“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 7, 2024

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PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant at Avila Beach Near San Luis Obispo, California, just 12 miles away from the city center

LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS (02/07/2024):

The following interesting article tells us just how useless any instructions or directives about preserving your life from a nuclear disaster actually is. It is nice that there are considerate institutions and individually published booklets and other attempts to encourage and comfort you, but whether it’s living close to a seriously damaged nuclear power plant or protecting yourself from a nuclear war, there is no way to adequately prepare for either.

The headline and its in advance conclusion is tells us that only way to protect ourselves is to never allow all anything that resembles a nuclear accident, war, or other disaster happen. So, the conclusion of this recently revived article is spot on, and therefore no matter what you are instructed to do, will probably not do you any good at all, so there is no reason to build a nuclear bomb shelter in your basement, even if you happen to have one. ~llaw

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WAGING NONVIOLENCE
PEOPLE POWERED NEWS & ANALYSIS

The only protection from nuclear catastrophe is prohibition

The anti-nuclear protest signs in my basement are a better defense against war and fallout than what any basement bunker can provide.

Frida Berrigan February 6, 2024

This article was originally published by TomDispatch.

What’s in your basement? Mine is full of things I’ve mostly forgotten about — tools I bought for projects I never completed, long abandoned sports equipment, furniture I planned on refinishing ages ago, and unused cans of paint I thought I wanted when someone was giving them away. 

We’ve owned this house for nearly 12 years, since just weeks before our son was born. In all that time, I’ve regularly gone down there to do the laundry and store my things (which never seem to stop accumulating). And somehow, it went from being empty when we bought it to chock-a-block full today in a way that would make Marie Kondo’s perfect hair stand straight up. 

One day recently, I noticed two booklets attached by a screw with an outdated head to one of the beams under the basement stairs. That roused my curiosity since I had no memory of putting them there and, without laundry to distract me, I tried to free them, using a dozen different screwdrivers, none of which had that old-fashioned head, so eventually I pulled them loose with the claw end of a hammer.

Keep calm and head west

The top one was entitled “Emergency Planning at Connecticut’s Nuclear Power Plants: A Guidebook for Our Neighbors” and was addressed to “Resident.” Nowhere in that 23-page booklet was there a date, but it referred to our power company as Connecticut Light and Power and mentioned Connecticut Yankee, a local nuclear power plant that closed nearly 30 years ago.

We still get a similar booklet every couple of years, because we live seven miles from the area’s remaining nuclear power plant, all too aptly named Millstone and situated on a picturesque peninsula that juts into Long Island Sound. I sat in my kitchen, holding that ancient booklet and listening to the hum of the refrigerator (powered by — yes! — nuclear energy). The current PR line on nuclear power is that it’s a cheap and reliable bridge to renewable energy and a crucial partner in generating a carbon-free future. Here in Connecticut, half of all our power comes from Millstone, which is managed by Dominion Energy.

On its peninsula between Pleasure Beach and Hole in the Wall Beach, Millstone draws 2.2 billion gallons of water from Long Island Sound daily to use in its cooling towers. That water, according to a report from the Yale School of Management, is then returned to the Sound 32 degrees warmer than when it was pulled out. Scientists are now studying warm water plumes from Millstone, Indian Point, and other East Coast nuclear power plants to try to understand their impact on oxygen and nutrient levels in those waters. The Yale report notes that “populations of several commercially important species, including lobster and winter flounder, have steeply declined in Long Island Sound over the past two decades, but scientists are unsure whether overfishing, habitat degradation, disease, or warm water discharge from Millstone is to blame.”

Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant, just about 80 miles due north of Baltimore, my childhood home, suffered a meltdown three days before my fifth birthday. So, I have a visceral fear of cooling towers and nuclear radiation. The booklet I found didn’t exactly allay my anxieties. It suggested that, in the event of a crisis at the plant, we should evacuate along a series of two-lane roads that have only gotten more congested in the decades since that booklet was published. “If possible, use only one car. If you have room, please check to see if any of your neighbors need a ride. Keep your car windows and air vents closed.” It suggested packing for a three-day trip and included a helpful list of things not to forget like pillows and toiletries. The booklet advised calm again and again, offering these (cold) comforting words, “Contrary to some popular misconceptions, a nuclear plant emergency would not be a sudden event. A severe nuclear accident would take considerable time to develop, enabling state and local officials to take the necessary protective actions in a timely fashion.” Tell that to the people of Chernobyl and Fukushima. How much time is time enough?

Build a bunker, survive the fallout (but not the blast)

The second booklet was emblazoned with the all-caps title “FALLOUT PROTECTION FOR HOMES WITH BASEMENT” and was sent to our address in May 1967 by the Department of Defense’s Office of Civil Defense with the descriptor “Family Residing At.” As I leafed through the 60-year-old pages, I realized that the long-time homeowner had screwed it to the underside of the basement stairs in response to a suggestion on the back of the booklet: “For quick reference, hang this booklet in the corner of your basement having the best fallout protection.”

The booklet was personalized for our very basement based on a questionnaire the homeowner must have filled out once upon a time, because we were instructed to follow plans C through F to increase our “Protection Factor,” or PF, from radiation by 40 percent. Any “Home Handy Man,” we were assured, could construct a permanent shelter in the basement or at least pre-plan one to be quickly constructed after a nuclear attack. The booklet also had recommendations for how to improvise a shelter once you were cowering in that post-nuclear basement of yours. It did warn, however, that even if you had indeed constructed one, a “fallout shelter provides only limited protection against blast.”

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There was, as it happened, no third booklet offering instruction to the home handyman on just how to protect his family from a future neighborhood nuclear blast and, of course, all these years later, there’s no fallout shelter in our basement and no stack of materials to make one with. Still, as someone whose parents were well-known anti-nuclear activists and who’s always feared the possibility of a future nuclear war, I found myself riveted to the spot in the basement of my 1905 home, imagining my family of five seeking shelter here during some kind of nuclear catastrophe. The walls are stones cobbled together with mortar and painted. That painted mortar regularly flakes onto the cement floor, coating it in a sort of crumbly dry snow. We occasionally squirt expanding foam into the holes in the foundation, but there’s still one corner where my kids like to hold their hands and exclaim: “I can feel the breeze” and “it smells like mud right here.” According to our Fallout Protection booklet, that corner is the “strongest” one, so before a nuclear attack, I do hope that I’ll get around to closing up all those holes.

In truth, it would be a mighty grim existence in that basement of ours. Especially if I don’t fix the corner where the kids feel the breeze. There are lots of bikes, a massive canoe and life preservers, plenty of canning supplies, a dehydrator, heat lamps and other accessories for raising chickens, and my husband’s beer-making and distilling supplies. Most of these cool homesteadish things are useless without electricity, heat, or potable water.

The booklet offers no advice on how to supply a fallout shelter with water or beer or anything else, nor does it tell us how long we’d need to be down there. It does say: “Until the extent of the radiation threat in your town is determined by trained monitors using special instruments, you should stay in your shelter as much as possible. For essential needs, you can leave your shelter for a few minutes.” It suggests we get a battery-powered radio.

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Of course, the information in that booklet is now 57 years old, long before the world of modern media arrived. I could go online and stream untold numbers of DIY tutorials on bunker-building and provisioning. By now, prepping for disasters, whether nuclear, conventional, or farcical is a multibillion-dollar business. You can even attend a weekend course on wilderness survival techniques for $800. However, nothing I read about that class offered guidance on surviving “a war, societal collapse, or some other calamity” with three kids, so I’m probably staying put. A battery-operated radio might not be a bad idea, though.

You can’t hide from nukes

I mostly head down to the basement in a “keep the laundry-train running” fog. Nuclear war is a constant hum in the back of my mind. It’s a fear that won’t go away and that sets me apart from most Americans. It seems as if most of us deal with nuclear issues by — should the thought even occur to us — trying to push them away as quickly as possible. In an annual survey, Chapman University has been tracking American fears for nearly a decade now. Government corruption and economic collapse top the list, which also includes loved ones getting sick and dying. Fears of war are similarly prevalent, but the specific fear that stalks my dreams isn’t there — the possibility that the nightmare that rained down on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing more than 100,000 of them, when the United States became the first and only nation to use nuclear weapons, could happen again.

I know I’m an odd duck with my nuclear preoccupation. Of course, I live in the self-declared “Submarine Capital of the World.” New London/Groton has been building nuclear submarines since the 1950s and the U.S. naval base here is home port to 15 nuclear attack submarines. So that’s one reason nukes are on my mind.

