The news in things nuclear this week

Some bits of good news –  What went right this week: relief for the Great Barrier Reef, plus more. Man Finally Meets Family That Hid Him During Nazi Holocaust 80 Years Ago–And Visits the House.

Coronavirus. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update. Current trends in reported COVID-19 cases are underestimates of the true number of global infections and reinfections.

Climate.China provinces top list of regions at risk from climate change.  Australian states among world’s most at risk from climate change, extreme weather.

Nuclear.  Much the same as last week. USA warmongers panicking about balloons. Nuclear safety issues being downplayed. The media faithfully regurgitating gushing nuclear lobby handouts about small nuclear reactors.

Christina notes:  Complacency about nuclear safety – a killer waiting to strike!  Bewdy! It’s gonna happen sooner than we thought. Just like Ukraine does against Russia, Australia will fight America’s war against China.

CLIMATE. Global leaders are dropping the ball on climate change. Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns. Judge commends Just Stop Oil activists. “No regrets” as UK government portrays nuclear power as “clean” and “green”. 

The ‘Icefin’ bore deep into an Antarctic glacier. What it found were temperatures warmer than melting point. Antarctic sea ice level now lowest on record. War is a climate killer.

EARTH EVENTS. Earth Changes Summary – January 2023: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs.

ECONOMICS. Russia’s Grip on Nuclear-Power Trade Is Only Getting Stronger. EDF’s historic $13.5 billion loss in 2022 – as France became an importer of electricity. Zelensky is literally selling Ukraine to US corporations on Wall Street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fHZCfRE3n4

EDUCATION. We’ve Forgotton The Potential Horrors of What a Nuclear Winter Would Be Like. Pentagon-Funded Plymouth University Cancels Anti-War Academic: the militarization of higher education.

EMPLOYMENT. Renewable energy workers are in high demand, global survey reveals. At Sellafield nuclear site workers ready to go on strike .

ENERGY.  Thousands of solar panels sent to power recovery effort in earthquake devastated Türkiye . France’s nuclear output plummeted in 2022. Small scale renewable technology installations being deployed rapidly in Britain without government subsidies.

ECONOMY. 

•  EDF posts record net loss after nuclear fleet hit by repairs.  Financial disaster looms for France’s nuclear corporation EDF.
• Southern Co boosts cost estimate, delays timing for nuclear reactors. 
• Spiralling cost of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. 
• Rolls Royce’s financial problems, as it plans to make small nuclear reactors for the British government. 

ENVIRONMENT. Fukushima: Japan insists release of 1.3m tonnes of ‘treated’ water is safe. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. Some, but not all, First Nations support small nuclear reactors in New Brunswick.

MEDIA. Microsoft Puts New Limits On Bing’s AI Chatbot After It Expressed Desire To Steal Nuclear Secrets.  Media Ignores Evidence That West Opposed Ukraine Peace Deal. Pro nuclear film. Murdoch Propaganda Pushes Australia To Double Its Military Budget For War With China

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Checking Back in on China’s Nuclear Icebreaker. Rolls Royce’s “small” nuclear reactor will occupy 5.3 acres..

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Scotland’s campaign groups call on government to reject plans for nuclear power at new Green Freeports.

POLITICS. Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick (CRED-NB) informs Senate with analysis of “advanced” small nuclear reactors. Scotland’s Minister Matheson reassures the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) that no small nuclear power station will be permitted near Grangemouth refinery.   Small modular nuclear reactors: a good deal for Southwest Virginia? Despite massive losses of nuclear company EDF, and reactor corrosions, France plans to build a new fleet of EPR reactors. France’s government may switch funds from social housing to the cause of propping up the nuclear industry.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Biden says three aerial ‘objects’ US shot down likely not related to China surveillance. EU Commission abandons plans to sanction Russia’s nuclear industry. Ukraine approves second sanctions package targeting Russian nuclear industry Post-war Ukraine – a triumphal land owned by Western business corporations. Iran denies enriching uranium to 84 percent purity amid IAEA row. Iranians Caught Between Optimism, Pessimism Over Nuclear Talks.

Nuclear zealout Jonathan Mead touts nuclear-powered submarines- Australia to have “full control” – (oh yeah?). 7.30 Report: Sarah Ferguson Opens Up New Perspectives on the AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Deal.

SAFETY. Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant – a useless and dangerous prestige project?. Concerns over the construction of a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, Turkey, due to its proximity to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake’s epicentre. Quake revives debate over Turkey’s nuclear plant Japan to extend life of nuclear power stations, and also. remove rules specifying the operational periods of reactors. Operational life of Finland’s nuclear reactors extended till 2050, and wastes to be stored onsite till 2090. Sizewell B nuclear station switched off for 66 days for maintenance work. Extending more than two nuclear reactors is dangerous, says deputy prime minister Gilkinet.

SECRETS and LIES. Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US. Watchdogs File FOIA Request for Holtec’s Secretive “Regulatory Path to Reauthorize Power Operations at Palisades Nuclear Plant”. Ukraine Hawk Who Heads European Commission Has a Nazi Pedigree She Does Not Want You to Know About.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. NASA Gets High on Its Nuclear Supply. NATO reveals new space fleet.

SPINBUSTER. Japan PM Kishida tells ministers to assuage public concerns over nuclear policy. Object downed by US missile may have been amateur hobbyists’ $12 balloon. What We Know About The US Air Force’s Balloon Party So Far.

WASTES. The World’s Dumping Ground for Nuclear Waste Doesn’t Want Fukushima’s Wastewater. Dumping 1M gallons of radioactive water in Hudson is ‘best option,’ per Indian Point nuclear plant owner.

WAR and CONFLICT. The Horrifying Endgame in Ukraine. Betting on Ukraine victory was ‘suicidal’ – Seymour Hersh. Ukraine ‘peace petition’ backed by nearly half a million Germans.    American Architect of the Ukraine War Gives Go Ahead to Attack Crimea. NATO to participate in Ukraine war “for as long as it takes”.     Why the US seeks War with China by 2025.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• U.S. military’s newest weapon against China and Russia: Hot air balloon. Alien Balloon Malarkey! 
• Setting The Stage For Proxy War Against China? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42MGfBIVjkI&t=63s 
• U.S. compensates Czech Republic for arms shipments to Ukraine 
• Munich: Germany rallies NATO allies, partners to send more tanks to Ukraine 
• Germany: Pentagon trains Ukrainian troops on Bradley, Stryker combat vehicles — 
• Ukraine Presses US Congress Members for F-16 Jetfighters.     
• South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations Highlight the Growing Risks of Allied Proliferation. South Korea’s First Attempt at Going Nuclear. 
• Cities must not be targets. 
• N Korea confirms ICBM test, touts nuclear counterattack ability. 
• Saudi Arabia says nuclear arms race in the Middle East ‘cannot be ruled out’.

February 21, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes