“Dr Strangelove” – the film nuclear story that still matters today
‘Dr. Strangelove’ at 50: Why Stanley Kubrick’s Nuclear Satire Still Matters moviefone, January 29th, 2014 by Gary Susman The ultimate punchline to the nuclear satire of “Dr. Strangelove”? As absurd as Stanley Kubrick’s imaginative black comedy about World War III seemed when it opened 50 years ago this week (on January 29, 1964), it all turned out to be true.
Everything in the movie that the Pentagon said couldn’t happen in real life — from Air Force officers launching nuclear strikes without Presidential approval, to the USSR being ready to respond with an automated doomsday system of its own — actually could have happened. The safeguards really were as flimsy as Kubrick and his screenwriters imagined them to be. (Which begs the question: How safe are we now from a nuclear apocalypse?)…….
scenes like the opening shot of a bomber refueling that looks like two planes copulating in mid-air – played up the Freudian nature of nuclear defense policy. Behind every missile standoff is a contest of manliness between East and West — and maybe some sexual performance anxiety, too, as Gen. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) suggests in his famous speech about “precious bodily fluids.” When Major Kong (Slim Pickens) rides that missile between his legs to glory at the film’s climax, the metaphor becomes impossible t omiss……….
the character was based on a number of people behind the Cold War nuclear strategy of mutually assured destruction: rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (who had worked for the Nazis before coming to America), strategist Herman Kahn, Manhattan Project mathematician John von Neumann, and hydrogen bomb designer Edward Teller. But when Kissinger gained prominence a few years later as President Nixon’s Secretary of State, “Dr. Strangelove” had provided us with the language necessary to describe and understand him…….The movie continued to reverberate through the culture in ways both obvious (the catchphrase “precious bodily fluids,” the joke, “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”) and obscure……..http://news.moviefone.com/2014/01/29/dr-strangelove-50-stanley-kubrick/
As USA- Korea plan war games,North Korea threatens nuclear attack
North Korea threatens nuclear war in run-up to US-South Korea war games North Korea has ratcheted up its rhetoric against its southern neighbour and the States in the run up to Foal Eagle, an annual war game between the US and South Korea By Associated Press, Seoul, South Korea 29 Jan 2014 North Korea is threatening nuclear war in the run up to scheduled, soon-to-start, joint military maneuvers between the US and South Korea.….http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10604956/North-Korea-threatens-nuclear-war-in-run-up-to-US-South-Korea-war-games.html
Iran’s uranium mine inspected by UN officers
The IAEA-Iran deal is separate from a Nov. 24 breakthrough accord between Iran and six world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for a limited easing of sanctions that have battered its economy. That agreement took effect on Jan. 20.
Both accords signaled a rapid improvement in Iran’s troubled ties with the outside world, made possible by the June election of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani, as president on a platform of ending Tehran’s international isolation…….http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-uranium-mine-visited-by-united-nations-nuclear-inspectors-for-first-time-since-2005/
USA’s history of nuclear fracking
U.S. Experimented With Nuclear Fracking, Forbes, Jeff McMahon, 29 Jan 14 “…….By 1974, approximately 82 million dollars had been invested in the nuclear gas stimulation technology program …. It was estimated that even after 25 years of gas production of all the natural gas deemed recoverable, that only 15 to 40 percent of the investment could be recovered. At the same time, alternative, non-nuclear technologies were being developed, such as hydrofracturing. Consequently, under the pressure of economic and environmental concerns, the Plowshare Program was discontinued at the end of FY 1975.
The three sites—the Gasbuggy site in New Mexico and the Rulison and Rio Blanco sites in Colorado—remain under the watch of DOE’s Office of Legacy Management.
When DOE cleaned up the Gasbuggy site in 2004, it used the well just as Jon Abel suggested it might: “liquid radioactive waste was injected into the cavity formed by the nuclear explosion; solid radioactive waste was removed to the Nevada Test Site,” according to a DOE fact sheet (pdf).
