Crucial need to fix air-conditioning: it causes billions of tons of greenhouse gases
We Essentially Cook Ourselves’ if We Don’t Fix Air Conditioning, Major UN Report Warns, Gizmodo, Dharna Noor, July 18, 2020 A new United Nations report shows why it’s crucial to clean up air conditioning. In fact, the authors found that switching over to energy-efficient and climate-friendly air conditioning units could save the world up to 460 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the course of the next 40 years. For context, that’s roughly eight times the amount of greenhouse gases the entire world emitted in 2018.
“If we deal with cooling wrong, we essentially cook ourselves,” Gabrielle Dreyfus, the cool efficiency program manager at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, said on a press call.
Cooling technology plays many important roles in our global society. The report estimates that worldwide, 3.6 billion cooling appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioning units, are in use. As the climate crisis warms the planet, access to air conditioning will become all the more important. In the U.S., more people die from heat each year than any other form of extreme weather. The report shows that if cooling units were provided to everybody who needs them — not just those who can afford them — the world would need up to 14 billion units by 2050. But the way they’re made right now, air conditioners are emitting tons of greenhouse gases that heat up the planet.
In the 1980s, scientists around the world realised that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — the chemicals used as refrigerants for air conditioners, aerosol sprays, refrigerators, freezers — were depleting the Earth’s ozone layer, which blocks the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. To remedy that, in 1987, governments got together to pass an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol, under which they pledged to stop using the harmful refrigerants.
For the most part, air conditioner producers aren’t using CFCs anymore. The problem is, they’ve replaced them with industrial chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that warm the planet up to 11,700 times more than carbon dioxide. That means air conditioning could make climate change much, much worse, forcing more people to turn to air conditioning, and creating an unfortunate feedback loop unless world leaders help break the cycle.
Last year, governments adopted the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, under which they agreed to phase out the use of HFCs. Doing so could avoid as much as 0.4 degrees Celsius of global warming if it were adopted universally. As of this week, that amendment has been ratified by 100 countries. But 95 countries around the world still haven’t signed onto the amendment, including major greenhouse gas emitters like the U.S., India and China.
We have the technology to make air conditioners work way more efficiently by switching to more sustainable chemical refrigerants that not only reduce HFCs but carbon dioxide and black carbon emissions and require less energy. The report estimates that doubling the efficiency of air conditioners by 2050 could save us the use of 1,300 gigawatts of electricity around the world. That’s the equivalent of all the coal-fired power generation capacity in 2018 in China and India combined……… https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/07/we-essentially-cook-ourselves-if-we-dont-fix-air-conditioning-major-un-report-warns/
Guilty plea by former SCANA executive – who will be a valuable witness to prosecutors in South Carolina nuclear scandal
  Former SCANA executive pleads guilty to fraud charges tied to failed SC nuclear project, Post and Courier By Andrew Brown and Avery G. Wilks abrown@postandcourier.com; awilks@postandcourier.com, Jul 23, 2020 COLUMBIA — Federal prosecutors locked in a valuable witness Thursday who will give them insights and advantages as they continue to bring charges against the leaders of a failed $9 billion nuclear expansion project in South Carolina.
Steve Byrne, the former vice president of Cayce-based SCANA Corp., pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding electric customers and lying about construction progress as the company tried to build two nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County. The guilty plea requires Byrne, 60, to cooperate with federal prosecutors who have spent three years investigating the project’s sudden abandonment in July 2017. The construction failure cost South Carolina electric ratepayers billions of dollars in higher power bills. SCANA’s shareholders also suffered huge losses when the company’s stock value tanked. The company was ultimately sold at a bargain price to Virginia-based Dominion Energy. On Thursday, Byrne admitted to falsely telling regulators, investors and the public the project was on track in order to win rate hikes on customers and keep the venture going while failing to raise alarms about critical flaws that were dooming the expansion effort. By pleading guilty, Byrne is hoping to avoid a stiffer sentence. The fraud charges he pleaded to can still carry up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release afterward. He could also be required to forfeit up to $1 million in pay and bonuses tied to his performance when he oversaw the V.C. Summer venture. For now, Byrne will remain out of jail. A federal magistrate released him on $25,000 bail and required Byrne, who owns a home on the Isle of Palms, to surrender his passport. He will need permission from federal parole officials to leave the state for consulting work or special occasions. U.S. Magistrate Judge Shiva Hodges said she was providing leniency because it could take years for a judge to issue Byrne’s sentence, which will come at the end of a federal investigation targeting other SCANA officials……. Byrne will have more to say as the V.C. Summer investigation progresses. SCANA’s former No. 2 official is expected to be a star witness in future trials or grand jury proceedings involving other officials who oversaw the project. |
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Opposition to nuclear testing is led by Utah’s present and former Congressmen
Former and current Utah Congressmen: Say no to nuclear testing, KSL News Radio, BY CURT GRESSETH
JULY 23, 2020 SALT LAKE CITY — The US Senate is ready to restart nuclear weapons testing, but both a current and a former Utah congressman say the testing is still not safe.
The House recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act along with an amendment by Utah Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams that would block funding to restart nuclear weapons testing in the United States.
McAdams’ amendment was adopted along a mostly party-line vote of 227-179.
The Senate version of the NDAA includes $10 million to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 1992.
Nuclear testing
“Explosive nuclear testing causes irreparable harm to human health and to our environment, and jeopardizes the U.S. leadership role on nuclear nonproliferation,” McAdams said Monday in the House.
McAdams joined Lee Lonsberry on Live Mic to discuss his amendment on blocking funding for nuclear testing.
“Utah has been devastated from nuclear weapons testing for decades. The federal government lied to us. They told us it was safe, that there would be no harm that would come from this testing. Then so many people across our state developed cancer and other issues related to that testing, so we were lied to for years by our federal government,” McAdams said. ……..
Former Utah Rep. Jim Matheson
Former Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, also a Democrat, lost his father, former Utah Gov. Scott Matheson, to cancer blamed on living downwind from the Nevada Test Site where atomic tests were conducted in the 1950 and 1960s.
“This is an issue that obviously affected my family in a significant way — my extended family, let alone my own father, who was a Downwinder,” Matheson said.
While serving in Congress, Matheson said his efforts on nuclear weapons testing were focused on whether it was safe to conduct weapons tests. He said he introduced legislation that said the testing couldn’t move forward without the equivalent of an environmental impact statement to assess all the risks and prove that it’s safe to test.
“The folks who were trying to move ahead with testing didn’t like that idea at all,” Matheson said. “It wasn’t safe when it was above ground and it wasn’t safe when it was below ground. It’s still not safe today.”
Cause for alarm
“Technology has not advanced to the point where you can be satisfied with the assertions of these testers, essentially that tests of this nature are safe,” Lee said.
“Absolutely not,” Matheson replied. “They have no justification for even saying that.”
If proponents wish to proceed, the former congressman called for a transparent, public process to assess all the risks of nuclear weapons testing.
“The facts will speak for themselves,” he said.
He said the $10 million appropriation in the Senate NDAA bill to start preparing sites for testing “should be a cause for alarm for all of us.”
“My gosh, we had the government lie to us here in Utah way back when. They told us it was safe. They knew it wasn’t,” he said.
Matheson said the government only did the testing when the wind blew the fallout in the least populated direction, which was southern Utah. He added that declassified documents referred to people living in southern Utah as a low-use segment of the nation’s population.
“Technology has not changed. Fallout is fallout. Wherever the wind blows it, it will pose a threat to all those who encounter it,” Lee said. https://kslnewsradio.com/1929771/former-and-current-utah-congressmen-say-no-to-nuclear-testing/
Environmentalists, political groups, companies demand that Facebook crack down on climate denialism
Everybody’s entitled to their opinion – but not their own facts’: The spread of climate denial on Facebook
‘The arguments are that people can’t trust scientists, models, climate data. It’s all about building doubt and undermining public trust in climate science’ Independent, Louise Boyle, New York @LouiseB_NY, 24 July, 20.
