tagged w/ New Mexico
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The Santa Fe Reporter's cover story yesterday (May 19), contrasts the opposition to all aspects of the nuclear industry that is fairly common in Santa Fe to the enthusiasm in the southern part of the state (and to some extent in Farmington) as evidenced at the conference in Hobbs, which stressed "New Mexico’s future as a focal point for the new nuclear age, in which economies rely increasingly on nuclear power and entire processing industries spring up around the “uranium fuel cycle,” which begins with mining and ends with waste disposal. Every stage of that process can be monetized--and nearly every stage has commercial operations in New Mexico."
http://www.foorumnm.com/news.php?news_id=358458The Santa Fe Reporter's cover story yesterday (May 19), contrasts the opposition... more
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In American culture, there are two widely accepted sky myth stories.
The first of which being that a a giant bearded dude who lives in the clouds said one day “This shit is dark yo, BOOMSHACKALACKA!” and then everything that is happened. Then he made people in his image and decided he didn’t like them and washed them away and started over and sent his kid to check out how it was going and he got stapled to a fence post before floating back up to home until he collected enough crowns and a horse to ride back down from the sky on.
The other popular yarn is that a half dozen decades ago some little space mans in an intergalactic circle were taking in the sights of lovely, scenic New Mexico when they ran out of illudium Q-36 explosive space modulators and broke down on the side of the road. The United States Military was then kind enough to construct them an airbase that they deny exists and built us iPods out of the wreckage.
Each crazy belief system has it’s ardent, devoted followers, and each were under attack this week by nerds.
A new book, “Area 51″ by Annie Jacobsen claims that the craft that didn’t crash in Roswell was not in fact a group of drunken, joyriding frat aliens, but instead, a remote control Soviet Russia spy saucer built by Nazi scientists and filled with genetic experiments cooked up by Josef Mengele. Naturally. So we have gone from alien crash landing, to USSR Nazi crash landing “hoax” intended to freak us out “War of the Worlds” style.
Now, I understand that we and Russia were doing some crazy things back in the good ol’ days of black and white, and I get that Nazi’s had a whimsical sense of humor that was often a little heady and it was sometimes hard to see how throwing a Banana cream pie filled with genetically mutated astronauts at Nevada might be hilarious. The main problem with this argument though is trying to replace one fantastical, difficult to believe story, with another story that sounds like was left scribbled on a napkin by Quentin Tarantino after polishing off a plate of crystal meth and Draino lady fingers.
Since we’re clearly not being serious anymore, I’d like to offer my explanation for the Roswell Incident: a race of subterranean turtle people attempting to make contact with the surface world for the first time since sending their lone emissary nearly 2000 years prior with disastrous results, fashioned a land ship which burrowed up to the surface only to burst into flames and explode once being exposed to the atmosphere of the surface world. Fearing that no one would ever believe such a ridiculous story, the United States government, in co-operation with all other world leaders of the day decided it would be best to just tell the world aliens crash landed so as to not send the world’s population into a hysteria trying to dig down into the turtle people’s home and throw the planet into chaos.
Then we have Kirk Cameron. Some of you may remember Kirk as the dreamy Seaver boy on America’s existingest 80s sit-com “Growing Pains”. Since then he’s found god and wants you to know all about it. Oh, and he’s also kind of a lunatic. But he knows what he’s talking about, like most lunatics, and not just because he talks to god like, every day, or because he was already in the pretend rapture in the “Left Behind” movies, no, it’s because he’s not going to give jokes like Stephen Hawking a free ride like everyone else who’s afraid to stand up to him.
“To say anything negative about Stephen Hawking is like bullying a blind man. He has an unfair disadvantage, and that gives him a free pass on some of his absurd ideas.”
Now, to the first sentence, I’m not sure if Kirk thinks that blind people can’t walk, or that he’s also calling Mr. Hawking lazy for riding around in that chair all the time just ’cause he can’t see. And really, to say anything negative about someone else seems kind of un-Jesus like, and counter productive to a reasonable intellectual discussion. But what do I know? I just usually like to interact with human beings who exist in real life rather than spending all day sending telepathic love letters to a character in a story book.
But I think the more entertaining part of Kirk’s insult is the second half of that statement, that because of Mr. Hawking’s hysterical, debilitating blindness which has taken from him the use of just about everything but his eyes, he believes that because of his “unfair disadvantage” nobody calls him on his shit. Kirk Cameron is telling us that the scientific community has just accepted this man’s theories and lauded him as one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the world, because they don’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Professor Hawking is heralded as ‘the genius of Britain,’ yet he believes in the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything and that life sprang from non-life. Why should anyone believe Mr. Hawking’s writings if he cannot provide evidence for his unscientific belief that out of nothing, everything came?”
Always one of my favorite arguments. In this case Kirk calls into question Mr. Hawking’s beliefs, asking how anyone could buy his blind gibberish if he can’t prove any of it. What I don’t think Mr. Cameron understands is that, the bible, for all of it’s nice words and well meaning thought, is not a receipt for the universe. It’s a book. Unless I missed something, it’s as much proof of the existence of god and an afterlife as Mr. Hawking’s assertion that the afterlife is a “fairy story for people afraid of the dark”. Kirk saying it is doesn’t mean it is and his argument is that since Stephen Hawking can’t prove definitively exactly how the universe came into being that makes anything he ever says on the subject nothing more than the ravings of a perpetually pitied blind asshole. And when that’s the position you’re going to start this discussion from, where the hell do we possibly go from there?