When Rio Blanco was cleaned up, radioactive materials were injected into the earth using one of the test wells.DOE and EPA officials conduct regular tests to determine whether radioactive liquids are migrating from these sites into adjacent groundwater. So far, they say, no leaks. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2014/01/29/u-s-experimented-with-nuclear-fracking/
Southern’s Georgia Power pushing for a $8.3 billion US govt loan guarantee
Southern Co working to finalize $8 bln nuclear loan guarantee Jan 29 (Reuters) – Southern Co Chairman Tom Fanning said on Wednesday that the company is working with the U.S. Energy Department to finalize an $8.3 billion loan guarantee for its two-reactor expansion at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, the first new reactors to be built in three decades.
Southern’s Georgia Power unit is leading a utility consortium that is building two 1,100-megawatt Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at a projected cost exceeding $14 billion…….
Federal loan guarantees had been viewed as critical to the once-predicted revival of U.S. nuclear construction due to the regulatory risk and high cost of nuclear construction.
Now, only a few new reactors are expected to be built due to lower natural gas prices, anemic growth in electricity demand and the lack of restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide.
The only new U.S. reactors under construction are being built by the Georgia Power consortium and SCANA Corp, which is building two reactors in South Carolina.
The Vogtle loan guarantee, announced in 2010, was expected to be finalized in 2012, but negotiations bogged down over terms and costs and were complicated by DOE requirements added after the much-publicized bankruptcy in 2011 of solar panel maker Solyndra which had received loan guarantees…..http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/29/utilities-nuclear-southern-idUSL2N0L31V320140129
Malaysia’s solar powered airport
19MW SunEdison Solar Project In Malaysia Operational Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia’s flagship airport and gateway to the East, has received a photovoltaic makeover. Solar industry giant SunEdison announced the official launch of a 19 MW solar energy installation that will save the airport 2.1 million RM (AU $715,000) each year in energy costs…..http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4148
India’s Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG) launched
GPMDG launched to promote renewable energy among corporates THE HINDU, NEW DELHI, January 29, 2014 In a key step towards promoting renewable energy among corporate India, the Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG) was launched on a nationwide basis in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The GPMDG initiative seeks to create a demand for renewable energy among corporate and help companies in meeting their renewable energy purchase obligations and also make them sustainable in the long term.
The GPMDG – India is a joint initiative of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and World Resources Institute (WRI) and supported by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation……http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/gpmdg-launched-to-promote-renewable-energy-among-corporates/article5630541.ece
Information on Areva, Cameco, uranium deals sought by Saskatchewan magazine
Sask. magazine sues to get information on uranium deal with village CTV News,The Canadian Press January 29, 2014 A Saskatchewan magazine is hoping the courts can accomplish what the province’s privacy commissioner has not been able to do. Editors from Briarpatch Magazine have been trying to get documents from the northern Village of Pinehouse on agreements it has with uranium mining companies Areva and Cameco.
Pinehouse Mayor Mike Natomagan is named as the defendant on the statement of claim filed Tuesday in Court of Queen’s Bench in Regina.
The non-profit magazine filed a freedom of information request in April 2013, and Saskatchewan privacy commissioner Gary Dickson recommended that Natomagan provide the requested material.
The statement of claim asks for the financial statements of Pinehouse Business North, a subsidiary corporation of the village; documents that show the distribution of year-end surpluses or losses to Pinehouse from its subsidiary; and copies of correspondence between the uranium companies and the subsidiary regarding payments to the village. http://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/sask-magazine-sues-to-get-information-on-uranium-deal-with-village-1.1660884#ixzz2rtnEE5AN
Kentucky Senate ‘s Bill to lift moratorium on construction of nuclear plants
Senators Debate Lifting Decades Old Ky. Nuclear Moratorium By JOSH JAMES, 29 14 A Senate bill aimed at exploring the feasibility of nuclear power in the Bluegrass sparked debate in committee Wednesday.For thirty years, the General Assembly has had a moratorium on any nuclear plant construction without a plan for permanent waste disposal. The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy has now passed a bill that would lift the moratorium and, proponents argue, allow energy companies to investigate the potential benefits of nuclear power.