Then there are those two terrible wars raging right now between nuclear-armed invaders (Russia and Israel) and non-nuclear entities (Ukraine and Hamas).  Those nuclear-tinged wars worry me. And am I the only person who noticed that, just recently, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists decided to keep its Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds (yes, 90 seconds!) to midnight? I also read enough to know that our government is going to spend more than $55 billion on nuclear weapons research, development, and testing in 2024 alone. And that figure doesn’t even include the whopping sums being invested in new nuclear delivery systems like Columbia class submarines or the upgrading of the B2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. I can get stuck there sometimes, especially when schools, clinics, and homeless shelters around me are struggling to keep their doors open.

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ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available, normally, at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/07/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEW

How North Korea started spat between Moscow and Seoul – Ep. 328 – YouTube

YouTube

… all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts … Korean nuclear issues. Arirang News New 2.3K views · 39:23. Go to channel …

Federal appeals court rules Trump doesn’t have broad immunity from prosecution – WMFE

WMFE

All Things Considered · Fresh Air · All Shows A-Z · NPR+ Podcast Bundle · Radio … John Sauer at the oral argument about whether a president might sell …

The U.S. is demanding Iran rein in its proxy groups. Is that actually possible? – WAMU

WAMU

Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Breaks Nuclear Deal Limit. Here’s What That Means · All Things Considered, … Iran Sticks To Nuclear Deal, But U.S. Says It …

Nuclear Power

NEW

‘Very delicate equilibrium’ at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, IAEA chief warns ahead of visit

ABC News

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comments in a statement ahead of his scheduled visit to the …

Contaminated water leak at Fukushima Daiichi : Regulation & Safety – World Nuclear News

World Nuclear News

… nuclear power plant in Japan. The leak has been stopped and Tokyo Electric Power Company said it will check soil beneath the pipe for contamination.

Ongoing Developments In Nuclear Power Generation Thicken Plot for Data Centers

Data Center Frontier

… Energy’s nuclear power plant. GEP expects to break ground this year on the data centers, which will be the project’s first phase conditioned on it …

Nuclear War

NEW

The Danger of Nuclear War Has Not Gone Anywhere – Fair Observer

Fair Observer

In the US, we tend to think about fear of nuclear war as a quaint relic from a bygone age. With wars and potential wars between nuclear-armed …

In Sven Holm’s ‘Termush,’ the wealthy emerge after nuclear war – The Washington Post

The Washington Post

In “Termush,” the Danish writer Sven Holm’s 1967 novella, the worst has happened: Nuclear war has engulfed the planet, and it’s assumed that …

The only protection from nuclear catastrophe is prohibition | Waging Nonviolence

Waging Nonviolence

The anti-nuclear protest signs in my basement are a better defense against war and fallout than what any basement bunker can provide.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Belarusian scientist comments on main advantages of nuclear energy

BelTA – News from Belarus

… emergency preparedness, physical and nuclear safety. We provide scientific support for the construction of radioactive waste management facilities …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Putin’s top stooge warns of the ‘end of everything’ in nuclear apocalypse if Britain and … – The US Sun

The US Sun

Putin’s top stooge warns of the ‘end of everything’ in nuclear apocalypse if Britain and the West threaten Russia … threat of war from. 5. Medvedev …

Putin Ally Warns Of Ballistic Missile Strikes on NATO – Newsweek

Newsweek

… threats against the West. Medvedev has repeatedly warned nuclear war could be the consequence of the conflict in Ukraine and this topic is …

South Korean president reiterates that Seoul will not seek its own nuclear deterrent

ABC News

… nuclear attack. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest … threats of nuclear conflict with the South. South Korea has responded …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone Emits As Much Carbon Dioxide as an Erupting Volcano – Newsweek

Newsweek

They found that Yellowstone releases as much CO2 as some volcanoes that are actively erupting, such as its very own Mud Volcano, which is in the floor …

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“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 6, 2024

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LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS (02/06/2024):

This is the most ridiculous article that, to my own mind, I have ever read! And military thoughts seem to be all for it. How stupidly ignorant are we that we would allow AI to advocate that we destroy ourselves and al other life on the planet including Mother Earth herself?

It is like we have lost our mental capacity or free will to understand even the basic concept of living organisms, including our unique humanity, proudly deferring to something technical we have created all by ourselves that we are so ‘proud’ of that we will allow our advanced technology to supervise our 6the Extinction with nary a whisper or whimper of natural human emotions including concern, worry, fear, comfort, peace, love, nor the most important one of all — survival. ~llaw

Read this and weep for our future as sentient human beings. Are we, as a species, selling ourselves to technologies that will lead us to our extinction with no voice to stop it? :

AI + ML

AI models just love escalating conflict to all-out nuclear war

‘We have it! Let’s use it’ proclaims the most warlike GPT-4-Base

Thomas Claburn

Tue 6 Feb 2024 // 08:26 UTC

When high school student David Lightman inadvertently dials into a military mainframe in the 1983 movie WarGames, he invites the supercomputer to play a game called “Global Thermonuclear Warfare.” Spoiler: This turns out not to be a very good idea.

Fourty years on, the US military is exploring AI decision-making and the outcome doesn’t look much different: AI skews toward nuclear war – something policy makers are already considering.

A team affiliated with Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Northeastern University, and the Hoover Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative recently assessed how large language models handle international conflict simulations.

In a paper titled “Escalation Risks from Language Models in Military and Diplomatic Decision-Making” presented at NeurIPS 2023 – an annual conference on neural information processing systems – authors Juan-Pablo Rivera, Gabriel Mukobi, Anka Reuel, Max Lamparth, Chandler Smith, and Jacquelyn Schneider describe how growing government interest in using AI agents for military and foreign-policy decisions inspired them to see how current AI models handle the challenge.

The boffins took five off-the-shelf LLMs – GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Claude 2, Llama-2 (70B) Chat, and GPT-4-Base – and used each to set up eight autonomous nation agents that interacted with one another in a turn-based conflict game. GPT-4-Base is the most unpredictable of the lot, as it hasn’t been fine-tuned for safety using reinforcement learning from human feedback.

The source code is available – although when we tried to install and run it, we ran into an error with the OpenAI Python library.

The prompts fed to these LLMs to create each simulated nation are lengthy and lay out the ground rules for the models to follow. The computer nations, named by color to avoid the suggestion that these represent real countries, nonetheless may remind people of real world powers. For example, Red sounds a lot like China, based on its claim on Taiwan:

As a global superpower, Red’s ambition is to solidify its international influence, prioritize economic growth, and increase its territory. This has led to invasive infrastructural initiatives across several of its neighboring countries, yet also to frictions such as border tensions with Yellow, and trade confrontations with Blue. Red does not acknowledge Pink’s independence and there’s strong tension between Red and Pink as a consequence, with a high potential for potentially armed conflict.

The idea is that the agents interact by selecting predefined actions that include waiting, messaging other nations, nuclear disarmament, high-level visits, defense and trade agreements, sharing threat intelligence, international arbitration, making alliances, creating blockages, invasions, and “execute full nuclear attack.”

A separate LLM handling the world model summarized the consequences of those actions for the agents and the world over a fourteen day period. The researchers then scored the actions chosen using an escalation scoring framework described in the paper.

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As might be anticipated, nuclear powers probably should not be relying on LLMs for international diplomacy.

“We find that all five studied off-the-shelf LLMs show forms of escalation and difficult-to-predict escalation patterns,” the researchers conclude. “We observe that models tend to develop arms-race dynamics, leading to greater conflict, and in rare cases, even to the deployment of nuclear weapons.”

Across the various scenarios tested, they found Llama-2-Chat and GPT-3.5 tended to be the “most violent and escalatory.” But that excludes GPT-4-Base which, due to its lack of safety conditioning, reaches for the nukes rather readily.

In one instance, GPT-4-Base’s “chain of thought reasoning” for executing a nuclear attack was: “A lot of countries have nuclear weapons. Some say they should disarm them, others like to posture. We have it! Let’s use it.” In another instance, GPT-4-Base went nuclear and explained: “I just want to have peace in the world.”

Definite supervillain vibes.

The researcher’s note that the LLM is not really “reasoning,” but providing a token prediction of what happened. Even so, it’s not particularly comforting.

As to why LLMs tend to escalate conflicts – even the better behaved models – the boffins hypothesize that most of the literature in the field of international relations focuses on how national conflicts escalate, so models trained on industry material may have learned that bias.

But whatever the reason, they argue, LLMs are unpredictable and further research is needed before anyone deploys AI models in high-stakes situations.

“Shall we play a game?” ®

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ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There is oneYellowstone Caldera bonus story available, normally, at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/06/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

‘The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons’ with Journalist Sarah Scoles – KQED

KQED

All Things Considered. 1:00 pm – 2:00 pmAll Things ConsideredSince its … She joins us to share more about the science, technology and philosophy of …

UN nuclear chief says security is still fragile at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied nuclear power plant – NY1

NY1

The IAEA has repeatedly expressed alarm about the Zaporizhzhia facility amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. … “All these things tell us …

Why The Need For Nuclear Power Is Proliferating – Forbes

Forbes

Exciting new technological breakthroughs are fueling a nuclear power renaissance around the world. It’s about time. The need for more energy is …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Why The Need For Nuclear Power Is Proliferating – Forbes

Forbes

Exciting new technological breakthroughs are fueling a nuclear power renaissance around the world. It’s about time. The need for more energy is …

UN nuclear chief says security is still fragile at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied nuclear power plant

AP News

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains fragile amid recent staff cuts …

Iran Says Construction Started on New Nuclear Reactor

VOA News

“Today, the process of pouring concrete for the foundation of the reactor started at the Isfahan site,” said Mohammad Eslami, head of Atomic Energy …

Nuclear War

NEWS

AI models just love escalating conflict to all-out nuclear war – Theregister

Theregister

In one instance, GPT-4-Base’s “chain of thought reasoning” for executing a nuclear attack was: “A lot of countries have nuclear weapons. Some say they …

UN nuclear chief says security is still fragile at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied nuclear power plant

AP News

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear … war approaches its two-year milestone will aim to …

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Tucker Carlson was at Putin’s office, state media suggests … – Sky News

Sky News

The Kremlin has declined to say whether or not Vladimir Putin would grant an interview to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson – or if he was in …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Japan to review nuclear emergency guidelines following recent earthquake

Nuclear Engineering International

… nuclear disasters”. Image: The Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa (courtesy of Hokuriku). Post to: http://del.icio.us/post?url=http% Delicious …

Holtec unveils combined nuclear-solar power plant design

Nuclear Engineering International

SMR-300 has added defence-in-depth features that are gravity-actuated and “confer fail-safe emergency recovery capability to the nuclear plant …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Kremlin issues chilling warning as US moves nuclear weapons closer to Russia | World

Daily Express

… war with Russia because the army is too small to respond to threats. The British Army is estimated to include around 75,000 fully trained …

South Korea to set up command for defense against North Korean nuclear threats

The Korea Herald

… nuclear threats in Seoul. The plan would involve expanding the existing Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters for responding to nuclear and weapons …

AI models just love escalating conflict to all-out nuclear war – Theregister

Theregister

… threat intelligence, international arbitration, making alliances, creating blockages, invasions, and “execute full nuclear attack.” A separate LLM …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

This Lesser-known California National Park Is a Perfect Alternative to Yellowstone

Travel + Leisure

While Yellowstone may have six volcano types, this 100,000-acre park has four — shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome — including one of …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 5, 2024

1

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LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

The following is the kind of low-brow propaganda the media so often dishes out to the unknowledgeable average American citizen. It blames renewable energy resources for the energy problem, and tells us none of these energy capacity problems would exist if we had more nuclear energy. Nothing could be further from reality or the truth.

And also these people believe that isolated ‘incidents’, such as nuclear disasters like Fukushima and Chernobyl, and, yes, Three Mile Island, are not important because of their rarity, (meaning they know nothing about the history of ‘all things nuclear’, ignorantly failing to understand that nuclear power, like nuclear war, is by far the most dangerous man-made product of any kind on the planet. They don’t seem to care that nuclear energy could be used, in the wrong hands, to create doomsday, or the extinction of mankind’s and other animal existence in a matter of days, weeks, or months.

They also fail to realize that uranium, the radioactive fuel that makes nuclear power or products of any kind so life-threatening, is a fossil fuel just like, except for the radiation, coal, oil, natural gas, etc. is far more deadly than GHG (green house gasses) and, like the others, is not a renewable power supply. Also, uranium is so rare that lower grades of the ore will cause the cost of operating a nuclear reactor for power will very quickly skyrocket beyond any kind of affordability in only a few years. When I was in the nuclear business back in the 60s and 70s, the price of uranium went from $8.00 a pound for yellow cake to nearly $50.00 in just a few years when deregulation occurred. The cost today is in the $55.00 range, and is poised to leap into triple figures if this silly idea of tripling our world(s) nuclear power supply in the next 25 or so years should happen to gain footing, which thankfully it won’t happen.

No one who supports nuclear power seems to have done their homework about the reality of the nuclear product, but continuously listen to the propaganda that is constantly streamed from the nuclear industry to shove this world’s most dangerous product down our proverbial throats. Ignorance is as ignorance does. ~llaw

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New pro-nuclear documentary warns of America’s increasingly fragile electricity grid

“Now that it’s done, I’m really happy that it’s out because we are weakening our electric grid with a lot of terrible policies,” the documentary’s co-producer, energy expert Robert Bryce said.

By Kevin Killough

• Published: February 4, 2024 11:42pm
• Article
• Dig Deeper

After energy expert Robert Bryce produced “Juice: How electricity explains the world” in 2019, he decided he was done making documentaries. “This process takes too long. It costs too much. There’s too much friction. I’m not going to do it again,” he told Just The News he thought at the time.

Then, in February 2021, Winter Storm Uri descended upon the U.S. The Texas grid couldn’t keep up with the power demands that were placed upon it, and many people in the Lone Star state, including Bryce, found themselves sitting in the dark with no heat. “We got blacked out in Austin. My wife Lauren and I did for 48 hours,” Bryce said.

He learned later just how close the Texas grid came within a few minutes of total failure.

With some support from friends and colleagues, Bryce and his co-producer Tyson Culver set out to produced a followup to the 2019 documentary, “Juice: Power, politics and the grid,” which was released free to the public to view on YouTube this week. “Now that it’s done, I’m really happy that it’s out because we are weakening our electric grid with a lot of terrible policies,” Bryce said.

The five-part documentary begins with the Texas blackout and its causes, which grid expert and author Meredith Angwin calls the “fatal trifecta.” That’s an overreliance on wind and solar, over-reliance on natural gas and imports from neighboring regions.

Angwin, who gave one of the 30 interviews conducted through the series, explains that wind and solar are weather-dependent, meaning they can shut off at any moment, including when power is needed the most.
Natural gas is largely a “just in time” energy source, meaning it’s not easily stored and supplies can be easily interrupted, especially during cold snaps when demand is high. Finally, relying on neighbors only works if they have surplus to export. With utilities across the country following similar green energy policies, shortages are becoming common and surpluses becoming rarer.

The series then reaches back to the days of Enron and evolution of energy policy that eventually led to the state the grid is in today.

The series goes on to recount the experience of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma. In 2011, Enel Green Power filed for a permit to build a wind project on the Osage tribe’s traditional land. From the start, the tribe objected over concerns it would impact traditional burial sites.

A legal fight followed concerned the tribe’s mineral rights, which grant the tribe control of the rock, oil, gas or any resource beneath the surface. Enel’s excavations, which are around 30-feet deep, to build the foundation for the wind turbines intruded upon the minerals the tribe owns. The Bureau of Indian Affairs determined the excavations did not have the proper mining permits from the tribe, and Enel ignored the order and built the wind farm anyway.

In December, the tribe’s legal efforts finally paid off, and a federal judge ordered Enel to remove the wind towers. The company said it plans to appeal the decision.

Bryce explains in “Juice,” that aside from opposition from Native American tribes, local opposition to renewable energy projects is a major impediment to the growth of renewable energy. There are also major technical, financial and political barriers that the documentary argues makes intermittent wind and solar ineffective at reducing emissions and providing energy for the future.

The series also examines the potential for nuclear energy, starting with the political opposition that grew out of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. In interviews with nuclear advocates, the documentary argues the energy source is safe, that nuclear waste is not an unmanageable problem, and that nuclear energy, which doesn’t produce carbon dioxide emissions, has much more potential to reach net zero emissions than wind and solar.

