Extreme Heat Defines Climate Change
The lasting legacy of climate change will be heat. The land, the oceans, all of it. It’s the tie that binds and while the global average temperature is the defining metric, the increasing incidence of heat waves and longer lasting extreme heat is how the world will experience it.
All eight papers dealing with extreme heat events in this year’s Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society’s attribution report show a clear climate change signal that made them more likely, more hot or both. In fact, of the 22 studies scientists have submitted to the annual review over the past four years, only one didn’t find that climate change increased the odds or severity of extreme heat. Read more at: www.scientificamerican.com
GR: Single weather events, no matter how extreme or unusual, are difficult to connect to Climate-change/Global Warming. However, we can connect frequent events, and trends in average conditions, to climate…
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November 6 Energy News
World:
¶ Two stunning auction results in India and Chile in the last week have underscored the gains that large-scale solar has made against its fossil fuel competitors. In both countries, solar is now clearly the cheapest option compared to new coal-fired power stations. In Chile, the auction produced a record low price for unsubsidised solar, 6.5¢/kWh. [RenewEconomy]
¶ Electric vehicle and battery storage developer Tesla Motors says it is receiving “very strong” demand for its new battery storage products in Australia, which are due to be rolled out in the next month or two. Australia has been chosen as one of the first countries for the Tesla Energy “Powerwall” product, a 7-kWh lithium-ion system. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Rocky Mountain Institute’s new casebook, Renewable Microgrids: Profiles From Islands and Remote Communities Across the Globe, profiles 10 islands and remote communities actively embracing this transition in order to…
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US Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2015 – Still Patently Unfair!
UK Mining Company Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon mine in the USA is seen below. Rio Tinto is beneficiary of the 1872 mining law which allows mineral and land grabs on public lands without paying royalties to the US government. This includes gold, silver, copper, uranium and more. If this were happening in Haiti or South America, people would strongly object to this resource theft and environmental destruction.
What happened to the American Revolution and War of 1812? What about the US debt? If the USA doesn’t want the land then they need to give it back to the American Indians and not the UK, Australia, Canada, or other foreign interests – even the Russian state owns uranium mines in America. American Indians have opposed many of these mines and have been ignored and even have had to continuously fight to protect drinking water against mining interests. This is not history…
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Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): “Worse Than Thought”
“Based on its initial assessment of the text, Sierra Club said—just as predicted—the TPP would threaten the health of communities, the environment, and global climate.
‘We now have concrete evidence,’ said Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune, “that the Trans-Pacific Partnership threatens our families, our communities, and our environment. It’s no surprise that the deal is rife with polluter giveaways that would undermine decades of environmental progress, threaten our climate, and fail to adequately protect wildlife because big polluters helped write the deal.” As cited at CommonDreams.org: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/05/full-text-tpp-released-public-and-its-horrible
From CommonDreams.org:
“TPP ‘Worse Than I Thought’
‘It is clear to me that the proposed agreement is not, nor has it ever been, the gold standard of trade agreements.’
by Bernie Sanders, Thursday, November 05, 2015
Now that the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has finally been released, it is even worse than I thought. It is clear to me…
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Not So Fast: TPP Needs Public Consultation, says Council of Canadians
“Not so fast: TPP needs public consultation, says Council of Canadians
Media Release
November 5, 2015
OTTAWA – With the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) text finally revealed, the Council of Canadians asks that new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not repeat the mistakes of his predecessor by failing to consult with the public about the agreement. After years of secret talks where only cleared advisors and lobbyists were consulted – with no input from Parliament, civil society or labour organizations – a full democratic accounting of this far-reaching deal is long overdue.
The Council of Canadians is asking for a full public consultation, including an independent human rights, economic, and environmental review of the document. It also asks that the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, which allow corporations to sue states for lost profits, be excised from the deal. The Council of Canadians also asks that any progress made at the…
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What Exxon knew…..
![Figure 1: Evidence is emerging that Exxon, and perhaps other oil companies, knew about climate change since the 70's [Credit: Inside climate news (2015)]](https://antinuclearinfo.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/exxonclimatesciencea1058px.png)
Figure 1: Evidence is emerging that Exxon, and perhaps other oil companies, knew about climate change since the 70’s [Credit: Inside climate news (2015)]
A story that’s been brewing for the last few months has been the extend to which Exxon Mobil’s position on climate change may not be entirely honest. Evidence is surfacing that Exxon funded its own private research into climate change starting in the late 70’s (i.e. before climate change even became a public issue). The research revealed much of what we now know regarding climate change. However rather than take action, the company instead buried the data and threw millions the way of the climate change deniers.
![Figure 2: An example of some of Exxon research, predating official research on climate by many years [Credit: Cleantechnica.org (2015) http://cleantechnica.com/2015/09/22/exxonmobil-boasts-climate-science-obscures-masquerade/ ]](https://antinuclearinfo.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/decades-ago-exxon-research.png)
Figure 2: An example of some of Exxon research, predating official research on climate by many years [Credit: Cleantechnica.org (2015)]
The story has been circulating on the blogs for several weeks now, but as more and…
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As scientists worry about warming world, US public doesn’t
“As top-level international negotiations to try to limit greenhouse gas emissions start later this month in Paris, the AP-NORC poll taken in mid-October shows about two out of three Americans accept global warming and the vast majority of those say…” From: thesecularjurist.wordpress.com
“Let the climate change. My leaders don’t worry; why should I?”–Voter-Aged American.
Scientists warned the President about global warming 50 years ago today | Dana Nuccitelli
On 5 November 1965 climate scientists summarized the risks associated with rising carbon pollution in a report for US president Lyndon Baines Johnson 50 years ago today, as the American Association for the Advancement of Science highlighted, US… From: www.theguardian.com
GR: Scientists recognized the CO2 danger long before 1965. One day, we will all see the greed of the energy industry and the politicians it supports as the great crime against humanity and the Earth that it truly is. Of course, human gullibility, our failure to recognize the false accusations, misinformation, and lies is just as responsible.
Expanding nuclear power will reduce and retard climate protection.
“[E]xpanding nuclear power is uneconomic, is unnecessary, is not undergoing the claimed renaissance
in the global marketplace … and, most importantly, will reduce and retard climate protection.
Nuclear Power: Dead in the Water it Poisoned, CounterPunch, by JOHN LAFORGE NOVEMBER 5, 2015 On Feb. 11, 1985, the cover page of Forbes thundered, “The failure of the U.S. nuclear power program ranks as the largest managerial disaster in business history, a disaster on a monumental scale.…”
Fourteen months later, reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl exploded and burned for 40 days, spreading radioactive fallout across the entire Northern Hemisphere, depositing cesium-137 in Minnesota’s milk[1]and Japan’s topsoil.[2]
So how is it that Congressional representatives, TV network pundits, FOX ditto heads and even CNN program directors still promote nuclear power?
Part of the answer comes from American University researcher Judy Pasternak and her students. According to Pasternak’s 2010 study, the nuclear industry spent $645 million over 10 years lobbying Capitol Hill, and another $63 million in campaign contributions over the same period.[3] Between 1999 and 2008, these millions manufactured the canard that nuclear power is “carbon free,” “clean” and can “help fend off climate change.” Prior to this spending blitz, the US nuclear power program was, because of the shock of accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986, “pretty well dead in the water” — in the words of economist and author Jeremy Rifkin.[4]
The lobbyists and check writers worked hard spinning the yarn that the richest and most pollution-intensive industrialists on earth were concerned about climate change and wanted to cut carbon emissions — but they didn’t convince everybody.
Independent scientists, free of corporate blinders and the market imperative of short term profit, scoff at “green nuke” propaganda. Continue reading
Thyroid abnormailities in 112 of 173 children in Kashiwa city Chiba
112 of 173 children diagnosed with thyroid abnormality 
, Fukushima Diary, by Mochizuki , November 4, 2015 On 10/30/2015, Kashiwa city government announced 112 of 173 children were diagnosed with thyroid cyst or nodule.
6 of them were diagnosed with cyst (larger than 5.1 mm) or nodule (larger than 20.1 mm), 11 of them were required to have follow-up test.
The testees are the children born in 1992 ~ 2011. It was implemented from this July to September.
In order to receive the subsidy to have this test, the parents were required to sign the declaration of consent. It declares that the test does not guarantee the potential health state in the future but only represents the present’s state, and also that it is not to evaluate the radiation effect because of the nuclear accident but only alleviate the anxiety for radiation exposure……http://fukushima-diary.com/2015/11/112-of-173-children-diagnosed-with-thyroid-abnormality-in-kashiwa-city-chiba/
Nuclear lobby trying to stop renewables and real solutions to climate chnage
Nuclear power plants warn of closure crisis The Hill By Timothy Cama – 11/05/15 The nuclear power industry is sounding the alarm over the latest in a series of plant closures, warning that an energy source central to meeting President Obama’s climate change goals is deteriorating……“This president has been largely very supportive,” said Richard Myers, vice president of policy development at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)…..
But while Obama has made it clear that he supports nuclear power, there’s little he can do to stop the economic forces that make power plants expensive to operate — or the state and regional electricity policies the industry complains are hurting them.
Entergy Corp. announced this week its plans to close the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant near Syracuse, N.Y., the seventh nuclear power plant to announce impending closure in recent years, out of the 60 plants currently operating throughout the country. A few weeks earlier, Entergy said it would close the Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station in Massachusetts……..
Obama gave nuclear a big win in August with his climate rule for power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will count newly built nuclear plants toward states’ compliance with the rule, as the industry requested. But it won’t count existing plants, which the NEI also wanted.
The administration has put significant Energy Department funding into research and development projects for nuclear power, including efforts to develop small modular reactors, largely seen as the industry’s future.
Nuclear power has not been a major part of the 2016 presidential election, with the Republican field giving it only fleeting mentions as part of their “all of the above” energy plans and Democrats focusing on goals to increase renewable electricity. Instead, Myers said, the fights are focused elsewhere, especially in states and regional electricity markets.
About half of the country’s nuclear reactors are in markets that primarily favor the cheapest power source, putting nuclear at a disadvantage. Instead, the industry wants credit for its low emissions and high reliability………
As part of its efforts to stop plant closures, the industry launched a project dubbed Nuclear Matters. Its board includes big names and former policymakers, including former Sens. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), former EPA Administrator Carol Browner and former Obama chief of staff Bill Daley…….
Others are critical of the nuclear industry’s efforts to save existing reactors. “The only thing that can stop it is if the nuclear industry repeals the laws of economics,” said Mark Cooper, a research fellow at the Vermont Law School.
“They’re stuck,” he said. “They can’t repeal the laws of economics. Or they can, if they can convince policymakers and regulators to abandon the market, to screw around with the market.” The industry has often done just that, Cooper said. But the efforts frequently fail.
Nearly all of the recent closures have been both premature — before the expected life of the reactors — and due to a major expected cost, such as a repair. John Coequyt, international climate program director at the Sierra Club, said the nuclear industry’s tactics to save plants are often at odds with efforts to increase renewable energy and reduce demand at peak times.
“The reason these plants are uneconomic is because renewable energy and demand response companies are driving down the value of nuclear power plants,” he said. “The consequences of those policies are much broader than just the nuclear industry.”
In that way, Coequyt said nuclear is aligned with coal-fired power plants, which also lose out when demand is reduced. The Sierra Club also objects generally to nuclear power, citing its environmental risks. It would rather see more renewables to fill the carbon-free void.
“They’re trying to restructure things so that other climate solutions don’t happen, so that they can continue to operate their nuclear power plants,” Coequyt said. “And that is a huge problem for us.” http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/259199-nuclear-power-plants-warn-of-closure-crisis
A boon for bankers (but no-one else) – UK’s China Hinkley Point nuclear deal
the decision to involve Chinese companies – initially with EDF at Hinkley Point and then on their own at Bradwell and Sizewell – only makes sense if it is seen as part of a quid pro quo for the previously announced financial services deal.
They put the Chinese Communist Party and military at the heart of strategic infrastructure. They interlink the British and Chinese financial systems at a time when the latter is structurally weak, poorly regulated, and struggling with corruption.
Britain’s nuclear deal with China is a boon for bankers – and no one else, The Conversation, Jeffrey Henderson November 6, 2015 At first glance, it seems an almost inexplicable paradox. A right-wing British government has invited companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party – and in one case, the Chinese military – into the heart of the UK’s strategically vital energy infrastructure. The nuclear deal between Britain and China goes against the advice of the security services, the military and the US government.
So to explain this paradox, we must look carefully at another major deal in the British government’s flirtation with President Xi Jinping: the inter-penetration of the two countries’ financial services.
There would seem to be no possible connection between Chinese companies building and operating nuclear power stations in 2020s Britain and a curious political role created in 1571. But the fact that the Remembrancer, a representative of the City of London Corporation, is allowed to attend and monitor debates in the House of Commons, says much about Britain’s priorities.
When considering economic and budgetary policy, the Remembrancer is at hand to ensure that our elected representatives remember that, whatever other interests they might serve, the needs of financial services must be paramount. And the near-invisible hand of the Remembrancer seems recently to have been at work ensuring that Britain’s infrastructure is made accessible to Chinese state-owned companies. Continue reading
USA’s Environment Protection Agency helping nuclear industry out of its financial crisis
Nuclear Power: Dead in the Water it Poisoned, CounterPunch, by JOHN LAFORGE NOVEMBER 5, 2015 “……..As the nuclear industry struggles against financial collapse, government regulators seem to have capitulated to political pressure to weaken radiation exposure standards after accidents and thereby save the industry hundreds of billions of dollars.
On April 15, the EPA issued new Protective Action Guides (PAGs) for dealing with large-scale radiation releases — like Fukushima. The proposed PAGs represent a preemptive government bailout, because they would save reactor owners the nine-figure costs of currently required decontamination following large radiation releases. Eerily, the new PAGs seem to presume the premeditated inevitability of catastrophic releases that the industry can’t afford to withstand. The likelihood of such events was cold-bloodedly conceded by NRC Commissioner James Asselstine who testified to Congress in 1986: “[W]e can expect to see a core meltdown accident within the next 20 years, and it … could result in off-site releases of radiation … as large as or larger than the releases … at Chernobyl.”[48]
Now that Fukushima has tripled down on Commissioner Asselstine’s radiation roulette wager, real players in big electricity are running for the exits. Unlike Congressional hogs feeding at utility lobbying buffets, or commercial television executives who devour utility advertising checks, Wall Street isn’t buying bank-busting liabilities like Fukushima which will cost Japan a minimum of $350 billion and which is relentlessly salting the entire Pacific Ocean with long-lived radioactive materials.
Big investors must smirk at sloganeering about “safe reactor designs” spouted in documentary hoaxes like “Pandora’s Promise.” They read headlines from Japan and recall the stinging deception purveyed by Lewis Straus of the Atomic Energy Commission who said electricity from reactors would be “too cheap to meter.” And they can’t forgetForbes’ 1985 denunciation of nuclear power as industry’s “largest managerial disaster.”
Only add to Forbes’ prescient epitaph that nuclear is also history’s broadest and most and persistent health and environmental catastrophe.
Notes……. http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/05/nuclear-power-dead-in-the-water-it-poisoned/
Indonesia says “No” to Australia’s nuclear waste ship entering its waters
Nuclear Waste Ship will be Denied Entry to Indonesian Waters http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/23422/nuclear-waste-ship-will-be-denied-entry-to-indonesian-waters/ 05 Nov 2015 By : Leo Jegho
“Our investigation has found that the vessel had ever entered our seawaters when sailing to France. And now we are monitoring its travel back to Australia,” Bakamla Chief Vice Admiral Desi A Mamahit told reporters at his office in Jakarta, according to Detik.com.
Transporting the nuclear waste is BBC Shanghai, an Antigua & Barbuda-flagged general cargo ship. Admiral Desi mentioned two reasons why Indonesian authorities disallow BBC Shanghai passing through Indonesian waters on its way to Australia. The first reason is that the Indonesian seawaters are not part of the routes allowed for foreign vessels traveling from Europe to Australia and vice versa. The second reason is that BBC Shanghai carries nuclear waste.
BBC reported that BBC Shanghai is due to reach Australia by 27 November and that it is now in Africa. France-based nuclear company Areva sent the nuclear waste back to Australia.
The waste reportedly derives from the spent nuclear fuel sent from Australia to France in 1990s and early 2000s. French law obliges such nuclear waste to be sent back to Australia.
USA- India nuclear sales quietly fading, as nuclear financially unviable
Solar power developers have offered to sell electricity in India at less than Rs 5/unit. This makes solar competitive with traditional forms of energy, and makes new nuclear power plants financially unviable. India must register the changed reality, and discard the idea of expensive Western reactors. Time to scrap the India-U.S. nuclear deal?
Hard on the heels of falling oil prices and affordable shale, comes another dramatic energy changes for the energy industry: The falling cost of solar energy. This has many implications, but the most immediate impact the nuclear power industry, large parts of which may have just become obsolete. This means that the new nuclear power plants being planned by India, especially those with foreign collaboration, must be reconsidered and scrapped if they are financially unviable.
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