So in the end, what do we have? We’re left with the choice between Alien visitation gone wrong or Soviet Nazi prank and the views of the existence of the universe as proposed by Stephen Hawking or not unproved sufficiently to Kirk Cameron. Who wins in any of these arguments? I mean, besides me that is, ’cause I can write about these kinds of crazy all day long.In American culture, there are two widely accepted sky myth stories.
The first of... more
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By Hobbs News-Sun on Fri, Apr 29, 2011
HOBBS — New Mexico is a perfect place to begin using modular nuclear reactors, an assistant energy secretary said.
“The smaller units don’t require the cooling systems that bigger plants do,” said John Kelly, the U.S. Energy Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Nuclear Reactor Technologies. “There is less water usage and they can be looked at in places like New Mexico.”
Unlike traditional reactors, modular units require only about 15 acres of space and are more completely contained, reducing the threat of pipe breaks that could lead to radiation leaks, Kelly said Thursday, the final day of a two-day conference in Hobbs on nuclear energy.
“They can use passive cooling systems and can withstand long-term loss of power,” he said.
The modular reactors also produce less power — about 250 megawatts per unit, Kelly said.
“We see nuclear power as remaining one of the key energy strategies in the U.S. energy portfolio,” he said. “Nuclear must be a part of the energy portfolio. We want to re-establish the U.S. as a leader in the nuclear field.”
One company looking at modular reactors is Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Energy.
Kevin Butterfield, director of business development for the company, said it hopes to have the first modular reactor permitted and working by 2020.
Getting a permit is the time-consuming part, Butterfield said. Construction takes about three years, he said.
The company wants to develop modular plants in such a way that the central core could be manufactured in a facility that could produce dozens or hundreds of them each year to meet world energy demands, Butterfield said.
He said his company’s plan calls for a facility with a lifespan of 40 years that could be expanded in increments as demands for energy increase.By Hobbs News-Sun on Fri, Apr 29, 2011
HOBBS — New Mexico is a perfect place... more
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From the Current-Argus
Posted: 04/29/2011 08:54:12 PM MDT
By Levi Hill
Hobbs News-Sun
HOBBS — One day after the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine, one of the only places in the world where nuclear energy was being discussed as a part of the future of the world's energy portfolio was Hobbs.
A two-day nuclear energy conference kicked off Wednesday at the Lea County Event Center where nuclear industry representatives from around the world and media from as far away as Japan sat down to separate fact from fiction and discuss making nuclear energy a viable and essential piece of the world's energy portfolio.
The keynote speaker for the first day of the event was former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, who has been called by many in the industry the godfather of the nuclear renaissance in the United States.
"We are very proud to be part of what we think is unique," Domenici said.
"We don't run and hide when we hear the words nuclear or radioactive. We sit down to learn about the facts and myths and make sure they are completely understood."
Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., opened the talks Wednesday, also discussing the problems with nuclear energy being a part of the nation's future.
"Nuclear does not have technological problems in this country. Nuclear has political problems in this country," Pearce said. "The United States developed the nuclear power field and then regulated it out of existence. We have built no new nuclear power plants in 30 years."
New Mexico Economic Development Secretary
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Jon Barela was more optimistic:
"New Mexico has a long history of being a leader in energy production. If we play our cards right, New Mexico can be the center of energy production in the country. New Mexico is uniquely positioned to assume that role in this country. We have the national resources and the know-how."
It was Thursday, the second day of the conference, when Dr. Dan Fine, research associate for New Mexico Tech and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy, pointed to Lea County and the surrounding area as one of the premiere energy corridors in the world.
Discussion for a portion of the day focused on new technology and modular nuclear reactors — smaller nuclear reactors that are less expensive, safer and require less space than traditional nuclear power plants.
John Kelly, deputy assistant secretary for Nuclear Reactor Technologies at the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, discussed the future of modular reactors, citing New Mexico as a perfect place to begin using them.
"The smaller units don't require the cooling systems that bigger plants do," he said. "There is less water usage and they can be looked at in places like New Mexico."
Unlike traditional reactors, the modular units require only about 15 acres of space, produce less power — about 250 megawatts per unit — and are more completely contained, reducing the threat of pipe breaks that could lead to radiation leakage, Kelly said.
"All the key components are inside the primary vessel," Kelly said. "The large pipe breaks of the current generation of reactors is eliminated. They can use passive cooling systems and can withstand long-term loss of power."
Kevin Butterfield, director of business development for Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Energy, also spoke about the modular reactors. Butterfield said his company hopes to have the first modular reactor permitted and working by 2020. Permitting is the time-consuming process of getting the modular facilities working, Butterfield said, while construction would only take three years.
The plan is to develop modular plants in such a way that the central core could be manufactured in a facility, which could produce dozens or hundreds of them in a year to meet world energy demands, he said.
Butterfield said the facility his company is planning would have a life span of 40 years and could be expanded to easily add 250 megawatt increments as power demands increase.
Butterfield also talked about the strong likelihood that New Mexico could be one of the first sites for such reactors.
"Over the last couple of days it is very obvious to me that New Mexico is a very willing community," he said. "There are a lot of available sites in the area. We are the vendor that works with utilities. My advice to you is begin the dialogue with the utilities. New Mexico has a can-do attitude. There is no reason why it can't happen here."
The last piece of the future nuclear renaissance is the needed work force. The last panel of the two-day convention discussed the training and work force needed for future nuclear expansion world wide.
Robert Rhodes, vice president of training and outreach for New Mexico Junior College, said the nation will need 120,000 workers trained in nuclear energy in the next 20 years. Of those 100,000 will not be engineers.
Other presenters discussed the kinds of jobs that will be needed and the skill sets, such as math, science and writing skills that will be needed by these employees.
Fine also said the plan is to bring in the two leading Republican candidates for president to next year's conference and discuss with them energy policy for the nation.From the Current-Argus
Posted: 04/29/2011 08:54:12 PM MDT
By Levi Hill
Hobbs... more
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HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce says the U.S. nuclear energy industry doesn't have technological problems — it has "political problems."
The "United States developed the nuclear power field and then regulated it out of existence. We have built no new nuclear power plants in 30 years," Pearce said Wednesday, the first day of a two-day international nuclear energy conference in Hobbs.
The Republican New Mexico congressman said nuclear power is essential to the nation's energy future, and suggested that the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan brought on by a devastating earthquake was an incident to build from, not run from.
"We should be analyzing exactly what went on, instead of saying 'no' to all nuclear," Pearce told the gathering, which is considering how to make nuclear energy a viable and essential piece of the world's energy portfolio.
Former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, a longtime supporter of nuclear energy, thanked Lea and Eddy counties in southeastern New Mexico for being open to the nuclear industry. The counties are home to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository; Urenco USA, which runs a uranium enrichment plant near Eunice; and International Isotopes, which proposes to provide uranium deconversion services for the plant.
Domenici said the area is unique because the people "don't run and hide when we hear the words 'nuclear' or 'radioactive.' We sit down to learn about the facts and myths, and make sure they are completely understood."
In the next year, the United States must find a way to finance some nuclear power plants and make a commitment to dispose of the nuclear waste now spread across the country, Domenici said.
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Information from: Hobbs News-Sun, http://www.hobbsnews.comHOBBS, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce says the U.S. nuclear energy industry... more
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Hobbs, N.M. will play host to the Uranium Fuel Cell Conference on Wednesday and Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-Hobbs, and New Mexico Secretary of Economic Development Jon Barela will present state and federal viewpoints on the economic impact of nuclear energy.
According to a news release, the event is the first of its kind to feature leaders who can speak on all aspects of the uranium cycle, from mining and exploration to nuclear energy and spent fuel storage.
The event will include a panel discussion on the Fukushima reactor in Japan, which was damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, with a technical presentation comparing it to the 1979 Three Mile Island incident.Hobbs, N.M. will play host to the Uranium Fuel Cell Conference on Wednesday and... more
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HOBBS, N.M., April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Senator Pete V. Domenici will be the key note speaker at the Uranium Fuel Cycle Conference, April 27 in Hobbs, N.M.
The N.M. Center for Energy Policy, which is a division of New Mexico Tech, in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County and New Mexico Junior College, is organizing the conference to bring together leaders in nuclear-related mining, energy and waste management. Domenici has long been considered one of the most consistent and forceful national advocates of the nuclear industry.
The six-term senator from New Mexico is a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, a panel formed by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009 and tasked by Secretary Steven Chu to study options for the disposal of nuclear waste.
New Mexico Tech Vice President Dr. Van Romero, a speaker at the event, said Domenici is expected to deliver remarks relative the uranium fuel cycle, with special attention to environmental issues related to disposal of spent fuel.
A special session will address the crisis at the Fukushima reactor in Japan.
"As we understand more and more about what is happening and what has happened in Fukushima, it becomes more obvious that spent fuel pools are a major contributor to environmental issues," Romero said.
"This will be the first public forum to review public safety issues in the nuclear energy industry since the incident in Japan," conference organizer Dr. Daniel Fine said. "This is terribly important because of the potential loss of public confidence in nuclear energy."
Fine said that public polls showed that 60 percent of Americans opposed nuclear energy after the Three Mile Island incident. Public sentiment did not begin to improve until 2005 and we would like to avoid a decrease in public confidence because of the accident in Japan, he said.
The conference takes place in Lea County, which is known as the EnergyPlex of Eastern New Mexico with capital investment in uranium enrichment and waste/storage and with uranium tailings recovery potential.
To learn more about the conference or register, please visit www.energyplexnm.com or call 575-397-2039.
©2011 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.HOBBS, N.M., April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Senator Pete V. Domenici... more
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Hobbs conference focuses on nuclear energy issues
N.M. Tech News Service
HOBBS – Nuclear energy, small-scale reactors and safety in the industry will take center stage next month at the 2011 national energy conference in Hobbs.
The Uranium Fuel Cycle Conference on Wednesday and Thursday, April 27 and 28, will focus on potential developments and implementation of small-scale reactors.
The conference features top leaders in nuclear technology, including Babcock & Wilcox, New Mexico Tech, URENCO USA, Washington TRU Solutions, Uranium Resources Inc., Energy Solutions and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The "uranium fuel cycle" begins with mining, continues with enrichment, followed by use in a reactor, and ends with processing and storage. Hobbs is in the center of the developing Eastern New Mexico Energy Corridor, which is involved in all aspects of the nuclear energy fuel cycle.
