Extinction or Extermination?

I have been asked by Fen Montaigne, Senior Editor of Yale Environment 360, an online publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, to disseminate a moving story and photographs by Rhett Butler of Mongabay.com that they have just posted on the plight of orphaned orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra.

As Borneo's rain forests are razed for oil palm plantations, wildlife centers are taking in more and more orphaned orangutans and preparing them for reintroduction into the wild. But the endangered primates now face a new threat - there is not enough habitat where they can be returned.

I have permission to repost the entire article which highlights a fundamental problem in the mindset of Indonesia's government and bureaucracies: there is little forward planning or consideration of consequences.

Most critically, reintroduction to areas where people are present doesn't bode well for orangutans if the needs of locals are not met.

For reintroduction it is equally important to create a safe political environment as it is a physical environment. If a program is implemented from above with no care or attention given to the local community surrounding it, the project is likely doomed to fail.

As the article is lengthy at 2000+ words, I urge you read it at source and do your bit to remake Indonesia into a country fit for all living creatures.

Applying bandaid solutions is not enough.

"Rehabilitation is an example of treating the symptom, rather than the cause."

Not only orangutans are in danger of extinction here - or should that word be 'extermination'?

There are about 50 Javan rhinos remaining in Ujong Kulon National Park, at the north-west tip of Java, out of a total estimated number of 100 living in the wild, making it one of the critically endangered and one of the rarest species of the five different rhinoceros species.

The Paneglang regency administration and legislative council are trying to upgrade the Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK) from National Park status to World Wildlife Park status.

The Sumatran rhino is also endangered with only 200 remaining in Indonesia and Malaysia. If you want to "adopt" a rhino, you can visit the website of the International Rhino Foundation here.
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There are a number of links to Primate Protection sites in the right sidebar.

Jakarta Birding

Serial blogger Antony Casual has revived Jakarta Birding.

That's what I call REAL twittering.

You Reap What You Sow.

Three little girls in Sampangan district, Semarang, participate in a feast to celebrate the rice harvest season on Saturday. The feast is part of a traditional culture that is beginning to make its way back to the life of modern-day farmers in Semarang.

That's all it says on this page, and I presume there's a photo that goes with it which my dial up connection couldn't handle. But no matter: just read that last sentence again.

And maybe rejoice.

And this is a picture of SBY enjoying himself in July this year.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (center), First Lady Ani Yudhoyono (fourth from right) and Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono (fourth from left) hold up stalks of rice as North Sumatra Governor Syamsul Arifin (third from left) waves his hand, in a ceremony on Saturday (19th July 2008) to mark the grand harvest in Nagori Panembean village in Simalungun, North Sumatra.

In a discussion with local farmers and officials, Yudhoyono called on the people to intensify agricultural activities to attain self-sufficiency in food supplies and help defuse the world food crisis.

He also said the government would continue increasing the fertilizer subsidy, expected to reach Rp 1.5 trillion next year, to improve farmers' social welfare and minimize the country's dependence on imported rice.

A year ago I published a series of articles about the inroads being made by various oligarchs, especially Tommy Winata*, Jusuf Kalla and Taufik Kiemas, to force farmers to plant hybrid seeds. SBY has been the happy figurehead in all this whilst the others have been making multi-million dollar deals with Chinese hybrid seed developers, and Bayer, a company also in league with the Burmese generals.

As befits the leader of Indonesia presiding in the shadows of Sukarno and Suharto, this month SBY has called for the country to become food self-sufficient. It's a national priority.

"Indonesia must struggle to reach food self-sufficiency, and learn not to rely on other countries because we have our own good resources with which to develop the agriculture sector," said Yudhoyono during a rice harvesting ceremony in Jeruk Nyelap village in Sukabumi, West Java, while accompanied by First Lady Any Yudhoyono.

"Fortunately, this year we have reached self-sufficiency in rice and corn. This year's increase in rice production is the greatest during the last 12 years."

He said the country's rice production was expected to reach 60 million tons this year, up 5.46 percent from 57 tons last year, as estimated by the Central Statistic Agency.

Rice harvested in paddies during the event were grown from Benih Prima and Benih Super strains; High-quality seeds produced by PT Sumber Alam Sutera*, an agriculture company owned by tycoon Tommy Winata.

