nuclear-news

Roundup of the week’s nuclear and climate news

At the G20 meeting of 19 wealthy nations plus the European Union, in Germany, G20 President  Angela Merkel planned for discussion of Africa and health to be a high priority. This is now overtaken by the concern over North Korea’s latest test – of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)

Equally important, negotiators representing two-thirds of the 192-member United Nations  finalised   the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons this week after months of talks.

On climate change, at G20 the growing international isolation of the United States under President Trump was starkly apparent, with almost unanimous opposition to Trump’s climate lack of policy. Meanwhile, a 2018 global summit on climate change is planned, led by California Governor Jerry Brown, -as the Donald Trump administration becomes rather irrelevant to international climate action.

Where will climate refugees find shelter and food?

Amid the escalating tension between USA and North Korea, calm calls for Engagement and Dialogue. Donald Trump has few real options in dealing with North Korea. Russia and China propose negotiation .

Global Covenant of Mayors to fight climate change.

Lithium use in batteries booming – need for recycling, and environmental protection

USA. 

• New survey on American attitudes to climate change: majority agree on human caused changes.. Trump’s Climate Policies leading planet to irreversible climate disaster  -Stephen Hawking. All staff have now left science division of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology. United States got more electricity from renewable sources than from nuclear power in March and April.
•  Nuclear facilities targeted by hackers – say USA Homeland Security Dept. and F.B.I.
• Radioactive pollution “flowing freely” into the Columbia River, from the decommissioned Hanford nuclear facility.
• Nevada ready for the legal battle against Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump plan.
• NASA spending $millions on plan for nuclear reactors on Mars.  NASA funding project for nuclear-powered travel to Mars.
• Watts Bar 2 nuclear power unit shut down after just 5 months in operation.
• US federal report that another Hanford radioactive waste tunnel has structural problems .
• Costs and dangers in “temporary” storage of San Onofre and others’ nuclear wastes

CHINA. China calls for calm and restraint on North Korea.

RUSSIA. 

• Russia test-fires cruise missile from nuclear submarine in Barents Sea.
• With international help, Russia starts to clean up Andreyeva Bay radioactive trash.
• Russia’s global nuclear marketing falters: Rosatom switches attention to renewable energy.   Russia now slowing down its plans for development in the Arctic,   Nuclear marketing agreement between Russia and Vietnam, (but Vietnam turning away from nuclear)

JAPAN. Trial of former Tepco executives over 2011 disaster. Costs of building Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing plant now 4 times greater.

FRANCE. France plans to cut nuclear power’s share of electricity from 75% to 50% by 2025. Sixth MOX nuclear shipment leaves France for Japan.

UKRAINE. Forest fire near Chernobyl Nuclear Plant.

AUSTRALIA. South Australia: Tesla to supply world’s biggest battery

July 8, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes