nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Japan will fully insure bank loans for costly UK nuclear projects!

Hitachi UK reactors to get full Japanese loan insurance https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Hitachi-UK-reactors-to-get-full-Japanese-loan-insurance, Lenders seek guarantees as nuclear projects face post-Fukushima cost overruns, 2 Sept 17,  TOKYO — Japan intends to fully insure bank loans for one of Hitachi‘s British nuclear plant projects in order to encourage domestic lenders to finance a particularly risky type of infrastructure export that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government seeks to promote.

 When Abe met with U.K. counterpart Theresa May here Thursday, the two leaders reaffirmed bilateral cooperation on nuclear plant construction. Japan’s support will include coverage for two reactors at the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear station in Wales — a rare example of loan insurance for a project in an advanced economy.

State-owned Nippon Export and Investment Insurance will write the loan insurance for reactors, which Hitachi will build through British arm Horizon Nuclear Power. The Japanese conglomerate, together with Tokyo and London, will conduct working-level talks to hash out a funding support framework, with the aim of breaking ground in 2019.

The project is estimated to cost over 2 trillion yen ($18.1 billion). Hitachi, the U.K. government and two state-backed entities — Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Development Bank of Japan — are expected to pick up part of the tab. But private-sector financing will also be needed to close the funding gap.

NEXI, which normally indemnifies private lenders for 90-95% of financing, will enter into talks with Japanese banks toward fully guaranteeing loans for the Wylfa project.

Nuclear project costs have tended to balloon since since Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster owing to increased safety precautions. Seeing a higher risk of debt default, Japanese megabanks Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Bank have sought full coverage by NEXI for any loans for nuclear plant development. Such insurance typically covers financing for projects in developing countries. NEXI is expected to impose conditions, such as a loan period of several decades, in return for an exception.

An accident or other troubles at the plant could expose BTMU and Mizuho to lawsuits from third parties because the banks would bear responsibility for financing the project. The two banks will decide on Wylfa financing based partly on discussions between Tokyo and London concerning damage compensation.

A default on the Wylfa loans would entail a taxpayer-funded repairs to the balance sheets of NEXI and JBIC. The loan insurance proposal is likely to spark a debate on whether promoting infrastructure exports in this way is worth the risk. The Abe government, for its part, will try to use the NEXI assurances to elicit more funding, public and private, from the British side.

With little prospect of constructing new reactors in Japan following the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, domestic builders have focused their business offshore. Chinese state-owned enterprises are undertaking more global infrastructure projects, emboldening those who argue that Japan will be left behind in the race for overseas orders unless the country takes risks. In 2015, the U.K. became the first developed nation to approve a Chinese-made reactor.

September 4, 2017 Posted by | Japan, marketing, politics, UK | Leave a comment

As USA and South Korea run mock bombing drill, Putin warns on futility of pressuring North Korea

Putin says putting pressure on North Korea is a ‘dead-end road’, By James Griffiths, CNN , 1 Sept 17 

Story highlights

  • US and South Korea conducted a mock bombing drill on the peninsula Thursday
  • North Korea described the exercise as a “rash act”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed into the North Korea crisis, warning the US and others against going down a “dead-end road” and calling for talks to resolve the issue.
“Russia believes that the policy of putting pressure on Pyongyang to stop its nuclear missile program is misguided and futile,” Putin said in an article released Thursday by the Kremlin, ahead of the BRICS summit in Xiamen, China.
“The region’s problems should only be settled through a direct dialogue of all the parties concerned without any preconditions. Provocations, pressure and militarist and insulting rhetoric are a dead-end road,” Putin said.
His comments were published hours after the US and South Korea conducted a mock bombing raid on the Korean Peninsula that was denounced by Pyongyang as a “rash act.”
Russia was a participant in the six-party talks, which took place in the mid-2000s in an attempt to get North Korea to abandon its then burgeoning nuclear program.
In his published comments, the Russian president said the situation on the Korean Peninsula was “balancing on the brink of a large-scale conflict.”

‘Rash act’

On Thursday, four US F-35B fighter jets joined two US B-1B bombers and four South Korean F-15 fighter jets in a joint US-South Korean drill, which simulated a surgical strike on key enemy facilities, over the Pilsung Range in the eastern province of Gangwon, South Korea.
In a statement, US Pacific Command said the flyover was a “direct response” to North Korea’s launch Tuesday of an intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan.
Pyongyang denounced the drill Thursday, with state news agency KCNA described as “wild military acts.”…….

War games

South Korea and the United States are currently engaged in joint military exercises, which kicked off last week.
At a news conference Thursday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying seemed to be referring to the largely simulated drills when she said the situation in the Korean Peninsula “is not like a movie script or computer game.”
The annual exercises always infuriate Pyongyang, and some have called for them to be called off or scaled back as a show of good faith that might bring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un back to the negotiating table…….

Show of force

In the wake of Tuesday’s missile launch, Pyongyang said it would stage future military operations directed at the American territory of Guam.
Guam has long been a focal point of North Korea’s anger against the US and is often a target of North Korean saber-rattling.
It was threatened specifically by North Korea in 2013 and again in August 2017, following a fiery exchange of threats and insults between Trump and the North Korean regime.
The small island in the Western Pacific is the closest US territory to North Korea and hosts two important US military installations.
One is Andersen Air Force Base, from which the US B-1B bombers flew Thursday. They were joined by F-35 fighters flying from a US Marines base in Iwakuni, Japan.
The F-35 stealth fighters would be a key part of any US pre-emptive strike on North Korea designed to neutralize the country’s defensive and counterstrike capabilities, Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told CNN earlier this month.
Corey Wallace, a security analyst at Freie University in Berlin, told CNN this week the use of the F-35s out of Japan showed the United States had various options for potentially striking North Korea.
“(Washington has) platforms from Guam and Japan linking up and operating together over South Korea with South Korean assets, with all of the governments supporting this,” he said.

CNN’s Taehoon Lee, Josh Berlinger, Karen Smith, Radina Gigova, Zachary Cohen and Brad Lendon contributed reporting.  http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/31/asia/putin-north-korea/index.html

September 2, 2017 Posted by | politics international, Russia, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

France urges dialogue with North Korea

NORTH KOREA MISSILES COULD HIT U.S., EUROPE ‘WITHIN MONTHS’ IN NUCLEAR STRIKE, FRANCE SAYS, NewsWeek, BY JOSH LOWE ON 9/1/17 North Korea could have the ability to strike the U.S. and Europe with nuclear weapons within months, France’s foreign minister has warned.

Jean-Yves le Drian, in charge of foreign affairs in President Emmanuel Macron’s government, said that following a string of missile tests by Pyongyang and increasingly bellicose rhetoric, “We see a North Korea whose objective is to have missiles capable of transporting a nuclear weapon tomorrow,” according to Agence France-Presse.

The situation, le Drian said, is “extremely serious.” He urged North Korea to open new dialogue with other states in an attempt to defuse tensions and prevent nuclear conflict…..

China and Russia have both urged calm from all sides and suggested that U.S. military drills in the region may be provoking North Korea. The two countries have proposed that diplomatic talks resume, while missile tests in North Korea and joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea both be put on pause.

The U.N. Security Council has denounced Pyongyang’s latest tests and called for an end to its missile program.

Macron has previously warned against an “escalation” of tensions between the rogue state and its opponents.

In a statement, Macron expressed “concern at the ballistic and nuclear threat coming from North Korea,” saying the international community had to try to get Pyongyang to “resume the path of dialogue without conditions.” http://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-missiles-strike-us-europe-france-months-658311

September 2, 2017 Posted by | France, politics international | Leave a comment

A WW2 unexploded bomb found near to Hinkley nuclear station – for the 3rd time!