Observers will be interested to learn whether the hybrid seeds generate productive yields in the second harvest, or perhaps they will only harvest empty husks.

The government came under fire from farmers two months ago when the government-endorsed Supertoy HL2 rice strain was tested on a number of plantations resulting in failed harvests. The Agriculture Ministry said the new variety had not been certified by the government.

Yudhoyono also said efforts to improve the agriculture sector should not be hampered by the spread of infrastructure development.

"We should ensure that land for paddy fields is always available," he said.

It's possible that he had in mind the rapid takeover of Bali by real estate developers who've seen a dramatic rise in income and profits from the construction and renting of villas and 'exclusive' resorts for hedonistic expatriates.

Yet I also pointed out that in India, and elsewhere, that the most productive yields of rice were those that took into account local conditions and farming practices, including planting those strains of rice which were best suited to those areas. My articles gave enough links to background information to demonstrate that agri-business practices may boost yields in the short term but eventually prove harmful in terms of the depletion of soil fertility and the run off of chemicla fertilisers into the water table.

Furthermore, I also espoused the system of rice intensification (SRI) which can increase yields by over 30% - four to five tonnes per hectare instead of three tonnes per hectare - while using 40% less water than conventional methods. This has been known for much longer than I originally thought, as this wiki page points out.

It is somewhat pleasing, therefore, to find that The Jakarta Post has rallied to the cause.

Yogyakarta's School of Agricultural Technology at Gadjah Mada University (FTP UGM), together with farm groups from across the province, have discovered a new rice planting system they call the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).

The conventional method is to plant 25-day-old seedlings at a depth of five centimeters, spaced 10 to 25 cm apart and with several seedlings in a single hole.

The SRI uses seedlings less than 15 days old, planted at a depth of between two and three cm, spaced at least 25 cm apart and a single seedling to a hole.

Researcher Sigit Supadmo, connected with the SRI planting system at the FTP UGM, said the method had been tested since 2005. It has been tested in Malang, East Java, besides across Yogyakarta. According to Sigit, it is a breakthrough in rice cultivation and done only by altering plant, water and nutrient management. This system also saves water, making it applicable in areas prone to water shortage.

"Yields will increase and food self-reliance can be achieved," Sigit said.

Nuryanto, a farmer in Kulonprogo, said he had been able to save up to 50 percent in production costs since he began using the SRI planting pattern. He uses a maximum of only 10 kilograms of seedlings per hectare, compared to between 30 and 50 kg when using the conventional planting method.

"I can save up to 50 percent in chemical fertilizers. I only need 25 kg to fertilize a 1,000 square meter plot now, compared to 50 kg earlier. However, each 1,000 m2 must be dispersed with 1,000 kg of urea which I can easily obtain from the cattle stall," he said.

"I also use 40 percent less water."

The SRI system also conserves water because irrigation is only required during planting and when the paddy is between 10 and 20 days old.

Another farmer in Sleman, Subadi, said the SRI system was beneficial for farmers because they could reap more yields. Besides lower production costs, harvests also increase. Yields increase because the 25 cm distance between each plant allows it to grow optimally and produce more stalks.

The conventional method only yields an average of 5.4 tons of dried unhusked rice per hectare, compared to the SRI system which can produce up to 11.5 tons per ha.

All we need now, is for SBY to read this post, or better still to study the results from FTM UGM, ponder the benefits, include costs savings, and compel local agri-business concerns to Think Indonesia rather than their corporate profits.

Tradition still has a key role to play, and it would be good if next harvest SBY joins those three girls in their harvest festival. Then we'd all have something to rejoice.

Subject: Climate crisis: islands disappearing

Amongst my email subscriptions is Avaaz.org, which is "an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva."

They regularly seek a massive number of signatures for petitions in support of their various campaigns.

I believe that supporting their latest campaign is probably more important than most in that it draws attention to a matter that concerns everyone and every living thing on this planet.
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----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Wikler - Avaaz.org
To: Jakartass
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Dear friends,

Next week, desperate due to accelerating sea level rise, a group of small islands' leaders plan to take the unprecedented step of putting a resolution before the United Nations calling upon the Security Council itself to address climate change. Stand with these threatened people:

Imagine the sea rising around you as your country literally disappears beneath your feet, where the food you grow and the water you drink is being destroyed by salt, and your last chance is to seek refuge in other lands where climate refugees have no official status. This is not a dream, it's the fearful reality for millions of people who live on islands around the world, from the Maldives to Papua New Guinea.

