Clean Up Chalk River!

Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.

Japan was without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido went offline for mandatory routine maintenance.

After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

"Today is a historic day," Masashi Ishikawa shouted to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional "koinobori" carp-shaped banners for Children's Day that have become a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.... Read more »

In a televised news conference, Mr Kan said the country should harness renewable energy sources.

The 11 March earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima plant, which continues to leak radioactive material.

A large section of public opinion has turned against nuclear power.

About 30% of Japan's electricity was nuclear generated before the Fukushima crisis, and the country had targeted raising that figure to 53% by 2030.

But Mr Kan had already said this commitment should be scrapped.

On Wednesday, he went a step further, saying: "We will aim at realising a society which can exist without nuclear power."

He said the country should aim to develop alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass.

But he did not lay out a timescale for his plan.... Read more »

Ottawa's invested too much and grown too close to act as an independent regulator, critics say. Jenny Uechi Posted: Apr 21st, 2011 Send Article Print Article Read More:CanadaNewsWorldCanadian Nuclear Safety CommissionCNSCDarlingtonGentilly 2Gordon EdwardsHydro QuebecJohn Bennettnuclearnuclear powernuclear power plantPickeringradiationSierra Club « prevnext »Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Ottawa is too involved in Canada's nuclear industry to effectively regulate it, critics say. To tackle the problem, they're calling for a non-partisan royal commission inquiry into the future of the country's nuclear power industry.

Gordon Edwards, president and co-founder of the Canadian Coalition of Nuclear Responsibility, said the federal government is "completely dependent on the nuclear industry to tell them what to do."... Read more »