A recent UK poll showed that more than 1/3rd (34%) of the British public oppose the Hinkley Point project, and less than 1/3rd (29%) support it. [I]

The Vice President of the French National Assembly, Denis Baupin noted in a press release on October 8th that his visit to the UK came at a moment where the serious uncertainties weighing on the Flamanville (France) EPR Nuclear Reactor, notably the reactor pressure vessel [which has dangerous defects], are not being raised in France, at a moment when the EPRs under contruction, in France, as in Finland, are characterized by massive cost overruns and delays. EDF proposes to construct the same reactor model in the UK for a prohibitive cost: the electricity will be 30 to 50% higher than terrestial wind power. He points out that the EPR was supposed to be a demonstration of French nuclear savoir-faire (know-how) but the project…

Former Soviet Secret Police, KGB, officer Putin, is now Russian President Putin. Putinophiles take heed – the more things change, the more it’s the same thing. His grandfather was the cook for both Lenin and Stalin. (NB: Photo-comment is not in the original Bellona article, but to provide context.)

From Bellona.org: “Two decades of legal harassment dissolve Bellona Murmansk as a Russian NGO – but it will continue its work

Twenty years ago this month, Bellona’s still nascent offices in Murmansk were raided by the FSB, the successor organization to the Soviet KGB, setting in motion a legal Rube Goldberg machine that led to treason allegations against the Bellona’s Alexander Nikitin, and charges against the Bellona itself.

Twenty years ago this month, Bellona’s still nascent offices in Murmansk were raided by the FSB, the successor organization to the Soviet KGB, setting in motion a legal Rube Goldberg machine that…

World:

¶ China is urging its top wind and solar power production provinces to prioritize transmission of renewable energy over conventional energy sources as it seeks to get more clean power onto the grid. More than 15% of energy generated by wind power in the first half of this year suffered from curtailment, according to official data. [Reuters]

A security guard stands in front of windmills used to generate energy in Shanghai November 28, 2011. REUTERS/Aly Song

¶ In Canada, the Liberal party, under the leadership of 43-year old Justin Trudeau, swept to victory in the Canadian federal elections. The Liberals have won at least 184 seats, 14 seats more than needed to form a majority government. The Trudeau government is pledged to “Make critical investments” in the clean energy industry. [Biobased Digest]

¶ Australian electricity retailers continue to sit on their hands, refusing to sign power purchase agreements for…

Earth’s Human Population Problem

Click the book to read online.

I learned about human population as mathematical relationships between migration, birth rates, and death rates. As I started my academic career, I continued to use the numbers, the formulas and projections to discuss population. My students learned about population growth, but the numbers didn’t create much excitement.

In the years since I began lecturing about population, injuries to Earth’s ecosystems have spread around the planet. We no longer need math to see what will come; it’s visible everywhere. This book, “Over,” illustrates the human impact on nature with a set of magnificent photographs. In sequence, the photographs first show how we are damaging the planet and then they show the beauty that can be ours if we want to fight for it.

The beautifully written essays that accompany the photos discuss the consequences of feeding the 10 billion or more…