Newsletter XII 2023 |
March 19th to 25st
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Nuclear Power Accidents
This PDF file contains a list of accidents and releases of radioactivity. Some of this information was only made public under the most difficult of circumstances. As new information emerges, this list will be expanded and updated...
Excerpt for this month:
March 1, 2006 (INES 2) NPP Kozloduy, BGR
March 05, 1969 (INES 3) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
March 6, 2006 (INES ? Class.?) Nuclear factory NFS, USA
March 8, 2002 (INES 3) NPP Davis Besse, USA
March 10, 1970 (INES 3 | NAMS 2,6) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
March 11, 1958 (Broken Arrow) Mars Bluff, USA
March 11, 2011 (INES 7 | NAMS 7,5) NPP Fukushima I Daiichi, JPN
March 12, 2011 (INES 3) NPP Fukushima II Daini, JPN
March 13, 1980 (INES 4) NPP Saint-Laurent, FRA
March 19, 1971 (INES 3 | NAMS 2) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
March 22, 1975 (INES ? Class.?) NPP Brown's Ferry, USA
March 25, 1955 (INES 4 | NAMS 4,3) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
March 28, 1979 (INES 5 | NAMS 7,9) NPP Three mile island, USA
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We are looking for current information. If you can help, please send a message to: nukleare-welt@reaktorpleite.de
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25. March
PutIn | Nuclear weapons | Belarus
Russia is stationing nuclear weapons in Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus - and thus on the EU's external border. Moscow and Minsk had agreed on this, said the Kremlin boss on state television on Saturday evening. He referred to the stationing of nuclear weapons by the United States on the territory of its allies in Europe.
"We're just doing what they've been doing for decades," Putin said. According to Reuters, the TASS news agency quoted Putin as saying that agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons would not be violated. The former Soviet republic of Belarus is one of Moscow's closest allies. There was initially no information from Minsk.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly asked for tactical nuclear missiles to be stationed in his country bordering Poland, Putin said. "We have agreed with Lukashenko that we will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus without violating the non-proliferation regime," TASS quoted Putin as saying. Iskander missile complexes have also been handed over to the neighboring country...
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greenhouse gas emissions | CO2 footprint | climate sinners
Unequal emissions of greenhouse gases:
Climate sinners to checkout, please!
Rich people contribute much more to global warming. How can you make them pay for it? Three proposals for taxes against the climate crisis.
According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the average CO2 footprint per capita in Germany is 10,8 tons. This figure deceives us into thinking that emissions are evenly distributed. This is not the case. The richest one percent consume almost 35 times as much as the poorest. These figures are based on data from the World Inequality Labs, which the taz evaluated for Germany. Because this inequality is a global problem, models are being developed around the world to make the rich pay for climate-damaging behavior. Here, we present three models and an author of world climate reports assesses whether and when they make sense ...
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climate protection costs | Energy transition | E-fuels
"We are experiencing the worst gas crisis we have ever had"
How should Germany become more climate-friendly? This question is currently causing discord in the federal government. Sharp criticism comes from expert Claudia Kemfert.
The traffic light coalition is arguing about its climate policy: the plans to ban new gas and oil heating systems are causing homeowners to fear high costs and calls for an increase in state subsidies are getting louder. Meanwhile, in Brussels, Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) opposed the long-decided ban on combustion engines, which upset the EU Commission and other countries alike.
All of this is about fundamental questions: How much should climate protection cost? How much ban can there be? And how useful are the discussions anyway? Questions for climate economist Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research.
[...]
Science bears responsibility and has the duty to convey its own findings to the public. Incidentally, I share this conviction with thousands of colleagues around the world. Friedrich Dürrenmatt's book "The Physicists" had a great influence on me. As a scientist, it is my duty to point out dangers. I can't just watch the world go haywire!
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Climate Crisis | Climate policy | CO2 emission | political will
New sense of climate policy: enabling adaptation
The findings in the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change represent a turning point. The meaning of climate policy is now an adaptation that enables civilization to survive in its present form, explains climate researcher Friederike Otto.
Do we still have it in our hands to save the world from the really big climate crisis? We will know in four to six years, said the climate researcher Friederike Otto a few days ago in an online debate on the newly published synthesis report of the sixth IPCC cycle.
The answer will be found, for example, in the next, seventh world climate report, said the scientist from Imperial College London. This report could be available around 2027...
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battery technology | energy storage
New invention: The oxygen-ion battery
A new type of battery was invented at the Vienna University of Technology: The oxygen-ion battery is said to be extremely durable, to do without rare elements and to solve the problem of fire hazards.
Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous today - from electric cars to smartphones. However, that does not mean that they are the best solution for all areas of application. At the Vienna University of Technology, it has now been possible to develop an oxygen-ion battery that has a number of important advantages. Although it does not allow for quite as high an energy density as the lithium-ion battery, its storage capacity does not irrevocably decrease over time: it can be regenerated and thus enables an extremely long service life.