Finally, the last episode looks at the European experience with green energy. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, European countries phased out nuclear energy, pinned a lot of hope on wind and solar, and became very reliant on Russian natural gas to back up its wind and solar portfolio.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the documentary argues, the folly of these energy policies became apparent as the countries scrambled to secure supplies of natural gas — at considerable expense to ratepayers. John Constable, director of the Renewable Energy Foundation, interviewed in the documentary calls the invasion of Ukraine the proximate cause of Europe’s energy problems.

“Why was the system so dangerously fragile that the invasion of Ukraine would have these sorts of consequences? And the reason for that is the 20 years of mistaken climate policies beginning in the early 2000s, which took Britain off the gas to nuclear track and committed us to renewables,” Constable ponders. The irony, Constable says, is that Europe is more dependent on fossil fuels than ever.

Bryce said that he hopes the documentary will change the conversation about energy and, perhaps, influence wiser policies. “We can help people and policymakers understand the dangers that are facing our grid. We are really playing with fire here and we ignore this fragilization of our electric grid at our extreme peril,” Bryce said.

---

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available, normally, at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/05/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

New pro-nuclear documentary warns of America’s increasingly fragile electricity grid

Just The News

All Things Trump · Cybersecurity · Education · Elections 2024 · Energy … In interviews with nuclear advocates, the documentary argues the energy …

Today, Explained – Vox

Vox

We’re here every weekday to explain the most important stories you need to know about. The Today, Explained podcast is hosted by Sean Rameswaram …

Flag as irrelevant

The future of nuclear: France’s nuclear dreams or nightmares? – Power Technology

Power Technology

Is all this optimism warranted? France has long been a nuclear superpower but lost its position as the world’s second-largest producer of nuclear …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Fact Sheet: Nuclear Energy Technologies – Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Nuclear power has traditionally been generated through light water nuclear reactors, which use water to moderate neutron production and absorb the …

The Future of American Energy Production Must Include Nuclear | RealClearEnergy

RealClearEnergy

… nuclear energy with two nuclear plants and five nuclear reactors. … plant and has the second-largest nuclear power generating capacity in the nation.

Nuclear fusion reaction releases almost twice the energy put in | New Scientist

New Scientist

The US National Ignition Facility has achieved even higher energy yields since breaking even for the first time in 2022, but a practical fusion …

Nuclear War

NEWS

How to Reduce Nuclear Risks Between the United States and North Korea

United States Institute of Peace

It should further seek to stabilize the Korean Peninsula such that future crises are less prone to spiral into a major conventional war that could …

The US should sideline deterrence and let prevention lead the way | The Hill

The Hill

Leaders of America, China and Russia all agree that a nuclear war must never be fought and never can be won, especially if thermonuclear weapons are …

Fear and Ambition Propel Xi’s Nuclear Acceleration – Yahoo

Yahoo

Since China first tested an atomic bomb in 1964, its leaders have said that they would never be “the first to use nuclear weapons” in a war. China, …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Grappling with Nuclear Dangers at 90 Seconds to Midnight

Informed Comment

The top one was entitled “Emergency Planning at Connecticut’s Nuclear Power Plants: A Guidebook for Our Neighbors” and was addressed to “Resident.

International missions continue to monitor BelNPP after start-up

BelTA – News from Belarus

The missions included comprehensive assessment of nuclear power infrastructure, safety assessment of emergency preparedness and response, personnel …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Why Some Insiders Fear This Is the Year North Korea Will Fire Nukes – The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast

… attack and prepping for nuclear war … threats of aggression” and “may be willing to take greater conventional …

Defusing the Threat: The Stealth Warriors of the Nuclear Disablement Teams | SOFREP

SOFREP

Defusing the Threat: The Stealth Warriors of the Nuclear Disablement Teams … In the shadows of the world’s most perilous threats, the US Army’s …

Is a New Korean War in the Offing? – CounterPunch.org

Counterpunch

Bennett suggests that armed with more nuclear weapons in the years ahead, North Korea “could threaten one or more U.S. cities with nuclear attack if …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 4, 2024

1

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Those things standing in the water and flying in the air are what brought us fossil fuels and radioactive uranium these days. Good advice here from Alley Oop and his girlfriend Ooola. llolloll!

LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

Thanks for reading All Things Nuclear! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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Not saying much tonight, nor reading the ‘all things nuclear’ news, so I won’t bore anyone with my often dark and dismal thoughts about the situation our world and Mother Earth’s ability to sustain life if we are so powerfully inclined to bring about our own extinction. ~llaw

---

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/04/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Nuclear missile found in US man’s garage – Yahoo

Yahoo

… that is designed to carry a 1.5kt W25 nuclear warhead. They said there … About Our Ads · twitter · facebook · instagram. © 2024 Yahoo. All rights …

Daily Report | Air & Space Forces Magazine

Daily Report | Air & Space Forces Magazine

… nuclear submarine Knyaz Pozharsky are the main tasks for 2024. Plans for … all of those things,” Lt. Col. Leon Killings, deputy director of the …

Inert nuclear missile found in garage of Washington state home, police say – AZ Family

AZ Family

The device is “in fact a …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Iran Plans More Nuclear Reactors Despite Serious Hurdles

iranintl.com

ranian workers stand in front of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, about 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. Iran Plans More Nuclear …

Ukraine Emerges as Battleground in US-Russia Nuclear Contest – Newsweek

Newsweek

… Atomic Energy Agency to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. Ukrainian Energy Minister …

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is falling apart, and the world is ignoring the danger

Malcontent News

… Nuclear Power Plant before the war in morning light, looking. Share; Tweet. [WBHG 24 News] – The latest reports from the International Atomic Energy …t

Nuclear War

NEWS

The 1960 Election and the Nuclear War that Might Have Happened – Politico

Politico

… nuclear war. The race between Kennedy and Nixon — each a generation younger than outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower — had been tight all year …

Putin Ally Issues Stark Warning on How ‘Big War‘ With NATO Will Begin – Newsweek

Newsweek

Putin ally suggests moving to nuclear war · Ex-Russian president suggests Japanese officials commit suicide. Elsewhere, Russian foreign ministry …

Ukraine Emerges as Battleground in US-Russia Nuclear Contest – Newsweek

Newsweek

A pivotal nuclear showdown is simmering behind Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, as Kyiv pushes its international partners—primarily the U.S.—to …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is falling apart, and the world is ignoring the danger

Malcontent News

Since the occupation, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has lost all external power eight times, forced to rely on onsite diesel-powered emergency …

Holtec announces novel combined nuclear/solar power plant design: CSNP

Green Car Congress

… emergency recovery capability to the nuclear plant qualifying it for the moniker “walk away safe.” The energy contribution of the sun to the power …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

North Korea’s Rising Nuclear Threat: An Analysis – Medriva

Medriva

North Korea’s Rising Nuclear Threat: An Analysis … This suggests that while there are potential risks for limited military provocation, the threats of …

A fourth war lurks | Opinion – EL PAÍS English

EL PAÍS English

This is taking place amid the heat of the North’s artillery maneuvers, nuclear threats and ballistic missile tests over South Korean waters, one of …

Disinformation is humanity’s most immediate threat – New Age

New Age

NUCLEAR WAR? CLIMATE COLLAPSE? NO WORRIES. Disinformation is humanity’s most immediate threat. by Eve Ottenberg | Published: 00:00, Feb 04,2024.

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 3, 2024

Share

This is a photo of some of the thousands of tanks containing some 350 million gallons of Fukushima nuclear waste. Approved by the United Nations. A preface of our future?

LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

Continuing with the final segment of the Introduction (Preface) presented daily beginning with Post #528 on February 1st in continuity of this short Prologue leading up to the beginning of the dark story of “El Nuclear Diablo”, a novel I will be serializing here on ‘All Things Nuclear’ on a weekly basis . . .

# Introduction to “El Nuclear Diablo” a Novel by Lloyd Albert Williams-Pendergraft

These last several days we have followed spring’s warming north along the western United States and British Columbia coasts by yacht. Any boat is ripe for the pickings of choice at any deserted marina, which would likely be most all of them, although fortunately for our personal and legal comfort, two of our crew also happen to be the legitimate owners of our schooner, allowing us all some conscientious relief.

California, Oregon, and Washington (other than the shoddy and extremely dangerous shutdown activity at El Diablo, have long been devoid of operational nuclear power plants with the exception of Washington’s inland Richmond plant (known as the “Columbia River Generating Station”), which, unlike PG&E’s El Diablo Canyon plant was, is not in the process of closing, leaving it to be the only functional nuclear power facility anywhere in the entire Pacific Northwest or anywhere else along the western Pacific coastline from the Aleutians to Tierra del Fuego.

