To 7 April – Nuclear and climate news
Global problems intertwine. Global heating contributes to epidemics of infectious diseases, by promoting the spread of disease vectors, like mosquitoes. There is no established link between covid-19 and climate change. However, the way we are altering the planet will make the spread of some diseases more likely. National responses to the coronavirus pandemic bring the opportunity to tackle climate change. To get a perspective – the climate crisis is a greater catastrophe than Coronavirus.
The current story of Captain Brett Crozier, captain of the nuclear aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, illustrates the moral poverty of the secretive nuclear culture, and the moral poverty of USA’s nuclear commander-in-chief, Donald Trump. The ship, with nearly 5000 crew, had a number of cases of coronavirus. The captain wrote to the Navy, begging to have the sailors evacuated, a plea which was rejected. Later, the sailors were evacuated, but the captain was fired. President Trump explained that what Crozier did “was terrible” .
But that’s just one nuclear ship – what about the world’s nuclear ships and nuclear submarines? How safe are they, with warship crews now falling victim to COVID-19 ?
Some bits of good news – Another Roundup of Positive Updates on the COVID Outbreaks From Around the World. Earth’s Ozone Layer Continues to Repair Itself. (Also – if you can persevere with the video “Sam and the Plant Next Door”- it’s quite uplifting. )
AUSTRALIA
The importance of strengthening the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). Submissions due by 17 April.
Doctors warn on coronavirus danger for Australian citizen, Julian Assange, imprisoned without conviction, in a coronavirus incubator.
NUCLEAR. Outlandish claims made by Byron Shire Councillors, (Greens!!) promoting mobile Small Nuclear Reactors.
CLIMATE. Finally, Australia’s energy network planning will include climate policies. Australia has what it needs to go “all in” and reach zero emissions by 2035. Under cover of pandemic, fossil fuel interests unleash lobbying frenzy. Sorry to disappoint climate deniers, but coronavirus makes the low-carbon transition more urgent. Big swings to the Greens in Brisbane wards elections.
RENEWABLE ENERGY. Northern Territory offers $6,000 grant for home batteries, cuts solar tariff. NT plans big battery in Darwin to cut gas costs and accelerate solar. NSW approves critical Snowy 2.0 factory as more energy experts call for project halt. Final Government approvals for core lithium to move on first lithium production in the NT. Solar constraints could be relaxed before end of April, clearing path for new projects. Rooftop solar charts another big month, but Covid-19 clouds future. How your home battery can help keep the grid stable and prices down.
INTERNATIONAL.
Despite propaganda from nuclear/coal front group, Breakthrough Institute, NOW IS the time to talk about climate change. The Climate Crisis Will Be Just as Shockingly Abrupt as the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Put people and health before nukes. New hypersonic weaponry complicates Nuclear Arms Control Regime. Noam Chomsky on the urgent need to eradicate nuclear weapons.
Covid 19 and government responses are affecting nuclear construction world-wide. The nuclear industry and the impact of coronavirus. A creeping catastrophe: the world’s nuclear reactors are getting dangerously old.
Under cover of pandemic, fossil fuel interests unleash lobbying frenzy — RenewEconomy
Oil and gas sector, including in Australia, ramps up lobbying for financial support and the repeal of environmental regulations due to Covid-19 pandemic. The post Under cover of pandemic, fossil fuel interests unleash lobbying frenzy appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Under cover of pandemic, fossil fuel interests unleash lobbying frenzy — RenewEconomy
Sorry to disappoint climate deniers, but coronavirus makes the low-carbon transition more urgent — RenewEconomy
There is every reason to expect that the virus crisis will strengthen and accelerate the imperative to transition to a low-carbon world by mid-century. The post Sorry to disappoint climate deniers, but coronavirus makes the low-carbon transition more urgent appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Northern Territory offers $6,000 grant for home batteries, cuts solar tariff — RenewEconomy
Northern Territory to provide $6,000 grant for homes and businesses to install battery storage, funded by a cut in the solar feed in tariff. The post Northern Territory offers $6,000 grant for home batteries, cuts solar tariff appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Northern Territory offers $6,000 grant for home batteries, cuts solar tariff — RenewEconomy
Contrary to the schills for the polluting industries – NOW really Is the time to be talking about climate change
This is exactly the time to be talking about climate change, Joel Makower, Chairman & Executive Editor, Green Biz Group, Green Biz, March 31, 2020 – I rarely get exasperated from reading environmental business media, but a quote last week in a Bloomberg article about sustainability and the U.S. economic crisis got me headed in that direction.
The quote came from Ted Nordhaus, co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute, a research group whose founders, self-described environmentalists, have made a career out of being gadflies — for example, arguing in favor of nuclear power and natural gas, arguing against putting a price on carbon emissions and claiming that there’s no real limit to the earth’s carrying capacity, or that energy efficiency doesn’t work because of something called the “rebound effect.”
I’ll leave it to you to proceed down the wormhole of websites critiquing the group’s analyses. Suffice to say that the Breakthrough Institute has become a darling of the anti-science, pro-pollution conservative right, which frequently cites its work in order to attack environmentalists and climate scientists and their fact-based policy recommendations.
Here’s last week’s quote, in reference to the notion of integrating climate measures into congressional appropriations as we rebuild the economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic:
…… he says. “It would be tone-deaf to talk about climate change now.”
It’s a specious ploy often used by conservatives. Following a mass shooting, it’s not the right time to talk about gun control. Following a hurricane, it’s not the right time to talk about climate-exacerbated weather events. Following the police shooting of an unarmed black man, it’s not the right time to talk about race relations and inequality.
Of course, later on, when it’s presumably “the right time,” the public’s fickle attention likely has moved on to other front-burner topics.
Just because a problem isn’t in the news doesn’t mean it somehow has been solved. All of the above challenges remain, pandemic or not. And, to varying degrees, they all need to be kept alive, even amid other pressing priorities.
So, Nordhaus is dead wrong: This is exactly the right time to be talking about climate change.
In fact, we need to be talking unapologetically about climate, the clean economy, renewable energy, resilient food systems, sustainable mobility, the circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals with more vigor than ever…….https://www.greenbiz.com/article/exactly-time-be-talking-about-climate-change
A salute to Captain Brett Crozier as a hero
This story says nothing about this being a nuclear-powered ship. But underlying this whole thing is the fact of the (probably necessary) culture of secrecy that surrounds all things nuclear. This is yet another example of how the nuclear culture means that it is “preferable” for people to die, rather than have the truth get out.
Captain Crozier Is a Hero, Theodore Roosevelt, my great-grandfather, would agree. By Tweed Roosevelt, Mr. Roosevelt is a great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and the chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt Institute at Long Island University. April 3, 2020
On Monday, Capt. Brett Crozier, the commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, sent a letter to the Navy pleading for permission to unload his crew, including scores of sailors sickened with Covid-19, in Guam, where it was docked. The Pentagon had been dragging its feet, and the situation on the ship was growing dire. “We are not at war,” he wrote. “Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our sailors.”
After the letter was leaked to The San Francisco Chronicle, the Navy relented. But on Thursday, it relieved Captain Crozier of his command.
In removing Captain Crozier, the Navy said that his letter was a gross error that could incite panic among his crew. But it’s hard to know what else he could have done — the situation on the Theodore Roosevelt was dire.
Ships at sea, whether Navy carriers or cruise ships, are hotbeds for this disease. Social distancing is nearly impossible: The sailors are practically on top of one another all day, in crowded messes, in cramped sleeping quarters and on group watches.
It is thought that a sailor caught the virus while on shore leave in Vietnam. Once on board, the virus took its now predictable course: First a sailor or two, then dozens, and all of a sudden more than 100 were sick.
Captain Crozier received orders to take the ship to Guam, but he was not given permission to offload most of the sailors. The virus was threatening to overwhelm the small medical crew aboard. There was not much time before sailors might start dying.
The captain felt he had to act immediately if he was to save his sailors. He chose to write a strong letter, which he distributed to a number of people within the Navy, demanding immediate removal from the ship of as many sailors as possible. Perhaps this was not the best approach for his career, but it got results…….
The acting secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly, summarily fired the captain, not for leaking the letter (for which he said he had no proof), but for showing “extremely poor judgment.” Many disagree, believing that Captain Crozier showed excellent judgment. He left the ship Thursday night to a rousing hero’s sendoff……… https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/opinion/coronavirus-crozier-roosevelt.html
The wrong crisis stopped the Olympics — Beyond Nuclear International
The Games are postponed but what took them so long?
via The wrong crisis stopped the Olympics — Beyond Nuclear International
NT plans big battery in Darwin to cut gas costs and accelerate solar — RenewEconomy
Northern Territory finally endorses big battery for Darwin grid, which will deliver 5-year payback and help expansion of solar power needed to meet 50% renewables target. The post NT plans big battery in Darwin to cut gas costs and accelerate solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via NT plans big battery in Darwin to cut gas costs and accelerate solar — RenewEconomy
TRUMP BROKE FAITH WITH CAPT. CROZIER AND ALL OUR SAILORS
TRUMP BROKE FAITH WITH CAPT. CROZIER AND ALL OUR SAILORS, Crooked, KEN HARBAUGH / APR.3.20 More than a dozen members of Congress on Friday condemned the U.S. Navy’s decision to dismiss the Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Earlier this week, in a memo leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle, Capt. Brett Crozier accused the Navy of jeopardizing the lives of his crew, by failing to take swift action to mitigate an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard his ship. “Keeping over 4000 young men and women aboard the TR,” he wrote, “is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care.” ….
President Trump has demonstrated, time and again, that he has no qualms about using the military to advance his personal political ends. He routinely stages uniformed personnel as props for partisan speeches. He treats deployments like political theater, as when he dispatched elements of the 82nd Airborne to the southern border to stoke fears of an immigrant invasion. And he undermines discipline and unit cohesion, pardoning war criminals convicted by military juries.
The rot may start at the top, but it reaches downwards………..
The current crisis aboard the USS Roosevelt lays bare the dangers of blind obeisance to President Trump. When the COVID-19 virus first began to impact the military’s overseas operations, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned commanders not to take any action that might surprise or embarrass the White House, or challenge the president’s messaging about the crisis. For those on board the USS Roosevelt, the downstream effect of that order may well be deadly. …….
How do we support these leaders, those with the courage to challenge blatantly political directives that needlessly endanger the lives of those they lead? To begin with, we must acknowledge what civilian control of the military actually means. It is not simply allegiance to the president. It requires Congress to perform effective oversight. Now, more than ever, America needs its elected representatives to hold military leaders accountable.
By law, every service member has a right to alert any member of Congress about issues within the military, provided no classified information is exchanged. For those in uniform who may not trust their own representatives, there are plenty of young veterans now in Congress (including one bad-ass female Navy pilot), who have no patience with the sycophancy infecting the Pentagon. Many of these representatives have come to the defense of Capt. Crozier.
Most importantly, the American public must do its part. We must remain alert whenever our armed forces are misused by the president. The American military belongs to us, not him. In his letter, Capt. Crozier alludes to the absurd politics behind the catastrophe unfolding aboard the USS Roosevelt. “This will require a political solution,” he writes, “but it is the right thing to do. Sailors do not need to die.” ………..
Ken Harbaugh is a former Navy pilot and nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives. Follow him on Twitter at @Team_Harbaugh. https://crooked.com/articles/trump-betrayed-crozier-sailors/
Donald Trump blasts Brett Crozier, Captain of the Theodore Roosevelt nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
‘He shouldn’t be talking that way’: Trump rips ousted Navy captain, Politico, 5 Apr 20
The president criticized Capt. Brett Crozier in harsh terms for a letter he wrote to Navy leaders notifying them of a spike in coronavirus cases among sailors on his carrier. Trump said he fully supported Crozier’s removal….
“I thought it was terrible, what he did, to write a letter. I mean, this isn’t a class on literature. This is a captain of a massive ship that’s nuclear powered. And he shouldn’t be talking that way in a letter,” Trump said……
More than 150 Roosevelt crew members have so far tested positive for Covid-19, the Navy said on Saturday. Forty-four percent of the crew has been tested, while more than 1,500 sailors have moved ashore as a smaller crew remains on board to sanitize the ship and keep its essential systems running.
Democrats in the House and Senate are now asking the Pentagon’s top watchdog to investigate whether Modly acted improperly [in firing Captain Crozier]. In a letter to acting Pentagon Inspector General Glenn Fine, 17 Senate Democrats, led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, requested a probe of both Crozier’s firing and the carrier’s outbreak……. ……https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/04/trump-brett-crozier-letter-165020
NSW approves critical Snowy 2.0 factory as more energy experts call for project halt — RenewEconomy
Snowy 2.0 tunnel segment factory gets planning approval as environmental groups and energy experts call for project to be halted, pending independent review. The post NSW approves critical Snowy 2.0 factory as more energy experts call for project halt appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via NSW approves critical Snowy 2.0 factory as more energy experts call for project halt — RenewEconomy
Trump Administration is using a pandemic to hand out gifts to its favorite polluters
 Trump Administration is using a pandemic to hand out gifts to its favorite polluters
The Trump Administration is using COVID-19 to further its dismantling of environmental protection. Environmental Health News, Peter Dykstra 5 Apr 20, “……… far away from the justifiably wall-to-wall coverage of COVID-19, the Trump Administration is unrepentantly using the pandemic to hand out gifts to its favorite polluters.COVID-19 news deeply saddens me. This other stuff infuriates me. Last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) sent a 10-page letter to the White House requesting a loosening of regulations, citing the COVID-19-related crash in oil and gas prices and the threat it posed to the fossil fuel industry. The White House, via Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, granted their wish list and then some. Past talk warning against the feds “picking winners and losers” in energy went by the boards. Five days later, Wheeler issued an order that gave API even more than it asked for, calling for a suspension of any enforcement of EPA regulations if any company, fossil fuel-based or not, or local government can prove that COVID-19 was the cause of its failure to comply. Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, now the President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the move “an open license to pollute.” The EPA required companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. No more. Because coronavirus. Wheeler also took the heat off entities forced by court-sanctioned consent decrees to fix pollution problems. Because coronavirus. EPA cut frackers a break on wastewater discharges. Because coronavirus………. https://www.ehn.org/trump-epa-pollution-coronavirus-2645628019.html |
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Wildfires threaten Chernobyl radioactive area
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 kraine battles forest fires near Chernobyl https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/forest-fire-chernobyl-boosts-radiation-level-69983859
Ukrainian says firefighters are laboring to put out two forest blazes in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power station that was evacuated because of radioactive contamination after the 1986 explosion at the plant By
The Associated Press
6 April 2020 MINSK, Belarus — Ukrainian firefighters labored into Sunday night trying to put out two forest blazes in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power station, which was evacuated because of radioactive contamination after the 1986 explosion at the plant.
Ukraine’s emergencies service said one of the fires, covering about five hectares (12 acres), had been localized. It said the other fire was about 20 hectares (50 acres). Earlier Sunday, the head of the state ecological inspection service, Yehor Firsov, said the fires had spread to about 100 hectares (250 acres). The discrepancy in sizes could not immediately be resolved. Firsov said radiation levels at the fire were substantially higher than normal. But the emergencies service said radiation levels in the capital of Kyiv, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south, were within norms. The fires were within the 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) Chernobyl Exclusion Zone established after the 1986 disaster at the plant that sent a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe. The zone is largely unpopulated, although about 200 people have remained despite orders to leave.
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Harmful Contacts with our Living Earth and Redounding Shots Across the Bow — robertscribbler
About two-thirds of all infectious diseases in humans have their origins in animals. Scientists say the ability of a virus to mutate and adapt from animals to the human system is very rare, but the expansion of the human footprint is making that rare event much more likely. — Jeff Berardelli Contact — the state or […]
via Harmful Contacts with our Living Earth and Redounding Shots Across the Bow — robertscribbler
1.This month.
Zoom webinar – “Nuclear Winter: The Environmental Consequences of a Nuclear Exchange.”
April 7th at 11:30 am PST / 2:30 pm EST
Nuclear Winter: The Environmental Consequences of a Nuclear Exchange”
Join us for an informative webinar with renowned atmospheric scientist, Professor Brian Toon, as he discusses the environmental risks and global impacts of a nuclear war. Despite the potential damage caused by the blast from even small nuclear weapons, many countries continue to invest in and expand nuclear arsenals. Professor Toon will provide a scientific assessment of civilian fatalities, agricultural failures, climate concerns, and complications with food supply that would follow any international nuclear conflict. We need to plan how to prevent nuclear conflict and avoid catastrophe. Politicians and military planners must be made aware of global climate and agricultural complications that would ensue. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, and engage in, this vital conversation
The Road to War brings a sharp focus to why it is not in Australia’s best interest to be dragged into a war with China which will almost inevitably go nuclear very quickly. The filmmaker has interviewed some of Australia’s senior foreign policy analysts who have vast experience behind them in analysing what really is going on here as the United States rattles its sabres with China. And sets us up to be its proxy, like the poor Ukranians have been fed into the Meatgrinder. So America can remain the Top Dog. The Road to War reveals how the United States through its spy base at Pine Gap and by stationing six nuclear capable B52 bombers in the Top End (without permission from the traditional owners) is making Australia a prime nuclear target if the current war of words suddenly melts down into full scale war.
The Road to War shows the implicit connection between Carbon emissions (the US military uses a whopping 70% of America’s annual petroleum to move its armies and vast War Machine around the globe to its 800+ military bases..but under a loophole wangled at Kyoto, the US military does not have to report its C02 annual emissions). The Road to War starts screening at selected cities and regional centres in March. See the trailer end for details.
Antinuclear 