Newsletter XXXIII 2026

August 16 to...

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Radioactivity accumulates; this means that radioactive particles continue to accumulate in the living organism and over time similar damage can occur as with a short-term, massive exposure to radiation...

The PDF file "Nuclear Power Accidents" contains a number of other incidents from various areas of the nuclear industry. Some of the events were never published through official channels, so this information could only be made available to the public in a roundabout way. The list of incidents in the PDF file is therefore not 100 % identical with "INES and the disturbances in nuclear facilities", but represents an addition.

August 1, 1983 (INES Class.?) NPP Pickering, Canada

August 2, 1992 (INES Class.?) NPP Pickering, Canada

August 4, 2005 (INES Class.?) NPP Indian Point, USA

August 6, 1945 (1st atomic bomb dropped by the USA) Hiroshima, JPN

August 9, 2009 (INES-1 Class.?) NPP Gravelines, FRA

August 9, 2004 (INES-1 Class.?) NPP Mihama, JPN

August 9, 1945 (2st atomic bomb dropped by the USA) Nagasaki, JPN

August 10, 1985 (INES-5) submarine accidents, K-431, USSR

August 11, 2014 (INES Class.?) NPP Heysham and NPP Hartlepool, GBR

August 11, 1973 (INES Class.?) NPP Palisades, Michigan, USA

August 12, 2001 (INES-2 Class.?) NPP Phillipsburg, GER

August 12, 2000 (Broken Arrow) submarine accidents, K-141 Kursk, Russia

August 18, 2015 (INES-2) NPP Blayais, FRA

August 19, 2008 (INES-1) NPP Santa Maria de Garoña, ESP

August 21, 2007 (INES-2) NPP Beznau, CHE

August 21, 1945 (INES-4) Nuclear factory Los Alamos, USA

August 23, 2011 (INES-1 Class.?) NPP North Anna, VA, USA

August 25, 2008 (INES-3) Nuclear medicine IRE Fleurus, BEL

August 25, 2004 (INES-2) NPP Vandellos, ESP

August 27, 2009 (INES Class.?) NPP Leningrad, St. Petersburg, RUS

August 27, 2008 (INES-1 Class.?) NPP Tihange, BEL

August 29, 1949 ("RDS-1" 1. USSR nuclear test) Semipalatinsk, KAZ

August 30, 2003 (Nuclear submarine) submarine accidents, K-159, RUS

We are always looking for up-to-date information. Anyone who can help, please send a message to:
nuclear-world@reaktorpleite.de

18 August

Dear friends,

As feared, the police are not interested in the drone threat, because we have learned from a reliable source that Castor containers 13 and 14 will be rolling from Jülich to Ahaus on Tuesday and Wednesday.

That is why we are hereby calling for a last-minute bike rally on Wednesday, August 19, at 6:30 p.m., starting at Ahaus train station through downtown to the interim storage facility.

Please spread the word quickly, oil your chain, pack tea and biscuits, bring good cheer and flags, and join us again on Wednesday!

Whether and, if so, which spontaneous events will be added tomorrow and/or Wednesday is not yet certain - please check back as always https://castor-stoppen.de/ticker/ and pay attention to the SMS Castor distribution list.

We won't give up - let's go!!

And next Monday, August 24th, we'll be going to the demonstration in Lingen against Rosatom's investment and for the immediate shutdown of the fuel element factory:

Monday, August 24, 5 p.m. Bike demonstration starting at Lingen market square, 6 p.m. Rally in front of the Fuel element factory (Am Seitenkanal 1).

The nuclear phase-out remains a manual process!

Nuclear-free climate greetings

SOFA (Sofortiger Atomausstieg) Münster, action alliance Münsterland against nuclear facilities

www.sofa-ms.de

Dukovany: New reactors could become significantly more expensive

The planned new reactor units in Dukovany, Czech Republic, could cost the state significantly more than previously communicated. Instead of the originally stated 400 billion crowns, the figure now under discussion is between 600 and 700 billion crowns, including financing costs.