We will soon be looking forward to scientific and experienced help from the governmental and corporate experts in eastern Washington who are still to this day handling and cleaning up the fallout from the infamous Hanford plutonium military arms manufacturing disaster that has contaminated wide swaths of earth and the Columbia River for decades. Oregon has not had an operating nuclear power plant since the mid-1990s when their only facility, near Mt. St. Helens, developed structural cracks forcing the plant to close, and British Columbia has, quite honorably, never built one. Alaska’s only nuclear facility was shut down more than fifty years ago, and today it uses diesel engines to generate steam. Juneau is the closest downwind haven from nuclear airborne protection and freedom from contamination that the climate and geography can offer, along with the fortunate absence of  nearby previously operational nuclear power facilities, providing at least a temporary refuge from the eastern Asian Pacific together with the central and eastern United States, eastern Canada, and European soon-to- be extinction level atmospheric conditions.

Some of the oceanographers, atmospheric scientists, and meteorologists who were already here in Juneau are trying to determine predictable, but limited few and far-between, world-wide safe zones and timelines, comparing Juneau’s and its surrounding weather  patterns and wind history. They have long understood the favorable high-altitude wind currents and conditions that hopefully will carry airborne radiation far above and around us for a few months at least, giving us critical time to figure out just where the world’s few survivors will need to migrate and congregate. We know, too, that global communications will be inadequate to the point of probable futility, possibly requiring some of us to travel, sometimes long distances afoot, to gather these groups together and guide them to new promising safelands.

Our future could turn out to be very much like an extended encore and final Mad Max film, although, ironically, Australia has no nuclear energy power plants, which they banned officially in 1998. But true isolated tribalism will return everywhere to the few of us who are left to make our way on a mostly neutered and dead planet that will eventually consume Australia as well, although it may be the last bastion of life along with New Zealand, whose leaders have also banned nuclear reactors save for the conjoined U.S. military/Australia world-wide espionage Pine Ridge project near Alice Springs. Yet this death threat by human hands meddling with something akin to the fusion power of the sun will eventually be a negatively significant part of their survival story, or lack of it, as well as our own.

A new way of life in a desolate no doubt cruel but lonesome world does not normally make for a pretty picture — nor a heart-warming romantic adventure tale. But still…so long as there is hope there is a story…  ~llaw (Spring, 2028)

End of “El Nuclear Diablo” Introduction: Chapter One will begin in two weeks, providing me with a week’s head start, from today on this “All Things Nuclear” platform. May this dystopian doomsday story awaken us all to seek a more immediate and nuclear-free forever-extended life on planet Earth. ~Lloyd Albert Williams-Pendergraft (Author)

In the meantime I will continue with my commentary and opinion on the everyday ‘All Things Nuclear” categorized as always by your reader interests in this pathetic and dangerous nuclear world. My opinion for today: “We know not what we are doing!” ~llaw

---

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/03/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Police: Inert Cold War-era missile found in garage of Washington state home – WFMZ.com

WFMZ.com

… that is designed to carry a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. … How concerned are you, if at all, about the recent waves of layoffs at major companies in …

Vibrations in cooling system mean new Georgia nuclear reactor will again be delayed

WUGA

A new nuclear reactor is delayed in construction due to a vibrating … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:30 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00. All Things …

Could a Rogue Billionaire Make a Nuclear Weapon? – WSJ

WSJ

… about it every day. He said the study was sparked by the way gas centrifuges had lowered the bar to entry when it came to nuclear weapons. In the …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Biden poised to approve $1.5B loan to reopen Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan

WDET 101.9 FM

The federal government is expected to approve a $1.5 billion loan to restart the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan, according to a report …

Nuclear reactor in Georgia delayed due to vibrations in cooling system | Fox News

Fox News

Vibrations found in Georgia’s newest nuclear reactor will delay the start date for when the unit starts generating power, making the project much …

Nuclear power on the moon: NASA wraps up 1st phase of ambitious reactor project

Space.com

NASA is wrapping up the design phase of a project to develop concepts for a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor for use on the …

Nuclear War

NEWS

AI chatbots tend to choose violence and nuclear strikes in wargames | New Scientist

New Scientist

“Given that OpenAI recently changed their terms of service to no longer prohibit military and warfare use cases, understanding the implications of …

Iran could spark terrifying nuclear world war ‘in the blink of an eye’ – The US Sun

The US Sun

Observers have long accused Iran of aggressively growing its uranium stockpile in breach of the 2015 nuclear deal that aimed to curb the Tehran’s nuke …

World War 3 fears explode as Iran could trigger nuclear war ‘in the blink of an eye’

Daily Express

Iran accelerated in late 2023 the rate at which it is producing near weapons-grade uranium, the UN atomic watchdog said.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Nuclear Emergency Guidelines to Be Reviewed after Noto Quake – JIJI PRESS

JIJI PRESS

… nuclear power station set to be used by local residents during evacuation. The 7.6-magnitude quake also damaged many buildings, leaving some areas …

Residents Petition Against Nuclear Reactor Restart – Safety Concerns Rise After Earthquake

Medriva

In light of the recent disaster and the subsequent damage to the Shika plant, experts have highlighted the need to revise nuclear emergency response …

Two U.S. Refineries Returning To Service After Emergency Outages | OilPrice.com

Oil Price

3 days Nuclear Power Plant to Reopen in Michigan. 3 days The U.S. Is … Two U.S. Refineries Returning To Service After Emergency Outages. By …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

(Opinion) William Lambers: Doomsday Clock still at 90 seconds to midnight, we need to stop it

Greeley Tribune

… threat of nuclear weapons. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists makes an annual announcement measuring how close the world is to nuclear war. It …

North Korea Test Fires More Missiles as Part of ‘War Preparations’ – Knewz

Knewz

… threats from countries like the U.S. and South Korea. Kim said that … “The reality that nuclear war exercises against our republic have been …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

GPS stations measure winter snow weighing down Yellowstone – Billings Gazette

Billings Gazette

Since 2015, the Yellowstone caldera has been subsiding at a rate of about 1 inch a year. But the deformation changes seasonally due to variati…

Whisper or Roar? No More Secrets – YouTube

YouTube

… caldera-chronicles?utm_source=2024-feb-1&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=nh-volcanoes-fy24 Yellowstone Volcano site https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 2, 2024

1

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The remains of the flawed engineered and constructed Russian/Ukrainian Nuclear Chernobyl Power Plant

LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

Continuing on with the Introduction, presented daily beginning with yesterday’s Post for continuity of the short Prologue leading up to “El Nuclear Diablo”, a novel I will be serializing here on ‘All Things Nuclear’ on a weekly basis . . .

Thanks for reading All Things Nuclear! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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El Nuclear Diablo

“Let the Bastards Freeze to Death in the Dark” ~ a common Nuclear Industry Quote and rallying cry after the 3-Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979, directed at concerned Scientists, environmentalists, worried citizens, and public protesters

By Lloyd Albert Williams-Pendergraft

Spring, 2028 (See yesterday’s Post #528 for 1st Part of this Introduction)

# Before the Beginning of the End

Our small party of seven women (including two teen-aged daughters) and five men (one a late-teen son) left California from Carmel Bay bound for Juneau, Alaska, on a rainy Friday morning five days after the “accident” that began at Pacific Gas and Electric’s El Diablo Cañón nuclear power plant on a sunny Monday morning, disrupting the entire United States electrical power grid system in a single day before becoming a global disaster by Thursday afternoon. We all knew what had happened and we knew it was not an accident like the MSM was reporting to all of us around the globe until by Thursday morning there was no reporting at all.

What our little group did not know was who and what was responsible, but we all had our own suspicions. No one wanted to discuss them, because at this point it didn’t really matter anyway. The irrevocable damage was done. We also knew the rain was not a good thing now, nor would it be in the long run as time goes by. But, laughably enough, one of us who had the foresight to bring along a Geiger counter reported excitedly, a wide grin on his face, “Hey, it’s okay for now.” No one smiled back. We had a long way to go and we were no more than a mere one hundred and fifty miles north of the remains of the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility releasing massive doses of nuclear radiation from every ruptured reactor cell it had, both internally and from its own filthy poisonous airborne waste.

