On the brink: nuclear news – week to 31 January

Some bits of good news. What went right this week: ‘positive tipping points’. England got a new rewilding site.        Cancer Plummets, Guinea Worm Eradicated, Bye-Bye Ebola—3 Huge Wins for Humanity.

The polycrisis is upon us……. pandemic, global heating, nuclear fear, plastic and chemical pollution, biodiversity loss,  overpopulation, water shortage ….. all these are interrelated. As Alex Smith shows us, in Radio Ecoshock – this all might develop into a permacrisis. My own thought  is that it’s no wonder that many young people have  problems of anxiety and depression – in our culture focussed on individualism, money, and endless growth.

Nuclear. This newsletter is miles too long. But it’s a critical time- teetering on the brink of nuclear war. Tanks going into Ukraine – a futile symbol for Zelensky’s dream of conquering Russia, – while underneath it all, rumblings of a cease-fire deal between USA-NATO and Russia, before it all gets a lot worse.

Christina notes:  World War 3 danger – it’s getting so like pre World War 1 – can it get any worse? Nuclear toys for the boys. What fun!      Nuclear fusion – here’s where history, culture, and nuclear annihilation technology collide.

CLIMATE. The first breach of 1.5°C will be a temporary but devastating failure. Absurd that we listen to those causing the climate crisis’ in Davos, says Greta Thunberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU6vQXif5Xo  The ‘all-of-the-above’ story used to sneak nuclear power in as a climate-action technology along with renewables . Suffolk: Sizewell C nuclear ‘should not get licence’ due to coastal erosion.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Julian Assange and the US government’s war on whistleblowers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOC-c0QdfEo . The Belmarsh Tribunals Demand Justice for Julian Assange. UK police powers increased, to shut down climate protests. UK govt to tighten anti-protest restrictions, despite criticism from human rights groups .

CULTURE. The dirty secret of US nuclear energy.

ECONOMICS. As the war rages on and military spending booms, the US arms industry is a big winner in Ukraine. 

Marketing: South Korea keen to market nuclear technology to United Arab Emirates, and missile technology, too. Poland’s energy company agrees to buy France’s NOT YET DESIGNED so-called “small” Nuward nuclear reactor! 

The British government’s Regulated Asset Base – the test case for reviving its nuclear power dream. “Great British Nuclear “- it’s high time that they came clean on what this will cost. 

As SMR developer X-energy moves to go public, merger partner Ares cautions investors about risks of small nuclear reactors.   David Schlissel: Small modular reactor project likely to end badly for Utah utilities.

EMPLOYMENT. The French nuclear sector up against the wall in terms of recruitment.

ENERGY. Germany aims for faster expansion of wind energy, not nuclear.  Prolonged outages of France’s nuclear reactors.  Renewable energy is the only credible path forward -António Guterres.  Four separate reports show that the UK could save over €120 bn by 2050 by switching to a renewable energy strategy.

ENVIRONMENT. Campaigners fear changes at Hinkley Point C ‘could kill millions of fish every day’. Japan’s Plan To Discharge Water From Fukushima Nuclear Plant Faces Pacific Opposition

HEALTH. Julian Assange’s Biggest Fight in Notorious Prison Isn’t Over Extradition.     The WHO is urging countries to start stockpiling medicines for ‘nuclear emergencies’ after the EU’s latest warning on Ukraine war. WHO updates critical medicines list for radiological and nuclear emergencies.         Investigation underway after nine nuclear missileers develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Nuclear strike chief seeks cancer review of launch officers.

 LEGAL. Fukushima: court upholds acquittals of three Tepco executives over disaster.       UK High Court to hear challenge against plans for Sizewell C nuclear station.            The Ohio nuclear scandal: Davis-Besse and Perry power plants in northern Ohio couldn’t cover costs, let alone make a profit.            Appeals Court Tosses Suit from Environmentalists, Midland Oil Company Contesting Nuclear Waste Storage Permit.

MEDIA. New documentary film ‘Downwind’ explores why testing, using nuclear weapons makes deadly mistakes .

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Nuclear Fusion Won’t Save the Climate But It Might Blow Up the World. The Nuclear Fallacy: Why Small Modular Reactors Can’t Compete With Renewable Energy.    U.S. approves design for NuScale small modular nuclear reactor, but significant problems remain.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Demonstrators gather in Hamburg against threat of nuclear confrontation in Ukraine.

PERSONAL STORIES. ‘The day the desert wind cried‘: French nuclear tests cast long shadow in Libyan Sahara.

POLITICS. 

• Donald Trump warns of NUCLEAR WAR as Joe Biden sends 31 tanks to Ukraine. 
• Ukraine steps up preparations for new nuclear reactors (NO this is not a joke!). 
• Military offensives increase nuclear accident odds in Ukraine, warns atomic safety chief.
•  Mini nuclear reactor firm snubs Britain for the French: Newcleo blames political chaos for decision to build prototype across Channel. Jeremy in nuclear wonderland.    Rolls Royce demands that the UK government decides on tax-payer funding for their small nuclear reactors.   2022 saw the slow demise of the Bradwell B nuclear plan. 
• France’s new law on nuclear energy will be a gift to the nuclear lobby. French government moves to fully nationalise the nuclear industry.
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission certifies NuScale’s design for small nuclear reactor, despite predictions on uneconomic costs.
• Canada: Federal gifts for the nuclear and mining industries. 
• King Charles wants to honour nuclear test heroes but medals are being delayed by MoD red tape.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.  Documents show no sign Albanese government lobbied the US to bring Julian Assange home. The Problem With Primacy – America’s Dangerous Quest to Dominate the Pacific. “Chinese Aggression” Sure Looks An Awful Lot Like US Aggression. Can Talks with China about Nuclear Weapons Be Constructive? 

USA tries to prevent a Russian offensive in Ukraine by offering a sort of war endgame deal to Russia. Diplomatic Cables Show Russia Saw NATO Expansion as a Red Line. WikiLeaks cables reveal NATO intended to cross all Russian red lines. 

Pacific islands urge Japan to delay release of nuclear plant waste water. France promises to speed up handover of colonial archives and clean up nuclear test sites in Algeria.

SAFETY. 

