Newsletter XL 2022

09 to ... October

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Current news+ Background knowledge

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Nuclear Power Accidents

This PDF file contains a list of known incidents from the various areas of the civil and military nuclear industry. Some of this information only came to the public in a roundabout way...

Excerpt for this month:

1 October 1981 (INESNAMS 1,3) nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR

3 October 1986 (Broken Arrow) nuclear submarine K-219, USSR

3 October 1952 (1st British atomic bomb test) Trimouille Island, GBR

5 October 1966 (INES 4) Enrico Fermi 1, USA

7 October 1957 (INESNAMS 4,6) nuclear factory Windscale/Sellafield, GBR

9 October 2006 (1st North Korean atomic bomb test) Punggye-ri, PRK

12 October 1969 (INES 4) nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR

15 October 1958 (INES 4) Boris Kidrič Institute, Vinca, YU

17 October 1969 (INES 4) Saint-Laurent, FRA

18 October 2011 (INES 1) Karachi, PAH

19 October 1989 (INES 1) Vandellos-1, ESP

30 October 1961 (Tsar Bomb AN602) Novaya Zemlya, USSR

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We are looking for current information. If you can help, please send a message to: nuclear-world@reaktorpleite.de

 

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15. October

 

Power supply | reserve operation | Safety

German nuclear power plants for the energy supply unnecessary

Opponents of nuclear power recommend that Habeck and the Greens read the stress test properly. Because the supply situation is presented as critical by them, although according to the test it is not. Nevertheless, the Greens voted with a large majority for "reserve operation".

From Friday to Sunday, the Greens gather for their Federal Delegates' Conference (BDK) in the former capital Bonn. One of the highly controversial issues being debated at the party conference is the nuclear phase-out or the "stretching operation" planned by Federal Finance Minister Robert Habeck, aka "emergency reserve", "operational reserve" or "reserve operation".

All of these terms are intended to obfuscate the fact that Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck wants to make the renewed collapse in the nuclear phase-out palatable to his party. There is even a process going on that borders on illegality.

Because, as already stated repeatedly, the ten-year "periodic safety inspection" (PSÜ) of the two reactors has been generously dispensed with since the end of the year, justified with a view to the pending, definitive shutdown of the two nuclear power plants. The security clearance is three years overdue. In addition to the ongoing "recurring inspections" (WKP), the PSR serve to "put a nuclear power plant through its paces", as the Federal Ministry for the Environment informs...

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Energy transition | Climate protection | Energy price | expansion wind solar

Economist: "We are paying the price of the delayed energy transition"

Climate protection or affordable energy prices? Energy economist Claudia Kemfert sees the high energy costs as a sign of the failures of recent years. She says: climate protection and affordable energy prices – both are possible.

The high prices for electricity and gas could have been avoided – if Germany had focused earlier and more specifically on the expansion of renewable energies. This is how the energy economist Claudia Kemfert assesses the current situation: "Because we have not expanded renewable energies to the same extent, we are now paying this high price. We are paying the price of the delayed energy transition." ...

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Plutonium | Processing | reprocessing

15 October 1958 (INES 4) Vinca, Boris Kidrič Institute, YU

6 workers were exposed to a high dose of radiation, one of whom died a few days later.

Nuclear Power Accidents.pdf

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Since the German version of the Wikipedia is also a total failure in terms of content in relation to this incident, I am forced, as is so often the case, to switch to English-language sources:

Wikipedia - en

1958 reactor incident

Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences is a nuclear physics research institution located near Belgrade, Serbia...

On October 15, 1958, a criticality accident occurred in one of the research reactors. Six workers received a high dose of radiation; one died shortly thereafter. The other five received the first ever bone marrow transplants in Europe.

Six young researchers, all between the ages of 24 and 26, carried out an experiment on the reactor, the results of which a student wanted to use for his thesis. At some point they smelled the strong odor of ozone. It took them 10 minutes to discover the source of ozone, but by then they were already irradiated. The news was briefly broadcast by the state agency Tanjug, but then news of the incident was suppressed. The reasons included the state's position in the atmosphere of the Cold War division, but also the fact that the state commission concluded that the incident was caused by the carelessness and indiscipline of researchers ...

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NTI - Nuclear Threat Initiative

https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/former-yugoslavia-nuclear/

Yugoslavia worked with Norway in the field of plutonium reprocessing, set up a department for the reprocessing of spent fuel elements in Vinca, signed a cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union in 1956 for the 6,5 MW research reactor RA (heavy water reactor with moderation and cooling) and built the RB, a critical arrangement with heavy water natural uranium at zero output. Described by Vinca officials as "essentially a reactor for producing plutonium," the RA reactor was fundamental to Tito's weapons research.

In the early 1960s, as the nuclear research program gained momentum, Tito reportedly scaled back the weapons aspect of the program. In 1958, a criticality accident at Vinca's heavy water RB reactor killed one person and suffered five others from radiation poisoning...

Translated with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

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14. October

 

Runtime | traffic light coalition | Friends of MIC

Dispute about term extension:

Nuclear energy splits the coalition

The FDP demands new fuel rods for the nuclear power plants that are still running. The Greens insist on phasing out nuclear power. The traffic light is in a serious crisis.

The traffic light is heading towards a government crisis. FDP and Greens are arguing whether and how the three nuclear power plants Isar 2, Neckarwestheim II in the south and the nuclear power plant in Emsland should continue to run. The Green Economics Minister Robert Habeck wants the two southern German nuclear power plants to be available without new fuel rods by mid-2023 - and that is already an unreasonable demand for many Greens. The FDP, on the other hand, demands that all three reactors continue to be operated with new fuel rods...

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gas price | price rally

Gas prices fall to three-month low

The gas price continues to fall. Nevertheless, experts warn of significantly higher bills for consumers because of the gas price development. The most important things at a glance.

Gas prices in Germany have been developing rapidly for the past year. The sudden increase in demand for gas towards the end of the global corona pandemic last autumn triggered a price rally. Driven on many times over by the consequences of the Ukraine war, the cost of one megawatt hour (MWh) of natural gas climbed to an all-time high.

Now the gas price has fallen significantly for the first time in a year. At currently around 150 euros per MWh, gas is still many times more expensive than in the past...

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Insurance | High water | Dryness | fossil | renewable

A world four degrees warmer is no longer insurable

Most recently, the world's largest reinsurer, Munich Re, presented a new oil and gas guideline, making it one of the pioneers in the industry – an important step. However, the bar is low. Because even the most ambitious guidelines in the industry are not enough to really make a contribution to achieving the 1,5 degree target.

As early as 1973, the German and world's largest reinsurer Munich Re warned of climate change and its consequences in the publication "Hochwasser, Flooding". This is not surprising: predicting damage risks as precisely as possible is part of the core business of insurers and especially reinsurers. So there is no lack of awareness of the problem of climate change and the consequences for the industry.

As early as 2015, the then CEO of AXA, Henri de Castries, stated that a 2°C world might still be insurable, but a 4°C world certainly not...

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Green Party Congress | anti-nuclear | expansion wind solar

"Our people understand that"

Nouripour advertises nuclear power line operation

The Greens remained the "anti-nuclear party," emphasizes party leader Nouripour. But given the current energy crisis, "we're doing things we don't want to do." For the Greens, this means supporting the operation of two nuclear power plants.

Before the Green Party Congress, party leader Omid Nouripour asked the delegates to support the operation of two nuclear power plants in Germany. "We do things that we didn't want to do, but we need quick solutions to existential problems," Nouripour told the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post" and the Bonn "General-Anzeiger" in view of the energy crisis caused by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine Phasing out nuclear and coal.

The Greens stuck to their goals, Nouripour assured. “But if the two nuclear power plants in the south are needed for grid stability this winter, because Bavaria in particular has overslept the grid expansion after all the years of the CSU government in energy policy, then we will support it.” ...

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Europe | Energy transition | solar duty

Europe's energy transition

EU solar roof obligation needs more impetus

The Ökoinstitut recommends starting the EU-wide solar roof obligation earlier than planned and making it more effective - in order to use the entire potential of the area. In addition, solar thermal energy should be fully recognized in order to fulfill the obligation.

At the end of May, the EU Commission presented the final version of its solar strategy (EU Solar Energy Strategy). In order to become independent of Russian fossil fuels as quickly as possible, the EU Commission plans to introduce a solar roof obligation across the EU as part of the amendment to the Energy Efficiency Buildings Directive (EPBD) – i.e. an obligation to install solar panels Photovoltaic systems on the roofs of commercial and public buildings by 2025 and for residential buildings by 2029. Approval processes should be shorter and simpler in order to achieve the ambitious goals. The share of renewable energies in the EU is to be increased from 2030 to 40 percent by 45.

That's good, but it could be even better. The Ökoinstitut does not consider the plans to be ambitious enough and recommends introducing a solar roof requirement in the EU from the end of 2024 and on as many building types and parking spaces as possible in stages...

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Saudi Arabia | Climate change | uninhabitable

Climate change: will Saudi Arabia soon be uninhabitable?

Saudi Arabia, which will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, could become completely uninhabitable by 2100 due to global warming. The duration of heat waves could increase to over 200 days per year!

The decision was announced last Wednesday. Saudi Arabia has been chosen as the venue for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, in the mountainous area of ​​Neom, where a large futuristic megalopolis is soon to be built. A surprising decision at the very least in a desert state that, by the way, will be a global warming "hotspot" in the 21st century...

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IMHO

Another blatant example of how far from reality these "decision makers" seem to be acting. I suspect about as far from truthfulness as Don Trumpl and all the other horror clowns who imagine they can make better decisions for the survival of this world than all the people who live in this real world and have to bear the consequences of such decisions to have.
How much do you think the Saudis let this madness cost them?

 

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13. October

 

Assange | Truth

'Workers must fight for Julian Assange's release'

This is the statement sent by UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman to the nearly one million members of the United Auto Workers (UAW). The WSWS supports Lehman's campaign.

... It's about the case of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. He is currently being held in the UK and faces extradition to the US to face criminal charges under the Espionage Act. He faces a sentence of 175 years imprisonment or even execution.

Assange is being persecuted for one reason: he exposed the truth about the actions of the American government abroad, the same government that represents the corporations that exploit us here in the United States.

One of WikiLeaks' key first revelations was a video released in 2010 showing the US army killing unarmed civilians and journalists in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The footage was recorded three years earlier, in 2007, in the early years of the US occupation of Iraq. I urge you all to watch this video entitled "Collateral Murder" to watch ...

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Fessenheim | dumped

Akw Fessenheim continues to dispose of tons of boric acid

The Alsatian nuclear power plant Fessenheim, even after its decommissioning, disposed of tons of boric acid annually into the Rhine side channel. "We will continue with the same logic in the coming years," announced the responsible manager of the French energy group EDF, Elvire Charre, on Thursday at a meeting of a public monitoring commission in Colmar ...

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Green Party Congress | Climate protection | expansion wind solar

"Everything is far too cumbersome and a lot is blocked"

At the weekend, the Greens meet for the federal party conference. Climate protectors are bothered by too much government pragmatism in Berlin and also in North Rhine-Westphalia. Reiner Priggen, the green doyen in North Rhine-Westphalia, counters this.

WirtschaftsWoche: Mr. Priggen, the Green Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck has made some decisions that are unpopular with the Greens and climate protection groups: Nuclear power plants should run longer, in the short term more lignite will be mined and converted into electricity in NRW. What do you make of it?

Reiner Priggen: If you design, you have to make compromises. The compromise for lignite is very good. According to all reports, the village of Lützerath in the middle of the mining area could no longer be held. But now some other places and families have security. The state ministers Mona Neubaur and Oliver Krischer have achieved what we Greens did here in the 2022 state election campaign. We wanted to get out of lignite by 2030 instead of 2038. We have now even implemented this in consensus with the company RWE. Who could have imagined that just a few years ago: North Rhine-Westphalia would soon be without coal...

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France | Gas | Electricity

Saving levels almost reached

Gas deliveries from France started

France has been supplying gas to Germany since today and in return receives electricity if the situation requires it. Meanwhile, the German gas storage facilities are almost completely full - and the EU is planning joint purchases.

During the energy crisis, France started supplying gas to Germany. The French gas network operator GRTgaz announced that gas flowed from France to Germany for the first time at 06.00 a.m. today via the border town of Medelsheim in Saarland. According to this, France will initially supply gas with an energy output of 31 gigawatt hours per day ...

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government action | Responsibility | Energy transition

Three ways to the energy transition

Researchers have identified three ways governments are driving the energy transition. From the transfer of personal responsibility to financial compensation.

Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine caused gas and oil prices to rise. Likewise the oil crisis in the 1970s. Based on the two events, experts from the University of California, Toronto, Twente in the Netherlands and University College London have examined how governments worldwide reacted to the energy crises and whether and how an energy transition was initiated. While some countries took the price shocks as an opportunity to expand renewable energies, others increasingly relied on fossil fuels.

Jonas Meckling, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of California and lead author of the study, explains: "We found that the type of political institutions determines the extent to which countries were able to push through investments in the energy transition from the population." Structure and measures taken can be beneficial or a hindrance to the energy transition ...

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WWF | Climate Crisis | Species extinction

WWF report warns of double crisis

"We are losing our livelihoods with our eyes wide open"

A new report on wild animals makes people sit up and take notice. There are warnings of a "fatal interaction" between the climate crisis and species extinction. One animal is particularly affected.

The populations of wild vertebrates have shrunk massively in the past 50 years. Between 1970 and 2018, the more than 31.000 populations studied saw an average decline of 69 percent, writes the environmental foundation WWF and the London Zoological Society in the "Living Planet Report 2022" published on Thursday. In total, data on more than 5.200 vertebrate species were evaluated. These include mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

Nature is like a tower in which each building block represents a species of animal or plant, explained Christoph Heinrich, Managing Director of WWF Germany. The more species become extinct, the more unstable it becomes. "We are currently destroying this tower with a jackhammer and are losing our livelihoods with our eyes wide open." ...