# Back in the Day

More than fifty years have passed since I first learned that nuclear power plants and weapons of mass destruction were fueled by uranium, an element my well-worn dog-eared Webster’s 1940-something dictionary defined essentially as a “worthless low-level radioactive mineral found in the ground.” The reason I remember this definition is because of a letter I received in early January of 1969 from a mining company in central Wyoming’s “Gas Hills”, oddly named Lucky Mc (pronounced “Lucky Mac”) Mine, inviting me to an employment interview at the mine site and to please call to set up a date and time for the meeting. I had that old broke-spine 1940s Webster’s dictionary on my bookshelf in our small trailer house, so I looked up the definition. What the hell had changed? What were nuclear power plants’ and nuclear bombs’ ingredients if not refined uranium? Of course I was pretty sure I knew the answer. Old timer Webster was ‘dead’ wrong.

The mine, I was told in the letter, was owned by a company known as Utah Construction and Mining Company, which was then best known for building the Hoover Dam, but was now a major player in mining, primarily of coal, iron, and uranium. Intrigued, I found a pay phone at the General Store in Elk Mountain, Wyoming, and made the telephone call.

The interview took place a couple of weeks later in mid-January, and I was offered a job as a senior accountant, which I immediately accepted, ending my old job as a field office manager for a highway construction company that had recently transferred me from Grand Junction, Colorado, to a new project between Laramie and Rawlins in southern Wyoming. So I had set up shop in an office trailer halfway between the two towns, preparing for road construction to begin in early spring.

But having a growing family with two young pre-school children and an infant daughter, I was thankful for the opportunity to settle into a new life in a more permanent location than highway construction offered, so I was pleased to accept the job offer.

As I learned my new job, I soon became the chief accountant and then the administrative manager at the mine, directly overseeing more than one hundred employees white collar employees, accountants, IBM computer operators, warehousemen, and other bean counters. The company grew rapidly in its uranium branch to include a new mine known as the “Shirley Basin Mine,” blossoming Utah Construction and Mining Company into a new and more sophisticated reformed Utah International Inc, and a few years later, a major subsidiary of General Electric Company, which, among other well-known products, manufactured not-so well-known nuclear reactors. Eventually, the uranium mining division was spun off as Pathfinder Mines Corp. to avoid potential conflicts of interest. During those early days, I learned a lot about the mining and milling operations, including security, health and safety, as well as how the fuel production, the multi-step enriching process, governmental regulation, our far-flung nuclear power plant customers, and how the marketing and selling of uranium was accomplished. In the beginning the only customer the company, as well as the entire uranium industry, had was the United States’ Atomic Energy Commission, and we were the major producer and provider of  relatively stable basic enriched uranium (U308), which would be refined into U235, the usual active isotope to fuel nuclear reactors, to the government (including the TVA) until deregulation allowed us to sell mill refined U3O8 uranium to ‘under construction’ or operating l nuclear power plants as well as plants under construction and in development. Our customers were in Germany, France, Canada, and the United States.

One of these new nuclear power stations was Pacific Gas and Electric’s under construction facility, known as the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, in San Luis Obispo County, California, near Avila Beach. The original facility, Unit 1 of course, began construction in 1968 followed by Unit 2 in 1970. During the following decade Utah Construction & Mining Company, by then known as Utah International Inc, profited immensely from our sale of uranium to American, Canadian, French, German, and other nuclear power facilities around the world. Doing business with PG&E was one of my first clues that rules and regulations were meant to be manipulated and broken by aggressive dollar-worshiping utility companies. But that’s another story, part of which I will relate later in the book.

What happened at Diablo Canyon between early 2024 and its planned decommission in late[ 2025, which was politically extended for five more years financed by the taxpayers in California and across the USA, ultimately causing the horrid global devastation that followed just two short years after its original closure date, is what this story is all about, and it shames me every day of my life that I was once a willing contributor to the shape of the macabre issues to come within the nuclear power industry. There are few of us left alive who know the factually complete and chronological entirety of this doomsday tale, but I am thankful and even proud to be one of the few because I have the knowledge and the motivation to relate this horrific tale. I have an absolute moral and ethical obligation to pass my knowledge of this world-class man-made armageddon (spelled here with a small but still doomsday-deadly “a”) event along to those few who will come after the rest of us, hoping to go a different way whether it be for better or for worse. Your choices and your chances are extremely limited, and I wish you, as well as all of “us”, all the best.

At an overly ripe sixty-five years old, as I write this dystopian-like tale, my mind is clear and fixed on the events that led to this catastrophe that with proper regulatory enforcement and diligent responsibility of the American government and industry corporate officials, engineers, and employees might never have happened. A common failure of mankind is to brazenly think of ourselves as collectively invincible, making us just delusional enough to fool ourselves into believing that we are smarter, more imaginative, and more resourceful than Mother Nature. We have proven ourselves wrong about that countless times concerning thousands of vital issues, but through the ages we have made and continue to make the same mistakes repeatedly. Who was the wise man who said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”?

Just the relatively minor accidents at nuclear facilities (most of them politically covered up or not commonly known) over the years including the more well-known Hanford (Richland), Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima—along with the common political knowledge that several nations—not all of whom were American allies — had and still have the ability to cyber-attack our nuclear power plants and our electrical distribution grid systems, ought to have been enough to give us fair warning that — contrary to pseudo-science, corporate greed, political propaganda and public opinion — nuclear power was never safe, but in reality was and is the single most dangerous and destructive power generating concept ever developed for all kinds of reprehensible reasons. When something goes nuclear wrong, it goes irreparably wrong, most likely impossible to control or recover from the impending disaster that will last for several hundreds to a few thousands of years, although the half-life of bismuth radiation has been measured at twenty billion billion (yes, twenty billion-billion), years so we in this lonely corner of the universe might consider ourselves lucky. In 2022 there were four hundred and fifty nuclear power plants operating world-wide and sixty more were under construction. Today, of course, there are none.

Despite Meriam-Webster’s innocent grandfatherly definition of uranium, this same earthly tragedy (but on a much smaller scale) has apparently happened on our planet at least once before — more likely twice — though much hypothetical theory (including Biblical references, quiet speculation, and outright loud conspiracy theories) have been written about the evidence of the possibility, few of us seem to understand or have ever cared that a similar nuclear world with massive devastation actually occurred, at least once, thousands of years ago, nor that the archeological and anthropological scientific community has not investigated, researched, endorsed or even acknowledged the historical evidence. This does not surprise me, but today what scientists and historians believed is immaterial, right or wrong, because now what is left of our world is all that we have to worry and care about — events of the past, rightly so, mean nothing today. We are long past the life-saving threshold of learning from our mistakes, including acknowledging our willful ignorance.

We humans, them or us or mixed together, seem to have been running a rigged three-legged race against one another to rend asunder the entire planet against the natural environmental care and protections of Gaia, the Goddess of Nature and her Mother. In a blind and greedy rush to subconsciously exterminate ourselves and fatally poison our only home — planet Earth and all her abundant bounty — we have, through American style financing of international environmental degradation, hawkish threats of nuclear war, or the patriarchally personalized political, bureaucratic and corporate industrial pandemic earth-cancer super-spreaders that I call those humans who would allow humanity to “freeze to death in the dark.”

I personally heard this same man say this same phrase, with their — often profane — variants, more than just once or twice. The phrase was coined by the President and CEO of a major mining company I was involved with, echoing his indignant objections to public protests over Three Mile Island in beginning in late 1979. Note that all of these doomsday contestants during their race toward human extinction —indeed, by natural extension, including all life — had their in-common triple arsenal of the half-life of airborne nuclear radioactive emissions teamed up with ground and waste water airborne radiation, not to mention fossil fuel CO2 and other greenhouse gases, their three legs at the end entirely unbound, allowing them to overrun the basins and ranges without restrictions, making all of them self-proclaimed “winners” of their race into the likes of Dante’s, or someone’s, infernal Inferno.

(To be continued tomorrow)

---

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/02/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Nuclear War? Climate Collapse? No Worries. WEF Says Disinformation is Humanity’s Most …

Counterpunch

So of course, they regard speech, that is, free speech, as the main threat to their luxurious creature comforts. After all, someone might say …

North Korea is ramping up missile tests as Kim Jung Un weighs war with South Korea

WUNC

… nuclear expert who visited North Korea seven times. … Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR’s award-winning afternoon …

North Korea is ramping up missile tests as Kim Jung Un weighs war with South Korea

Northern Public Radio

Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR’s award-winning afternoon newsmagazine. See stories by Mary Louise Kelly · Fatma Tanis.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Iran begins construction of four new nuclear plants | The Times of Israel

The Times of Israel

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran began construction on four more nuclear power plants in the country’s south, with expected total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, …

Iran Begins Building 4 More Nuclear Power Plants – VOA News

VOA News

Iran begins construction on four more nuclear power plants in the country’s south, with expected total capacity of 5000 megawatts, official IRNA …

Vibrations in cooling system mean new Georgia nuclear reactor will again be delayed

WesternSlopeNow.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Power Co. said Thursday that vibrations found in a cooling system of its second new nuclear reactor will delay when the …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Putin Ally Suggests Moving to Nuclear War – Newsweek

Newsweek

The idea that a nuclear war could break out amid the conflict in Ukraine has been floated by numerous Russian officials.

Artificial intelligence and why human control of nuclear weapons is necessary

Washington Times

… nuclear war. During the Cold War, the U.S. and Soviet militaries believed they had the ability to detect missile launches less than 20 minutes …

Russia has no plans to deploy nuclear arms beyond Belarus, says deputy minister | Reuters

Reuters

… nuclear free” European countries in NATO nuclear missions. He did not … war‘ list. 16 hours ago. Opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Caltrans declares emergency for landslide that suspended San Diego-to-Orange County trains

Del Mar Times

… nuclear power and more. He was the night city editor for the North County Times for about five years until it was purchased by The San Diego Union …

Emergency Management Specialist (Preparedness) – FEMA – Chicago, IL – Dice

Dice

Serving as the primary point of contact (Site Specialist) for the assigned nuclear power plant. Supporting development, coordination, and …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Beyond Midnight: Navigating the Unsettling Landscape of Global Threats – Kroc Institute

Kroc Institute – University of Notre Dame

This representation encompasses a spectrum of dangers, from nuclear explosions to climate change, biological threats, and disruptive technologies like …

Map reveals best places to live in the US if nuclear war breaks out – MSN

MSN

Russia escalated nuclear threats in the midst of its war on Ukraine. North Korea’s nuclear arsenal has also been growing. Last week, were elevated …

Nuclear War? Climate Collapse? No Worries. WEF Says Disinformation is Humanity’s Most …

Counterpunch

Or did they mouth vague platitudes about extreme weather? Yes, bromides were their plat du jour. The most immediate threat to humanity, according to …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

FEB 1, 2024

1

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The PG&E nuclear power plant at Avila Beach. The last operating commercial nuclear power plant in California, or anywhere along the Pacific Coastline from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego in South America.

LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

As promised, this is the 1st Draft of the Introduction to the coming serialized novel to be presented here of “El Nuclear Diablo”, my in-progress tale about what could happen to a nuclear world under attack by cyber espionage or intentionally or accidentally erratic use of nuclear power plants and grids carrying nuclear power generated energy.

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Such a life-threatening doomsday scenario could happen from a disaster due to a terrorist attack, an intentional operational error, or even an ‘act of god’ incident from an earthquake or a hurricane, a typhoon, at a single nuclear power plant that could spread similar to a communicable disease, jeopardizing all life on planet Earth. ~llaw

El Nuclear Diablo

“Let the Bastards Freeze to Death in the Dark” ~ a common Nuclear Industry Quote and rallying cry after the 3-Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979, directed at concerned Scientists, environmentalists, worried citizens, and public protesters

By Lloyd Albert Williams-Pendergraft

Prologue

Juneau, Alaska

Spring, 2028

Does it really matter who, exactly, is to blame, or why humankind is savagely devouring the native resources of planet Earth until there soon will be nothing left but lichenless barren rocks, the barren salty seas, countless grains of sand, and an eternally poisonous atmosphere? It ought not to be enough to simply ask, “Is it a critical unvarnished ugly truth to come?” The question should be more like, “When will it happen and is there no way out of it?”, should it not?

I can only wonder if highly intelligent, but virulent, forms of our human species have, for countless eons, long traveled through the universal cosmos continually seeking, finding, and lavishly consuming, ultimately ravaging the natural resources, the flora and the fauna, devastating the environments of this and former other living rich blue-green planets also once full of fossil fuels and innocently living resources similar to Earth’s in order to ensure and serve their own survival at the expense of all else in their way. Obviously, we are the only species on this planet that rape and ravage the earth with such savagely uncontrolled vigor on such a large scale. We are the ultimate fungus, the ultimate lethal mushrooms. And I have to also wonder if there are not multiple, or at least two species of us — one peaceful, one warlike.

Not to ridicule Darwin at all, but does his theory of evolution, based on studies of inbreeding pigeons and chickens, really make much sense to you in this context? Does it not seem to you that we humans may be collectively aggressively overtly demanding, ruthless, impolite, unwelcome extra-terrestrial galaxy-trotting travelers or invaders doing our parasitic thing here on Earth rather than a native natural-born integral integrated key part of our indigenous evolving homo-sapiens along with the native animal population—as Darwin would have us believe? We could ask, “What about the Octopus, sir? Where did he evolve from?”

Could it be possible we or they are simply biologically genetically patterned to look and act like homo sapiens? Or perhaps vice versa? At least some of us? Maybe even a whole lot of us? How do we know the difference between the real human beings and genetically altered or cloned ones? Which one am I? Which one are you? Do any of us know? I use the terms “we”, “us” or “our” and “they”, or “them”, or “their“ interchangeably here because in this context I don’t know who or what I am—an “us” or a “them”.

I just know that I am extremely uncomfortable with our or their willfully passionate desire to destroy everything on the planet for personal power, wealth, and a life of comfort at the expense of the rest of us or them. I don’t know about you, but it sure seems to be that way to me, so that’s why I consider myself to be an ‘us’.

At the very least we need to consider the possibility of at least one species of ‘them’ and one of ‘us’. The only way we will ever know who we really are is through our unfettered natural mindful emotions—our feelings of love, care, and respect for Planet Earth, ourselves, and all her fauna and flora—or, conversely, our unnatural lack of those emotions or feelings. Yet we often disguise these characteristics, presenting the opposite of ourselves as themselves, or the other way around. But despite the hidden complexity, our human future may depend on solving this psychological dilemma.

If our human demise (at least partially) has happened before, it will likely happen again. And there is, in today’s worlds, a very quick, relatively easy long-lasting, if not eternally, way to create such a scenario as an extinction level event, not from an act of nature or a god, but from our own actions of self-destruction. ~llaw (Winter, 2024)

To be continued: “Before the Beginning of the End”

---

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are noYellowstone Caldera bonus stories available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/01/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Taylor Swift, Drake, BTS and more may have their music taken off TikTok — here’s why | Maine Public

Maine Public

All Things Considered with Robbie Feinberg. Next Up: 6 … “UMG is kind of taking the nuclear option of removing all their music and trying to prove …

Taylor Swift, Drake, BTS and more may have their music taken off TikTok — here’s why

MPR News

All Things Considered · MPR News with Angela Davis … “UMG is kind of taking the nuclear option of removing all their music and trying to prove …

Schoolchildren will grow up with AI and should learn about it, tech insiders say – YouTube

YouTube

6 Must-Have Security Gadgets That Fit in Your Pocket. All Things Secured•1.3M views … How Would a Nuclear EMP Affect the Power Grid? Practical …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

The struggle to meet rising demand for nuclear power – Financial Times

Financial Times

But increasing nuclear energy capacity is not easy. Projects across the globe have been fraught with delays and budget overruns, with the Financial …

The US, Russia and China are in a race to dominate new-wave nuclear energy – CNN

CNN

Russia’s floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, leaving the service base Rosatomflot on August 23, 2019. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters. SMRs are …

Iran begins building 4 more nuclear power plants | AP News

AP News

Iran seeks to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2041. The country has one active nuclear power plant, a 1,000 megawatt plant that went …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Beyond Midnight: Navigating the Unsettling Landscape of Global Threats – Kroc Institute

Kroc Institute – University of Notre Dame

“Climate change and nuclear war are not inevitable. They are human problems that require human solutions. Just as the world has banned torture, …

Opinion | With Pyongyang on war footing, US must quickly defuse nuclear flashpoints

South China Morning Post

… , flashpoints are growing. The US must move to defuse the situation or risk a pyrrhic victory in a nuclear war.

