Public opinion in North Korea about nuclear weapons
Ask a North Korean: what do you think about nuclear weapons? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/ask-a-north-korean-nuclear-weapons
In an ongoing series, NK News poses a reader’s question to a North Korean defector. This week, pride in the government’s atomic exploration, Guardian, Je Son Lee for NK News, part of the North Korea network
Friday 23 October 2015 When I was still living in North Korea, the regime had a successful nuclear test. People were very proud of it, and afterwards we had a town hall meeting where my neighbours talked about how the US would no longer be able to boss us around.
Most North Koreans are very aware of the fact that other countries make fun of them, and look down on the DPRK, but many think it’s because the country is poor.
North Koreans are generally very curious about how they are perceived internationally, and reports are circulated among communities of discrimination and abuse suffered abroad – such as in China – which generate a feeling of self-consciousness.
Therefore, people in the DPRK have become very proud when they hear that the country has become a nuclear state. When they hear news like this, they think: “Our nation may still be poor. But we can [still] be one of the most powerful and influential nations in national defence.”
Justification
North Korea invests heavily in education, especially in teaching people about Japanese imperial rule and the era following independence.
The Japanese committed atrocities against unarmed, innocent Koreans, and Kim Jong-un’s government frequently highlights these acts of brutality when it justifie the possession of nuclear weapons.
Thanks to frequent reminders in school textbooks and history classes, North Koreans show more hostility toward Japanese than Americans.
Pictures and graffiti of Japanese and American soldiers committing acts of violence are painted on the buildings of kindergartens, schools and offices. If you had grown up being brainwashed and exposed to this from a young age, how would you feel? North Koreans begin to realise the importance of protecting their country.
This justifies the nuclear programme and weapons, but the government doesn’t teach its people about the negative sides and ordinary citizens have no way of finding out how dangerous they can be.
Of course, some North Koreans may hold different opinions on this issue. But from what I’ve seen, North Koreans are in favour of their government’s nuclear programme for one reason: they think it will protect them from powerful countries such as the US and Japan, and means they won’t have to go back to the time when Koreans had to suffer under the US military and Japanese imperialism.
Editing and translation by Elizabeth Jae. A version of this article first appeared on NK News, North Korea News
Italian energy giant Enel and Greenpeace together in aim to develop renewable energy
Former foes Greenpeace and energy giant Enel stand together in low-carbon push, Guardian, Damian Carrington, 22 Oct 15 New CEO, Francesco Starace, is taking the Italian firm in a new direction, investing in solar and wind to become the first ‘truly green energy giant’. Just a year ago the Italian energy giant Enel was in a bitter court battle with Greenpeace, which accused the utility’s coal plant pollution of killing people. Today, the two groups are firm friends and Greenpeace says Enel is on track to be the “first truly green energy giant”.
What changed was the observation by new Enel CEO, Francesco Starace, that the tide was flowing in only one direction for utilities – towards low-carbon energy – thanks to fast-dropping renewable energy costs, smarter and more-efficient grids and increasing government action on climate change.
“There is a huge tide flowing and you can decide in which direction you want to swim,” he told the Guardian in an interview. “The tide is not in our control – it is the evolution of technology. I think it is crazy if there is someone thinking that he can actually influence this.”
Enel, the biggest utility in the world by customer numbers, has taken the plunge and pledged never to build another coal plant and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
A few other major utilities, such as E.ON and Vattenfall are taking a few strokes in the same direction, but Starace thinks a flood of companies making similar waves is imminent. “You will have big surprises,” he says. “In the next 12 months you will see most of the companies more or less go the same way.”……..
He says the coal-fired power station opened in Chile this year will be Enel’s last: “Why would you put €1bn into something that takes 10 years to be built and by the time you finish, you find out there is no point in having it anymore. It is too slow to be fitting this world anymore.”
“Nuclear is the same story, but even worse: a longer time cycle,” Starace says. “Today’s nuclear technology – though not nuclear technology in general – is a dead end. The proof of it is that fact that these huge new plants are typically nightmares of engineering and construction.”
He says the reactors planned by French company EDF for the UK are the “best in class” of current technology but are the same dead end: “I admire that they have the guts to carry on but these plants are over-engineered and incredibly complex and very, very difficult to complete.”……..