 

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12. October

 

Green Party Congress | Responsibility | high risk

"We will certainly not order new fuel rods"

For the first time since 2019, the Greens are meeting for a party conference / Habeck relies on support for sticking to the nuclear phase-out.

It's been quite a long time since the last Green Party Congress was attended. That was in Bielefeld in 2019, i.e. before the corona pandemic. A lot has happened with the Greens since then – they are now in government. This weekend there should finally be a real federal delegates' conference again. Live and in color, not just digital - in Bonn.

[...]

The FDP demands that the nuclear reactors not only run until spring, as suggested by Habeck, but until 2024 - and reactors that have already been switched off should also be connected to the grid again. All of this would require additional nuclear fuel. Habeck's ministry refuses to procure new fuel elements...

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Nuclear phase-out | continued operation | Runtime

Does the chancellor speak a word of power?

Nuclear power dispute in the government: Chancellor Scholz announces a quick decision

There isn't much time left: while the Green Economics Minister wants to get his plan for temporary continued operation of nuclear power plants through parliament, the coalition partner FDP insists on extending the term for several years. Does the chancellor need a word of power now?

In the dispute over the further use of nuclear power in Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) promised a quick clarification within the coalition. "You can be sure that we will be done with it shortly," said the SPD politician at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday. When it comes to the issue of continued nuclear power plant operation, the main thing now is to clarify which framework conditions are necessary, what exactly is being done and how quickly it can be done, explained Scholz. The Federal Ministries of Economics and Finance had previously stated that consultations on the nuclear issue were ongoing and that there was still a need for clarification...

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energy crisis | excess profit tax | Energy companies

London: Excess profit tax also for renewables and nuclear power

After the excess profit tax for oil and gas companies, the British government is now looking at "excess income" from electricity companies.

In order to finance expenditures worth billions, the British government now wants to introduce a de facto excess profit tax for producers of renewable energy and nuclear power.

For producers of electricity from onshore wind energy, solar energy, biomass and nuclear energy, there should be an upper limit for yields, as announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. This ensures that consumers pay fair prices for low-carbon energy. These producers in particular benefited from the increased wholesale electricity prices, although generation costs significantly less than gas generation ...

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wind turbine | Electricity | renewable

359 MWh per day: Siemens Gamesa flagship exhausts system capacity

The currently most powerful and largest installed wind turbine in the world has achieved the new one-day power record after 24 hours of full load.

With 359 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity harvested within just 24 hours, the pilot plant of the currently largest wind turbine type SG 14-222 already in operation at its North Sea coast location. As the wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa announced on Tuesday morning on the Internet, for example on the social media platform Linkedin, it is the largest amount of electricity ever generated by a wind turbine within a single day. The system designed for offshore wind farms was installed by the German-Danish-Spanish company in November 2021, almost a year ago, at the Østerild state turbine test site.

The system without gears and therefore with a slowly rotating, but comparatively large and lavishly magnet-equipped generator, therefore generated almost 15 MWh per hour ...

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Austria | Luxembourg | Taxonomy | Nuclear phase-out

More trouble with nuclear power

Austria is suing the EU taxonomy that classifies nuclear power as sustainable and sells it as "green". Luxembourg supports the lawsuit. In 2021, only 9,8 percent of nuclear power was produced worldwide, a good half of the 1996 peak.

In Germany, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck is just swimming away the skins for his "emergency reserve". The decrepit Isar 2 nuclear power plant has to be shut down in October for repairs, otherwise the spent fuel elements will have "insufficient reactivity" to "start up the plant again from a standstill".

Now, of all people, the Green Minister Habeck is accusing his colleague from the FDP, Christian Lindner, of blocking nuclear power plants. "If you want nuclear power plants to be able to produce electricity after December 31, you have to clear the way now," he said. "Time is running out." ...

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Sellafield | poisoning

12 October 1969 (INES 4) Sellafield Nuclear factory, GBR

Release from the chimney of building B204.

Nuclear Power Accidents.pdf

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This accident, as well as several other releases of radioactivity originating from Sellafield, are no longer in the German Wikipedia a DAK Bungalow.

The fire of Windscale in October 1957, classified as a "serious accident" (INES 5), is the only pre-2005 Sellafield accident that has not yet disappeared from Wikipedia...

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Wikipedia

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield

The Windscale complex was made famous by a catastrophic fire in 1957 and frequent nuclear accidents, which is one of the reasons why it was renamed Sellafield. Up until the mid-1980s, large quantities of the nuclear waste produced in day-to-day operations were discharged in liquid form via a pipeline into the Irish Sea.