• Urgent public health warning issued over lost radioactive capsule in Western Australia. [nb. Kramatorsk radiological accident].   Missing radioactive capsule: WA officials admit it was weeks before anyone realised it was lost.  
• UK’s ‘Protect and Survive’ nuclear attack advice deemed ‘futile’ in face of modern threats. 
• Nuclear power in Ukraine: what would happen if Zaporizhzhia was hit? A reckless response – Ukraine orders more nuclear reactors! Clear and present danger- Ukraine’s reactors remain at risk. The IAEA expands mission in Ukraine to prevent nuclear accident.  IAEA sends staff to all Ukraine nuclear plants to reduce risk of accidents. Ukraine says situation deteriorating at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.  Accident at Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘still cannot be excluded’: IAEA . Ukraine storing weapons at nuclear plants. 
• Former DEA Nuclear Security Official Says Wyoming Natrium Reactor Not Safe. 
• Cracking Under Pressure: Inside the Race to Fix France’s Nuclear Plants. French nuclear safety needs review ahead of reactor lifespan extensions, newbuilds. 
• 40 safety incidents with UK nuclear weapons convoys over past 3 years.   Call to end practice of transporting nuclear warheads through Cumbria. 
• Slovenia Extends Nuclear Plant Operation Until 2043. Slovenia’s nuclear power plant gets permit for a 20 year operating extension.

SECRETS and LIES. In Just Under Three Weeks, Ukrainian-Fired Prohibited “Petal” Mines Maim At Least 44 Civilians, Kill 2, in Donetsk Region.    Man arrested on suspicion of terror offences after uranium found at Heathrow.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Geopolitics’ New Frontier in Space. NATO activating space war center in France. New NASA Nuclear Rocket Plan Aims to Get to Mars in Just 45 Days. Nuclear-powered rockets to Mars – there are serious safety risks. NASA partners with the military to test nuclear fission-powered spacecraft engine by 2027.

SPINBUSTER. A bit of panic in the UK small nuclear reactor lobby?

TECHNOLOGY. Canadian MP Charlie Angus Questions the Claims of SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7nR4P39ALo.   

WASTES.  Don’t dump on us. China urges Japan to safely dispose of nuclear-contaminated water.          France’s nuclear waste agency applies to create a long-term underground storage in Eastern France. France issues a 10,000-page dossier to convince people of the safety of the Cigeo nuclear waste site.              US sweetens pot to study siting for spent nuclear fuel. Diluted plutonium disposed of at Carlsbad nuclear waste site as program draws controversy. Many years for removal and disposal of radioactive waste from historic subterranean vaults at Berkeley nuclear power station.

WAR and CONFLICT.  

• WAR and CONFLICT. A clear signal to the US leadership that there will be no survivors in any nuclear exchange between the US and Russia.   Doomsday Clock reset to 90 seconds to midnight.       Doomsday Clock set to 90 seconds to midnight, here’s the plan – ICAN.    How Would a Nuclear Winter Play Out?      
•  US may assist Ukrainian strikes on Crimea – NYT. Ukraine: Is the Hammer About to Fall?. Truth About Tanks: How NATO Lied Its Way to Disaster in Ukraine.  NATO’s ‘war against Russia‘ inches ‘closer to direct conflict’. Putin ready for war with NATO and U.S.? Russia plans renewed offensive in Feb over tanks aid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbIwrFgP-VQ Zelenskyy demands more sanctions, as Ukraine reels from Russian bombardment. 
•  Former US Secretary of State says Pakistan’s 2019 conflict with India almost sparked nuclear war.  Israel appears to have been behind drone strike on Iran factory, U.S. official says.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. SCOTT RITTER: The Nightmare of NATO Equipment Being Sent to Ukraine. CNN: Ukraine Has Become a ‘Weapons Lab’ for Western Arms . Ukraine Narrative Fraying, But Weapons Will Continue To Flow. AP: NATO powers, Ukraine in “fast-track” talks for long-range missiles, warplanes . Ukraine war boon/boondoggle for U.S. arms makers, Pentagon’s warfighting capabilities.  

 Biden to send 31 Abrams tanks, Germany 14 Leopards for war in Ukraine — . Germany Says US Must Lead Way On Tanks For Ukraine, As Republican Party Also Piles On Pressure . Ukraine: Germany spearheads delivery of 90 tanks from NATO allies, partners .    Finnish arms to Turkey in NATO quid pro quo, tanks to Ukraine next.    Ukraine intensifies pressure on Georgia to enter war: ruling party leader .  German foreign minister: “We are fighting a war against Russia” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCJUf5d6UfE.

Nuclear submarines deal for Australia, an exercise in futility and should be sunk.  Push in US Congress to exempt Australia from International Traffic in Arms Regulations, so that it can import nuclear submarines. 

Nuclear Notebook: United States nuclear weapons, 2023.  Pentagon can’t account for $220 billion in govt property, fails fifth audit. It comes down to weapons.

Plutonium Pit Bomb Plans Excoriated by General Accounting Office.

 Cost Estimate for Plutonium Pit Project at Savannah River Site Hits $16.5 Billion, $5 Billion above Current Estimate . 

US Installs New Nukes in Europe: As Destructive as 83 Hiroshima Bombs. 

The US has a new nuclear proliferation problem: South Korea. The Disastrous Downsides of South Korea Building Nuclear Weapons. 

January 30, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 3 Comments

TODAY. Nuclear fusion – here’s where history, culture, and nuclear annihilation technology collide

“Had we not pursued the hydrogen bomb,” Edward Teller once said, “there is a very real threat that we would now all be speaking Russian. I have no regrets.”

Edward Teller’s fervour for nuclear weapons was equalled by his zealous hatred of Russia.

So – here we have a man who was both a brilliant thinker in physics, and psychologically harmed by his early experience of the brutal Soviet regime in Hungary.

The Soviet, and later, the Nazi cruelties in Hungary left this young Jewish boy with a lifelong distrust and fear of Russia, and of dictatorships. This all culminated in his belief in mass destruction as the way to go – to threaten, or use against Russia

Hence the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and nuclear fusion. And the USA government is still following Teller’s beliefs today.

The other day, I wrote about the way in which the national alliances are gearing up, just as they did in 1914, to make war inevitable – should there be just one inflammatory incident.

Today, I realise yet again, how the nuclear industry is intrinsically bound with weapons and war. That realisation is because of some new de-hyping of nuclear fusion, by Joshua Frank- Nuclear Fusion Won’t Save the Climate But It Might Blow Up the World.

Over recent weeks, the media has been exultant about nuclear fusion. It will “solve climate change” “provide boundless cheap, clean energy”. At the same time, we’re bombarded with media items about the wonders-to-be of small nuclear reactors, and also about the absolute necessity of nuclear power to save us from global heating.

Even the corporate media has had to mention a few drawbacks of nuclear power – cost, delays, public opposition, safety risks (especially in war zones). Even the corporate media has had to pull back a bit from their glorification of nuclear fusion .

But until Joshua Frank came along, no-one had made clear the whole purpose of nuclear fusion is so that America can develop a weapon that will threaten, intimidate, and possibly annihilate the Russians, or the Chinese.

Joshua Frank asks this question about nuclear fusion – “what’s really going on here?“

And he finds that -some clues lie in history – the development of the thermonuclear bomb in 1952 by Edward Teller – in fact, a fission explosion that initiated a fusion reaction..

That’s what the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and its fusion is really all about – creating, at tax-payer expense – Instruments of Death.

January 28, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. World War 3 danger – it’s getting so like pre World War 1 – can it get any worse?

Historians argue about the causes of World War 1. But the immediate kick-off for WW1 was the assassination of the heir to Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Bad enough , but why did it have to plunge the world into a devastating war, with 20 million deaths and 20 million injured?

The thing is – the armies of the Allied Powers and the Central Powers – 7 belligerent nations – numbered millions of soldiers, ready for war. As well, there was the buildup of new weapons, and naval strength

What on earth to do with it all? The simplest clearest solution – have a war!

We are back in the same situation as before World War 1. We have the same set-up – a large number of nations forming alliances, pledged to fight along with each other – all it requires is one incident to set the great conflagration off. Without the massive buildup of belligerent weaponised military, that one incident, that assassination on 28 June 1914, that wholesale conflagration could not have happened. With that huge military power at the ready – any incident would set it off.

All the learned “analysts” can discuss the underlying causes of WW1, but the immediate cause , – dealing with the military buildup and alliances, made WW1 pretty much inevitable. And now it’s happening again. As the tanks roll into Ukraine, the world might be lucky enough to dodge this bullet.

But don’t worry – there’ll be a Taiwan bullet waiting for us next.

January 25, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

This week’s nuclear news

Some bits of good news. Eight things that went right this week, including big energy and health wins. Once Biologically Dead, the River Mersey in England is “Best Environmental Story in Europe”.

Pandemic. The world needs a COP-like process for pandemic preparedness

Climate.  A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check)

Nuclear.  Am I the only one who thinks that it’s a bit bizarre to see the World Nuclear News bragging about new nuclear reactors going ahead in Ukraine –     just as the IAEA staff are tearing their hair out about the dangers of nuclear reactors in Ukraine?

Christina notes: Nuclear toys for the boys. What fun! To ramp up militarism, (and the USA weapons corporations) the US Congress might decide to dump Regulations on Traffic in Nuclear Weapons.

CLIMATE. The first breach of 1.5°C will be a temporary but devastating failure. Absurd that we listen to those causing the climate crisis’ in Davos, says Greta Thunberg. The ‘all-of-the-above’ story used to sneak nuclear power in as a climate-action technology along with renewables . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU6vQXif5Xo Suffolk: Sizewell C nuclear ‘should not get licence’ due to coastal erosion.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. UK police powers increased, to shut down climate protests. UK govt to tighten anti-protest restrictions, despite criticism from human rights groups .

ECONOMICS. As the war rages on and military spending booms, the US arms industry is a big winner in Ukraine.    Marketing: South Korea keen to market nuclear technology to United Arab Emirates, and missile technology, too. Poland’s energy company agrees to buy France’s NOT YET DESIGNED so-called “small” Nuward nuclear reactor!  

The British government’s Regulated Asset Base – the test case for reviving its nuclear power dream. “Great British Nuclear “- it’s high time that they came clean on what this will cost.       David Schlissel: Small modular reactor project likely to end badly for Utah utilities.

EMPLOYMENT. The French nuclear sector up against the wall in terms of recruitment.

ENERGY. Germany aims for faster expansion of wind energy, not nuclear. Prolonged outages of France’s nuclear reactors. Renewable energy is the only credible path forward -António Guterres. Four separate reports show that the UK could save over €120 bn by 2050 by switching to a renewable energy strategy.

HEALTH. Investigation underway after nine nuclear missileers develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

LEGAL. Fukushima: court upholds acquittals of three Tepco executives over disaster. UK High Court to hear challenge against plans for Sizewell C nuclear station

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. The Nuclear Fallacy: Why Small Modular Reactors Can’t Compete With Renewable Energy. U.S. approves design for NuScale small modular nuclear reactor, but significant problems remain.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Demonstrators gather in Hamburg against threat of nuclear confrontation in Ukraine.

POLITICS. 

• Ukraine steps up preparations for new nuclear reactors (NO this is not a joke!). 
• Mini nuclear reactor firm snubs Britain for the French: Newcleo blames political chaos for decision to build prototype across Channel. 
• Jeremy in nuclear wonderland. 2022 saw the slow demise of the Bradwell B nuclear plan. 
• France’s new law on nuclear energy will be a gift to the nuclear lobby. French government moves to fully nationalise the nuclear industry. 
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission certifies NuScale’s design for small nuclear reactor, despite predictions on uneconomic costs.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. The Problem With Primacy – America’s Dangerous Quest to Dominate the Pacific.     Diplomatic Cables Show Russia Saw NATO Expansion as a Red Line. Pacific islands urge Japan to delay release of nuclear plant waste water.

SAFETY.

• The IAEA expands mission in Ukraine to prevent nuclear accident. IAEA sends staff to all Ukraine nuclear plants to reduce risk of accidents. Ukraine says situation deteriorating at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Accident at Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘still cannot be excluded’: IAEA . Ukraine storing weapons at nuclear plants. 
• French nuclear safety needs review ahead of reactor lifespan extensions, newbuilds. 
• 40 safety incidents with UK nuclear weapons convoys over past 3 years. Call to end practice of transporting nuclear warheads through Cumbria. 
• Slovenia Extends Nuclear Plant Operation Until 2043. Slovenia’s nuclear power plant gets permit for a 20 year operating extension.

SECRETS and LIES. Man arrested on suspicion of terror offences after uranium found at Heathrow.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. NATO activating space war center in France. New NASA Nuclear Rocket Plan Aims to Get to Mars in Just 45 Days

SPINBUSTER. A bit of panic in the UK small nuclear reactor lobby?

TECHNOLOGY. Canadian MP Charlie Angus Questions the Claims of SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7nR4P39ALo

WASTES. 

• China urges Japan to safely dispose of nuclear-contaminated water. 
• France’s nuclear waste agency applies to create a long-term underground storage in Eastern France. France issues a 10,000-page dossier to convince people of the safety of the Cigeo nuclear waste site. 
• Diluted plutonium disposed of at Carlsbad nuclear waste site as program draws controversy.          Many years for removal and disposal of radioactive waste from historic subterranean vaults at Berkeley nuclear power station.

      WAR and CONFLICT. US may assist Ukrainian strikes on Crimea – NYT.       Ukraine: Is the Hammer About to Fall?.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. CNN: Ukraine Has Become a ‘Weapons Lab’ for Western Arms . Ukraine Narrative Fraying, But Weapons Will Continue To Flow. Ukraine war boon/boondoggle for U.S. arms makers, Pentagon’s warfighting capabilities.        Germany Says US Must Lead Way On Tanks For Ukraine, As Republican Party Also Piles On Pressure         Nuclear Notebook: United States nuclear weapons, 2023.

