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In Chicago: Testimonies of Korean Atomic Bomb Victims and International People’s Tribunal Promotion Events

Helen Plum Library, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, DePaul University, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, USA https://abombtribunal.campaignus.me/34/?q=YToxOntzOjEyOiJrZXl3b3JkX3R5cGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjt9&bmode=view&idx=159506865&t=board

Following the conclusion of the 3rd Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the delegation of Korean Atomic Bomb Victims and SPARK traveled to Chicago. The schedule in Chicago was organized through the invitation of Yuki Miyamoto, a professor at DePaul University and member of the International Organizing Committee, and the arrangements of Brad Wolf, Co-Coordinator of the International Organizing Committee.

On March 9, a roundtable discussion was held at the Helen Plum Library, hosted by Kathy Kelly, President of World BEYOND War. After the event, Kathy Kelly joined the International Organizing Committee. The event was attended by 15 participants, who listened to testimonies from the victims and learned about the International People’s Tribunal. One participant, identifying as a second-generation Jewish Holocaust survivor, expressed sympathy by saying, “As an American, I apologize for the pain you have endured.” Additionally, journalist Robert C. Koehler, who attended the event, wrote and posted an article online titled “The Journey Beyond Nukes Begins with an Apology.“

On the morning of March 10, an event was held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After listening to the testimonies of Korean atomic bomb victims, one student shared, “It is not just about numbers; hearing the stories from those who directly experienced it really touches my heart.” Another student said, “I was uncertain about taking this class, but now that I’ve attended, I feel like I’ve learned so much. I think this is such an important topic.” The student also inquired about the main goals of the International People’s Tribunal.

Later that same day, at 6 PM, an event was held at DePaul University, attended by around 80 people, including Korean Americans from the first, second, and third generations. After hearing testimonies from the victims and learning about the International People’s Tribunal, students who had visited Hiroshima presented and discussed their works.

On March 11, an event was held at the University of Illinois Chicago, organized by Professor Michael Jean. He later became a new member of the International Organizing Committee and expressed his intention to participate in next year’s International People’s Tribunal. Several participants also pledged to take part in next year’s tribunal after the event.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to all those who worked tirelessly to create meaningful connections, raise awareness about the plight of the Korean atomic bomb victims, and promote the International People’s Tribunal in Chicago.

April 14, 2025 Posted by | Events | Leave a comment

Russia holds all the cards.

Walt Zlotow, Apr 11, 2025. Published in Chicago Tribune

Tribune foreign affairs columnist Daniel DePetris (“Vladimir Putin obstructs President Donald Trump’s best-laid plans for Ukraine,” April 8) nibbles around the edges of reality concerning the Russia-Ukraine war. His current take on the war suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin is sabotaging President Donald Trump’s best efforts to end the war quickly through negotiations in order to capture more Ukrainian territory.

But the reverse is true. The U.S., NATO and Ukraine are preventing the negotiations from achieving peace. Why? Because all of them refuse to accept the war will not end till they recognize and address Russia’s core interests: no NATO for Ukraine, neutrality for Ukraine going forward and an end to attacks on Russian-leaning Ukrainians in Donbas.

Putin is not feigning peace to stay on Trump’s good side merely to gobble up more Ukrainian territory. He’s simply not going to negotiate with adversaries who refuse to recognize Russia’s core interests. No peace agreement will occur in Trump’s first 100 days, nor even in his first 1,000 days, unless he accepts this reality of what it will take to end the war.

DePetris claims a frustrated Trump has but two options: ramping up the war with another multibillion-dollar weapons package to achieve victory or just walking away to saddle Europe with prosecuting it. Wrong. Trump has but one urgent task: Accept reality that Russia holds all the negotiating cards and will never cease hostilities till its core interests are addressed.

DePetris surely knows this. However, his career as a Defense Priorities fellow and a Tribune columnist is contingent upon never admitting or criticizing America’s role in provoking, if not starting, senseless wars and refusing to quickly, sensibly end them.

That is unfortunate for his readership. It is infinitely more unfortunate for the war-weary people of Ukraine.

April 14, 2025 Posted by | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Trump declares he would ‘absolutely’ bomb Iran if it refuses to give up its bid for nuclear weapons

The Iran nuclear deal, which Trump scuttled after it was put in place under Barack Obama, was negotiated through multi-party talks.

On Tuesday Trump ridiculed fears of climate change, then pivoted to the Iran threat, which he called much more grave

Says Israel would be ‘very much involved’ 

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR, 10 April 25 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14589765/donald-trump-bomb-iran-nuclear-weapons.html

President Donald Trump openly discussed military action against Iran just days before talks are set to begin on its nuclear program.