The costs for the planned expansion of the Czech Dukovany nuclear power plant This is causing renewed debate. According to Forum 24, Czech politician Karel Havlíček stated that the two new reactor units should not cost 400 billion Czech crowns, but rather 600 to 700 billion. Financing costs and interest alone are said to account for a significant portion of the difference.

The higher figure, however, is not a consequence of problems that have already arisen. Rather, the originally stated 400 billion was calculated without the cost of the capital raised. The now-mentioned 600 to 700 billion is considered an optimistic scenario, assuming the project remains free of major delays.

Previous experiences in Europe give cause for skepticism.

The recent major European nuclear projects have shown just how wrong such an assumption can be. In the case of the French... EPR in Flamanville According to EDF, the originally planned costs rose from around €3,3 billion to €13,2 billion: Including financing costs, the French Court of Auditors calculated significantly higher figures. The construction period also extended considerably.

Very similar developments occurred with the Finnish Olkiluoto 3 and the British Hinkley Point C project.

Don Trumpl's very last messages

IMHO: Don Trump lies, cheats, and is thoroughly corrupt.
Why isn't this horror clown behind bars yet?

August 18, 2015 (INES-2) NPP Blayais, FRA

Overdose of an employee beyond the legal limit.
(Costs ?)

Nuclear Power Accidents

AtomkraftwerkePlag

Blayais

In June 2015, twice in one week, over 100 people had to be evacuated from the Unit 4 building after elevated levels of radioactivity were detected.

On August 18, 2015, a worker was exposed to levels of radiation in excess of guidelines. The event was classified as an INES level 2 incident.

17 August

St. Lucie nuclear power plant:

Reactor manually shut down after the insertion of 3 control rods

SAINT LUCIE / LONDON (IT BOLTWISE) – The St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 was manually shut down at 9:47 a.m. EDT on August 13, 2026, after three control rods fell into the reactor core. According to a notification to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the event not only did not require an emergency classification but also proceeded without technical problems, with systems responding normally after the trip. The plant subsequently stabilized in Mode 3, while residual heat is being dissipated via steam discharge to the main condenser. Unit 2 was explicitly described as unaffected.

At St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant experienced an incident on August 13, 2026, that sounds technically unspectacular to plant operators but at the same time demonstrates how closely safety technology and process control are intertwined in reactor operation. According to a report submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a manual reactor trip occurred in Unit 1 at 9:47 a.m. EDT: Three control rods dropped into the reactor core. The plant was operating at 100 percent power at that time; furthermore, the report specifies “Mode 1” as the operating mode at the time of the intervention.

The crucial factor is not so much the term "trip" itself, but rather the interplay between the cause, the execution, and the behavior of the downstream systems. The NRC report describes the manual shutdown procedure as straightforward and emphasizes that "all systems" reacted normally after the trip. Following the event, the operators stabilized the plant in Mode 3, also known as "hot standby." This shifts the focus from power operation to the controlled dissipation of residual heat, which continues to be generated after shutdown because the fission products built up during operation continue to decompose.

For technical transparency, the announcement specifies concrete methods for residual heat removal: Decay heat is removed by diverting steam into the main condenser. The power plant utilizes the turbine bypass via the turbine bypass valves and the main feedwater for this purpose. In practice, this is a classic pattern for short-term stabilization after a shutdown: The system keeps the thermodynamic boundary conditions manageable while the reactor transitions to a safe power and heat removal state. Even in this analysis, the statement remains clearly limited to Unit 1; Unit 2 is explicitly stated in the announcement as not affected.

IMHO

Everything is "perfectly normal"

Three control rods fall into the reactor and no one is alarmed.

Itamar Ben Gvir

Israeli minister calls for the killing of 30 to 40 people in Gaza – every night

Israel's far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is calling for significantly more violence in the Gaza Strip. In a podcast, he says there are people there who are "not even human."

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for dozens of Palestinians to be killed every night in Gaza. The minister's remarks, made public on Sunday, caused a stir, particularly in Palestinian media.

Ben-Gvir made his remarks in a podcast hosted by Rom Braslavski, who had been held hostage by Hamas. Ben-Gvir criticized what he saw as the restrained Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. "It's no secret that I disagree with the Prime Minister," Ben-Gvir said. He advocated for targeted killings in Gaza, suggesting that "30 to 40 should be eliminated every night." He argued that not only those posing an immediate threat should be killed. "There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn't be alive. They aren't even human," Ben-Gvir said.

