Nuclear and Coal Lobbyists be warned – Fair Dinkum Power is here!
A “bat symbol” for renewables: Cannon-Brookes launches “fair dinkum” power https://reneweconomy.com.au/a-bat-symbol-for-renewables-cannon-brookes-launches-fair-dinkum-power-56345/2 November 2018
Nuclear Power Will Not Save Us From Climate Change
The starting point of any serious discussion of climate change must be to recognize that it is not possible to limit global warming to either 1.5 or 2°C in any “resource- and energy-intensive scenario” where economic growth continues in the usual fashion.
How the IPCC’s solutions for reversing the Earth’s warming encourage business as usual. Yes Magazine, Nov 02, 2018 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report released in October rightfully elicited much public commentary about global warming and its truly frightening impacts. But in those initial reactions, less attention was paid to the unnerving implications of the report’s suggested solutions, which encourage us to roll the dice on unproven technologies and double down on nuclear power.
Underlying the IPCC report’s claims is the belief that technological solutions can fix the climate problem. Yet these fixes don’t address the root cause of climate change……….
The report outlines four broad pathways to stay within that limit, all of which include large-scale deployment of various technological fixes to climate change. ………
The scariest of the four pathways outlined in the report is a “resource- and energy-intensive scenario in which economic growth and globalization lead to widespread adoption of greenhouse-gas-intensive lifestyles, including high demand for transportation fuels and livestock products.” In other words, business as usual in a world where the usual business leads to the edge of a cliff. What could justify such an approach? The belief that technology will save us.
These technologies would have to be deployed at massive scales. Continue reading
Canada leads in non-nuclear production of medical isotopes
Canada to build advanced medical isotope centre, WNN 02 November 2018 Canada is to invest 
more than CAD50 million (USD38 million) on a new centre for advanced medical isotope research and development. The centre will be on the campus of Triumf, the national laboratory for particle physics, at the University of British Columbia.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday announced federal funding for the Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI) during a visit to Triumf.
The 2500-square-metre state-of-the-art facility will house a new TR-24 medical cyclotron, a cyclotron control room and six laboratories. It will also have technical rooms, quality control laboratories, office space, and electrical control rooms.
The construction of the facility is valued at CAD31.8 million, Triumf said. “With additional equipment and philanthropic funding, the total value of the IAMI project will be more than CAD50 million,” it added.
The government of Canada will contribute CAD10,232,310 to the project through the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan. The Province of British Columbia has contributed CAD12,250,000, Triumf is contributing CAD5,352,638 and, through fundraising initiatives, BC Cancer and the University of British Columbia are each contributing CAD2 million.
“IAMI promises to secure a local supply of several important medical isotopes, including critical imaging isotope technetium-99m (Tc-99m), and to enable Canadian access to the global Tc-99m market,” Triumf said. Canada is already a leader in the global medical isotope market – worth some USD3 billion – and contributes more than 50% of the world’s raw material for medical isotope supply.
Announcing the federal funding, Trudeau said: “The Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes will be a state-of-the-art facility where industry leaders and academics can work together to push the boundaries of research and discover new ways to protect and improve our health. We will continue to invest in cutting-edge research and facilities – like the Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes – to ensure Canada remains a world leader in medical research and innovation.”………http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canada-to-build-advanced-medical-isotope-centre
Australian Conservation Foundation encourages all voters to recognise the coming CLIMATE ELECTION
Sector Action Needed For the ‘Climate Election’ https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/10/sector-action-needed-
climate-election/ The environmental sector needs to step up efforts to ensure serious action on climate change is part of all political parties’ federal election platform, a sector leader says. Wednesday, 31st October 2018 Maggie Coggan, Journalist Kelly O’Shanassy, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) CEO, spoke to Pro Bono News following an address to the National Press Club on Tuesday, where she expressed her concern over the impact of climate change, and the inaction of politicians.O’Shanassy said the ACF, along with other environmental organisations, were tired of the climate dysfunction coming out of Canberra, and titled the upcoming election the “climate election”.
“For decades ACF has knocked on the doors of Parliament House with climate policy solutions, supported by community and business, only to see them vanish into thin air because of weak political leadership,” O’Shanassy said on Tuesday.
“We are tired of government after government at the national level, failing Australians on climate change, and so, we decided to do something about it.”
O’Shanassy said the lack of action from politicians on climate change, combined with an increased awareness from the public on the damage it had already done, meant it was the perfect time to focus attention and energy on the issue.
She encouraged environmental groups involved in the election to start conversations with voters about climate change, and the solutions that were out there that politicians were yet to take action on.“We would encourage everyone in the environment sector to make climate a focus, to be part of our million conversations, to talk about climate damage that is here now, but also the solutions that are here now,” she said.
“This upcoming election matters, and people can create a safer future through their vote.”
She said polling data showed about 70 to 80 per cent of the Australian community did want government action on climate change, and so it was important for the sector to harness those views in order to push change.
Labor must keep to its strong nuclear-free policy
Uranium
- The production of uranium and its use in the nuclear fuel cycle present unique and unprecedented hazards and risks, including:
- Threats to human health and the local environment in the mining and milling of uranium and management of radioactive materials, which demand the enforcement of strict safety procedures;
- The generation of products that are usable as the raw materials for nuclear weapons manufacture, which demands the enforcement of effective controls against diversion; and
- The generation of highly toxic radioactive waste by-products that demand permanently safe disposal methods.
- Labor accordingly will allow the mining and export of uranium only under the most stringent conditions.
- In relation to mining and milling, Labor will:
- Ensure the safety of workers in the uranium industry is given priority. Labor has established acompulsory register for workers in the uranium industry that includes regular health checks and ongoing monitoring. The register is held by an independent agency and will be subject to privacy provisions;
- Ensure Australian uranium mining, milling and rehabilitation is based on world best practice standards, extensive continuing research on environmental impacts and the health and safety of employees and affected communities, particularly Indigenous communities;
- Ensure the Australian public is informed about the quality of the environmental performance of uranium mines through public accountability mechanisms;
- Foster a constructive relationship between mining companies and Indigenous communities affected by uranium mining; and
- Prohibit the mining of uranium within national parks under International Union for Conservation of Nature protected area category 1A, category 1B, and category 2, and listed world heritage areas.
- In relation to exports other than to India, Labor will allow the export of uranium only to those countries that observe the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), are committed to nonproliferation policies, and have ratified international and bilateral nuclear safeguards agreements.
Labor will export uranium only to countries that maintain strict safeguards and security controls over their nuclear power industries.
CHAPTER 3: BUILDING AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE 57
- In relation to India, an important strategic partner for Australia, commitments and responsible actions in support of nuclear non-proliferation, consistent with international guidelines on nuclear supply, will provide an acceptable basis for peaceful nuclear cooperation, including the export of uranium, subject to the application of strong safeguards.
- In addition, Labor will work towards:
- Strengthening export control regimes and the rights and authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);
- Appropriate international responses to violations of existing safeguard commitments;
- Limiting the processing of weapon usable material (separation of plutonium and high
enriched uranium in civilian programs);
- Tightening controls over the export of nuclear material and technology;
- Universalising of the IAEA additional protocol making it mandatory for all states and
members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to adhere to the additional protocol as a condition
of supply to all their transfers;
- Criminalising actions of individuals and companies that assist in nuclear proliferation;
- The development of an international guarantee of nuclear fuel supply to states foregoing
sensitive nuclear technologies;
- Revising the NPT to prevent countries from withdrawing from the NPT and passing a new resolution in the United Nations Security Council addressing the penalties for withdrawal from the NPT;
- Encouraging all nuclear states to join the NPT;
- Reserving the right to withhold supplies of uranium permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period from any country that ceases to observe the non-proliferation safeguards and security conditions applied to Australian uranium exports to that country, or which adopts nuclear practices or policies that do not further advance the cause of nuclear nonproliferation;
- Supporting the maintenance and enhancement of international and Australian safeguards to ensure that uranium mined in Australia, and nuclear products derived from it, are used only for civil purposes by approved instrumentalities in approved countries that are signatories to the NPT (with the exception of India) and with whom Australia has safeguard arrangements; and
- Seeking adequate international resourcing of the IAEA to ensure its effectiveness in undertaking its charter.
- Labor will progress these commitments through diplomatic means including the re-establishment of the Canberra Commission to re-invigorate Australia’s tradition of middle power, multilateral diplomacy. In doing so, Labor believes that as a non-nuclear armed nation and a good international citizen, Australia can make a significant contribution to promoting disarmament, the reduction of nuclear stockpiles, and the responsible use of nuclear technology.