In addition, Oxygen-Ion Batteries can be crafted without the need for rare elements and are made of non-combustible materials. The new battery idea has already been patented together with cooperation partners from Spain. For large energy storage, such as storing electrical energy from renewable sources, the oxygen-ion battery could be an excellent solution...
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March 25, 1955 (INES 4 | NAMS 4,3) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
In this fire were about 1000 terabecquerels released radioactivity.
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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.
Apparently, slowly but surely, all important information about accidents in the nuclear industry is being removed from Wikipedia!
Wikipedia
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield
The complex was made famous by a catastrophic fire in 1957 and by frequent nuclear incidents, which is one of the reasons why it was renamed Sellafield. Until the mid-1980s, large quantities of the nuclear waste generated in daily operations were discharged in liquid form via a pipeline into the Irish Sea ...
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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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AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
According to the operator Sellafield Ltd., since April 2016 a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on behalf of the British government, reprocessing work at Sellafield will be completed in 2020. A transformation program has been initiated which aims to decontaminate Sellafield, reduce the hazard situation and reduce costs.
According to an October 2018 report, the decommissioning of Sellafield is scheduled to be completed by 2120. Estimated to cost £121bn...
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There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused. As far as the theory...
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24. March
NRW state conference of anti-nuclear initiatives on March 25, 2023 in Jülich
The Jülich action alliance "Stop Westcastor" and the Westphalian initiative "No nuclear waste in Ahaus" invite you to the NRW state conference of anti-nuclear initiatives. The conference will take place on March 25, 2023 in Jülich in the Kulturbahnhof (Bahnhofstraße 13). It begins at 12:16 p.m. and ends at XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. On the agenda are, among other things, the imminent transport of nuclear waste from Jülich to Ahaus in the Westphalian Münsterland.
If the nuclear waste were to be brought from Jülich to Münsterland, it would have to be transported across NRW. A "large transport" accompanied by protests and police operations is to be expected. For years, the initiatives have been calling for a new interim storage facility in Jülich - according to the latest findings. But the tractors for the Castor low-loaders have long been ordered. They are to transport the Jülich nuclear balls away.
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Greenwashing in Europe | Hydrogen and e-fuels from nuclear power
Controversial deal: nuclear power saves combustion engines
Germany and France agree on the EU sanctus for their key interests under the slogan of “technology openness”.
The escalation surrounding the already decided ban on new registrations of cars with combustion engines from 2035 could be resolved as early as next Tuesday in a typical Franco-German horse trade. At their Council meeting in Brussels, the 27 energy ministers should then agree to an amendment to the directive on renewable energy, classifying hydrogen produced using nuclear power as sustainable in order to be able to count it towards the EU's target values for renewable forms of energy. This is in the interests of France and its nuclear industry.
In return, France is not opposed to the creation of a new category of motor vehicles that run exclusively on e-fuel, i.e. synthetically produced petrol, which will continue to be allowed to be newly registered in the EU from 2035. That should satisfy the German transport minister and bring some relief to the German auto industry
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Uranium ammunition | uranium dust | Iraq war
British supplies Ukraine with ammunition made of radioactive material: how dangerous are uranium bullets?
Along with the Challenger 2 main battle tanks, Great Britain supplies uranium shells to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin then threatens the West. Weapons technology expert Johann Höcherl explains how dangerous the projectiles made of the radioactive metal are and what they do on the battlefield.
Great Britain wants to deliver 14 state-of-the-art Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. The heavy device is intended to help eliminate the Russian tanks. A piquant detail: The Challenger shoots, among other things, projectiles made of uranium. Vladimir Putin reacts to the delivery with threats of consequences: "I would like to note that if all this happens, Russia will be forced to react accordingly." The Russian ruler calls the ammunition "weapons with a nuclear component". The British government, in turn, calls this fake news ...
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Wind energy | offshore | North Sea
RWE's Kaskasi offshore wind farm starts regular operation - Habeck gives an outlook on further offshore developments
Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck, together with representatives from RWE and Siemens Gamesa, officially put the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in the North Sea into operation. The inauguration is intended to mark a turning point, the federal government now wants to push ahead with the expansion of offshore wind energy quickly and in a coordinated manner, stressed Habeck.
[...]
The world's first recyclable rotor blades being tested in practice at Kaskasi
A total of 35 SG 38-8.0 DD wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa with a capacity of 167 MW were installed in the Kaskasi offshore wind farm at the location around 9 km north of the island of Heligoland in the German North Sea. Kaskasi is RWE's sixth wind farm off the German coast. When realizing the project, RWE also focused on innovations in the areas of recycling and foundations.
The world's first rotor blades that can be recycled at the end of their life cycle are turning on three turbines in the Kaskasi wind farm...
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Extension | Renewables | Electricity price
Without fossil fuels: where will the electricity come from in the future?
