nuclear-news

April 22nd was officially Earth Day. Everyday needs to be Earth Day.

NASA Earth-Rise Christmas Eve 1968
The human population of the earth has more than doubled since the Earth-Rise picture was taken in 1968, making caretaking of the earth more urgent.

Schedelsche Weltchronik or Nuremberg Chronicle Date 1493

Here in an old, old tradition from thousands of years ago, written almost 2,000 years ago, one sees much biological truth. The human body reflects the earth and water itself. If you poison the earth and the water with lethal radionuclides, humans and other life takes up these man-made radionuclides:
Genesis 2:6 “But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In this context, nuclear…

Opinion:

¶ “This Earth Day, 100 percent clean energy is 100 percent possible” • More than 25 US cities, 12 countries, and at least 89 companies have all committed to transition to 100% renewable energy. It is time to recognize that with the right mix of clean energy technologies and solutions, 100% renewable is 100% possible. [Environmental Defense Fund]

100% clean energy

¶ “Out of sight, out of mind: The energy department website shifts focus to the economy” • The US DOE’s pages on bioenergy and wind energy as well as transportation have both reduced their mentions of greenhouse gas emissions and reducing fossil fuel use in favor of language more geared toward jobs and energy independence. [Salon]

Science and Technology:

¶ And another vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft takes to the sky, this time it was the first successful test flight of the Lilium…

The following is kindly reposted from the  facebook page of Bob Alvarez

“Dr. Alice M. Stewart, a dear family friend, at our home in the late 1970’s.

Her findings, first published in 1955, suggesting that a single x-ray of the fetus could lead to childhood cancer provided the first human evidence that there was no safe dose of ionizing radiation. Although the British nuclear establishment, led by Richard Doll, blocked her promotion at Oxford University and prevented British government funding, the US food and Drug Administration (FDA) supported her research for several years. In the 1970’s, the FDA advised doctors against exposing pregnant women to x-rays.

Norwegian NGO Bellona reports:
“Another Russian non-profit tarred as a foreign agent for little more than existing. In a continuing crusade against environmental groups, Russia’s Justice Ministry on Thursday named the Murmansk area Kola Ecological Center as its 158th ‘foreign agent,’posing the threat of fines and closure to the organization.” Published on April 21, 2017 by Anna Kireeva, Charles Digges

Excerpted from the article:
“The group didn’t receive any foreign grants in 2016, so after a planned audit, the ministry decided instead to target the organization’s activities for the previous year, during which it received some cash from abroad, its former director, Yury Ivanov, told Bellona… the group offered up a critique of plans by officials at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, which is also in the Murmansk Region, to extend the run time of its elderly number 4 reactor to 2044, for a total of…

“It is a drought we have not seen in 110 years. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and it is due to global climate change.” — S. Thirunavukkarasu, a retired Tamil Nadu Public Works official.

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For India, the hot-season-like temperatures began in late February — two months earlier than usual. After a brief respite, they fired again in March, bringing April-like temperatures a month too soon. The hot season for this region typically begins in mid-April and extends through mid-June. In 2017, hot-season conditions sparked in late February. Today, life-threatening temperatures of between 100 and 115 F blanket much of this vast, densely populated land.

The early onset of heat comes after years of expanding drought, warming temperatures, melting glaciers and drying rivers, bringing with it a deepening hardship. Farmers across the country report a sense of deepening desperation as cries for help in the form of…

Opinion:

¶ “Defend Science on Earth Day and Beyond” • On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day – a nation-wide demonstration to advocate for a healthier planet. This marked the start of the modern environmental movement. Indeed, the first Earth Day led to the passage of a slew of environmental laws. [Huffington Post]

Earth Day 2010, Washington Mall

¶ “Even Nixon was a ’70s environmentalist: How bipartisanship made Earth Day a success” • Republican Representative Paul “Pete” McCloskey is largely a footnote in the history of the modern environmental movement. Yet his partnership with Wisconsin Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson made the first one a success. [Idaho Statesman]

¶ “March for Science Chicago expects more than 45,000 to attend Saturday” • The first March for Science Chicago will take place on Earth Day on Saturday amid growing concern from environmental groups…