"Almost the entire cycle is contained in New Mexico, from mining to waste storage. This conference is an important step in bringing together key players in the area and continuing a dialogue about energy and our national policies," said Van Romero, Ph.D. and vice president of research at New Mexico Tech.
A new enrichment facility is now operational near Eunice, N.M. A deconversion plant is in the licensing stage in Lea County. Also located in the region are Waste Control Specialist LLC and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad, which is a long-term storage facility funded by the Department of Energy. While not currently being mined, vast deposits of raw uranium ore exist in west-central New Mexico.
What's missing? The small-scale nuclear power plants.
"Communities in southeast New Mexico have expressed an interest in nuclear power," Romero said.
One area the conference will focus on is the commercial deployment of small nuclear reactors in eastern New Mexico. Representatives of Babcock & Wilcox will present their strategy to how to deploy a light-water reactor system to provide energy to communities in New Mexico.
Babcock & Wilcox is the leading international company in development and deployment of small-scale nuclear reactors. The company unveiled the B&W mPower reactor in 2009. The mPower reactor, with its scalable, modular design, has the capacity to provide 125 megawatts to 750 megawatts of electricity for a five-year operating cycle without refueling. The reactor is designed to produce clean, near-zero emission operations, according to the company website.
Following the Babcock & Wilcox presentation, Romero will lead a discussion on "Small Reactor Research and Readiness." Then, a representative from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy will talk on the status and outlook for nuclear energy development.
The two-day conference is hosted by the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy, a division of New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corp. of Lea County and New Mexico Junior College.
Online registration is under way at www.energyplexnm.com or by calling 575-397-2039.
Read more: ABQJOURNAL BIZ: Hobbs conference focuses on nuclear energy issues http://www.abqjournal.com/biz/212143529029biz03-21-11.htm#ixzz1Jmt91Adv
Subscribe Now Albuquerque JournalHobbs conference focuses on nuclear energy issues
N.M. Tech News Service... more
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Monday, March 21, 2011
Hobbs conference focuses on nuclear energy issues
N.M. Tech News Service
HOBBS – Nuclear energy, small-scale reactors and safety in the industry will take center stage next month at the 2011 national energy conference in Hobbs.
The Uranium Fuel Cycle Conference on Wednesday and Thursday, April 27 and 28, will focus on potential developments and implementation of small-scale reactors.
The conference features top leaders in nuclear technology, including Babcock & Wilcox, New Mexico Tech, URENCO USA, Washington TRU Solutions, Uranium Resources Inc., Energy Solutions and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The "uranium fuel cycle" begins with mining, continues with enrichment, followed by use in a reactor, and ends with processing and storage. Hobbs is in the center of the developing Eastern New Mexico Energy Corridor, which is involved in all aspects of the nuclear energy fuel cycle.
"Almost the entire cycle is contained in New Mexico, from mining to waste storage. This conference is an important step in bringing together key players in the area and continuing a dialogue about energy and our national policies," said Van Romero, Ph.D. and vice president of research at New Mexico Tech.
A new enrichment facility is now operational near Eunice, N.M. A deconversion plant is in the licensing stage in Lea County. Also located in the region are Waste Control Specialist LLC and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad, which is a long-term storage facility funded by the Department of Energy. While not currently being mined, vast deposits of raw uranium ore exist in west-central New Mexico.
What's missing? The small-scale nuclear power plants.
"Communities in southeast New Mexico have expressed an interest in nuclear power," Romero said.
One area the conference will focus on is the commercial deployment of small nuclear reactors in eastern New Mexico. Representatives of Babcock & Wilcox will present their strategy to how to deploy a light-water reactor system to provide energy to communities in New Mexico.
Babcock & Wilcox is the leading international company in development and deployment of small-scale nuclear reactors. The company unveiled the B&W mPower reactor in 2009. The mPower reactor, with its scalable, modular design, has the capacity to provide 125 megawatts to 750 megawatts of electricity for a five-year operating cycle without refueling. The reactor is designed to produce clean, near-zero emission operations, according to the company website.
Following the Babcock & Wilcox presentation, Romero will lead a discussion on "Small Reactor Research and Readiness." Then, a representative from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy will talk on the status and outlook for nuclear energy development.
The two-day conference is hosted by the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy, a division of New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corp. of Lea County and New Mexico Junior College.
Online registration is under way at www.energyplexnm.com or by calling 575-397-2039.
Read more: ABQJOURNAL BIZ: Hobbs conference focuses on nuclear energy issues http://www.abqjournal.com/biz/212143529029biz03-21-11.htm#ixzz1JmmNY9pq
Subscribe Now Albuquerque JournalMonday, March 21, 2011
Hobbs conference focuses on nuclear energy issues... more
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ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) - Three small children said he raped them, but that man may never face charges for any of it. News 13 has learned the illegal immigrant may be incompetent to stand trial. Juan Gonzalez’s lawyer said his client should get a get out of jail free card, so he can go live in Mexico.
Gonzalez was 13 when he told investigators he raped a little boy and a little girl. Then last year the 20-year-old admitted to raping another child inside a popular Albuquerque gym. A terrified 6-year-old girl attacked inside the playroom at the Midtown Sports and Wellness.
“He held hand over his mouth so she couldn't scream,” Albuquerque Police Deputy Chief Beth Paiz said in May when Gonzalez was arrested. ”He could hear the child say stop, stop, stop.”
Gonzalez's criminal case for rape is at a standstill.
“The issue of competency was raised so that basically stops the case,” District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said.
Gonzalez is being sent to Las Vegas, to the state's mental hospital for criminals.
“If he can't be treated to competency he can't stand trial, that would be unconstitutional,” said Brandenburg.
Gonzalez's attorney wouldn't speak on camera but said he's pushing for Gonzalez to be deported with the promise he won't come back. His attorney said his family wants to take him back to Mexico.
The D.A.'s office says releasing Gonzalez could put more children at risk.
“That's not a solution, shipping him back to Mexico, losing track of him and then having him cross the border at some unknown time,” said Brandenburg.
Gonzalez never stood trial for the previous rape cases as a juvenile because he was deemed incompetent and released to his parents. The D.A.'s office said if Gonzalez isn't competent, it will push for the court to criminally commit him. That would mean he'd stay in the mental facility in Las Vegas for the same amount of time he would have served if he were convicted of the rape charge. That could be up to 18 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqGbMQeT-RMALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) - Three small children said he raped them, but that man may... more
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http://gizmodo.com/#!5791340/newly+released-fbi-memo-from-1950-confirms-flying-saucers-crashing-in-new-mexico
It's unclear whether this memo is a hoax, but it has just appeared on the FBI's "vault" website, devoted to once-classified documents that have become public. The brief memo contains information from an Air Force informant about "flying saucers."
In the memo, FBI agent Guy Hottel records what an "investigator for the Air Forces" (whose name is blacked out) told him about what is popularly called "the Roswell incident." Hottel writes:
Three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico . . . they were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter . . . Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3 feet tall, dressed in a metallic cloth of a very fine texture. Each body was bandaged in a manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed flyers and test pilots.
The informant speculates that the saucers were found in New Mexico because the US government had a "high powered radar set up" there, and "it is believed that the radar interferes with the controlling mechanism of the saucers."
This memo seems to confirm what many believed happened at Roswell, which includes flying saucers crashing and alien autopsies (at left, you can see a 1947 FBI memo about Roswell). But it's important to remember that even if the memo is authentic, it is simply the record of what one informant said to another. We don't know who this Air Force investigator is, nor do we know whether he's reporting what other people told him, or if he witnessed the saucers himself. He could be simply reporting a rumor. (For a smart skeptic's view, see Steven Novella's comments on the memo.)
Over at the International Business Times, Jesse Emspack calls the memo part of a 50-year-old hoax, and explains how exactly this authentic FBI document is just the last part of a long paper trail created by a fake UFO sighting. He says the memo has been around for a while, but only this week became accessible via the FBI vault site.http://gizmodo.com/#!5791340/newly+released-fbi-memo-from-1950-confirms-flying-saucers-... more
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(Reuters Life!) - New Mexico narrowly banned corporal punishment in its schools, joining 30 other U.S. states that have already outlawed the practice.
"The decision on whether or not to use corporal punishment on a child is one that is best left to a parent," said Governor Susana Martinez, who signed a bill banning the practice.
The ban passed in the House by a vote of 36 to 31 and in the Senate 22 to 17.
Opponents of the ban argued that school officials need the threat of physical punishment to maintain discipline and that policies ought to be up to local school boards, not the state.
Two-thirds of New Mexico's school districts had already banned corporal punishment, which can range from denying children permission to go to the bathroom to hitting them, said Tara Ford, co-director of Pegasus Legal Services for Children, a non-profit.
There were 705 incidents of corporal punishment in New Mexico in 2006, the last year such statistics were gathered, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
"The use of corporal punishment gives the wrong message on how to influence behavior," Ford said. "We need to show kids how to resolve problems without resorting to violence."
Also at issue is who gets spanked. Poor and minority children and children with disabilities including autism are much more likely than other children to receive corporal punishment in schools, said Jim Jackson, Executive Director of Disability Rights New Mexico.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-spanking-newmexico-idUSTRE73648X20110407(Reuters Life!) - New Mexico narrowly banned corporal punishment in its schools,... more
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A bizarre memo that appears to prove that aliens did land in New Mexico prior to 1950 has been published by the FBI.
The bureau has made thousands of files available in a new online resource called The Vault.
Among them is a memo to the director from Guy Hottel, the special agent in charge of the Washington field office in 1950.
http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/ufo-crash-lands-video/A bizarre memo that appears to prove that aliens did land in New Mexico prior to 1950... more
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President Obama Sits Down For One-On-One With Action 7 News.
Congress is looking for ways to cut the federal budget and House Republicans have showed interest in slashing nuclear weapons spending. The move could affect the 20,000 employees at New Mexico’s two research labs.
Obama said Japan’s hardships are a reminder that the work at these facilities should not be scaled back.
“One of the things that 'it' reminds us of is that the safety and the constant monitoring and oversight that we're providing to our nuclear facilities here in the United States has to be maintained,” Obama said.
The president said the money is there.