That is why these small islands are planning the unprecedented step next week, ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting, of calling on the Security Council itself to address climate change as a pressing threat to international peace and security.

This is a creative move born of desperation, a challenge to global powers to end their complacency and tackle this lethal crisis with the urgency of wars. This effort could help shift the tenor of the world's debate -- from a far-off storm cloud to a life-threatening crisis here and how. But the island states' campaign will meet fierce opposition from the world’s biggest polluters, so they need our help. Sign the petition now to raise a worldwide chorus of support for this call -- our signatures will be presented to the UN by the islands' ambassadors as they introduce their resolution next week:

Arctic ice is melting so fast that, for the first time in human history, you can sail straight through the Arctic. Hurricanes and other extreme weather patterns are growing in size and number. As an Avaaz member in St. Kitts writes, "While those in the US can evacuate an area when a powerful hurricane is on its way, those of us on the islands do not have that option." Now, small island nations -- whose highest points are often only a few meters above sea level -- are preparing evacuation plans to guarantee the survival of their populations.

President Remengesau of Palau, a small island in the Pacific, recently said: Palau has lost at least one third of its coral reefs due to climate change related weather patterns. We also lost most of our agricultural production due to drought and extreme high tides. These are not theoretical, scientific losses -- they are the losses of our resources and our livelihoods.... For island states, time is not running out. It has run out. And our path may very well be the window to your own future and the future of our planet".

Beyond the islands, countries like Bangladesh -- population, 150 million -- face losing large parts of their landmass. The experience of our planet's most vulnerable communities serves as a warning sign of the future world we can all expect: extreme weather growing in intensity, conflict over water and food supplies, coasts disappearing and hundreds of millions made refugees.

The more signatures we raise to be delivered to the UN next week, the more urgently this call will ring out to protect our common future. Sign now.

The small islands' brave campaign for survival is our campaign as well. Just as sea levels rise or fall everywhere at the same time, the choices of every person everywhere affect the future of our common home. By standing with the people at the front line of the climate crisis, we show them, and ourselves, that we recognize our fundamental shared humanity -- and the responsibilities that come with it.

With hope,
Ben and the Avaaz team

PS: More information is at these links.

A draft of the Small Islands States Resolution.

More information about those presenting the petition. These are the States who are sponsoring the resolution: Fiji, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, joined by Canada and Turkey.

Given that Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, I'm somewhat surprised that they aren't a signatory to the resolution. As the oceans rise, many islands will disappear, and Jakarta may well be inundated too.

More information about all of the island states.

Information on Tuvalu's evacuation plan and climate refugees.

Information about how rising sea levels will affect us all.

More information on the rapidly-melting Arctic ice:

Are Cars Electric?

It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American automotive technology to the forefront of 'green transport'.

It was designed and built by General Motors and they killed it. Why?

How about the oil companies which are grinning smugly at their record profits?

High oil prices are to big oil company profits what steroids are to home run records - number inflators. It costs oil companies less than $10 per barrel to extract and ship a barrel of oil. The “finding” costs to explore and develop an oil field range from $5 per barrel in the Middle East to $67 per barrel off of the U.S. coast. These are production costs. So when the market price jumps due to speculators, political unrest, supply disruption, or other similar events, it is a windfall for the oil company.

In 2007, ExxonMobil smashed the record for highest profits ever made by a public U.S. company by posting a net profit of $40.6 billion.

(To put these figures in perspective, Exxon’s $40.6 billion profit in 2007 is roughly equal to receiving $30 for every person in China and Rp.17 million for every Indonesian resident.)

Shell also had a record breaking year with $31.3 billion, 23% higher than in 2006.
Chevron matched its prediction of positive gains with $18.7 billion profit.
ConocoPhillips made $11.9 billion.

Mat Solo is a Malaysian driller/blogger in Indonesia waters.

