Energy efficiency, the forgotten tool for dealing with climate change
How to keep warm when budgets are squeezed.
Sub-zero temperatures are hitting the UK just as gas and electricity prices have risen for millions of households. Energy bills are about 50% higher than pre-Covid levels,
leaving many struggling to cover the cost alongside other financial
demands.
So what can you do to stay warm while keeping costs down? Before
having an argument between family or flatmates about the heating, try
touring the property to work out how to save energy. That may include
turning off radiators in unused rooms, switching lights off when they are
not needed, and not leaving electrical appliances on standby. Curtains
should be open during the day, then drawn at dusk. Manage your draughts by
putting a black bag with scrunched up paper up an unused chimney, or try
limiting other draughts around the home. You can easily make your own
draught excluders. Cold, hard floors can be covered by a rug if you have
one. Layer up with clothes, safely use a hot water bottle, and make sure
you have warm nightwear.
BBC 3rd Jan 2025
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6084l4zx6o
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
IAEA 5th Jan 2025,
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-269-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) today, coinciding with reports of a drone attack on the plant’s training center, marking yet another threat to nuclear safety at Europe’s largest NPP, according to Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) team stationed at ZNPP reported hearing two loud explosions coming from outside the perimeter of the site at approximately 12:45 and 15:45. For now, the IAEA has not yet been able to confirm any impact. The IAEA team also reported hearing machine gun fire coming from the site on multiple occasions.
The IAEA is aware of reports of an alleged attack by a drone at the ZNPP training center today, just outside of the site’s perimeter. Reports state that there were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment.
The ISAMZ team has reported that the intensity of military activities in the vicinity of Europe’s largest NPP – including multiple explosions at various distances from the site – has increased over the last 24 hours. “An attack on any nuclear power plant is completely unacceptable,” Director General Grossi stated. “In light of the increased military activity at ZNPP, I once again call for maximum restraint to avert the clear danger to its safety, and for the strict adherence to the five concrete principles established by the IAEA at the United Nations Security Council to protect the facility and the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety during an armed conflict also defined by the IAEA”.
Faslane Peace Camp warns of growing nuclear risks amid rising tensions
SCOTLAND is on the front line of a new international arms race spurred on
by a rise in frosty nuclear rhetoric. Just last month, the UK was declared
to be “directly involved” in the Ukraine war, meaning HM Naval Base
Clyde at Faslane – only 25 miles outside Glasgow – could be seen as a
“legitimate target”.
For the occupiers of Faslane Peace Camp,
site-sitting over the festive period, action and awareness are needed now
more than ever to pull us back from the brink of a nuclear winter just one
year before the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Acknowledging the risk of dealing in nuclear currency, Pete Roche, director
at Edinburgh Energy and Environment Consultancy, advocates for an energy
system throughout Scotland and the UK that runs entirely on renewables. The
previous Greenpeace campaigner said: “It is perfectly feasible to run
Scotland and the UK’s energy system on 100% renewables. This could save
well over £100 billion by 2050 compared to business as usual.”
The National 4th Jan 2025
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24832799.faslane-peace-camp-warns-growing-nuclear-risks-amid-rising-tensions/
A new year – but old policies
Renew Extra 4th Jan 2025
Given the UK’s tight economic situation, there were some concerns about backsliding on renewables and watering down plan to fully decarbonise the power grid by 2030 after PM Starmer said, at the end of last year, that the target was now to have ‘at least 95%’ clean power generation by that year, i.e. lots more renewables plus some new nuclear, but not totalling 100%.
………………..Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said nuclear power was vital, and that led some to speculate that Labour might condone higher power bills to pay for Small Modular Reactors, although he didn’t go quite as far as the Tony Blair Institute report which pushed new nuclear hard and said that the impacts of Chernobyl and Fukushima, ‘while serious, have been significantly overestimated’. The report was dismissed as ‘mostly tosh’ by Johnathon Porritt.
Certainly it did feel a bit backward looking, whereas, according to Emma Pinchbeck, one time head of Energy UK and now chair of the Climate Change Committee, private investors were keen to see ambitious new approaches to energy and climate change being backed by the government.
It is true that some ‘big tech’ companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, may be looking at Small Modular Reactors and some other nuclear techs, but the bulk of global funding for new energy tech is still going to renewables- and the big IT companies investment in SMRs/AMRs may just be a speculative, but possibly doomed, side bet.
………………………overall, the government does seem to be trying to get it right on pushing ahead rapidly with renewables, even if it is still a bit trapped in what some see as a nuclear dead end and also by its arguably misplaced optimism about CCS. Certainly Dr Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK, said ‘any money earmarked for carbon capture and storage- which is expensive, impossible to make zero carbon and fails to detach electricity prices from the volatile international gas market – would be better spent on the renewables, grid and storage infrastructure that will actually deliver clean power’.
………………………………………………………..based on a Royal Society study last year, it was concluded that, although the UK would need a lot of energy storage capacity, ‘a system based entirely on wind and solar, supported by large-scale hydrogen storage, and a possible mix of other storage options……….. would not be expensive.’
And more recently Dale Vince, Labour-supporting Ecotricty founder, said ‘we can secure a cleaner, cheaper energy future without nuclear’. He noted specifically that the cost of Hinkley Point C had ‘ballooned to £46bn’ after it was ‘originally priced at £18bn’ and argued that ‘if Hinkley Point C is anything to go by, Sizewell C really should have rigorous financial scrutiny.’ Certainly Hinkley Point is running late. It is now scheduled to be complete in 2031, after EDF’s former chief executive Vincent de Rivaz had originally said it would come online by Christmas 2017.
…………………..Clearly he feels we would do better to get on with the new green energy technologies. He is not alone. Hopefully 2025 will see more of that, and less backsliding. https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2025/01/a-new-year-but-old-polices.html
US Has Given Israel $22 Billion in Military Aid Since October 2023
According to data from SIPRI, US weapons now account for 78% of Israel’s arms imports
by Dave DeCamp January 1, 2025, https://news.antiwar.com/2025/01/01/us-has-given-israel-22-billion-in-military-aid-since-october-2023/
Since October 7, 2023, the US has provided Israel with more than $22 billion in military aid, Israel Hayom reported Wednesday, citing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The stepped-up US military aid to Israel has supported the genocidal war in Gaza, Israel’s war in Lebanon, military operations in the occupied West Bank, and attacks on Syria, Iran, and Yemen.
According to SIPRI, from 2019 to 2023, US weapons accounted for 69% of Israel’s arms imports. Since October 7, that number has risen to 78%, demonstrating Israel’s significant reliance on US military aid.
In October 2024, Brown University’s Costs of War Project said the US had provided Israel with $17.9 billion in military aid in the first year of the onslaught in Gaza. Since then, Israel has signed a $5.2 billion contract with Boeing to purchase F-15 fighter jets, a deal funded by the US, bringing total US military aid since October 7, 2023, to over $22 billion.
The Costs of War report also said US military operations in the Middle East to support Israel cost American taxpayers at least $4.8 billion, a number that must have also risen since the US has continued to bomb Yemen and deployed a THAAD air defense system to Israel.
Israeli officials have been candid about how reliant they are on US support. An Israeli Air Force official told Haaretz that without US military aid, Israel would not be able to sustain operations in Gaza for more than a few months
A Trump-Putin Deal Over Ukraine Does Not Look Good for Europe
New EasternOutlook , Ricardo Martins, December 30, 2024
“Stop pushing Zelensky into peace talks”, tells EU Foreign Affairs chief to European leaders. For the EU, a negotiated peace deal is a win for Putin and a defeat for Europe. Understand the reasons.
Europe has invested too much to settle for ‘just’ a peace deal: the goal was to crush Russia
The total amount of military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict in February 2022 amounts to $119 billion, including 62 billion from the U.S., as confirmed by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. The amount allocated under the humanitarian label is more than double.
Europe has channelled significant resources into Ukraine, from financial aid packages, to military equipment, and training programmes. Great Britain, along with the U.S., has been crucial in intelligence support too. Beyond this, Europe has also invested heavily in influencing public opinion with narratives such as “Putin will invade Europe next.” The scale of these war-supporting efforts has been so extensive that many European countries have depleted both their arms stockpiles and public finances.
Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Foreign Minister, has underscored the financial burden of ongoing support for Ukraine, revealing that the €37 billion allocated has necessitated cuts to social spending programs within Germany. The consequences of this financial obligation are staggering, according to the minister: crucial investments in early childhood programs and infrastructure modernization have been sidelined in favour of military assistance to Ukraine.
These efforts were designed to position Europe as a steady ally of Ukraine, committed to defending democratic values and regional stability. However, the looming possibility of an eventual Trump-Putin deal leaves Europe in a precarious position, grappling with the absence of a clear, face-saving strategy.
Therefore, the EU foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, downplayed discussions about peace during her first meeting with EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, disregarding a Gallup poll showing that a majority of Ukrainians (52%) favour peace negotiations, while 38% support continuing the fighting. Kallas went further, admonishing EU heads of state at the latest EU summit: “Stop pushing Zelensky into peace talks.”
The most striking aspect of this statement is that it comes from someone holding the title of EU diplomacy chief—a role traditionally centred on fostering dialogue and negotiation. Yet, this very individual appears to dismiss the importance of diplomacy, even as Putin has repeatedly expressed willingness to engage in negotiations……………………………..
Such a deal could drastically shift the geopolitical landscape, potentially sidelining Europe in critical negotiations or undermining its investments and sacrifices. Europe’s commitment has been framed as a moral and strategic stand against aggression, but if Washington pivots toward reconciliation with Moscow, Europe could appear overextended and politically sidelined in its own European matters.
This situation is particularly uncomfortable given the EU’s reliance on the U.S. for broader security assurances. Zelensky understood it and bluntly stated: “Security guarantees without the US are not sufficient for Ukraine.”
Without a cohesive plan to address the fallout of a potential agreement between Trump and Putin, Europe risks losing credibility both within its borders and on the global stage.
Framing the Conflict as Putin’s Personal War: Simplistic Narratives Are More Convincing
The mantra “Russia must not win” has become a rallying cry across the EU, where any agreement is framed as a “victory for Putin.” This narrative conveniently reduces the war to a personal crusade by Vladimir Putin, dismissing the broader strategic and national interests driving Moscow’s actions.
. By personalizing the conflict, it becomes easier to frame it as a clear-cut battle of good versus evil, a narrative that is eagerly amplified by the media and political analysts. This portrayal has effectively stoked public fears with claims that “Europe is in danger,” galvanizing support for continued military engagement.
However, not everyone has embraced this oversimplified dichotomy. Independent analysts and critical observers have pushed back, pointing out the dangers of ignoring the complex geopolitical realities at play. They argue that viewing the conflict through a lens of rational strategic interests, rather than moral absolutism, could open avenues for meaningful dialogue and resolution—options currently sidelined in favour of escalation.
This refusal to consider alternative perspectives risks prolonging the conflict, leaving Europe increasingly strained by the economic and political costs of its unwavering commitment to a military solution. Meanwhile, voices calling for pragmatism and peace remain drowned out by the cacophony of war rhetoric.
In sum, Europe must urgently rethink its approach, prioritizing diplomatic agility and long-term strategies that enable it to assert its own influence, regardless of U.S. policy fluctuations. Meanwhile, Trump’s claim that he could end the war in 24 hours appears increasingly unrealistic. The so-called ‘Deep State’—comprising the informational, intelligence, and military apparatus—seems to have its own agenda, potentially signalling to Trump where the true power lies. Moreover, despite the immense human, infrastructural, and societal losses in Ukraine, the war remains highly profitable for certain entities.
Ricardo Martins ‒PhD in Sociology, specializing in policies, European and world politics and geopolitics, https://journal-neo.su/2024/12/30/a-trump-putin-deal-over-ukraine-does-not-look-good-for-europe/
BBC staffers reveal editor’s ‘entire job’ to whitewash Israeli war crimes
News editor Raffi Berg reportedly controls online coverage of genocide in Gaza to ensure Israeli crimes are ‘watered down’ or ignored
News Desk, DEC 28, 2024, https://thecradle.co/articles/bbc-staffers-reveal-editors-entire-job-to-whitewash-israeli-war-crimes
BBC editor Raffi Berg has almost complete control of the British broadcaster’s online coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and is ensuring that all events are reported with a pro-Israel bias, according to a new report published on 28 December by Drop Site News.
“This guy’s entire job is to water down everything that’s too critical of Israel,” one former BBC journalist said.
Drop Site News spoke to 13 current and former staffers who stated that the BBC’s coverage consistently devalues Palestinian life, ignores Israeli atrocities, and creates a false equivalence in an entirely unbalanced conflict.
Another BBC journalist said Berg plays a key role in a broader BBC culture of “systematic Israeli propaganda.”
“How much power he has is wild,” said another journalist.
There was an extreme fear at the BBC, that if you ever wanted to do anything about Israel or Palestine, editors would say: ‘If you want to pitch something, you have to go through Raffi and get his signoff,” another journalist explained.
In one case, Berg downplayed Amnesty International’s accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Berg chose a headline that stated, “Israel rejects ‘fabricated’ claims of genocide,” to describe the Amnesty report and failed to post the story for 12 hours after it was written to suppress its online reach.
The journalists interviewed by Drop Site also noted that the Amnesty report was not covered on the BBC’s flagship news programs—BBC One’s News At One, News At Six, or News At Ten or its flagship current affairs program, BBC Two’s Newsnight.
“Anyone who writes on Gaza or Israel is asked: ‘Has it gone to edpol [editorial policy], lawyers, and has it gone to Raffi?'” another journalist said.
Raffi Berg, who wrote a book praising clandestine Mossad operations, wields great power to influence perceptions of Israel’s war on Gaza because the BBC news website is the most-visited news site on the internet, with over 1.1 billion visits in May alone.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, and flattened large swathes of the besieged enclave.
The pro-Israel bias imposed by Berg is evident in the language used to cover the war.
While stories “prominently” used words like “massacre,” “slaughter,” and “atrocities” to refer to Hamas, they “hardly, if at all,” used them “in reference to actions by Israel,” wrote Rami Ruhayem, a Beirut-based BBC Arabic correspondent.
In another case, the BBC published a story with a headline that hid Israel’s responsibility for killing an entire family in a missile strike.
“Israel Gaza: Father loses 11 family members in one blast,” the headline stated.
Drop Site notes that when the BBC does mention Israel as the perpetrator, it uses the caveat “reportedly.”
The BBC also uses euphemisms preferred by the Israeli army to hide its soldiers’ war crimes. For example, the BBC describes the forcible transfer or ethnic cleansing of Palestinian civilians as “evacuations.”
In one case, the BBC described Israel’s total siege on Gaza with a headline stating, “Israel aims to cut Gaza ties after war with Hamas.”
Defense minister Yoav Gallant’s public vow to impose a “full siege” on Gaza while calling Palestinians “human animals” received just one mention in any BBC online content.
The journalists speaking with Drop Site said they made specific requests to BBC management to balance its coverage, but their requests have been ignored.
“Many of us have raised concerns that Raffi has the power to reframe every story, and we are ignored,” one journalist said.
“Almost every correspondent you know has an issue with him,” one stated. “He has been named in multiple meetings, but [BBC management] just ignore it.”
The journalist said they demanded that stories should “emphasize that Israel had not granted the BBC access to Gaza, that the network should end the practice of presenting the official Israeli versions of events as fact, and that the BBC should do more to offer context about Israeli occupation and the fact that Gaza is overwhelmingly populated by descendants of refugees forcibly driven from their homes beginning in 1948.”
Biden Administration Announces Nearly $6 Billion in New Ukraine Aid
ANTIWAR.com, Dave DeCamp, 31 Dec 24
Ukraine is receiving about $2.5 billion in military aid and $3.4 billion in ‘budget support,’ which funds government salaries and servicesby Dave DeCamp December 30, 2024.
The Biden administration on Monday announced nearly $6 billion in new aid for Ukraine as it’s determined to escalate the proxy war as much as possible before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
The aid includes $3.4 billion in “direct budget support,” a form of assistance meant to pay for Ukrainian government services, salaries, pensions, and other types of spending. It has also been used to subsidize Ukrainian small businesses and farmers.……………………….
Ukraine is also receiving nearly $2.5 billion in military aid from the US, which includes $1.22 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a program that allows the US to purchase weapons for Ukraine. The remaining military aid is in the form of the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which enables President Biden to ship weapons directly from US military stockpiles.
The Biden administration is dumping more weapons into Ukraine even though there’s no path to a Ukrainian victory on the battlefield as Russian forces continue to make gains in the Donbas and Ukraine’s invading force in Kursk is being pushed out. Biden officials are determined to keep the war going and are even pressuring Ukraine to begin conscripting 18-year-olds.
According to the Pentagon, the new military aid includes:
Spare parts, maintenance and sustainment support, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation
Munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)
HAWK air defense munitions
Stinger missiles
Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) munitions
Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition
Air-to-ground munitions
High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs)
Unmanned Aerials Systems (UAS)
Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems
Tube-launched, Optically guided, Wire-tracked (TOW) missiles
Small arms and ammunition and grenades
Demolitions equipment and munitions
Secure communications equipment
Commercial satellite imagery services
Medical equipment
Clothing and individual equipment
In recent months, President Biden signed off on several significant escalations in the proxy war, including supporting long-range strikes on Russian territory and the provision of widely banned anti-personnel mines to Ukraine.
Biden asked Congress for an additional $24 billion to spend on Ukraine, but the request was rejected by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who said any decisions on Ukraine aid would be up to Trump. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/30/biden-administration-announces-nearly-6-billion-in-new-ukraine-aid/
Sizewell C faces calls for more scrutiny of costs ahead of Final Investment Decision
New Civil Engineer, 02 Jan, 2025 By Tom Pashby
The cost of Sizewell C should face scrutiny from the government’s newly-formed Office for Value for Money (OVfM), according to concerned parties.
