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EU Commission’s draft taxonomy plan – ”a licence to greenwash”

EU Commission’s taxonomy plan is “licence to greenwash” Greenpeace European Unit

  https://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/issues/climate-energy/45988/nuclear-gas-eu-taxonomy-licence-to-greenwash/ 01/01/2022  Brussels – The European Commission intends to label certain fossil gas and nuclear activities as “sustainable” investments in the EU’s taxonomy of green economic activities, according to a draft communication released late on 31 December 2021.  

According to the Commission document, nuclear projects with a construction permit issued by 2045 would be eligible for private investments, as long as they can provide plans for the management of radioactive waste and for decommissioning.

Gas projects with permits issued until 2030 would also be eligible, provided they fulfil a series of conditions, including emissions under 270g CO₂e/kWh. These provisions would deal a significant blow to the EU’s climate and environment action.

Nuclear power generates high-level radioactive waste, and a commercially viable long-term solution has yet to be found. Fossil gas is already the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions from power generation in Europe. Encouraging investments in fossil gas by giving it a green label will only exacerbate its devastating climate impact, warned Greenpeace.

 In both cases, renewables are cheaper and faster to deploy, meaning that sending the wrong signal to private investors could disrupt the  energy transition towards 100% renewables and delay the EU’s progress on its climate commitments.
The development comes after the EU had already severely undermined the taxonomy last year by labelling the burning of trees for energy as another sustainable activity. 

Greenpeace EU programme director Magda Stoczkiewicz said: “The Commission’s taxonomy is a licence to greenwash. Polluting companies will be delighted to have the EU’s seal of approval to attract cash and keep wrecking the planet by burning fossil gas and producing radioactive waste. Promoting these toxic and expensive forms of energy for decades to come is a real threat to Europe’s energy transition. The Commission has shown a shocking disregard for the climate crisis, nature and the people of Europe. The European Parliament and governments need to stop this plan.”

Next steps

Following feedback from government representatives and experts, the Commission will present the final text later in January. 

National governments and the European Parliament have the power to reject the proposal to stop it from automatically entering into force.

Contacts:Magda Stoczkiewicz – Greenpeace EU programme director: +32 (0)495 290028, magda.stoczkiewicz@greenpeace.orgGreenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org   

January 3, 2022 Posted by | climate change, EUROPE, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Japan to help build Bill Gates’ high-tech Natrium nuclear reactor in Wyoming


Japan to help build Bill Gates’ high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming -Yomiuri  https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/japan-help-build-bill-gates-high-tech-nuclear-reactor-wyoming-yomiuri-2022-01-01/Reuters  TOKYO. Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Kim Coghill- The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (7011.T) are set to cooperate with the United States and Bill Gates’ venture company to build a high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming, the daily Yomiuri reported on Saturday.

The parties will sign an agreement as early as January for JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide technical support and data from Japan’s own advanced reactors, the report said citing multiple unidentified sources.

TerraPower, an advanced nuclear power venture founded by Gates, is set to open its Natrium plant in Wyoming in 2028. The U.S. government will provide funding to cover half of the $4 billion project. read more

Terrapower had initially explored the prospect of building an experimental nuclear plant with state-owned China National Nuclear Corp, until it was forced to seek new partners after the administration of Donald Trump restricted nuclear deals with China.

The United States has been competing with China and Russia which also hope to build and export advanced reactors.

Japan, on the other hand, has a bitter history of decommissioning its Monju prototype advanced reactor in 2016, a project which cost $8.5 billion but provided little results and years of controversy.

The Monju facility saw accidents, regulatory breaches, and cover-ups since its conception, and was closed following public distrust of nuclear energy after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Both JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could not be reached for comment, as their offices were closed for the New Year holidays.

January 3, 2022 Posted by | Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, USA | Leave a comment

COP 27 – the risk of climate summit becoming a stalemate

 The UN climate summit to be held this November in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt
will be a crunch moment. As hosts of COP26, the UK holds the presidency of
COP for the next year, so over the next 11 months it will be Alok
Sharma’s job to persuade weary nations that they need to draw up fresh
climate plans once more. The COP president faces an uphill struggle:
Australia, New Zealand and the EU have already signalled they are unlikely
to play ball, and without concessions from richer countries, developing
nations such as China and India will be reluctant to deliver more. The risk
of COP27 resulting in a climate stalemate, while the world watches 1.5°C
slip out of reach, is high.

 iNews 1st Jan 2022

https://inews.co.uk/news/2022-climate-change-preview-crunch-time-1377754

January 3, 2022 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | Leave a comment

India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear power installations

India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear power installations,   https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/india-pakistan-exchange-list-of-nuclear-power-installations/88642567  India and Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear installations and facilities…….