“………The pushbackOn 1 July, a coalition of environmental and political groups sent a letter to Facebook’s oversight board demanding a crackdown on climate denial and to close the “giant” opinion loophole that allows climate misinformation to be posted as an opinion. “Facebook is allowing the spread of climate misinformation to flourish, unchecked, across the globe. Instead of heeding the advice of independent scientists and approved fact-checkers from Climate Feedback, Facebook sided with fossil fuel lobbyists by allowing the CO2 Coalition to take advantage of a giant loophole for “opinion” content. The loophole has allowed climate denial to fester by labelling it “opinion,” and thus, avoiding the platform’s fact-checking processes,” they wrote. More than 500 companies including Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts, Verizon, and this week Disney, according to WSJ, have slashed or suspended ad spends on Facebook as part of the “Stop Hate for Profit” boycott, a move by civil rights groups to try to force the social media giant to address hate speech and misinformation. An independent audit of Facebook earlier this month reached harsh conclusions on the social media giant, reporting that it was allowing hate speech and disinformation to proliferate. Separately, Generation Progress, the youth-centered research and advocacy group, on Thursday launched a “Get The Facts Out Campaign” website aimed at debunking myths on the climate crisis and calling out climate deniers across Congress and the Trump administration, with a focus on the interwoven issues of climate and racial justice. “Black Americans have been fighting for clean air and water in their communities for years. Our legislators must understand the importance of addressing these inequities, not deny their existence,” the group said. And earlier this month, two senators introduced legislation to reform Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, Reuters reported. The legislation, titled the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act, or PACT, from Democratic Senator Brian Schatz and Senate Republican John Thune, aims to provide more accountability and transparency for large tech platforms with respect to content moderation decisions……… Climate experts were sceptical of tech platforms’ ability, or desire, to enact meaningful change, and said that public action was key. For Dr Mann that means political overhaul. “Americans must vote in a Democratic president and Congress in the next US election. Unlike Trump and Congressional Republicans, who appear beholden to both Russia and fossil fuel interests, will be willing to crack down on Zuckerberg/Facebook’s nefarious activities,” he said. Dr Cook is working with machine-learning researchers on a system to detect and categorise climate misinformation in real-time. He acknowledged that social media platforms would have to be incentivised to use such a model, as it “would basically be taking money out of their pockets” in terms of ad revenue. Just as important, he says, is “building public resilience against misinformation” – teaching people how to spot misleading or rhetorical techniques and logical fallacies in climate denial arguments. “We found that when you explain techniques, that not only neutralises and inoculates people against that myth, but also against other topics like the tobacco industry and anti-vaxxer misinformation,” he said. Dr Cook and his team have created a smart-phone app for public use and for schools. He added: ”We need to look at technological solutions but ultimately we need to make ourselves un-hackable.” Additional reporting from Reuters https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-crisis-denial-facebook-global-warming-denier-social-media-a9595546.html |
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SEPTEMBER 3 & 4 – NEW SENTENCING DATES FOR KINGS BAY PLOWSHARES 7
We are still urging people to write to Judge Wood not so much to ask for leniency but for justice and not a death sentence. Details are on the website: https://kingsbayplowshares7.org/2020/05/letters-to-judge-wood/
UK public has been misled over plans for nuclear reactors in Essex
Mersea Island Environmental Alliance 22nd July 2020, Mersea Island Environmental Alliance have been investigating discrepancies between the National Policy Statement for Bradwell in Essex and what is ‘proposed’ by CGN/EDF in their Consultation document. CGN/EDF Consultationproposal is for two reactors and in that document, they state that:
“Parts of the Project which are not likely to be influenced by the
consultation include:
station on land adjacent to the existing Bradwell power station (as a
matter of Government policy)…and…Technical details including the
proposed deployment of two reactors”.
Alliance working with The Environmental Law Foundation sought legal
opinion. This is the Barrister’s opinion having reviewed the Consultation
document: “Arguably this is highly misleading as the National Policy
Statement does not set out government policy support for a two-reactor
station, which was not assessed as part of the NPS. Consultees (the public
included) may not be aware that they are entitled to make representations
on this.
alternative option, and consultees should be made aware that they are
entitled to comment on this: see R. (Moseley) v LB Haringey [2014] UKSC 56.
Section 104(3) of the Planning Act 2008 states: “The Secretary of State
must decide the application in accordance with any relevant national policy
statement, except to the extent that one or more of subsections (4) to (8)
applies.”
process of preparing a new NPS for nuclear power). This states at paragraph
4.1.1 that Bradwell is a site “that the Government has determined are
potentially suitable for the deployment of new nuclear power stations in
England and Wales before the end of 2025”
engage in a mockery of a consultation held at the peak of the Pandemic. To
make matters worse Government are clearly aware of the CGN/EDF remit. The
public have been deliberately mislead! The site selection process for one
reactor and the NPS are being ignored both by the developer and Government.