- Labor will:
- Vigorously and totally oppose the ocean dumping of radioactive waste;
CHAPTER 3: BUILDING AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE 58
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Prohibit the establishment of nuclear power plants and all other stages of the nuclear fuel cycle in Australia;
- Fully meet all Australia’s obligations as a party to the NPT; and
- Remain strongly opposed to the importation and storage of nuclear waste that is sourced from overseas in Australia.
The Power of the Documentary Utopia
“Includes a special introduction from John Pilger“
‘Utopia is an epic production by the Emmy and Bafta winning film-maker and journalist John Pilger.
‘Drawing on his long association with the first people of Australia, his homeland,
Utopia is both an epic portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture and
an investigation into a suppressed colonial past and rapacious present.
‘One of the world’s best kept secrets is revealed against a background
of the greatest boom in mineral wealth.
Has the ‘lucky country’ inherited South African apartheid?
‘Utopia tells a universal story of power and resistance in the media age
driven by old imperatives and presented as liberalism.
‘This session will be Introduced by John Pilger … ‘
USA’s Department of Energy wants to reclassify high-level nuclear waste
DOE proposes reclassifying high-level nuclear waste, could send more to WIPP A proposal to re-characterize high-level nuclear waste could bring more waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The U.S. Department of Energy posted a notice in the federal register in October, requesting public comment on the potential change.
If approved, the DOE would change how it labels high level waste (HLW), allowing some of the waste resulting from processing nuclear fuel to be characterized as either low-level or transuranic (TRU) waste.
If the waste is deemed low-level, it can be disposed of at the generator site, or in a surface-level facility………
When the HLW is held at the site, the federal government pays for the facility’s utilities, costing tax payers billions of dollars a year, Heaton said.
Some of that money could be saved, he said, if the waste was moved.
“A lot of would pass the waste acceptance criteria at WIPP,” Heaton said. “It would extend the life of WIPP for sure. ………
Don Hancock, director of the Nuclear Waste Program at the Southwest Research and Information Center said the proposal is not only illegal, but hypocritical.
He said HLW is defined numerous times in laws passed by the U.S. Congress, and the DOE’s proposal would circumvent congressional powers.
“What it seems like they’re proposing is illegal,” he said. “They say they get to rewrite the law, not Congress. They’re a lot of opposition to this nationally.”
Hancock also said that if waste is truly less dangerous than previously thought, it could be safely kept where it is.
If it’s more dangerous to keep the waste at the generator sites, Hancock said the DOE should petition for more repositories.
All HLW must be sent to a geologic repository, per federal law, excluding WIPP which is licensed for TRU waste.
Aside from re-characterizing HLW as TRU waste, Hancock said the proposal was also intended to get around the law requiring HLW to go underground, by re-characterizing it as low-level waste.
“There was a consensus that there should be multiple geologic repositories,” Hancock said. “There should be multiple places in the U.S. where you can have safe repositories. That didn’t happen.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2018/11/02/doe-reclassifying-nuclear-waste/1831914002
A caution on mobile phones’ electromagnetic radiation; they cause cancer in rats
 ‘Clear evidence’ of mobile phone radiation link to cancers in rats, US health agency concludes
Uncertainty remains about risk to humans who experience much lower radio wave doses, Independent, Alex Matthews-King, Health Correspondent 2 Nov 18, A long-running US study on the effects of radio wave radiation, the sort emitted by mobile phones, has found “clear evidence” of high levels of exposure and heart cancers in male rats. Some evidence of links to brain and adrenal gland tumours was also found in male rats, but in female rodents and male mice signs of cancer weren’t clear, the National Toxicology Programme (NTP) concluded in its final report on Thursday. The programme is run by the US Department of Health and Human Services and was tasked with reviewing the toxicity of mobile phone radiation in response to the devices’ near ubiquity in modern life. Radiation exposure in the trial was well above the levels most humans would experience, but researchers said the findings show the link between radio frequencies and tumours – at least for rats – “is real”. “In our studies, rats and mice received radio frequency radiation across their whole bodies. By contrast, people are mostly exposed in specific local tissues close to where they hold the phone. “In addition, the exposure levels and durations in our studies were greater than what people experience.”……….. |
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Despite the hype, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors don’t seem to have much of a future
New Renew Extra 1st Nov 2018 Dave Elliott: Small Modular Reactors are being promoted as the next big things in energy- being allegedly cheaper than conventional large plants since they can be mass-produced.
None yet exist, apart from the small units used for nuclear submarines, but the proponents envisage all manner of new variants emerging in the years ahead, with some prototypes already being planned in the US, and Canada, and China also pushing ahead in this area.
Some are conventional Pressurised Water Reactors simply scaled down, others, less developed so far, are planning to test out other routes, including molten salt flouride reactors using thorium, possibly operating in fast breeder mode. In theory some could also be run in Combined Heat and Power mode, with the heat delivered to nearby urban areas- if anyone will allow SMRs to be built near or in cities. That would improve their economics.
SMR enthusiasts have be trying to promote their new as yet untested technologies, but not that many seem to want to pay for them. Some look to the military link to rescue SMRs- they have the same technical and expertise base as is used for the nuclear propulsion units of the UK’s nuclear submarines. But so far that doesn’t seem to paid off.
Certainly there have been complaints from SMR enthusiasts about the low level of government support in the UK: Meanwhile, in the USA, one key project has gone bust, having apparently overreached itself:
failing-to-deliver-reactor-that-ran-on-spent-fuel. It doesn’t sound like a booming area of development.
Trump Is Pushing the United States Toward Nuclear Anarchy
The White House wants to leave the INF Treaty. New START could be next. The death of these agreements would fuel a new arms race. Foreign policy, BY JON WOLFSTHAL OCTOBER 31, 2018, resident Donald Trump’s tough talk about withdrawing the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has generated plenty of controversy, but not much clarity about what happens next. What’s certain is that the end of the treaty would make the United States and its allies (for whom Trump apparently cares little) less safe and would undermine the global basis for nuclear restraint and nonproliferation.
And it may get worse. America’s potential withdrawal from the INF Treaty—which bans the United States and Russia from having nuclear or conventional ground-based missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (300 to 3,400 miles)—suggests that the 2010 New START arms reduction treaty with Russia might be next.
The untimely death of these two agreements would add fuel to a new arms race and further undermine stability and predictability between Washington and Moscow.
The last time the United States aand Russia had to navigate a world without bilateral nuclear constraints was before 1972; it was a world we were lucky to survive and one to which no sane person should want to return.
Nuclear weapons and deterrence advocates like to claim that the invention of nuclear weapons is what has kept the peace among major powers since the end of World War II. However, it was the development of predictable, binding, legal agreements and enforced global norms of behavior across security, trade, and global issues—not nuclear arms—that helped the United States to become the most prosperous and secure country in history. The rules not only made the United States safer and richer but also helped usher in an unprecedented era of global prosperity. The preservation of that order is a vital national interest and is under attack by the Trump administration.
That Trump would seek to undermine the rules that have benefited U.S. prosperity and influence is bad enough. That he would try to disrupt the system that prevents nuclear anarchy is inexcusable…………..
After assuming office, Trump largely ignored the issue of the INF Treaty and nuclear stability, even passing on an early offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the New START agreement, which caps both Russia and the United States at 1,550 strategic offensively deployed nuclear weapons and will expire on Feb. 5, 2021, unless extended by a term of up to five years. Since then, there has been no evidence that Trump or any senior member of his administration has engaged with Russia in any serious way to bring it back into compliance with the INF Treaty. While the Defense Department’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review does briefly mention the agreement, it includes no strategy to restore Russian compliance and instead uses Russia’s violations to justify considering a new generation of sea-launched, nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/31/trump-is-pushing-the-united-states-toward-nuclear-anarchy/
Mike Cannon-Brookes’ campaign to reclaim ‘fair dinkum power’ swamped –
https://www.afr.com/news/mike-cannonbrookes-campaign-to-reclaim-fair-dinkum-power-swamped-20181101-h17eaq – Mike Cannon-Brookes’ campaign to reclaim the phrase “fair dinkum power” from Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been swamped with offers of support, and the Atlassian billionaire is in the process of registering a trademark for a logo to promote renewable energy.
Mr Cannon-Brookes said he had had hundreds of tweets and emails expressing support and even offering donations since starting the campaign on Wednesday, but was funding the exercise himself.
He is exploring options for licensing the logo – a green power plug connected to a leaf with the words “FAIR DINKUM POWER” that emerged from an online competition – through the creative commons so people can use it without paying a licence fee.
He would not comment on whether there has been any contact with the Prime Minister’s office 24 hours after launching his campaign on Twitter out of frustration and anger with what he calls Mr Morrison’s dishonest appropriation of the words “fair dinkum power”.
Mr Morrison has defined the expression to mean power that can be switched on and off at will when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining but critics say this is just code for extending the life of old coal power stations or even building new ones – something no power investor has done for more than 10 years.
Like ‘Heart Foundation’ sticker
Mr Cannon-Brookes said he envisaged the logo being “like a Heart Foundation sticker” or something people can put on T-shirts, bumper bars or home batteries and solar panels to promote renewable energy and try to shift the Morrison government’s narrative from its pro-fossil fuels stance.
He said this was hypocritical given that the government’s own power company Snowy Hydro had decided to double its rollout of wind and solar energy because it is cheaper than hydro and can even undercut the operating cost of existing black coal power stations at current coal prices.
As an indication of how quickly the campaign is catching on, he said he was putting air in the tyres of his Tesla at a BP service station in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at 7.30 on Thursday morning on the school run – when a man yelled out, “That’s not fair dinkum power”, then let out a huge belly laugh and said, “Good on you.”
His end goal is to convince people that wind and solar energy are cheaper than coal or gas or hydro energy and his vision, or “life mission”, is for Australia to be “200 per cent renewable energy powered” – in other words, to export as much energy as it consumes, all from renewable sources.
“It’s a bit of a life mission for me and I’m determined to see us get there,” Mr Cannon-Brookes told The Australian Financial Review. “I do think it’s the biggest economic opportunity for our generation, and it’s amazing that we do not talk more about it.”
More sun, wind and hydro
He said Australia had more wind, sun and hydro resources than fossil fuels in the ground but “we never talk about it that way” and the Minerals Council of Australia never mentions the solar resources that the nation is blessed with.
“I don’t think the politicians are being honest when they tell you that coal is cheaper and it’s factually not true.”
He revealed the logo for the campaign on Channel Ten’s The Project on Thursday evening and said he was appearing on the show because “I have got to take every opportunity I can to convince the broader population that renewables are cheaper”.
The trademark application is already under way and the Atlassian co-founder is seeking advice on how the creative commons licensing system can be used to allow people to use the logo to promote renewable energy while restricting its use for non-approved commercial use – for example to promote so-called “clean coal”.
Severe fire danger as heat hits New South Wales East coast
NSW east coast now in ‘severe’ fire danger as mercury soars SMH , 2 Nov 18 Drier than expected conditions have put Sydney and much of the NSW east coast in severe fire danger, as the city experiences a “low intensity heatwave” on Friday afternoon.
A large mass of hot air moving across the state is driving temperatures up towards 40 degrees in some parts, fanned by strong winds above 30km/h.
At the peak, the mercury had hit 38.9 degrees at Sydney Airport, 37.6 degrees in Camden, 37.1 degrees at Observatory Hill and 38.8 degrees at Horsley Park. Statewide, White Cliffs in the far west, notched 43.3 degrees……..
Fires burn near Canberra and Newcastle
Firefighters were already battling an out-of-control blaze south-west of Canberra on Thursday night and continue to fight it today. The fire is burning erratically at Pierces Creek, about 8km from the nearest suburb……..
Exceptionally warm Australia was “exceptionally warm” last month, with mean temperatures 1.83 degrees above the 1961-90 average, making it the fourth warmest October on record, the bureau said.
While Sydney’s October rainfall was twice the average at 167.6 millimetres, evaporation rates were almost as high at 160.6 millimetres meaning the rainfall deficient barely budged.
Elsewhere, the big dry has expanded beyond NSW and Queensland, with Tasmania recording its third-driest October on record as rainfall dived 60 per cent below average for the month.
Victoria was also dry, continuing its run this year of below-average monthly rainfall totals with less than half the usual October rain. By mean temperatures, it was also that state’s fifth warmest October on record. https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/nsw-east-coast-now-in-severe-fire-danger-as-mercury-soars-20181102-p50dn1.html?promote_channel=edmail&mbnr=MTM2NDAwMjM&eid=email:nnn-13omn655-
The Power of the Documentary Breaking the Silence A film festival curated by John Pilger
28 November – 9 December 2018
‘Documentaries that go against the received wisdom are becoming an endangered species,
at the very time we need them, perhaps more than ever.‘ John Pilger
‘Documentary films are a powerful way to make sense of the world
at a time when we are being bombarded by more images and information than ever,
and which are often repetitive, omit critical truths and blur fact and fiction.
‘Acclaimed documentary film-maker, journalist and author John Pilger has selected
26 landmark documentary films of the past seven decades, to be screened at
the MCA and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, in November and December.
‘John Pilger is renowned for his independent investigative journalism that
gives ‘voice to the voiceless’ and calls power to account.
‘The documentaries he has chosen beckon us to look behind facades
and not accept the conformity that can lead to war.
Co-presented with Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the program features
a rare retrospective of some of Pilger’s own ground-breaking work, including his
debut film The Quiet Mutiny (1970) which exposed American troop insurrections in Vietnam,
and The War You Don’t See (2011), his history of the role of the media in war.
‘The festival will feature Q&As with filmmakers and John Pilger will open the festival
with an address on why we need more spaces for critical debate.
The Power of Documentary may change your mind.’
riversideparramatta.com.au/category/cinema/film-festivals/power-of-the-documentary/
Climate change – denial and reality
New UN Report Warns of Impending Catastrophe as World Warms, Glaciers Melt, DAHR JAMAIL, TRUTHOUT PART OF THE TRUTHOUT SERIES CLIMATE DISRUPTION DISPATCHES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 “………….Denial and Reality
In a recent interview, Donald Trump, who had called human-caused climate change “a Chinese hoax,” said it is real, “but I don’t know that it’s manmade.” He also said the climate will “change back again” — whatever that means.Meanwhile, the ongoing denialism continues unabated in his administration. Climate change information was removed from an important planning document for a national park in New England, with the rationale that it was deemed a “sensitive” topic.
The North Carolina government did not like the science about sea level rise, so literally passed a law banning policies based on such forecasts. The state, of course, is still recovering from flooding from Hurricane Florence.
Meanwhile, Trump’s EPA has abandoned restrictions against hydrofluorocarbons, a chemical that has been linked to climate change. OPEC announced it is predicting a massive increase in oil production over the next five years — enough so that it will offset CO2 reductions from electric cars. On that note, it was recently exposed that the state of Texas, already the leading emitter of greenhouse gasses in the US, has approved 43 petrochemical projects along the Gulf Coast since 2012 — projects that add millions of tons more of greenhouse gas pollution.
Stunningly, despite the terrifying weather events and dire predictions of what’s to come, it has come to light that the Trump administration is aware of and accepts a projected 7-degree rise in global temperatures by just 2100. This came out in a draft statement issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which was written to justify Trump’s decision to freeze federal fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks built after 2020. “The amazing thing they’re saying is human activities are going to lead to this rise of carbon dioxide that is disastrous for the environment and society,” Michael MacCracken, who served as a senior scientist at the US Global Change Research Program from 1993 to 2002 told The Washington Post. “And then they’re saying they’re not going to do anything about it.”
The Trump administration’s stance on climate change is essentially that we’re doomed, so what’s the point in cutting greenhouse gas emissions?
With regard to the alarming UN climate report, the White House basically shrugged it off, claiming that emissions in the US have dropped since 2005. This is a true statement, but does not explain the reason for that, which is a historic shift away from coal-fired electricity and toward renewables and natural gas.
Fortunately, reality is striking back.
A group of 17 bipartisan state governors representing states that comprise half of the total US GDP has vowed to both fight climate change and fight Donald Trump on the issue. They recently pledged $1.4 billion to support electric cars and institute new policies geared toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Stunningly, even Bloomberg, a business news outlet, is running stories with titles like “New Climate Debate: How to Adapt to the End of the World.”
And of course, the language coming out of the UN is a sign that the international community is beginning to understand the full weight of climate change’s implication.
Alas, this realization has not yet been met with the policy response it deserves. The author of a key UN report on the dangers of breaching the 1.5°C global warming limit recently said that the world is “nowhere near on track” to keep warming below even that already arbitrary level.https://truthout.org/articles/new-un-report-warns-of-impending-catastrophe-as-world-warms-glaciers-melt/
George Monbiot and other Ye Olde Nuclear Cheerleaders are driving Paddington Bear’s Extinction in Peru —
Its not too big an overstatement. George Monbiot and other Ye Olde Nuclear Cheerleaders are driving Paddington Bear’s Extinction in Peru. There has NEVER been any uranium mining in Peru but now companies are eyeing up uranium “assets” and floating their uranium ambitions on the stock market as a direct result of nuclear cheerleading […]
Antinuclear 