Instead of fossil fuel projects, half of Enel’s £18bn growth investment over the next five years is going into solar and wind energy, ….
Another major European utility, Vattenfall, is selling its large German coal mines and power plants, again to focus on renewables. Greenpeace is looking to make friends with them too, suggesting they will raise the money to buy – then close – the coal assets.
And the former boss of another big German utility RWE npower, Volker Beckers, said last year that the fossil-fuel powered energy system had “reached its natural end”: he nowchairs a renewable energy fund and asmart grid company and is a trustee ofForum for the Future, the sustainability advisory outfit founded by environmentalist Jonathon Porritt……… http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/22/former-foes-greenpeace-and-energy-giant-enel-stand-together-in-low-carbon-push
Mr. Trudeau please stop Lake Huron nuke dump
Mr. Trudeau please stop Lake Huron nuke dump, Times Herald, 22 Oct 15 Dear Mr. Justin Trudeau:
Congratulations on your party’s victory this week in Canadian national elections. ………….One of the things we like hearing is that you and your party are “greener” than Mr. Harper. Already, pundits on both sides of the border are writing their obituaries for the Keystone XL pipeline, even though you’ve supported it in the past. They say you’re OK with the pipeline, but not rabid about it the way Mr. Harper was.
Which brings us to our concern here in Port Huron.
Ontario Power Generation wants to bury tons of nuclear waste at Kincardine, just a few kilometers from Lake Huron and the world’s largest supply of fresh surface water. Mr. Harper’s environment minister was expected to issue a final ruling on OPG’s application in December.
We understand that a new, Liberal Party government means a new environment minister, one who, like you, values the planet Earth and its environment more than the Conservatives did. We’re hoping, Mr. Trudeau, that you and your new environment minister see OPG’s nuclear waste storage facility as the environmental catastrophe it is and put a stop to it. http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/10/22/mr-trudeau-please-stop-lake-huron-nuke-dump/74407766/
Apple developing huge solar investment in China
Apple steps up solar power investment in China http://www.smh.com.au/business/energy/apple-steps-up-solar-power-investment-in-china-20151022-gkfttm.html October 22, 2015 Alex Nussbaum “The time for action is now:” Apple chief Tim Cook. The move will make Apple’s operations in China carbon-neutral, the company says.
Apple will build an additional 200 megawatts of solar power in China and push suppliers to make similar commitments, as the maker of the iPad and Apple Watch seeks to offset its global-warming emissions in the world’s most polluting country.
The solar investment comes atop two previously announced solar farms in southern China that have now been completed, producing a combined 40 megawatts of power, Apple said in a statement overnight. The company will also partner with suppliers, including iPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group, on an additional 2 gigawatts of solar, wind and hydropower projects.
“Climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the time for action is now,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said. “We believe passionately in leaving the world better than we found it and hope that many other suppliers, partners and other companies join us in this important effort.”
The promises are part of Apple’s efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and come ahead of a United Nations summit in Paris later this year where world leaders will try to reach a global deal on reining in climate-change pollution. China, the world’s biggest source of greenhouse gases, has promised to almost double the amount of energy it gets from renewable and nuclear power by 2030.
Apple said in April that it would partner with US-based SunPower Corp. to build the two generating stations in Sichuan province. The new solar farms produce more power than Apple’s operations consume in China, making the company “carbon neutral,” it claims. The 200 megawatts of new investments will involve construction in northern, eastern and southern China and “will begin to offset the energy used in Apple’s supply chain.”
Foxconn will construct 400 megawatts of solar by 2018 as part of the initiative with suppliers, starting in Henan province. Foxconn has committed to generate as much renewable energy as its Zhengzhou factory uses in final production of the iPhone, Apple said.
Bloomberg
Override Aboriginal Heritage Act : James Voss reveals the aim of the nuclear lobby
IN the mire of technical jargon at the hearings of the Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission South Australia, sometimes a little gem emerges on what they really want to happen.
Ploughing through the pitch of James Voss for importing radioactive trash, at the 15th October hearing, Philip White alerted me to this little gem, from Voss:
“There clearly has to be a siting undertaking – siting of facility for storage. Within that, there has to be a broad set of agreements with the host – with South Australia…. This might be an equivalency to the indenture agreement between Olympic Dam and the state.”