Nuclear submarines deal an exercise in futility and should be sunk.   Push in US Congress to exempt Australia from International Traffic in Arms Regulations, so that it can import nuclear submarines.

 Plutonium Pit Bomb Plans Excoriated by General Accounting Office.  Pentagon can’t account for $220 billion in govt property, fails fifth audit. US Installs New Nukes in Europe: As Destructive as 83 Hiroshima Bombs.    

The US has a new nuclear proliferation problem: South Korea. The Disastrous Downsides of South Korea Building Nuclear Weapons. It comes down to weapons.

January 24, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. To ramp up militarism, (and the USA weapons corporations) the US Congress might decide to dump Regulations on Traffic in Nuclear Weapons

What a great idea – not!

So that Australia (big in size but small in population, and even smaller in political brains) can pay $squillions to USA companies – for nuclear submarines that are useless for Australia, – well the US Congress could just change the rules.

Oh heck – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Syria , Ukraine, ………who knows who else – would be happy to know that these rules have been dumped.

After all, who cares about the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty?

First you buy your nuclear-powered submarines from the USA. Then you put weapons on them. Then later – as your nuclear activities develop (to support your submarines) – then just add nuclear weapons to your subs.

Easy peasy – and it’s sort of democratic. Why shouldn’t everybody have a right to nuclear weapons?

January 21, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Nuclear toys for the boys. What fun!

I’ve just been trawling through this weighty article – Nuclear Notebook: United States nuclear weapons, 2023. Yes, it’s quite an ordeal, trying to follow the machinations of the American nuclear-weapons-toys-boys, as explained in excruciating detail by Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda..

It all boils down to the fact that these tiny male brains think that it’s great fun to have these toys, play with them, tease and intimidate other boys with them, but of course, never use them.

Of course, it’s not just the Americans – it’s the Russians, Chinese, French, and oh boy, aren’t the Israelis itching to scare Iran? Mohammed Bin Salman? Wow – those Middle East boys are so ready to play this infantile, but suicidal, game.

Is it too late for women to take over this world, before the ecocide happens?

On January 24, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will make the 2023 Doomsday Clock announcement.

January 16, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear (and climate) news to 16 January

Some bits of good news.  Here are all the positive environmental stories from 2023 so far.  How the world fixed the ozone layer. The hole over the pole will be closed by 2066.

Coronavirus. Covid cases in China touch 900 million – study.

Climate. Look –  this whole issue is mind-boggling. Glaciers are melting fast. It’s probable that the cleanup of atmospheric pollution by China and others will, for a while, contribute to global heating. I recommend that everyone follow RADIO ECOSHOCK. It’s the best place for getting the most up-to-date and thorough analyses of what is going on with our heating planet.

Nuclear. This week, I’m a bit overwhelmed with the climate stuff – actually more terrible than nuclear. But hey!  the big tennis is on in my country  – so nobody seems to care. (Except perhaps the flooded-out people).  Christina’s notes. NO – Sir Keir Starmer – nuclear power is NOT clean. Strange and contradictory messages from the global nuclear authority IAEA.

        ……………………………………………….

CIVIL LIBERTIES.  Julian Assange denied permission to attend Vivienne Westwood funeral

CLIMATE. Europe recorded its hottest ever summer in 2022. Worlds oceans were the hottest ever recorded in 2022. Extreme weather is pushing more people to flee their homes.

DECOMMISSIONING REACTORS. Lithuania deal to dismantle Soviet-era nuclear reactors could be world first.

ECONOMICS.

Small nuclear reactors:  Eye-popping new cost estimates released for NuScale small modular reactor. The PG and E plan to sell non-nuclear generation assets could improperly increase rates, groups tell FERC. UK should not be building Sizewell C, and rollout of small nuclear reactors will be a nightmare – energy boss. Uncertainty over government funding for Rolls Royce’s small nuclear reactors . 

The Delusion of Infinite Economic Growth. Slew of companies keeping watch on DOE nuclear cleanup work for small biz. Team Korea to bolster exports of nuclear energy systems.

EMPLOYMENT. The renewable energy transition is creating a green jobs boom.

HEALTH. An unacceptable risk to children.

LEGAL. Pacific states entitled to claims against Japan for discharge of radioactive nuclear wastewater.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Shouldn’t a new and experimental reactor deserve a federal impact assessment? Adam Tooze: Why Nuclear Fusion Is Not the Holy Grail. How close are we to developing commercial nuclear fusion reactors? The problem with nuclear energy advocates. Japan and USA to develop small nuclear reactors “within each country and third countries.”

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Scottish campaign groups hit back over claims nuclear power is cheaper and more reliable. Significant environmental victory for Savannah River Site Watch in stopping import of high level nuclear waste from Germany.

POLITICS. 

• Trump suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on North Korea and blaming it on someone else in 2017, book claims. 
• Holtec seeks $7.4 billion government loan for expansion tied to new reactor. Going nuclear? MPSC to hire outside firm to study Michigan’s energy future (but will the firm have vested interests?) California PUC launches rulemaking to consider extension of Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. 
• Australia’s nuclear submarine plan – a source of disagreement in US Congress
• New delay for Hinkley Point C nuclear power – could start operating in 2036. Rolls Royce’s frustration as government holds back on orders for mininuclear reactors. 
• Swedish govt to amend law to be able to build more nuclear power plants. Sweden makes regulatory push to allow new nuclear reactors. 
• South Korea Curbs Plans for Renewables in Push For More Nuclear. 
• Bangladesh puts energy hopes in first nuclear power plant, despite delay, and climate concerns.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• Ukraine war follows decades of warnings that NATO expansion into Eastern Europe could provoke Russia. Ukraine as a country and its armed forces have become members of NATO: defense minister . Republican Rep Joe Wilson of South Carolina wants the US capitol to have a bust of Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky on permanent display. Not all American politicians want to adore Zelensky. 

• Nuclear deal between USA and Saudi Arabia sneaked in under the guise of “clean energy”. 
• Djibouti the 92nd country to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 
• US military deepens ties with Japan and Philippines to instigate proxy war with China like it did with Russia. 
• The One-Person Monopoly of Nuclear Launches. 
• China’s role in UK nuclear sector poses challenges for net zero push, say think tanks. 
• Alarm in Malta over the proposal for a nuclear reactor in Sicily.
• Philippines looking at Chinese investors for cooperation on nuclear energy. 