January 3, 2022 Posted by | India, Pakistan, politics international | Leave a comment

A technology that leaves behind hazardous wastes ”cannot be sustainable”

 Federal government calls EU nuclear push “greenwashing”. Environment
Minister Lemke and Economics Minister Habeck sharply criticize the EU
Commission’s nuclear proposal. A technology that leaves behind hazardous
waste “cannot be sustainable”., Spiegel 1st Jan 2022

https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/taxonomieverordnung-bundesregierung-nennt-eu-atomkraft-vorstoss-absolut-falsch-a-cc9d1e64-7b9a-4aaa-b95b-e196496ec292

January 3, 2022 Posted by | climate change, Germany | Leave a comment

Yucca Mountain remains in debate over nuclear waste storage

The Government Accountability Office report said most experts agree that building Yucca Mountain is neither socially nor politically viable


Yucca Mountain remains in debate over nuclear waste storage, By GARY MARTIN – Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jan 1, 2022  

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mounting opposition to proposed nuclear waste storage sites in Texas and New Mexico has kept Yucca Mountain in Nevada in the national debate over what to do with the growing stockpile of radioactive material scattered around the country.

The Biden administration is opposed to Yucca Mountain and announced plans this month to send waste to places where state, local and tribal governments agree to accept it. That stance is shared by Nevada elected officials, tribal leaders and business and environmental groups.

But until the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Act is changed by Congress, the proposed radioactive waste repository 90 miles north of Las Vegas remains the designated permanent storage site for spent fuel rods from commercial nuclear plants.

”That’s what worries me. Until you get a policy in place, it will always be something you have to watch,” U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

An expert on atomic testing and American politics, Titus as a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas wrote a 1986 book on Nevada’s nuclear past.

As an elected state and congressional lawmaker, she has opposed a permanent storage facility at Yucca Mountain.

Titus introduced legislation in past sessions of Congress that adopts recommendations by a 2012 Blue Ribbon Commission under the Obama administration to send the waste to states that want it.

Similar legislation has been filed in the Senate by Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, a former state attorney general who also has fought federal efforts to build a repository at Yucca Mountain.

The legislation has failed to pass, as lawmakers from both parties who represent states with nuclear power plants seek a quick solution to waste disposal.

“I’ve always fought misguided efforts to deposit nuclear waste in Nevada, and I’ll keep working with the Nevada delegation to pass my consent-based siting bill that would ensure these dangerous materials are never dumped on our state,” Cortez Masto said.

WASTES PILING UP

The Biden administration has since proposed to fund interim storage in light of the 30-year stalemate over Yucca Mountain, due to growing need to address stockpiles of radioactive waste at decommissioned and operating plants across the country.

As of 2019, about 86,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel was being stored at 119 sites, according to the Department of Energy.

There are about 95 power plants operating in 29 states, currently, generating 2,900 metric tons a year. And, there are 38 reactors in 30 states in various stages of decommissioning. The waste is stored in casks, a former Energy Department adviser, Robert Alvarez, told an Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing last year.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, issued a report in September recommending storing the waste in places where local and state officials would agree to accept it. The reporting cited the dangerous characteristics of nuclear waste and need for safe disposal.

Energy Secretary Jen Granholm announced this month that the department was seeking recommendations from states, cities, industry officials and others on locations where officials were willing to accept spent fuel and materials.

The plan announced by Granholm is expected to take up to two years to research and determine costs.

The plan announced by the Department of Energy essentially restarts a process that began under the Obama administration with a recommendation from a Blue Ribbon Commission that suggested “consent-based siting” with local input as the most effective way to develop storage sites.

That did not occur in Nevada.

LONG HISTORY

Yucca Mountain was designated by Congress as the sole site for permanent storage in 1987 after other sites in Kansas, Tennessee and Utah were rejected. Since that time, more than $15 billion has been spent on research and exploration at Yucca Mountain.

Local opposition in Nevada, led by Democratic former Sen. Harry Reid and other state elected officials blocked development of the project, until President George W. Bush directed the Department of Energy to seek a construction license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The licensing process, however, was halted by President Barack Obama and by Reid, who as Senate majority leader pulled funding for the application. A federal court allowed funds already earmarked for licensing to continue to be spent.

