Things are hotting up with the government and nuclear industry’s plans for nu-killer new build in Britain. If we want to put the brakes on their insane plans to build a fleet of new potential Fukushimas at up to eight sites around England and Wales, we need to get active TODAY!

BETTER ACTIVE TODAY THAN RADIOACTIVE TOMORROW!

Here are a few ideas for getting involved. We’re sure you’ll have more of your own: feel free to share and discuss!

Get informed

You’ll find a brief summary of where things are at with nuclear new build in Britain after the action suggestions below.

For more regular updates, you can subscribe to the SNPN and SWAN mailing lists (if you’re not already on them).

For SNPN, contact: network[at]stopnuclearpoweruk.net
For SWAN, contact: swanactive[at]gmail.com

Also, No2NuclearPower produces comprehensive daily and monthly e-bulletins. You can subscribe here:
www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/maillist/ind...

Blockade Hinkley

A mass blockade of Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset – where Britain’s first new nuclear reactor is planned to be built – is to take place on Monday 3rd October. It has been called by the Stop New Nuclear alliance, which includes SWAN, SNPN, Kick Nuclear, Sizewell Blockaders, Stop Hinkley, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Trident Ploughshares and Shutdown Sizewell, and is supported by, amongst others, Rising Tide UK and the Public and Commercial Services Union.

For more details, see: stopnewnuclear.org.uk

You can pledge to take part in the action, either as an ‘arrestable’ blockader or ‘non-arrestable’ supporter: stopnewnuclear.org.uk/pledges

Everyone’s contribution, solidarity and support is valuable, whether you choose to blockade or not :o)

Mobilise locally

You can order flyers for mobilising and raising awareness in your area:
stopnewnuclear.org.uk/fliers

Get trained up for action

You can take part in one of the non-violent direct action training sessions being put on to help folks (blockaders and supporters alike) prepare themselves for this and/or future actions. At the moment, trainings are planned in Bristol, London, Glastonbury, Compton Dundon, Bridgwater and Swansea – check out stopnewnuclear.org.uk/training for further details and updates.

There is also an outdoor skill-share gathering taking place in South Lanarkshire, Scotland over the August bank holiday weekend:
outdoorskillshare.noflag.org.uk

Petitions

- Help Stop Hinkley get its petition up to 10,000 signatures. Only 1,000 left to go! Please spread the word within your networks.
stophinkley.org/PETITION.htm

- Petition on 38 Degrees website: tinyurl.com/38degNuclear

- Petition on UK government website: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1035

Boycott EDF
boycottedf.org.uk

EDF Energy is spearheading the push for nuclear new build in Britain. Spread the word about the campaign for customers of the French-owned energy giant to switch to a green / non-nuclear energy provider. You can now order campaign postcards to help get the word out:
boycottedf.org.uk/contact

Join SWAN

SWAN now organises weekly meetings in Bristol, every Wednesday from 7pm, at the Smiling Chair, 40 Stokes Croft
bristol.indymedia.org/article/705296

SWAN is not, however, an organising group for the whole of the south-west. It wants to mobilise with you, so if you have ideas, suggestions or feedback for the group, or if you want to be added to the mailing list, get in touch at: swanactive[at]gmail.com

Counter the greenwash

Environmentalist and nuclear convert Mark Lynas is to speak at the Watershed in Bristol on September 1st, 6-7pm (free entry). SWAN will be there to show that not all greenies think building new Fukushimas is going to help save the planet! Join them if you can.

Get active in your area

Why not start a group in your area and connect with others doing similar work? Let SWAN and SNPN know about your activities so we can help publicise them.

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UK nu-killer new build: where things are at

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

In July, the government was caught with its pants down conspiring with the nuclear industry to mislead the public by down-playing the seriousness of the Fukushima disaster. Clearly they fear the repercussions the Japanese crisis could have on the UK’s nu-killer new build programme.
See: www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun...

Westminster gives the nod to a new fleet of nu-killer white elephants

Last month, the UK parliament approved a series of National Policy Statements (NPSs) for new nuclear and other major energy infrastructure. Under new planning legislation (introduced under Labour), these allow for the construction of new nuclear power stations at eight named sites in England and Wales. Barring any legal challenges before the end of the month, the public will no longer have any say in whether or not the new reactors are actually needed. *

Local council okays the trashing of the Somerset countryside

Just days after the NPSs were rubber-stamped by the formerly anti-nuclear Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, West Somerset Council (WSC) gave NNB GenCo, a subsidiary of EDF – the industry’s cheerleader-in-chief for nuclear new build in Britain – the green light to prepare the land for its proposed Hinkley C mega-reactor.

These ‘preliminary works’ are to involve massive ground-works on over 400 acres of greenfield land on the West Somerset coast. The beautiful site lies within an area of major ecological importance: it sits within the Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve, and borders the Severn Estuary RAMSAR site, Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and terrestrial and marine habitats of every kind of environmental designation. The fields and woodlands provide important habitats for pipistrelle bats, badgers, birds, and plenty of other precious flora and fauna. The site is also popular with walkers, lying along the South-West Coast Path. More soil and rocks are to be dug up than for the site of the London Olympics and the hole filled in with concrete in preparation for the as yet unconsented reactor. The land would become one of the biggest construction sites in Europe.

More details:
stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com/2011/08/e...
stophinkley.org/PressReleases/pr110729.htm

SWAN mobilised fifteen people from Bristol, with many more coming from elsewhere (one from as far as Cornwall) to support Stop Hinkley at the planning committee meeting. Over 400 letters of objection were received (with only around a hundred in support), with opposition to EDF’s plans coming from right across the community, from both pro- & anti-nuclear camps. Despite this, the pro-nuclear councillors voted through EDF’s countryside-wrecking plans by a majority of 11-1, showing just how in the pocket of the energy giant the local politicans are.

EDF jumping the gun?

Even if EDF goes ahead with its ‘preliminary works’, there’s no guarantee any new reactor would actually be built. Hinkley C has been stopped before and, with any luck, it will be again:

- The French reactor design chosen by EDF, the Areva EPR, has yet to be approved by UK regulators, with serious safety issues remaining. The nuclear regulators in the UK, Finland and France have all expressed concerns.

- EDF has yet to submit an application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) for the construction of Hinkley C. The company’s Somerset boss, David Eccles, admitted at a recent community forum meeting he is not at all confident the IPC will grant planning consent for the new reactor.

- Hinkley C could always get shelved for economic reasons. The coalition government is trying to push through energy market reforms that would provide hidden subsidies to the nuclear industry. Without these and other major hidden state subsidies, like accident liability coverage, nuclear new build would not be economically viable.

- Centrica (which trades as British Gas and Scottish Gas) – EDF’s (potential) junior partner for the Hinkley C project, has been warned away from investing in nuclear energy by City analysts, citing the company’s lack of ‘institutional knowledge’ in the field.
See: ‘City presses Centrica to cancel plans for building nuclear power plants’ www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/25...

Further reading:
‘Hinkley C – Somerset’s nuclear money pit?’
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/201...

And finally…

Check out this inspiring tale of how one mother in Germany managed to transform her region’s entire energy system:
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/ma...

Together we can kick the nuclear habit!

Love and solidarity,

South-West Against Nuclear
(On Facebook as ‘Southwest Against Nuclear’)
www.facebook.com/pages/South-West-Again...

Stop Nuclear Power Network
stopnuclearpoweruk.net
stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com

BETTER ACTIVE TODAY THAN RADIOACTIVE TOMORROW!

* STOP PRESS: On 26 August 2011, Greenpeace UK filed for judicial review of the UK Government's decision to designate the nuclear energy National Policy Statement.