SAFETY. Deal on safe zone for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant getting harder -IAEA. IAEA plans “continuous presence” at all Ukraine nuclear power plants “to help prevent a nuclear accident” amid Russia’s war . Irish Republic monitoring nuclear risk as a consequence of fighting in Ukraine. Nuclear convoys: 40 safety reports in three years. Terror police investigate after uranium found in package at Heathrow airport. Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear plant startup delayed due to vibrating pipe.

SPACE.  Space junk cowboys are ruining our night sky.

WASTES. 

• Huge cost for Japanese tax-payers to clean up the botched nuclear waste storage at Tokai reprocessing plant . 
• Nuclear waste project in New Mexico opposed in recent poll, company asserts local support. 
• Arctic nuclear waste ship gets funding. Nuclear colonialism? 
• Nuclear country Canada “helps” Ghana to develop nuclear waste disposal facility. 
• Fukushima nuclear disaster: Japan to release radioactive water into sea this year. Fukushima water to be released into ocean in next few months, says Japan . Pacific Island Forum could sideline Japan over nuclear waste plan.

WAR and CONFLICT.The Ukraine War Should Alert Us to The Need to Ban Nuclear Weapons. Ukraine on ‘NATO mission’ – defense minister. NATO to train hundreds of Ukrainian troops in US and Germany, in operating Patriot missile system . Ukraine legalizes foreigners in AZOV neo-Nazi regiment. Gordon M. Hahn: The West has been reckless with Vladimir Putin . Britain sending first NATO nation tanks to Ukraine .

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• Nuclear weapons proliferation really just keeps on going.  Support Arms Control, Not Nuclear Weapons.
• Brian Toohey -on Australia’s new arms race.

• The U.S. Can’t Make Enough Plutonium Triggers for Its Nuclear Warheads. Savannah River Site, Los Alamos plutonium pit production plan could cost over $30 billion.
• NATO member sending banned cluster bombs to Ukraine – media. German tank deliveries for Ukraine hinge on US. Pentagon backs Poland’s plans for German, other tanks for Ukraine . 
• The C-17A Has Been Cleared To Transport B61-12 Nuclear Bombs To Europe. 
• Biden Administration Tramples on Japan’s Post-World War II Pacifist Constitution By Pushing Country’s Rearmament. 
• In a first, South Korea declares nuclear weapons a policy option.

January 16, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

TODAY. Strange and contradictory messages from the global nuclear authority IAEA

Ukraine – nuclear dangerous – everywhere else – fine!

Today we learn that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be boosting its presence in Ukraine to help prevent a possible disaster.

It will soon have a permanent presence at all five of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, including Chernobyl, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will visit Ukraine next week to begin the operation, the agency said in a statement. 11 or 12 agency experts will be present in Ukraine to monitor the plants and provide technical assistance.

 The IAEA said it “continues to prepare to deploy soon IAEA teams on a continual basis to the four other Ukrainian nuclear facilities, the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs [nuclear power plants], as well as the Chornobyl site.

Well that is all fine and dandy and even a bit reassuring. Poor Mr Grossi, – no wonder he always looks super-anxious.

Obviously the IAEA people are scared stiff about the potential for a catastrophic accident , a release of ionising radiation, amidst the hostilities in Ukraine.

BUT – does that cause the IAEA to pause in its promotion of nuclear energy worldwide?

The world’s corporate media is constantly awash with excited promotion of “new nuclear” , and how we supposedly need nuclear power to solve climate change. (As Helen Caldicott said this is “like recommending smoking as the cure for obesity”).

Not a peep about this out of the IAEA , which apparently regards all other nuclear facilities except the ones in Ukraine as safe, and a boon to humankind. If you go to the IAEA’s websites on nuclear safety you find very complacent spiels promoting nuclear.

Let’s not forget, the IAEA is basically a nuclear marketing agency. Its mission statement includes this purpose:

assists its Member States…… in planning for and using nuclear science and technology for various peaceful purposes, including the generation of electricity, and facilitates the transfer of such technology and knowledge ……

January 14, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

to 9th January – nuclear news this week

A bit of good news. Quitea shortage of good news this week. I’m reduced to falling back on stories of individual goodness. Well, why not?  Individuals in their millions are doing kind things every day – that just doesn’t get into the news media. The Top 10 Acts of Kindness in 2022 Warmed Our Hearts and Restored Our Faith in Strangers and Neighbors.

Coronavirus.  Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19

Climate.  Climate change could cause ‘disaster’ in the world’s oceans.

Nuclear. Not much happening, except hype for small nuclear reactors. Australia’s nuclear submarines project is beginning to sound less like a goer, and more like something of a 171$billion ego-trip by former PM Scott Morrison, in a bid to look important on the world stage

Christina’s notes: They’re at it again! The nuclear industry dazzles journalists with its newest hogwash – “inflection point”.         Corporate media focusses on ‘new’ nuclear solutions. Are they stupid? Or is it just what they’re paid to write?

AUSTRALIA.  

• US President Joe Biden warned AUKUS nuclear submarine deal could come at cost to American fleet. Dear US Congress, thank you for saving Australia from itself.    
• Australia to buy long-range HIMARS missile system from United States – at unknown cost (? 2 $billion). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_M2JqeY8CA 
• Military join rescue effort as floods ravage outback. Bushfire deaths and smoke-related healthcare costs predicted to rise in next few years.

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CIVIL LIBERTIES. Guilty of Journalism. Key US Allies Collaborate On Espionage Laws Considered Harmful To Whistleblowers And Journalists.

CLIMATE.  Coal 2 Nuclear: From the fossil fuel frying pan into the fission fire.   Under present conditions, a huge loss of the planet’s glaciers will happen in the next 30 years. Writers protest against UK’s imprisonment of climate activists. 

ECONOMICS  

• Green surge is circuit breaker on nuclear revival.   Nuclear power saw multiple gains in 2022, but economic and other questions remain. 
• Sizewell C Nuclear Project’s biggest stumbling block is its funding problem. Sizewell C: How will the £20billion plant be fully-funded? Is EDF using Britain’s “windfall tax” as an excuse to get out of uneconomic Hartlepool and Heysham nuclear reactors? 
• Japan’s shortage of engineers and manufacturing capacity sets back its nuclear ambitions. 
• GUSTAFSON: Russian nuclear power – unsanctioned – is prospering worldwide.

ENERGY. Analysis Shows U.S. Wind and Solar Could Outpace Coal and Nuclear Power in 2023.    European Energy Crisis: France Close to Electricity Rationing Over Problems with Local Nuclear Plants.  The Future Remains Uncertain For Nuclear Energy.   Nuclear is not the answer to the UK’s energy requirements, and honesty about Sizewell is needed.  Solar power innovation by two British local councils. Great Britain produced a record amount of wind-powered electricity in 2022. 