Third WWII bomb found in Bristol Channel near Hinkley Point, Guardian 30th Aug 2017  Half-mile exclusion zone set up near nuclear plants after third unexploded device discovered in as many weeks

A half-mile (1km) exclusion zone has been set up in the Bristol Channel near the Hinkley Point nuclear power stations after a third unexploded second world war bomb was discovered in as many weeks.

Bomb disposal experts will carry out a controlled explosion on the 250lb (113kg) ordnance on Wednesday, two miles north-west of the power plants. HM Coastguard has set up an exclusion zone around the unexploded device and warned ships to avoid the area.

The bomb was reported in the early hours of Wednesday by a diving team from the Hinkley Point plant. They were clearing the seabed for intake and outtake pipes for cooling water for the reactors on the Hinkley Point C plant.

It is the third suspected second world war bomb to be found in the Bristol Channel in the past three weeks. An EDF source conceded that divers could find more unexploded ordnance before the exercise to clear the area was completed, as the channel was used as a former army training range. The project to clear the seabed is expected to take several more weeks.   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/30/third-wwii-bomb-bristol-channel-near-hinkley-point-nuclear

September 1, 2017 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Iodine tablets for German communities near Belgian nuclear reactor

German region to hand out iodine over Belgium nuclear fears, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/german-region-to-hand-out-iodine-over-belgium-nuclear-fears/2017/08/31/2ff1bdd0-8e4c-11e7-9c53-6a169beb0953_story.html?utm_term=.b575ae8357bb  By Associated Press August 31  BERLIN — A German border region is preparing to hand out potassium iodide tablets to residents who want them in case of an accident at a nuclear power plant in Belgium that has caused friction between the two countries.

Local officials in the Aachen area received permission from the regional government to distribute the tablets as a precaution amid longstanding concerns in Germany over the safety of the Tihange plant, less than 70 kilometers (43 miles) away. They’re meant to prevent thyroid cancer in case of radioactive contamination.

From Friday through Nov. 15, people under 46 can apply online for a coupon for the iodine tablets, which they can pick up free at pharmacies.

Germany plans to switch off all its nuclear reactors by 2022 and already has shut its oldest plants.

September 1, 2017 Posted by | Germany, safety | Leave a comment

Russia marketing nuclear power to Bangladesh – will take back the wastes

Don’t you think that there’s something surreal about the idea of nuclear reactors in Bangladesh? the whole place is likely to be under water before too long – nuclear reactors and all!

 

Russia officially agrees to take back nuke plant wastes, Dhaka Tribune, Aminur Rahman Rasel August 30, 2017 Russia will take back the spent fuel from Bangladesh territory for reprocessing, recycling and management

Bangladesh has signed an agreement with Russia to return the spent nuclear fuel from Rooppur nuclear power plant, which is being built with Russian assistance.

Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman and Alexey Likhachev, director general of Rosatom, Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, signed the agreement in Moscow on Wednesday.

Earlier on March 15, the two countries had approved a draft of the agreement on spent fuel management of the project after a bilateral meeting in Dhaka.

According to the agreement, Russia will take back the spent fuel from Bangladesh territory for reprocessing, recycling and management, confirmed Science and Technology Ministry’s Information Officer Md Kamrul Islam Bhuiyan.

From the outset of the project, Bangladesh has been keen to return nuclear waste to Russia, he added…..http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/power-energy/2017/08/30/russia-officially-agrees-take-back-nuke-plant-wastes/

September 1, 2017 Posted by | ASIA, marketing, Russia | Leave a comment

A historic chimney is set for demolition at Sellafield.

A historic chimney is set for demolition at Sellafield. The Primary
Separation Plant Chimney Stack was built in the 1950s to provide
ventilation for surrounding buildings.