The public are illegally excluded from comment on the two-reactor proposal.
The latter exclusion courtesy of CGN/EDF who are just the contractor! The
intriguing side to this is how despite the initial enthusiasm from my media
contacts over the developing story it hits the buffers of the editorial
desks and goes no further.
https://www.facebook.com/Stop-Nuclear-Dumping-In-Blackwater-Estuary-1473134316325437
Virtual tours planned at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
Virtual tours planned at atomic bomb museums, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200721_43/?fbclid=IwAR2KZ-D8gWm-K1Yl8WVBDpUyobELxvI6Hm-DiWxtZYPBmyS8mo9BOneLd2E 21 Jul 20, Two Japanese museums dedicated to documenting the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki plan to offer virtual tours online in cooperation with an international NGO devoted to the elimination of nuclear weapons.They are planning the events as the number of international visitors to these museums has dropped sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kawasaki Akira, a member from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, unveiled the plan online on Monday.
The exhibits at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum will be shown live on Instagram. Volunteers and researchers from universities will explain the displays in English.
The Hiroshima museum will hold the virtual tour on Wednesday for about 30 minutes after closing time, between 6:30 p.m. and 7p.m. Japan time.
The Nagasaki museum will hold it on Friday for about 30 minutes before opening time, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Japan time.
Kawasaki said his group and the museums want to do everything possible online as various activities have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said he wants to offer young people abroad an opportunity to find out about the damage and aftereffects of the atomic bombings of the two cities.
Problems in planned nuclear waste dump at Chalk River
New nuclear waste guidelines could lead to ‘massive dump’ upstream from Ottawa if approved, CapitalCurrent , By Bailey Moreton, 23 July 20,
New nuclear waste guidelines set to undergo public consultation this fall could clear the way for a much-debated, large, above-ground waste disposal mound to be built at Chalk River, the national nuclear research facility 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.
The proposed guidelines would frame the way nuclear companies dispose of waste, including the creation of deep ground repositories. Under the guidelines, companies would present waste disposal safety cases — a set of justifications for a planned disposal strategy — which are then assessed by the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission.
But one longtime critic of the Chalk River site says the guidelines would give too much flexibility to operators of nuclear facilities. Ole Hendrickson, a former scientist with Environment Canada and a researcher with the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County Area, says the guidelines need to be more stringent.
“In my view, what they say is, ‘Let’s make these reg docs as flexible as possible and non-prescriptive’ — and the CNSC actually uses those terms, non-prescriptive and flexible, to describe its regulatory approach,” he said. “That may work for industry, but for us members of the public, it raises a lot of concerns.”
In the minutes of a CNSC meeting on June 18, Ramzi Jammal, executive vice-president of the commission, said the safety cases allow for performance-based assessment and for the regulatory documents to be adaptable to future conditions.
“With performance-based you’re always achieving and applying the new standards as they become available. The same thing applies for the new technology,” Jammal said at the meeting. “As you are looking at enhancement for safety, you always take into consideration the new available information.”
But what is defined as low-level waste is flexible and depends on the safety cases presented to the CNSC, said Richard Cannings, NDP MP for South Okanagan-West Kootenay and the party’s natural resources critic.
“That’s a problem. That’s not how it’s done elsewhere in the world,” he said. “They did it in Ottawa’s backyard.”
In the June 18 meeting, Karine Glenn, director of the wastes and decommissioning division for the CNSC, said low-level waste would mostly involve medical materials, but each safety case would be reviewed by the CNSC.
In Chalk River’s case, critics such as Eva Schacherl, a volunteer with the Coalition Against Nuclear Dumps on the Ottawa River, say they believe the “massive waste dump” would fail to manage the nuclear waste safely and that operators are failing to meet international standards at the site……….
both Schacherl and Hendrickson said they are concerned the site — which is within a little more than a kilometre of the Ottawa River, according to Hendrickson — could spread contamination.
“Waste has piled up at Chalk River, and there’s no long-term way of dealing with it,” said Hendrickson. “There would be a lot of leaching that would flow back into the Ottawa River.”
“Most countries with large quantities of nuclear waste have an independent federal nuclear waste agency,” said Hendrickson. “It’s not run by the industry like the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. It’s definitely not run by the nuclear regulator.”