Far-right minister: "I consider all of Gaza to be ours"

Similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli politicians have been sharply criticized internationally in the past. Before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, statements by Israeli politicians have also been presented as potential evidence of genocidal intent on the part of Israel. Israel rejects the accusation of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Ben-Gvir is one of the most influential politicians in the Israeli government. As Minister of National Security, he is responsible for, among other things, the police and the prison system. In the past, he has also advocated for stricter prison conditions for Palestinian prisoners.

Ben-Gvir also advocated for the permanent expulsion of the Palestinian population from Gaza and an Israeli settlement of the coastal strip in a conversation with Rom Braslavski.

Egypt

“Deliberate negligence” in the construction of a nuclear power plant? Egypt levels accusations against Russia’s Rosatom.

According to a media report, Egypt's nuclear regulatory authority accuses Rosatom of serious deficiencies in the construction of Egypt's first nuclear power plant. Rosatom is also currently building a plant in Hungary.

Egypt's nuclear authority has apparently informed the Russian state-owned company Rosatom in a confidential letter of serious deficiencies in the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant, El Dabaa, alleged. This is according to internal documents reported by the news portal Politico.

The allegations include defects in several reactor units, a workplace accident with an alleged cover-up, and violations of nuclear safety protocols. The case may extend beyond Egypt: Rosatom is currently constructing Paks II, a plant of the same design, in Hungary, which is closely tied to Russia both technologically and financially.

What the confidential letter to Rosatom is supposed to contain

According to Politico, the letter is dated June 4 and addressed to a Rosatom executive. It was written by the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority, which oversees the construction of the four reactor units. The letter accuses a project manager of "deliberate negligence."

The version quoted by Politico mentions a recurrence of serious defects: cavities behind the metal cladding of Block 4, defects in the foundation slabs of Blocks 1, 2 and 3, the repair of which took a year, and damage to the wall structure of the reactor building of Block 4.

The letter was originally in English, was translated into Russian for internal use, and, according to Politico, was reproduced in a back-translated version.

The authority also accuses Rosatom of "misleading methods" and "fictitious work." This is intended to create the impression that the construction is more than half complete – even though a visual inspection shows that the main buildings are still in the underground construction phase.

Alcohol, forged IDs, and an accusation of a cover-up.

According to Politico, the letter also describes a problematic work culture. Employees were found with "prohibited alcoholic beverages" and used "forged IDs" to gain unauthorized access. Photos and videos from the construction site ended up on social media.

Dukovany: Criticism of planned secrecy rules for nuclear power contracts

The Czech environmental organization OIŽP warns of reduced transparency in the construction of new reactors. The potential secrecy surrounding financial compensation between the state and the operator is particularly controversial.

Prague - The planned expansion of the Czech Dukovany nuclear power plant is causing renewed controversy. This time it's not about reactor technology, but about the transparency of the financing. The Citizens' Initiative for Environmental Protection OIŽP/BIU criticizes plans by the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade to significantly reduce the publication requirements for contracts related to the construction of new nuclear power plant units.

According to the initiative, numerous contracts for supplies, services, construction work, and related rights could be exempted from publication in the Czech contract register in the future. The OIŽP considers it particularly concerning that this could also affect the so-called contract for difference (CfD) concerning the financial compensation arrangement between the state and the investor.

This would remove from public control precisely a document that significantly determines which financial risks the state, and ultimately the taxpayers, bear.

[...] “The taxpayer is supposed to pay, but has no right to know how much it will cost him,” the initiative criticizes.

Pavel Vlček, chairman of OIŽP/BIU, is therefore calling for full disclosure of the financial framework. The public must know not only the price quoted at the time of contract signing, but also under what conditions additional costs or compensation might be incurred by the state.

The contract for difference could determine billions in risks

Of particular importance is the planned contract for difference. Put simply, such a mechanism can determine how compensation is paid between the state and the operator if the achieved electricity market price deviates from the agreed price.