It is now one of the biggest risks at Sellafield because it does not meet modern safety standards. Demolishing
a 61-metre chimney in the middle of Europe’s most complex, congested
nuclear site is a challenge. Explosives are not an option and there is no
space for a crane so engineers have spent the last seven months getting a
self-climbing platform to the top of the chimney metre by metre so they can
begin demolition.

Demolishing this chimney will cost more than £60m. The
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which oversees Sellafield says the
complexity of this one project demonstrates why cleaning up this site is so
expensive. £2bn was spent at Sellafield last year alone.  http://www.itv.com/news/border/2017-08-29/historic-sellafield-chimney-ready-for-demolition/

September 1, 2017 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK | Leave a comment

Climate change threats to Scotland

THE Sunday Herald can today reveal the true extent of the threat posed to
Scotland by climate change. Major parts of Scotland’s vital infrastructure
are under threat from coastal erosion and flooding, according to the latest
government assessments of the dangers of climate change.

Thousands of homesand businesses and long stretches of roads and railway lines are also at
risk. So are power stations, wind farms, sewers, bridges, and farmland, as
well as many other crucial facilities and even golf courses. Seabirds, fish
and plants are endangered, as well as butterflies, food crops and peat
bogs.

Scotland can expect more rain, more droughts, more storms, more wild
fires, more landslides, more pests and more diseases – and snow is
disappearing from the mountains. As evidence mounts of the multiple risks
climate change poses to people and wildlife, 2017 is predicted to be
another record hot year. And one of Scotland’s leading climate experts is
warning that the world is facing the catastrophe of “runaway” climate
change because of the impact of pollution and the damage it is doing to
nature.

A study for the Scottish Government warned that the rate of coastal
erosion around Scotland has doubled since the 1970s. Researchers identified
30,000 buildings, 1,300 kilometres of roads and 100 kilometres of railway
lines “close to potentially erodible coasts”. The report predicted that
mean summertime temperatures in Scotland would rise by up to 4.5 degrees
centigrade by the 2050s, while winter rain could increase by up to 30 per
cent. The sea level around Edinburgh is expected to rise by between 20 and
40 centimetres by 2090. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15497924.Revealed__climate_change_and_the_terrifying_risk_to_Scotland/

August 31, 2017 Posted by | climate change, UK | Leave a comment

Debunking some of the myths around thorium

An experiment on the thorium reactor with molten salts and some myths about thorium reactors, Actualité Houssenia Writing , by: Jacqueline Charpentier, August 26, 2017  An experiment in the Netherlands will test the design of a thorium reactor with molten salts. Beyond the announcement, we take advantage to debunk some myths around the thorium reactor.”………

Myths about the thorium reactor

Since uranium has a very bad reputation, there have been a lot of myths circulating on the thorium reactor:

1 Some have argued that thorium might be so interesting that it would surpass nuclear fusion Its promises by cons). We used information from the Whatisnuclear site whose authors are mainly engineers and nuclear physicists to clarify the myths around thorium.

2 This is deceptive. The thorium reactor can make bombs and this is not what motivated its cancellation at the beginning of the development of nuclear reactors. The conclusion at the time was that even if the thorium reactor could be cheaper, its performance over the long term is unknown.

In addition, the industry had already invested heavily on light water reactors, very high temperature reactors and the fast liquid metal reactor. The industry was also reluctant to create services for the fuel cycle and research in nuclear physics had focused heavily on solid fuel reactors. Basically, the world had invested too much in the uranium reactors, throwing it all into the trash and choosing thorium, because it was not worth it.

Thorium reactors do not require enrichment It is a misunderstanding of the concept of a reactor with a fast breeder, whether based on thorium or uranium. The principle of this type of reactor is that they will breed as they go. They will produce fissile material equal to or greater than their initial consumption, which will provide an abundance of energy over the long term. So we can say that this is not a true myth, but the lack of enrichment is valid for all types of breeder reactors. That’s why we invented them. However, the thorium reactor can use thermal breeding. This means that much fewer fissile materials are needed initially than a fast breeder reactor. But the fast reactor with liquid metal can do the same thing and therefore, it is not exclusive to thorium.