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Wikipedia - English

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield#Incidents

Radiological releases

Between 1950 and 2000 there were 21 serious off-site incidents or accidents involving radiological releases that warranted classification on the International Nuclear Event Scale, one at Level 5, five at Level 4 and fifteen at Level 3. In addition, there were in intentional releases of plutonium and irradiated uranium oxide particles into the atmosphere known for extended periods in the 1950s and 1960s...

Translated with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

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11. October

 

The green | Nuclear phase-out

Green co-boss Nouripour on the energy crisis: "We are sticking to the nuclear phase-out"

Green co-head Omid Nouripour confirmed in the taz interview the party's adherence to the nuclear phase-out: "We will certainly not order any new fuel rods."

taz: Mr. Nouripour, the federal party conference of the Greens begins on Friday. Does he worry you a lot?

Omid Nouripour: I feel great anticipation. It's the first real party conference since 2019, after that everything was just digital or hybrid. Now we're getting back together. And I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of old and new faces, discussing, laughing and celebrating a bit - for example the successful state elections, most recently in Lower Saxony.

Before the party comes the debates, and they could get tough. The number of compromises that Greens find difficult to accept has recently increased again. At some point, the party may no longer support everything.

Discussions are necessary, which is why we conduct them continuously. We have had several calls with the national associations every week for months. We communicate across all levels, explain decisions and pick up opinions. There will also be discussions and votes on the right way at the weekend. Overall, however, I feel a great sense of unity

Also in the question of nuclear power?

We are the anti-nuclear party. We will certainly not order new fuel rods and thus new nuclear waste. What Robert Habeck and Steffi Lemke are currently preparing is a reserve for emergencies so that grid stability is maintained in southern Germany. What is the alternative? Do nothing and jeopardize energy security? We are sticking to the nuclear phase-out, and at the same time the majority of the party is not at odds with the reserve operation. We've waited over 40 years. Three months doesn't make the difference...

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Greta | Fridays for Future | continued operation

Thunberg for continued operation of German nuclear power plants: Union and FDP for Greta

Climate activist Thunberg speaks out against switching off nuclear power plants in Germany - and gets applause from an unusual quarter.

BERLIN taz | She has never had so much applause from Union and FDP: "Greta Thunberg is right," tweeted FDP parliamentary group vice president Johannes Vogel. The Swedish initiator of the climate protection movement Fridays for Future has provided further evidence "that this is correct physically (network stability), economically (price reduction) and in terms of climate policy (climate neutrality)," wrote FDP Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. "How many more arguments do the Greens actually need?, seconded Gitta Connemann, CDU member of the Bundestag and chairwoman of the union's association of small and medium-sized enterprises...

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Australia | heat wave | Flooding

Australia: The climate is going crazy

After extreme heat waves and bushfires, now the wettest year in at least 170 years and a series of severe floods.

The south-east of Australia was again hit by extreme rainfall and severe flooding over the weekend. In Sydney, people in the suburbs have been asked to leave their homes and get to safety. Melbourne, further south, was also affected.

For Sydney, 2022 was already the wettest year in records going back to the mid-2.200th century, with over 19 liters per square meter. Accordingly, the most recent floods were not the first this year...

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Climate Crisis | Global warming

"The world is burning outside" - Lesch calls for action in the climate crisis

Climate change is already having noticeable consequences. The physicist Harald Lesch demands not to wait until the child has completely fallen into the well. Climate researchers agree: Everyone must be clear about what global warming means.

"The world is burning outside, action must finally be taken!" Harald Lesch gets impatient when it comes to global warming. The astronomer and science explainer has the feeling that many people close themselves off and don't let the facts get to them, he explains in an interview with BR. The consequences of warming have long been tangible.

Astronomical sight helps to understand the climate

If you put yourself in the role of an extraterrestrial, you will notice: "It has gotten warmer on land, the seas have gotten warmer." And if it gets warmer, then the ice would have to melt: "It does," says Lesch.

"Then the currents of the air would have to change - they do.

Then the number of extreme weather events would increase - do it." ...

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fracking | lifetime extension

Rejection of nuclear power and fracking

The energy and climate newsreel part 1: The Lower Saxony election and the desire for a fairer energy transition.

The FDP did not make it into the Lower Saxony state parliament. But the AfD is in double digits, which is not only due to the 40.000 FDP voters who immigrated to it. In fairness, FDP voters migrated to all other parties, and the AfD was able to capture votes from all camps except the Greens.

The large number of participants in a divided party can probably be interpreted primarily as a protest election. According to infratest dimap, AfD voters are most concerned that they will become insolvent because of the energy crisis. Nevertheless, they vote for a party that does not exactly stand for social issues. The AfD wants to continue burning coal and gas, continue to operate nuclear power plants, abolish CO2 taxes and just not set up any wind turbines.

The CDU also wants to continue operating nuclear power plants, or rather their chief nuclear lobbyist Friedrich Merz, who spoke out in a tweet for the continued operation of the Lingen nuclear power plant, which was shut down in 1979. He may have meant the Emsland nuclear power plant. So much for Merz's competence in matters of nuclear power...

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Solar expansion | Expansion of wind power

Ironing out the Altmaier kink is worth it

Ten years ago, solar expansion collapsed with the famous "Altmaier-Knick". Five years ago, the expansion of wind power on land gave way. Two studies now show how Germany got into the energy crisis afterwards - and that catching up on expansion is worthwhile.

The so-called Altmaier kink in photovoltaics is almost a decade old. The then Environment Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) had cut the EEG subsidy for solar power. The annual expansion fell from more than 8.000 megawatts to under 2.000 megawatts and has not yet reached the old level again.

A similar break followed in 2017 under the then Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) in onshore wind power - mainly a consequence of the transition to tenders and restrictive distance rules ...

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traffic light dispute | continued operation | lifetime extension

Nuclear power reserve: FDP blocks Habeck's course

Minister Habeck wants to limit the continued operation of German nuclear power plants until April 2023. The FDP is opposed to this draft and is calling for a significantly longer term.

The traffic light coalition still cannot agree on the nuclear power reserve proposed by Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). A cabinet decision planned for Monday was not made, the Federal Ministry of Economics informed the AFP news agency on Monday. The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" had previously reported on it.

Deadline for cabinet decision again passed

Habeck had proposed allowing the use of the nuclear power plants Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg until mid-April 2023 at the latest. To do this, the Atomic Energy Act and the Energy Industry Act must be amended. According to the current legal situation, all three German nuclear power plants that are still in operation - the third is the Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony - will be taken off the grid at the end of the year...

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Protest date at the start of the federal delegates' conference of the Greens in Bonn: Friday, October 14, 2022 at 15 p.m. on the

United Nations Square

 

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10. October

 

Jennifer morgan | Climate conference | energy crisis | fossil

“The climate conferences are not enough”

State secretary and ex-Greenpeace boss Jennifer Morgan speaks in the FR interview about Germany's global commitment, a financial protective shield for particularly affected states and why she believes in turning away from fossil raw materials despite the energy crisis.

Ms. Morgan, when you took office you said that as Secretary of State you would remain an activist “at heart”. Half a year later, is that still you, activist?

Yes absolutely. For me, an activist is someone who puts their heart into it - and who promotes climate protection at all levels. And that's what I do, in the Federal Foreign Office, as part of the government and worldwide.

It's a change of roles: at Greenpeace you were able to get politicians moving. Now you have to explain to Fridays for Future why everything takes time. Doesn't that bother you?

I understand the criticism and frustration of some that the energy transition is not accelerating faster. You only have to look around to see what the summer heat in Europe has done – or the floods in Pakistan. I think it is very important that a strong civil society makes it clear what it expects from politics. Ultimately, we are pursuing the same goal: we want to limit global warming to a maximum of 1,5 degrees...

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Lower Saxony election | nuclear campaign

After the state election:

Greens see the FDP's "nuclear election campaign" as the reason for defeat in Lower Saxony

The strategy did not pay off, says Federal Managing Director Büning. The CDU blames the traffic light dispute for the AfD election success. The reactions to the state election.

The Greens see the FDP's demands for a significant extension of the lifetime of German nuclear power plants as the reason for the Liberal election defeat in Lower Saxony. Like the CDU, the FDP "conducted a clear nuclear election campaign," said Federal Managing Director Emily Büning on Monday on the Phoenix television station. "I don't think it paid off."

The FDP failed at the five percent hurdle in the elections in Lower Saxony on Sunday. According to the preliminary final result, they only came to 4,7 percent. This was 2,8 percentage points less than in the previous election ...

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Climate change | Heat | Regions | uninhabitable

Because of extreme heat

UN warn of uninhabitable regions

According to a UN report, entire regions of the world could be uninhabitable in a few decades if the consequences of climate change are not mitigated. By the end of the century, heat will claim as many deaths as cancer.

According to a report by the UN and the Red Cross, extreme heat waves will make entire regions of the world uninhabitable in just a few decades. If climate change continues as before, heat waves in areas such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and South and Southwest Asia would exceed the "physical and social limits" of humans, the organizations warned when presenting a joint report in Geneva. "Great suffering and loss of life" would be the consequences...

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Climate Crisis | Last GenerationFederal Cross of Merit | Media

Why "climate chaos" should get the Federal Cross of Merit

The "Last Generation" has announced new roadblocks. Parts of the media defame the movement as "extremist", RAF-affine and anti-democratic. Why this is historically forgotten and wrong. A comment.