ENVIRONMENT. Namibia orders Russian uranium exploration to stop due to environmental concerns.

HEALTH. Electromagnetic radiation – cellphones as a health hazard.  Ionising radiation. Return to studying baby teeth for radioactivity from nuclear weapons and nuclear facilities.

HISTORY. It’s all about the bomb: why civilian nuclear power is merely a cover for producing more nuclear weapons. Why Did Portland General Electric Want to Build Trojan Nuclear Plant in the First Place?

LEGAL. John LaForge Set to Be First US Activist Jailed in Germany for Anti-Nuke Protests. Take Japan to court for nuclear water dumping.

MEDIA. Under Musk, Twitter Continues to Promote US Propaganda Networks. Zelensky Expands Crackdown on Ukrainian Media. Media Silent as Latest Twitter Files Expose Flagrant Misconduct in Govt. & Journalism.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY.  

• $Billions of tax-payer money to go to kickstarting the “new nuclear reactor” industry’s “inflection point”. 
• Small Nuclear Reactor (SMR) developers submit 6 designs for UK approval. SMRs – an oversold hype? 
• International nuclear fusion project may be delayed by years, its head admits. Is Nuclear Fusion Hotter Than the Sun?. Nuclear fusion may change our world but renewable energy sources will save it: experts.

PERSONAL STORIES.. Beatrice Fihn – a decade fighting to ban nuclear weapons. This man saved the world from nuclear war. His story is a heart-pumper.

POLITICS. German minister reignites coalition row with call to review nuclear exit.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. US and South Korea hold talks on “nuclear sharing”. South Korea asks US for greater role in managing nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons and the resistance to reality.  U.S. President Biden contradicts South Korea’s President‘s claim that the two countries are planning joint nuclear exercises.   

 Pakistan supplies India with a list of its nuclear facilities.  US Says ‘All Options’ On Table As Iran Nuclear Talks Remain Deadlocked.

SAFETY. 

• Nuclear Ukraine? Amid concerns over alleged Russian threat, the world overlooks the real danger .  
• Canada: Pressure tubes at two nuclear reactors deteriorated far too quickly .   
• Letter in the Morning Star Exposes Links Between Subsea Coal Mine and Subsea Nuclear Dumping.  Enforcement action revealed after Hinkley Point C worker death.
•  Japan to use Self-Defense Forces to guard nuclear power plants. 
• South Korea: Credible nuclear regulation needs independence transparency.

SECRETS and LIES.   

• White Lives Matter More in Ukraine. Japan  
• Data rewriting and erroneous statements…Sloppy handling continues at Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant Unit No.2 of JAERI, Regulatory Commission suggests termination of review if no improvement is made. Kashiwazaki Kariwa, a Distant Recovery of Confidence TEPCO Shares Crisis Awareness to Prevent Misconduct. British-run spy tech powers Ukraine proxy war, putting civilians at risk. 
• Russian computer hacking team targeted 3 USA nuclear weapons facilities. 
• Can nuclear safety protocols be maintained in a poor country like Kyrgyzstan, where corruption is rampant?.

SPINBUSTER. Countering nuclear industry propaganda by telling the facts – Joshua Frank’s book “Atomic Days”.      Workington under siege from new nuclear plans.

WASTES. 

• Fukushima, Our ongoing accident. Japan must work with the Pacific to find a solution to the Fukushima water release issue – otherwise we face disaster. 
• Feds push plan to dispose plutonium using nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad. Editorial: New Mexico right to ask for accounting of nuclear waste. 
• Indigenous Taiwanese kept in the dark as a massive nuclear waste dump was imposed on their island. 
• UK. Coal Boss Compiles Lastest Nuclear Dump Report for Government who have just Approved his Coal Mine.

WAR and CONFLICT. Before the Bombs Come the Platitudes. Cold War estimates of deaths in nuclear conflict. A Secret War in the Making: Americans Should Not Die to Defend Taiwan. 

Number of civilians killed in Donbass revealed. Ukraine – The Big Push To End The War. CODEPINK calls on Zelensky, Biden and Congress to seize this chance for peace in Ukraine. Donetsk shelled in first minute of Christmas truce .  Los Alamos National Laboratory’s record $4.6B budget will still mostly fund nuclear weapons. 

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Pentagon pressures NATO allies to boost arms flow to Ukraine. Defensive and offensive operations: “tank-killers” part of new U.S. $45b arms package to Ukraine

North Korea to have “exponential increase” in its nuclear arsenal. Raytheon sells long-range missiles to Romania for war in Black Sea 

January 9, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Corporate media focusses on ‘new’ nuclear solutions. Are they stupid? Or is it just what they’re paid to write?

The truth is that there are so many faster, simpler, and cheaper new ways to provide energy, conserve energy, and produce genuinely clean energy .

Some examples –  commercially-viable perovskite solar cells,  printable solar cells, production-ready solar-powered car. 

There are projects like car parking spaces covered with solar panels. The possibility of cooling buildings by mirrors on rooftops is being explored.

The many clean new ways, and old ways, to manage energy don’t get the political and media support that they deserve.

Yet the corporate journalists must know that SMRs are: very Slow, very Costly, very Dirty (produce long-lived wastes, very Dangerous (target for terrorism)

Yesterday I deplored the corporate media’s enthusiastic focus on Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) Today they’re at it again. In the UK, “NuCell” SMRs will  be worth “some tens of millions of pounds” to the local economy, and will make Britain “a global leader” – BBC. In the USA they’re a “bold new direction“, and will be “powering everything from homes to factories to transportation – American Opinion editorial .

Last week, it was nuclear-fusion-enthusiasm, but that’s fading away now – it was a useful little distraction from the reality of the sagging nuclear power industry.

However – perhaps I write too soon.

For one thing – NuScam and Rolls Royce – the leading pushers of SMRs have been rather quiet lately. Their propaganda now concentrates on their political gymnastics to get tax-payers’ money out of governments, build dodgy mergers between companies, and adopt systems like SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) – designed to save their skins when it all goes bust.

For another thing – some corporate journalists now dip their toe into the negative side of the SMR story.

Larry Pearl, senior editor for Utility Dive points out the big questions about cost and safety of SMRs. In Canada’s National Observer Cloe Logan concludes her long article with the big question “Are SMRs viable? – “Although the plans for these next-generation nuclear units might hypothetically work, their viability hasn’t been proven anywhere.”  Robert Cyran in Reuters is sceptical of any nuclear revival –  “a surging supply of green power is likely to limit any renaissance”.

Of course, all good patriotic corporate journalists stay away from the military connection – the underlying reason for the push for small nuclear reactors

January 4, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Nuclear news to January 2nd

Some bits of good news.      What went right in 2022: the top 25 good news stories of the year  – Climate action – Return of threatened species –   The rights of nature were strengthened  – Land was returned to nature – and indigenous people – and more.