He upped his threats a day after he used colorful language to warn against ‘nuclear heat’ while saying Iran must relinquish nuclear ambitions. 

A reporter asked Trump to specify his comment Tuesday that it would be ‘very dangerous’ for Iran if nuclear talks are unsuccessful.

Well they can’t have a nuclear weapon,’ Trump said. Pressed on if he meant military action, Trump responded: ‘Oh if necessary? Absolutely, yeah.’

Asked if he had a deadline with Iran, Trump responded, ‘Yeah, I do,’ but declined to say what it was.

But he said this weekend – with talks set to commence in Oman Saturday – was not the deadline. ‘We have a little time, but we don’t have much time,’ the president said.

‘Because we’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon, can’t let them have a nuclear – and we’re gonna let them thrive. I want them to thrive. I want Iran to be great. The only thing they can’t have is a nuclear weapon.

‘I’m not asking for much. I just … they can’t have a nuclear weapon,’ Trump said.

‘But with Iran, yeah, if we, if it requires military, we’re gonna have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. He’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do.

In his final cryptic comment, he added: ‘When you start talks, you know they’re going along well or not. And I would say the conclusion would be when I think they’re not going along well. So that’s just a feeling.’

Trump has pledged it is ‘not after a nuclear bomb’ and even expressed interest to direct U.S. investment.

Trump’s comments came on a day he did a sudden U-turn and imposed a 90-day pause on his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, while maintaining a 10 percent across the board tariff and hiking the tariff on China to 125 percent.

The episode revealed both Trump’s willingness to throw the global system into turmoil to achieve his goals, and his willingness to backtrack amid fears of a recession and trillions worth of market losses. He also signed orders directing the Justice Department to investigate Miles Taylor, who wrote a critical book under the pen name ‘Anonymous’ during his first term, and former cyber security official Chris Krebs, who vouched for the security of the 2020 elections during the COVID pandemic.

Satellite images have revealed the deployment of six nuclear-capable B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia, a British-owned naval base that has been critical during U.S. military campaigns. 

Trump on Monday said the U.S. would hold top level ‘direct’ talks with Iran – while brandishing new threats and repeating demands that Iran could not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

‘We’re having direct talks with Iran. And they’ve started,’ Trump told reporters while seated in the Oval Office next to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, himself a top Iran hawk.

The talks are set to take place in Oman, but Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said the talks would be ‘indirect,’ amid longstanding tensions between the two nations.

The U.S. has avoided such direct talks for years. The Iran nuclear deal, which Trump scuttled after it was put in place under Barack Obama, was negotiated through multi-party talks.

‘I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it,’ he added. ‘So we are going to see if we can avoid it, but it’s getting to be very dangerous territory, and hopefully those talks will be successful.’

‘And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful.’

 On Tuesday Trump ridiculed fears of climate change, then pivoted to the Iran threat, which he called much more grave

‘We were going to be gone, we’re all going to be gone – the environment. No, what they have to worry about is the nuclear – nuclear heat. They don’t have to worry about environmental heat. They have to worry about nuclear heat,’ Trump said on an event where he called for deregulating the coal industry.

‘And if we’re smart, we’re working on that right now with others, having to do with Iran and some other countries,’ Trump said.

‘But that’s the that’s the heat you’re gonna have to worry about. You don’t have to worry about the air is getting warmer. The ocean will rise … within the next 500 to 600 years, giving you a little bit more waterfront property. They say this is going to these guys can handle that. The nuclear we have a bigger problem with, right?’ Trump said. 

Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful, but U.S. intelligence has long warned it was close to being capable of producing nuclear weapons. 

April 13, 2025 Posted by | Iran, Israel, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

How Israel hunts and executes Palestinian medics

The recent case of 15 uniformed first responders killed on their way to work is but the latest in a long, long line of similar crimes

Rt.com, 9 Apr, 2025  By Eva Bartlett, a Canadian independent journalist. She has spent years on the ground covering conflict zones in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Palestine (where she lived for nearly four years). 

The Israeli army has executed 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza, buried them and lied about them being “terrorists.” For those paying attention, this barbarism is not new, only the latest war crime committed by Israel in a litany of war crimes over the decades.

The combination of the medics being tied up, executed and buried in a mass grave was so horrific that even usually indifferent global media reported on it, albeit without the outrage that would have accompanied such reports were the perpetrator an enemy of the West. (Warning: disturbing video.)