“The thorium reactor can not produce nuclear bombs”

This is probably the myth that comes up most often. And that’s not true. The thorium reactor operates by regenerating Thorium-232 through Protactinium-233 which produces uranium-233. And uranium-233 is fissile. The process is more difficult, but it is theoretically possible. However, another common myth is that you can have a bomb as soon as you have a civilian nuclear reactor.

Obtaining a fuel for a bomb is so complicated in any civilian nuclear reactor that it is almost impossible. But since the proliferation of bombs is a serious problem, we will still use the precautionary principle. But whether it is for a uranium or thorium reactor, a bomb is always possible … in theory.

 There is more thorium than uranium on Earth

That’s true, but you have to qualify. The mean concentration of thorium in the earth’s crust is 0.00060% compared to 0.00018%. But we also have thorium and uranium in the ocean. For a percentage by mass, there is 4 × 10-12% thorium compared to 3.3 × 10-7% uranium. In figures, this gives us 56,000 tons of thorium and 4.62 billion tons of uranium. However, the exploitation of uranium at sea costs 4 times more expensive and therefore it is not economically viable. Therefore, this myth is true if one relies solely on concentration in the earth’s crust.

But the distribution of deposits must be taken into account. India has no exploitable uranium deposits, but it is sitting on tons of thorium. China has 50% of thorium compared to uranium. So yes, the thorium reactor is very interesting for these countries because they do not need to go and get uranium on the other side of the world by corrupting local governments in passing.
 
“The waste from the Thorium reactor lasts only a few centuries”

We also hear this myth. Compared to the uranium degradation cycle over thousands of years, waste from the thorium reactor would last only a few centuries. It is true that the thorium reactor produces only a few transuranic elements. Transuranic elements such as Neptunium, Plutonium, Americium and Curium are the most dangerous nuclides in a period of 10,000 years. The problem is that uranium reactors such as fast neutron reactors also produce few transuranic elements. So yes, the thorium reactor produces less harmful waste in the long term, but it is not the only one.

Attention is not neglected to the interest of the thorium reactor, but it is not the ideal solution proposed to us by some players in the industry. For some countries such as China and India, thorium could be a real alternative, because they have a large amount in front of their doorstep, but globally it is more complicated.

And if one day the uranium mining at sea becomes economically viable, then thorium is likely to take a big hit because of the colossal amount of uranium in the ocean compared to thorium.

August 31, 2017 Posted by | France, thorium | Leave a comment

UK’s Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) upgrading Trident nuclear warhead to make it even more destructive

UK Running ‘Secret’ Program to Develop Nuclear Weapons https://sputniknews.com/europe/201606071040916158-uk-trident-nuclear-proliferation/

A new report claims Britain’s Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is ‘secretly’ working on a program to upgrade the current UK Trident warhead to give it more destructive power, despite the country’s long-term commitment to reduce nuclear proliferation.

According to the Nuclear Information Service (NIS) — an independent body which works to promote public awareness and foster debate on nuclear disarmament — AWE is currently working on a program to upgrade the current UK Trident warhead to the ‘Mark 4A’ modified warhead, which will have increased accuracy and destructive power and an extended lifetime.

Parliament has never been formally notified of the Mark 4A modification program and the costs and timetable for the program have never been disclosed. Nevertheless, the policy of successive UK governments has been to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, so it is incontrovertible that at some point in the future nuclear weapons production and maintenance at AWE must cease,” ​its latest report says. Transparency?

In May 2010, the government announced that it would reduce the overall size of the UK’s nuclear weapons stockpile to 225.

A government statement, updated in May 2015, stated: “Following a further review, in October 2010 the Prime Minister announced that by the mid-2020s the overall size of the UK nuclear weapons stockpile will reduce to no more than 180 warheads.

No more than 120 will be operationallyavailable.”