“We have a budget for it. I've already instructed our Nuclear Regulatory Agency to make sure that we take lessons learned from what's happened in Japan and that we are constantly upgrading how we approach our nuclear safety in our country,” Obama said.
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So while Obama wants to increase funding for new nuclear warhead development to record levels, the republicans want the increases to be slightly scaled back!?
I don't think Obama is drawing the right conclusions from the disaster in Japan. An additional plutonium factory to increase our "safety" is ridiculous.
Interesting when asked by her co-anchor how she was able to get the exclusive interview with Obama, KOAT's Royale Da responded, in part:
"KOAT reaches a very specific Southwest audience , and it appears.... that that is an audience the president has an interest in speaking directly to."
So in other words KOAT (and others) act as propaganda outlets for the nuclear weapons labs and associated corporate interests?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TECgnIce-aM/TYdmbaXoSmI/AAAAAAAADvQ/3gWrMAoTgCg/s1600/image006.jpgPresident Obama Sits Down For One-On-One With Action 7 News.
Congress is looking... more
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HOBBS, N.M. March 30, 2011 – The Uranium Fuel Cycle Conference has added a new special session to the event, scheduled for April 27-28 in Hobbs. “Japan and Nuclear Energy: What Went Wrong and Its Impact” will feature a policy impact presentation from an official from the Department of Energy.
Conference organizer Dr. Daniel Fine of the N.M. Center for Energy Policy announced Monday that the additional event will give experts a forum to discuss public health and safety, which have stepped to the forefront of nuclear energy discussions since the accident in Fukushima, Japan.
Dr. Van Romero, Vice President of Research and Economic Development at New Mexico Tech, will give a technical presentation, explaining what happened and comparing the incident to the Three Mile Island incident of 1979. Romero also serves as a professor of physics. Previous to his academic position, Romero worked 12 years in the nuclear reactor industry.
Tim Beville, of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, will join Romero in the special session, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. April 28. Beville will discuss how the accident in Japan will affect U.S. nuclear energy policy and programs.
“This will be the first public forum to review public safety issues in the nuclear energy industry since the incident in Japan,” Fine said. “This is terribly important because of the potential loss of public confidence in nuclear energy.”
Fine said that public polls showed that 60 percent of Americans opposed nuclear energy after the Three Mile Island incident. Public sentiment did not begin to change until 2005, he said.
“Do we want to see another generation of loss of public confidence in nuclear energy because of the accident in Japan?” he said. “That topic underlines this special session.”
Fine said Beville’s presentation represents the first time a Department of Energy official will present the federal government’s position on future nuclear energy development in America since the Japan accident.
“This is a major response in the Southwest and in New Mexico to create a national forum for nuclear energy in the future,” Fine said. “We’ll present a technical review of what went wrong in Japan, but also look at U.S. policy and program review in terms of the consequences of the Japan accident.”
Fine said the Uranium Fuel Cycle Conference will be the first public education event outside Washington to focus on Japan and its impact on nuclear energy in the United States.
In his presentation, Romero will examine what has happened at the Fukushima Reactor from a scientific and engineering perspective, without a political spin.
“My intention is to make sense of all the information available,” he said. “I want to put the facts out there and allow people to make an informed decision about the viability of nuclear power in New Mexico.”
Romero said he expects the incident in Japan to slow down development of new nuclear reactors in New Mexico, but he hopes recent events promote continued discussion about the future of American energy policy and how U.S. leaders can craft policy that promotes safe nuclear energy.
“The events in Japan have raised concerns about the safety of nuclear power,” Romero said. “If you listen to the news, it seems like there’s nothing but crisis after crisis. Yet, nothing has really happened. There is cause to be concerned. Like anything, there are risks; we need to understand those risks and act appropriately.”
Romero said two lessons learned from recent events are that smaller reactors are probably safer and that storing spent fuel at the reactor is not a good practice.
Also in the realm of public safety, the conference will address issues regarding development and licensure of reactors in seismically active zones, such as California, which gets 15 percent of its energy from two nuclear reactors, Fine said.
The event takes place in the energy corridor of Eastern New Mexico with capital investment in uranium enrichment and waste/storage and with uranium tailings recovery potential. Small Modular Reactor technology will be presented as a new and innovative technology choice for deployment.
Both Romero and Beville will present projections on the future of nuclear energy in the U.S. Southwest – also a conference first.
The Special Session is part of a planned two-day conference organized by the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy beginning the morning of April 27. For registration and information see the Center for Energy Policy website.
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By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico TechHOBBS, N.M. March 30, 2011 – The Uranium Fuel Cycle Conference has added a new... more
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HOBBS, N.M. March 2, 2011 – Nuclear energy and small-scale reactors will take center stage at the 2011 national energy conference in Hobbs. “The Uranium Fuel Cycle” conference on Wednesday and Thursday, April 27 and 28, will focus on potential developments and implementation of small-scale reactors.
The conference features top leaders in nuclear technology, including Babcock & Wilcox, New Mexico Tech, URENCO USA, Washington TRU Solutions, Uranium Resources Inc., Energy Solutions and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The “uranium fuel cycle” begins with mining, continues with enrichment, followed by use in a reactor, and ends with processing and storage. Hobbs is in the center of the developing Eastern New Mexico Energy Corridor, which is involved in all aspects of the nuclear energy fuel cycle.