On March 31, Jonathan Whittall, the Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OCHA) posted on X, “First responders should never be a target. Yet today @UNOCHA supported @PalestineRCS and Civil Defense to retrieve colleagues from a mass grave in #Rafah #Gaza that was marked with the emergency light from one of their crushed ambulances.”

His thread went on to detail how a week prior, on March 23, contact was lost with ten Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and six Civil Defense first responders, in five ambulances and one fire truck, who’d been dispatched to collect injured people, noting, “For days, OCHA coordinated to reach the site but our access was only granted 5 days later.”

When they finally accessed the site, they “recovered the buried bodies of 8 PRCS, 6 Civil Defense and 1 UN staff,” he wrote, noting, “They were killed in their uniforms. Driving their clearly marked vehicles. Wearing their gloves. On their way to save lives. This should never have happened.”

According to the PRCS, a ninth EMT is missing and is believed to have been detained.

The UN, The Red Cross, and OCHA have all issued statements of outrage and condemnation of these murders. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said: “They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not. These rules of International Humanitarian Law could not be clearer – civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected.”

According to Chapagain, 30 PRCS volunteers and staff have been killed since October 2023 alone.

OCHA called the murders “a huge blow to us” and said, “these abhorrent acts require accountability.” According to the UN, “408 aid workers including more than 280 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza since the war began on 7 October 2023.”

Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, wrote, “They were killed by Israeli forces while trying to save lives. We demand answers & justice.”

The Guardian cites PRCS’ Dr. Bashar Murad, who spoke to one of the paramedics in the convoy:

“He informed us that he was injured and requested assistance, and that another person was also injured. A few minutes later, during the call, we heard the sound of Israeli soldiers arriving at the location, speaking in Hebrew. ‘Gather them at the wall and bring some restraints to tie them.’ This indicated that a large number of the medical staff were still alive.”

The Israeli army media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, predictably denied Israeli army wrong-doing and blamed Hamas, claiming the ambulances were “advancing suspiciously” toward Israeli forces. He declared the execution of the medics be an elimination of “a Hamas military operative, along with 8 other terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.”

Observers on X rebuffed Shoshani, including pointing out the Israeli army has been attacking ambulances for a very long time.

Gaza medics under Israeli attack since 2009

I can speak from personal experience. During the January 2009 Israeli war on Gaza, I was among a handful of international volunteers riding in PRCS ambulances, to document their work and the victims they rescued……………………………………………………………………………………….

The abduction and torture of Palestinian doctors is another aspect of Israel’s all-out attack on Gaza’s health system. It is part of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians themselves, depriving them of life-saving care, part of the decades-long policy of killing Palestinians by every means possible, including by preventing the entry of medical equipment and food, starving Palestinians who escaped bombs and sniping.

I will post the same rhetorical question I’ve posed ad nauseam: What would the international reaction be like if it were Russia point-blank assassinating uniformed, unarmed medics? It would be non-stop 24/7 howling in corporate media, victims faces and stories spoken of, demands for more sanctions…

But Israel does this again and again over the decades and all Palestinians get are muted words of concern and calls for investigation, allowing Israel to continue slaughtering medics and emergency workers unabated. No justice. https://www.rt.com/news/615480-palestine-israel-medics-hunt/

April 13, 2025 Posted by | Atrocities, Israel | Leave a comment

Keir Starmer set to approve nuclear plant in bid to power up economic growth.

The prime minister is pinning his hopes of economic growth on a major nuclear plant and a series of mini nuclear sites

Archie Mitchell, Political correspondent, Independent 10th April 2025

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to approve a major nuclear power plant alongside a slew of mini reactors in a bid to boost Britain’s stagnant economy.

The prime minister will approve investment for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk before the June spending review, The Times reported, as well as unveiling plans for a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) across the UK.

Sizewell C is expected to be up and running in 2035 and will provide 7 per cent of Britain’s energy demand at a cost of £20 billion……………………

Sizewell C is yet to be signed off by the government.

A decision on whether to give Sizewell C the green light has formed part of the government’s upcoming spending review, but Sir Keir has been bringing announcements forward in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The PM has been desperately trying to spur on growth amid fears the US president’s trade war will cause Britain’s economy to stagnate and force further cuts in the autumn Budget.

EDF, the French energy giant that owns and runs Britain’s nuclear fleet, and the government, which has committed £6 billion so far, were the first backers of the project.

But they have been trying to raise billions more from prospective investors, including British Gas owner Centrica.

The government in January was forced to deny reports the expected costs of Sizewell C had spiralled to £40bn due to inflation and the knock-on effects of delays at Hinkley Point C.

Whitehall sources told The Independent the government is hugely supportive of Sizewell C, but that an announcement on its approval and funding would not come before June.

Sources told The Times Sir Keir wants to make a “nuclear moment” by combining the approval of Sizewell C with an announcement on a generation of SMRs.

The government has been running a competition to develop the reactors, which are potentially cheaper, much faster to build and easier to deploy, with Rolls-Royce and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy the frontrunners. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-nuclear-growth-trump-tariffs-b2730868.html

April 13, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

  TEPCO’s rehabilitation plan delays expose limits to nuke power reliance.

It was unreasonable in the first place for the power company to draw up a rehabilitation scenario relying on atomic power despite having caused a serious nuclear plant accident.

April 9, 2025 (Mainichi Japan), https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250409/p2a/00m/0op/029000c

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Holdings Inc. has postponed the revision of its business rehabilitation plan, which it had scheduled to carry out by the end of fiscal 2024. The company attributed the postponement to a lack of prospects for restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, which it had seen a trump card in improving its earnings.

Will the utility be able to fulfill its responsibility in the recovery from the Fukushima disaster and the stable power supply amid such a state of affairs?

TEPCO has borrowed money from the national government to deal with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns. This includes funds needed for compensation payments to affected residents and the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. It has also taken out bank loans to fund its electric power business. The rehabilitation plan was supposed to form the premise for this financial aid.

The plan was first formulated in 2012, the year after the onset of the Fukushima disaster, and has since been updated almost every three years. The cost for handling the nuclear catastrophe was initially estimated at 6 trillion yen (approx. $41.27 billion), but that figure swelled to 21.5 trillion yen (148 billion) under the current plan outlined in 2021. The cost further rose to 23.4 trillion yen (approx. $161 billion) when taking into account compensation for fishery operators due to the release of treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, among other expenses.

The cap on borrowing from the national government was subsequently raised to 15.4 trillion yen (approx. $106 billion). Based on these developments, calls grew to update TEPCO’s rehabilitation plan.

While TEPCO is scheduled to repay 500 billion yen (approx. $3.45 billion) annually to the national government, the actual repayment amount has hovered around 400 billion yen (around $2.76 billion) on average in recent years due to the firm’s poor performance.

The primary factor behind TEPCO’s sluggish earnings is that the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant has yet to be restarted. TEPCO had initially expected to resume the plant’s operations in fiscal 2019, eyeing a balance improvement of 100 billion yen (approx. $688 million) per reactor brought back online. But following a series of scandals including inadequate antiterror measures at the plant, the prospect of gaining local consent for its restart has waned.

TEPCO’s injection of more than 1 trillion yen (approx. $6.88 billion) into safety measures has also taken a heavy toll on its management, weighing down its cash flow. There are concerns that the utility may not even be able to afford capital investment essential for a stable power supply.

It was unreasonable in the first place for the power company to draw up a rehabilitation scenario relying on atomic power despite having caused a serious nuclear plant accident. In the amendments to be made to the rehabilitation plan by the end of fiscal 2025, the utility should completely overhaul its strategy.


TEPCO must accelerate its business realignment to improve its earning capacity. Its thermal power generation sector was integrated into Chubu Electric Power Co. in 2019, yet TEPCO needs to expand collaboration with other firms in renewable energy and other sectors with high growth potential. It urgently needs to streamline operations to stave off deterioration of its finances.

The company is urged to carry out a rehabilitation plan that is not reliant on nuclear power generation.

April 13, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

The 2025 Nuclear-Free Future Awards

Rainbow serpent magic filled the air at the Great Hall at Cooper Union, writes Linda Pentz Gunter

  by beyondnuclearinternational

The Rainbow Serpent has been the symbol of the Nuclear-Free Future Awards (NFFA) since the event first began in 1998. In Indigenous cultures, the serpent offers an ominous warning to be left undisturbed in the ground rather than unleash its vengeful powers. This has been taken to mean, in particular, uranium. But the NFFA’s friendlier serpent also seems to release a certain magic into the air, enveloping those who breathe it in joy and optimism when they attend an NFFA ceremony as it travels to different cities around the world.

In 2025, the Awards were held in the Great Hall at Cooper Union, in New York City, a historic and atmospheric venue where a certain candidate for US president, Abraham Lincoln, made what would remain not only his longest speech but arguably his most important and one that would send him on his way to winning the White House……………………………………………………………

Courage is the first word that comes to mind when describing the 2025 recipient in the category of Resistance. For standing up to the Indian authorities in opposition to the construction of the massive Russian nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, S.P. Udayakumar and thousands of other villagers, farmers and fisherfolk, the majority of them women, have been hounded, persecuted, arrested and prosecuted.

Udayakumar could not travel to the US to receive his award, but his sons Surya and Satya, both of whom live in Maryland, were able to come to New York to honor their father. The video recorded by Uday, as everyone knows him, moved the audience to prolonged applause and even tears, given all he and his family have endured, including two years in hiding when he could not see his sons at all.

The exuberant promoters of the International Uranium Film Festival, Márcia Gomes and Norbert Suchanek, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, won the Award for Education. Born as a small idea that grew into a remarkable international film festival, the pair realized that dense reports and statistics were not going to galvanize people to oppose all things nuclear in quite in the same way that pictures could, and especially moving pictures, whether documentaries, dramas or animation.

The success of the festival, which began with enormous struggles to find funding and venues, is a testament to perseverance and canny marketing skills that have brought people together to collectively advance the festival around the world.

Solutions to the problems of nuclear power and nuclear weapons are not always obvious. Beyond technical fixes like renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as campaigning for peace and nuclear disarmament, sometimes the answer lies in changing the conversation. To get away from the macho-dynamic of nuclear weapons especially, the voices of women — all too few — were clearly needed. Furthermore, the voices of women from the Global South were even more essential, in the view of Zimbabwean campaigner, Edwick Madzimure.

This “solution” became a key to the success of of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which tackled the issue from the perspective of human rights impacts, where women are invariably disproportionately impacted in a negative way……………………………………………

The evening ended with a tribute to living legend, Joanna Macy, a Buddhist teacher, author and peacemaker and a matriarch of the anti-nuclear cause. Macy, now in her nineties, could not make the trip from California but offered her thanks in a written statement read by her longtime friend, Kathleen Sullivan of the Nuclear Truth Project and Hibakusha Stories.

Macy has been a mentor to many, both within the anti-nuclear movement and well beyond it, and is best known for popularizing the concept, The Great Turning, in which humanity makes an essential shift from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization, emphasizing a transition to a more sustainable and just world. ………………… https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2025/04/07/the-2025-nuclear-free-future-awards/

April 13, 2025 Posted by | opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

To Secure U.S. Energy Dominance, the Department of Defense Selects Eligible Companies for the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations Program


Defense Innovation Unit 10th April 2025 Mountain View, CA

– To ensure U.S. energy dominance, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), with the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force, launched the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) program. First announced in summer 2024, the program will allow for the design and build of fixed on-site microreactor nuclear power systems on select military installations to support global operations across land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace. The Department of Defense team selected eight companies to be eligible to demonstrate the ability to deliver compliant, safe, secure, and reliable nuclear power.

The companies are now eligible to receive Other Transaction (OT) awards to provide commercially available dual use microreactor technology at various DOD installations. Selected companies for the ANPI program include:

  • Antares Nuclear, Inc
  • BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
  • General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
  • Kairos Power, LLC
  • Oklo Inc.
  • Radiant Industries Incorporated
  • Westinghouse Government Services
  • X-Energy, LLC

“Projecting power abroad demands ensuring power at home and this program aims to deliver that, ensuring that our defense leaders can remain focused on lethality,” said Dr. Andrew Higier, Energy Portfolio Director at DIU. “Microreactors on installations are a critical first step in delivering energy dominance to the Force. Tapping into the commercial sector’s rapid advancements in this area is critical due to the significant private investment in this space over the last few years. The U.S. and the DoD must maintain the advantage and leverage the best of breed nuclear technology for our national security.”

The ANPI project directly supports Executive Order (E.O.) 14156 – Declaring a National Energy Emergency and E.O. 14154 – Unleashing American Energy

……………………………………… In addition to DIU, Army, Air Force, ANPI receives support from the Department of Energy; the NRC; Idaho National Laboratory with Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Argonne National Laboratory; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Sandia National Laboratory; and the Office of Nuclear Energy. https://www.diu.mil/latest/DOD-selects-eligible-companies-for-the-Advanced-Nuclear-Power-for-Installations-Program

April 13, 2025 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear Energy Expansion Faces Water Resource Challenges

Oil Price, By Haley Zaremba – Apr 10, 2025.

  • The global nuclear energy sector is experiencing a renaissance with increased interest and expansion plans, but faces the challenge of high water consumption for reactor cooling.
  • Debates surround the actual water needs of nuclear power, with some arguing it uses more water than coal and renewables, while others claim water use can be managed with existing licenses and recycling.
  • Advancements in nuclear technology, including small modular reactors and future designs using gas or air cooling, offer potential solutions to reduce water dependency, but concerns about increased nuclear waste persist.

A global nuclear energy renaissance is unfolding. Around the world, the public and private sectors are warming to the idea of nuclear energy expansion to meet ballooning energy demand driven by data centers without throwing decarbonization accords out the window. ………….

However, next-generation nuclear does have some key drawbacks as well. For one, studies have shown that SMRs will create more nuclear waste than traditional models. This presents a tricky and expensive problem, as the highly radioactive waste material remains hazardous for thousands of years in the best of scenarios. For another, nuclear energy is an extremely thirsty form of power production, requiring huge quantities of water to cool down the reactors for optimal particle speed for fission, as well as to generate steam to create electricity.

According to Dave Sweeney, a nuclear policy analyst at the Australian Conservation Foundation, nuclear power uses more water than coal, and “massively more than renewables” on a per-kilowatt basis. Sweeney was speaking with the Guardian in reference to a recent conflict between political parties in Australia over planned nuclear expansion and water scarcity. A report commissioned by the organization Liberals Against Nuclear found that a whopping 90% of the nuclear generation capacity proposed by the opposing Coalition party lacks sufficient access to water for safe operations. “Half of the proposed nuclear capacity was already unfeasible given insufficient water, while a further 40% of the capacity would need to be curtailed during dry seasons,” the Guardian reported this week based on the findings. ……………………….
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Nuclear-Energy-Expansion-Faces-Water-Resource-Challenges.html

April 13, 2025 Posted by | water | Leave a comment

‘An incredibly powerful tool’: Can AI solve its own energy problem?

Amber Rolt, 10 April 2025

New IEA study explores how AI is set to drive huge electricity demand while
at the same time offering potential to unlock ‘significant opportunities’
in energy improvements and emissions reductions.

When BusinessGreen asked
‘how bad is AI for the environment?’, ChatGPT had plenty to say. The
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool patiently responded that training large
language models such as itself are “extremely energy intensive”, explaining
that they use millions of kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, consume more
than 700,000 litres of water for cooling methods, and that each query has a
carbon footprint of up to 10 grams of CO2. “Because these tools are used
millions of times a day, it adds up,” ChatGPT added.

So there you have it,
straight from the horse’s mouth: AI’s impact on the environment and energy
systems is immense. And, according to a special new report from the
International Energy Agency (IEA) dedicated to the subject today, that
impact is set for rapid growth in the coming years. So much so, in fact,
that it warns AI holds potential to “transform the energy sector” over the
next decade.

Still, precisely what that transformation will look like is up
for debate. On the positive side, the report suggests AI can help energy
companies improve efficiency, develop technologies, and could contribute to
emissions reductions. But will these promised efficiencies and
technological improvements be enough to offset the huge surge in energy
demand needed to feed the rapidly growing numbers of data centres that AI
relies on?

Business Green 10th April 2025
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4412130/incredibly-powerful-tool-ai-solve-energy

April 13, 2025 Posted by | ENERGY | Leave a comment

The top Republicans in the Arizona Legislature want the federal government to cut back regulations on the nuclear energy industry.

Arizona’s top GOP lawmakers are suing a federal commission to deregulate nuclear energy

KJZZ | By Camryn Sanchez,  April 9, 2025, https://www.kjzz.org/politics/2025-04-09/arizonas-top-gop-lawmakers-are-suing-a-federal-commission-to-deregulate-nuclear-energy

The top Republicans in the Arizona Legislature want the federal government to cut back regulations on the nuclear energy industry.

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) and House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) are proponents of small modular reactors, or SMRs, which are currently subject to the same standards as much larger nuclear reactors.

Specifically, the federal rule – created by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – requires construction and operating licenses for all reactors in the U.S.

Petersen claims that federal rule is unlawful.

He and Montenegro are now parties to a lawsuit against the NRC, along with Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Utah and a handful of other states and some energy companies.

“This is a textbook case of Washington bureaucrats getting in the way of American progress,” Montenegro said in a statement. “America is behind the modern world when it comes to nuclear advancement. We have had this technology for decades, yet the NRC has not let us advance, stifling innovation. Arizona House Republicans are pushing back. We’re standing up for American innovation, lower energy costs, and true energy independence.”

Petersen said if the government cuts down on regulations over nuclear energy, it will open the door for Arizona utilities to get into the market and ultimately provide affordable energy to residents.

“Arizona’s utility companies want to pursue SMRs, but their hands are tied with red tape, as it could take decades and an unreasonable amount of money to establish plants under the current rule,” Petersen said in a statement.

“I’m hopeful that through this litigation, we will be able to eliminate unnecessary and outdated regulations to unleash greater American energy production, as President Trump has promised is a top priority for his administration. This lawsuit is a first step on a pathway to energy independence,” he added.

April 13, 2025 Posted by | Legal | Leave a comment

The irrational optimism of the nuclear power lobby.

12 Apr 25,  https://theaimn.net/the-irrational-optimism-of-the-nuclear-power-lobby/

Australia’s Opposition Party is the prime example of this unfounded optimism. Liberal Coalition leader Peter Dutton is full of enthusiasm in his nuclear plan :

Our plan will deliver a net-zero electricity grid by 2050 and a strong and resilient economy. It will set our country up for decades to come. At the front of this next wave of growth will be those communities which host zero-emissions nuclear plants. Not only will local communities benefit from high paying, multi-generational jobs but communities will be empowered to maximise the benefits from hosting an asset of national importance .……….

A Federal Coalition Government will initially develop two establishment projects using either small modular reactors or modern larger plants such as the AP1000 or APR1400. They will start producing electricity by 2035 (with small modular reactors) or 2037 (if modern larger plants are found to be the best option).

Dutton and his chief nuclear spruiker, Ted O’Brien, gloss easily over concerns about costs, safety, water shortage, environmental effects, timing, and of comparisons with wind and solar power.

Ted O’Brien is indeed a master at this stuff. He looks just the right guy to be a reassuring expert to farmers, and rural communities. His background in marketing shows, with his perfect marketing style. Pleasant, affable, -even warm, calm and confident, O’Brien doesn’t need the detailed facts to interfere with his comfortable assertions about Australia’s wonderful nuclear energy future.

“because hand on heart that’s in our national interest It is the right thing to do I It is why othercountries all around the world are now introducing nuclear energy It’s in Australia’s interest …….We’ll always have to focus on what is right for Australia.

Australia is already behind the eight ball when it comes to zero-emission nuclear energy. The sooner we get going the betterIt has proven around the world to be the fastest way to decarbonise electricity grids.”

Australia, geographically remote from the countries that do have nuclear power, is vulnerable to this kind of “style over substance” persuasion.

If we look at the substance of what is going on in those countries, we find a very mixed bag indeed. The national governments of France, USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Russia, are all for new nuclear power – encouraging and subsidising big and (so far non-existent) small nuclear reactors. Not so much China, which is going allout for renewable energy.

The politicians might be backing nuclear power – but the economic realities tell a different story:

BRITAIN: Let’s start with the COSTS – Hinkley Point C nuclear will cost at least £75 billion – highly unlikely that Sizewell C will be any cheaper. Then there’s the WASTES problem – Nuclear bosses quizzed by MPs over Sellafield’s £130 billion century-long clean up. And there’s the OPPOSITION to the industry and to its wastes – Resistance to nuke dump grows in South Copeland.

FRANCE. is in all sorts of trouble with its nuclear programme – France delays EPR2 reactors to 2038. The Flamanville EPR nuclear reactor will not be able to deliver its full power without major works. Squabble with Britain over who pays for France’s nuclear projects in the UK. And there’s The poisonous problem of France’s nuclear waste

USA – COSTS – USA nuclear power companies feeling the financial pain- future very dubious. Failure of small nuclear reactor project. Attempts to restart old reactors – Groups Demand DOE Environmental Impact Statement Before Agency Bails Out Palisades Zombie Reactor Restart.

JAPAN. has a huge nuclear WASTE problem. And it’s not just the Fukushima continuing waste disaster. There is little enthusiasm in government or community for reviving the nuclear industry –   TEPCO’s rehabilitation plan delays expose limits to nuke power reliance.

CANADA. The government is gung-ho for nuclear power, but here is strong and well-informed opposition to it. And those pesky indigenous opponents are having legal wins on waste plans, – the wastes problem does put a damper on new nuclear.

These are all nations that are stuck with existing nuclear reactors, many of them aging, and stuck with the very significant waste problem – which, by the way, doesn’t get a mention from the comforting Mr Ted O’Brien.

Australia’s Liberal-National Coalition has as its main policy, the setting up of a tax-payer funded nuclear industry. This is a breathtakingly bold step for a Liberal party, traditionally the champion of private enterprise, and sworn enemy of socialism.

The Coalition doesn’t seem to have much else in the way of policies. Their leader, Peter Dutton. is currently inclined to shut up a bit about nuclear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12RE1WGl-VQ

It’s up to Ted O’Brien to work his marketing magic. He will probably be helped with his “style above substance” message, by well-funded groups like Advance and The Atlas Network.

Well, it worked in America. Voters, tired of all the bad stuff, turned away from facts and policy details, and voted for an entertaining charlatan. It could work in Australia, and would certainly be a triumph for the nice Mr O’Brien.

April 12, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | 4 Comments

Walt Zlotow: Trump, Hegseth off by nearly 1 trillion on national security budget

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 11 Apr 25 https://theaimn.net/trump-hegseth-off-by-nearly-1-trillion-on-national-security-budget/

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is applauding Trump’s boast to push through America’s first trillion dollar defense budget.

“Thank you Mr. President! COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar [Defense Department] budget.” Hegseth was echoing boss Trump who chortled “Nobody’s seen anything like it. We have to build out military, and we’re very cost-conscious, but the military is something we have to build, and we have to be strong,”

Trump’s defense policy and these quotes epitomize America’s decline as a peaceful, caring nation. Spending that trillion on militarism and warfare worldwide while Trump’s oligarchs are slashing a trillion from the social safety net is putting America into a death spiral from which it may never recover.

But they should really be high-fiving a national security budget that will be approaching $2 trillion based on Trump’s defense agenda.

That’s because the current defense budget under the National Defense Authorization Act of $900 billion just funds the Pentagon. When factoring in the Department of Veterans Affairs, special operations, Homeland Security and the national security share of US debt interest, the total for Fiscal ‘25 national security approaches $1.8 trillion. Regarding special ops, Trump’s failed month long Yemen bombing to stop their resistance to US enabled Israeli genocide in Gaza has already passed a billion bucks.

Current wars US supports in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and possible upcoming wars in Iran and China, don’t come cheap. Add in cost of over 750 bases in 80 countries hosting over 150,000 military personnel puts the approaching $2 trillion dollar cost in perspective.

Spending all that treasure on national offense (nope, not defense), becomes problematical when Trump is pushing thru trillion dollar tax cuts for his oligarch buddies.

What to do? Of Course, send in oligarch clown Musk to cut a trillion or more from everything that makes life livable for Joe Sixpack.

It is no surprise Trump plans to ravage the social safety net to spend $2 trillion on worldwide military adventurism while giving $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years mainly to those who don’t need them.

But do Trump and Hegseth have to brag about it?

April 12, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, politics, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Iran may expel UN nuclear inspectors over US threats

Washington says move would be a ‘miscalculation’ by Tehran and ‘inconsistent with claims of peaceful nuclear programme’

Akhtar Makoii, Telegraph 10th April 2025

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned on Thursday that Iran could expel UN nuclear inspectors, in an apparent swipe at the United States.

Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral, said Iran might take “deterrent measures, including expulsion of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)” if foreign threats continue.

He said: “The continuation of external threats and Iran being in a state of military attack may lead to deterrent measures, including expulsion of inspectors from IAEA and cessation of cooperation.”

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have intensified since Donald Trump returned to office, with Washington demanding Iran agrees to a nuclear deal or be bombed………………..

The US and Iran will hold high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme for the first time in 10 years on Saturday.

‘If it requires military, we’ll have military’

Whether officials from either side will actually meet in person in Oman is unclear. Mr Trump has promised “direct” discussions, while the Iranians insist on a mediated process………….

Last month, Mr Trump sent a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for direct negotiations while warning of military action if diplomacy fails.

“If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday.

“Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us… we do what we want to do.”………………………… https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/10/iran-expel-un-nuclear-inspectors-tehran-warns/

April 12, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Arctic sea ice hit a record low as global powers eye shipping routes

Arctic sea ice hit a record low for the end of the region’s winter last
month, in a stark sign of how climate change is opening up the North Pole
to a geopolitical race for military and energy exploration. March was the
fourth consecutive month in which sea ice reached a record low for that
calendar period, based on a 47-year satellite record, EU earth observation
agency Copernicus reported on Tuesday.

FT 10th April 2025 https://www.ft.com/content/f8083632-e6bc-45f5-8032-0ee60e263cf6

April 12, 2025 Posted by | ARCTIC, climate change | Leave a comment

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