U.S. Department of Energy has revealed that a shipment of material from an unnamed university arrived at the Savannah River Site with radioactive contamination.  ----   An "Occurrence Report" filed by the Savannah River Site on April 10 stated that the unanticipated contamination was on the outside of a 5-gallon bucket as part of a "radiological shipment."  N ews release posted on SRS Watch website:   www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/srs_watch_news shipment

U.N. Report: 1 Million Species May Soon Be Lost

The United Nations just released a devastating study on biodiversity: 1 million plant and animal species now risk extinction due to human activity. The report warns that their extinctions will come with profound consequences for humanity, threatening our food security, water supplies and climate.

"This study should trigger massive federal action to save wildlife, but folks at the White House are probably too busy meeting oil executives to even read it," said Noah Greenwald, the Center for Biological Diversity's endangered species director.

The Center was founded in 1989 to fight the  extinction crisis . The U.N.'s findings are no surprise to us, and we're still working as hard as we can to save life on Earth. Keep reading this newsletter for details on exactly how we're doing it this week.  And learn more about what the new report says - and doesn't say -  www.therevelator.org/one-million-extinctions/

Victory: Wildlife-killing 'Cyanide Bombs' Banned in Oregon

Thanks partly to thousands of Center for Biological Diversity activists who spoke up, a bill banning the use of M-44s - or "cyanide bombs" - in Oregon has been signed into law.

These cruel death traps shoot sodium cyanide powder into the faces of coyotes, foxes and other unsuspecting wildlife. Horrifying poisoning and death follow. Hated by the public, cyanide bombs also threaten people and pets. The Center is fighting for a permanent nationwide ban on them - and with your help, we will win that fight.  www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-cyanide-bombs-predators-livestock-farming/

he Trump administration brought its pro-drilling agenda to Northern California on Thursday, disclosing a plan to make more land available for oil and gas development, including parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains and East Bay hills. --   Documents released by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management show the agency is looking to nearly double the amount of federal property and mineral deposits in its Central Coast region that can be leased by fossil fuel companies compared to what was proposed by the previous administration.  www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Oil-drilling-in-the-Bay-Area-Trump-13832693.php

According to the FERC's latest "Energy Infrastructure Update," utility-scale renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) now account for 21.5% of the nation's total installed operating generating capacity - more than double that of nuclear power (9.0%) and almost equal to that of coal (21.7%). FERC does not include small-scale solar (i.e., less than 1-MW) which accounts for roughly one-third of U.S. installed solar generating capacity. Its inclusion would mean that total renewable energy generating capacity is now greater than that of coal. Moreover, FERC suggests that over the next three years that new net additions in generating capacity by renewable energy sources will be nearly 100 greater than those of all fossil fuel and nuclear sources combined. 

"With renewable energy generating capacity now equal to that of coal and new renewable capacity additions projected to vastly exceed those of fossil fuels and nuclear power over the next three years, 2019 may eventually be remembered as the beginning of the era of renewable energy dominance," observed Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. "At the least, it will prove to be yet another high-water mark for sustainable energy technologies."   

SOURCES: SUN DAY Campaign and FERC's "Energy Infrastructure Update released on May 7, 2019: https://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2019/mar-energy-infrastructure.pdf