If the market price is below the agreed level, the state can make a payment to the operator. Conversely, if the market price is above it, a payment to the state may be stipulated. The specific details of this agreement thus determine significant long-term effects on public finances.

Precisely for this reason, the OIŽP considers keeping the relevant contract terms secret to be extremely problematic. This is not an ordinary business relationship, but a project whose economic consequences could affect the Czech state and thus its population for decades.

Don Trumpl's very last messages

IMHO: Don Trump lies, cheats, and is thoroughly corrupt.
Why isn't this horror clown behind bars yet?

16 August

"If you want less effort, then you should introduce a transparency law."

Arne Semsrott from FragDenStaat in a spotlight interview

The coalition committee decided at the beginning of July to gut the Freedom of Information Act. The reduction of bureaucracy is cited as one of the reasons. Arne Semsrott explains in this interview why this is the wrong approach. He is a journalist, author, and editor-in-chief of FragDenStaat, an online platform through which anyone can (until now) easily request documents from government agencies.

Transparency International Germany has sharply criticized the plans to massively restrict the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and, in an alliance of 137 organizations, is calling for these plans to be stopped – together with more than 600.000 people who have now signed a petition. At the end of July, research by MDR Investigativ revealed that the Federal Ministry of the Interior is apparently planning even more far-reaching cuts.

What exactly is the coalition planning?

The core principle of freedom of information and the Freedom of Information Act is that every person has an unconditional right to access government information. This is precisely what is set to change, and in many respects.

Firstly, conditions for accessing information are to be established. In the future, a request will only be admissible if the person can demonstrate a legitimate interest. This would likely mean that 99 percent of requests would be inadmissible.

Secondly, the circle of those eligible to request data will also be reduced, as legal entities will no longer be eligible: Transparency International, FragDenStaat, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, and Springer-Verlag will be excluded – only private individuals. Foreigners will also be excluded from this private individual category. Therefore, only Germans and possibly EU citizens would be able to submit requests.

Overall, this is such a massive restriction that what would remain would no longer be a freedom of information law. It would be nothing more than a fig leaf. That's why we're talking about abolishing the Freedom of Information Act.

The plans are justified on the one hand by the need to reduce bureaucracy, and on the other hand by security concerns, for example regarding critical infrastructure. How do you assess these two justifications?

Corruption prevention involves bureaucracy, of course. Bureaucracy means that the administration is controlled and that things need to be documented. The core idea of the Freedom of Information Act (IFG) is, that those in power cannot rule unilaterally, but that we can keep a close eye on them. Of course, this creates work; that's inherent in the nature of things.

If less effort is desired, a transparency law should be introduced, according to which the administration would proactively publish important information such as expert opinions on a central online platform. This has been the case in Hamburg for over ten years now, and it works very well, especially for the administration itself.

The reduction of bureaucracy is therefore clearly a pretext, as is the reference to security. The Freedom of Information Act (IFG) already contains nearly two dozen exceptions, including the protection of internal and external security. Thus, no security-relevant information is being released to the public.

The reforms currently being planned are instead about reducing democratic control.

Heat wave:

Patient advocates are calling for more accurate recording of heat-related deaths.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has recorded 12.500 heat-related deaths this year. Experts believe this number is too low and warn of the conditions in nursing homes.

Patient advocates, faced with the rising death toll from the heat wave, have called for heat to be listed as a cause of death on death certificates. Eugen Brysch, chairman of the German Patient Protection Foundation, told the Rheinische Post that the consequences of climate change must "finally be given a face."

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recently estimated the number of heat-related deaths for the current year at 12.500. However, Brysch and the Association of Intensive Care Physicians suspect a high number of unreported cases; the Ver.di trade union also warned of "dramatic" conditions in nursing homes.

Brysch criticized the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for currently calculating the number of heat-related deaths "using statistical models and artificial intelligence." This, he argued, leaves the exact figures unclear. Death certificates, he asserted, must specify whether a heat-related death occurred in a hospital, a nursing home, or at home. Only then, he maintained, will "the consequences of a government unprepared for climate change be ruthlessly exposed."

Uwe Janssens, medical director of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine, also considers the RKI estimate too low. Death certificates of very elderly people frequently list organ failure, Janssens told the Funke media group. However, heat often clearly played a role in such cases. The statistics therefore do not reflect "the full extent of the crisis"; he assumes there are "certainly several thousand more deaths."

Very elderly people often no longer have a pronounced sense of thirst, said Janssens. They don't notice that they are losing fluids and can't counteract it. "People fall asleep and simply don't wake up again. Usually, the kidneys fail because people become dehydrated." Such heat-related cases are not recorded in the statistics.

Heat rarely leads directly to death. High temperatures and pre-existing conditions, such as cardiovascular, pulmonary, or kidney diseases, are usually the cause of death. This is one reason why heat is not currently listed as a cause of death on death certificates and does not appear in mortality statistics.

NATO is concealing its nuclear buildup

Approximately 100 operational US nuclear bombs are stationed in Europe. Another 100 to 150 are planned. The F-35 is being hastily modified to accommodate them.

That NATO would continue to build up its nuclear arsenal, in addition to its conventional capabilities, was already indicated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on April 21-22 at this year's NATO Nuclear Policy Symposium, which brought together around 150 experts from member states in Istanbul. "In times of great instability," Rutte stated at the time, "the importance of nuclear deterrence also increases"; it is therefore essential to ensure that deterrence remains "credible, secure, and effective." In this context, "important decisions" will have to be made – "including on how NATO's nuclear posture must further adapt to the deteriorating security environment."

Rutte stated at the time that work was already underway on nuclear issues as part of NATO's modernization; this was quite "delicate," especially considering the risk of "escalation" of the conflict with "nuclear-armed Russia."

Two months later, on June 18, NATO's Nuclear Planning Group reaffirmed after its regular annual meeting in Brussels that it was now in the process of "modernizing NATO's nuclear capabilities" and strengthening its "nuclear planning capabilities." It would "invest" accordingly in the necessary "capabilities."

“Tactical” missions

The modernization, which is already underway, involves, firstly, replacing old US nuclear bombs stored in five European countries as part of the "nuclear sharing" agreement with new ones. According to statements from high-ranking military officials – and confirmed by experts – this process is now complete. Specifically, old B61 bombs have been replaced with new B61-12 bombs.

The B61-12 missiles are significantly more accurate than their predecessor; they are also scalable, meaning they can be deployed with varying explosive yields. As experts confirm, they can therefore, in principle, be used "tactically," for example, to destroy enemy command centers and other military infrastructure, but also to annihilate concentrations of enemy forces. Even deployment on the battlefield is conceivable. This lowers the threshold for their use – and increases the risk of nuclear war.

The US bombs in question are at airfields in Büchel in the Eifel region, in Kleine Brogel in Belgium, in Volkel in the Netherlands, in Aviano and Ghedi in Italy as well as in Incirlik stationed in Turkey. According to experts, there are currently around 100 nuclear bombs ready for immediate use. The number cited for Büchel has so far been 20.

Expensive electricity due to Merkel's years

Jürgen Trittin: The energy transition had to survive 16 years of hostile government

When the energy transition began, then-Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin promised it would cost German households no more than an ice cream cone. One euro a month would be enough to switch from nuclear power and coal to renewables. The plan backfired. Electricity prices rose, and the energy transition fell into disrepute. However, according to Trittin, this wasn't due to renewable energies or feed-in tariffs. "Electricity prices went down," Trittin said in the ntv podcast "Das Klima-Labor" (The Climate Lab) about the start of the energy transition. The Green Party politician blamed the Merkel years: the EEG surcharge, he claimed, had been "deliberately driven up" by the center-right coalition government in order to "denounce renewables as too expensive." The goal? To help the coal companies and reverse the nuclear phase-out.

ntv.de: When did you first hear, say, or think the term "energy transition"?

Jürgen Trittin: That was in the late 80s in Lower Saxony. Back then, we in the state parliament were discussing: What would we do if we prevailed and the nuclear power plants were shut down? They would have to be replaced. Wind turbines were already being erected on the occupied building sites in Grohnde. They were widely ridiculed.

But not from you.

No, no. From proponents of nuclear power. But that's how the term "energy transition" came about: the anti-stance was to become a proactive one.

Was the starting point for the energy transition not environmental or climate issues, but rather the fear of nuclear power?

The success of the energy transition rests on three pillars: phasing out nuclear power, embracing renewables, and implementing emissions trading. There were a number of reasons why people opposed nuclear power. The most important was the risk. In 1979, there was a major nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in the USA. It was only just contained. The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was not. This risk of accidents was also the reason why, after Fukushima in 2011, Germany definitively phased out nuclear power with a consensus ranging from industry to unions, from environmental organizations to the CDU (Christian Democratic Union). Another reason is the lack of a clear distinction between civilian use and the use of nuclear weapons. This is currently evident in Saudi Arabia. Those who oppose nuclear weapons are also opposed to nuclear power.

And the energy transition was the proposal for what Germany should do instead.

The anti-nuclear power movement posed a legitimate question: How does electricity get to the socket? They had to provide an answer. The substitution of nuclear energy capacity was one of the key reasons for the target set out in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).

Don Trumpl's very last messages

IMHO: Don Trump lies, cheats, and is thoroughly corrupt.
Why isn't this horror clown behind bars yet?

Current news+

August 16, 2026

Shrinking waterways, railway reform 2.0 and a speed limit of 120

The new Transport Minister, Steffen Bilger, is continuing the symbolic politics of his predecessor and announcing populist but pointless interventions in the rail sector, criticizes Andreas Knie, mobility researcher and member of the editorial board of Klimareporter°. Knie believes that the tipping point for electric cars has not yet been reached; the advantages for combustion engines are still too great.

Climate Reporter: Mr. Knie, due to the ongoing drought and record low water levels, shipping on the Rhine, Danube, and other rivers is severely affected. Do we need to abandon the concept of prioritizing and using rivers as waterways?

Andreas Knie: Inland waterway transport is no longer a significant player in freight transport. Its share is now only five to six percent. Ships transport bulk goods such as iron, steel, earth, sand, as well as fuels or liquid chemicals. These goods are playing an increasingly minor role in developed economies. Inland vessels will not disappear, but their importance is concentrated in a few sectors such as chemicals and construction.
Advertising

Yes, we need to abandon the idea of waterways as a relevant mode of transport.

The new Transport Minister, Steffen Bilger (CDU), wants to increase pressure on railway management by cutting bonuses for punctuality issues. Does Deutsche Bahn actually have a management problem?

The railway has a structural problem and operates on the principle of organized irresponsibility. Power is completely distributed, and no one is responsible for the big picture anymore.

Regional and long-distance services are not coordinated, Infrago – DB's company for networks and stations – does as it pleases, freight transport is completely neglected, and renovation projects are defined by a federal-state group that has no understanding of railway operations. The railway is systematically collapsing. Only a complete railway reform 2.0 can help.

And what does Bilger do? Absolutely nothing! He continues his predecessor's symbolic politics, announcing populist but pointless interventions in day-to-day operations, and doing so with a complete lack of expertise. Punctuality has long been part of the bonus system for railway salaries.

Due to persistently high prices for gasoline and diesel, there is growing demand for electric cars, including used cars. Are we now at a tipping point in the automotive market?

No, we still haven't reached a tipping point towards electromobility. Registration figures are rising because fuel remains expensive and electric cars are slowly becoming cheaper on the primary and secondary markets; the subsidy also helps somewhat.

But the advantages for combustion engine vehicles are still too great. Subsidies for diesel fuel remain unaffected, and the company car tax break and the commuter allowance apply to both gasoline and diesel vehicles. Combustion engine vehicles can continue to drive into city centers and enjoy cheap parking.

As long as this remains the case, electric cars will continue to struggle.

Heat and drought are also putting pressure on the electricity supply in Europe. Thermal power plants lack cooling water, hydropower is faltering, and at the same time, demand is rising due to air conditioning. Does this now demonstrate how urgently the expansion of solar energy needs to be accelerated?

The slogan is clear and unambiguous: Get out of gas and oil.

What is the responsible minister doing? Exactly the opposite: she's blocking the expansion of renewable energies. Even as a manager, Katherina Reiche successfully prevented the upgrading of the grid to keep profits high. State-monopoly capitalism lives on. Reiche is the face of the new state monopoly capitalism.

And what was your surprise of the week?

Our motorway system is crumbling, yet it continues to be expanded with money we no longer have. We are failing to meet our self-imposed climate targets, and accident rates remain high. All of this could be solved with one immediate measure: the introduction of a general speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour.

We could make better use of the roads, wouldn't need any new ones, would save fuel, reduce noise, and protect the environment and our health.

But what does the new transport minister announce? There will be no general speed limit on motorways under my watch. Bilger thus remains true to the line of his predecessors: politics from a bygone era, clinging to truths that have long since dissolved.

The map of the nuclear world

The search engine Ecosia is planting trees!

https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Niedrigwasser

https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Energieversorgung

https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Tempolimit

Wikipedia

Low water levels in inland waters

In inland waters, low water levels are primarily the result of a meteorologically induced lack of precipitation or water. Regular seasonal fluctuations are measured by the mean annual low water (MALQ); below this level, water levels are considered extremely low. The point at which the water level is lowest depends on the local climate (runoff regime); it can occur in summer, but also – for example, in high mountains – due to precipitation being locked up as snow in winter. In addition to this definition, low water levels are also defined by threshold values, which are set differently depending on the perspective (ecology, water management, irrigation, shipping, etc.).

Low water levels can significantly restrict inland navigation due to reduced draft and increased risk of accidents. Furthermore, the production of businesses that rely on cooling or process water withdrawals can be hampered. With consistent discharge of pollutants, the lack of dilution water leads to higher pollutant concentrations. Since slow currents and high temperatures often occur simultaneously, resulting in insufficient oxygen levels in the water, there is an increased risk of fish kills. Bank reinforcements and structures on wooden piles rot when exposed to oxygen due to low water levels. Human intervention can exacerbate (water withdrawals) or mitigate (low water level augmentation) low water levels.

Water withdrawals, for example for agricultural irrigation, which are legally bound to a minimum water level, may come to a standstill.

The issue of residual water flow at extraction facilities, such as power plants, is also significant for water management and ecology.

Energy supply

Energy supply refers to the provision of electricity, gas, and district heating to end customers. Traditionally, this is a responsibility of municipal companies.

Energy sources

Fossil energy sources

The chemical bond energy of organic, carbon-containing substances can be very easily converted into thermal energy through combustion. Most readily available materials that can be burned with minimal technical effort are hydrocarbons derived from the sugars produced by the carbon assimilation of phototrophic plants. The energy density of the energy released per kilogram during the complete combustion of the starting material is satisfactory for fossil hydrocarbons. Fossil fuels are a concentrated source of fuel from prehistoric biomass; they therefore became the preferred primary sources of energy supply.

Burning fossil fuels such as oil or coal produces large quantities of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms form a CO2 molecule), which contributes to global warming.

Renewable energies

The energy contained in sunlight, wind, the Earth's mantle, and water can be harnessed using renewable energy sources. This is achieved through wind turbines, photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, geothermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants, and biomass utilization. While hydropower is a long-established technology, other technologies such as photovoltaics and wind power are relatively new energy conversion methods that have only been used extensively since the 1980s and 1990s, but have exhibited high growth rates. They are promoted in many countries with regard to environmental and climate protection, as well as their CO2 neutrality.

Wood and other biomass, as carriers of energy-rich carbon compounds produced using solar energy, must be dried and even then still have a lower specific calorific value than the fractional products from the petroleum industry. The production of these energy carriers (biogas and biofuel) for energy supply purposes on an economically relevant scale is not without its problems, as can be seen from the tension between this and food supply, as well as nature and landscape conservation.

Speed limit

The term speed limit refers to a regulation restricting the maximum speed a motor vehicle may travel on roads. The enactment of such a regulation represents a political decision. It can be considered as a measure for climate protection, to increase road safety, or for noise abatement, and is a recurring subject of public debate in Germany.

Speed limits are considered by numerous scientists, as well as by many representatives of environmental organizations, to be a cost-effective, simple, and quickly implementable, as well as demonstrably effective, means of achieving climate protection goals. Economic considerations also play a role. Critics point to the comparatively small reduction in greenhouse gases and the restriction of individual driver freedom.

In traffic law, the term "permissible maximum speed" is used, which is broader in meaning and less specific compared to "speed limit".

Situation in the rest of Europe

Country	in town	country road	Highway
Spain	30	90	120
Cyprus	50	80	100
Switzerland	50	80	120
Netherlands	50	80	100/130
France	50	80	130
Denmark	50	80	130
Belgium	50	90	120
Luxembourg	50	90	110/130
Italy	50	90	130
Czechia	50	90	130
Poland	50	90	140
Austria	50	100	130
Germany	50	100	unlimited

Some countries have different speed limits during the day and at night.

Sweden has 20 traffic fatalities per 1 million inhabitants, Romania 92. The EU has no plans to standardize speed limits. To reduce accidents, the EU is relying on a technical solution called Intelligent Speed Adaptation.

Federal Environment Agency

low tide

Low water levels are a natural occurrence in the annual cycle of rivers. The cause is often a lack of precipitation combined with high evaporation (e.g., due to summer heat), but the storage of rainwater as snow or ice also leads to a lack of flow.

The actual cause of a low water event, for example a drought, can occur significantly before the low water level begins. Only when groundwater reserves are depleted and there is hardly any outflow from lakes does the water level in the rivers drop significantly.

Similar to flood events, humans also influence the occurrence and development of low water levels. The management of reservoirs and dams directly impacts low water levels through water withdrawals and discharges. Indirectly, land use in the catchment area—through its effects on the overall water balance—also impacts river flow.
Low water levels have ecological and economic impacts. Compared to floods, low water levels receive less media attention because they extend over longer periods and are often less spectacular. However, the damage often also amounts to billions. Damage from low water levels can affect shipping, the energy sector (often in combination with high water temperatures), water supply and wastewater disposal, agriculture and forestry, fishing, and tourism.

The ecological impacts on the aquatic community can be enormous due to the narrowed habitat, drying up of individual areas, lack of oxygen, and high water temperatures.

Power Supply

Electricity generation accounts for around 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. Decarbonizing electricity generation is crucial for achieving climate protection goals. Therefore, as part of sustainable development, the electricity supply must be rapidly and completely converted to renewable energies – in an environmentally friendly, resource-efficient, secure, and affordable manner.

The future will be electric.

Electricity generation and its environmentally sound restructuring play a central role in limiting climate change. This is all the more true because the decarbonization of transport, heating, and industry also requires large quantities of greenhouse gas-neutral electricity, and the direct use of renewable electricity is generally the most efficient approach. A greenhouse gas-neutral electricity supply is environmentally friendly, resource-conserving, secure, and affordable, as the German Environment Agency's (UBA) RESCUE study demonstrates.
A coal phase-out by 2030 is necessary.

Coal-fired power generation currently accounts for around 70% of emissions from electricity production. To achieve the climate protection targets for the energy sector by 2030, a phase-out of coal-fired power generation by 2030 is therefore necessary. At the same time, electricity generation from coal must be replaced by additional renewable energy sources. According to the resolution passed by the German Bundestag in July 2020, existing, relatively new coal-fired power plants should be converted to highly efficient and flexible electricity generation using gaseous fuels (green hydrogen), but not to biomass for ecological and climate protection reasons.

The electricity supply remains secure even with a coal phase-out by 2030.

The last nuclear power plant in Germany will be taken offline in 2022. Coal-fired power plants must be decommissioned by 2030 to achieve climate protection. This means that a significant number of dispatchable power plants will be shut down, and fluctuating renewable wind and photovoltaic power plants will be added. Against this backdrop, the German Environment Agency (UBA) is currently conducting a feasibility study on the feasibility of phasing out coal by 2030 while ensuring security of supply at its current, very high level. The analyses regarding security of supply are being carried out using the methodology of the German Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) security of supply study, in accordance with the EU Electricity Market Regulation, within the framework of the project "Climate Protection in the European Internal Market".

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Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...

This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic of atoms*

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Newsletter XXXII 2026 - August 9th to 15th

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