Coronavirus. Three years since coronavirus was detected in China, and how it changed the world.

Climate.  Environmental review of 2022: another mile on the ‘highway to climate hell’.

Nuclear.  In reality – not much is happening. The corporate media is still banging on about nuclear fusion ,  a complete distraction from anything that is really happening in energy and climate issues. In fact, the most interesting thing that is happening is the Europe-wide cutting down on energy use – “demand reduction” – the most unsexy but effective way to address global heating.  The other thing that the corporate media is banging on about is –   small nuclear reactors (SMRs). They faithfully regurgitate nuclear industry handouts – even though these SMRs actually don’t exist, and investors hold back – waiting for governments to pour even more tax-payer money into SMRs.

However, lurking all the time, is the risk of nuclear accident, especially in Ukraine.  And as USA and NATO promise more advanced weapons for the Ukrainians, and Putin flexes his “unrivalled” nuclear-powered missile cruisers, the world could be now teetering on the brink of nuclear war.

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CLIMATE. Growing climate, nuclear risks spark doomsday fears. Growing urgency and intensity — Weather extremes won’t be solved by nuclear power.

CULTURE and ART. MIND OF THE MACHINE Chilling AI predicts what nuclear war would look like with attacks on London, Moscow and Washington .

ECONOMICS. How did the US nuclear industry fare in 2022?

EDUCATION. Physicists push for nuclear science education: their environmental colleagues not so sure.

ENERGY. As France’s nuclear energy sector falters, Britain’s wind and solar power booms. France’s nuclear headache – Macron on the brink of rationing electricity. Europe shows how to cut demand for energy use.

ENVIRONMENT. Hot water — radiation in drinking water.

MEDIA. US spies pushed Twitter to censor ‘anti-Ukraine narratives’ – media.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Nuclear Fusion:  Don’t Believe the Hype!. Small modular reactors will not save the day. The US can get to 100% clean power without new nuclear. Japan’s Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing project delayed again – for the 26th time.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Civil society groups urge feds to ban reprocessing used nuclear fuel. No new nuclear weapons in Europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgfckOtqWb8

POLITICS. Canada’s first new nuclear power reactor in 30 years has embarked on a crucial review. Can it pass quickly?

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. The 2022 nuclear year in review: A global nuclear order in shambles.     Tucker “Gets It” – Putin Doesn’t Want American Missiles on His Border.  Ukraine became de facto member of NATO in 2022: DM .     What the Pentagon Doesn’t Want You to Know About China.  Europe’s nuclear industry heavily dependent on Russian fuel and technology – no sanctions there.

RADIATION. Marie Curie’s Belongings Will Be Radioactive For Another 1,500 Years.

SAFETY. German residents told to prepare for nuclear emergencies.

SECRETS and LIES. This Year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners are deeply connected to the CIA. Every social media firm censors for US government – Musk.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Military satellites add to Earth’s orbit, which is already crowded with satellites.

SPINBUSTER. Calling nuclear fusion a potential ‘climate solution’ may undermine actual solutions.

WASTES. In the Pacific, Outcry Over Japan’s Plan to Release FukushimaWastewater.

WAR and CONFLICT. 3,000 civilians dead in Mariupol – Russian officials investigating – and claim that Ukrainian troops are responsible.        Germany assumes command of NATO’s 12,000-troop strike force EU.               Britain to train 15,000 Ukrainian “warfighters” in Lithuania.                100,000 U.S. troops, 20,000 new, to stay in Europe, train Ukrainian counterparts . Historic Golden Rule Peace Boat On Its Way to Cuba.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. More weapons to Ukraine “to bring peace” – says NATO chief. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2_ktxVQooQ                 Under pressure from Washington, Japan rearms.             Increasing kill chain speed: Pentagon augments HIMARS for Ukraine, Latvia, Taiwan .             North Korea says it will boost nuclear warhead production ‘exponentially‘, as another missile fired.            Russia Adds ‘Unrivaled’ Nuclear-Powered Missile Cruisers To Its Arsenal; Putin Says Has No Analogs In The World. Scott Morrison’s booby trap: Buying US submarines is a huge mistake. 

January 2, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

TODAY: The growing influence of the nuclear lobby on education

It’s one thing for the nuclear lobby to pour money into universities in the USA and UK, to set up prestigious-looking nuclear departments. That’s one way to gain the respectability, approval and awe that the nuclear priesthood crave.

The original scientists of the Manhattan atomic bomb project enjoyed adulation (for a while) when everyone was encouraged to think that their brilliant device saved the world from Hitler. But that adoration faded as it transpired that Japan would have surrendered anyway, and the war in Europe was over, months before the “wonderful” bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

To assuage their guilt, most nuclear scientists enthusiastically embraced “Atoms for Peace” – and off and away went the public story that nuclear power is so good. The nuclear priesthood, being highly technical and male – developed a mindset, a reductionist point of view – the idea that technical achievement is all-important, and side issues like radiation effects, biology, environment, ecology, health, economics, history, criminal connections, are – well – just side issues.

But dammit! Those side issues just keep on coming up. Perhaps this is because the universities have been teaching too much of that other girlie “soft” stuff. So we need not just more more Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – but Nuclear Science now too!

Australian journalist Liam Mannix, covers this new nuclear lobby push in his article ‘Cherish’ the power”, and points out that the uranium and nuclear industries have much more money to push for their interests, than do those “more socially constructive areas”.

The previous government in Australia determinedly downgraded humanities studies. Perhaps this is a worldwide trend. Anyway there is a saving grace for increasing STEM education – it gives girls and women that necessary knowledge – traditionally reserved for males. They, and men who can think, can gain the knowledge they need, to better evaluate pro nuclear propaganda.

Perhaps the world does need more nuclear scientists – there will be much need for them, in the marathon tasks of dismantling the toxic nuclear power/nuclear weapons industry. But we surely need also more humanities education, to understand and face the crises coming upon the world.

December 29, 2022 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The week in nuclear news

It’s that time of year, and I hope that you all did have a really lovely time, despite the madness of the festive season  – and will continue to survive and enjoy the rest of it. And on to a good 2023, one can only hope.

Roberto Prusso’sCopy of painting by PreRaphaelite artist Frederick Sandys

I feel that I should change my name from Christina to Cassandra. Not that I’m a princess, nor  look like her!   And indeed, I’m not as unlucky as Cassandra, in that nobody believed her warnings.   Many do now realise the perils that the world is in.  But still, for 2023,  there’s a prevailing complacency about pandemics. climate change, the “progress” of the Ukraine war, and about nuclear reactors and weapons .