Tom Fitzgerald with the Kentucky Resources Council says all of the nuclear plants operating the U.S. are currently housing their waste on site and no permanent solution has been identified. He cautions against moving ahead without a plan.
“The issue is do we lift the moratorium and send a signal to the electric power industry that you don’t need to worry about waste disposal, or do we wait until there is a strategy in place to manage these very problematic wastes before we give the green light to new nuclear construction,” Fitzgerald argues…….http://wuky.org/post/senators-debate-lifting-decades-old-ky-nuclear-moratorium
S.Korea to spend $7 billion on new nuclear plants, while 4 plants remain offline
Four of S.Korea’s 23 nuclear reactors remain off; two to be built BY MEEYOUNG CHO SEOUL Wed Jan 29, 2014Jan 29 (Reuters) – Four of South Korea’s 23 nuclear reactors remained offline as the 1,000 megawatt Hanul No.5 reactor was automatically shut early on Wednesday due to a technical glitch.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy later in the day approved a $7 billion project to build two nuclear plants – Shin Kori No.5 and No.6 – as planned……http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/29/nuclear-korea-idINL3N0L32FJ20140129
$60,000 fine for anti nuclear nun, but length of prison term not yet decided
Nun to pay for damaging nuclear plant http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/9661333/Nun-to-pay-for-damaging-nuclear-plantA US judge has ordered a nun and two other Catholic peace activists to pay nearly US$60,000 for damaging the primary US storehouse for bomb-grade uranium, but they will have to wait to find out if they are going to prison.
The three were convicted of sabotage last year after they broke into the nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The sentencing hearing for Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed has been delayed after the federal courthouse in Knoxville shut down because of snow.
The government has recommended sentences of about six to nine years in prison each. The restitution covers damage incurred at the plant when the three cut through fences and painted slogans on the outside wall of the uranium processing plant. The protesters also splattered blood and hammered on the wall.
Spread of radioactive particles from old nuclear sites
How Tumbleweeds Spread Radiation From Old Nuclear Sites Gizmodo, 29 Jan 14“……shows just how persistent the damn weed is. A note on terminology here: “tumbleweed” can refer to any number of plants that break free of their roots and tumble around spreading their seeds, but the most common one is the Russian thistle, also known by its scientific name Salsola tragus.
During the early 1960s, after aboveground nuclear testing finally ceased at the Nevada Test Site, the first thing said to grow back was Russian thistle.Radioactive Salsola has come tumbling out of the old Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington, where plutonium was manufactured during the Cold War. I half expect to hear someday that Russian thistle has been found on the moon.
The Hanford site in Washington state, which is the most contaminated nuclear site in the U.S., has recently encountered trouble with leaking waste tanks. What intrigues me is that the containment problems at Hanford have also long been compounded by what one internal presentation calls “biological vectors,” aka tumbleweeds but also fruit flies, mud dauber wasps, pigeons, swallows, mice, and rabbits, species on the loose potentially spreading radiation beyond the site. Hanford even has a whole Biological Control program to deal with these vectors. http://gizmodo.com/how-tumbleweeds-spread-radiation-from-old-nuclear-sites-1508617887
USA some Republicans embracing renewable energy: trouble in the camp?
Fissures in G.O.P. as Some Conservatives Embrace Renewable Energy NYT, By JOHN SCHWARTZJAN. 25, 2014 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In conservative politics, solar power is often dismissed as an affectation, part of a liberal agenda to funnel money to “solar cronies” of the Obama administration and further the “global warming hoax.”
He and others consider the utilities to be regulated monopolies whose rates are set by bureaucrats — the opposite of a free-market economy. In Georgia, Debbie Dooley, the national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots and a co-founder of the Green Tea Coalition, said the fact that some conservatives denounced the favorable treatment that solar power got from the federal government was immaterial.
