Today. Non-nuclear production of medical radioisotopes Time to think about closing down Lucas Heights nuclear reactor?
With the federal government funding a new cyclotron, Australia might now be moving with the times, away from the dirry dangerous nuclear industry, and towards the modern, and much more practical, way of supplying medical isotopes. Cyclotron production means very minimal radioactive wastes, a welcome development, as ANSTO does not know what to do with its existing store of wastes, let alone with future production.
New cyclotron for Australia – to produce medical isotopes, with no need for dangerous nuclear reactor production
Fom Kazzi Jai, Fight to stop a nuclear waste dump in South Australia, 5 Apr 22, Announced by Scott Morrison today….another CYCLOTRON – this one high energy – to add to the cyclotrons we already have in Australia…. to CUSTOMISE our radioisotopes!
“”The Australian Precision Medicine Enterprise will help cement precision medicine development here in Australia, also helping deliver a stronger economy by growing opportunities for our medical sector and the highly-skilled jobs it supports.”
The 2022-23 Budget demonstrated the ongoing commitment to manufacturing with an additional $1 billion for the Morrison Government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy, including an extra $750 million for the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said these projects will help onshore technology and expertise not currently in Australia, while securing new sovereign capability.
“This project will see the construction of a new facility that will house a high energy 30 mega-electron volt (MeV ) cyclotron, which will be a new domestic source of critical radioisotopes – which are currently imported into Australia – and will be used in the treatment of cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses,” Minister Taylor said.
“By combining research and development and the manufacture of precision medicines locally we are shoring up our supply chain resilience,
“These projects will also create highly-skilled jobs in the medical sector, such as radiochemists, radio pharmacists and engineers, while also reducing our reliance on overseas suppliers of vital medications.”
Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the project will see incredible collaboration with the Monash Biomedical Imaging Centre, National Synchrotron and the Victorian Heart Hospital.
“Not only will this facility and the precision medicines it will help lead to better patient outcomes, it will help bolster Australia’s entire medical ecosystem,” Minister Hunt said.
“This project will help realise the incredible potential of medicines that are customised to patients, all the way from clinical trials to their local manufacture right here at home.”
The facility will directly support 42 jobs with 105 additional along the supply chain.“ https://www.pm.gov.au/media/locally-made-medicines?fbclid=IwAR0qgWbtvC434SHR7fHU3_fryScD-7_kOYxcczW1ua-i4zfVzIW-GxA1ONo from https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556
Ukraine is ground zero for the expansion of the U.S.-Russia proxy war, (and the war industry is jubilant)
This six-week war surely has left the war industry jubilant. In Washington, Biden recently proposed what would be the largest U.S. “defense” budget in history, more than $813 billion.
The U.S. Has Its Own Agenda Against Russia Ukraine is ground zero for the expansion of the U.S.-Russia proxy war. The Intercept, Jeremy Scahill, April 2 2022 Ever since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, there has been an unprecedented cohesion of messaging emanating from the U.S. government, its NATO and other European allies, and large segments of the Western media establishment. As massive quantities of weapons pour into Ukraine, there has been consistent media and political agitation for President Joe Biden and other Western leaders to “do more” or answer for why they are not further escalating the situation, including through the imposition of a no-fly zone.
The White House smells Putin’s blood in the waters of his disastrous invasion. The flow of weapons, the sweeping sanctions, and other acts of economic warfare are ultimately aimed not just at defending Ukraine and making the regime pay for the invasion in the immediate present, but also setting in motion its downfall. “For god’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said during his recent visit to Poland. The White House sought to walk back the line and clarify that it did not constitute a change in policy but was merely an expression of the president’s righteous anger. The kerfuffle over what Biden really meant is less important than the very public actions of the U.S. and its allies.
It should not be assumed that the strategies and actions being employed by Washington and its allies in their proxy war against Moscow will always be in the best interest of Ukraine or its people. Likewise, Ukraine’s calls for military support and action from the West — however justifiable and sincere they are — may not be in the best interest of the rest of the world, particularly if they increase the likelihood of nuclear war or World War III. The desire to avoid this scenario by advocating for a negotiated solution to the war that addresses Russia’s stated concerns or its rationale for the invasion is not a capitulation to Putin and it is not appeasement. It is common sense.
While the fate of Ukraine and the lives of its civilian population are evoked in calls for more escalatory action from the West, it is these very people who will suffer and die in large numbers every day the war drags on. Western media coverage is often crafted to portray only one outcome as acceptable: a decisive Ukrainian victory, in which the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy emerges from the horrors of the Russian invasion in complete control of all of its territory, including Crimea and the Donbas region. Ukraine, as a free and independent state, should be free to join NATO, and Russia has no legitimacy in questioning the implications of such a move. Advocacy for accepting anything short of this outcome is a victory for Russia and therefore traitorous to even consider………………
The routine belligerence exhibited by countless politicians, pundits, and media figures about taking the fight to Putin in Ukraine is largely chickenhawkery. …………
when you listen to the fine details of Ukraine’s own negotiators and leaders, it’s clear that they understand that the war does not end with the swift annihilation of Putin, the downfall of Russia, or with a clean and complete Ukrainian retention of its territorial sovereignty. That’s why Zelenskyy’s government has acknowledged that the issue of NATO membership, a formalized neutrality status, and an internationally brokered process on the status of Crimea will all be on the table.
There has been much noise about Russia’s recent indications that it was drawing down its military actions in parts of Ukraine, particularly around the capital Kyiv. The U.S. and NATO have acknowledged a partial drawdown but asserted that Russian forces appear to be repositioning, likely for use in the east. Russia has also said as much itself. Moscow’s position is that “the main goals of the first stage of the operation have generally been accomplished.”
There is a peculiar dynamic surrounding the analysis of Putin’s comments on his intentions for Ukraine. He is accused of lying when his remarks undermine the U.S. narrative, but we are told to believe he is absolutely telling the truth when his pugnacious threats bolster the U.S. position.
Whether or not Putin intended to seize all of Ukraine and become an imperial occupier, he did seem to believe his invasion could cause the Ukrainian government to collapse and its leaders to flee in fear. That did not happen. Instead, U.S. and NATO-armed Ukrainian forces outside Kyiv have fought the Russian troops ferociously and inflicted significant losses against them on the battlefield. At the same time, by opening multiple fronts, Moscow forced Ukraine to defend vital territory, including its capital. This strategy exacted a tremendous human toll on the Russian military, but it did take some heat off Russian forces in the Donbas territories in the east, which Putin has cited as his territorial priority in the operation.
But the question of Putin’s original intent — to take Kyiv or to use that threat as a strategy to spread Ukraine’s defenses thin — is now largely irrelevant except in the rhetorical battlespace focused on Russian weakness, incompetence, or failure.
The most contentious issue in the negotiations to end the war will likely have little to do with NATO membership. Zelenskyy has already conceded that to end the war Ukraine will have to drop that ambition and adopt a neutral and nonaligned status, though he does want to continue the pursuit of joining the European Union. Russia will certainly oppose any attempts for Kyiv to win a backdoor “Article 5” status that could trigger defense of Ukraine by Western powers in cases of future military actions by Moscow. Ukraine has suggested that it would also want China and Turkey to be a part of such a guarantee, not just adversaries of Russia. There are indications that the U.S. doesn’t think the proposal is viable, and Britain’s deputy prime minister bluntly stated, “Ukraine is not a NATO member,” adding, “We’re not going to engage Russia in direct military confrontation.”
Based on the reports out of the recent negotiations in Turkey, it seems that the most incendiary questions will revolve around the breakaway republics in the Donbas region. Ukraine has effectively said it wants a return to the pre-invasion status quo, which would mean erasing the Putin-recognized declarations of independence from Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia, which is currently expanding its control over the Donbas and seizing more territory, is unlikely to agree. This dynamic more than any other could delay or block any meaningful resolution and would be a central focus in a potential summit between Zelenskyy and Putin.
Once there is a brokered agreement, the flow of Western weapons into Ukraine and Russian military support for the separatists will result in a constant state of war footing for many years to come. A cloud portending more fighting and bloodshed will remain hovering over eastern Ukraine. If U.S. and other NATO troops resume their training exercises in Ukraine, as Biden has indicated they should, this means that there will always be a risk of incidents that could quickly escalate.
This six-week war surely has left the war industry jubilant. In Washington, Biden recently proposed what would be the largest U.S. “defense” budget in history, more than $813 billion. Germany and other European countries are publicly committing to buying and selling more weapons and spending more on defense. NATO is raising the prospect of expanding its permanent military presence in Europe and Washington is reasserting its political dominance over Europe on security matters.
But despite the image of global unity of cause being promoted by the U.S. and its NATO allies, several large and powerful nations, including China, India, Indonesia, and NATO member Turkey, are not marching to Washington’s drumbeat — not in the proxy-war business and not in the policy of sanctioning and vilifying Russia.
The overt war in Ukraine will have to end at the negotiating table. But the proxy war is escalating and will have consequences that extend far beyond the current battlefield. https://theintercept.com/2022/04/01/russia-ukraine-proxy-war-washington-diplomacy/
Ending Ukraine’s suffering. The decision to negotiate this is up to Ukraine, not USA
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Putin, The Nuclear Threat, And Ending The War: To Squeeze Or Not To Squeeze? Michael Krepon, Forbes, 4 Apr 22,
To squeeze or not to squeeze. That is the question that tries analytically minded souls…………..
………..The majority view among the punditocracy counsels a negotiated settlement. One concern is that if Putin feels cornered, he could do something everyone will regret — like using a nuclear detonation in war. Even if he doesn’t, the longer this war lasts, the more Ukrainian city blocks will be reduced to rubble.
………….most analysts argue that we ought to give Putin a face-saving exit, which means conceding Ukrainian territory to Russia. How much territory to concede would be a hard issue in any negotiated settlement.
………. the deciding vote on the question of to squeeze or not to squeeze belongs to the government and people of Ukraine. It’s their land, their casualty counts, and their cities. NATO is obliged to take its cues from Volodymyr Zelensky. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkrepon/2022/04/04/putin-the-nuclear-threat-and-ending-the-war-to-squeeze-or-not-to-squeeze/?sh=51ec25776109
“No prohibitions”: Renewables funds can be spent on fossil hydrogen and CCS, officials say — perhaps even nuclear.
Angus Taylor’s latest intervention creates mass confusion, with officials insisting renewables funding could be redirected to fossil fuels and nuclear. The post “No prohibitions”: Renewables funds can be spent on fossil hydrogen and CCS, officials say appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“No prohibitions”: Renewables funds can be spent on fossil hydrogen and CCS, officials say — RenewEconomy
Billions in government grants set aside to support the development of renewable energy technologies could be redirected to fossil hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage projects and possibly nuclear energy under new regulations issued by federal energy minister Angus Taylor.
Officials from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) told a senate estimates hearing on Monday that there would be “no prohibitions” on which technologies the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) may fund under the new regulations
But in the process of issuing the regulations, it appears Taylor has created a regulatory omnishambles, with officials providing senate estimates contradictory information regarding which technologies the renewables agency may be able to fund………………………………
An explanatory statement included with the latest set of regulations stated that the Morrison government intends to ensure ARENA could fund non-renewable energy technologies.
“The Regulations provides ARENA with the necessary authority to deliver any non-renewable elements of the programs, supporting emissions reductions through broader clean energy technologies such as energy efficiency and non‑renewable low-emission technologies,” the explanatory statement said.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is, however, explicitly prohibited from investing in nuclear projects and carbon capture and storage projects under its legislation.
Representatives from the CEFC told the senate estimates hearing on Monday that it would not be possible for the green bank’s board to include carbon capture and storage projects within its definition of “low emissions technology”, due to the explicit prohibition contained within the CEFC’s legislation.
But, confusingly, officials from both the industry department and ARENA insisted that the prohibitions imposed on the CEFC would not apply to ARENA………. https://reneweconomy.com.au/no-prohibitions-renewables-agency-funds-opened-up-for-fossil-hydrogen-ccs-possibly-nuclear/
Why transmission is the missing link to an orderly transition to renewables — RenewEconomy
Transmission projects take a long time to develop, but we don’t have a lot of time if we are serious about a timely transition to cleaner sources of electricity. The post Why transmission is the missing link to an orderly transition to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Why transmission is the missing link to an orderly transition to renewables — RenewEconomy
“Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies — RenewEconomy
IPCC says Australia victim of one of the most successful fossil fuel lobbying efforts, as UN chief slams leaders for lying about climate action. The post “Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies — RenewEconomy
New data shows big jump in toxic coal plant pollution, even as output falls — RenewEconomy
Analysis shows big increase in amount of toxic air pollutants emitted by Australia’s ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants, even while generation output of some has decreased. The post New data shows big jump in toxic coal plant pollution, even as output falls appeared first on RenewEconomy.
New data shows big jump in toxic coal plant pollution, even as output falls — RenewEconomy
It’s astounding Australia has no policy framework to drive urgent clean energy transition — RenewEconomy
It is astounding that there is no nationally agreed policy-making framework to guide Australia through a once in a century technological transition. The post It’s astounding Australia has no policy framework to drive urgent clean energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.
It’s astounding Australia has no policy framework to drive urgent clean energy transition — RenewEconomy
Japanese renewable investor lands financing deal for small Victoria solar farm — RenewEconomy
Japanese based renewable energy developer reaches financial close for a small solar farm in Victoria after landing a deal with a local superannuation fund. The post Japanese renewable investor lands financing deal for small Victoria solar farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Japanese renewable investor lands financing deal for small Victoria solar farm — RenewEconomy
April 4 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Tesla And German Auto Industry’s Varied Tech Paths” • Tesla manages its business very differently than its competitors. As a result, Tesla sales grew almost 90% in 2021, compared to a declines of 2% at Daimler and 3% at the VW Group. Tesla’s growth took place despite a world-wide shortage in chips, and […]
April 4 Energy News — geoharvey
Tasmania’s first solar project to fuel green hydrogen plant to replace diesel use — RenewEconomy
Line Hydrogen to build green hydrogen production facility in Tasmania, getting power from the state’s first solar farm. The post Tasmania’s first solar project to fuel green hydrogen plant to replace diesel use appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Tasmania’s first solar project to fuel green hydrogen plant to replace diesel use — RenewEconomy
Wind and solar make deep cuts in emissions possible, but fossil fuels must go: IPCC — RenewEconomy
Wind, solar and battery storage will play centre-stage to cut emissions in half by 2030, the IPCC says, while more expensive CCS will have only a bit part. The post Wind and solar make deep cuts in emissions possible, but fossil fuels must go: IPCC appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Wind and solar make deep cuts in emissions possible, but fossil fuels must go: IPCC — RenewEconomy
“Now or never:” IPCC says immediate and deep cuts needed for liveable future — RenewEconomy
IPCC uses dramatic language to insist world must make “immediate and deep” emissions cuts, to try and ensure a liveable planet. The post “Now or never:” IPCC says immediate and deep cuts needed for liveable future appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Now or never:” IPCC says immediate and deep cuts needed for liveable future — RenewEconomy
Gas-led recovery is a “dog”, world must stop burning fossil fuels, Turnbull says — RenewEconomy
Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition’s gas led recovery is a “dog”, and says the world must stop burning fossil fuels and put gas “out of business.” The post Gas-led recovery is a “dog”, world must stop burning fossil fuels, Turnbull says appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Gas-led recovery is a “dog”, world must stop burning fossil fuels, Turnbull says — RenewEconomy
Antinuclear 