Ecotricity founder and CEO Dale Vince wrote a letter to the OVfM “formally” requesting it start “a process” for assessing Sizewell C’s value for money, while a member of the House of Lords and campaigners have also expressed concern over the cost.
The government has already committed billions towards the Suffolk nuclear power station, despite its intention for it to be privately funded. The final investment decision (FID) is the ultimate confirmation that the power station will move ahead, with details of who will pay for it and how. This has been continually pushed back, most recently because of the summer’s General Election.
It now expected that FID will be made at the conclusion of the government Spending Review in the spring………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
- You are here:Latest
Sizewell C faces calls for more scrutiny of costs ahead of Final Investment Decision
02 Jan, 2025 By Tom Pashby
The cost of Sizewell C should face scrutiny from the government’s newly-formed Office for Value for Money (OVfM), according to concerned parties.
Ecotricity founder and CEO Dale Vince wrote a letter to the OVfM “formally” requesting it start “a process” for assessing Sizewell C’s value for money, while a member of the House of Lords and campaigners have also expressed concern over the cost.
The government has already committed billions towards the Suffolk nuclear power station, despite its intention for it to be privately funded. The final investment decision (FID) is the ultimate confirmation that the power station will move ahead, with details of who will pay for it and how. This has been continually pushed back, most recently because of the summer’s General Election.
It now expected that FID will be made at the conclusion of the government Spending Review in the spring.
Meanwhile, earthworks are underway at the site (pictured).
What is the Office for Value for Money?
The creation of the OVfM was announced in the new Labour government’s Autumn Budget 2024. It is a “time-limited HM Treasury Unit”, according to its website, with two roles.
Related questions you can explore with Ask NCE, our new AI search engine.
- What is the current status of the Sizewell C nuclear power project?
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- How does the regulated asset base funding method work for nuclear power projects?
- What is the expected timeline for the Final Investment Decision on Sizewell C?
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Its first role is to “provide targeted interventions through the multi-year Spending Review, working with government departments.
“This will include conducting an assessment of where and how to root out waste and inefficiency, undertaking value for money studies in specific high-risk areas of cross-departmental spending, and scrutinising investment proposals to ensure they offer value for money,” the government said.
The second role it has responsibility for is to develop recommendations for “system reform” which will “underpin a ruthless focus within government on realising benefits from every pound of public spending”.
It is chaired by David Goldstone, a non-executive director (NED) at the Submarine Delivery Agency, as well as a NED at HS2 Ltd acting as a representative of the Treasury, and he is a member of the Projects & Programmes Committee of Great British Nuclear.
The UK Government characterises his role at OVfM as the “independent” chair.
Vince’s letter to the OVfM
Vince, who was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to the environment and to the electricity industry in 2004, wrote a letter to Goldstone requesting scrutiny of Sizewell C.
In the letter, Vince said: “Sizewell C has already cost UK taxpayers £3.7bn – that’s before a Final Investment Decision (FID) has been made and a further £2.7bn has been allocated for 2025- 26.”
Soon after the Autumn Budget, the Treasury told NCE that the £2.7bn mentioned in the Budget documents is not new funding but rather a sum that would be invested either via the previously announced £5.5bn Devex scheme, or through a separate FID subsidy scheme that would be established at the point of FID.
Vince continued: “If Hinkley Point C is anything to go by, Sizewell C really should have rigorous financial scrutiny.”
He warned that the cost of Hinkley had “ballooned” to £46bn and mentioned delays to the construction of the nuclear power plant.
“Due to a novel funding method (regulated asset base) a lengthy construction timeline for Sizewell will saddle consumers with higher bills long before it delivers a single unit of electricity at a time when there is clear evidence that we can secure a cleaner, cheaper energy future without nuclear,” he said.
Vince went on to ask if the remit of the OVfM covers Sizewell C and said: “I’d like to formally request you start a process and please let me know how we can take part.”
Peer says rumours swirl about government having ‘second thoughts’ about Sizewell
Backbench Conservative peer Lord Howell of Guildford asked the government on 7 October 2024 “whether a Final Investment Decision (FID) regarding Sizewell C will be scrutinised by the new Office of Value for Money, prior to the FID being taken”.
Howell was energy secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government which supported the construction of nuclear power plants.
The government responded on 21 October saying: “The Office for Value for Money is in the process of being established and appointing an independent Chair”. The OfVM was officially launched on 30 October in the Budget.
On 31 October, NCE asked the Treasury under the Freedom of Information Act “what plans the Office for Value for Money has to evaluate the economic benefits of Sizewell C against public spending and whether the assessment is due to, or has started, before the final investment decision?”
The Treasury said it “does not hold information within the scope of [the] request”.
NCE asked Howell if he planned to ask the question again after Goldstone had been appointed.
Howell told NCE he didn’t plan to, adding: “I fear that direct questions will reveal little or nothing.
“Is the new government having second thoughts? Some say they are.”
Campaigners say lack of scrutiny ‘inexcusable’
Stop Sizewell C executive director Alison Downes said: “Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money have already been spent on Sizewell C, and much more will certainly be required.
“Coupled with the fact that no project this risky has ever had its lengthy and unpredictable construction bankrolled by British energy bill payers, not submitting Sizewell C for detailed scrutiny by the Office of Value for Money would be completely inexcusable.”……………………………………………. more https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/sizewell-c-faces-calls-for-more-scrutiny-of-costs-ahead-of-final-investment-decision-02-01-2025/
A 12-year-old schoolgirl has designed a solar-powered blanket for the homeless
A 12-year-old schoolgirl has designed a solar-powered blanket for the
homeless, winning a prize in a UK engineering competition. Rebecca Young,
from Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow, said she thought of the invention after
seeing people sleeping on the city streets. Tasked with producing a design
to address a social issue, she began researching sleeping bags and
backpacks to see if there was a way to help protect those living rough from
the cold.
Times 1st Jan 2024 https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/girl-12-designs-solar-powered-blanket-for-homeless-xxwwg2rrx
Is it realistic for Donald Trump to boast of a quick peace deal for Ukraine ?
AIMN Editorial, https://theaimn.net/is-it-realistic-for-donald-trump-to-boast-of-a-quick-peace-deal-for-ukraine/ 2 Jan 25
Donald Trump has made so many promises on what he will quickly achieve once he takes office as President. The one about ending the Ukraine war in 24 hours probably gained him support from quite a few normally left-leaning people, who understand that the history of this conflict is far more complicated than is portrayed by the Western media.
However, Trump made that statement in July 2023. By 2025, he has somewhat moderated that particular promise. He has had several conversations with Ukraine’s President Zelensky, . Zelensky praised their Paris meeting on 7 December as “productive and meaningful”, but there were no details discussed. Later, Trump opposed the sending of long-range missiles for Ukraine , but said he would not “abandon” Ukraine. He predicted “less aid” to Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-R7Gi-uLiY. BY 21st December, it was reported that Trump would continue to supply military aid to Ukraine, provided that NATO members dramatically increase their defence spending.
So, peace in Ukraine is not going to happen in such a hurry, even with President Trump and his supposed great negotiating skills. Britain considers sending troops to Ukraine to train Ukrainian regiments. NATO is not prepared for any compromises, especially about giving up the plan for Ukraine’s NATO membership. With any peace deal, the Western allies agree with Zelensky – “Security guarantees without the US are not sufficient for Ukraine.”
As well as European reluctance to a peace deal, there is the Russian point of view. Despite many set-backs, and a catastrophic loss of soldiers’ lives, Russia is now headed towards winning this war. Why make a deal now, before being in a more powerful position for demanding concessions?
Then we come to the USA. However much Donald Trump might want to end the carnage, and be seen as the peace hero, he is up against significant forces at home – making up what he calls the Deep State. This is a conspiracy theory that helped Trump to gain popularity – and I hate to agree with it, in its rather paranoid theme. BUT, war enthusiasts do exist – among the, military, intelligence, government officials, and wealthy industrialists, and they do exercise influence, and pressure politicians of both parties, to manipulate America’s defense policies. The war in Ukraine continues to be profitable to America’s weapons industries, and at no cost to American lives.
In the whole saga of the war in Ukraine, history has been forgotten. Of course Ukrainian-Russian relations have been tortuous and often terrible. In modern history it goes back to the 1930s, with Stalin’s starvation and genocide of Ukrainians. Then, following oppression from Russia, came in 1941, the short-lived moment of “liberation” by the German Nazis. That brought mass killings of Jews, slave labour, wholesale destruction, and the loss of up to 7 million lives. Russian control over Ukraine returned in 1944, and while the economy was restored, Stalin’s totalitarian rule was back again. In 1991 Ukraine gained independence from Russia.
Is it any wonder that Ukraine, with both Russian and Ukrainian languages still in common use, has been divided in attitudes and loyalties? Going even further back in history, Catherine the Great of Russia, in the 18th Century, made Kiev become Europe’s centre of art and culture, as well as making improvements in health, education, legal rights for Jews, improved conditions for serfs. Sure, she was an absolute monarch, – miles away from being democratic. Now her name and her statues are trashed in Kiev, which is a pity.
From 2014 to 2022, the Ukrainian government waged a war against the separatists in the Eastern, Donbass region. The war was about the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements which meant that the Donbass should have its autonomous government within Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky was elected on a platform that he would implement those agreements, but later he reneged on this promise. Russia’s President Putin in 2022 started what he called “a special military exercise” to support the separatists and uphold the Minsk agreement. That turned into the full-scale war against Ukraine.
European and USA support for Ukraine developed into a campaign, at enormous cost, to weaken Russia. The phrase “too big to fail” is used to describe financial crises. But it could apply to the Russia-Ukraine war. From the Western perspective the war is seen as a battle between good and evil – the evil giant Putin against the heroic little Zelensky. With NATO, with most European countries lined up against Russia, it is world democracy to be desperately defended, For Russia, it now is to prevent that last big nation on its border joining that threatening USA-armed line-up.
It was a mistake that Russia started a ‘special military enterprise’ -to evolve into a full-scale war. Some argue that by encouraging Zelensky to reneg on the Minsk agreement, the Western nations provoked the war.
Whatever started the war, the majority of Ukrainians, and especially those in the East, now just want it to end. The prevailing cry of Western leaders – “Putin must fail, Ukraine must prevail” expresses that simplistic view of good versus evil, and just ignores the complicated historic and local concerns of Eastern Ukraine. Diplomacy is jettisoned. As one writer puts it – voices calling for pragmatism and peace remain drowned out by the cacophony of war rhetoric.
Ultimately , every war ends in some sort of a diplomatic outcome. It is doubtful that Trump can make this one end quickly. It might be just one of the promises that he has to give up.
EU officials will claim ignorance of Israel’s war crimes. A leaked document shows what they knew.
Arthur Neslen, The Intercept, Mon, 23 Dec 2024
The internal EU document may strip European foreign ministers of “plausible deniability” in Israeli war crimes in Gaza, experts said.
European Union foreign ministers rebuffed a call to end arms sales to Israel last month, despite mounting evidence of war crimes — and, potentially, genocide — presented to them in an internal assessment obtained by The Intercept.
The contents of the previously unknown 35-page assessment could sway future war crimes trials of EU politicians for complicity in Israel’s assault against Gaza, according to lawyers, experts, and political leaders.
The appraisal was written by the EU’s special representative for human rights Olof Skoog and sent to EU ministers ahead of acouncil meetingonNovember 18, as part of a proposal by the head of the EU’s foreign policy to suspend political dialogue with Israel. The proposal was rejected by the council of foreign ministers from EU member states.
Skoog’s analysis laid out evidence from United Nations sources of war crimes by Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah since October 7, 2023, when around 1,200 people were killed during a Hamas-led attack that prompted Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. The U.N. estimates some 45,000 people have died in Gaza since, with more than half estimated to be women and children.
Though the assessment did not spare Hamas and Hezbollah, much of its strongest language was reserved for the Israel Defense Forces.
“War has rules,” the paper says. “
Given the high level of civilian casualties and human suffering, allegations focus mainly on how duty bearers, including the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), have seemingly failed to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects against the effects of the attacks, in violation of the fundamental principles of IHL” — international humanitarian law……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
In the wake of the assessment, some EU politicians will be at risk of complicity if Israel is found to have committed war crimes, said Tayab Ali, a partner in the U.K. law firm Bindmans, which recently took the British government to court over its arms exports to Israel.
“Lawyers across Europe are watching this closely and likely to initiate domestic and international accountability mechanisms. Economic interests are not a defence to complicity in war crimes,” Ali told The Intercept. “It is astounding that, following the contents of this report, countries like France and Germany might even remotely consider raising issues of immunity to protect wanted war criminals like Netahyahu and Gallant” — referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Diana Buttu, a former legal adviser and negotiator for the Palestinian Authority suggested that the rejection of the EU’s own analysis by its member states was political.
“Legally, we know where the dominoes should be falling,” Buttu said. “It was a question of whether the politics would match with the law, and unfortunately, they did not.”…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Skoog’s assessment says international law allows Israel “the right and indeed the duty to protect its population,” but that this can only be exercised in response to an armed attack or imminent attack and must be proportional. Because it is an occupying power, the assessment says, Israel also had an obligation to ensure safety and the health of those living under occupation.
Agnès Bertrand-Sanz, an Oxfam humanitarian expert, said the assessment “reinforces the case that EU governments have been acting in complicity with Israel’s crimes in Gaza.”
“Even when their own services presented them with the facts, they refused to act,” she said. “Those that continued exporting arms to Israel in defiance of the report’s clear advice, are involved in a blatant case of criminal collusion.” m https://www.sott.net/article/496948-EU-officials-will-claim-ignorance-of-Israels-war-crimes-A-leaked-document-shows-what-they-knew
Government urged to review Sizewell C nuclear plant over ballooning cost
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince, a Labour donor, has called for an urgent cost review of the Sizewell C nuclear power station and Net Zero Teesside carbon capture project.
By Jessica Mills Davies, Energy Voice, 30/12/2024,
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince has demanded a formal review of the Sizewell C nuclear power station, and a new carbon capture project, over concerns costs have “ballooned” by tens of billions of pounds.
He has written to David Goldstone, the chair of the Treasury’s new Office for Value for Money (OVfM), asking him to examine plans to develop a new nuclear power project in Suffolk that he warned “will saddle consumers with higher bills long before it delivers a single unit of electricity”.
“Due to a novel funding method (RAB) a lengthy construction timeline for Sizewell will saddle consumers with higher bills long before it delivers a single unit of electricity at a time when there is clear evidence that we can secure a cleaner, cheaper energy future without nuclear,” said the renewable energy entrepreneur, who has donated money to the Labour Party………………………………………………………………………………… https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/564942/government-urged-to-review-sizewell-c-nuclear-plant-over-ballooning-cost/
Some Types of Pollution Are More Equal than Others
There is a BIG taboo around Radioactive Pollution. We published a report last June into acid mine pollution alongside radioactive pollution in Whitehaven Harbour – so far ignored by mainstream media.
Marianne Birkby, Oct 20, 2024, https://radiationfreelakeland.substack.com/p/some-types-of-pollution-are-more?fbclid=IwY2xjawHh0f1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUnO_Vn81d2vI8K3TJv2FDpKMvMeozmDbga7z5mLwKNgZSE_7FT9wPa0pA_aem_5S_Vz4KQ2AgvtszsvnQJeQ
Whitehaven Mine Pollution
The Westmorland Gazette and other local press have today published a feel good article about beach cleans in Cumbria. So far so good but the beaches contain far more insidious and long lived pollution than plastic, in the form of radioactive wastes from decades of Sellafield’s operations.
In Whitehaven Harbour these radioactive wastes are literally magnified by the presence of the ongoing acid mine pollution pouring into the harbour. Instead of addressing this ongoing pollution event the local MP Josh MacAlister is greenwashing the ongoing devastation by bigging up Whitehaven as the West Coast Riviera and fizzingly pushing for a ferry service while boats are understandably leaving because of the visible acid mine pollution.
Less visible is the “historic” radioactive pollution still pouring out of Sellafield with more radioactive waste arriving almost daily.
………………………………….Dear Marine Conservation Society,
Thank you for highlighting pollution threats to our oceans.
We are a nuclear safety volunteer group in Cumbria increasingly worried about radioactive pollution alongside acid mine polllution flowing into Whitehaven harbour.
Our own investigations have found the highly radioactive isotope AM241 confirmed by a laboratory in the US at levels above 37 bq/kg. This is alongside the acid mine pollution with the presence of heavy metals which magnifies the impacts of radioactivity. Sellafield is funding a multi-million pound water sports centre encouraging people into the contaminated silt at Whitehaven and effectively greenwashing the ongoing pollution event.
Attached is our report and the report from Eberline Laboratory. The regulators and nuclear industry are brushing this pollution aside but clearly there is an ongoing issue that no-one is addressing.
What is the MSC position on this?
Marianne, Radiation Free Lakeland
Examining Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario.
Aileen Mejia explores the power of grassroots action, the flaws of nuclear deterrence, and the vital role of local movements in Scotland in shaping a world free from nuclear weapons
secure scotland, Dec 31, 2024
Annie Jacobsen’s chilling, well researched book
Nuclear War: A Scenario explores what a nuclear strike on the United States
may entail. By presenting a hypothetical, yet deeply plausible series of
events, Jacobsen explores the fragility of global security and the
devastating consequences of failing to prioritize de-escalation and
disarmament.
The book highlights issues that are extremely pertinent to the
grassroots groups in Scotland that relentlessly advocate for nuclear
disarmament and the application of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons, including Secure Scotland and the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (SCND), which are part of the International Campaign to Abolish
Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). https://substack.com/home/post/p-153802524
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