I remember.

I was right here on DU when that happened and can vividly recall those days leading up to the invasion. That's all we were talking about back then, if and when. I remember thinking it could never happen, especially after Nelson Mandela came out with an impassioned speech condemning it which reassured me somewhat. I couldn't imagine a sitting president continuing this course in the face of world opinion against it.

But then it happened anyway, and we saw pix of "shock and awe" and I actually felt physically sick. I remember one DUer posted a photo of a little Iraqi boy pushing a tiny boat with a lighted candle on it into the water during a peace gathering and I kept thinking of that child. Was he okay? Was he afraid? That stuck in my mind and I still remember it now.

No matter who you vote for, this election will be historic: (From Twitter)

New York City’s nuclear power plant leaking ‘uncontrollable radioactive flow’ into Hudson River

New York governor Andrew Cuomo recently called for an investigation after Indian Point, a nuclear power plant on the Hudson River, reported a leak of radioactive material flowing into the groundwater. Now, new samples taken from the local groundwater show that contamination levels are 80% higher than previous samples, prompting experts to claim this leak is spreading in “a disaster waiting to happen” and calling for the plant to be shut down completely. The Indian Point nuclear power plant is located just 25 miles north of New York City, and it’s a crucial source of of power for over 23 million people living in the greater NYC metropolitan region.




The Indian Point plant is located upriver from NYC, and it’s a serious threat to the whole region, according to watchdog group Riverkeeper. “It’s a disaster waiting to happen and it should be shut down,” Paul Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, told CBS News. Indian Point has been operating for around 40 years, and generates about 25 percent of the electric power for Westchester and New York City. The plant, owned by Entergy, is leaking tritium, a radioactive substance. Three of the forty Indian Point wells showed an increase in radioactive material, and one of the wells showed a 65,000 percent increase. Entergy states that this leak will not harm local inhabitants, as the groundwater is located on their property. John J. Kelly, former director of licensing for Indian Point and a certified healthy physicist, said that tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen that is found naturally. “It’s more of a regulatory problem than an environmental problem,” said Kelly.




This isn’t the first problem at the plant, though. Power failures, fires and an alarm failure have all plagued the site in the past year. “This latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable and I have directed Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos and Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to fully investigate this incident and employ all available measures, including working with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to determine the extent of the release, its likely duration, cause, and potential impacts to the environment and public health,” Cuomo said in an official statement.



“For over 40 years, Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear facilities have been damaging the coastal resources of the Hudson River estuary…New York is home to four commercial nuclear facilities. When properly located and safely functioning, these facilities are regarded as important generators of electricity… However, by virtue of its location as well as its operations, the Department cannot make the same finding as to Indian Point,” Secretary of State Cesar Perales said.



Indian Point has experienced other leaks in the past, and the investigation may influence whether the power plant continues to operate in the future.



Read more: http://inhabitat.com/new-york-citys-nuclear-power-plant-leaking-uncontrollable-radioactive-flow-into-hudson-river/?newinfinitescroll=false&utm_source=Inhabitat+Weekly+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=381a019f75-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_edda39917e-381a019f75-204462633

Errant Bird Dropping Causes Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown in Upstate New York

An errant bird dropping appears to have caused the temporary shutdown of part of the Indian Point nuclear plant in upstate New York.

A report by Entergy, the site operator, pointed the finger at a bird “streamer” — colorfully explained in the document as “long streams of excrement from large birds that are often expelled as a bird takes off from a perch” — as the cause of the shutdown, which tripped a safety breaker and took a reactor at the site out of commission for three days in December.

There was no leak of radiation as a result of the accident, and at no time was public health and safety in jeopardy, the report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted.

While, more commonly, the buildup of guano on the lines hampers operating efficiency, in this case the report said that it had caused an electrical arc between wires at a transmission tower.


http://ktla.com/2016/03/04/errant-bird-dropping-causes-nuclear-power-plant-shutdown-in-upstate-new-york/



A boat moves along the Hudson River in front of the Indian Point nuclear power plant March 18, 2011 in Buchanan, New York. (Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)