Italy

Nuclear engineer who foresaw reactor problems and turned to solar

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:09:32 +0000

Cesare Silvi, a former nuclear engineer who worked at reactors, foresaw many of the problems and risks and made his name by turning to solar. Read the article.

Nuclear plans are stopped in Italy with "yes" victory in referendum

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:15:46 +0000

"Following the decision the Italian people are taking at this moment, we must probably say goodbye to the possibility of nuclear power stations and we must strongly commit ourselves to renewable energy," said Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi after an overwhelming turnout and "yes" vote against nuclear Sunday and Monday looked certain to end nuclear plans in Italy.

Bravissimi! Italian oncologists support a "yes" vote to end nuclear in Italy

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:12:36 +0000

Italian oncologists unite to back the anti-nuclear referendum. From the ASCO congress in Chicago, the world's most important oncology summit, AIOM (Italian association of medical oncology) urges the people to vote 'yes' at the referendum to be held on 12 and 13 June. "Nuclear radiation is the most carcinogenic thing that exists - said AIOM president Carmelo Iacono - and it cannot be kept under control, as the Fukushima tragedy proved. Let's drop the nuclear plants project and let's start staking on alternative energy, which pollutes much less and which, unlike nuclear energy, does not pose a threat for health."

A message of solidarity to our Italian colleagues

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:44:23 +0000

On June 12 and 13 Italians will vote in a national referendum on nuclear power. A "yes" vote says "no" to nuclear power. Italy closed its nuclear program by national referendum in 1987. Now the Berlusconi government wants to revive it. Beyond Nuclear supports our Italian colleagues in their efforts to drive a huge "yes" turnout to say "no" to nuclear power.

Italian Prime Minister attempts to block anti-nuclear referendum

admin — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:33:22 +0000

On May 9th Greenpeace activists unfurled a large banner from Mussolini's balcony on Palazzo Venezia in Rome. The banner includes a caricature of Berlusconi saying "Italians, I decide your future" and a call for Italians to vote on the Nuclear Referndum.Michael Leonardi, an ally of Beyond Nuclear in environmental coalition efforts to block the 20 year license extension at Davis-Besse atomic reactor in Ohio (see the Counterpunch article from last month), has reported at Counterpunch that Italian PM Berlusconi is attempting to postpone a national referendum set for June 12th and 13th that would end his proposed nuclear relapse in Italy. The anti-nuclear referendum drive required the gathering of 500,000 petition signatures. Berlusconi privately owns and/or controls much of the media in Italy, and has effectively censored any efforts by the anti-nuclear movement to spread the word about the referendum. Michael Leonardi reports about a moment of deep cynicism, when Berlusconi and French President Nicholas Sarkozy stood together in Rome to promote building new French reactors in Italy on Chernobyl's 25th anniversary on April 26th. Berlusconi said to the assembled press that the Italian voters had been scared by Fukushima, just as they had been by "leftists and ecologists" after Chernobyl, so a year-long calm down period before the referendum should take place. Leonardi quoted Angelo Bonelli, President of the Italian Green Party, as saying: "The referendums will be voted on anyway, despite the fact that the thieves of democracy have returned to action. The attempts of the government to steal the democratic rights of the Italian people to vote against nuclear energy and the privatization of water will not succeed."

"Berlusconi" tells Italians he will decide the country's nuclear future

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:03:41 +0000

Unfurling a banner that says "Italians, I decide the future" and mimicking the voice of Berlusconi, Greenpeace Italy broadcast a loudspeaker message in Rome that mocked Berlusconi's autocratic style. During his speech, the false Berlusconi promises that Italians will not be denited an audience-getter like Fukushima with its own, better, Fukushima 2 and that there should be no public vote on the future of nuclear power in Italy. (Italy shuttered the last 3 of its total 4 reactors after a 1987 referendum following the 1986 Chernobyl explosion that spewed radiation across Europe). A referendum to end nuclear in Italy is scheduled June 12 and 13: Video in Italian.

Bellissimo video da Roma- serata nucleare emergency

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:59:11 +0000

A look at whether routine operation of nuclear plants impacts health (answer 'yes'.)

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:22:59 +0000

In light of the Berlusconi government's decision to build four new reactors now and four later in Italy, an investigative television journalist decided to ask: "Are nuclear power plants safe for human health?" His question did not cover accidents - which we understand are dangerous. He wanted to know whether routine operation of reactors harmed health. To find out, he traveled to Germany and interviewed some of the scientists who conducted the childhood cancer studies around nuclear plants. Watch the report, in Italian.

Most provinces say 'no' to government plans for new nuclear

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:13:34 +0000

At a conference of the regions, most Italian provincial leaders declared their opposition to the Berlusconi government's proposed re-opening of nuclear power in Italy. Italy held a national referendum in 1987, after the Chernobyl explosion that radioactively contaminated much of the country. Italians responded with a decisive vote to shut down Italy's three remaining operating reactors (the fourth had already closed). The provincial leader of the southern province of Basilicata - where the previous Berlusconi government attempted - and failed - to site a high-level radioactive waste dump - declared at the conference: "We are against nuclear power; it is not a positive choice and that provides no immediate results and that has a negative impact on energy choices."

Campania and Puglia regions say "no" to new nukes

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:57:09 +0000

The regional governments of Campania and Puglia have voted against siting new nuclear reactors in their territories and declared their opposition to the government's decision to restart nuclear energy in Italy. The law that brought nuclear power back to the country required the government to announce criteria for selecting sites within six months, with the five former nuclear power sites specifically excluded. That law was adopted on 9 July 2009 and the government is now approaching its deadline. A 1987 referendum in Italy saw the closure of the remaining three of its four operating reactors. The nuclear ban came in response to the Chernobyl reactor accident in Ukraine which resulted in considerable radioactive fallout on Italy. It appears likely that the Italian Supreme Court will now have to resolve the matter.