To be frightfully honest, there’s no better time to be in the oil patch. For eight years I never saw a salary increase. This year (2007) alone we had two salary adjustments. This is to ensure loyalty. In my line of work I could easily don some competitor’s coveralls at a moments notice. I see myself no different than being a hooker; we sell our bodies and soul to the highest bidder.

A non-oilfield friend once suggested that drilling professionals are like football players. Although flattering, I’m not about to kid myself. To be a football star you need skills. As drilling guys, we just know how to make holes. Even you can do it. I mean, come on - how much skill do you need to wield a cangkol (back hoe) to dig a hole in your backyard? The mechanics are the same only the scale differs.

With the cost of motoring rising inexorably, car bound communities are facing critical choices: commute by public transport, car pool, change jobs to one closer to home (or move closer to the city), bike or buy a 'greener' car.

Inevitably car manufacturers such as General Motors in the States, land of gas guzzlers, are seeing a massive drop in sales. I have absolutely no sympathy for their woes.

The company is implementing sweeping cuts from the factory floor to the boardroom as it scrambles to bolster its cash position by $15bn to cope with plummeting sales of vehicles.

The Detroit-based manufacturer today announced that it is reducing its white-collar payroll costs by 20% through a two-year pay freeze and voluntary redundancies.

In a radical move which risks the wrath of unions, GM is scrapping healthcare cover for all its retired workers and for their families from the beginning of next year.

It is no consolation to their pensioners that shareholders and directors won't be receiving their usual 'compensation' next year.

When the electric car was killed off, it was suggested that so-called hybrid cars were the future. These could be dual powered, say hydrogen-gasoline. The oil companies having killed off purely electric cars plumped for hydrogen, ignoring the fact that the electricity used to produce hydrogen to be turned into a power source could in fact be the direct power source in itself.

What's more, they are not keen on investing tens of billions of dollars building a hydrogen fueling infrastructure, which at best will take away business from their tremendously profitable gasoline sales, and at worst will be a complete business loss, assuming, as now seems likely, that hydrogen cars never catch on.

Although the automotive industry continues to cling to old values, whilst flaunting their environmental consciousness, the electric car industry is growing. This page suggests that under pressure from rising fuel prices, towns across the United States are passing bylaws to permit the use of golf carts on their streets as an alternative to cars.

It also gives details of a number of other models already available, such as the Electric Lightning GT with a top speed of 130mph (208kph), a range of 200 miles (320 kilometres) and a price of £120,000 (c.$240,000). Or there's the G-Wiz with a top speed of 50mph (80kph), a range of 48 miles (77 kilometres) and a price of £7,500 (c.$15,000).

Then there's the VentureOne All-electric Vehicle whose propulsion system has two in-wheel 20 kW electric motors, and a 17 kWh Li-Ion battery pack. The system is able to return energy lost due to braking to the battery and can go over 100mph (180kph).

Given that the majority of car journeys are only about 30 miles, the latter looks suitable for most needs. If not most people.

Here in Indonesia, I'm surprised, but pleased, that Industry Minister Fahmi Idris has indicated that electric cars have a future here, although the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) is the immediate priority in order to reduce emissions.

"Developing cars with CNG fuel is faster as we have plenty of fuel while technically it is easier."

"Ideally, public transportation should also use CNG as is done in many countries like India," Fahmi said. "We can also use electric cars, however, the technology is more complicated." he said.

"It also needs a stable electric supply."

Indeed.

Until then, there is this alternative spotted by Son No.1 in Sumbawa.

One Horsepower

Is it so easy to fool Indonesians?

There was a very short article in yesterday's Post, one I can't find online. Yet it's probably one of the most serious attempts to hoodwink the Indonesian public I've ever come across.

Indonesia and France on Thursday signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear power plant research.

The agreement came amid a long-standing controversy over government plans to build a nuclear power plant in the central Java town of Jepara to ease the electricity deficit plaguing the country.

After signing the memorandum of understanding with French Ambassador Catherine Boivineau, State Minister for Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman said, "There have been no reports of problems with Frances nuclear power plant technology, which is extraordinary."

What is truly extraordinary is that the minister hasn't done any research using the technology available to the likes of you and me - a search engine.

This calendar page compiled by Greenpeace gives some examples of the everyday nuclear incidents that have occurred all over the world. It demonstrates how technological failures coupled with human error risk public health and the environment on an almost daily basis.

The first accident listed only dates from 1954, thus ignoring the first A-bomb tests, and goes up to 1993. However, it still lists the following twenty, count 'em, 'accidents' and equipment failures in French nuclear power plants.

1967 November 7: Release of radioactivity at Grenoble nuclear power plant
1968 October 2: Leakage at La Hague reprocessing plant
1969 October 17: Fuel elements melt at St Laurent des Eaux nuclear power plant
1980 September 22: Pump failure causes release of radioactive water at La Hague reprocessing plant
1981 January 6: Accident at La Hague reprocessing plant
1983 October 1: Technical failure and human error cause accident at Blayas nuclear power plant
1986 August 19: Flooding at the Cattenom nuclear power plant
1988 April 28: Release of 5000 Curies of tritium gas from the Bruyere le Chatel military nuclear complex
1988 November 23: Two control rods jammed at Blayais nuclear power plant
1989 April 1: Control rod failure at Gravelines nuclear power plant
1990 January 28: Pump failure during a shut-down at Gravelines nuclear power plant
1990 May 26: During refuelling, five cubic meters of radioactive water spilled at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant
1990 September 16: Superphenix Fast Breeder Reactor is closed down due to technical failures
1990 November 4: 2 workers irradiated during refuelling at Blayais nuclear power plant
1991 June1: Failure of core cooling system at Belleville nuclear power plant
1992 July 22: Two workers contaminated at Dampierre nuclear power plant
1992 July 22: Temperature rise in storage pool at Gravelines nuclear power plant
1992 August 28: Fire in electro-generator at St.Alban nuclear power plant
1993 January 20: Technical failure at Paluel causes subcooling accident
1993 October 22: Instrumentation and Control failure at Saint Alban nuclear power plant

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is engaged in nuclear diplomacy. Sarkozy has been leveraging France’s leading civilian nuclear technology to gain diplomatic, commercial and military advantages with countries in the Middle East, as well parts of Africa and Asia.

Since taking office last May, Sarkozy has signed deals worth billions of dollars to build nuclear power reactors or offer technical advice to a number of Arab states including Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and now Indonesia.

The deal with Libya has really upset the island state of Malta because they feel threatened by their proximity to a potential nuclear accident.

You see, one took place between Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 July at the Tricastin plant in Bollene, 40km from Avignon, in the heart of the Côte du Rhone wine-producing region. After a plant malfunction, some 30,000 litres of a solution containing 12% enriched uranium overflowed from a reservoir into the nearby Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers.

A spokesperson for France’s nuclear safety agency, Evangelia Petit, admitted that the concentration of uranium in the two rivers was 1,000 times higher than normal after the spill. Enriched uranium is highly carcinogenic and a potential source of radiation poisoning, but Petit downplayed the consequences of last week’s leak, claiming that the risk posed to humans was “slight”.

Nonetheless, inhabitants of nearby towns and villages have been banned from fishing, swimming, drawing well water or using water from the polluted rivers for irrigation purposes

A "slight risk to humans"? Is that a similar cover up to that of the recent release of plutonium into the sewage system of Boulder, Colorado, which was “below the legal limits”?

If Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman really did not know about the most recent accident in France, then he should be fired for gross incompetence.

And if he did know .... ?

Another Anti-Nuclear Rant?

Although news about Indonesia's proposed nuclear power plant has been scant recently, it is worth reminding ourselves - and the élite of the business and political worlds - that no country has yet achieved energy self-sufficiency from nuclear power and, most importantly, no country has solved the problem of the disposal of the radio-active waste generated.

I have burdened readers of my anti-nuclear stance 33 times in the life of Jakartass - type 'anti-nuclear' or 'nuclear power' in the SEARCH box in the right column for the multifarious reasons.

This post is not a rant because there's enough recent evidence around from the pioneers of nuclear power - the UK - to demonstrate that for Indonesia to follow the nuclear route would be madness. What I am referring to is a catalogue of disasters in the British nuclear industry rather than the inadequacies of the Indonesian government, local authorities and private companies in maintaining the country's roads.

Don't take my words for it - please click on the links.

Nuclear Power for Dummies
Is nuclear power the answer to the energy crisis? Ian Sample explains how it works - and how we get the awful side-effects of bombs and waste.

The many problems of Sellafield

Britain's nuclear complex at Sellafield is Europe's biggest single industrial site and home to what was meant to be a huge fuel reprocessing system that would produce power while reducing the legacy of radioactive waste. It was built amid enthusiasm that atomic power would be "too cheap to meter" and yet, 52 years on, its catalogue of failures has left it with one of the world's largest stockpiles of plutonium and a bill to the taxpayer of about £3bn a year, a new report says.

Radioactive waste storage at Sellafield

Sellafield houses two state-owned reprocessing works and a plant for making mixed uranium and plutonium fuel called Mox. None of these facilities, which cost hundreds of millions of pounds, work as they were meant to do. Their problems are rebounding on the part-privatised British Energy (BE), which is wholly dependent on Sellafield to reprocess and store spent fuel from its 14 advanced gas-cooled reactors.

The difficulties have also hit the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which the government set up in 2004 to preside over the £72bn clean-up of all British atomic sites and which was meant to be partly funded by income from reprocessing spent fuel.

Costs of Decommissioning 1
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which is nursing a £300m budget overrun for 2006-07 alone, is attempting to raise cash to help pay for a £72bn clean-up bill. It plans to do this by selling off, to the private sector, everything from stockpiled uranium to atomic fuel manufacturing plants and land at 18 sites where they hope new nuclear plants will be built.

Contamination
Two kilometres of beach outside one of Britain's biggest nuclear plants, Dounreay, have been closed since 1983, and fishing banned, when it was found old fuel rod fragments were being accidentally pumped into the sea. The cause was traced and corrected but particles - including plutonium specks, each capable of killing a person if swallowed - are still being washed on to this bleakly beautiful stretch of sand and cliff on mainland Britain's northern edge.

Robot submarines fitted with a Geiger counter are to be used to sweep the seabed in one of the most delicate clean-up operations ever in this country. Each submersible will crisscross the sea floor to pinpoint every deadly speck close to Dounreay before lifting each particle and returning it to land for safe storage.

Costs of Decommissioning 2
Although the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) kept no precise accounts for building and running Dounreay on Scotland's north coast, it is known to have cost several billion pounds. Now a further £2.5 billion will be spent returning the site to its pre-nuclear condition, leaving only a vault, covered with grass, to hold low-level nuclear waste while high-level waste will probably be shipped to a central UK nuclear store yet to be approved.

Waste Disposal
Scientists know that eventually they need to find a way of storing nuclear waste safely for thousands of years. Some countries, such as America and Finland, plan to store nuclear waste in deep underground bunkers. For this to be safe, scientists have to be sure the material could never leak out and contaminate water supplies or rise up to the surface. Other plans for disposing of nuclear waste have included dumping it at sea and blasting it into space

Apparently Britain already has more than 100,000 tonnes of radioactive waste that needs to be stored. No country has yet decided on a definitive method, or place, for the disposal of its radioactive waste.

Sellafield which was built to reprocess nuclear fuel, thus reducing the waste, has been a monumental failure. This February Malcolm Wicks, the energy minister, admitted in parliament that the plant had only produced 2.6 tonnes of reprocessed fuel in 2007 and a total of 5.2 tonnes since it opened in 2001, despite promises it would produce 120 tonnes a year.

On-Site Safety
Work on Britain's Trident nuclear warhead programme was suspended for much of the last year due to wide-ranging safety fears, it has been disclosed. Following suspension of work at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield in Berkshire last July, when flooding increased the risk of fire at the plant, concerns about on-site safety became so acute that a decision was taken in the autumn to stop all live nuclear work on missile warheads.

AWE claims to be a 'centre of technological excellence, with some of the most advanced research, design and production facilities in the world'.

Alternatives
A study, commissioned by the UK's Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has shown that British buildings equipped with solar panels, mini wind turbines and other renewable energy sources could generate as much electricity a year as five nuclear power stations. Furthermore, the report has shown that a large-scale switch to micro renewable energy units could save 30m tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of nearly 5% of all the emissions produced in generating UK electricity.

Tom Tuohy R.I.P.
An unsung hero, his bravery averted a possible British nuclear catastrophe.