Cannings agreed, adding that he was worried what impact having the NWMO responsible for the deep ground repositories could have for safety.
“There’s risks with everything. But the assessment of risks to a project by the proponent, by the industry — they’re going to be much more favourable, they’re going to accept more risk than the public because they’re protecting themselves,” said Cannings.
Two Ontario sites — South Bruce, near London, and Ignace, a three-hour drive northwest of Thunder Bay, are the only two communities still vying for the deep-ground repository project. Both proposals have been met with resistance from local residents………
Critics noted that several organizations and advocacy groups had requested but were denied permission to be present at the June meeting where the regulatory documents were presented via video conference. ……… https://capitalcurrent.ca/new-nuclear-waste-guidelines-could-lead-to-massive-dump-upstream-from-ottawa-if-approved/
Why the nuclear whistleblower exposing AQ Khan was ignored
The CIA’s failure to stop him in 1975 “was the first monumental error”, Robert Einhorn, who worked on nonproliferation in the Clinton and Obama administrations, told Frantz and Collins. The Americans asked the Dutch “to inform them fully but not take any action”, Lubbers recalled, laughing. He said he “found it a bit strange”, but also thought, “‘OK, it’s American business.’ We didn’t feel . . . safeguarding the world against nuclear proliferation as a Dutch responsibility.” The business of the Netherlands was business. The CIA would watch Khan for decades.
New CT scan method lowers radiation exposure
New CT scan method lowers radiation exposure, Science Daily
- Date: July 23, 2020
- Source: University College London
- Summary:
- A CT scan technique that splits a full X-ray beam into thin beamlets can deliver the same quality of image at a much reduced radiation dose, according to a new study. The technique, demonstrated on a small sample in a micro CT scanner, could potentially be adapted for medical scanners and used to reduce the amount of radiation millions of people are exposed to each year.
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A CT scan technique that splits a full X-ray beam into thin beamlets can deliver the same quality of image at a much reduced radiation dose, according to a new UCL study.
The technique, demonstrated on a small sample in a micro CT scanner, could potentially be adapted for medical scanners and used to reduce the amount of radiation millions of people are exposed to each year.
A computerised tomography (CT) scan is a form of X-ray that creates very accurate cross-sectional views of the inside of the body. It is used to guide treatments and diagnose cancers and other diseases.
Past studies have suggested CT scans may cause a small increase in lifelong cancer risk because their high-energy wavelengths can damage DNA. Although cells repair this damage, sometimes these repairs are imperfect, leading to DNA mutations in later years……… https://www.sciencedaily.com/
Nuclear isn’t clean or renewable
Nuclear isn’t clean or renewable , https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/nuclear-isnt-clean-or-renewable/Content?oid=9943058 Marty Brown, Atascadero 24 July 20
Many people in this county who are joining community choice energy options in order to use and support advancing clean energy sources will be very upset when they learn our Assembly member, Jordan Cunningham, has introduced AB 2898 to amend California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard Program allowing nuclear power to be named as a carbon free and renewable resource.
However, nuclear is neither carbon free nor renewable. There is a finite supply of uranium 235, which nuclear plants use to power their reactors. The ore is mined, processed, and enriched. The resulting material is manufactured into pellets and rods to contain them. All this industry and transport causes a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, during the operation of nuclear plants, CO2 is emitted with water vapor, steam, and heat.
Another “renewable standard” states there is to be no waste. We certainly will have waste—thousands of tons of highly radioactive waste with nowhere to store it. The Central Coast deserves representatives who will be looking out for our health and dollars. One who will look beyond the dinosaur of nuclear power with its dangers, waste, and cost to embrace a future of truly clean sustainable power.
Huge nuclear corruption case – Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60 million bribery case https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/07/21/ohio-bribery-case-state-official-charged-federal-prosecutors/5477862002/
Sharon Coolidge, Dan Horn, Jessie Balmert Cincinnati Enquirer Marc Kovac, Randy Ludlow and Lucas Sullivan contributed to this report 21 Jul 20 CINCINNATI – Federal officials arrested Ohio House Speaker LarryHouseholder and four others Tuesday as part of a $60 million racketeering and bribery investigation that prosecutors describe as one of the largest public corruption cases in Ohio history.
All of the charges are tied to what federal prosecutors describe as a criminal enterprise dedicated to securing a bailout for two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio, which is expected to cost the state’s utility ratepayers $1 billion. A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday describes the effort as “Householder’s Enterprise” and states that he and his associates sought to expand their political power, enrich themselves and conceal their criminal conspiracy. “This is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio,” said U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, whose office will lead the prosecution of the case. “This was bribery, plain and simple. This was a quid pro quo. This was pay to play.” Also charged Tuesday were four lobbyists and Republican operatives:
DeVillers said the arrests Tuesday will not end the investigation and that agents will continue to interview potential witnesses and execute search warrants in the coming days and weeks. “We’re not done with this case,” he said. “There are a lot of federal agents knocking on a lot of doors.” The criminal complaint accuses Householder of creating an enterprise to collect large sums of money for him and others involved in the conspiracy. “The millions paid into the entity were akin to bags of cash,” the complaint states. “Unlike campaign or PAC contributions, they were not regulated, not reported, not subject to public scrutiny — and the enterprise freely spent the bribe payments to further the enterprise’s political interests and to enrich themselves.” The arrests are the result of a nearly two-year FBI investigation that included undercover federal agents who met with Householder and Clark, as well as surveillance that allowed investigators to obtain text messages, emails and other communications between those who have been charged. …… According to the criminal complaint, the arrests are the result of a nearly two-year investigation into bribes and money laundering by the FBI. Householder oversaw the controversial, Republican-led bailout of the two nuclear plants, owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, of Akron. House Bill 6, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in June, authorized using ratepayer fees for the $1 billion bailout. The fight to approve the money was long and costly, extending even after the bill was signed into law. An effort to overturn the bailout ultimately failed after it met fierce resistance from well-funded competition. One group was Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) “dark money” operation that was not required to disclose donors under federal law. The group hired blockers to stall signature collectors working for those opposed to the bailout. The second group, Ohioans for Energy Security, paid for millions of dollars in advertisements, including ones that warned Ohioans that the Chinese would take over Ohio’s power grid if voters repealed the bailout. FirstEnergy, which spun off FirstEnergy Solutions in bankruptcy proceedings, gave more than $1.1 million to Ohio politicians, including Householder, between 2017 and 2019. FirstEnergy Solutions was later renamed Energy Harbor Corp. Cespedes was listed by the state as a lobbyist last year for Energy Harbor and Borges works for the Columbus-based firm 17 Consulting Group, which contributed $90,000 to a pro-nuclear energy group called Ohio Clean Energy Jobs Alliance, which has ties to FirstEnergy Solutions. Disclosure: 17 Consulting advises The Enquirer on legislative activity affecting the media industry. The documents unsealed Tuesday afternoon did not name the companies involved, though they noted that “Company A entities paid Householder’s enterprise $60,886,835.86 in secret payments over the approximately three-year period in exchange for the billion-dollar-bailout. The enterprise concealed the payments … to receive the bribe money and then transferring the payments internally to a web of related entities and accounts.”……… Investigators allege the nonprofit used energy company money to back the campaigns of 21 different state candidates in the 2018 primary and general elections, including Householder. More than $1 million was spent on negative ads against those candidates’ opponents, with additional funds paying for Householder’s campaign staff, according to documents. Most of the backed candidates won in 2018, and all supported Householder’s election as Speaker, investigators said. Additionally, Householder received $400,000-plus in personal benefits, including funds to settle a personal lawsuit, to pay off credit card debt and for costs associated with his home in Florida, according to documents. |
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Arms Control Today interviews Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui
 Freeing the World of Nuclear Weapons: Arms Control Today interviews Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-07/features/freeing-world-nuclear-weapons-arms-control-today-interviews-hiroshima-mayor July/August 2020As the site of the first atomic bomb attack, Hiroshima has served as a vital center for education about nuclear weapons and their effects. The people of the city, along with those of Nagasaki, have been steadfast in their advocacy for abolishing nuclear weapons. The survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings on Japan, the hibakusha, have worked to communicate their experience to global citizens and leaders. Kazumi Matsui, Hiroshima’s mayor since 2011, has played a major role in that effort. He serves as president of Mayors for Peace, an assembly of thousands of cities worldwide devoted to protecting cities from the scourge of war and mass destruction.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Hiroshima is planning to scale back large gatherings and instead hold virtual events marking 75 years since the August 6, 1945, bombing. Matsui spoke with Arms Control Today on June 23. Arms Control Today: Seventy-five years after the first nuclear test explosion and the atomic bombings that destroyed your city and Nagasaki, what message do you, as the president of Mayors for Peace, and the people of Hiroshima, including the hibakusha, have for others around the world about living under the dark shadow of nuclear weapons? Mayor Kazumi Matsui: In August 1945, two single atomic bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki instantly reduced them to rubble, taking more than 210,000 precious lives. With almost 75 years since the bombings, the hibakusha, those who barely survived, still suffer from the harmful aftereffects of radiation. While their minds and bodies are in pain, they, together with other members of the public, continue to make their appeal that “no one else should suffer as we have.” However, today, the nuclear-armed states possess about 13,000 nuclear warheads. The destructive power of every one of them is far above the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These weapons could be used by accident or for terrorism. The current situation is far from what the citizens of Hiroshima, including the hibakusha, have been seeking for so long. This is because the nuclear-armed states and their allies consider nuclear deterrence as essential for their security assurance, prioritizing the pursuit of only their own misguided national interest. However, this poses a grave threat to the survival of us all, the whole of humanity. The current global coronavirus pandemic is a transboundary crisis that touches us all. We are experiencing firsthand that we can confront and defeat common threats through solidarity and cooperation. Based on what we have learned from this experience, we must build a robust global coalition of citizens everywhere to address and solve global security challenges, especially nuclear weapons. We must not take action based on self-centered nationalism. I sincerely hope that everyone in the world will share in the hibakusha’s message and join us in realizing a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons. ACT: There are now fewer and fewer hibakusha and fewer people who have witnessed the devastation of the atomic bombings. What can be done over the next 75 years to remind current and future generations of the experiences and the messages of the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the health impacts of the use of nuclear weapons? Are we at risk of forgetting? Matsui: The average age of the hibakusha has exceeded 82. With their unshakable conviction that “no one else should suffer as we have,” they have conveyed their experiences and their desire for peace to younger generations. However, if we leave this important task of passing down to the future generations to the hibakusha alone, then unfortunately, sooner or later, there will no longer be anyone able to do so. In order to ensure that the hibakusha’s messages will be faithfully inherited and shared with future generations, the City of Hiroshima conducts various initiatives. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum exhibits belongings and photos of victims along with the words of their bereaved family members. Each item conveys to visitors the memories, sentiments, and the pain and sorrow of the victims and the bereaved. In addition, displays on the harm caused by the radiation tell the world of the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons. We encourage all world leaders and their fellow citizens to visit this museum to see the long-term catastrophic effects of the atomic bombings for themselves. We also have a project to train A-bomb Legacy Successors, volunteers who pass down hibakusha experiences and their desire for peace on their behalf. Today, 131 successors are engaged in such activities. We also make videos of hibakusha testimonies and collect memoirs in collaboration with the government. We are translating these into many languages so that all can understand their tragic experiences. We intend to continue our efforts to enrich and expand these and make them available physically and online to share the messages of the hibakusha with the younger generation, who are the future of our society. ACT: You and others have noted that “vital nuclear arms control agreements are being abandoned, budgets for development and production of new nuclear weapons are growing, and the potential for nuclear weapons use is too dangerous to tolerate. We are badly off course in efforts to honor the plea of the hibakusha and end the nuclear threat.” On an international level, how can and should the world get back on track toward nuclear disarmament? Matsui: We see unilateralism is rising in the international community, and exclusivity and confrontational approaches have increased tensions between nations. Now, the international situation surrounding nuclear weapons is very unstable and uncertain. But why is that? Fundamentally, policymakers should tackle issues, even if they are rooted in local contexts, from a global perspective. However, they are more likely to jump to a short-term compromise, which results in the current international situation. In order to break the status quo of dependence on nuclear deterrence and get back on track toward nuclear disarmament, it is essential to mobilize civil society’s shared values and create a supportive environment to give world leaders the courage to shift their policies. Those shared values and desires of civil society aim at securing every citizen’s safety and welfare. As a nonpartisan organization made up of the very heads of local governments responsible for realizing that goal, Mayors for Peace implements a number of relevant initiatives. Specifically, by utilizing its network of more than 7,900 member cities in 164 countries and regions, Mayors for Peace conveys the realities of the atomic bombings and works to increase the number of people who share in the hibakusha’s message. In this way, we can build a consensus among global civil society that the elimination of nuclear weapons is key to the peaceful future we need. This consensus will serve as the foundation for a collaborative international environment in which policymakers around the world can take decisive steps forward toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons. I sincerely hope that all states, including the nuclear-armed ones, will engage in good-faith dialogue led by world leaders who wholeheartedly accept the earnest wish of the hibakusha, that is, the realization of nuclear weapons abolition as soon as possible. Through this, they will surely share wisdom and come up with an approach to make substantial progress in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. ACT: What more can be done at the local level, especially by the younger generations, wherever they may live, to support global efforts for nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament? Matsui: As I understand it, what civil society is sincerely seeking is to secure the public’s safety and welfare. But when it comes to big global challenges to the peaceful existence of humanity as a whole, such as the abolition of nuclear weapons, we should not limit our solutions to the framework of nation-states. Solutions should also be based on that sincere desire of civil society at the grass-roots level across the world. I believe that we should spread awareness of this throughout civil society. My hope for younger generations, the future of our society, is that they will start thinking about the preciousness of their daily lives, which are supported by rules based on mutual trust. Hopefully, they will then understand that this is exactly what peace is and think what they can do to preserve it and take action. In civil society, which is based on democracy, if every person develops such concepts of peace and takes action accordingly, it follows that policymakers will be elected who can realize our common wish. It is also not a dream for them to become policymakers themselves. If more people come to envisage a future different from the past and work to realize it, they will become the drive to change the world. Mayors for Peace puts emphasis on peace education aimed at raising awareness among younger generations as part of its intensified efforts. Through our various programs, we nurture young leaders who engage in peace activities proactively. ACT: What more can Japan’s national leadership do to move us closer to the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons? Matsui: As the only country to have experienced the devastation caused by nuclear attacks, Japan has a responsibility to share the hibakusha’s sincere desire to abolish nuclear weapons with the world and take the lead on various initiatives to make that a reality. Japan has a role in international society as a “bridge” between the nuclear-armed states and the states-parties of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to foster and promote dialogue and cooperation. To realize abolition as soon as possible, Japan can and should do even more to fulfil this role. I hope this will happen from the bottom of my heart. |
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Plutonium particles from Fukushima a bigger problem than previously thought
Plutonium Particles Scattered 200km From Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Site, Scientists Say https://theswaddle.com/plutonium-particles-scattered-200km-from-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-site-scientists-say/, By Aditi Murti, Jul 22, 2020 Plutonium fragments may have spread more than 200km via caesium microparticle compounds released during the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. These findings are according to research done on the region’s soil samples, published in Science of The Total Environment, by an international group of scientists.Bradwell B new nuclear project probably doomed, -on fragile shore subject to flooding
Maldon Standard 19th July 2020, Andy Blowers: There has been much fevered speculation about the Bradwell B
new nuclear project falling in the wake of the current breakdown of relations with China.
That may be so, but what few commentators seem to have observed is that Bradwell is probably doomed because it is a wholly unsuitable and unsustainable site. Plans recently released indicate a giant industrial complex on a flat, low-lying peninsula ringed about with various designations, including protection for the Colchester Native Oyster.
Who in their right mind would consider erecting two mega reactors with all the attendant bells and whistles, including twin cooling towers and long-term highly radioactive spent fuel stores on a site that is likely to become
flooded and stranded as climate change impacts wreak havoc on the fragile Essex shores? Beijing to Bradwell – the terminus of the Belt and Road where Chinese infiltration in our sensitive nuclear infrastructure begins
and ends.
https://www.maldonandburnhamstandard.co.uk/news/18590061.letter-site-totally-unsuitable-bradwell-b/
1 This Month
Tell Congress: Prevent Nuclear Catastrophe in Iran
Tell Congress: Prevent Nuclear Catastrophe in Iran
Read the Public Inquiry Report, the Commissioners’ report, Surrendering Australia: The AUKUS Deception is available to download for free at aukuspublicinquiry.com. Or just watch the replay of the National Press Club Luncheon.
19 November – Webinar – The Reality of Reprocessing
Time: 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) / 2:00 PM Eastern / 7:00 PM UK / 8:00 PM CET
Register for the Zoom Event Here
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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