North Korea fails to launch Musudan missile, US defence official says, ABC News, 15 Apr 16 North Korea’s attempt to launch what appears to be a medium-range Musudan missile has failed on the birthday of founding leader Kim Il-sung, a high-profile misstep after Pyongyang claimed a series of breakthroughs in its nuclear weapons program.
Key points:
There had been widespread intelligence reports in recent days that the North was preparing a first-ever flight test of the Musudan, believed to be capable of striking US bases in the Pacific island of Guam.
The US and South Korean militaries both detected and tracked the early morning test.
“We assess that the launch failed,” a US defence official said, adding that it was “presumably” a Musudan.
The April 15 birthday of Kim Il-sung — the grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong-un — is a major public holiday in North Korea, where key political anniversaries are often marked with displays of military muscle.
A Pentagon spokesman described the attempted launch as a catastrophic failure………
Failed launch heightens possibility of further nuclear tests
South Korean officials and international experts said the failed launch heightened the possibility of North Korea conducting another nuclear test, possibly within weeks.
“North Korea is capable of conducting an additional nuclear test at any time if there is a decision by Kim Jong-un,” said a senior South Korean official involved in national security policies involving the North……. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-15/north-korea-missile-launch-fails/7329968
Now the scientists have found that the coping mechanism barrier reef corals use to prepare themselves to face warm summer water is also under threat from global warming, and from human activities such as agriculture, shipping, and fishing.
“As temperature warms, the evidence is that this protective mechanism will no longer function
How the Great Barrier Reef is going from bad to worse Christian Science
Monitor, 14 Apr 16 Though the corals of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef historically have managed to adjust to gradually warming seawater of the summer months, they will likely lose their defenses when the ocean warms overall in the near future, say scientists. (at left – coral bleaching )This was the latest finding from a team of American and Australian coral reef experts from James Cook University, the University of Queensland, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
These same scientists recently reported that their aerial surveys of some of the 3,000 coral reefs that make up this iconic natural wonder off Australia’s northeastern coast have showed that coral bleaching this year is the worst that has ever been observed. This is largely due to a recurring weather event known as El Niño, a storm system that is expected to become more frequent and more severe in the future.
I agree that El Niño is a natural variability; it’s a part of nature, but that variation in patterns and temperatures is superimposed upon a trend of warming,” Scott Heron, a NOAA coral reef scientist based in Australia, tells The Christian Science Monitor in an interview. “There are ups and downs, but now there are just higher ups than ever before, and the downs are not as low,” he says.
Coral bleaching happens when ocean temperatures rise to a point that zooxanthellae – tiny algae that live on corals and provide them with nutrients and their radiant colors – leave their coral homes, thereby rendering coral white or “bleached.” When corals go without zooxanthellae for too long, they die. This affects about a quarter of marine species that depend on coral reefs for shelter, and the humans who depend on those species for their livelihoods.
This year’s is the third major bleaching event in recent history for the 2,300-kilometer-long Great Barrier Reef, which is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. But this one is much worse than the bleaching events that occurred in 1998 and 2002, say scientists who recently found bleaching in almost 1,100 kilometers of northern barrier reef, from the island of New Guinea to the Australian coastal city of Cairns. The researchers estimate that 30 to 50 percent of the corals there are already be dead.
Now the scientists have found that the coping mechanism barrier reef corals use to prepare themselves to face warm summer water is also under threat from global warming, and from human activities such as agriculture, shipping, and fishing.
“As temperature warms, the evidence is that this protective mechanism will no longer function,” C. Mark Eakin, a scientist with NOAA Coral Reef Watch, tells the Monitor in an interview…….
The most viable immediate remedy, say paper authors, is to reduce the carbon emissions that cause warming and restrict other human activities near the reefs that add more stress, including runoff from agriculture, unsustainable fishing practices, and physical damage to the reef from ship groundings.
“These are all human stressors on reef that have to be minimized or eliminated for reefs to be able to bounce back from these bleaching events, even in a decade or two,” Eakin says.http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0414/How-the-Great-Barrier-Reef-is-going-from-bad-to-worse
U.S. Conspiracy Charges Spotlights China Nuclear Champion http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/u-s-conspiracy-charges-put-spotlight-on-china-nuclear-champion Stephen Stapczynski sstapczynski
A U.S. indictment on charges against China General Nuclear Power Corp. for conspiracy to illegally produce nuclear material is shining a light on one of the Asian country’s leading atomic energy companies and a key player in its effort to export nuclear technology.
The state-owned company, part of a venture designing the country’s first homegrown reactor, was named as conspirator in an indictment unsealed by the U.S. government Thursday. The reactor, known as Hualong One, is the centerpiece of China’s efforts to compete globally against more-established nuclear developers including Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. and Paris-based Areva SA.
Related: U.S. Charges Chinese Nuclear Firm, Engineer With Conspiracy
“We have noted the announcement from the Department of Justice of the U.S. We cannot comment at this stage,” CGN said in an e-mail.
The U.S. accused CGN of directing Szuhsiung Ho, a nuclear engineer in the U.S. also known as Allen Ho, to obtain technical assistance from U.S.-based experts related to the development and production of special nuclear material without required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy. The indictment said the assistance was related to CGN activities including its Small Modular Reactor and advanced fuel assembly program, as well as “verification and validation of nuclear reactor-related computer codes,” according to the indictment.
CGN signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenyan government in September to build Hualong One reactors and agreed with Romania in November to build two reactors. CNNC has its own projects in Argentina and Pakistan.
The CGN indictment isn’t the first time the U.S. accused China of illegal activity in the nuclear industry. The U.S. charged five Chinese military hackers in 2014 of cyber espionage against U.S. corporations, including Westinghouse.
Between 2010 and 2012, Chinese hackers stole confidential designs and internal communications from Westinghouse’s computer systems while it was engaged in negotiations with an unidentified state-owned company about building four of the American company’s AP1000 reactors, the Justice Department said at the time. The hackers stole internal e-mails in which Westinghouse executives discussed talks with the Chinese company, it said.
The attackers also sought to acquire pipe specifications that “would enable a competitor to build a plant similar to the AP1000 without incurring significant research and development costs,” the 2014 indictment said.
“The notion of stealing U.S. civil nuclear technology is bizarre, given the close technical R&D relationships between China and the U.S.,” Ian Hore-Lacy, senior research analyst at World Nuclear Association, said by e-mail Friday. “Chinese nuclear engineers have been helping to build the AP1000 reactors in the U.S.”
Bulgaria Seeks Chinese Investors into Nuclear Power, Novinite.com, April 15, 2016, Bulgaria is looking for a strategic investor into an expansion of nuclear capacities, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has told a committee in Parliament…….
She has explained there is certain interest from China in getting involved in Bulgaria‘s nuclear sector.
http://www.novinite.com/articles/174043/Bulgaria+Seeks+Chinese+Investors+into+Nuclear+Power#sthash.cy7Y2ZJE.dpuf
Disney launches new Micky Mouse-shaped solar farm 15 April 2016, source edie newsroom
A 22-acre solar facility arranged in the shape of Micky Mouse’s head will provide 5MW of renewable energy at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. A total of 48,000 on-site solar panels will produce the power – which is equivalent of 1,000 residential solar rooftops systems – for the entertainment and recreation facility along with its partners such as the Four Seasons Resort and Hotel Plaza Boulevard hoteliers.
Walt Disney World Resort environmental integration director Angie Renner said: “As a company that cares about the environment, we continually take steps of varying sizes to benefit the environment and protect the planet. This new solar facility will help us in our efforts to conserve natural resources.”
The solar farm was designed by Duke Energy as part of an on-going renewable energy development project which will see the electric power holding company add up to 500MW of additional power to Florida by 2024……..http://www.edie.net/news/6/Disney-launch-Micky-inspired-solar-farm/
Iran Official Accuses US, EU of Not Honoring Nuclear Deal By MARIA DANILOVA, abc news, ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Apr 15, 2016, A top Iranian official on Friday accused the U.S. and the European Union of failing to honor last year’s nuclear deal by keeping Iran locked out of the international financial system.
The White House insisted Washington is committed to fulfilling its part of the accord and said Tehran wants concessions that weren’t part of the deal.
The historic accord took effect in January and envisions Iran curtailing its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
The head of Iran’s central bank, Valiollah Seif, said in a speech Friday that Iran’s counterparts have not lived up to their commitments and that “almost nothing” has been done as part of the deal.
“In general, we are not able to use our frozen funds abroad,” Seif said at the Council on Foreign Relations through a translator. Seif was in Washington to attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. “They (Iran’s partners) have not honored their obligations.”
He urged Washington to do more to encourage international banks to do business with Iran and ease Iran’s access to U.S. financial institutions. Otherwise, he said, the deal “breaks up on its own terms.” He did not elaborate……http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/iran-official-accuses-us-eu-honoring-nuclear-deal-38426758
Russia and Laos plan nuclear cooperation, World Nuclear News, 15 April 2016
A memorandum of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has been signed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the ministry of energy and mines of Laos……
In August 2015, it was reported that Rosatom and Laos were in negotiations to set up the Southeast Asian country’s first nuclear power plant. The talks concerned Russia building two 1000 MWe nuclear power reactors in Laos on a build-operate-transfer basis. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Russia-and-Laos-plan-nuclear-cooperation-1504164.html
N.J. nuclear reactor shut down. Here’s the reason why, NJ.com, By Bill Gallo Jr. | For NJ.com April 15, 2016 LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. — One of three nuclear reactors in Salem County has been shut down for refueling and maintenance work, an official said.
The Salem 1 unit was taken off-line at 8 p.m. Thursday, according to Joe Delmar, spokesman for the plant’s operator, PSEG Nuclear…….. In-house and supplemental personnel will perform more than 20,000 different activities while the reactor is off-line, according to Delmar.
Some of the larger projects include replacing three main power transformers and digital feed system along with inspections of systems, pumps, motors, valves, actuators and seals. Additionally, one third of 193 fuel assemblies in the reactor’s core will be replaced with new ones……Delmar did not say how long Salem 1 would be shut down. Typically, a nuclear plant refueling outage lasts about a month…..The three reactors comprise the second-largest commercial nuclear generating complex in the U.S……http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2016/04/nj_nuclear_reactor_shut_down_heres_the_reason_why.html
the level of recyclable contaminated waste,
80 times more than the current norm.
汚染土壌の再生利用は世界に前例の無い一大ナショナル・プロジェクト（おしどりポータルサイト）http://oshidori-makoken.com/?p=2059
最終処分、９割減量も＝福島の汚染土、技術開発で－環境省（時事通信 2016/03/30-10:09）
http://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2016033000226&g=eqa
山本太郎議員の国会質疑（2016.4.13復興特別委員会）
https://www.taro-yamamoto.jp/national-diet/5801
（満田夏花／FoE Japan）
Cattlemen dedicate a monument to livestock that died as result of the 2011 nuclear disaster on April 15, in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture.
TOMIOKA, Fukushima Prefecture–About 170 cattlemen gathered here on April 15 to dedicate a monument to beef cattle that died from starvation or had to be euthanized as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
According to a local livestock cooperative, cattle farming was thriving in the coastal area of Fukushima Prefecture before the disaster unfolded at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011.
Nobuo Nemoto, head of the cooperative, which is based in Futaba, a town that co-hosts the stricken nuclear plant, said he and other cattle farmers will work hard to revive the industry.
“We are facing enormous difficulties, including the aging of farmers and a dent in morale in resuming the industry,” he said. “Despite that, we are hoping to make a fresh start with the ceremony to unveil the monument.”
Although many cattlemen were forced to evacuate and leave their livestock behind, many returned to their farms on occasion to feed and take care of their animals.
But after the government set up a 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the plant on April 22, 2011, the number of cattle that died of starvation on farms near the plant increased dramatically.
The no-entry zone was established to prohibit evacuees and others from entering the area due to high levels of radioactive substances.
The government then instructed the cattle ranchers to have their starving animals euthanized after gaining their consent. By February 2014, about 1,700 head of beef cattle–primarily cows and their calves–were put out of their misery.
Paul Scherrer Institute where the plutonium was stored in safes, probably in an underground vault or bunker
Switzerland removing plutonium made in a Swiss built reactor from safes or vaults (probably safes in vaults in underground bomb shelters), which was under constant surveillance, to ship to America to be diluted and buried in order to “contribute to the efforts of securing nuclear material on an international scale” really unveils the current scam of turning America into a dumping-burial ground for international waste.
Mosler Safes Resisted Atomic Bombs
This is especially true when the following statement by the US NNSA is examined. Clearly the US government is telling a whopper of a lie here: “NNSA’s first priority is to seek a foreign solution that does not involve bringing this material to the United States. If such a solution cannot be identified, NNSA proposes to receive weapons-usable plutonium from…
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¶ Even Walker Can’t Stop Wisconsin Wind Energy • Amidst all the great news for windpower, Wisconsin has been notoriously late to the US wind energy party, despite its prime location in the wind-rich Upper Midwest. However, it looks like Wisconsin is on the cusp of a great change. [CleanTechnica]
US wind energy employment. MISO Energy image
¶ Panama’s president inaugurated the 215-MW Laudato Si wind farm in the city of Penonome. A local subsidiary of power generation company InterEnergy Holdings, was responsible for the project. The 86-turbine park could supply energy to over 125,000 households. [SeeNews Renewables]
¶ In March, 2016, around 60% of all automotive registrations in Norway were for electric or hybrid vehicles, the most recent figures from Dinside Motor say. There were 13,875 registrations in all. Of these, 2595 were EVs, 2042 were plug-in hybrids, and 3396 were conventional hybrids…
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CLIMATE. Paris climate negotiations ahead of schedule. World powers worried at effects of climate change, drought, causing conflicts. UN study of cap at 1.5 degrees Celsius – it may not be feasible. Hillary Clinton unsuited to task of confronting climate change, too enmeshed in corporate thinking. New campaign ‘Two Degrees of Change’ urges female executives to demand action on climate change. Rapid collapse of ice shelves in Antarctica. Sea level rise has been underestimated – new ice studies suggest. Warm, Southerly Winds Gust to Hurricane Force Over Greenland in Staggering Early Season Heatwave — Temperatures Now Hitting up to 41 Degrees (F) Above Average at Summit
Widespread support for Church of England’s stand against Exxon Mobil. Religious groups urge US lawmakers to approve funding for Green Climate Fund (GCF). Climate Change Threatening Mt Everest. Climate change affecting India: Severe Drought, Water Shortages In Australia, and everywhere else, oil and gas lobbies pay shills to obstruct action on climate change. Big Oil spends up Big to thwart climate change action.
RENEWABLE ENERGY. Global renewable energy boom, with Asia Pacific at the heart of it.
EDF in America going for wind power, abandoning nuclear. Wind power in America in a big way, and transmission grid development. Wind power – the big buy-up by big companies. Jobs boom in USA States with wind power development. India: Gujarat’s government increases solar energy incentives, with rooftop subsidy.
NUCLEAR.
WORLD. Russian naval officer who saved the world from nuclear war.
Statistical analysis indicates that we can expect more severe nuclear accidents. Nuclear industry up to their old tricks, spruiking “new nuclear“. $Billions being spent on research for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, that are unlikely to be viable. Allison MacFarlane on nuclear safety.
JAPAN. Just 74 miles from Sendai nuclear station, strong earthquake hits Japan. Under the radar. Japan’s nuclear development pushed along by USA think tank, a nuclear front– Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Bribery allegations result in resignation of Japanese economy minister Akira Amari. The TPP was negotiated in secret, and now one of the chief negotiators is accused of taking bribes.
Fukushima – the irradiation of a nation. Fukushima’s evacuees have radiation-caused illnesses, but this is covered up in Japan. Braving danger and radiation for chance to earn 11,000 yen a day. Cheated every step of the way: a raw deal from subcontractors. Radioactive wild boars rampaging around Fukushima nuclear site.
EUROPE.German nuclear centre a target for Paris terrorist?. According to German intelligence, terrorist Salah Abdeslam did not have German nuclear files. In Europe, nuclear industry needs EUR 450 billion to survive. Luxembourg would pay France to shut down all too near nuclear power station. Dangerous state of aging nuclear reactors in Ukraine.
USA
UK vulnerable to cyberattack if planned nuclear deal with China goes ahead.
IRAQ. Radiation effects of depleted uranium continue to bring disease and death in Iraq.
With the continuing worldwide success of renewable energy, the nuclear lobby’s in a bit of a tizz – doing their best to win hearts and minds with some slick articles in mainstream media, touting nuclear as cure for climate change, spruiking small nukes, and downplaying radiation effects of Fukushima nuclear disaster.
However, the nuclear industry is also now redoubling their efforts on social media, as they’ve discovered all the possibilities of Twitter, Facebook etc:
“Social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter, can be an opportunity for us to listen and engage on energy issues and EDF Energy has created digital tools based on the same principle as its physical visitor centres. These tools have been viewed over 1.3 million times,” “As an industry we must harness the power of social media to broaden understanding of what we do” This is a vital part of gaining and maintaining public trust.” – WNA 14/04/16
We can be confident that those digital tools include not only real lobbyists’ messages, but autobots set to swamp social media with pro nuclear spin, and triggered to respond to any messages critical of the industry
The World Nuclear Association obviously is well aware of the statistical liklelihood of a serious nuclear accident within the next few decades. They’re priming the nuclear lobbyists up to keep the propaganda well and truly going, in advance of that nuc lear accident.
“If an accident occurs, there will be many voices seeking to be heard and media channels will want to use the information sources they know and trust. And trust has to be gained before an event” WNA 14/04/16
Strong earthquake quake hits southern Japan THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 15, 2016
At least two people were killed and 45 injured by a magnitude-6.5 earthquake that knocked down houses and buckled roads in southern Japan on Thursday night.
Both victims are from the hardest-hit town of Mashiki, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) east of Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, said Kumamoto prefecture disaster management official Takayuki Matsushita.
Earlier, Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital said it had admitted or treated 45 people, including five with serious injuries.
The quake struck at 9:26pm at a depth of 11 kilometres near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. There was no tsunami risk……
Saga said there no abnormalities at nearby nuclear facilities. The epicentre was 120 kilometres (74 miles) northeast of Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear plant, the only one operating in the country.
Most of Japan’s nuclear reactors remain offline following the meltdowns at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima plant in 2011 after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a huge tsunami…….
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the initial quake’s preliminary magnitude at 6.2. It upgraded its damage assessment to red, meaning extensive damage is probable and the disaster likely widespread…….http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/strong-earthquake-quake-hits-southern-japan/news-story/758290acc35b609538c3ff285e89d2a8
of the week – Shut Down Drone Warfare!
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
Petition to revoke the licensing of the Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7247
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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