The future is a power guzzler. E-cars, heat pumps and industry will need a lot of regenerative electricity once the gas tap is turned off and fossil fuels are history. This could have benefits for consumers.
The goals of the federal government are ambitious. By 2030 – that is in just under seven years – Germany is to obtain 80 percent of its electricity from renewable energies. According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the Federal Republic should thus become a pioneer in Europe.
To date, almost 50 percent of the electricity has been generated from renewable energies. For the other half, fossil fuels such as coal and gas are still in use and temporarily nuclear power plants ...
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Hydropower: It's also fish-friendly
Hydropower only plays a subordinate role in Germany. Researchers are now looking for new ways to gently and reliably produce electricity from currents.
A few new fish will be swimming in the Isar in a few weeks. Two meters thirty wide, three meters long, almost 90 kilograms in weight, anchored to the river bed - and in the future under special observation. These "energy fish" from the start-up Energyminer are intended to help test a new generation of hydroelectric power plants in practice...
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Agriculture | agrivoltaics | Solar Panels
agrivoltaics
Solar power from fields, vineyards and orchards
Solar systems and agriculture do not have to be land competitors, because with agri-photovoltaics fields, gardens or orchards can be used twice - win-win on the field. But how well does plant cultivation work under or next to the solar modules? And why can this even bring benefits?
Agri-photovoltaics is still in its infancy, there are only a few pilot plants in Germany. But the potential is enormous: theoretically, you could even cover the entire electricity requirement of our country with solar systems integrated in fields, orchards or vineyards. Is the boom in agri-photovoltaics coming now?
[...]
In order to promote the expansion of agricultural photovoltaics, an amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2023) was passed at the beginning of 2023. Agri-photovoltaics are now listed regularly in the EEG for the first time and it is now possible to receive financial support for electricity from agri-solar systems, provided that the agricultural use of the area is not significantly restricted by the system. Because the construction of high-mounted systems is significantly more expensive than for low variants, the EEG provides an additional bonus of 1,2 cents per kilowatt hour for them under certain conditions...
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23. March
Climate protection | Heat pump | Heating Fossil
Traffic light disputed, citizens alarmed
Dispute over the Habeck plan: what exactly does he want?
The Federal Ministry of Economics warns against panic buying of new heating systems. The new regulation for heating planned by the Habeck department is the cause of the uncertainty. So what is it exactly? And are the plans really that new?
The plans of the traffic light coalition are "destructive", railed Helmut Bramann, general manager of the Central Association for Sanitary, Heating and Air Conditioning. That was almost a year ago. It was about how Germany can become more independent of Russian energy supplies and at the same time more climate-friendly in the building sector.
In March 2022, the SPD, Greens and FDP decided to accelerate the measures agreed in the coalition agreement in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. As early as January 2022, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) informed about a readjustment of the targets for installed heat pumps: By 2030, six million instead of four million systems should be installed in Germany...
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Lancet Study: Fracking Can Kill
A Lancet study not only points to the ecological damage. Humans are also exposed to increased health hazards at the boreholes
For more than two decades, thousands of environmental initiatives and dozens of university institutes in the United States have documented it time and time again: Fracking is bad for the environment. Groundwater, drinking water, soil, plants, animals and the atmosphere are damaged, contaminated and poisoned in many different ways. A new study has now found that fracking also harms people and makes them sick. What's more, the residents living at the hundreds of thousands of fracking drilling sites die earlier...
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Russia | Natural gas | LNG delivery
More gas from Russia
Russia is Europe's third largest LNG supplier. Some of the liquefied natural gas also reaches Germany via detours. Analysts assume that exports will continue to increase and warn of "stranded assets".
The EU and especially Germany have greatly reduced dependence on natural gas from Russia. The Federal Republic of Germany has not received any pipeline gas from there since September 2, 2022, the day on which Moscow imposed a delivery stop.
But there is a back door to importing Russian gas that seems to be increasingly being used. According to new data from the US think tank IEEFA, around twelve percent more LNG from Russia has been arriving at European liquefied natural gas terminals since the start of the Ukraine war.
This makes Russia the third largest LNG supplier in Europe – after the USA and Qatar. And some of the gas also reaches Germany via detours ...
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solar cell research | photosynthesis | energy loss
Biological solar cells conceivable
For the first time, the research laboratory has succeeded in obtaining electrons directly from the initial stages of photosynthesis. This breakthrough has the potential to enable the development of solar cells based on biological catalysts.
Almost all life depends directly or indirectly on the conversion of light energy by plants, algae or certain bacteria that produce biomass from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. More precisely: During photosynthesis, sugar molecules and oxygen are produced by converting carbon dioxide and water with the help of light. All fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas are ultimately based on energy conversion by photosynthetic organisms.
[...]
Until now, it was assumed that the photosystems would inevitably have high energy losses due to their construction principle. While the first steps of energy conversion are still highly efficient (up to 99 percent), a large part of the energy is already lost at the level of the photosystems through the transport of electrons (about 60 percent energy loss).
At the end of the process, depending on the organism, less than one percent of the original light energy is chemically bound. However, the present study was able to show that the high losses could in principle be avoided. Ultrafast spectroscopy has shown that certain synthetic mediators - small chemical mediator molecules - can grab electrons from the photosystems at a much earlier point in time than previously thought...
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Ukraine | Safety | Zaporizhia | IAEA
Power supply only via one line
"Precarious condition": IAEA alarms about safety in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
... The International Atomic Energy Agency warns that the situation at Europe's largest nuclear power plant is precarious. A joint commitment by Ukraine and Russia is needed for more security.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continues to warn of a dangerous situation in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which is occupied by Russian troops.
"Nuclear safety at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant remains in a precarious state," said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Wednesday, according to a statement from his organization. He added: "I again call for a commitment from all sides to ensure nuclear safety and the protection of the power plant."
IAEA boss Grossi: "One day our luck will run out"
For three weeks now, the nuclear power plant has only been supplied with electricity via a remaining external main power line, said Grossi. If it gets damaged, it will lead to a total failure of the external power supply...
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22. March
Climate change | drought | Drinking water | Seawater Desalination
Drinking water from the sea?
More than two billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Desalination of seawater can help, but it also poses environmental risks. Why the method can still be a solution.
Although 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered with water, only XNUMX percent of it is potable. In addition, freshwater, a finite resource, is distributed very unevenly. In hot and arid regions of the world, where population is growing along with living standards, there is not enough water for everyone. A situation that is being exacerbated by climate change.
[...]
There are currently over 20.000 desalination plants in operation in more than 170 countries worldwide - the ten largest are in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
[...]
Desalinating seawater is a good opportunity to use existing resources, also because the costs "have fallen dramatically," says Qadir - from around five dollars per cubic meter in 2000 to the current average of 50 cents ...
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Chemical industry | production ban | PFAS | Pfoa
Ban on all PFAS plastics
The authorities never want to fall for this industry trick again
The ban on PFAS plastics is entering the next round. There should still be a few exceptions – but the regulators do not want to give up one principle under any circumstances. The lobby battle has only just begun.
Procrastination sounds like an obvious option. In the year 2025, according to current estimates, the European Commission will probably adopt the next version of the chemicals regulation REACH. According to the current plan, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) will then be banned. For many fields, however, there will be long transitional periods, at most up to 13,5 years.
[...]
In contrast to the usual bans, with PFAS not only a list of substances is to be taken out of circulation for the first time, but quite generally an entire class. And that means: New creations with similar properties that don't even exist today are also affected.
"This is the only way we can solve the problem of regrettable substitution," says Averbeck. This term describes a typical trick used by the industry after previous rounds of bans, for example after the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was banned a few years ago. Within a short time, substitutes came onto the market that are even shorter and therefore more problematic for the environment...
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tripling compared to the previous year
New record: more than 60.000 new solar systems installed in Germany in January
In January alone, more than 60.000 new solar systems were installed. Experts are expecting new records for expansion this year. But what looks so impressive is by no means enough to achieve the climate goals.
The good news is still there. For example from the solar industry. More than 60.000 photovoltaic systems were newly installed in January alone. That's a new high on a monthly basis and triples compared to last year. In February, around 46.700 units were added on roofs and open spaces. This means that in the first two months of 2023 almost a third of the total new installations of the previous year were achieved. This is the result of a study by the Berlin start-up Enpal (provider of rental solar systems), which is available to the editorial network Germany (RND). The data basis was the market master data register of the Federal Network Agency.
The plus in the systems is accompanied by an exponential growth in storage – it is now standard for the modules on the roof to have a battery in the basement. According to calculations by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW), around 50 percent more home storage systems were installed last year than in 2021...
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Aldi, Fielmann and Co. buy farmland mainly in eastern Germany
For a number of years, large investors have been buying farms that own a lot of arable land - and installing solar systems on them, for example. Especially in East Germany, this "land takeover through the back door" by investors is increasing. Politicians are alarmed. Agricultural scientist Andreas Tietz from the Thünen Institute advocates regulation of large investors.
[...]
In fact, non-agricultural investors are increasingly buying East German farms. The buyers include the Lukas Foundation from Aldi, the reinsurance company Munich Re and the eyewear retailer Fielmann. Even if there are no detailed figures, the ongoing trend is causing him concern, says Reiko Wöllert, Thuringian dairy farmer and vice-president of the rural agriculture working group.
A big problem with buying shares is that land prices are skyrocketing, he says. "Fourfold within ten years. For us as farmers, land is a means of production. So it should be possible to buy it and pay it off within a few decades. In many places that's no longer possible because you have so much money Farming can not earn at all ...
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Uranium ammunition | Damage to health
Doctors' organization fears long-term health and environmental damage to Ukraine
Britain supplies armor-piercing uranium ammunition
The medical peace organization IPPNW condemns the British government's decision to supply armor-piercing uranium ammunition (depleted uranium, DU) to Ukraine. In addition, the use of DU causes far-reaching and lasting damage to the environment and the health of the people who are already suffering from the war. The doctors' organization is appealing to the federal government to influence Great Britain and Ukraine with the aim of refraining from exporting uranium ammunition. The IPPNW also condemns the use of uranium ammunition by the Russian army, which the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining has already confirmed in one case.
DU damages life in two ways: as a heavy metal, it is a chemical cytotoxin, as an alpha emitter, it causes radioactive damage. Both effects are potentiated. The use of this ammunition leads to long-term toxic and radiological damage ...
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March 22, 1975 (INES class.?!!) NPP Brown's Ferry, USA
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Research platform on atomic energy
Brown's Ferry (USA)
The nuclear power plant consists of three boiling water reactors, each with an output of 1.155 MW, which went into operation between 1973 and 1976. A highly dangerous situation developed on March 22, 1975. A worker had gone in search of leaks with a candle to stop them and in the process ignited highly flammable polyurethane foam. After September 15, 1984, Browns-Ferry-2 was grounded for six years (cost: $129 million) due to security breaches, operator errors, and design issues. The three reactors were shut down for a long time from 1985, but were put back on line in 1991 (reactor 2), 1995 (reactor 3) and 2007 (reactor 1). In June 2011, US media reported that tritium leaks had been detected at 48 out of 65 nuclear power plant sites in the US. According to a July 2014 list, Browns Ferry was also affected. The three reactors have operating licenses until 2033, 2034 and 2036...
https://atomkraftwerkeplag.wikia.org/de/wiki/Browns_Ferry_(USA)
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21. March
Uranium ammunition | Great Britain escalated
Projectiles for Challenger 2:
London's uranium munitions plans: Moscow outraged
Britain could supply Ukraine with armor-piercing depleted uranium ammunition. Threats from Russia soon follow.
Russia has expressed anger at British plans to supply more powerful depleted uranium ammunition to beleaguered Ukraine. Putin said on Tuesday after a meeting with China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping in Moscow:
I would like to note that if all this happens, Russia will be forced to react accordingly.
Vladimir Putin, Russian President
Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also threatened: "Of course Russia has an answer ready."
British Defense Secretary: Very effective weapons
On Monday, the British government announced that it would also supply Ukraine with ammunition in addition to the Challenger 2 main battle tanks it had already promised. This includes armour-piercing ammunition made from depleted uranium, said Secretary of Defense Annabel Goldie in response to a question in the House of Lords.
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Disinformation | climate science | Axel Springer newspaper
Disgrace: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change destroys "WELT" fake about "tipping points"
A WELT article that wanted to spread disinformation about climate science was transferred within days by the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
But the Axel Springer newspaper is apparently radicalizing itself at a breathtaking pace. For example, the writer Tim Röhn has just become head of an investigative department. Röhn, who regularly spreads disinformation and who was already allowed to certify himself by a court, that certain reports from him can be described as “fake news”:
"Fake News": Welt-Reporter fails in court against critics
Numerous good journalists had previously resigned from the "Science" department:
Even less science at WELT: 3 employees from the knowledge department have resigned
Possibly a worthwhile move if you don't get associated with disinformation and posts that go against the scientific consensus...
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disaster climate | Climate balance | heat waves | DWD
Climate experts warn: We are getting out of the comfort zone
Full of sun - for many people that is no longer good news. The climate balance of the German Weather Service for 2022 looks rather bleak. But there is also good news.
Berlin - Climate experts from the German Weather Service (DWD) have warned of the increasing influence of global warming on the climatological balance for the year 2022. "We're getting out of the comfort zone," said Andreas Becker, head of climate monitoring at the DWD, in Berlin. With strong heat waves, sunshine records and persistent drought, the year was not only in Germany but in the whole of Europe among the warmest since the beginning of the measurements...
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Climate change | 1,5 degrees | World Climate Council | IPCC
Criticism of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and governments
"Climate change is simply not taken seriously"
The climate researcher Mojib Latif no longer sees a realistic chance for the 1,5 degree target because CO2 emissions continue to rise almost everywhere. In many countries, the prevailing belief is that climate protection is too expensive, that it is damaging to the economy and that it can wait.
Klimareporter°: Mr. Latif, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change maintains that the 1,5 degree limit for global warming can still be maintained. How realistic is that?
Mojib Latif: This is a self-deception. I consider compliance with the 1,5 degree mark to be practically impossible because global CO2 emissions are still increasing, and only these are relevant to anthropogenic climate development.
It is irrelevant where the CO2 is emitted. The gas lingers in the atmosphere for almost an eternity, allowing it to disperse around the globe.
The efforts of the largest emitters are completely inadequate. Incidentally, no country is on course for 1,5 degrees.
What would have to happen to stay at least below two degrees?
Global CO2 emissions would need to start decreasing significantly immediately, dropping by about 80 percent by 2050 and then zero by 2100. Sustainable ways would also need to be found to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
At the moment the world is heading towards global warming of around three degrees, based on the measures that have been decided so far...
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FDP Transport Minister | resignation requested | refusal to work
»Well-documented refusal to work«
Climate activist Neubauer demands the resignation of Transport Minister Wissing
Sharp words against Volker Wissing: Luisa Neubauer accuses the FDP Minister of Transport of failure in the fight against global warming. Fridays for Future is now planning an online petition with an appeal to the chancellor.
The climate protection activist from Fridays for Future, Luisa Neubauer, certifies that Transport Minister Volker Wissing has failed in the fight against global warming and calls for the FDP politician to resign. In the past year, it has become clear that Wissing is engaged in "well-documented refusal to work," she told the German Press Agency. Instead of living up to his primary responsibility in the cabinet and implementing coalition promises and international obligations, his work fell through with an internal review by a commission of experts.
[...]
With a view to the urgent warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about the rapidly escalating climate crisis, Neubauer also referred to the democratic duty of all federal ministers to comply with their own laws, such as the Climate Protection Act. The UN goals and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are clear, and the federal government has also decided to comply with the 1,5 degree limit. "Translated, that means: We don't have another legislative period to waste on a transport minister who refuses to do his job."
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Bank lobby | Save the Rich | deposit guarantee
bank bailout
Concerns about US banking system fuel discussion about higher deposit insurance
The First Republic regional bank continues to struggle to survive. In politics, the willingness to guarantee deposits to a greater extent is therefore increasing.
The heads of the major US banks meet in Washington on Tuesday. The meeting of the banking lobby Financial Services Forum had been planned for a long time. But two current questions will dominate the conference: What could a new rescue plan for the ailing First Republic Bank look like? And does US deposit insurance need to be increased to restore confidence in the banking system?
Currently, deposits of $250.000 per customer per bank are guaranteed by the FDIC. But a discussion has been sparked in Washington about how the ceiling could be raised ...
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20. March
taxpayers pay losses and bonuses the Swiss bank
Profits privatized, losses transferred
For a long time, the Swiss supervisory authorities watched the collapse of Credit Suisse without doing anything. Questions about who is responsible for the disaster remain unanswered, and the widespread criticism is justified.
[...]
Taxpayers are right to be angry
The risk is therefore largely borne by Swiss taxpayers. And now they're really angry. What about the top managers responsible at Credit Suisse? According to the Zurich-based "Tagesanzeiger," they have collected 2013 billion francs in bonuses since 32, while the bank made a loss of 3,2 billion francs in the same period.
Rarely has it become so obvious how profits are privatized and losses transferred to the state under the guise of pro-business and liberal policies...
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Climate protection | World Climate Council | IPCC
Final report of the climate council
One thing is for sure, it won't work that way
The way things are going now, climate protection won't work, is how the IPCC sums up climate policy. Why protect the climate at all? He has an answer for that too.
First the good news: nothing is lost yet. Technically and physically, it would still be possible to meet the Paris climate targets and thus enable humanity to have a future worth living in. And this despite the fact that climate change is progressing faster than expected. The amount of bad news in the latest publication by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change can also be summed up in a simple formula: it won't work like that. The way the global community is dealing with its existential crisis, climate change cannot be limited to a tolerable level.
This is from the one published on Monday Summary of the current assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) out. Neither the previous reductions in greenhouse gas emissions nor the future reductions promised by the countries of the world at the last climate summit are even remotely sufficient to avert catastrophic global warming of well over 1,5 degrees ...
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Philippines | Environmental disaster
Oil slick off the Philippines threatens biodiversity
A 10.000 square kilometer oil slick is polluting one of the most biodiverse habitats in the world. Marine conservationists see the livelihoods of thousands of people threatened.
A huge oil slick off the Philippines is threatening one of the most biodiverse marine habitats in the world. The oil has now spread over an area of around 10.000 square kilometers. It also recently washed ashore on Isla Verde, an island in the middle of the Philippines' busiest shipping route. This was announced by the Coast Guard of the province of Batanga. Their units are busy on the island curbing the environmental damage caused by the oil so that it no longer endangers biodiversity ...
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Lost cesium-137 in Thailand
Traces of radioactive material found in foundry
A steel cylinder with radioactive contents disappeared from a power plant in Thailand. Authorities have now discovered clues to the whereabouts of the dangerous container – very close by.
In search of a container with highly radioactive content that had disappeared from a power plant, Thai
Investigators found traces at a nearby foundry. Traces of cesium-137 have been found in the steel foundry in Prachin Buri province, Governor Ronnarong Nakornjinda said on Monday.
It is unclear whether the container "has already melted". In any case, the radioactive material is in a "closed" area, and there is no evidence of contamination of the environment...
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Iraq | Invasion | George W. Bush | coalition of the willing
20 years war in Iraq
How the "coalition of the willing" failed in Iraq 20 years ago
On March 20, 2003, the "coalition of the willing" under US President George W. Bush began invading Iraq. Saddam Hussein's regime fell three weeks later. Iran turned out to be the big winner of the war
Twenty years later, what is more commonly referred to as "the first phase of the war" began on March 19, 2003 with US airstrikes on a farm near Baghdad and was brought to the ground the day after with a US-led offensive from southern Iraq. It was quick. On April 7, US troops took control of the Iraqi capital and the statues of Saddam Hussein fell.
On May 1, US President George W. Bush announced "mission accomplished" on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln and the start of reconstruction and stabilization. In the summer – at the latest with the bomb attack on the UN in Baghdad – the illusion that Iraq was at peace was over. Nothing was "accomplished". None of the US war aims had been achieved...
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Nuclear phase-out | Isar | Neckarwestheim | Emsland
Nuclear power plants drag themselves to their destination
While some politicians continue to debate the future of nuclear power, the German plants have long since run out of breath
In a month, an era will come to an end. "The nuclear phase-out in mid-April will remain," affirmed Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Monday editions). Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) obtained this last autumn with a word of power after his co-coalition partners, the Greens and the FDP, had argued bitterly. Instead of the end of 2022, the last three German nuclear power plants would go offline on April 15, it said. Nevertheless, the political debate continues.
However, this has little to do with practice. The performance of the Bavarian reactor block Isar 2 has been falling for weeks - the existing fuel elements are simply at the end ...
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19. March
sticky | Activist | Protest | Process
Adhesive protests: NRW police do not charge climate activists for costs
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia does not charge climate activists who stick themselves to the costs of police operations. It's different in other states.
[...]
However, the actions are not necessarily without consequences. For example, in these weeks alone, several trials against climate activists who had stuck themselves are taking place at the Cologne district court. One accusation: coercion.
Things are different in Bavaria and Hesse...
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effects of nuclear war | nuclear explosion
Nowhere to hide: The longer-term effects of nuclear war
There would be no protection against a nuclear exchange. Most people would die from the nuclear explosions or their aftermath. What scenarios scientists are sketching (part 2 and conclusion).
The second part of this article describes the longer-term effects of nuclear war. These include a climatic collapse with a nuclear winter, the loss of the earth's protective ozone layer and worldwide famines with many millions starving.
The first part of this article deals with the effects of a single nuclear explosion and the immediate effects of a nuclear war.
This second part continues the translation of Francois Diaz-Maurin's article describing the longer-term consequences of nuclear war...
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Environmental aid: Preliminary work for LNG terminals in Rügen
Despite the veto of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD), according to the German Environmental Aid, preliminary work for further LNG terminals east of Rügen has apparently begun. Ship movements in the sea area in question indicated that a scavenging dredger had started work and that test drilling could also be carried out. "The pattern repeats itself. This was also how the North Sea Terminal off Wilhelmshaven was built,” said Constantin Zerger, Head of Energy and Climate Protection at Deutsche Umwelthilfe.
During the course of the day, the ship's movements of the "Swarog" dredger on the "JB119" construction platform off the south-eastern tip of Rügen were registered and also recorded in pictures. As a precaution, environmental aid lodged an objection with the Stralsund Mining Authority, but received no answer by the evening...
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March 19, 1971 (INES 3 | NAMS 2) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
Sparks from an arc ignited radioactive waste in a basement, causing 4,8 TBq radioactivity were released.
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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.
Wikipedia de
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield
The complex was made famous by a catastrophic fire in 1957 and by frequent nuclear incidents, which is one of the reasons why it was renamed Sellafield. Up until the mid-1980s, large quantities of the nuclear waste generated in day-to-day operations were discharged in liquid form via a pipeline into the Irish Sea.
Wikipedia en
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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AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
According to the operator Sellafield Ltd., since April 2016 a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on behalf of the British government, reprocessing work at Sellafield will be completed in 2020. A transformation program has been initiated which aims to decontaminate Sellafield, reduce the hazard situation and reduce costs.
According to an October 2018 report, the decommissioning of Sellafield is scheduled to be completed by 2120. Estimated to cost £121bn...
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There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused. As far as the theory...
| Current news+ | Background knowledge |
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Current news+
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Fossil Lobby | Propaganda | agitation
The poison of doubt is sugar for the pig dog
We are currently experiencing the consequences of the poison of doubt that has been sprayed for years. The fossil fuel lobby is running targeted PR campaigns. Billions have been spent on sophisticated terminology and framing. Their only goal: to sow doubt. Doubts about knowledge, about science, about women, about civil society.
"Something's wrong," my neighbor said the other day. He shares this queasy feeling with many others. People have worries. They sense that the world is out of joint and something needs to be done. "Time change", is clear. But what exactly does that mean? And if so, for whom?
We vacillate between the real images of the Russian war in Ukraine and the fictional images of World War I from Hollywood. The former shock, the latter cheer. In between there is only uncertainty.
We rub our eyes in amazement at why the world is suddenly in the midst of a fossil fuel war. We wonder how Germany's gas dependency came into being, almost completely oblivious to the public, without it ever being seriously discussed or criticized.
Confused, we look at a gigantic extinction of species. About 150 species of animals and plants disappear from the face of the earth every day and never return before we even understand they exist and what they might be useful for.
We are shocked to see the first effects of a climate catastrophe that give an idea of how it will deprive people of their livelihoods in the future.
But anyone who articulates their concerns or fears and calls for change in any way is either laughed at or shouted down. The media and politicians only take seriously those who boycott any kind of change in dubious initiatives.
Something is wrong.
Yet everything seemed to be on the right track. Over 180 countries around the world have ratified the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. All 27 EU countries unanimously announced the European Green Deal in Brussels in 2022. Now it's finally starting!
But when, after months of talks, the EU Parliament has now found a compromise for a "Fit for 55" new car regulation, the German transport minister hits the brakes so suddenly that almost the entire Green Deal starts to skid. His party sings soothing lullabies that everything can stay the way it is, and blows soap bubbles filled with "technology openness" into our dreams of the future.
Unfortunately, nothing happens that way, everything continues as usual: Superfluous gas terminals are built, more and more areas are sealed, illegal forest areas are cleared - as if the consequences of such actions were of no concern to us. We are already paying a crazy amount of money, and not just for horrendous fossil fuel prices.
Something is wrong. But where and what – and above all why?
The lobby knows the rules of the media
What we are currently experiencing are the insidious consequences of a poison of doubt that has been diffused in a hazy way for years. The fossil lobby runs targeted PR campaigns. Billions of petrodollars flowed into the conception and testing of sophisticated terminology and framings.
Their only goal: to sow doubt. doubts about knowledge. doubts about science. doubts about women. Doubts about civil society.
Because doubt slows down every activity. Change needs confidence. If you don't feel safe, don't dare to experiment. If you're scared, don't go.
The spectrum of campaigns ranges from hatred and hate speech on social media to subtle narratives and prejudices against any socio-ecological change.
On the tried and tested keyboard of advertising and propaganda, the general public was therefore taught through constantly repeated basic melodies that coal, oil and gas brought prosperity, freedom and happiness. Alleged side effects are not a problem. Anyone who claims otherwise is an eco‑activist or recently even a “climate terrorist”
| Current news+ | Background knowledge |
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Background knowledge
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The map of the nuclear world
can be displayed in a German and an English version.
Even the nuclear lobby has been promoting disinformation from the start...
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The internal search for
Climate Crisis | Disinformation
brought the following results, among others:
January 27, 2023 - How Big Oil is spreading climate disinformation with Big Tech
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July 17, 2022 - Government in the climate crisis
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December 1, 2021 - How many of our greenhouse gas emissions are we attributing to China?
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November 6, 2021 - Is that megalomania or the end of the climate crisis?
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YouTube
Keyword search: climate crisis
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Klimakrise
Videos:
Terra X Lesch & Co - 18:01
What was known in the 70s - and was kept secret
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mdr knowledge - 30:39
Who pays for the future? - The price of the climate crisis
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ZDF live today - 34:18
How bad is the climate crisis really going to be?
Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...
This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic
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Ecosia
This search engine is planting trees!
Keyword search: climate crisis
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Klimakrise
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Wikipedia
Climate Crisis
is a political buzzword used since the 2010s to describe the ecological, political and societal crisis associated with man-made global warming. Similar to climate catastrophe, it is increasingly used in public discourse instead of harmless-sounding terms such as climate change to illustrate the scope of global warming ...
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Disinformation
is the targeted spreading of false information, the aim of which is to deceive society, individual groups or individuals in terms of political or economic interests. “Disinformation” rarely also refers to the misinformation itself (considered as an attempt to deceive) (e.g. “spreading harmful disinformation”). The information transmitted is not only untrue according to objective standards, but is deliberately put into the world by the author for the purpose of deception. The disinformation can be spread, for example, via mass media, which is also referred to as media manipulation. The disinformation is either outright lying or indirect through subtle suppression, omission, or distraction from verified facts.
Disinformation is used in a targeted manner in numerous areas of politics and business. Many secret services have their own departments for the falsification and dissemination of information. In the military field, disinformation is used to deceive the enemy, for example to lead him to make incorrect decisions through incorrect information about one's own troop strengths or their spatial distribution...
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Newsletter XI 2023 - March 12th to 18th
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