However, critics say that a reduction in the number of warheads, but with increased “destructive power,” is hardly in the spirit of non-nuclear proliferation.

Parliament should debate whether to replace the UK Trident warhead, given the questions over its necessity, cost, proliferation implications, and impact on the UK’s nuclear disarmament obligations,” the NIS report says.

Professor Martin Rees (Lord Rees of Ludlow), Astronomer Royal and a former President of the Royal Society, in the foreword to the report says:

“[There is] a need for AWE, a highly expensive institution, to be more politically accountable and more transparent. Parallel US institutions like Los Alamos are in a less ‘closed’ world; to a greater extent than at AWE their staff attend mainstream scientific conferences and contribute research on non-classified topics.”

​According to the report, the program involves close collaboration with the US nuclear weapons laboratories through a joint US/UK Joint Re-entry System Working Group, and key components for the modified warhead are purchased from the US.

August 28, 2017 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Russia’s Rosatom buying into the wind energy business in India, as well as in Netherlands

Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp. is exploring an investment in Inox Group’s wind turbine manufacturing business, said two people aware of the development. The Russian government company’s interest in
India’s second largest wind-turbine maker by market share stems from its strategy to gain control over the supply chain, which in turn will help towards reining in costs and offer competitive tariffs in the country’s wind power space.

“Rosatom is exploring this investment given its interest in the Indian wind energy space. It is trying to build a
manufacturing presence. Through its unit JSC OTEK, it already has a partnership with the Netherlands’ wind turbine maker Lagerwey Wind BV,” said a person aware of the development, requesting anonymity.
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/3oXjwYjcSSF7WWiGh0MScN/Russias-Rosatom-eyes-Inoxs-wind-turbine-manufacturing-busi.html

August 26, 2017 Posted by | renewable, Russia | Leave a comment

As USA and South Korea hold military exercises on Korean peninsula, Russia flies nuclear bombers around the peninsula

Russian nuclear bombers fly near North Korea in rare show of force, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-southkorea-bombers-idUSKCN1B40MP, Andrew Osborn, 25 Aug 17,  Moscow, Reuters, Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers have flown a rare mission around the Korean Peninsula at the same time as the United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises that have infuriated Pyongyang.

Russia, which has said it is strongly against any unilateral U.S. military action on the peninsula, said Tupolev-95MS bombers, code named “Bears” by NATO, had flown over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, prompting Japan and Seoul to scramble jets to escort them.

The flight, which also included planes with advanced intelligence gathering capabilities, was over international waters and was announced by the Russian Defence Ministry on the same day as Moscow complained about the U.S.-South Korean war games.

“The US and South Korea holding yet more large-scale military and naval exercises does not help reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told a news briefing in Moscow.

“We urge all sides to exercise maximum caution. Given the arms build-up in the region, any rash move or even an unintended incident could spark a military conflict.”

August 25, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, Russia, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Oh My God! Climate Change is messing up our wine supply!

Climate change is real. Maybe once it comes for our vino, more people will get on board with trying to slow it.

Climate change is about to mess with your wine supply, so yes, things are very serious http://hellogiggles.com/climate-change-is-about-to-mess-with-your-wine-supply/Karen Fratti August 24, 2017 Most of us know that climate change is an ongoing problem, but it can be hard to see the direct effects of it in our daily lives. Unless you study the populations of animals that are suffering due to it or are a farmer, the change is definitely incremental enough to ignore. But climate change is already affecting wine production, so maybe more people will notice what is going on a little sooner than expected. Because whether you can experience the effects of climate change or not, it’s happening.

European wine crops are suffering under climate change.Which means it’s going to be harder — and more expensive — to order an oaky Tuscan red or sparkly Champagne very, very soon. Because of warming temperatures, more and more crops of grapes are suffering. There’s just not enough of a harvest since the plants die before they’re able to pull water from underground during a climate change-induced drought. Producers are picking the grapes earlier, which inevitably changes the taste and quality of the wine. Winemaker Michele Reverdito, an Italian winemaker,  told The New York Times, “Nebbiolo [the grape used to make barolo] means ‘the wine of the fog’ because you picked the grapes in November. Now we pick in September! The world is changing.”

