Newsletter XLI 2023
October 8th to 14th...
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| Current news+ | Background knowledge |
The PDF file "Nuclear Power Accidents" contains a number of other incidents from various areas of the nuclear industry. Some of the incidents were never published through official channels, so this information could only be made available to the public in a roundabout way. The list of incidents in the PDF file is therefore not 100 % identical with "INES and the disturbances in nuclear facilities", but represents an addition...
1 October 1981 (INES 3 | NAMS 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) NPP Enrico Fermi 1, USA
7 October 1957 (INES 5 | NAMS 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) NPP Saint Laurent, FRA
19 October 1989 (INES 3) NPP Vandellòs-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
14. October
US liquefied natural gas from fracking is much more harmful than coal
LNG causes more greenhouse gases than any other fossil fuel and also causes massive damage to health and the environment.
The ARD documentary «LNG at any price» dismantles the myth of the supposedly clean liquid natural gas LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) from the USA. On a research trip through the production country, author Michael Höft brings frightening facts to light: the extraction of liquid natural gas leads to radioactive waste, poisoned rivers and massive climate pollution. A special camera makes the enormous release of methane from the conveyor systems visible. Scientists protest: It would be significantly less harmful to the climate and health if we relied on coal instead of importing fracked gas from the USA, which is one of the largest LNG exporters in the world. Nevertheless, the EU wants to buy an additional 2030 billion cubic meters of LNG per year from the USA by 50. This corresponds to a third of the amount of natural gas that Europe received from Russia in 2020...
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Renewables | Solar cells | Historical monument
Solar systems and monument protection: There is a debate about the energy transition in Salzwedel
A solidarity cooperative wants to renovate houses in Salzwedel and supply them with renewable energy. However, due to the current statutes, this is hardly possible in the listed city centers. There are now actors in Salzwedel who are calling for a rethink.
- In Salzwedel, requirements make it difficult to renovate listed houses with solar cells.
- Players from the construction and solar industries consider the rules to be outdated and too arbitrary.
- They demand a rethink and compromises.
The Trawo solidarity housing cooperative is rebuilding and expanding a historic, dilapidated ensemble on Mittelstrasse in Salzwedel - in the middle of the so-called "core area one" with the strictest monument protection. Affordable living space is to be created in the old town. Many citizens have been demanding this for years...
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Nuclear waste | Transport | Jülich | Ahaus
Will there be large nuclear transports through NRW again in 2024?
Highly radioactive nuclear waste has been stored in Jülich for years. What happens to that is unclear. There could be Castor transports to Ahaus next year. Opponents of nuclear power are protesting against it tomorrow.
Out of sight, out of mind - that can sometimes work in everyday life. But when it comes to radioactive nuclear waste, it's not that easy. Germany said goodbye to the use of nuclear energy in April and for many people the nuclear chapter is over. But the remnants of this technology are not going away so easily. The question of what happens to the nuclear waste remains unanswered.
[...] The citizens' initiative explains its rejection as follows: "Nuclear waste transport is never without risk and should be avoided if possible. The nuclear waste should therefore generally remain in the places where it was created - as long as there is no approved final storage facility. " In addition, the atomic balls in their current form are not suitable for final storage and will have to be processed somewhere else at some point before they go to a final storage facility that has yet to be built in the distant future. JEN contradicts this upon request.
In the end, the decisive factor will be whether the anti-nuclear movement can still mobilize masses after the official end of nuclear power. In the 1990s there was still a state of emergency around Ahaus when castors with fuel elements were brought there...
13. October
Lingen fuel element factory | Framatome | Rosatom
German cooperation with Rosatom:
Radioactively contaminated
The operator of the fuel element factory in Lingen cooperates with Russia's nuclear industry. They are also involved in bomb making and the war in Ukraine.
MÖNCHENGLADBACH taz | Russia's nuclear industry is now also present in the production of fuel elements in Germany. This reports the portal Umweltfairaendern.de, citing the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment. This confirmed to the portal that the French operator Framatome and the Russian TVEL, which belongs to the state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, have founded a joint venture in France that will produce nuclear fuel in the Lingen fuel element factory.
According to information from Umweltfairaendern.de, Framatome not only wants to continue importing uranium fuel from Russia. The company is currently also planning to export enriched uranium dioxide from Lingen via the Netherlands to Russia. Hanau-based Orano NCS (Nuclear Cargo Service) GmbH is responsible for carrying out the planned exports.
Corresponding new permits for carrying out transport by truck from the Lingen fuel element factory Advanced Nuclear Fuels (ANF) via the Netherlands and further by ship to the MSZ Machinery Manufacturing Plant JSC in the small town of Elektrostal, 60 kilometers from Moscow, have already been issued, reports Umweltfairaendern.de ...
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solar power | EnBW | Power storage
Retrofitting is also being examined
EnBW is making battery storage standard in new solar parks
Solar power is an important part of the energy transition in Germany. Storing electricity is a major problem. Energy producer EnBW therefore wants to install battery storage in new solar parks. Retrofitting existing systems is also being examined.
The energy supplier EnBW basically wants to install battery storage in newly planned solar parks in the future. According to its own information, the Karlsruhe-based group is the first energy company in Germany to use such storage systems in solar parks as standard. “We want to invest a double-digit million sum in the next one to two years,” said Thorsten Jörß, head of photovoltaics project development.
With battery storage, green electricity can be fed into the grid more flexibly and independently of weather-related fluctuations: namely, not only when a particularly large amount of electricity is being generated due to good wind or sun conditions. The electricity can be "temporarily stored" and comes into the network depending on need and demand...
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EU Commission | Glyphosate | Chemical industry
Renewal in the EU
No majority for glyphosate approval for the time being
The EU cannot yet agree on renewing the approval for glyphosate. If the next vote also fails, the EU Commission could decide on its own.
There is currently no majority among the EU countries for the new approval of glyphosate. According to the EU Commission in Brussels on Friday, a panel of experts from member states was unable to agree on its proposal to allow the use of the drug for another ten years. The decision was initially postponed until November. If an agreement is still not reached, the EU Commission can decide on its own...
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France | Mongolia | Orano | Zoovch-Ovvo
Franco-Mongolian Protocol lays foundation for uranium project
An agreement between Orano and Mongolian state investment company Erdenes Mongol LLC establishes the framework for an investment agreement that will form the basis for a long-term relationship for the development and industrial operation of the Zuuvch-Ovoo uranium project in southwestern Mongolia. The investment agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the year.
The protocol was signed on October 12 at the Elysée Palace in Paris by Orano Chairman Claude Imauven and Erdenes Mongol CEO Sanjaagiin Narantsogt, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh.
The pilot operation in 2021-2022 has already confirmed the economic, environmental and social feasibility of operating the Zuuvch-Ovoo site, said Orano. The project was developed by Badrakh Energy, the joint venture between Orano Mining and Mongolian state-owned company MonAtom.
The Franco-Mongolian joint project will be based on international standards and best practices in terms of safety and environmental protection, setting a benchmark for the development of the industry in Mongolia, the French company added...
12. October
Israel | Intelligence | Drones | Palestine
Hamas was able to exploit excessive trust in high technology for the attack
In addition to political failure, Hamas was able to use cheap drones to break through the high-tech border system, which was considered insurmountable.
The Israeli secret services and the army did not expect a Hamas attack. They were surprised, they say. In any case, the most powerful and powerful armed force in the region was taken by surprise and lost its image as invincible, and all that by an attacker who, with asymmetrically limited resources and few fighters, could quickly control 70-80 square kilometers, capture settlements and eliminate military bases could.
According to Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Israel was warned by Egyptian intelligence three days before the raid: “We know that Egypt warned the Israelis three days before that such an event could occur. This was planned perhaps a year ago,” he said after an intelligence briefing. “I don't want to go into too much secrecy, but there was a warning. I think the question was at what level.”
One can speculate whether the warning was conveyed to the Netanyahu government, especially Netanyahu himself and his defense minister, whether it got stuck somewhere as implausible or whether it was deliberately pushed aside because a conflict or war with Hamas was triggered by the massive protest movement would relieve the burden on the beleaguered government and restore national unity. Shortly before the attack, Netanyahu had assured that there was no threat from the Gaza Strip...
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Bavaria | Baden-Württemberg | Wind power
Expansion of wind power in southern Germany: Söder misses the energy transition
The expansion of wind power is progressing. But it cannot be the case that Bavaria and Green-governed Baden-Württemberg step on the brakes.
The message has apparently still not arrived in the south of the republic: wind power must be expanded quickly and massively, the energy transition away from fossil fuels cannot be delayed - because of the climate crisis, increasing demand and electricity prices. The fact that only six (!) wind turbines started operation in Bavaria in the first nine months of this year shows the Bavarian government's great ignorance when it comes to the climate crisis. CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder's constant reference to the fact that a lot of other renewable energy is produced in Bavaria does not hold water.
There is no way around expanding wind power; it is a key pillar of the energy transition. The situation in Bavaria is not surprising - but the fact that in Baden-Württemberg, where the Greens have led the government for more than ten years, only 13 wind turbines were commissioned in the first three quarters is striking. In this green stronghold of all places, the energy transition is being delayed...
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Baden-Württemberg | Heat pump | District heating
Huge river heat pump in Mannheim heats district heating households
A river heat pump has officially gone into operation on the site of the large Mannheim power plant. The system draws heat from the Rhine and can therefore supply 3.500 households.
In Mannheim, a new river heat pump officially went into operation on the site of the large power plant on Wednesday. There were representatives of the federal government, the state and the energy supplier MVV Energie, Siemens Energy and the city of Mannheim, which is still the majority owner of MVV.
First river heat pump in Baden-Württemberg
The water that comes from the river heat pump is up to 99 degrees hot. It will be part of the district heating supply operated by the Mannheim energy supplier MVV. The river heat pump is the first of its size in Baden-Württemberg and an important building block for the “greening” of district heating...
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Israel | United States | Palestine
Gaza War: Violence and chaos in the Middle East are not without alternatives
The latest escalation did not fall from heaven. For decades, Israel has prioritized expansion over security. How a peaceful solution is being further blocked with the help of the USA.
The extent of the destruction is already frightening, and it is likely to become more dramatic if the use of gun violence continues.
[...] Finally, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. The constant bloodshed is not the result of an insoluble conflict. The cause and breeding ground for violence and chaos in the Middle East is by no means the fight between two brawlers caught in irrational spirals of violence, although only one side in the West is considered to be able to use violence in self-defense.
Because a peaceful and just solution would be possible at any time. However, the minimal basis for this is respect for international law. This concerns the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the apartheid regime, the occupation and the prevention of national self-determination for the Palestinians in their own state.
There can be no doubt here that the ball is in Israel's court...
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12 October 1969 (INES 4) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
Release from the chimney of building B204. (Cost approx. US$2500 million)
This incident as well as several other releases of radioactivity are in Wikipedia no longer to be found.
Wikipedia
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.
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)
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
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...
Youtube
Uranium economy: Facilities for processing uranium
Reprocessing plants turn a few tons of nuclear waste into many tons of nuclear waste
All uranium and plutonium factories produce radioactive nuclear waste: uranium processing, enrichment and reprocessing plants, whether in Hanford, La Hague, Sellafield, Mayak, Tokaimura or anywhere in the world, all have the same problem: With every processing step More and more extremely toxic and highly radioactive waste is being produced ...
11. October
Italy | Energy supply | plebiscite
Italy's deputy head of government is calling for a return to nuclear power
There have been no nuclear power plants in operation in Italy since 1990. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini wants to change that – and is calling for a new referendum. He already has a location in mind.
There are efforts in Italy's right-wing government to return to nuclear energy. Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini named 2032 as the deadline to put a new nuclear power plant into operation for the first time. The leader of the smaller government party Lega also suggested a location: his hometown of Milan.
Italy had already withdrawn from nuclear energy after the Chernobyl reactor disaster. The last nuclear power plants were taken off the grid after a referendum in 1990. As a result of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, energy supply was once again debated in Italy. Like the Federal Republic, the country tried to reduce its dependence on supplies from abroad, especially from Russia.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's larger government party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) is also campaigning for new nuclear power plants...
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Power storage | Cement | capacitors
Cheap energy storage: Researchers develop supercapacitor from cement and soot
The development could lead to mass production of affordable renewable energy storage solutions
When you think of energy storage, you are most likely to think of lithium-ion batteries, which are found in numerous devices from cell phones to electric cars. They prove their worth where comparatively small energy capacities are regularly stored and accessed. However, for both technical reasons and the cost factor, they are not the first choice when it comes to temporarily storing energy in the power grid.
There are solutions for this, such as pumped storage power plants, which are subject to clear restrictions in terms of their use and location. Accordingly, new approaches are being intensively researched. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now made a promising development in the form of a supercapacitor. This should not only be ideal for exactly such purposes, but also be very cheap to produce. Because, as Scitech Daily summarizes, it consists of readily available ingredients: cement, water and soot...
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Again tremors of magnitude 6,3
Afghanistan shaken again by a serious earthquake – at least 100 injured
The earth cannot rest in western Afghanistan. Another strong earthquake was recorded in the region early Wednesday morning. It has the same strength as the devastating tremors on Saturday. Meanwhile, the United Nations is warning of a famine.
Western Afghanistan was shaken again by a severe earthquake early on Wednesday morning. According to the US Earthquake Observatory USGS, the quake had a magnitude of 6,3 and occurred around 28 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat at a depth of ten kilometers. The state news agency Bakhtar reported new serious damage, destroyed houses and at least 100 injured...
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How are countries in the Global South responding to the escalation of violence in the Middle East?
All eleven states examined condemn the Hamas attacks. But many point to the “root causes”. What the states demand.
An examination of the official responses of eleven Global South states outside the Middle East/North Africa region - Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam - shows unanimous condemnation of Hamas' attacks become.
However, opinions differ as to who is to blame, what the solution is and what to do next. Most of the states selected in this survey are among the most important middle powers in the Global South.
[...] Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa criticize Israel and explicitly cite the Israeli occupation as the cause. Brazil, Mexico and Vietnam focus on restraint, the two-state solution and UN resolutions or relevant international law.
If we project these responses onto a spectrum of degree of agreement with the US and Israel's positions on the crisis (admittedly a difficult task given the complexity of the issues involved and the early stage of the responses), India and Kenya appear closest to the US and Israel to be Israel. Singapore and Nigeria follow behind. Brazil, Mexico and Vietnam seem further away.
At the other end of the spectrum, and therefore least consistent with Israeli and US positions, are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa.
If violence in the Middle East escalates further, as is likely, diplomatic efforts will shift to the United Nations. Then we will know much more about how the states of the Global South stand on this issue.
10. October
Emissions | Military | Armament
Military emissions:
Armament is driving the climate crisis
For the first time, a study shows what the NATO states' 2 percent target means ecologically. Activists warn that this does not fit with the climate goals.
BERLIN taz | Armament is driving the climate crisis: A study published on Tuesday afternoon estimated exactly how much for the 31 states of the NATO military alliance for the first time. In 2021, NATO countries produced almost 200 million tons of CO2 emissions through their armies and their infrastructure alone. That is more than a quarter of the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted by Germany as a whole last year.
If these countries continue to equip themselves, the climate effect will also increase. This is already evident from the report. The authors estimate the CO2 emissions caused by the NATO military this year to be 226 million tons. This means: If the NATO armies were their own country, it would have considerable CO2 emissions in an international comparison - it would be in the top quarter of the almost 200 countries, namely in 40th place...
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In the shadow of the Israel-Gaza war: NATO partner Turkey in jihad mode
The other Middle East conflict: Turkish Air Force bombs civilian infrastructure and villages in northeast Syria. Where do Germany and the EU stand in this case?
In the shadow of the current escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict caused by the attack by the Islamist Hamas from the Gaza Strip, another war is escalating in the Middle East, which rarely makes it into the headlines of the major Western media. In this case, the question of the extent to which EU funds directly or indirectly benefit jihadists is also rarely asked.
Turkish warplanes and drones have been destroying civilian infrastructure in northeast Syria for days. Both civilians and security forces in the autonomous region were killed. A few years after the region was able to successfully defend itself against the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS), it is once again being turned into a battlefield by, of all things, a NATO army.
[...] Western media and politics only react to the Turkish attacks that violate international law on a phenomenological level. The question of the causes of uprisings or attacks in Turkey is no longer addressed at all. The fact that the emergence of the PKK is a result of the Turkish government's cruel policy of oppression and assimilation of the Kurdish population since Atatürk is ignored.
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AfD voters in Bavaria and Hesse:
Young slide to the right
The AfD achieved record results in the state elections in Bavaria and Hesse. It is particularly popular with those under thirty.
BERLIN taz | An unexpected number of young voters voted for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the state elections, both in Bavaria and Hesse. According to a survey on election day, the group of people under 30 in Bavaria gave 18 percent of their votes to the AfD. Significantly more than in her overall result, in which she received 14,6 percent. In the last state election in 2018, only 10 percent of boys voted for the right-wing populists.
Although the proportion in Hesse was somewhat lower, 17 percent of voters between 18 and 29 year olds voted for the AfD. This compares to 18,4 percent that the party received overall. These are the highest results so far in state elections in western German states...
9. October
Earthquake in Afghanistan:
"In the end there could be 5000 dead"
After the devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan, people are struggling with the consequences: mourning the dead, waiting for help, cold nights outdoors. A helper reports on what people need most urgently at the moment - and how cooperation with the Taliban works.
The earth shook nine times last Saturday in the Afghan province of Herat, with a magnitude of 6,3, near the border with Iran. The local disaster protection agency NDMA put the total number of deaths at more than 2400; according to United Nations estimates, well over 11 people were affected by the accident. The UN released 000 million euros as emergency aid. There were aftershocks this Monday and nothing was initially known about anyone injured. Naeem Shah, head of the Johanniter country office in Kabul, is in contact with helpers on site.
SZ: Mr. Shah, how are the people in the affected areas currently doing?
Naeem Shah: People are totally shocked. For example, our teams spoke to someone who is the sole survivor of a family of 17. In the rural area hit by the earthquake, incomes are very low. So people don't have any cushion to absorb shocks like this...
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State elections | Bavaria | Hessen
The non-voters have won again
Hesse and Bavaria have voted: There were big election winners and many losers. If you extrapolate the numbers to all those who are allowed to vote, you can see that there are only losers.
Once again the question arises as to how non-voters could be better represented in parliaments. Simply reducing the number of seats seems to be an adequate approach. In the end, fewer posts also mean making more effort for the sovereign.
In the state elections in Hesse...
... 34,0 percent of all eligible voters do not.
... 22,5 percent of all eligible voters support the CDU.
... 12,0 percent of all eligible voters support the AfD.
... 9,8 percent of all eligible voters support the SPD.
... 9,6 percent of all eligible voters support the Green Party.
... 3,3 percent of all eligible voters support the FDP.
... 2,0 percent of all eligible voters support the left.
The black-green coalition therefore has support of 33,1 percent among the eligible voters.
In the state elections in Bavaria...
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Federal President awards Order of Merit to Mojib Latif
On Monday, climate researcher Mojib Latif was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier "for his tireless commitment to climate protection." Since science is not an end in itself, Latif has repeatedly made concrete suggestions for implementation of the research results, the Federal President's Office said. "He has always contributed his expertise at the international level, including as a co-author of the reports of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In order to reach the general public, he has explained climate change in many books in a way that everyone can understand." Latif has one goal: "Through education, enlightenment and information, everyone should be motivated to think about their own actions."
Latif was a professor at the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel and, since his retirement, has continued to work as a senior professor at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel (CAU) to advance climate protection. In addition, among other things, he is President of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg...
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State elections | Bavaria | Hessen
After a shift to the right in Bavaria and Hesse:
AfD successes create pressure to act in Berlin
After the election successes in Bavaria and Hesse, party leader Weidel dreams of the chancellorship. The traffic light parties and the Union are alarmed about the state elections in the east in 2024 - especially when it comes to migration policy.
The AfD can hardly run because of its strength - this is even more true after the double election day in Bavaria and Hesse. “Our record results prove our politics right!” said party leader Alice Weidel confidently on Sunday evening.
The returning officer in Munich recorded 14,6 percent of the vote for the AfD, and in Wiesbaden even 18,4. The right-wing extremist party, which is at least partially right-wing, has never performed as well in any West German state as it did in second place in Hesse. And in Bavaria too, behind the CSU and just behind the Free Voters, it left all the parties in power in Berlin behind...
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9 October 2006 (North Korea's 1nd nuclear bomb test) Punggye-ri, PRK
Wikipedia
North Korean nuclear weapons program
Underground, 0,55 kilotons (kT) - According to North Korean information, the test was successfully carried out on October 9, 2006. Numerous governments around the world sharply criticized the bomb test; even China, allied with North Korea, faced consequences ...
Atomwaffen A - Z
“De facto” nuclear weapons state | “De Facto” Nuclear Weapon 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...
Nuclear test site, North Korea
All of North Korea's six previous nuclear tests (2006-2017) were conducted at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site (also known as Hwaderi). The facility is located in the mountains north of Hamgyeong Province in the northeast of the country under Mount Mantap. At the end of April 2018, North Korea decommissioned the nuclear test site and detonated significant parts in front of gathered press on May 24, 2018, following a summit agreement with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to promote peace between the two parts of Korea...
8. October
From the Nuclear waste for Wind energy and the necessary Transformation of Infrastructure
Not-in-my-backyard policy
How selfish obstructors are paralyzing the republic
The SPD chairman is fighting a railway line, the CSU is fighting electricity lines, the CDU is fighting cycle paths, and in some places even the Greens and the Left are against wind turbines. So the transformation won't work.
An article from the journal “Social Science Research” defines the term “Nimby” (not in my backyard) as follows:
“The idea that citizens defend themselves against new facilities in their neighborhood out of self-interest.”
It is unclear who invented the term Nimby. He was mentioned in a US newspaper commentary as early as 1980. At that time it was about storage facilities for low-level nuclear waste. The term was brought to the political stage by Nicholas Ridley, British Environment Minister under Margaret Thatcher. He mocked “Nimbies” who opposed housing projects. It later emerged that he himself had tried to stop a construction project near his home.
Ridley illustrated a central feature of the concept: Nimbys are always the others.
Then St. Florian strikes
The German equivalent is the Saint Florian principle: “Holy Saint Florian, spare my house, set others on fire.” Part of true Nimbyism is that you don't fundamentally have anything against something as long as it doesn't happen in your own environment.
In contemporary Germany, Nimbyism is one of the central obstacles on the way to a better future - across all parties...
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Israel | Palestine | Iran | Europe | America
Even without nuclear weapons, Israel and Iran can destroy each other
Opinion Americans and Europeans will only fulfill their role as protecting powers for Israel if they finally see themselves as protecting powers for the Palestinians. It is high time for that
Terrorists infiltrate an area unnoticed, kidnap and kill civilians, occupy land and destroy homes. In recent years, this has happened again and again in Palestinian areas of the West Bank, sometimes with more and sometimes with less intensity. The perpetrators are Israelis from the illegal settlements, mostly unmolested by the occupying army, whose duty under international law it would actually be to protect those attacked. And now the revenge: Hamas terrorists penetrate unnoticed from the Gaza Strip into Israel, kidnapping and killing civilians and even military personnel. They are supposed to occupy entire settlements.
Government of National Accord
There is little doubt about what will happen next: the Israeli government and army will counterattack with full force. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is currently in the opposition, has already offered his full cooperation in a “very long war”. If Lapid's supporters, who have risen against the judicial reform, also agree to this, Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition will have won across the board and will become a government of national harmony. In any case, the Gaza Strip will once again have to prepare for many victims and severe destruction. However, Hamas has priced them in...
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Krško nuclear power plant is temporarily shut down – leak in the primary system
The operator of Slovenia's only nuclear power plant is looking for a leak. To do this, the nuclear power plant must be shut down.
The Slovenian nuclear power plant Krško will be shut down at the beginning of next week. Operator Kernna Elektrarna Krško (NEK) said that operating personnel assumed there was a leak in the primary system in the containment building.
According to NEK, the nuclear power plant was initially put into "hot standby" operating mode this week, after which a team of experts entered the containment building to find the leak. The inspection revealed that the nuclear power plant had to be put into cold shutdown in order to pinpoint the leak and ensure safe working conditions.
When the plant's systems have cooled down sufficiently, the search should continue and repairs should be planned. It can then be estimated how long it will take to repair the system and restart the reactor.
"No impact on the environment" (Standard message)
“The leak has no impact on employees or surrounding residents and the environment,” NEK said. The measured radioactivity levels remained below the limits of the technical specifications...
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Guatemala | conspiracy | Attorney General's Office | Corruption
Power struggle in Guatemala
Protests against the Attorney General's Office are increasing
Protests against the Attorney General's Office are spreading in Guatemala over its actions against President-elect Arévalo. The demonstrators accuse her of wanting to prevent the transfer of power.
Consuelo Porras and Rafael Curruchiche are currently on everyone's lips in Guatemala. The Central American country's attorney general and the head of a special prosecutor's office against impunity raided the Supreme Electoral Court at the end of September and confiscated boxes of election documents.
It is the climax so far of a months-long crackdown by the Guatemalan judiciary against President Bernardo Arévalo, who was elected in the runoff election on August 20, and his party, the anti-corruption movement Semilla. Semilla had already been stripped of her parliamentary group status weeks ago - the elected president immediately described the raid on the electoral authority as an attempted coup.
Demand for resignation
Since then there have been daily demonstrations in front of the public prosecutor's office, which was so criticized, and on Saturday there were probably over a hundred road blockades and rallies across the country...
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Earthquake in Afghanistan:
Taliban ask for help
More than 2.000 people die in western Afghanistan as a result of a series of earthquakes. According to the government, hundreds are still buried under the rubble of their homes.
ISLAMABAD ap/rtr | According to the ruling Taliban, more than 2.000 people were killed in the series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan. More than 9.000 were injured. The tremors destroyed about six villages in Herat province and buried hundreds of people under the rubble of their homes, Information Ministry spokesman Abdul Wahid Rajan said on Sunday. He urgently asked for help.
According to the US Earthquake Observatory, seven earthquakes struck the area in quick succession on Saturday. The two most violent ones reached a magnitude of 6,3. An epicenter was 40 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat...
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constitution | Climate protection | Media
Against breaking the law: constitutional lawyers are finally calling for climate protection in accordance with the Basic Law
The verdict of 60 lawyers on the traffic light course is not constitutional. But climate protection continues to be attacked by politicians and the media. What's going on there?
The traffic light coalition plans to weaken the climate protection law, which dates back to the time of the Merkel government. The existing climate protection law is already far too weak to guarantee effective climate protection.
With the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, significant amounts of greenhouse gases will continue to be emitted, which will accelerate the warming of the climate. The Federal Government's claim that it is still possible to meet the target of a temperature increase of 1,5 degrees Celsius, which is also binding for Germany under international law, if Germany stops emissions around 2045, is simply deceiving the public.
[...] High-circulation media in Germany are constantly reporting on the protests by climate activists. The road blockades of the last generation in particular are often pushed to the brink of hostility to the state in reports and many comments.
The protesters are demanding compliance with the Basic Law and are therefore constitutionally compliant, in contrast to those who are damaging the climate with further emissions. At the same time, the demands of large interest groups such as industry, the construction industry and trade unions for fewer climate protection measures are given wide media space.
It is frightening to see that, with a few exceptions, the majority of the high-circulation media ignores this urgent appeal from law professors and instead raises the mood every day against stronger climate protection and climate protection protests...
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Ecuador | Election campaign | Attack | Victim
Political murders: Seven suspects die in custody
The murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was already a sign of the violence unleashed in Ecuador. But now seven suspects die one after the other in different prisons.
The seventh dead man was found in a prison in the Ecuadorian capital Quito. The day before, six bodies had been discovered in another detention center. All seven men are believed to be linked to the death of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
The alleged murders of the suspects puzzle the authorities. President Guillermo Lasso called an emergency meeting of his security cabinet. The deaths came just before Ecuador's runoff election - and just days after the United States government offered a $XNUMX million reward for information about the masterminds of Villavicencio's murder.
How do you protect the remaining suspects?
The remaining six suspects were transferred to another prison, which is not being named for security reasons. A prison director and the head of police investigations were fired. A law enforcement officer was taken into custody for questioning...
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Current news+
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India | Press freedom | environmental activists | Glacier in the Himalayas Schmelzer who
India: flood and destruction – the last generation is right
The warnings about the floods in the Indian state of Sikkim were ignored - for the profit of a few. Parallels to the struggle of the Last Generation are obvious.
On Wednesday, several events came together that Indian environmental activists and scientists have been warning about for a long time: The 5200 meter high glacial lake South Lhonak in northeast India had rapidly lost half of its water, as satellite images showed. There was also unusually heavy rainfall for this time of year. Flooding from the rapidly swelling Teesta River led to a dam burst at the 1200-megawatt Sikkim Urja hydroelectric power station. The water masses fed from three “sources” suddenly caused the Teesta level to rise up to three meters. The flash flood destroyed almost a dozen bridges, numerous houses and roads. At least 15 people died. Many are still missing.
Scientists have been warning for more than a decade that there are more and more glacial lakes in the state of Sikkim that could drain uncontrollably at any time. Between 2000 and 2018 alone, more than 200 new lakes were formed in Sikkim. The reason: Rising temperatures due to climate change are causing the ice on the glaciers to melt ever faster. According to a 2020 study, South Lhonak Lake posed the greatest threat.
Sikkim is also an earthquake risk area. In 2011 there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 6,9 Mw. In 2013 and 2015 up to 5 Mw. Nevertheless, the various Indian governments had seven dams built in Sikkim, some of them large. 20 more are under construction. This makes the Teesta the river with the highest density of hydroelectric power plants in India.
In August 2016, a landslide triggered by monsoon rains caused an artificial dam above Dikchu/Sikkim. Thousands of people in the lower part of the Teesta were evacuated - it was mainly luck that prevented the “spontaneously” created dam from bursting: the masses of water would then have threatened several lower-lying dams.
There has been local resistance for almost 20 years, gathering in groups like Affected Citizens of Teesta. Filmmaker Minket Lepcha released Voices of Teesta about the activist group in 2017: the film won an award in Delhi. Last year I met Minket again in Darjeeling - she now works as a teacher: “We tried to use peaceful means to draw attention to the problem, but the government treated us like criminals. So an accident will probably have to happen before something is done,” she told me without seeming frustrated, and added that now, as a teacher, she could at least try to make a few young people more environmentally aware.
After the flash floods, a local resident told the Hindustan Times newspaper that she never imagined something like this would happen on the Teesta. 30 minutes after she was warned, her house was washed away and so was everything around it.
In 2017, I hiked along the Teesta River for two days. New hotels, resorts and houses were being built almost everywhere right near the river - most residents seemed completely unaware of the danger that threatened.
[...] Parallel to the actions of the Last Generation
In Sikkim, the warnings of activists and scientists were not only ignored, they were - as mentioned - even criminalized.
Drawing a parallel to the heavily criticized actions of the last generation in Germany may seem surprising, but in my view it is obvious: 80 million people live in the Federal Republic, and every now and then 100 or 200 people endanger their own health by doing so They stick themselves on the street to draw attention to the fact that Germany is not even beginning to act on climate change - science confirms this. But from the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” to the Springer press to online news portals like Telepolis, people act as if the few young “glues” are responsible for the fact that 80 million Germans are worse off. The media suggests that the last generation is ensuring that Germans no longer want climate protection and that the small group of activists could shut down Germany.
[...] In India, environmental activists are viewed as enemies of the state
Back to India's environmental problems, where the Indian government has already taken a frightening step further: for two decades it has viewed environmental activists as enemies of the state who stand in the way of increasing the gross national product.
Meanwhile, the Indian media is also under attack - India has slipped to 161st place in the press freedom index. The police currently stormed the premises of the critical news channel NewsClick and had several editors arrested. Last week alone, the Modi government had 200 rooms searched by critical activists and journalists.
Since Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India between 1975 and 1977, there has not been such a massive attack on the Indian media until last week. What is currently happening in India confirms all the fears that arose when Narendra Modi took office in 2014.
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Background knowledge
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The map of the nuclear world
Extreme weather around the globe: heat waves and drought, heavy rain and floods.
The internal search for
extreme weather | Heat | Dryness | Heavy rain | Flooding
brought the following results, among others:
September 18, 2023 - UN warns of further possible dam breaches
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May 28, 2023 - Do we still have enough time to save the Earth?
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May 17, 2022 - Drought and heat on five continents
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August 3, 2018 - France shuts down nuclear reactors due to heat
YouTube
extreme weather
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Extremwetter
The Mirror - August 14, 2023 - 4:36
Extreme heat and heavy rain: Was that still weather or is it already climate?
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Terra X - October 20, 2019 - 43:30
Extreme weather – on the trail of climate research
Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...
This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic
The search engine Ecosia is planting trees!
extreme weather
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Extremwetter
German Weather Service
Fact paper on extreme weather in Germany updated
What we know today about the extreme weather in Germany (PDF)
In connection with the Extreme Weather Congress 2021, the fact paper "What we know today about extreme weather in Germany" was updated. It summarizes the current state of knowledge about extreme weather events in Germany.
The publishers are the German Weather Service and the Extreme Weather Congress.
The authors and editors see major changes in extreme weather events as a result of global warming. This results in regional shifts, as a result of which extreme weather events occur in areas where they have not previously occurred. Likewise, within regions - such as Germany - there is an increase in extreme weather events such as heat waves and a decrease in other extreme weather events such as severe frosts. The authors and editors unanimously assess the development in the area of temperatures as clear and scientifically proven and the consequences as very serious. When it comes to precipitation and winds, the statements are more differentiated and less clear. As a result of the rapid warming of the climate system, there is now a significant increase in extremely high temperatures; in some areas of Germany, long-lasting phases with maximum daily temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and above are a new phenomenon. It can be assumed that global warming with the effects described here will continue and thus worsen in the coming decades. This causes an increasing tendency towards days with high temperatures while at the same time decreasing the tendency towards days with low temperatures. New temperature records are becoming more likely. It should be taken into account that, due to natural variability, there will continue to be cold winters, cool summers and the risk of late frosts. However, the probability of these three events mentioned is decreasing as a result of global warming.
In 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate were particularly affected by damaging flood events. In the aftermath of the event, an attribution study was carried out by an international team of scientists, which shows that climate change influences the probabilities of such heavy rain events.
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Wikipedia
Extreme Weather Congress
The Extreme Weather Congress (EWK) was launched with the aim of informing the public first-hand about the state of science on the topic of extreme weather events in detail and in connection with climate change. He awarded the media prize for meteorology. The congress was organized by the Institute for Weather and Climate Communication. There were no extreme weather congresses between 2015 and 2019, but the event has taken place annually again since 2020...
severe weather
Storm, also known as extreme weather event or weather anomaly, is a collective term for extreme weather events. These weather events often cause significant property damage, catastrophes and danger to the lives of many people.
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Those affected, consequences
Between 1980 and 2016, for example: In Germany, for example, according to the insurance group Munich Re, the damage caused by extreme weather (thunderstorms) has practically quadrupled from an average of around 580 million to over 2 billion euros.
By the year 2100, up to two thirds of the European population could be affected by weather extremes each year, without further adaptation measures to global climate change between 2071 and 2100 in the EU, according to a study by the European Commission's Joint Research Center published in The Lancet Planetary Health , Switzerland, Norway and Iceland 80.000 to 240.000 people die every year. Between 1981 and 2010, around 3.000 Europeans lost their lives in weather disasters every year. 99% of weather-related deaths between 2070 and 2100 could be due to heat.
At the beginning of September 2017, Hurricane Irma brought one of the largest evacuation operations with over 6 million people affected in the US state of Florida.
In addition to damage, injuries and deaths, storms also cause people to be displaced. In 2016, almost 24 million people were displaced due to extreme weather, especially in poor areas. In richer countries, however, only just under a million people were affected each year.
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