President Donald Trump’s election brought a new push for licensing by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who like Bush was a former Texas governor. Despite political opposition from former Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval and the entire state congressional delegation, the Trump administration pushed to develop Yucca Mountain.

Perry repeatedly told Congress that he was following the 1987 law as he moved forward on licensing for nuclear storage at the designated Yucca Mountain site.

But Trump later flip-flopped on Yucca Mountain as he sought re-election with Nevada a part of his campaign strategy.

After the election, the Biden administration budgeted funding for commercial operators to take control of some waste at interim sites.

ALTERNATIVES FACE OPPOSITION……………..

YUCCA NOT VIABLE

The Government Accountability Office report said most experts agree that building Yucca Mountain is neither socially nor politically viable……………https://www.coloradopolitics.com/yucca-mountain-remains-in-debate-over-nuclear-waste-storage/article_fbaf9e12-ea43-5bf1-82ab-c115bee4f770.html

January 3, 2022 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Vermont nuclear decommissioning committee drafting advisory opinion on nuclear waste policy


Vermont nuclear decommissioning committee drafting advisory opinion on nuclear waste policy, WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Pat Bradley December 31, 2021 The Department of Energy is taking suggestions on how to “site Federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of spent nuclear fuel using a consent-based approach.” A committee of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel is drafting an advisory opinion for the full panel to submit to the DOE.

At its latest meeting, Vermont Nuclear Waste Policy Committee Vice Chair Lissa Weinmann reviewed the status of the draft resolution that will be forwarded to the state’s full Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel.

“The primary matter right now from what I can see with this language is that there’s a lot of concern that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act very explicitly outlines the requirement that a permanent repository be licensed before a consolidated interim storage facility be named or started,” Weinmann said. “So that is a point here. The DOE has asked for information regarding consent based siting for a consolidated interim storage facility.”

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, which began operating in 1972, shut down on December 29, 2014. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission all of the spent nuclear fuel was placed into dry cask storage. Decommissioning of the plant is expected to be completed by 2030.

Some committee members wondered if the national nuclear waste fund should be addressed in the state’s resolution. Citizens Awareness Network Vermont organizer Chris Williams raised concerns about references in the document to financing a waste repository.

“The nuclear waste fund was collected from ratepayers of record for the express purpose of building a repository,” Williams said. “To be without that money or operate without that cash in these times when we’re looking to build a repository would be very problematic. The language just doesn’t work for me.”……………

Advisory opinions on consent based siting must be submitted electronically to the Department of Energy by March 4, 2022. https://www.wamc.org/news/2021-12-31/vermont-nuclear-decommissioning-committee-drafting-advisory-opinion-on-nuclear-waste-policy

January 3, 2022 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

India  Launches Nuclear Submarine With ‘Vertical Launch System’

Boosting Indian Navy’s Firepower, DRDO Launches Nuclear Submarine With ‘Vertical Launch System’ Eurasian Times, By Shreya Mundhra January 2, 2022

Amid geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, India has quietly launched its third Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine — the S4 SSBN — at a secretive ship-building center in Visakhapatnam. The development was reported by Janes Defence Weekly, citing satellite imagery.

Arihant-Class Submarines

The Arihant-class, named after the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine — INS Arihant — is a class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines that are being built for the Indian Navy.

It was launched at the Indian Navy’s dockyard located in Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command. The project, earlier called the advanced technology vessel (ATV), has been under development since 1998………

Russia’s Role In Indian Project

INS Arihant, which cost $2.9bn, was jointly developed by the Indian Navy, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the naval dockyard……………………….

Arihant And Arighat

INS Arihant was launched on July 26, 2009, by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Four years later, in August 2013, the submarine’s atomic reactor was activated. Three more years down the line, in August 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted the submarine into the Navy………………………..

The Latest Addition — S4 SSBN

In its December 29 report, Janes noted that the S4 SSBN was launched on November 23 and had been ‘relocated’ close to the ‘fitting-out wharf’ that was previously occupied by INS Arighat.

According to Janes, satellite imagery had confirmed that the ship being talked about stood at 7,000-tonnes, “slightly larger” than the lead ship in the Arihant class, INS Arihant.

……. The magazine went on to infer that the satellite imagery indicated that the newly launched boats’ increased length “accommodates expansion of the submarine’s vertical launch system”. This system can support eight missile launch tubes, as planned.

This would enable the SSBN to carry eight K-4 SLBMs, or alternately, 24 K-15 SLBMs. The K-4 SLBM is currently under development.  https://eurasiantimes.com/indian-navy-launches-3rd-arihant-class-nuclear-submarine/

January 3, 2022 Posted by | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Hard to swallow the manipulations going on in nuclear waste decisions on UK’s Geological Disposal Facility


‘GDF flies in face of past decisions on storing nuclear waste’ https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19816090.gdf-flies-face-past-decisions-storing-nuclear-waste/ David Kirkwood, 2 Jan 22,
Penrith  ON December 20, I received an email informing me that Allerdale Borough Council leadership had held a meeting on November 24 and voted in favour of progressing the nuclear Geological Disposal Facility in Allerdale.

This statement was released amid the Omicron virus and Christmas festivities simply to bury the controversial news. It flies in the face of the two previous decisions rejecting the burying of nuclear waste material anywhere in Cumbria.

One of the main reasons was that the geology in Cumbria was unsuitable for a repository. Secondly, the most important reason was the population did not want it.

It is obvious why this decision has been reached, quite simply the local government reorganisation was engineered to try and invalidate the previous decisions taken by the soon-to-be-dismantled County Council.

Perhaps, someone from the Radioactive Waste Management can explain why a company called Genr8 North Ltd can be involved with both Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council, if as they say they have no commercial interest in a nuclear geological disposal facility being built?

I find this very hard to believe.

This is just an attempt by a few individuals to brainwash the majority into acceptance. I’m certain in years to come the radioactive nuclear waste will be buried in Cumbria irrespective of the wishes of the resident population.

January 3, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Threat of nuclear war: Not a thing of the past


Threat of nuclear war: Not a thing of the past, Daily Star,   António Guterres, Sun Jan 2, 2022 ”……………………. the existential threat that cast a shadow over the first half of my life no longer receives the attention it should. Nuclear weapons have faded from headlines and Hollywood scripts. But the danger they pose remains as high as ever, and is growing by the year. Nuclear annihilation is just one misunderstanding or miscalculation away—a sword of Damocles that threatens not only suffering and death on a horrific scale, but the end of all life on earth. 

Through a combination of luck and judgement, nuclear weapons have not been used since they incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. But with more than 13,000 nuclear weapons held in arsenals around the world, how long can our luck hold? The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a new awareness of the catastrophic impact of a low-probability event.

Following the end of the Cold War, nuclear arsenals were dramatically reduced and even eliminated. Entire regions declared themselves nuclear-weapons free zones. A deep and widespread repudiation of nuclear testing took hold. As the prime minister of my country, I ordered Portugal to vote for the first time against the resumption of nuclear testing in the Pacific.

But the end of the Cold War also left us with a dangerous falsehood: that the threat of nuclear war was a thing of the past.

Nothing could be more mistaken. These weapons are not yesterday’s problem. They remain today’s growing threat.

The risk that nuclear weapons will be used is higher now than at any point since the duck-and-cover drills and fallout shelters of the Cold War…………

The nuclear landscape is a tinderbox. One accident or miscalculation could set it alight.

Our main hope to reverse course and steer our world away from nuclear cataclysm is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons—better known as the NPT—which dates from the height of the Cold War in 1970.

The NPT is one of the main reasons why nuclear weapons have not been used since 1945. It contains legally binding commitments to achieve nuclear disarmament, including by the five largest nuclear-armed countries. It is also a catalyst for disarmament—the only way to eliminate these horrendous weapons once and for all…………..

We must seize the opportunity of January’s NPT Review Conference to reverse dangerous and growing trends and escape the long shadow cast by these inhumane weapons.

The review conference must take bold action on six fronts: 1) Chart a path forward on nuclear disarmament; 2) Agree new measures of transparency and dialogue, to reduce the risk of nuclear war; 3) Address simmering nuclear crises in the Middle East and Asia; 4) Work to strengthen the global frameworks that support non-proliferation, including the IAEA; 5) Promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology for medical and other uses – one reason why the NPT has won the adherence of non-nuclear-weapons states; 6) And remind the world’s people—especially its young people—that eliminating nuclear weapons is the only way to guarantee they will never be used. 

I urge governments to approach the conference in a spirit of solidarity, frank dialogue, and flexibility.