The activists of the climate group "Last Generation" have announced new blockades on Berlin's motorway access and exits for this week. Among other things, they demand a speed limit and affordable local public transport. In the Berlin daily newspaper BZ it says: "The climate chaos are back!".

[...]

Without civil disobedience there is no historical progress

This is not the place to examine all of these accusations and allegations. I don't think they hold up in any way given the arguments and reality. Rather, double standards are applied to the "last generation", while the seriousness of the situation is de facto ignored and a magical belief in a change of course by the governments in normal political operations, i.e. with environmental lobbying and a few demonstrations as before, prevails.

Above all, one should ask oneself whether those who have been taking blockades and civil disobedience actions not only in Germany but worldwide for decades to protect the climate have legitimate reasons and are pursuing serious goals. In a new study for the journal Nature, even climate scientists are calling for more civil disobedience to show how deeply we are "in the shit" ...

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Climate Crisis | Greenhouse gas

The largest emitter is spared

The growing social inequality in the world is partly responsible for the climate crisis. But the politicians have so far remained inactive. Researchers now want to change that and propose progressive carbon taxation.

For years, polls have shown very strong support for climate action, even in countries you might not expect. For example in the USA. Despite the strong domestic political polarization, the willingness to act is an astonishing 66 to 86 percent, depending on the measure.

If so many people around the world want to do more for the climate, why are global greenhouse gas emissions still not falling?

One reason could be that by far the largest emitter in the world has not appeared anywhere. In no statistics about the world's biggest polluters, on no climate policy agenda, not even in the public debate.

The largest emitters are the richest ten percent of the world's population.

They account for almost half of all greenhouse gases emitted by all of humanity (see chart b). They cause 22 billion tons of CO2 and methane every year, the remaining 90 percent of the world's population account for 23 billion tons, according to a new data analysis by the French economist Lucas Chancel, which has just been published in the journal Nature ...

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war armor | climate environment

How much war and armaments damage the climate

The harmful impact that armies have on the global environment is difficult to quantify. Research is struggling for reliable data that the military is reluctant to divulge

The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than six months, and there is no end in sight in sight. In all discussions about how important good military defense is for a country and how much global efforts are needed for peace treaties and disarmament, one topic is neglected. Climate protection takes a back seat to the pressing issues of the day, even though wars and climate are directly linked.

However, it is scientifically problematic that the data on the climate-damaging effects of war and the military is sparse. When the Kyoto Protocol was being drawn up in 1997, at the urging of the USA, emissions from military forces were exempted from reporting requirements. The ban was relaxed during the negotiations on the Paris climate agreement in 2015: Each nation decides for itself whether figures and explicit data on the armies' CO2 footprint are to be collected and published ...

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Assange | human chain

release demanded

Human chain for Assange

London: Well over 1.000 people protest against the extradition of Wikileaks founders to the USA. Politicians warn of consequences for journalism

Impressive support for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange: Well over 1.000 people formed a chain in London on Saturday that, according to the Reuters news agency, stretched from the British Parliament over Westminster Bridge to the other bank of the Thames. The protesters demanded the release of Assange, who has been held at Belmarsh maximum security prison in London since June 2019.

Assange faces extradition to the United States. "This is a disgrace to the UK and a disgrace to the Biden government," said Stella Assange, wife of the Wikileaks co-founder, according to Reuters on the fringes of the protest. She thanked the participants. "Julian will draw so much energy from the support you have shown for him and be grateful for it." ...

 

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09. October

 

Zaporizhia | IAEA

Zaporizhia NPP reconnected to external power supply

On Saturday, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine lost its connection to the external power supply due to shelling. This is essential for cooling the fuel rods. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that the supply has now been restored.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia has been reconnected to the external power supply, which is important for cooling the fuel rods.

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Radiation protection | Radon

Radiation protectors warn against insufficient knowledge about radon

Scientists consider the knowledge about the harmful effects of the radioactive gas radon to be dangerously low. The risk in buildings in particular is therefore not clear enough.

This is the result of a study carried out on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). "After smoking, radon is one of the most common causes of lung cancer - from which you can protect yourself well," said BfS President Inge Paulini ...

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Zaporizhia | emergency power | diesel generators | Diesel for ten days

Ukraine: Zaporizhia nuclear power plant again without power from outside, emergency power diesel running

Once again, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is no longer supplied with electricity from outside after being shelled. Emergency diesels have fuel for ten days.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, occupied by Russia, is no longer supplied with electricity from outside after being shelled. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that emergency diesel generators were currently running for reactor cooling and other important safety functions. Engineers at the nuclear power plant are working to repair the damaged power line...

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Monday 10 October 2022 - ARTE 20:15

climate catastrophe | corrupt | Thriller | police state

Eco-apocalypse, world hunger, fascist police state: "2022 – who want to survive"

Media wording experts have now played down the climate catastrophe as "climate change". 50 years ago, a visionary thriller showed its edge. time for an appreciation.