Sounds inoccuous, doesn’t it? But as Philip White says: “The indenture agreement precedent might sound great for them, but we need to expose the racism of that approach.”
Nectaria Calan comments – “That’s really interesting and corroborates our suspicions that the indenture is indeed a dangerous precedent…
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Permafrost warming in parts of Alaska ‘is accelerating’ #Auspol #ClimateChange
One of the world’s leading experts on permafrost has told BBC News that the recent rate of warming of this frozen layer of earth is “unbelievable”.
Prof Vladimir Romanovsky said that he expected permafrost in parts of Alaska would start to thaw by 2070.
Researchers worry that methane frozen within the permafrost will be released, exacerbating climate change
The professor said a rise in permafrost temperatures in the past four years convinced him warming was real.
Permafrost is perennially frozen soil that has been below zero degrees C for at least two years.
It’s found underneath about 25% of the northern hemisphere, mainly around the Arctic – but also in the Antarctic and Alpine regions.
It can range in depth from one metre under the ground all the way down to 1,500m.
Scientists are concerned that in a warming world, some of this permanently frozen layer will thaw out and…
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October 23 Energy News
World:
¶ Major cuts to a scheme supporting small-scale renewable energy are the latest blow to UK farmers already hit by low prices. The warning comes ahead of the end of a consultation on changes to the feed-in tariff scheme, which could see funding for solar cut by 87% and wind down 58%, or the end of support altogether. [The Galloway Gazette]
Wind turbine on a farm near to Dirleton Castle
¶ IEA estimates that in order to implement the climate investment pledges made to the UN by world leaders, the global energy industry must invest $13.5 trillion through 2030 in efficiency measures and low-carbon technologies. IEA’s analysis includes deployment of nuclear, wind, and solar power plus carbon capture and storage. [CleanTechnica]
¶ By population, Ontario would be the 5th largest state if it were in the US, but its installed solar capacity, 1,500 MW would rank…
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“Too Furious For Human Intervention” — Climate Feedbacks Spur Out of Control Wildfires From Indonesia to Brazil
There is “no way human intervention can put out the fires,” Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, to the Australian Broadcasting Company on the issue of Indonesian wildfires in a recent Weather Channel Report.
*****
Outbreaks of Equatorial wildfires. It’s something that can happen during strong El Ninos. These periods of warming in the Equatorial Pacific can set off a chain of events leading to dangerous heatwaves, droughts and wildfires breaking out all over the Earth’s mid-section.
But put a strong El Nino into the context of the overall human-forced warming of the global environment by 1 C hotter than 1880s values and you start to get into some serious trouble. The added heat amplifies the warming already being set off by El Nino conditions, it worsens droughts, and it provides an environment for some ridiculously intense wildfire outbreaks. Outbreaks of a…
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How Offshore Wind Can Beat Natural Gas In The U.S. #Auspol #ClimateChange
New England is set to lose eight gigawatts of generating capacity from fossil fuels as aging power plants built in the 1950s and ‘60s retire and go offline. This will create a vacuum that could be filled by Canadian hydropower, natural gas, or offshore wind. Assuming that American utilities would rather build new sources of power in the United States than send their money to Canada, New Englanders will have two options. On the one hand, they could fill the energy gap with wind power, which has historically earned resistance from even climate-conscious NIMBYists. On the other hand, they could go with currently-cheap, cleaner-burning natural gas.The decision is less obvious than one might think.
For as much as we hear about the untapped reserves of natural gas waiting to power our cities, it’s our abundant wind resources that should drive the conversation around clean energy. Winds along the coasts of…
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Fukushima worker’s leukaemia confirmed as caused by radiation
Fukushima worker diagnosed with leukaemia after shocking radiation leak at nuclear plant, news.com.au OCTOBER 20, 2015 A FORMER Fukushima nuclear plant worker has been diagnosed with radiation-linked cancer, making him the first such confirmation more than four years after the worst atomic accident in a generation.
An official with the health ministry said the ex-employee, who was in his thirties while working at the plant following the 2011 crisis, has developed leukaemia. He is now 41 years old, local media reported.
“The case has met the criteria” to link his illness to the accident, the official told a Tokyo press briefing on condition of anonymity, adding that other possible causes have been ruled out.
“This person went to see a doctor because was not feeling well. That was when he was diagnosed with leukaemia.” The ministry revealed few details about the man, but said he had worked at a destroyed building that housed one of the crippled reactors.
The man, who wore protective equipment during more than a year spent at Fukushima, will be awarded compensation to pay for his medical costs and lost income, the official said, without elaborating on the amount.
Three similar cases of cancer in plant workers are still awaiting confirmation of a link to the accident…….
The announcement Tuesday will likely further inflame widespread public opposition to nuclear power……..
The case was likely to deal another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s unpopular attempt to switch on Japan’s stable of atomic reactors………http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/fukushima-worker-diagnosed-with-leukaemia-after-shocking-radiation-leak-at-nuclear-plant/story-fnh81fz8-1227576166328
Sheer folly of UK government’s super costly nuclear deal with China, while cutting renewable energy
These nuclear power plans are bizarre in every way. Hinkley Point will be the most expensive plant in the world, at £24bn. To pay for it, monumental subsidies lasting until 2060 will dwarf any PFI ever devised. Osborne begs the Chinese to pay for this and for HS2 as well on a never–never bill for our grandchildren,
This nuclear power deal with China is one of the maddest ever struck http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/21/nuclear-power-deal-china-uk Polly Toynbee
The decision to allow China to build nuclear power stations in the UK is sheer folly, especially at a time when Cameron is shutting the door on renewable energy.
Anxieties, disputes, over St Loius underground fire burning near radioactive trash dump
“I can say with some confidence that a flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, what have you, is going to move this radioactive material and other contaminants at the landfill in a way we cannot control.”
Officials squabble as underground fire burns near radioactive waste dump in St. Louis area , LA Times, 21 Oct 15Matt Pearce Contact Reporter A fire is smoldering beneath a landfill in a densely populated suburb of St. Louis — and it has been there for five years.
Underground landfill fires, or “smoldering events” as some officials call them, aren’t rare. What makes the fire at the landfill in Bridgeton, Mo., so unusual is that it’s less than a quarter of a mile from a large deposit of nuclear waste — with no barrier in its way.
The radioactive legacy of St. Louis’ role in the World War II atomic weapons program has unleashed Cold War-style nuclear paranoia in the area, as some residents debate what kind of gas masks to buy or whether to move away. Corporate, federal and state officials don’t agree on what kind of threat West Lake Landfill poses to residents, or even if it poses a threat at all. Various scientists and officials have presented clashing stories to the public about whether the underground fire is moving and what might happen if it reaches the nuclear waste.
Media blackout on US sailors made ill by Fukushima radiation
Total blackout of Fukushima truth by U.S. media; sailors suffer and die while denial continues October 21, 2015, by: J. D. Heyes (NaturalNews) Nearly four years after a major tsunami created the massive tidal wave that destroyed much of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power complex in the northern part of the country, spewing radioactive waste into the air and surrounding Pacific Ocean, the truth about the after-effects of that disaster continue to reside in the shadows.
For example, one of the most under-reported stories of all pertaining to the disaster — and one that should be of particular interest to Americans — is the fate of a number of crewmembers aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, the U.S. Navy carrier sent to assist Japanese military and civilian authorities in the immediate aftermath of the quake…….
It was Morales’ endocrinologist who asked her the question that made her start to wonder about Fukushima and about the “official line” regarding radiation exposure. He asked if she had been aboard the Reagan during Tomodachi, and she said she had.
The endocrinologist then said he had also removed six thyroid glands from other sailors aboard the Reagan, and it was then that Morales put together her own poor health and her participation in the operation.
Retired Navy Lt. Steve Simmons knows. He, too, has been suffering from illness since serving aboard the Reagan during Tomodachi.
Dozens more sickened
“There are individuals out there who are in very similar situations to myself… progressive muscle weakness that starts in their legs and starts to ascend. There are individuals out there who have developed different forms of cancer, leukemia, children of service members born with birth defects because of their service over there,” he said in a recent interview.
You can see the full interview here.
Others have also come forward. In December 2013, Fox News reported that, at the time, a total of 49 Reagan sailors had developed cancers, thyroid issues and other problems related to radiation exposure:
In a lawsuit filed against Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plaintiffs claim the power company delayed telling the U.S. Navy the tsunami had caused a nuclear meltdown, sending huge amounts of contaminated water into the sea and, ultimately, into the ship’s water system.
That full report is here.
The Daily Kos, citing a report from Al Jazeera, put the number of sailors sickened at 51.
Sources:…….
http://www.naturalnews.com/051651_Fukushima_Navy_sailors_media_blackout.html#ixzz3pcQ4Fsio
UK nuclear deal is a golden handout to China
China bags gold with UK nuclear power station deal, Scotsman, SCOTT MACNAB 22 October 2015 DAVID Cameron has signalled a new “golden era” in the UK’s relationship with China after a deal was struck to build the first new UK nuclear power station in a generation.
The Prime Minister held talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping yesterday at Downing Street as part of a four-day state visit by the head of the People’s Republic.
About £40 billion of investment in the UK has been announced by China including a £660 million deal with Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis to build electric buses.
But the growing closeness between the two nations has prompted concerns over the UK’s nuclear security and China’s human rights record.
Concerns have been raised about giving China such a central role in UK energy generation. Aside from Hinkley Point, two other stations at Sizewell in Suffolk, and Bradwell in Essex, are set to follow. The plant at Bradwell will be Chinese-designed, and will provide China with its first western showcase for its nuclear technology.
However, the security services, as well as senior United States strategists, are among those to have voiced fears about the extent of the nuclear technology which China will now be getting its hands on. : http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/china-bags-gold-with-uk-nuclear-power-station-deal-1-3924084#ixzz3pc0qK547
Climate change is going to cost even more than was predicted
A cliché repeated in some scientific circles suggests that there are three possible responses to climate change: mitigation (the word wonks like to use instead of prevention), adaptation, and suffering.
Climate change slams global economy, study from Stanford and Berkeley shows, SMH October 22, 2015 Eric Roston Climate change could cause 10 times as much damage to the global economy as previously estimated, slashing output by as much as 23 per cent by the end of the century, a new research paper from US universities Stanford and Berkeley finds.
Looking at 166 countries between 1960 and 2010, the researchers identified an optimal average annual temperature that coincides with peak productivity. It’s 13 degrees celsius, or approximately the climate of San Francisco’s bay area (Sydney’s mean temperature last year was 19.3 degrees).
Countries in the tropics, already hotter than this optimal temperature, are likely to face the most dramatic economic pain from warming, found the study, published in the latest issue of Nature. Countries at or just past the 13-degree annual average, like the US, China, and Japan, may be increasingly vulnerable to losses as the temperature warms. Northern countries well below the ideal average may see benefits as opportunities open up for agriculture and industry.
But this was the least robust finding. And even if the warming improves the lot of Scandinavia and Canada, such nations may not have many healthy trading partners left as others suffer. Also, higher temperatures in northern countries don’t take into account changes in precipitation, more extreme weather, and the many other risks in a warming world.
The authors made a clever end run around the biggest problem at the core of climate science: There’s only one Earth. Scientists usually like to run “controls,” situations that have identical conditions to the experiment except for the one thing being studied. Unfortunately for climate scientists, there’s no second Earth, filled with identical people doing identical things, where greenhouse gas emissions aren’t a problem.
So the study looks at national temperature records through time. Instead of studying a warming Nigeria and a control Nigeria, the scientists compared Nigerian economic output in average years with that in warming years………..
A dramatically higher damage function changes the cost/benefit analysis and makes potential policies that looked expensive yesterday much cheaper by comparison.
Another takeaway from the study is that over the last six decades, economies haven’t adapted well to hotter temperatures. “We’re optimistic on adaptation and its long-run potential,” Burke said. “Looking historically, we don’t see a lot of evidence that we’re good at that.”
A cliché repeated in some scientific circles suggests that there are three possible responses to climate change: mitigation (the word wonks like to use instead of prevention), adaptation, and suffering.
If the new study means our mitigation efforts are even weaker than previously thought, and we don’t have a proven track record of adaptation, are we setting ourselves up for suffering?
“That’s exactly right,” Burke said. “That’s exactly right.” http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/climate-change-slams-global-economy-study-from-stanford-and-berkeley-shows-20151022-gkfl07.html#ixzz3pcaEBLtj
1 This Month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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