“They neglect to mention billions of dollars that the fossil-fuel industries have received,” she said. “They cherry-pick their principles.”……
In Hawaii, where high electricity costs have led to enormous private investment in rooftop solar panels, State Representative Cynthia Thielen, a Republican, in cooperation with the local Sierra Club chapter, has been battling Hawaiian Electric over policies that she says discourage adoption of solar power. Like other utilities, Hawaiian Electric has argued that the boon in solar has put a strain on the grid and could even cause safety problems……http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/us/politics/fissures-in-gop-as-some-conservatives-embrace-renewable-energy.html
EPA walking away from Florida radiation cleanup – lowering radiation safety standards?
EPA ABANDONS MAJOR RADIATION CLEANUP IN FLORIDA, DESPITE CANCER CONCERNS NextGov, By Douglas P. Guarino Global Security Newswire 29 Jan 14 The Environmental Protection Agency is walking away after a decades-long battle with Florida politicians and industry officials over cleaning up phosphate-mining waste in an area that could expose more than 100,000 residents to cancer-causing radiation levels.
Under a decision quietly finalized two weeks ago, the federal agency will leave it to state officials to decide the fate of the sites in and around Lakeland, an approximately 10-square-mile residential area midway between Orlando and Tampa………The decision not to enforce the usual federal rules could have far-reaching implications for how the United States deals with future radioactive contamination anywhere across the country — regardless of whether it is caused by conventional industrial activities or illicit radiological weapons, critics say…….Under Superfund law, the federal agency is authorized to remediate contaminated sites that pose a threat to public health and the environment.
Internal documents released under the Freedom of Information Act in recent years show, however, that the federal agency’s lack of action was the result of state and industry opposition, and that EPA officials did in fact believe the sites could pose a serious public health threat.
“It’s probably the worst site EPA could clean up from a public health standpoint, when you consider the number of potential cancers and the size of the affected population,” Continue reading
Coal industry losing dominance: renewables the way of the future
he driver of coal’s declining role in electricity and the growth in renewable energy — particularly solar — is economics. As costs continue to fall, we’ll see more growth for renewable energy and you can make money off the trend
Renewable Energy Is Winning the Battle Versus Fossil FuelsMotley Fool, Travis Hoium, 28 Jan 14, The days of coal’s dominance is over and now renewable energy is the fuel of the future. The trajectory of falling costs for solar and growing installations will amaze you.
Energy in the 21st century is already turning out to be very different from energy in the 20th century. Coal plants that used to provide most of the country’s electricity are being shut down by the hundreds and renewable energy is becoming more cost efficient and prevalent by the day.
The trends are heavily in favor of renewable energy, and solar energy in particular is taking the U.S. and the world by storm.
Renewable energy becoming a big player
Since 2007, electricity generation from coal has fallen 24.9% from 2.02 billion MW-hrs to 1.51 billion MW-hrs in 2012. Meanwhile, over the same time frame wind grew 309% to 140.8 million MW-hrs and solar grew 607% to 4.3 million MW-hrs. That doesn’t include distributed solar on residential rooftops or any installations from 2013, which was a record year for solar, installing about 4.4 GW in the U.S………
The solar industry is where there’s high potential because solar power has the potential to provide enough electricity for the entire country and costs are still falling rapidly. You can see below that utility scale projects are less than half of what they cost in 2010 and residential projects are about one-third cheaper. If we go back even further, the cost of a solar panel 35 years ago was more than $100 per watt and today you can get one for around $0.65 per watt, a cost reduction of more than 99%.
To put today’s costs into perspective, a solar power plant will generate optimal energy about 20%-25% of the time, meaning that each watt will produce about 1.75-2.19 kW-hrs of electricity each year. A utility scale project with a 10% return on investment would create electricity for 9.3 to 11.7 cents per kW-hr without subsidy. That compares to an average price of 9.6 cents per watt overall in the U.S.
The driver of coal’s declining role in electricity and the growth in renewable energy — particularly solar — is economics. As costs continue to fall, we’ll see more growth for renewable energy and you can make money off the trend………http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/28/renewable-energy-is-winning-the-battle-versus-foss.aspx
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