European winemakers are worried for a few reasons. The least serious is that if all of the studies on climate change are true, they’re going to have to start cultivating grapes that are meant for hotter temperatures. Which means that the old school wines that they’re so proud of in certain regions will have to be changed. Imagine a Bordeaux, France without a cabernet franc! Or if Champagne, France is no longer the capitol of sparkly wine?

This is all an issue if you’re really concerned about heritage. But it’s not just about “never changing.” Because of this year’s drought, production of Piemontese franciacorta (which is just an Italian version of champagne, really) will be down 15 percent. That means fewer profits for the small wine producers and families who depend on their business as a primary source of income. And it means less imported wine on our shelves, and higher price tags when it is in stock.

This is not good on so many levels. Obviously, there are far more important and severe reasons to pay attention to climate change than what kind of wine we prefer to drink. But there are tons of economic consequences, too, like small European winemakers going out of business. Climate change is real. Maybe once it comes for our vino, more people will get on board with trying to slow it.

August 25, 2017 Posted by | climate change, EUROPE | Leave a comment

UK Royal Navy detonates the second bomb found in the sea near Hinkley Point.

 West Somerset Free Press 22nd Aug 2017, A ROYAL Navy bomb squad was in action for the second time in eight days last Wednesday as it detonated another bomb found in the sea near Hinkley
Point. The 250lb Second World War device, discovered by divers checking the
seabed before the construction of cooling water tunnels for the power
station, was half the size of the bomb that Navy experts successfully
detonated on August 8, as reported in last week’s Free Press. As before,
the bomb was ringed by a one kilometre exclusion zone and the area was
off-limits for shipping for 24 hours. http://www.wsfp.co.uk/article.cfm?id=108283&headline=Second%20bomb%20found%20near%20Hinkley§ionIs=news&searchyear=2017

August 25, 2017 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

 German Social Democrat candidate for chancellor wants US nuclear arms removed from Germany

US nuclear arms should be removed from Germany – chancellor candidate, Rt. 23 Aug, 2017 German Social Democrat candidate for chancellor Martin Schulz says he will push for US nuclear weapons to be removed from Germany, calling for an end to the “armament spiral” pushed by US President Donald Trump.

“As German Chancellor… I will champion for the withdrawal of the nuclear weapons stationed in Germany,” the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) said in Trier, addressing a campaign rally on Tuesday.

About 20 US nuclear warheads are currently stationed at a military base in Buechel, Germany, DPA news agency reported, citing unofficial estimates. The SPD leader also made it clear that, unlike Angela Merkel, he is strongly opposed to President Trump’s demands for NATO members to increase their defense spending.

“Trump wants nuclear armament. We reject it,” Schulz said, adding that his position also applies to the North Korea crisis.

“More than ever, the North Korean conflict signals the need for arms limitation, especially [need for] nuclear disarmament.”….

Schulz says the money would be better used for other purposes, like schools. “It cannot be that Federal Republic of Germany looks without any comment or action at how the armament spiral, which is wanted by Trump, continues to develop.”

In an opinion piece last week, German Foreign Minister and SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel slammed Trump’s calls for NATO members to meet the defense spending target of two percent of GDP, accusing Merkel of following Trump’s “dictate” and essentially “kneeling” to the US leader.

“We must free ourselves from the devilish logic saying that security is to be reached through armament,” Gabriel said…..

Strong opposition to Trump’s armament plans also came from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker earlier this year. “I am very much against letting ourselves be pushed into this,”he said……https://www.rt.com/news/400656-schulz-germany-us-nuclear/#.WZ3nUOZRYVQ.facebook

August 25, 2017 Posted by | Germany, politics, weapons and war | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »