Climate and nuclear news this week

I am struggling to find good news – news that would be fitting for this festive week. Well, I guess that “bad” news is pretty much the definition of news, anyway. As most people are behaving reasonably and decently, and many things are going well – that’s not noteworthy: then the unusual, the bad thing is, by definition, “news”.

On a positive note, Dr Helen Caldicott reminds us that although the nuclear-weapons nations are poised for ecocidal war, the path to peace is still possible;

The United States of America urgently needs to rise to its full moral and spiritual height and lead the world to sanity and survival. I know this is possible because, in the 1980s, millions of wonderful people rose up nationally and internationally to end the nuclear arms race and to end the Cold War.

This, then, is the sound template upon which we must act.

These 32 experts refute the claim that nuclear power is a sustainable method against climate change. Busting the false claims of the thorium nuclear lobby.

Nuclear cost and water consumption – The elephants in the control room.The engaging of youth in the movement to end nuclear weapons.

Risks in incorporating artificial intelligence into nuclear weapons systems.

Ionising radiation damages brain connections.

Julian Assange “slowly dying” and “often sedated” in Belmarsh prison.

Renewables – Top 10 Utility Regulation Trends of 2019.

SOUTH AMERICA. The Amazon at a Tipping Point.

JAPAN. Further delay in removal of spent nuclear fuel at Fukushima No. 1. Tepco (once again) saying they will put a giant cover over Fukushima No.1 reactor. Japan proposes Fukushima water release to sea or air. Tokyo ‘Recovery Olympics’ offer scant solace to displaced victims of Fukushima nuclear disaster.Toshiba warns it may not continue as ‘going concern‘. Japan Gov’t liability denied for nukes damages, Tepco to pay minimal damages to evacuees.

EUROPE. European Union split on nuclear energy, but manages a draft Green Finance deal.

KYRGYZSTAN. Kyrgyzstan bans uranium, thorium mining.

RUSSIA Russia deploys first hypersonic missiles. Scientists track down the source of radioactive plume, – Russian cover-up of a nuclear accident.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea preparing for nuclear negotiations with USA. Kim Jong Un refers to North Korea being ‘prepared’ for war, hinting at nuclear capabilities.

USA.

U.S. Congress votes $billions of tax-payers’ money for a new nuclear weapon for Trump. USA House Democrats let Jared Kushner suck them in to a very bad space weapons deal.
Elizabeth Warren caves in to the nuclear lobby. Bernie Sanders stands firmly anti nuclear.
Faith leaders heed pope’s call on nuclear weapons. Americans ready for a different approach to nuclear weapons?
The Green New Deal: Not Insanity, but an Investment.
U.S. Congress Demands Investigation Into the U.S.’s Nuclear Coffin, The Runit Dome.
America Almost Stockpiled Nuclear Weapons In Iceland.
Missouri lawmaker pushes for helping nuclear companies to charge customers in advance. Ohio court to weigh group’s effort to block nuclear plant rescue. PG and E face bankruptcy- transparency needed on decrepit Diablo Canyons nuclear reactors.
Growing concern over safety of aging Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. USA’s Hanford nuclear site could suffer the same fate as Russia’s Mayak – or worse.

MARSHALL ISLANDS. Hawaii’s law-makers very worried about the nuclear coffin at the Marshall Islands. Seafloor mapping reveals the degradation of ocean floor by Bikini nuclear bomb tests.

FINLAND. Yet more delay – Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor already 12 years behind schedule.

FRANCE. “Potentially faulty electrical components” in France’s nuclear backup systems.

GERMANY. Germany’s next nuclear reactor closure on December 31st.

UK. Goats irradiated in 1950s now pose possible environmental danger in Berkshire, UK

SWITZERLAND. Swiss nuclear power station shut down, due to a technical problem.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Dangers of weapons race, terrorism, disaster, as United Arab Emirates proceeds with nuclear power plan.

IRAN. 5.1 magnitude earthquake near Iran nuclear power plant.

PHILIPPINES. Philippines prone to natural disasters, but still contemplates nuclear power.