Our media wording experts have now reassuringly stylized the climate catastrophe as "climate change", but in 1973 the science fiction thriller "Soylent Green" opened its audience's eyes in shock, the ARTE television channel is currently reminding us of it.

Eco-apocalypse, world hunger, fascist police state in a regime of corrupt corporations: "Soylent Green" was a direct reaction to the Club of Rome's 1972 report, "The Limits to Growth", which first questioned industrialization - on the basis of a mysterious technology called "computer simulation". There were warnings about the population explosion, but also about environmental pollution, scarcity of resources and the greenhouse effect.

The eco-thriller "Soylent Green" (German title: "Year 2022... who want to survive") drastically sums up the scientists' warnings: in 2022, 44 million people will live in New York, impoverished, crowded together, laboriously fed with feeding the poor of "Soylent Red" and "Soylent Yellow" ...

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North Korea | nuclear test

09 October 2006, atomic bomb tests consider Punggye-ri, PRK

North Korea's first nuclear bomb test

Atomwaffen A - Z

Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, North Korea

On October 9, 2006, North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon in an underground shaft in Punggye-ri's east tunnel. The blast had an estimated magnitude of 4,3 on the Richter scale and was estimated by US intelligence to be less than a kiloton explosive force (TNT equivalent)...

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North Korea "De Facto" Nuclear Weapons State

North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985 after US intelligence discovered a classified reactor capable of producing plutonium. The North Korean government refused until 1992 to allow full control by the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). During subsequent inspections, the IAEA found that there was a discrepancy between North Korea's reported amount of reprocessed plutonium and its own measurements. The IAEA suspected more plutonium was being reprocessed for a nuclear weapons program, totaling over 20 kilograms - enough for three small warheads. Tensions between the US and North Korea over nuclear weapons led to a crisis in the spring of 1994 that nearly culminated in war...

 

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News+ October 09

 

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Media | Journalism

criticism of journalism

In the hyperloop of excitement

Yes, there is still good journalism, important research, clever pieces. But there is also: the hundredth text on Winnetou. You can understand the tiredness of the readers or viewers.

Many TV events are forgotten shortly after they are broadcast. The explosion catastrophe in Beirut in 2020, the water wastage by the industry, the rescue of the tax saver Lufthansa, the monkeypox, the bird flu and the panic of hands that – without a body on them – turn the heating controls.

What does this tapeworm sentence show us? Not only the misery of the world, but, right, also the misery of journalism.

And now we come to the factual content of my text today, because facts are the new gold.

Out of economic misery, fear or anxiety, the newspapers and news channels that used to be called quality media are increasingly turning to the crisis as an opportunity.

Behind the headlines and lead stories seems to be the assumption of the media producers that the consumers' brains, damaged by excessive internet use and life, can no longer keep anything solid down ...

 

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Background knowledge

 

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reaktorpleite.de

 

Map of the nuclear world:

The media have the power to spread information or not,
and thereby influence public opinion.

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The internal search:

journalists media freedom of the press

brought the following results, among others:

 

June 20, 2022 - Julian Assange faces extradition and state assassination - the war criminals remain unmolested

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May 29, 2022 - Does Poland want to break the will of journalist Pablo Gonzales, who has been imprisoned for three months without charge?

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May 03, 2022 - Press freedom ranking - Germany continues to slip

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Those who speak the truth will be accused of lying and insulted by the horror clowns.

 

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YouTube

 

Keyword search: journalism

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Journalismus

 

Videos:

Reporters Without Borders - 01:41

The 2022 Press Freedom Index

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NDR ZAPP - 18:07

Media competence: journalism is a duty

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Rezo yes lol ey - 59:58

The Destruction of the Press

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German TV history - 01:06:28

Because we didn't know anything about it! This show is from 1958.

Atomic dust above us - dangers of radioactive radiation (documentation, 1958)

 

Will open in a new window! - YouTube channel "Reaktorpleite" playlist - radioactivity worldwide ... - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJI6AtdHGth3FZbWsyyMMoIw-mT1Psuc5Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...

This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic

 

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Ecosia

This search engine is planting trees!

 

Keyword search: journalist media freedom of the press

https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Journalist Medien Pressefreiheit

 

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Wikipedia

 

Journalism

Journalism (derived from the French "journal") describes the periodic journalistic work of journalists in the press, in online media or on the radio with the aim of creating publicity and providing the public with socially relevant information...

Press Freedom Index

The Press Freedom Index is an evaluation of press freedom in almost every country in the world and is compiled annually by the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders on the basis of questionnaires...

 

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Back to:

Newsletter XXXIX 2022 - October 01st to 08th

Newspaper article 2022

 

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