What happens in the NPT negotiating rooms in January matters to everyone—because any use of nuclear weapons will affect everyone.

The fragility of our world has never been clearer.

I hope people everywhere will push governments to step back from the abyss and create a safer, more secure world for all: a world free of nuclear weapons.

 Antonio Guterres is the secretary-general of the United Nations. https://www.thedailystar.net/views/opinion/news/threat-nuclear-war-not-thing-the-past-2930251

January 3, 2022 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Protesters call for abolition of nuclear weapons

Protesters call for abolition of nuclear weapons, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220102_02/ Protesters in the Japanese city of Nagasaki took part in a sit-in on New Year’s Day and called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. A sit-in is held in the city every year on January 1. Nagasaki was hit by an atomic bomb during World War Two.

More than 60 people participated in the protest in the city’s Peace Park on Saturday.

The protesters observed a moment of silence at 11:02 a.m. The atomic bomb exploded in Nagasaki at that time on August 9, 1945. The participants held up pieces of paper with the word “peace” written on them in Japanese.

Atomic bomb survivor Tanaka Yasujiro said 2022 will be an important year. He said he wants non-nuclear countries to surround nuclear states, so that the number of nuclear warheads can be reduced.

The states, which signed the UN treaty that bans nuclear weapons, are scheduled to meet for the first time in March 2022.

The Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons may be held in August.

Parties to the NPT meet every five years to review the accord. A meeting was scheduled to take place in January. But the participants agreed to postpone it for the fourth time, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Various options are now being considered. A gathering in August is a possibility.

January 3, 2022 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Will the European Commission buy into the lie that nuclear power is clean and green?

Just who will be making this decision? The global nuclear lobby is desperate to get tax-payer funding , to keep its expensive, dirty, dangerous product going.

Pro nuclear stooges, like Ursula von der Leyen (at left) are keen to get Europe to decide that nuclear power is necessary for climate change.

They keep calling nuclear “zero’ or ”low carbon” – ignoring the full chain of carbon-emiitting processes involved in nuclear structures and in fuelling rectors.

Also ignored , the delays in gettting the industry going – too late to be of any use.

nuclear: Fate of EU green taxonomy ‘now in the hands of von der Leyen’.

 The taxonomy text will need approval from a majority of EU member states and members of the European Parliament. 

Brussels proposes green label for nuclear and natural gas
European Commission paves way for investments despite concerns over waste and CO2 emissions , Ft.com, Mehreen Khan in Brussels, 1 January 2022.

Brussels wants to recognise nuclear power and forms of natural gas as “green” activity as part of a landmark EU classification scheme to help financial markets decide what counts as sustainable investment. In long-awaited plans, the European Commission has paved the way for investment in new nuclear power plants for at least the next two decades and natural gas for at least a decade, under a green labelling system known as the “taxonomy for sustainable finance”.  The labelling system, which will cover industries that generate about 80 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, is the first attempt by a major global regulator to decide what counts as truly sustainable economic activity and help stamp out so-called greenwashing in the financial sector.  

A draft legal text, seen by the Financial Times, says the EU’s green label should be awarded to controversial energy sources including nuclear power and natural gas under certain circumstances. The decision was taken after a vocal group of pro-nuclear countries, led by France, and pro-gas governments in southern and eastern Europe, demanded the taxonomy should not punish energy sources that provide a bulk of their power generation….

The draft taxonomy text says nuclear power should be considered a sustainable economic activity as long as EU countries that host power stations can safely dispose of toxic waste and meet a criteria to cause “no significant harm” to the environment. The construction of new nuclear plants will be recognised as green for permits granted until 2045, says the text.  ……….

https://www.ft.com/content/7872a05f-9e38-4740-9b1b-4efc69ca316c

January 1, 2022 Posted by | climate change, EUROPE, politics | Leave a comment

Why a U.S.-Russia War Would Inevitably Be a Globe-Annihilating Nuclear War

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2021/12/31/why-a-u-s-russia-war-would-inevitably-be-a-globe-annihilating-nuclear-war/ December 31, 2021, By Eric Zuesse     Even Russia acknowledges that any conventional war between the U.S. and Russia would destroy Russia but not destroy the U.S. Consequently, for Russia, any such war will not be waged. Only idiots would choose to engage in a war that they are certain to lose, and which would utterly destroy themselves. This means that if the U.S. strikes Russia by a conventional (i.e., non-nuclear) invasion, then Russia has only two options: (1) to respond with conventional weapons and assuredly be destroyed while achieving nothing; or, else (2) promptly release at least enough of its 6,255 nuclear warheads so as to maximally weaken the U.S.A.-and-allied retaliatory capability so as to be able then to go into a “Round Two” nuclear attack against the U.S.-and-allied side by having a much stronger military position than all of its many enemies (America and its allies) do.

That second option would leave BOTH SIDES, and (because of the then-inevitable nuclear winter) actually the entire planet, either doomed or else being close to being so. However, the U.S. and its many allies would be in far worse condition than Russia would be (because they’d have been greatly weakened by Russia’s nuclear first-strike); and then, MAYBE, Russians could survive that war by having lives that might be worth living.

The second option, for Russia, would be enormously less horrible than the first option; and here is why:

First of all: Russia would still retain its sovereign independence, not become a slave-nation (which the survivors in any U.S.-and-allied nation would then be: slaves, then, to Russia).

Secondly: Russia wouldn’t need to worry any longer whether the U.S.-and-allied side would be the first to go nuclear. Instead, the war would be over.

This is the reason why, ever since at least 2006, the U.S. has been planning and building its war against Russia for the U.S. side to be the first to go nuclear. (That plan is called “Nuclear Primacy,” and it replaces the previous system, which still continued on in Russia, and which was called “M.A.D” for “Mutually Assured Destruction.”)

Consequently: any idea that Russia would likely respond to a non-nuclear invasion of Russia without promptly going nuclear against the invading powers is stupid. Russia now knows how voracious America’s rulers (America’s billionaires) are. Ever since 24 February 1990, the U.S. had been secretly informing its allies that though the Soviet Union would soon end, and Soviet communism would soon end, and the Soviets’ Warsaw-Pact that they had built up in response to America’s NATO military alliance would also soon end, the U.S. side of the Cold War was to be secretly continued against Russia, until Russia itself becomes conquered and swallowed-up by the U.S. side, and the U.S. thereby becomes the unchallengeable dictator over the entire world.

Russia’s recent demand that all U.S.-and-allied weaponry that is less than a ten-minute flying-distance from Moscow be removed, and that NATO expansion be permanently halted, is a desperate attempt by Russia to avoid becoming yet-another slave-country to the U.S. regime. Russia doesn’t have good options. But, given the insatiably voracious appetite for expanding yet further America’s power that America’s rulers have, neither does any other country. And even Russia’s enormous nuclear force can’t protect Russians against so evil an enemy. But, perhaps, Russia’s nuclear force will be able to prevent Russians from becoming slaves to the U.S. regime. And that would be something worthy of achieving.

This entire matter was brought to a head because Barack Obama perpetrated in 2014 a coup-takeover of Ukraine, which has the longest European border with Russia. He had planned to seize Russia’s largest naval base, which was (and remained) on Crimea, but Russia was able to block that part of Obama’s plan. (Obama’s team had started by no later than 23 June 2011 to plan that coup.)Attachments areaPreview YouTube video Ukraine Crisis – What You’re Not Being ToldUkraine Crisis – What You’re Not Being Told

January 1, 2022 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Our Oceans Are Not Sewers


Our Oceans Are Not Sewers   https://www.fairewinds.org/demystify/our-oceans-are-not-sewers

December 26, 2021
Reckless endangerment of the world’s oceans and seas by governmental agencies and industry continues, By The Fairewinds Crew

Whether it’s plastic, mercury, or radioactivity, the entire world has treated our planet’s oceans as its sewage dump. As if we need more proof that Radioactivity Knows No Borders, three recent events discussed below prove the reality of our statements. The global authorities that regulate atomic power and nuclear waste often assure us that there are no significant risks to communities near radioactive disasters and operating facilities. Yet, communities must determine the actual dangers themselves.

Demystifying Nuclear Power

in 2015, Arnie Gundersen traveled to Cumbria, adjacent to the Irish Sea in the UK. Fairewinds went to the UK to work with citizen scientists collecting local samples. When Fairewinds testified at the House of Commons,  Arnie detailed radioactive contamination emanating from the Sellafield reprocessing plant, Chernobyl, and the 1957 Windscale nuclear disaster. He was sampling in the summer resort community of Seascale near the

Sellafield Nuclear Site along the Irish Sea, where the beaches are frequented by families with children.