Dr. Van Romero, Vice President of Research at New Mexico Tech, said New Mexico is well-positioned to be a leading voice in nuclear energy development.
“Almost the entire cycle is contained in New Mexico,” he said, “from mining to waste storage. This conference is an important step in bringing together key players in the area and continuing a dialog about energy and our national policies.”
A new enrichment facility is now operational near Eunice, N.M. A de-conversion plant is in the licensing stage in Lea County. Also located in the region are Waste Control Specialist LLC and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad, which is a long-term storage facility funded by the Department of Energy. While not currently being mined, vast deposits of raw uranium ore exist in west-central New Mexico.
What’s missing? The small-scale nuclear power plants.
“Communities in southeast New Mexico have expressed an interest in nuclear power,” Romero said.
One area the conference will focus on is the commercial deployment of small nuclear reactors in eastern New Mexico. Representatives of Babcock & Wilcox will present their strategy to deploy a light-water reactor system to provide energy to communities in New Mexico.
Babcock & Wilcox is the leading international company in development and deployment of small-scale nuclear reactors. The company unveiled the B&W mPower™ reactor in 2009. The mPower reactor, with its scalable, modular design, has the capacity to provide 125 megawatts to 750 megawatts of electricity for a five-year operating cycle without refueling. The reactor is designed to produce clean, near-zero emission operations, according to the company website.
Babcock & Wilcox Canada has designed and manufactured nuclear power equipment for more than 40 years, providing nuclear heat exchangers, nuclear plant services and more than 200 nuclear steam generators to customers around the world.
Following the Babcock & Wilcox presentation, Romero will lead a discussion on “Small Reactor Research and Readiness.” Then, a representative from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy will talk on the status and outlook for nuclear energy development.
“Large nuclear reactors generate about a gigawatt of power,” Romero said. “These smaller reactors are safe and easy to operate and do not need a tremendous amount of infrastructure. Canada has been operating these small reactors for years.”
The two-day conference is hosted by the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy, a division of New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corp. of Lea County and New Mexico Junior College.
The “Uranium Fuel Cycle” conference will begin with a panel on “Uranium Mining Today: Geology and New Technology,” led by Dr. Peter Scholle of New Mexico Tech. Scholle is the State Geologist and the director of the N.M. Bureau of Geology. The conference will present improved methods for the mining of uranium. New technology that eliminates labor-intensive, high-risk activity prevalent in previous operations will be presented. Also, Uranium Resources Inc., a mining-company based in Texas, will present information about the latest technological developments in uranium mining. The company has several mines in Texas and has holdings in New Mexico that include 183,000 acres and 100 million pounds of in-place mineralized uranium holdings, according to the company’s website.
Also on the schedule for the conference is a panel discussion on uranium processing, featuring top executives from Urenco USA (uranium enrichment), International Isotopes (uranium tailing recovery), Waste Control Specialist LLC and WIPP (waste/storage).
The final panel, “Training and Education for the Future of Nuclear Energy,” will be led by Dr. Robert Rhodes, Vice President of New Mexico Junior College, with a presentation by Energy Solutions.
Online registration will open Monday, March 7, at www.energyplexnm.com or by calling (575) 397-2039. Conference information can be accessed at the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy website nmcep.nmt.edu.
– NMT –
By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico TechHOBBS, N.M. March 2, 2011 – Nuclear energy and small-scale reactors will take... more
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Updated: Thursday, 10 Mar 2011, 7:09 PM MST
Published : Thursday, 10 Mar 2011, 9:12 AM MST
Web Producer: Blair Shiff
COLUMBUS, N.M. (KRQE) - Several federal agencies swept through the New Mexico border town of Columbus Thursday morning arresting nearly a dozen people including the mayor, a village councilor and the chief of police who are suspected of smuggling guns into Mexico.
According to a 26-page indictment the investigation into the suspected gun smuggling operation began 15 months ago.
The indictment alleges Mayor Eddie Espinoza, Village Trustee Blas Gutierrez and eight other conspirators bought and smuggled guns including AK-47s across the border into Mexico. The indictment states Chief of Police Angelo Vega joined in the conspiracy. Investigators said the group used unmarked Columbus police vehicles to help carry out the crimes.
Later on Thursday Luna County Sheriff Raymond Cobos announced he would stop communication with the Columbus Police Department saying he wanted “to protect the integrity” of his department.
“Obviously this is a big blow to every honest elected official,” Cobos said. ”It's a big disappointment.”
Cobos asked village officials to “shut down” the police department for now.
“My recommendation is that they reassign the officers to other duties temporarily until it’s determined whether or not any other people involved in the activity,” Cobos said.
Village Trustee William “Bud” Canfield said he agreed with that recommendation.
“The people in the town need to be protected so I think the best thing is to go under the sheriff's department for the time being,” Canfield said. “We can straighten some of this out.”
The village board scheduled a meeting for Friday afternoon to determine if they will shut down the police department temporarily. For now, New Mexico State Police are helping local police patrol the village.
The raiding parties included New Mexico State Police officers and agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Immigration Customs Enforcement officials confirmed they are working an investigation in Columbus but would not give specifics.
Columbus is located about two miles north of the international border.
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/raid-yields-police-chief-mayorUpdated: Thursday, 10 Mar 2011, 7:09 PM MST
Published : Thursday, 10 Mar 2011, 9:12... more
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The Rio Grande flows through some of the oldest continually inhabited land in the United States. In northern New Mexico, the river follows a deep gorge formed by the separation of the Earth’s curst. Because of its wild and pristine state it’s home to a rich population of birds and mammals and is one of the world’s great migratory fly-aways linking the United States and Canada for hundreds of migrating bird species.
For the past 30 years concerned citizens and lawmakers have been working to create the Rio Grande Del Norte National Conservation Area along New Mexico’s northern boarder. The proposed NCA consists of 235,000 acres of rolling sagebrush hills and 70 miles of the Rio Grand, the first section of wild and scenic river established in the United States. The goal is not only to preserve this rare and wild landscape, but also a way of life that dates back hundreds of years.The Rio Grande flows through some of the oldest continually inhabited land in the... more
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By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao touched on energy issues in the bilateral summit between the two countries this week.
“I believe that as the two largest energy consumers and emitters of greenhouses gases, the United States and China have a responsibility to combat climate change by building on the progress at Copenhagen and Cancun, and showing the way to a clean energy future. And President Hu indicated that he agrees with me on this issue,” President Obama said during a Wednesday press conference.
But can the United States step up as a leader on clean energy? The proliferation of politicians whom The Nation’s Mark Hertsgaard calls “climate cranks” suggests otherwise.
The biggest consumers
In international climate negotiations, the United State and China are the two key players, and if the world as a whole is to move forward on combating climate change, agreement between Presidents Obama and Hu would be a huge breakthrough. Mother Jones‘ Kate Sheppard notes that Hu also said the United States and China would work together on climate changes, but, she writes, “I can imagine, though, that the conversation on this subject wasn’t entirely as chummy as the remarks would imply, however. The US last month lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization about China’s subsidies for clean energy, arguing that the country is unfairly stacking the deck in favor of their products.”
At AlterNet, Tina Gerhardt and Lucia Green-Weiskel explain the background to those tensions and to the U.S.’s protectionist bent on clean energy projects. They write, “Energy Secretary Chu recently framed the new relationship between the U.S. and China as a ‘Sputnik Moment.’ Referencing the first satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, which demonstrated its technological advantage and led to the Cold War-era space race, Chu warned that the U.S. risks falling behind China in the clean technology race.”
Stumbling blocks
China’s motivations for growing its clean energy sector may not be leafy green; new energy sources feed the country’s rapidly growing economy. But at least the country is committed to green energy sources, unlike our climate change-denying Congress. As Mark Hertsgaard argues at The Nation, this brand of American has become so pernicious, it’s time to stop adhering to the protocol that dubs them “climate deniers” and start calling them “climate cranks.” He explains:
True skepticism is invaluable to the scientific method, but an honest skeptic can be persuaded by facts, if they are sound. The cranks are impervious to facts, at least facts that contradict their wacky worldview. When virtually every national science academy in the developed world, including our own, and every major scientific organization (e.g., the American Geophysical Union, the American Physics Society) has affirmed that climate change is real and extremely dangerous, only a crank continues to insist that it’s all a left-wing plot.
Climate cranks attack
Unfortunately, climate cranks continue to interfere with both climate scientists and forward-thinking energy policy. At Change.org, Nikki Gloudeman writes about the ongoing saga of climate scientist Michael Mann, one of the climatologists embroiled in the Climategate brouhaha, who is still being attacked by climate-denying groups for his work. Gloudeman reports that although Mann has been investigated and found innocent of any misdeeds several times over, a group with a bias against climate change, the American Tradition Institute, is trying to obtain access to his work.
And in New Mexico, the state’s new conservative governor, Susana Martinez, “has attempted to subvert her own state constitution in order to stop [a] plan to begin reducing her state’s carbon emissions,” reports Dahr Jamail for Truthout. The plan, executed through state rules, would have reduced the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 3%, from 2010 levels, each year. The rules should have been made public, but Gov. Martinez kept them from being published, according to Truthout’s report. A local group, New Energy Economy, is fighting to implement them.
Bright spots
In some states, however, the clean energy economy is moving forward. As Care2’s Beth Buczynski reports, Clean Edge, a clean-tech advisory group, has identified the top ten states for clean energy leadership. They include California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
“Rankings were derived from over 80 metrics including total electricity produced by clean-energy sources, hybrid vehicles on the road, and clean-energy venture and patent activity,” Buczynski reports.
And, as David Roberts writes at Grist, there is important work to be done at the local and regional level to both prepare for and prevent climate change. His preferred term for this challenge is “ruggedizing”—strengthening a community’s ability to respond to challenges brought on by climate change, such as flooding, droughts, or food shortages. The solutions to these problem, Roberts writes, often have the welcome side effect of decreasing carbon emissions, as well:
For instance, the residents of Brisbane are discovering that when disaster strikes, it’s not very handy to have everyone spread out all over the place and utterly dependent on cars to get anywhere. It’s more resilient to have people closer together, more able to walk or take shared transportation. It just so happens that also reduces vehicle emissions.
The advantage of this type of work—building the clean energy economy, ruggedizing communities—is that leaders don’t necessarily have to agree on the reality of climate change to move forward. But these are only partial solutions, and to address climate change on an international scale, the cranks will need to be quieted.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
President Obama and Chinese President Hu... more
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