Top news: Radioactive contamination off Fukushima is on the rise; Switzerland drops plans for new nuclear reactors; Greenpeace Africa launches energy[r]evolution; Brazil’s approval Forest Code lifts anti-deforestation measures.

 

#Fukushima TEPCO has announced yet another new leak at Fukushima; radioactive water is believed to be leaking from a waste disposal unit, posing an increased threat to the Pacific and to groundwater. A poll from the Asahi newspaper showed that 42 percent of Japanese people now oppose nuclear power, up from 18 percent before the disaster.

#nuclear New data from our radiation monitoring teams on board the Rainbow Warrior and onshore in Japan shows worrying seaweed contamination, about 50 times higher than safety limits. Significant amounts of contamination continue to spread further than Japan’s government had anticipated, and continue accumulating in marine flora and fauna.

#nuclear Greenpeace Russia has discovered several sites of radioactive contamination in Moscow. According to Business Quarter (Russia), the authorities are denying that the sites pose any danger to the public. Environmental groups have written to the government, asking them to restrict access to these sites. The radiation is believed to come from hazardous landfill sites, and bunkers in which chemical weapons were buried.

#nuclear Some great news from Switzerland: the government decided yesterday to abandon plans to build new nuclear reactors. The country’s five existing reactors, which supply about 40% of the country’s power, would be allowed to continue operating, but would not be replaced at the end of their life span. The last would go offline in 2034. Tagesshau (Switzerland)

#energy[r]evolution Greenpeace Africa released its new Energy [R]evolution report yesterday, outlining how South Africa could join the race towards a clean and sustainable energy future. The document shows how switching to renewable energy will create over 150,000 new jobs within 20 years. On the same day Johannesburg announced plans to start the first project to produce electricity from landfill gas, with four more sites to follow in the next year ( Business Day ).

#forests It was a dark day for Brazil yesterday: starting with the murder of environmental activist José Claudio Silva and his wife Maria do Espírito Santo, and ending with a threat of a chainsaw massacre for Brazilian rainforests, when the lower house of Congress approved a reform that would open up some protected forests to cropland and ranchers. A big win for Brazil’s agricultural companies, a major defeat for local communities and the climate. Greenpeace’s Paulo Adario described the decision as "an amnesty that sends the message that environmental crimes are not punished. And that will foster more deforestation."

 

That's it for today's environmental news.

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