Unfortunately, the nuclear power and weapons industries have continued to use the Irish Sea as a dumping ground for British atomic waste since the 1950s.  

Thanks to the Unfriending the Atomorganization and program, we recently found out that Arnie’s winter coat has plutonium in its pockets – even after being dry cleaned from travel abroad. While working with citizen scientists, he wore this coat to collect samples on public open-space estuary-land. Also, view the whole Unfriending the Atom Zoofor more images of “exotic data from mundane objects”. 

Arnie’s time sampling near Sellafield is part of our worldwide campaign to protect families and communities from the devasting and lasting impact of radiation exposure. Currently, we have begun the process of researching and documenting our Irish Sea data for another peer-reviewed journal article. When this paper has been accepted by a publisher, we will share this open and accessible data for our community-volunteer citizen-scientists and the public.  

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) back in 1999. As you will see in the map [on original], the IAEA identified that our planet’s oceans have been used as a sewer for radioactive waste. BTW (By the Way), for our readers today who do not know this, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) was created by the United Nations. And, when it was founded, the IAEA was charted to regulate and promote nuclear power! Imagine regulating AND promoting.

Secondly, this week, there was more breaking news of additional radioactive dumps into the world’s oceans.  A ship bound from India was detained last week in Kenya when authorities uncovered a large cargo of radioactive waste (Red alert as nuclear ship docks in Mombasa). Authorities believe that the toxic radioactive waste was destined for illegal dumping in the Atlantic Ocean! You must be wondering, as Fairewinds is, how long this has been going on? Once again, atomic regulators have failed to protect our Earth and its people. Unfortunately, dumping in the Atlantic Ocean is not a new issue, and the United States is far from blameless. Read about the U.S. Atomic Sailors here!

Third, we have more to discuss with you about Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), where the infamous Japanese nuclear meltdown occurred. Once again, TEPCO is seeking permission from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to discharge hundreds of thousands of tons of highly-toxic radioactive wastewater into the Pacific. 

Organizations and individuals worldwide have publicly and privately criticized TEPCO’s plan and the apparent approval of the NRA and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Representatives from South Korea, China, and the Marshall Islands have been particularly vocal about this disaster-in-waiting. They are requesting much greater transparency in their dialog with Japan. However, Japanese regulators are still not cooperating with the neighboring communities, severely impacted by these releases.

Moreover, Greenpeace submitted a damning public comment to TEPCO. Three days after the public comment period was officially closed, TEPCO announced it filed for approval to discharge nuclear waste into the sea. They plan to release this toxic liquid radioactivity directly into the ocean via a pipe they are preparing to construct. 

  • Where is the accountability?  
  • When will regulators get serious about preventing the dumping of radioactive nuclear waste by the nuclear industry, its contractors, and the military, who has radioactive waste from weapons manufacturing? 

Treaties, conventions, and laws are not enough to prevent the illegal dumping of highly toxic waste of any kind into our communities. However, since firm statutory regulations are already in place, the enforcement of these laws is key to protecting our oceans worldwide. This is why Fairewinds community-based citizen-science is so critical.

Fairewinds will keep you informed in 2022. As we have said over and over again, Radiation Knows No Borders.

January 1, 2022 Posted by | 2 WORLD, oceans | Leave a comment

Why nuclear power is a bad way to balance renewable energy 

Why nuclear power is a bad way to balance renewable energy  https://100percentrenewableuk.org/why-nuclear-power-is-a-bad-way-to-balance-renewable-energy

David Toke, Ian Fairlie and Herbert Eppel from 100percentrenewableuk discuss how nuclear power effectively switches off wind and solar power and how a 100percent renewable energy system is much better for the UK than one involving nuclear power.

The Government, backed by a lot of public policy reports paid for by pro-nuclear interests, constantly pushes out the view that nuclear power is ‘essential’ to balancing wind and solar power. But what they never mention is the massive waste of renewables that occurs in such a scenario. Under the scenarios planned by the Government nuclear power is paid very high prices to generate power even when there is excess electricity, which pushes renewables to close down. The Government also refuses to undertake serious investigations of how a system that uses excess renewables to create short and long term storage is a much better way of organising our energy needs rather than wasting more money on building nuclear power stations.

Look at our video which, drawing upon research on the role of nuclear and renewables, discusses these issues.

If you agree the aims of 100percentrenewableuk please join the discussion via our email group.

January 1, 2022 Posted by | renewable, Ukraine | Leave a comment

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