I’m Tom Dwyer,

Despite the objections of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman, the U S just licensed the first two new nuclear plants in thirty seven years. 

They’re being built by The Southern Company, a major polluter an ALEC member, based on a reactor design that wasn’t updated after lessons from Fukushima.

These two are just the first wave of the ‘nuclear renaissance’ being pushed.

Two more reactors are slated for the Gulf Coast of Texas, and one of the companies involved there is TEPCO, the Japanese company that built Fukushima- Daiichi.

TEPCO has falsified inspection records, doctored critical reactor equipment data, faked reactor tests, lied to the world about the ongoing Fukushima disaster, and continues to operate eight reactors without making required repairs.

As the cons love to say “let free markets decide”

Repealing Price Anderson would help resolve our nuclear nightmare. You and I should not be on the hook for insuring the nuclear industries profits.

By phone at (five oh three, two three oh, twenty three hundred) or online at (tom dwyer dot com) we’re Tom Dwyer Automotive Services… trusted to keep your vehicles, safe, breakdown-free and operating at their best!

(c)2012 Tom Dwyer Automotive Services

I’m Tom Dwyer,

KPOJ is a vital community for us liberals and we need to maintain it.

Please advertise your quality product or business to the responsive KPOJ audience.

Listeners support the station’s advertisers and they’ll make sure you know they’re supporting you because you advertise on KPOJ!

This Progressive venue will continue if we all do our parts.

By phone at (five oh three, two three oh, twenty three hundred) or online at (tom dwyer dot com) we’re Tom Dwyer Automotive Services… trusted to keep your vehicles, safe, breakdown-free and operating at their best!

(c)2012 Tom Dwyer Automotive Services

The United States has just licensed the first new nuclear plants since 1975, two reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia.  Speaking against the licensing, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said “Significant safety enhancements have already been recommended as a result of learning the lessons from Fukushima… Knowing this I cannot support these licenses as if Fukushima never happened.” Jaczko’s caution didn’t matter, though, and the licenses were granted to “a consortium of utilities”.  They aren’t frequently named in press releases, but one of the companies responsible for construction in this consortium is… TEPCO.

(correction 5/4/12- We said that TEPCO was involved in the Vogtle plants based on this quote from an article on the continuing Fukushima crisis- “TEPCO…is the same vendor tapped to build new nuclear plants in the U.S. currently planned by the Obama administration.”  Upon further research we found that TEPCO is not involved in the Vogtle consortium, but in a group of companies attempting to build nuclear plants on the Gulf Coast of Texas.  We apologize for the mistake.)

Who’s TEPCO? As the Fukushima disaster quietly continues so does the stream of revelations about TEPCO, the Japanese utility that constructed the reactors.  From the beginning Fukushima-Daiichi has been the story of natural and man-made factors combining to create an unmanageable calamity, but it has also been the story of the worst kind of greed, malfeasance, lies, cover-up, and corruption.

Here are some of the things TEPCO has engaged in before and during the Fukushima event-

• falsification of inspection records over many years;

• covering up data about cracks in water circulation pumps and pipes which are critical for reactor cooling;

• failure to report cracks in reactor core shrouds (stainless steel cylinders surrounding the reactor core), steam dryers, access hole covers, and components associated with jet pumps (which circulate cooling water inside the reactor);

• in 1991 and 1992, tests of the leak rate of a Fukushima reactor containment vessel were faked by surreptitiously injecting compressed air into the containment building;

• written records of cracks in neutron-measuring equipment at Fukushima were deleted by contractor Hitachi at TEPCO’s request; and

• eight TEPCO reactors were still operating although required repairs had not been carried out

If that’s not enough, here’s what happened while building the reactor pressure vessel for reactor #4:   The production process required that the pressure vessel be fired in a gigantic blast furnace using internal braces to support the structure while it cooled.  The braces either collapsed or were forgotten completely (it’s unclear) but in either case their absence caused the walls of the vessel to warp.  Undeterred, TEPCO decided to “…reshape the vessel so that no one would know it had ever been damaged…” by just popping out the warped area.  Unfortunately, bending of any type weakens the structural integrity of a material, and there is no record of stress testing to determine whether the repaired vessel would function like the unmodified version.  (You may want to read the full article from UK Progressive here.)

America may be lagging in many things, but I would have thought we had enough graft and corruption here at home without having to go to Japan to get more.  If you care about the future of the nuclear industry then this month’s article about Helen Caldicott and John Bartel’s latest work will be particularly interesting, and as always I urge you to get involved!

Make a great day,

Tom

March 2011 marked the beginning of the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster, currently the second worst nuclear event in history (behind Chernobyl) and closing fast on the top spot.  The nuclear industry in the US was quietly poised for a “renaissance” prior to Fukushima, but the events in Japan have put US nuclear energy in the spotlight again.  Two of the people who think there is a window for the reconsideration of US nuclear power are longtime nuclear activists Dr. Helen Caldicott and John Bartels.  Dr. Caldicott, a founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, is author of “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer.”  John Bartels was a member of the Eugene (Oregon) Water and Electric Board that owned thirty percent of the one million-kilowatt Trojan Nuclear Power Plant.  He led the fight to refuse to accept electricity from a plant that avoided liability for shutdowns and potential nuclear accidents, causing the plant to be closed and decommissioned ahead of schedule.  This month we bring you a plea from Caldicott and Bartels to repeal the Price-Anderson act and make the nuke industry stand on its own, if it can…

Price-Anderson is a 1957 law that limits the liability of nuclear operators in the event of accident.  With atomic weapons a new reality in the wake of WWII, President Eisenhower instituted the “Atoms for Peace” program to find civilian uses for nuclear technology.  Potential nuclear energy producers looked at the massive liability of any nuclear accident and saw financial disaster.  General Electric said it would not proceed “with a cloud of bankruptcy hanging over its head,” and Westinghouse said, “…we could not proceed as a private company without … government backing.”  Price-Anderson capped the industry’s liability in event of accident at $10.2 billion (today’s dollars) by creating a pool of insurance companies and industry contributions, and giving the fledgling nuclear industry the security they needed to grow.  However, modern nuclear accidents have shown how inadequate this seemingly-large amount is.  Chernobyl did about $350 billion in damage, and the costs of Fukushima are expected to reach $250 billion or more.  A nuke accident at New York’s Indian Point could be 10 to 100 times more expensive than Fukushima.  (please see our article “The Price of nuclear power” for a more detailed explanation)

Price-Anderson is the ultimate example of “socializing the risks and privatizing the rewards”.  It’s a lynch pin of the US nuclear industry, because even with insurers and re-insurers the industry couldn’t exist in the “free market” espoused by Cons in every other arena.  Caldicott and Bartels believe it’s time for this market-distorting law to go, and they’re joined by a surprising array of groups including the libertarian Cato Institute.  Here is an open letter to Congress from Caldicott and Bartels to Congress, along with supporting information on why the repeal of Price-Anderson is so critical.

(An open Letter to Members of the United States Congress from Dr. Helen Caldicott, an experienced medical professional, and former Eugene Oregon Water and Electric Board member, John Bartels.)

This (Fukushima-Daiichi) is the nuclear power catastrophe we and countless others have anticipated since the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl.

We call upon Members of the United States Congress and President Obama to repeal the Price-Anderson Act that throws liability for nuclear disasters onto taxpayers and utility ratepayers and legislates financial limits on that liability.

We are overriding our instincts, as an experience health professional and electric utility executive, to engage again in all the arguments against the basically misrepresented nuclear power industry. We know from all-too-familiar experience that this debate is unwinnable against the multi-billion dollar industry arrayed against us.

We insist elected representatives finally throw the debate into the marketplace where it belongs.  Is nuclear power a good investment? Let the market mechanisms decide.

Our officials don’t have to explain, rationalize or obfuscate. Just vote “yes” or “no.” Let the truth come out so citizens of the world can finally judge on the facts.

Helen Caldicott and John Bartels

A succinct and powerful letter on a subject vital to our continuing national well-being.  And here are some of the materials that led Helen and John to their stance…

Nuclear liability: The market-based, post-Fukushima case for ending Price-Anderson

By Mark Cooper, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, October 5, 2011

Unsafe At Any Dose

NY Times OpEd by Dr. Helen Caldicott, April 30, 2011

The Price-Anderson Act: Is It Consistent with a Sound Energy Policy?

CATO Institute Policy Paper, Barry Brownstein, April 17, 1984

The NRC And Nuclear Power Plant Safety In 2011- Living On Borrowed Time

Union of Concerned Scientists Report, February 22, 2012

(If you’re interested in more data specifically on Fukushima, please see our own article What’s the latest on Fukushima? (3/7/2012) for a general Fukushima update, and Fukushima… the ‘Japanese Chernobyl’ a year later and politics still trump safety for some of the latest on TEPCO from UK Progressive.

Lots of folks ask us for car buying advice.  Our best advice is usually to buy something from Asia, America is good, stay away from Europe.  Tom’s overall pick year after year is the Toyota Corolla, a solid and reliable car that gets mileage competitive with the Prius, is reasonably priced, and will run for hundreds of thousands of miles if properly maintained.  However, other people have more detailed advice and this month we thought we’d tell you what Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has to say about the best way to spend your new car dollars…

Kiplinger’s actually has two lists of “cheapest cars” One to own and one to insure.  We’ve given you the list they came up with but only the list.  Kiplinger’s has much more detailed info on any car you’re considering.  Just click the link on the list name and you’ll find everything you need.  If you’d like more auto info from Kiplinger’s their Car-Buying Guide is here.  Our own website also has several resources you can use to make your next vehicle purchase as painless as it can be.

• Our Information Archive has everything.  You’ll find articles, links, and a full archive of our past newsletters that might have info you’re looking for.
• If you like the car you’re driving and want to keep it forever, our article on “How can I get the most value from my vehicle?” will be helpful.
• If you’re set on buying a used car, make SURE you avoid salvage title cars.
• We don’t use it very often at all, but sometimes we can sell someone’s used car on our Used Car Trading Post.
• If your car’s not running and you can’t figure out what to do with it, we have several Vehicle Donation Programs listed that could help.

But enough about our incredibly useful website.  Without further ado, here’s Kiplinger’s advice:

10 cheapest cars to own in 2012-

1. Nissan Versa S 4Dr
2. Hyundai Accent GLS 4Dr
3. Ford Fiesta S 4Dr
4. Toyota Yaris L 2Dr Hatch
5. Kia Soul L 2Dr Hatch
6. Kia Rio LX 4Dr
7. Scion IQ 2Dr Hatch
8. Honda Insight 4Dr Hatch
9. Mazda2 Sport 4Dr Hatch
10. Honda Fit 4dr Hatch

In specific categories, here are the winners…

• Compacts- Nissan Versa or Ford Focus S
• Family Sedans- Toyota Camry
• European- Volkswagen Passat S
• Luxury- Audi A3 2.0T TDI or Acura TSX
• Midsize/large crossovers- Dodge Journey SE or Hona Pilot LX

10 cheapest cars to insure (with their average yearly premiums)-

1. Chrysler Town & Country LX — $1,092 average premium
2. Toyota Sienna 4 cylinder — $1,101
3. Toyota Sienna LE — $1,108
4. Honda Odyssey LX — $1,115
5. Nissan Murano SL — $1,128
6. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport — $1,131
7. Honda Odyssey EX — $1,138
8. Toyota Sienna 6 cylinder — $1,143
9. Ford Escape XLS — $1,150
10. Toyota Highlander — $1,154

The most expensive to insure?  The Mercedes SL65 AMG, with a national average annual premium of $3,544

The Daily Green- This website has the most complete coverage we could find with 33 separate subcategories including the latest news, facts, and stats, pictures and maps for the BP oil spill, its size, its impacts on wildlife, and the efforts at containment and cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico.

As usual, Public Broadcasting has the best, most in-depth broadcast reporting on any subject.  Click here for a PBS report on the anniversary, here for a Frontline documentary on the spill, and here for a radio report from the coast.  For contrast, you can watch the 2:37 that CBS News did on the anniversary.

The environmental effect is probably the most serious and long-term impact of the spill.  TreeHugger.com and the National Wildlife Federation have concentrated coverage of the environment.  Also, when BP starts to say that it’s impossible to separate their spill from regular environmental fluctuations they’ll have problems.  Scientists have been able to definitively link a “graveyard of coral” to BP oil from the spill.

Almost as important as the progress on the cleanup is the progress through the judicial system.  Here is an update on the legal action against BP, and info on the first criminal charges filed in the case.

“Stick Your Damn Hand In It:  20th Birthday Of The Exxon Valdez Lie”- was an article by Greg Palast that was the seed for ongoing our “News To Make You FURIOUS” column

“BP Learned from the Valdez.  Did we?”- Our FURIOUS article from August, 2010, this had some great links to various aspects of the spill, including video from an Alabama TV station whose testing of water samples from “safe” areas had to stop when the samples exploded.

Interactive Map of the Spill Area- This is an absolutely fascinating tool for “emergency responders and environmental resource managers who deal with incidents that may adversely impact the environment” like NOAA, EPA, DHS and others.   It gives you the ability to map ANY aspect of the spill including overflight observations, sampling data, oil trajectories, fishery closures, administrative boundaries, and much, much more.  Get this- it’s so detailed that if you wanted to, you could even track the spill impact on the habitats of the Choctawhatchee Beach Mouse.

RestoreTheGulf.gov- This “Official Website of the United States Government” is “…intended to help individuals, small businesses and communities navigate the many different kinds of resources that they may seek to leverage as they plan for recovery and the future.”  The fact that the rollover graphics on the homepage are mostly from late 2011 and that the “latest news” was last updated Feb 6, 2012, might give you confidence that our government is treating the spill with the seriousness it deserves.  Might not.

BP Website- Well, who knows?  There COULD be something useful here.

Politicians comment on BP spill- The Times-Picayune called around asking for comments on the 2-year anniversary.  Read responses from New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. David Vitter, BP Chairman Bob Dudley, Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke, scientists Gary Cherr and Sean Anderson, ornithologist Melanie Driscoll, and the Ocean Conservancy.

What’s it like living on the Gulf Coast?  Nicole Maurer will tell you the impact on her family.

Photo essay of the spill and the coast- Beautiful photographs of a horrific subject

So why don’t we just wash your car here or pave the lot so the dust isn’t a problem?  You’re not the first to ask- it’s actually one of the most common questions we get.  Here’s Tom’s answer, taken from a letter to a client who asked the same thing…

“Our parking lot is actually the end of SE Tenino Street, and the City has no intention of doing anything to improve the street at their cost.  We looked at doing the improvements ourselves, and spent about $5000 getting engineering estimates to improve it to City code.  The cost would have been well over $60,000.00 in drains, sumps, curbs, etc., which is well beyond our capability.  Another complication is the matter of the Sellwood Bridge Project, which could mean changes that would destroy any improvements we made.  Finally, although I definitely see the advantages of a paved lot, I have a contempt for pavement in general. There is too much pavement in the world as it is.  It keeps water from absorbing into the ground, reflects heat back to our already heat-soaked atmosphere, keeps vegetation from acting as a carbon sink, and adds no beauty.

The obstacles to washing cars are a little different.  Because we’re so close to the river, we (and the city) closely monitor our discharges.  If we washed more than 7 cars a week we’d have to install capture systems for every drop or risk damaging the environment.  During the summer months when our parking lot is dustiest we offer free coupons for WashMan, because they’ve already made the investment to do the cleaning right without environmental damage.  Even just vacuuming cars presents problems.  Although we used to vacuum, we stopped out of respect for our client’s privacy.  You wouldn’t believe the things people leave in their cars, from fragile breakables to money to weapons.  There are also liability and damage issues that outweigh the benefits of a clean carpet.”

That’s the story.  Stop washing your car right now, and don’t forget to take advantage of our yearly blowout… FREE CARWASH SEASON!

We were reading Well Being Journal when we ran across a couple articles on gall bladders.  Realizing we didn’t know what a gall bladder did, we thought an article on it might be educational for everyone.  Here’s some information on what a gall bladder is, how to perform a gall bladder flush, natural ways to support gall bladder function, and what foods to eat for a happy gall bladder.

What Is A Gall Bladder?

From WebMD, 2009

The gallbladder is a small pouch that sits just under the liver. The gallbladder stores bile produced by the liver. After meals, the gallbladder is empty and flat, like a deflated balloon. Before a meal, the gallbladder may be full of bile and about the size of a small pear.

In response to signals, the gallbladder squeezes stored bile into the small intestine through a series of tubes called ducts. Bile helps digest fats, but the gallbladder itself is not essential. Removing the gallbladder in an otherwise healthy individual typically causes no observable problems with health or digestion yet there may be a small risk of diarrhea and fat malabsorption.

Prevent Gallbladder Difficulties

by Dr. Jonathan Wright, The Well Being Journal, May/June 2012

How To Perform a Gallbladder Flush

by Dr. David Williams, drdavidwilliams.com, 11/8/2011

Clean out your gallbladder for optimal function

To ensure a free flow of bile, both into and out of the gallbladder, you should clean this organ out with a gallbladder flush. It’s simple to perform, but if you have a history of gallstones or other gallbladder issues, I suggest you check with your doctor first to rule out the possibility that you have any large calcified gallstones that might not be able to pass through the bile duct during the flush. And, obviously, you don’t need to perform the flush if you’ve had your gallbladder removed.

Boost the function of a bad gallbladder naturally

Improper gallbladder function makes it difficult to digest any fats in the diet, which can cause a wide variety of symptoms. Luckily, there are a few natural treatments

The gallbladder flush requires one week, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. Before you begin you’ll need to purchase:

• Plenty of apple juice or cider (not concentrate, but the real thing, without added sugars)
• Standard Process Disodium Phosphate Capsules (you can purchase these online)
• Citrus fruits for fresh-squeezed juice (you can substitute canned or bottled citrus fruit if you prefer) and to eat whole
• Unrefined olive oil, which is available at most health food stores
• Lemon juice

Then, starting on Monday morning, follow these instructions:

• Monday morning through noon on Saturday, drink as much apple juice or apple cider as your appetite will permit, in addition to your regular meals.
• At noon on Saturday, eat a normal lunch.
• Three hours later (at 3 p.m.), take 1 serving (3 capsules) of disodium phosphate with 8 ounces of water.
• Two hours later (at 5 p.m.), repeat step 3.
• Limit your evening meal to grapefruit or grapefruit juice, or other citrus fruits or juices.
• At bedtime, take either:
  • ½ cup of unrefined olive oil followed by a small glass of grapefruit juice
  • ½ cup of warm, unrefined olive oil blended with ½ cup of lemon juice.
• Go immediately to bed. For the first 30 minutes, lie on your right side with your right knee pulled up close to your chest.
• The next morning, one hour before breakfast, take 1 serving (3 capsules) of disodium phosphate with 8 ounces of water.
• Continue with your normal diet and activities.

What You Can Expect During the Gallbladder Flush

Some people feel slightly nauseated while they’re drinking the olive oil and citrus juice mixture. If you do, don’t fret. The feeling will disappear soon enough.  You may also feel some discomfort in the area of your gallbladder—what’s known as the upper right quadrant, on the right side of your abdomen just below the rib cage. This is actually a good sign because it indicates your gallbladder is being stimulated. This feeling will also pass with time.   On Sunday, you’ll likely feel the urge to defecate and may notice a change in the nature of your bowel movement. This is natural and is a result of the increased amount of bile released after the gallbladder flush.  Some people report the presence of what look like dark green peas or even marbles in their stool. This is softened material from the gallbladder that has not yet become calcified. Again, it’s not cause for alarm, and indicates that the gallbladder cleansing has been effective.

Here’s a simple dish when you don’t feel like pulling out the grill this Spring. 

Time:  About 30 minutes;

Yield: 2 to 3 servings

 Ingredients:

1. With a sharp knife, cut between bones to divide the rack of lamb into 8 chops.  Trim chops of any excess fat.  Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, fennel seed and rosemary.
3. Dip each chop into the seasoned flour, then into the beaten eggs.  Lay the chops on a baking sheet and sprinkle both sides of each liberally with the crumb mixture.  Press any remaining mixture evenly over the chops to coat well.
4. In a wide skillet, pour the olive oil to a depth of ½ inch.  Heat over a medium-high burner until the oil looks wavy.  Add the chops without crowding.  They should begin to sizzle, but not brown too quickly.  Adjust the heat so they fry gently for about 2 ½ minutes, until crisp an golden.  Turn with tongs and fry on the other side for about 2 minutes.  (The interiors should be pink and juicy, but not rare.)  Blot on paper towels.  Serve with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges.