nuclear-news

Science and Technology:

¶ The World Meteorological Organization said that 2016 will “very likely” be the hottest year on record and blamed climate change for the growing frequency of extreme weather events. The WMO’s report blamed climate change for melting Arctic glaciers and rising seas, just as the US’ president elect threatens to abandon climate efforts. [CNN]

Climate change, worsening droughts, increasing wildfire risks

Marrakesh:

¶ The top US negotiator told a packed COP22 news briefing that the passion and dedication displayed in the effort to deliver the Paris treaty was strong enough to withstand whatever impacts may come of a Trump presidency. He said, however, that he had no news on who might lead on climate change issues in a Trump administration. [BBC]

¶ Businesses reported $14 billion of losses in 2015 due to water scarcity, droughts, and tightening environmental regulations, a report released at…

By Dr Joe Romm

The vast majority of U.S. voters and policymakers have no clue how cataclysmic it will be for this country when Trump keeps his promise to exit the landmark Paris Climate Agreement. (But then why would they, when much of the media also has no clue about the existential nature of the climate fight after a quarter century of ignoring the warnings of scientists?)

It is not “if” he keeps his promise, it is “when,” since the Trump team is already looking to quit Paris as fast as possible, perhaps within a year, according to “a source on his transition team,” Reuters reported Sunday. Another reason to take Trump seriously: He appointed fellow climate science deniers to top positions in his transition team and administration — while the media normalizes his radical words and deeds.

Since the United States was a leader in making Paris happen, when the country…

Documentary from 1983.  Sellafield is still reprocessing and will continue to do so for as long as it can get away with it.

A Guest Blog by John Urquhart

WHY THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY IS KILLING OFF THE HUMAN RACE

When Gallileo pointed out that the Roman Catholic Church’s model of the universe was flawed, i.e the sun did not go around the earth, he was shown the instruments of torture. Now if anyone questions the current scientific paradigm that radiation is safe, their research grants are at risk so everyone who has any academic standing keeps quiet about the real relationship between nuclear power and radiation. No, it is not that nuclear power plants kill off large numbers of people, but that the dominant health paradigm used by the nuclear industry to engineer their continuing existence that important philosophies are steam rolled out of existence. In a sense, it didn’t…

Opinion:

¶ “The next big hacking threat is already happening – you just can’t see it” • As hackers increasingly target operational systems over corporate suites, security researchers and intelligence officials alike are worried that power plants, factories, and utility stations could be at risk. Nuclear plants can be invaded through the internet. [Quartz]

A huge potential for harm (Reuters / Mike Hutchings)

¶ “Trump victory won’t halt the U.S. clean energy boom” • Clean energy has been booming in the United States for reasons that don’t have much to do with climate change. Issues including health, security, and innovation all lead to high levels of support among even Republicans for getting power from water, wind and sun. [The Globe and Mail]

World:

¶ Philippine President Duterte announced he has decided to sign the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate-change, which earlier he had said he would…

Emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide stayed level in 2015 at 36.3 billion tons (GtCO2) and are projected to rise ‘only slightly,’ by 0.2% in 2016.

MARRAKESH, Morocco – Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have been nearly flat for three years in a row – a “great help” but not enough to stave off dangerous global warming, a report said Monday, November 14.
Emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide stayed level in 2015 at 36.3 billion tons (GtCO2) and were projected to rise “only slightly”, by 0.2% in 2016, according to the annual Global Carbon Budget report compiled by teams of scientists from around the world.
“This third year of almost no growth in emissions is unprecedented at a time of strong economic growth,” said research leader Corinne Le Quere of the University of East Anglia.
Driven largely by reduced coal use in China, this was a “clear and unprecedented break”…

The increasingly visible human footprint on extreme weather and climate events with dangerous and costly impacts is evident in a detailed analysis of the global climate 2011-2015 – the hottest five-year period on record, by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The record temperatures were accompanied by rising sea levels and declines in Arctic sea-ice extent, continental glaciers and northern hemisphere snow cover.

All these climate change indicators confirmed the long-term warming trend caused by greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide reached the significant milestone of 400 parts per million in the atmosphere for the first time in 2015, according to the WMO report submitted to the UN climate change conference.

The 2011-2015 period was the warmest five-year period on record globally and for all continents apart from Africa (second warmest).

Temperatures for the period were 0.57 °C above the average for the standard 1961–1990 reference period.

The warmest year on record to…

By Paul Rogers

After eight years in which California had a partner in President Barack Obama in expanding renewable energy and electric vehicles, signing international deals and writing tougher pollution laws to the consternation of industry and Republicans, the election of Donald Trump now sets up the Golden State as a land in environmental exile.
Experts say it’s about to become a country within a country, moving sharply in the opposite direction of the White House and Congress on climate change and environmental policy, as California sets its own agenda with sympathetic states and countries.
“We will protect the precious rights of our people and continue to confront the existential threat of our time – devastating climate change,” Gov. Jerry Brown said following Trump’s stunning upset.
The president-elect’s views on climate change couldn’t be more different from Obama’s. Trump has called it “an expensive hoax.” He promises to pull out…