Some readers have complained that this newsletter is too long. (Well, sorry – it’s hard to prune it, and anyway, I hope that you just pick out the topics that interest you).  I put outstanding stories in larger green text.

Recently there have been two remarkable articles that absolutely stood out  – stuff that people really need to know.

This one –  Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site – this one is must.  If anyone ever tells you that nuclear waste is “manageable” – this article would enlighten them.

The other article has a much more subtle tone. It’s about small nuclear reactors (SMRs). You could read it even as being in favour of SMRs.  It is enlightening as it rather quietly suggests all the problems about SMR development. It touches ever so lightly on the nuclear weapons connection –  “security” is the codeword for the military aspect.  And even more interesting, it shows the mindset of the corporate leaders and politicians who are pushing for SMRs. The article is Building promises of small modular reactors—one conference at a time.

Meanwhile, over the past week –   2 things stand out.  Both of them illustrate the gullibility, the lack of imagination, or the sheer subservience of the corporate press.

1,  the fawning of the USA Congress, and the West in general – over the visit of  Volodymyr Zelenskyy  to get more weapons. 

2. the euphoria over a tiny, and hugely expensive, experiment in nuclear fusion.

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Herewith – the dreary old real newsletter. (things don’t stop happening for Christmas, Hannukkah …….)

AUSTRALIA. The nuclear lobby is revving up its campaign, with submissions to the Senate to remove legal bans on nuclear activities. Australia has a new nuclear lobby front group “REPLANET Australia” . Fake, dishonest ‘Australian Greens for Nuclear Energy’ group. Mining lobby tricks government with its big taxpayer fairytale.

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CLIMATE. Greenland’s glaciers are melting 100 times faster than estimated.

ECONOMICS. Bank of America, investors, thrilled and delighted with the nuclear arms race. National Guard informs troops last paycheck before Christmas will be late as Biden admin sends $billions to Ukraine. Zelensky’s diaspora delegation led by economic hit-woman who led plunder of Ukraine. The Ukraine Arms Drain.           Never mind about sanctions – Russia’s export of nuclear products and services is soaring.

EDUCATION. Propaganda drive: Nuclear Power 2.0 Eyes Opportunity, Steep Climb in Coal Country.

ENERGY. UK tipped to export even more energy to France despite blackout fears. Sunak’s wrongheaded renewables tax risks trashing Britain’s wind and solar ambitions..

ENVIRONMENT. 

• ‘Historic’ agreement reached at UN conference to halt biodiversity loss by 2030. 
• Canada’s Federal environment minister rejects impact assessment for small modular nuclear reactor on the Bay of Fundy. ARC-100 SMR: Does the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada do anything other than recommending not to do impact assessments? — Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area Canada’s Feds forgo environmental assessment for controversial nuclear project. 
• Highland campaigners ‘disturbed and disappointed’ to learn 15 radioactive particles discovered near Dounreay.

ETHICS and RELIGION. U.S. Faith Leaders Call for Xmas Truce in Ukraine as Zelensky Visits D.C. Seeking More Arms & Money.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. 

• What’s not to like about nuclear fusion? Nuclear fusion – expensive, far away in time, and not clean, not safe. 
• Small nuclear reactors – the nuclear industry’s last ditch chance to thrive?. Building promises of small modular reactors—one conference at a time – (my comments on this) 
• Dounreay pushes forward plans to build new 37-metre-high stack at prototype fast breeder reactor.

OPPOSITION TO NUCLEAR.  In protecting the biosphere from plutonium and other wastes, the first step is to stop producing them.

POLITICS.

• Democrats Are Making a Devil’s Bargain on Pentagon Funding. It’s Not Paying Off. 
• Bill Gates’ Natrium project stalled, lacks Russian fuel – call for tax-payer funding for nuclear fuel development. The Nuclear Subsidy Tango of Bill Gates and Joe Manchin. Owner of Palisades to reapply for taxpayer funding to reopen nuclear power plant. 
• Macron ‘panicking’ as France faces ‘catastrophic’ nuclear energy crisis. 
• Nuclear Free Local Authorities ‘bitterly disappointed’ government will press ahead with ‘criminal nuclear power tax’.
• How Ukraine’s Jewish president Zelensky made peace with neo-Nazi paramilitaries on front lines of war with Russia. 
• EDITORIAL JAPAN : Without national debate, radical nuclear policy shift intolerable.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• The Democrats are Now the War Party. 
• Iran says Jordan summit ‘good opportunity’ for nuclear talks. Iran after a region free of nuclear weapons, Kharrazi says. 
• Chinese nuclear company still has a stake in UK’s Hinkley Point C project, and approval to build Bradwell project. 
• Comments on a Jerusalem Post article that praised Ukraine’s Nazi Azov battalion. Zelensky’s ‘Hollywood-style’ US visit a ‘proxy war’ promotion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41asLQD1GiU European NATO members should reduce reliance on US – Macron .

SAFETY. In a blow to France’s electricity supply, EDF extends maintenance at nuclear reactors.

SECRETS and LIES. Atomic Bomb Effects Cover-up Reported in New York Times. Dishonesty: British authorities knew it was wrong to proceed with the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield.

SPINBUSTER. Despite the hype, we shouldn’t bank on nuclear fusion to save the world from climate catastrophe. Media hype about nuclear fusion is designed to make research on thermonuclear weapons look acceptable. 

The Claim That The Ukraine War Advances US Interests Discredits The Claim That It’s “Unprovoked”. Why all the hysteria over not clapping for Zelensky?

WASTES   America’s complicated problem of disposing of tons of plutonium bomb cores, as the government to spend $1.7 billion on more plutonium bomb cores. Getting rid of plutonium pits — so many questions. Trawsfynydd as a nuclear waste dump? Campaign groups want answers on increase in radioactive particles found on Dounreay foreshore. Exposing the dishonest spiel that nuclear waste is “manageable”.

WAR and CONFLICT. Feverishly Racing Toward Our Own Destruction.            Kremlin: “US & Russia On The Brink Of A Direct Clash” In Ukraine. While others are preparing for their holidays, NATO is preparing for war in Black Sea Ukraine: * Congress as War Prop * Christmas Truce  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd-RvfQfUJI It’s worse than they’re telling you in Ukraine – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLh0KYZB9qM&t=249s

“Eva Bartlett: Western Silence As Ukraine Targets Civilians in Donbass” — In Gaza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETpa-W0lJMc

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. U.S, €100b European next-generation warplanes to carry U.S. nuclear warheads. Fusion Energy: the Nuclear Weapons Connection. Over 500 U.S. military personnel have sought Washington’s okay to work for foreign governments: case of Azerbaijan.

December 27, 2022 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment