Australia’s Tindo enters big solar market with “world-beating” utility-scale panel — RenewEconomy
Australia’s first – and for some time, only – manufacturer of solar panels has launched its first utility-scale panel, with high marks on efficiency. The post Australia’s Tindo enters big solar market with “world-beating” utility-scale panel appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Australia’s Tindo enters big solar market with “world-beating” utility-scale panel — RenewEconomy
Eraring unit trips and sends prices soaring, just as Coalition launches new price scare campaign — RenewEconomy
Eraring unit trips and sends prices soaring in NSW and Queensland, just as the federal Coalition launches new price scare campaign. The post Eraring unit trips and sends prices soaring, just as Coalition launches new price scare campaign appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Eraring unit trips and sends prices soaring, just as Coalition launches new price scare campaign — RenewEconomy
Fukushima’s forestry industry still haunted by nuclear meltdown — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
Yoshihisa Kanagawa, a senior member of the Higashishirakawa forestry cooperative in Fukushima Prefecture, visits a forest in the area. Feb 21, 2022 Almost 11 years since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant meltdown, the forestry industry in Fukushima Prefecture is still suffering serious difficulties, with mountains and forests once contaminated by radioactive fallout left […]
Fukushima’s forestry industry still haunted by nuclear meltdown — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
“Emissions blowout:” Australian coal and gas projects underplay emissions in planning process — RenewEconomy
Some of Australia’s largest fossil fuel projects significantly underestimated how much greenhouse gas emissions they would produce. The post “Emissions blowout:” Australian coal and gas projects underplay emissions in planning process appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Emissions blowout:” Australian coal and gas projects underplay emissions in planning process — RenewEconomy
No nuclear war
So what of NATO’s role in this? NATO is neither a force for peace and democracy, nor an innocent bystander.
NATO has gone on to become a global military force, abandoning its ‘defensive’ remit and engaging in war far beyond the North Atlantic.
Home / Kate Hudson’s Blog / No nuclear war,https://cnduk.org/no-nuclear-war/ Dr Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
No nuclear war, As the crisis in Ukraine escalates, the risk of nuclear war comes ever closer. President Biden pointed out last week that war between the US and Russia would be World War III, yet no serious progress has yet been made to deal with the underlying issues through negotiation. British political leaders remain determined to denigrate diplomatic initiatives, even as the possibility of war significantly increases.
The rational response to the latest dangerous developments would be to recognise that posturing has failed and now it’s time to step back and get to the negotiating table, to make the Minsk agreements work. The regional autonomy promised to those parts of eastern Ukraine with significant ethnic Russian populations must be implemented. That is how to resolve the issue of eastern Ukraine, to get the Russian troops out, and achieve a lasting settlement in the interests of all of its peoples. But that has not yet happened. Rather than further escalating the rhetoric and militarisation of the region, the US must treat this as a wake-up call to achieve a peaceful solution.
Russia and the United States together have almost 12,000 nuclear weapons—some of which are 3,000 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb. Add to that the arsenals of NATO members France and the United Kingdom, not to mention around 150 nuclear bombs that the US sites in western Europe under the auspices of NATO. Far from their significance receding since the Cold War, all nuclear arsenals are being modernised and upgraded—and in the case of the UK’s, being increased, as announced by the Johnson government last year.
During the Cold War, the notion of ‘mutually assured destruction’ meant that—in theory at least—leaders understood that a nuclear war was unwinnable and must never be fought. Indeed the leaders of nuclear weapons states recently reiterated that point, first made by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1985. But their actions belie those words and things have changed for the worse. During his term of office, Donald Trump produced and deployed ‘usable’ nuclear weapons; in the UK’s Integrated Review last year, new scenarios were outlined in which Britain would use nuclear weapons.
Do our political leaders actually understand what the use of just a single nuclear weapon would mean? The catastrophic human and environmental destruction, the incineration of cities and populations, and the appalling deaths from radiation poisoning? A nuclear exchange would be catastrophic, and nuclear war between the US and Russia would present an existential threat. Johnson and Starmer need to reflect on this when they are ramping up their bellicose rhetoric.
While they posture, the people of Ukraine are suffering; the country is paying a heavy economic and human price as a result of these hostilities.
So what of NATO’s role in this? NATO is neither a force for peace and democracy, nor an innocent bystander.
Despite dramatic changes across Europe after 1989, with the demise of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, NATO—under US leadership—began the process of expansion into eastern Europe. This has continued to include former Soviet republics, and NATO has gone on to become a global military force, abandoning its ‘defensive’ remit and engaging in war far beyond the North Atlantic.
NATO expansion has caused significant regional tension and its continued expansionary plans are threatening to drag Europe into a devastating war—because it refuses to take Russian security concerns into account. Russia already has a direct land border with NATO states Estonia and Latvia. If Ukraine joins NATO, then Russia will have over a thousand miles of additional land border with an openly hostile, nuclear-armed military alliance with a nuclear ‘first use’ policy. It is hard to imagine that a British government would happily accept such a situation in reverse.
There is no possibility whatsoever that war will resolve these complex problems, and it might just end with the destruction of humanity. Only dialogue and a willingness to be open to the concerns of others will make a difference. Many in Europe speak of a new security framework for Europe, with a commitment to common security rather than endlessly increasing militarisation, more nuclear weapons, and ultimately more deaths. This is the path that our own government must now pursue, rather than stoking up endless conflict.
Radiation hazards of mine in occupied Donetsk, site of an underground nuclear test.
Why nuclear risk from war in Ukraine isn’t missiles but accidental hits on reactors, Kyiv safety expert warns, By Isabella Bengoechea i , 23 Feb 22 ”……………………………………….A radioactive time bomb’
There is also growing concern over a “radioactive time bomb ticking away as a result of the war in Ukraine”, Ms Roslycky said.
Radiation from the Yuny Komynar (Yunkom) mine near Yenakiieve in occupied Donetsk has been slowly contaminating the environment. In 1979 the Soviet Union conducted a nuclear test here deep underground. The explosion melted the walls into glass, creating the ‘Klivazh’ facility, a vitrified capsule of radioactivity.
When a mine stops operating, water must be continually pumped out to prevent flooding because water that enters the shafts and chambers can become polluted with heavy metals which can then enter the soil and waterways.
Before the Russian occupation the Ukrainian government spent millions pumping water out of mines in the region to prevent flooding. However in 2018, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) ceased pumping operations, with infrastructure sold off for scrap metal.
A 2019 report by Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies found that contamination from flooded mines was an ‘urgent threat’ to over 300,000 people in separatist areas, with one in four already lacking a source of drinking water.
In the Yunkom mine: “There is a risk of the glass capsule being destroyed, and the leaking of highly hazardous radioactive elements into surface waters,” according to a 2021 report by Truth Hounds, a Ukraine-based human rights NGO. “Just two months after water pumping ceased, the level of mine water in the shaft of the mine increased by 157 meters.”
Since 2020, the capsule is believed to have flooded. According to the International Human Rights Community, the concentration of radionuclides in the aquifers about 5km away from the site, was 20-34*103 becquerels/kg.
“This means that low-level radioactive waters are already entering the drinking water level,” the organisation said.
“Like a dirty bomb, this radioactive-chemical cocktail poses a large-scale environmental threat affecting the ecology, human health and lives in areas far beyond Ukrainian borders should it seep through to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea making its way into the Mediterranean,” according to Ms Roslycky.
“The threat is the pollution of the environment, the land, the water, the animals, the people. This is a pending international environmental disaster that needs to be taken under control.”
Denial from Russian-backed separatists
However, the DPR denies any change in radiation levels or risks associated with the mine. There is little data available because all requests to access the site to investigate by Ukraine and observers including the International Atomic Energy Agency have been rejected.
Similarly, requests to inspect other nuclear sites in, for example, occupied Crimea, have been rebuffed.
Last April President Zelensky warned: “The lack of such information is a problem that has no borders, and its consequences will have no boundaries.”
An investigation opened by the Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s Office found that the DPR “understand that these actions could cause an ecological disaster, consisting of the radioactive and chemical contamination of groundwater and surface water and, in turn, the pollution of the Sea of Azov”.
As Ms Roslycky points out, by refusing to engage with international authorities, Russia “instrumentalises this position to legitimise the Russian occupation authorities” in Donetsk and Luhansk. By claiming that Ukraine must engage with the DNR directly, they want to force Ukraine and the international community to formally recognise them.
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Nations, has called upon the UN to carry out an environmental impact assessment in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Without proper maintenance of such sites, they may soon be adding to the nuclear and environmental threat – on top of the military threat – looming over Ukraine. https://inews.co.uk/news/ukraine-war-nuclear-risk-russia-missiles-accidental-hits-reactors-1478269
Putin says that Ukraine is a nuclear threat
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Vladimir Putin labels Ukraine a nuclear threat, says he’s prepared to use force, THE AUSTRALIAN, 23 Feb 22, JACQUELIN MAGNAY, EUROPE CORRESPONDENT@jacquelinmagnay
Russian president Vladimir Putin has announced he would use military force “depending on the situation on the ground” to defend the rights of people in the separatist regions Donetsk and Luhansk.
After receiving approval from the Russian parliament to deploy troops abroad into Ukraine, Mr Putin labelled Ukraine a nuclear threat, telling the Russian people it wanted to lose its neutrality, join NATO and that it received military shipments from the West. Mr Putin also claimed that citizens in the Donbas region were being “abused”.
Crucially, Mr Putin recognised the independence of the entire Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and its broader territorial ambitions, not just the area controlled by Russian backed separatists.
About two-thirds of this area, known broadly as the Donbas, is currently in Ukrainian control.
Mr Putin said Ukraine was being “armed to the teeth” and that its nuclear threat was a strategic issue. He said Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky’s remark that he regretted Ukraine giving up nuclear weapons in 1994 was targeted directly at Russia.
“We have taken a note of them,” Mr Putin said………………….
Mr Putin said that Russia recognised the territory was now independent and warned the border region had been a threat to the Russian Federation………………………. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/vladimir-putin-labels-ukraine-a-nuclear-threat-says-hes-prepared-to-use-force/news-story/9ab06086551856b2847c06d91467cb26
Britain’s nuclear submarine base at risk from climate change
The United Kingdom’s nuclear military bases are being threatened by climate change, according to a recent report from the Nuclear Consulting Group. Paul Dorfman, the report’s author, said that the U.K.’s coastal nuclear infrastructure is vulnerable to flooding, due to rising sea levels and more frequent and severe storms.
“All of the models or predictions, all of the analysis, all of the data has really begun to run hot,” Dorfman told CNBC. “It’s good that people are taking notice, but it’s bad that this new data is showing us that we really do need to get our acttogether.”
The report also found that coastal flooding frequency is estimated to increase by between 10 and more than 100 in several European locations. In the United States, “the Pentagon has recently reported that
79 nuclear military bases will be affected by rising sea-levels and frequent flooding,” Dorfman added.
CNBC 21st Feb 2022
Activist groups to rally against plutonium disposal project at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Adrian HeddenCarlsbad Current-Argus 23 Feb 22, A plan to dilute weapons-grade plutonium and then dispose of it at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an underground repository for low-level nuclear waste near Carlsbad, drew concerns from around New Mexico amid fears transporting this stream of waste could risk public safety.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced in 2020 a plan that would ship the plutonium from the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas to Los Alamos National Laboratory where it would be chemically diluted.
The waste would then head to the DOE’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina for packaging before the final shipment to WIPP in southeast New Mexico.
This would mean the 34 metric tons of the waste on the way to its final resting place at the WIPP site could pass through New Mexico three times.
Cynthia Weehler, co-chair of Santa Fe-based activist group 285 All said this creates an unacceptable risk for local communities in New Mexico and 11 states she said the waste would travel through.
285 All advocates for issues throughout New Mexico, focusing on U.S. Highway 285 which stretches from the mountains in northern New Mexico down into the high desert and oilfields of the southeast region, crossing into West Texas.
That’s why Weehler and a consortium of groups critical of WIPP and nuclear activities in New Mexico planned to deliver a petition to New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham next week, asking the state’s highest government leader to oppose the plutonium project.
“Unless New Mexico says NO to WIPP expansion, other disposal locations will not be developed, and WIPP will always be the only dump site, which is not fair. New Mexico never agreed to bear the burden of being the only site,” read a portion of the petition.
Weehler said the petition has about 1,140 signatures as of Monday and is being distributed in the Santa Fe area and to communities along the transportation routes.
The petition will be delivered to the State Capitol at 11:30 a.m., March 1 during a press conference on the east side of the Roundhouse.
“We don’t expect an accident to happen every week or every community, but when you increase the time and the shipments, we just see this as an inevitability over the time frame,” Weehler said. “It’s going to be a huge increase in shipments and it’s going to last almost this whole century.”
Weehler said Lujan Grisham should cite the legal agreement between the State and DOE that defines WIPP’s mission: to dispose of low-level transuranic (TRU) waste at the site near Carlsbad, streams she said were pre-determined by the agreement and should not be expanded.
If the DOE’s plutonium plan moves forward, Weehler said it would amount to an “expansion” of WIPP both in its mission and the volume of waste it would accept.
“The waste would be plutonium-contaminated material, contaminated during the production of nuclear weapons,” Weehler said. “This is something different (than TRU waste).”
WIPP officials said this was not the case……………………………..
The plutonium would be “down blended” meaning its level of radioactivity would be lowered so that the waste would qualify as TRU waste and could be disposed of at WIPP without adjusting federal policy.
“In order for it qualify, they’re having to dilute it. They’re having to adulterate it,” Weehler said. “This will never be acceptable. For them to say that is just unbelievable to me.” ……….. https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2022/02/23/wipp-activist-groups-rally-against-plutonium-disposal-project/6878583001/
IPPNW medical students bike for the ban — IPPNW peace and health blog
Joint Statement by IPPNW Student Chapters in Germany, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, and Zambia Students in Maiduguri, Nigeria prepare to bike for the ban The weekend of 18 February, dozens of medical students in six countries — Germany, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, and Zambia — carried IPPNW’s mission to their local communities via regional bike […]
IPPNW medical students bike for the ban — IPPNW peace and health blog
Cannon-Brookes tips $200m into debt fund, targeting renewables and batteries — RenewEconomy
Cannon-Brookes makes another major play into green energy transition, tipping $200m into fund financing renewables and battery storage projects. The post Cannon-Brookes tips $200m into debt fund, targeting renewables and batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Cannon-Brookes tips $200m into debt fund, targeting renewables and batteries — RenewEconomy
Nuclear Waste Services Sponsor New Scientist “Debate” ..balance? What balance!? — RADIATION FREE LAKELAND
New Scientist “Debate” New Scientist are holding a “Debate” on the future of nuclear waste in the UK – all the panel are deeply embedded in the process of delivery of this diabolic plan. There is as far as we can see no balance at all on the panel. Anyway the question I have asked […]
Nuclear Waste Services Sponsor New Scientist “Debate” ..balance? What balance!? — RADIATION FREE LAKELAND
U.S. deploys nuclear-capable F-35s to Europe on NATO mission — Anti-bellum
NATO Allied Air CommandFebruary 22, 2022 U.S. F-35s deploy to Germany supporting NATO The U.S. has deployed F-35s, maintainers, and support personnel to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany to bolster NATO’s defence during the evolving security situation. The jets arrived at Spangdahlem on February 16, 2022 to bolster readiness, enhance NATO’s collective defence posture and further […]
U.S. deploys nuclear-capable F-35s to Europe on NATO mission — Anti-bellum
February 23 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Mustang Mach-E: The Classic Ponycar Grows Up” • If I like my V8 Mustang, will I still like an electric Mustang? Much ink has been spilled since the Mach-E appeared, but the question is still valid. Well, after a week spent behind the wheel of a Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD, I think I […]
February 23 Energy News — geoharvey
Nuclear news – week to 22 February
The news about events in Ukraine is just coming in. Vladimir Putin would have us believe that it is at last the end of the 8 years of war in the two self-proclaimed rebel republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. But it could be the beginning of something worse.
Russia-Ukraine live updates: United States and UK expected to announce sanctions against Kremlin
Some bits of good news: Replacing environmental despair with hope and action ECUADOR’S SUPREME COURT: NATURE WINS OVER MINING .
AUSTRALIA.
Nuclear. Conservation Council of South Australia CEO Craig Wilkins discusses the Nuclear Waste Dump at Kimba. The writing is on the wall ‒ Kimba radioactive concerns move to South Australia’s political centre. Why nuclear submarines? Early closure of coal plant, battery and renewable developments – all spell the end for nuclear power hopes in Australia .
Holmes à Court: Climate independents offer chance to “fix Australia”.
Extreme weather and temperatures sound alarm on climate change
INTERNATIONAL.
The Ukraine Crisis Could Trigger a Nuclear Catastrophe – Tilman Ruff Media forecasting on Russian invasion is just like religious cult leaders predicting the apocalypse.
Western Democracies Have Mutated Into Propagandists for War and Conflict. Headlines that cause wars.
Antarctica and Greenland’s polar ice shelves are melting from below
Public Opposition to Nuclear Power.
Terrifying “nuke map” reveals danger zone if nuclear bomb dropped on YOUR city.
The supposed new rise in nuclear power and the uranium business is doubtful!
Reality check: The green inflation myth
Highest Number of Reactor Closures in a Decade.
ANTARCTICA. Antarctica will likely set a record for lowest sea ice extent this year
UKRAINE. Russian President Vladimir Putin orders Russian forces to ‘maintain peace’ in eastern Ukraine‘s two breakaway regions. Nuke Power at the Brink of Bankruptcy, War, Apocalypse. Standoff ending, Ukraine and Russia both claim victory? Today’s Crisis Over UkraineUkrainian Pacifists Say US, NATO and Russia Share Responsibility to Avoid War. ACURA ViewPoint. Ambassador suggested that Ukraine might drop its bid for NATO membership – but he was quickly corrected. UK trained Ukraine military, including a thousand-strong neo-Nazi unit. Aspects of the Ukraine crisis and some suggested solutions for de-escalation.
JAPAN.
- I just wanted to live a normal life – Akiko Morimatsu.
- IAEA ‘will not approve or oppose’ release of treated water from Fukushima plant, ‘responsibility of each country’. UN to review Japan’s plan to release Fukushima water into Pacific
- Where to in 2045? Contaminated Soil from the Nuclear Power Plant Accident: Current Status of Interim Storage Facilities in Fukushima. 11 years after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, residents angered by the retreat from decontamination of the entire area.
- Legal action on Fukushima nuclear disaster’s impact on health.
- . Latest look inside Fukushima ruins show mounds of melted nuclear fuel . Robots used to remove Fukushima’s highly radioactive used nuclear fuel, but they’re still problematic
- . Shadow of Hiroshima” at Fukushima nuclear power plant: Animation depicts history of nuclear power.
- Plutonium problems won’t go away. Brief summary of Engineering and Technology’s fine article on UK’s plutonium problem.
- Should the Taishan nuclear plant shutdown worry UK regulators?
- Update on the status of Britain’s Rolls Royce Small Nuclear Reactor project. Mini-reactor for Highlands -too “high cost and high risk” says Scottish MP Maree Todd.
- Bradwell nuclear project -dead in the water? – partly due to work of BANNG (Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group).
- Time is running out to save the Severn Estuary. Severn Estuary – internationally significant fish nursery – threatened by Hinkley radioactive mud. Legal challenge to license for EDF to dump radioactive mud in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. Super Furry Animals call out alleged nuclear mud dumping at Hinkley Power Station. The case for Saving the Severn Estuary from the dumping of radioactive wastes.
- New report: Nuclear waste’s shifting sands on the lakeland fringe.
- Lord Truscott questioned the idea that a thermonuclear war with Russia would be an ”unwelcome outcome”.
- Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament marks 40th anniversary of Nuclear Free Wales Declaration.
- Julian Assange appeals to the Supreme Court.
CANADA. Michigan Senators Oppose Canadian Nuclear Waste Site Near Great Lakes. MPs and groups oppose hearings to license Canada’s first permanent radioactive waste dump. Proposed license for the NSDF includes no enforceable requirements for “waste characterization” — Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area. In-Depth: Dangers of Burying Nuclear Waste.
USA.
- Damage limitation and US nuclear strategy . Are You Ready for the Big New War? You Damn Well Better Be.
- Nuclear power doesn’t belong in the Green New Deal. ‘Serious problems’ with NuScale’s proposed small nuclear reactors .
- USA’s Department of Energy (DOE) will give $6 Billion in a program to to stop uneconomic nuclear reactors from closing down.
- Beleagured Vogtle nuclear project delayed yet again.
- Opposition to Holtec dumping nuclear waste into Cape Cod Bay.
- Maryland Couple Conspired to Sell Nuclear Secrets.
- New USA Federal Report Warns of Accelerating Impacts From Sea Level Rise.
IRAN. Why the Iran nuclear talks have stalled.
ISRAEL. The Iran Nuclear Deal Isn’t a Threat, and Israel Must Find a New Approach.
RUSSIA. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov informs UN chief about Russia’s talks with NATO on security guarantees.
EUROPE. Any missile launch may be perceived as nuclear strike amid tensions. EU greenwashing nuclear power: Short sighted & counterproductive. Europe’s nuclear power plants will need investments of EUR 500 Billion, so they need to be labelled ‘green” ! The EU’s ‘green taxonomy’ classification system – no longer fit for purpose, if nuclear and gas are included.
FRANCE . French government to subsidise EDF nuclear power company by another €2.1bn, to prop up its failing share price. French utility EDF will check auxiliary cooling circuits, or RRAs, at its 56 domestic reactors, after faults found. No end in sight as the French nuclear industry reduces its output.
BULGARIA. Nuclear project with Russian reactors shakes Bulgarian politics.
NORTH KOREA. Radiation fears after earthquakes at North Korea nuclear test site.
INDIA. Tamil Nadu people’s lives are more important than Kudankulam nuclear reactors: PMK. Concern in Tamil Nadu over spent nuclear fuel storage at Kudankulam site .
BELGIUM. ENGIE Doubles Down On Renewables And Reaffirms Closure Of Belgian Nuclear Industry.
GERMANY. How dare Germany oppose USA over nuclear power !
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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