Energy

What Happens When the Owner of a Nuclear Plant Goes Bankrupt?

January 31, 2019 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News January 2019

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working for a nuclear free world.

The January 16 San Francisco Chronicle headlined, “PG&E bankruptcy coming this month.” A followup story on January 18 described Pacific Gas & Electric as “the state’s largest investor-owned utility.”

The Jan 16 lead article reported that the company was facing “$30 billion in potential wildfire liability,” had “$4.4 billion market value” as of 1-14, had lost $25 billion since last year’s Camp fire destroyed almost 19,000 structures and took 80-some lives in the Northern California town of Paradise, and had $1.5 billion in cash as of Jan. 11.”

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Nuclear Shutdown News October 2018: Millstone and Oyster Creek Nukes

November 13, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our October 2018 report.

Twenty Years On

This month marks the 20th year since my book Millstone and Me: Sex, Lies and Radiation first appeared in the 10th month of 1998.

This work was inspired by Dr. Ernest Sternglass, whose groundbreaking early 1980s book Secret Fallout: From Hiroshima to Three Mile Island exposed the dangers of so-called “low level” radiation to human health.

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Was There a Near-Fukushima Event on the Atlantic During Hurricane Florence?

October 10, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News for September 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those working for a nuclear free future. Here is our September 2018 report.

A Near-Fukushima on the Atlantic?

On September 17 the Raleigh News & Observer reported, “Floods limit access to Duke’s Brunswick nuclear plant: crews us partopotties, cots.”

Did the Atlantic coast have a near-Fukushima event when during September Hurricane Florence made landfall?

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Speak Out Against the Nuke Dump on the Beach at San Onofre

August 7, 2018 by Staff

State Lands Commission to Hear Public Comments on San Onofre Decommissioning Plans at Meetings in Oceanside and San Clemente

Anti-nuke activists are mobilizing at two upcoming meetings of the California State Lands Commission in order to ‘speak out against the nuke dump’ at San Onofre. One is in Oceanside and the other is in San Clemente.

The California State Lands Commission is the lead organization conducting the Environmental Impact Report on the San Onofre decommissioning project.

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San Onofre Shutdown Problems Continue

August 1, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News July 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the US nuclear power industry, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our July 2018 report.

San Onofre shutdown problems continue to multiply

Just when you thought nothing more could go wrong with the San Onofre nuclear plant’s shutdown process, new issues have emerged. The latest ones are associated with its location: a spectacular Southern California beach that is also one of the Pacific Coast’s premier surfing magnets.

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Wind Farms – Not Nuke Plants

July 3, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News June 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our June 2018 report.

While Nukes Continue to Fade Away, the Answer Is Increasingly Blowing In the Wind

While most attention has been paid to California’s last two nuclear plants shutting down, New England has had more close permanently

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Utilities Commission Rejects San Diego Gas & Electric’s Pipeline

June 22, 2018 by Source

By Colleen Cochran

The California Public Utilities Commission placed the welfare of San Diego County citizens and wildlife ahead of San Diego Gas & Electric’s profits yesterday, June 21.

The 5-member commission voted unanimously to reject SDG&E and its partner Southern California Gas’ bid to install 47 miles of new pipeline from the Rainbow Metering Station near Fallbrook down through Miramar, mostly along Interstate 15. Another potential route these utilities were considering would have taken the line through Mission Trails Regional Park.

The rejected Pipeline 3602 would have been 36 inches wide and have had five times the carrying capacity of existent 16-inch-wide Pipeline 1600. In an effort to avoid making potential repairs to Line 1600, SDG&E’s plan was to reduce the operating pressure on that line and to run new Pipeline 3602 at high pressure.

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Activists Rally in Mission Trails Park to Oppose SDG&E Gas Pipeline

June 19, 2018 by Source

By Colleen Cochran

This past Father’s Day, many San Diegans celebrated their dads amidst the green, rolling hills of Mission Trails Regional Park. One group, holding colorful signs, gathered for more than celebration; they were there to protect this 7,000-acre wilderness area.

SDG&E and SoCalGas would like to install a new gas pipeline to run approximately 47 miles through San Diego County. These utility companies are considering several potential routes for this pipeline, one of which cuts through the park.

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Cape Cod: Colonial Folly To Nuclear Demise

June 4, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News May 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free future. Here is our May 2018 report.

Cape Cod: Colonial Folly To Nuclear Demise

US history indoctrination begins early in our lives. Before formal education even begins we are taught to look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday, an annual celebration that upon sober reflection really celebrates gluttony, greed and genocide.

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California Should Not Risk Its Clean Energy Future on Extreme Strategies

May 18, 2018 by Source

By Tyson Siegele / SanDiego350

California will soon decide whether to combine its electric grid management with western states dependent on coal mining and coal-based electricity. This massive change has been proposed in the form of Assembly Bill 813 and before that in Assembly Bill 726. If passed, either of those bills would provide an avenue for coal-fired electricity to gain access to the California market. This would make the transition to renewable energy even harder.

Unifying California’s grid operations with other western states would be a huge risk. Thankfully better options are available.

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Broken Promises, Broken Bolts: the San Onofre Nuclear Follies Just Won’t Stop

April 3, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News March 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Blackrain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world. Here is out March 2018 report.

Decline and Fall of San Onofre Nuclear Plant Not Over

The decline and fall of of Southern California’s San Onofre nuclear power plant still has not hit bottom. Located in Orange County, home of Disneyland, the plant operated 3 nuclear reactors. The first one started up in 1969, while Richard Nixon occupied the Western White House

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Oldest US Nuke Plant Going the Way of the Dinosaurs

March 12, 2018 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News for February 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

New Jersey Oyster Creek Nuke “To Shut Down for Good”

On February 2, 2018 the Asbury Park Press, Bruce Springsteen’s hometown newspaper, reported that the New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant is “to shut down for good in October more than a year ahead of schedule-in a surprise announcement by plant owner Exelon.”

The Park Press also reported the nuke plant is the “oldest in the US” and will be 49 years old when it it ceases operations.

Oyster Creek started up at the end of the year in 1969, as Richard Nixon was finishing his first year in office

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Burying 3.6 Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste at San Onofre State Beach Is a Terrible Idea

January 3, 2018 by Source

It’s heating up around the shuttered nuclear plant at San Onofre because locals are not happy with the plan to bury 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste at San Onofre State Beach. There were protests recently in the nearest city, San Clemente, against this plan.

Meanwhile, a local group, Citizens Oversight, has submitted a formal petition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under NRC Regulations that govern how the nuclear industry handles spent nuclear fuel. They believe the containers of the toxic nuke spent fuel should be designed for 1,000 years rather than the current requirement of only 40 years.

Everybody is talking about San Onofre. In the current San Diego Reader, Don Bauder has a piece about how nuclear waste in the sand now will create a toxic ocean later. Sarah “Steve” Mosko, at Boogie Green writes there’s a ticking time bomb at San Onofre Nuclear Plant.

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Nuclear Shutdown News for September 2017 – Texas and Florida Nukes Refused to Shut Down During Hurricanes

October 4, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

As Hurricanes Batter the Caribbean and Southeast US, Nuke Plants in Texas and Florida Refuse to Shut Down, Heightening Risk to Already Devastated Communities

On September 19 the Austin American-Statesman ran this story “South Texas Project stayed open during Hurricane Harvey.” South Texas Project is a nuclear plant with two reactors near Bay City, TX on the Gulf Coast, 90 miles from Houston. It has been operating since the late 1980s. Austin Energy is one of three utilities that owns it.

The newspaper article’s subtitle was “Some question decision to keep Texas nuclear plant open during Harvey.”

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Settlement Reached Over San Onofre Nuke Waste

September 5, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News August 2017

By Michael Steinberg /Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our August 2017 report.

San Onofre Nuke Plant’s Solution to its Megatons of Radioactive Waste–Make it Someone Else’s Problem

On August 28 the San Diego Union-Tribune broke the story: “Court settlement looks to move nuclear waste from San Onofre”

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Eleven Reasons an Electric Car Wouldn’t Be for You

August 8, 2017 by Source

Not a sequel to the 1999 movie: 10 things I Hate About You.

By Bill Adams / San Diego UrbDeZine

I’ve been driving my electric car (aka EV for electric vehicle) for a little shy of a year now. While I love it (I even bought a second one), I realize they’re not for everybody. Below are some reasons you might hate an EV:

  1. You love gas stations: The ritual, the delay in getting home, to work, or that trip out of town; and the drama of rising and falling gas prices.
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The Worst Nuclear Meltdown in U.S. History – And You’ve Never Heard of It!

August 1, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

Santa Susanna Lab in Ventura County Suffered Meltdown 58 Years Ago

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

The worst meltdown in our history? And we’ve never heard of it?

That’s Right. Wikipedia characterizes the meltdown as “the worst in US history” and asserts “the radioactive releases are thought to be much more than at Three Mile Island in 1979.”

And where? Less than 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles and less than 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

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Community Choice Energy: The Power of Competition

July 11, 2017 by Source

By Mark Hughes / San Diego Free Press

Community Choice Energy — also known as Community Choice Aggregation — offers us the chance to bring about a historic event: the conversion of a monopoly into a competitive business.

This happened to the telephone business by breaking up Ma Bell, and to the postal system, when FedEx started up. Would we have the data plans and services, even the phones we have today, without

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Remember Three Mile Island? Its Last Reactor to Shut Down

July 3, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain News

Remaining Three Mile Island Reactor to Shut Down

On May 30 Chicago-based Exelon Corporation, the largest US owner and operator of commercial nuclear power plants, announced that it would be shutting down its Unit 1 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in September 2019. Located 10 miles from Harrisburg, the state capitol, and 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia, the reactor started up over in 1974, over40 years ago.

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Nuclear Shutdown News May 2017: San Onofre Shenanigans Continue

May 31, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our May 2017 report:

San Onofre shenanigans continue–and so does resistance

On May 27 KPBS along with the Associated Press reported the story “Customers May Never Know How They Got Stuck With $3.3 Billion Paid For San Onofre Shutdown.”

This report details how the San Francisco-based California Public Utilities Commission –

“once again failed to release sources of emails it exchanged with Governor Jerry Brown’s office” concerning the “nuclear plant’s closure.”

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Clean and Renewable Energy Has Never Been Easier

May 5, 2017 by Source

Stylied graphic of wind turbines and trees

By Tyson Siegele/

You can now switch to 50% renewable energy with no increase to your electricity bill. Or you can opt for 100% renewable energy, which only costs an additional 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. That’s according to the latest prices from Arcadia Power, a nationwide clean energy supplier.

While roof mounted solar is the best way for an individual to help the planet and save money, that approach is not possible for everyone, including those of us who rent

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Nuke Shutdown News for March 2017 : San Onofre Nuke Waste to Be 100 Feet from Ocean

April 3, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

Nuke Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world. Here’s our March 2017 report:

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

San Onofre nuke owner wants to put lots of high level nuclear waste 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean.

On March 20 Surfer Magazine reported:

“They’re going to put nuclear waste 100 feet from the water.”

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Nuclear Shutdown News – February 2017

March 1, 2017 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those who are working for a nuclear free world. Here is out February 2017 report:

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

1. Fire and explosion at French nuclear plant.

Various media outlets reported that on February 9, a fire and explosion happened at the Flamanville nuclear plant, forcing the shutdown of one of its two reactors there. The nuke is located in Normandy on that country’s northwest coast, facing the English Channel.

The BBC reported: “The explosion and fire happened in the turbine room.”

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Reader’s Rant: Will New “Smart” Led Street Lights on Newport Ave in Ocean Beach Write You a Parking Ticket?

February 24, 2017 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for Reader’s Rant: Will New “Smart” Led Street Lights on Newport Ave in Ocean Beach Write You a Parking Ticket?

By Not Amused in OB

Are “smart” led street lights coming to Ocean Beach to surveil you and write you a parking ticket? I heard Newport Avenue is slated to get new led lights.

The evening news on Channel 10 covered this, and it appears that our mayor, Kevin Faulconer , just rolled out on Wednesday a program of installing new street lights in San Diego and Ocean Beach. The mayor announced he’s expanding this program of putting in “smart sensors” which will be able to “gather and disseminate data on things like traffic, parking availability, public safety and air quality.”

And Kevin said that his city has partnered with a company from back east called Current which will install 3200 of these “Smartlight Sensors”, powered by GE.

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OB’s Electric Car Charging Stations Promoted as San Diego Surges to Become Green Leader

February 23, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilwoman Lori Zapf were in Ocean Beach last week promoting the two new electric vehicle charging stations installed in the Life Guard parking lot. Both politicos feel that with the City’s surge in offering stations to the public – now up to 68 – shows that San Diego is becoming a municipal leader in dealing with climate change.

“Move over Portland, San Diego is growing greener and we’re growing smarter,” Zapf said, as it has been reported than there are currently an estimated 13,000 electric vehicles on the road in San Diego.

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Trump’s 7-Nation Immigration Ban Excluded Saudi Arabia – the Largest Purchaser of U.S. Military Equipment

February 16, 2017 by John Lawrence

Egypt Also Excluded – Major Recipient of U.S. Military Aid

By John Lawrence

Why did Trump try to impose tighter vetting on 7 nations in the Middle East without including Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Could it be that it’s because Saudi Arabia which is a hotbed of terrorism is also an ally of the US and an enemy of Iran?

Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudis. Osama bin Laden was a Saudi. The machete wielding attacker at the Louvre recently was Egyptian. Neither Egypt nor Pakistan nor Afghanistan were included on the so-called President’s list. Pakistan harbored bin Laden. Afghanistan is the home of the Taliban. If Trump had wanted to keep terrorists out of the US, surely he should have included these countries in his ban. But terrorism is more about U.S. alliances than it is about morality or human rights.

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County Supervisors to Vote on Community Choice Energy and Kill SDG&E’s Monopoly

February 14, 2017 by Source

community choiceBy Tyson Siegle, SanDiego350

On February 15th, San Diegans will have an opportunity to take a huge step forward on clean energy.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will vote on implementation for some or all of the San Diego County Comprehensive Renewable Energy Plan (CREP).

Many of the steps outlined in the plan save the county money and promote a healthier environment, but one particular piece of the plan could do more to promote clean energy and lower costs than all the rest combined: Community Choice Energy (CCE).

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Yoga Festival Held in Ocean Beach Was a “Labor of Love” for Organizers

January 30, 2017 by Staff
Thumbnail image for Yoga Festival Held in Ocean Beach Was a “Labor of Love” for Organizers

It was readily apparent that the 4-day yoga festival held in Ocean Beach that began on Friday, Jan. 27th, was a rousing success. Some 800 people took part – and it continues today, Jan. 30th – as festival-goers had dozens of options in how to participate – from participating in traditional classes overlooking the ocean, wine-tasting-based yoga sessions, yoga with your dog, a “namastoked” sunset surf session.

More info on today, Jan. 30, see the website of the San Diego Yoga Festival.

One of the key coordinators was our own Melanie Williams, board member of the OB Town Counsil and owner of TriPower Yoga in Ocean Beach. She told the San Diego Union-Tribune that planning the festival and then pulling it together was “a labor of love.”

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Pipelines, Propaganda, and Even More Protests

January 26, 2017 by Doug Porter

No pipelines

Indigenous Tribes, Environmentalists, and Scientists Feel Trump’s Wrath

By Doug Porter

The number one selling book on Amazon earlier this week was George Orwell’s ‘1984’ the classic story of a world of government surveillance, propaganda and “newspeak.” In the book, the “Ministry of Truth” actually delivers lies.

I suspect this uptick in sales (and the announcement of additional printing by Penguin Books) comes from the realization by Americans that lying is officially part of the new administration’s program.

Now it’s time to acknowledge ‘alternative facts’ are just one part of what’s going on. The tactics of this administration also include chaos, as proven by the rapid-fire attacks on institutions, humans, and the planet over the past couple of days.

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Yoga Festival Coming to Ocean Beach at End of January

January 19, 2017 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for Yoga Festival Coming to Ocean Beach at End of January

At the end of January, members of the OB community are hosting the San Diego Yoga Festival, an event that has been in the planning since last summer.

The idea supposedly was initiated by a San Diego Police supervisor, Sgt. Yu, who patrols OB, as a method to clear OB’s parks and waterfront out. He told the San Diego Reader that:

“… I love seeing those people doing their workouts; the more they show up, the more we fill these public spaces with this type of positive energy, the more quickly transient gangs will move on…and I call them transient gangs because they gravitate and congregate in groups of 5, 10, 15 and intimidate people; they are no different than a gang.”

The mission behind the yoga festival has deepened since then, and as Katrina Thomas wrote in the San Diego Entertainer Magazine, the festival organizers are “, inviting teachers and participants from around the country,” and aim to place San Diego on the map in the yoga world.

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