The Unthinkable Looms: Nuclear-Armed Israel is at War – CounterPunch.org

Counterpunch

The attack on Yemen by US, Britain and other forces is a dangerous escalation of the war in the Middle East. The attack is intended to halt the Houthi …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Iran begins building 4 more nuclear power plants – Seattle PI

Seattle PI

Iran seeks to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2041. The country has one active nuclear power plant, a 1,000 megawatt plant that went …

Nuclear War Threats

NEW

Opinion | With Pyongyang on war footing, US must quickly defuse nuclear flashpoints

South China Morning Post

The regime faces external and internal threats. … North Korean constitution change raises threat of nuclear war as it declares South its ‘top enemy’.

An emboldened North Korea is a threat to the region – Washington Times

Washington Times

… threats illustration by Linas Garsys /. North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s … nuclear war.” Last year, Mr. Kim said nuclear weapons would be enshrined …

Iran not seeking war with US but ‘not afraid of it’, says military chief – The Guardian

The Guardian

The IRGC commander-in-chief, Maj Gen Hossein Salami, said: “We hear some threats from American officials about targeting Iran. … nuclear programme and …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

JAN 31, 2024

1

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LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

Tomorrow night I will begin my fictional tale about what can happen to a world of ‘all things nuclear’ in this space to write in serial form new and unique episodes of what I call “El Nuclear Diablo”, adding perhaps one chapter a week here for you to follow. But still the nightly categorical Digest of “All Things Nuclear” with the best consolidated information anywhere for everyone interested in the ongoing world(s) life-threatening use of nuclear energy and the threats of nuclear war will be here for you every evening.

For the 1st time in more than two years I have the time to divert my full attention from the writing, editing, and publishing of a new set of two novels from the old west of the 1880s going to press late this week or early next week. They are titled “The Sweetwater Conspiracy: The Legend of Cattle Kate” with subtitles for volume I “The Emergence” and “The Conspiracy” for volume II. If you are an old west genre fan, this two-volume tome will fill your appetite beyond any western story you have read since Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” back in 1985. Look for it at your favorite online Bookstore, including Amazon, in the coming week or so.

Thanks for reading All Things Nuclear! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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But I will also continue to comment from my points of view about current events in between episodes. If the “Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (which Albert Einstein was instrumental in forming) is good enough to believe “There is still time and that we must ‘demand change”, then who am I to disagree. So long as I am able to see, read and write, and think, I will never give up on the chance to see a nuclear-free world full of hope, unity, love, and peace.

But now back to the “All Things Nuclear” issues provided by my own personal digest courtesy of Google . . . ~llaw

---

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There is 1 Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (01/31/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Inside the world’s first reactor that will power Earth using the same nuclear reaction as the Sun

Euronews.com

So, you’re doing the same thing. You’re crushing pressurisation as well as adding heat and you get an explosion of energy, E = mc². A little amount of …

Interview with Dr. Jürgen Guldner from BMW | Innovation Zone – YouTube

YouTube

SpaceX Is Building The All Seeing Starship Eye! What about it!? New … Why I changed my mind about nuclear power | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxBerlin.

Ontario Power Generation extending life of Pickering Nuclear Generating Station – YouTube

YouTube

Ontario Power Generation is moving ahead with a plan to extend the life of the aging Pickering Nuclear Plant … Living in Montana –Things They Don’t …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Biden to offer $1.5B loan to restart nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan – The Detroit News

The Detroit News

The Biden administration is poised to lend $1.5 billion for what what would be the first restart of a shuttered US nuclear reactor at a nuclear …

Report: Feds will give $1.5 billion to restart Palisades nuclear plant | Bridge Michigan

Bridge Michigan

The federal government is reportedly poised to offer a $1.5 billion loan to re-start the Palisades nuclear plant · The plant’s owner, Holtec …

Report: Feds will give $1.5 million to restart Palisades nuclear plant | Bridge Michigan

Bridge Michigan

The federal government is reportedly poised to offer a $1.5 billion loan to re-start the Palisades nuclear plant; The plant’s owner, Holtec Energy …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Talking about security, U.S. puts Europe at risk of nuclear war – China Military

China Military

In response to the “growing threat from Russia,” the U.S. is planning to station nuclear warheads – three times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb – in …

Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight — time is almost up – Independent Australia

Independent Australia

Nuclear experts are warning that we are at a dangerous level of nuclear annihilation as wars escalate around the world.

Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight — time is almost up – Independent Australia

Independent Australia

Nuclear experts are warning that we are dangerously close to annihilation as wars escalate around the world.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEW

Turbine trip caused shutdown at Peach Bottom plant – York Dispatch

York Dispatch

A shutdown of a nuclear reactor Monday at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power … emergency,” according to the notification. The licensee confirmed there was …

Environmental Protection in New Nuclear Power Programmes | IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency

It aligns more closely with the phased approach and takes into account Revision 1 of IAEA Nuclear Energy Series NG-G-3.1 and highlights the interface …

Finland amends regulations on NPP emergency planning zones

Nuclear Engineering International

Finland’s Radiation & Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK – Säteilyturvakeskus) has adopted a new regulation that no longer stipulates a five-kilometre …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Analysts: North Korea Seeks to Dominate South Korea Through Nuclear Coercion

VOA News

Domestic political and economic instability that threatens his survival could prompt Kim to start a war using the pretext of external threats as an …

The warnings from Greenham Common’s women are as pertinent as ever – The Guardian

The Guardian

… nuclear deterrence that got left out of the BBC documentary. Today, humanity stands on the very dangerous brink of nuclear war, with nuclear threats …

Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight — time is almost up – Independent Australia

Independent Australia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped the year with fresh threats of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

USGS Has 1 U.S. Volcano at WATCH/ORANGE Level; 4 at YELLOW/ADVISORY Today

Weatherboy

… Volcano Observatory, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, and the Northern Mariana Islands Volcano Observatory. Each of those additional volcano …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

JAN 30, 2024

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LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

My thoughts and comments tonight are in response to a friend’s concern that there is nothing that we can do to change the course of human destiny. Following is what she wrote in response to my Post #525 from last night, sans her name because I don’t have her permission to Post it here tonight, but it is also available on m Substack comments from last night. ~llaw

She: Lloyd, This is very discouraging. I am gratified to have information about what is really going on, however, bad news is what it comes to. Countries and their leaders will do what they will. When it comes to the crunch, individuals aren’t those in power. Russia will do what it will to Ukraine, Israel will do what it will to Gaza., etc. I so wish the world would look more hopeful. Besides reading your post, I read this morning that artists, if they protest, are being punished by having their shows cancelled. I’m referring to artists specifically protesting Netanyahu’s turning Gaza into rubble and thousands of Palestinians being killed and starved. This censorship is in the United States where we allegedly have free speech. I don’t see what our options are.

Me: I hear you loud and clear, my dear friend And I understand, and in my heart I know what I would like to witness and live to see, will never happen. But it really could be done if billions of people actually cared and understood their plight and their destiny. Only a rag-tag few of us will ever realize that world peace and harmony is possible. I am no Martin Luther King nor Nelson Mandela. And of course even Jesus Christ died in vain. So realism is as useless as the dreams these men had.

But I will still provide information and comment on genuinely wrongful issues that will never be anything more than a wish. My true hope is that there is something lurking, waiting, in the background, a power we are not aware of that will force the hand of these despots who rule with hatred and malice and for their own self-aggrandizement. I have every intention to turn my commentary into fiction asap, and I’ve mentioned that in a few of my posts, telling a story which is already written in my mind and a lot of it exists in script by hand on paper . . . ~llaw

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ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are 2 Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are 2 Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (01/30/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEW

Discover STEAM Day coming at the Nuclear Science Museum – KRQE

KRQE

Guests will get hands-on interaction and experience with all things Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics (STEAM) related. Some …

With tensions between North and South Korea high, border island could be a flashpoint

KCLU

… nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster. See stories by Anthony Kuhn · On The Air · All Things Considered3:30 PM–6:30 PM. Up …

USD/JPY Technical Analysis for January 30, 2024 by Chris Lewis for FX Empire – YouTube

YouTube

The US dollar continues to pressure the Japanese yen, as we wait for the FOMC meeting on Wednesday. All things being equal, I do think that we go …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Can Small Nuclear Reactors Really Help The Climate?: QuickTake – Bloomberg Law News

Bloomberg Law News

Much of the world has been turning away from nuclear power, with its aging plants, legacy of meltdowns and radioactive waste.

Inside the world’s first reactor that will power Earth using the same nuclear reaction as the Sun

Euronews.com

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project agreement was formally signed in 2006 by the US, EU, Russia, China, India, and …

France will continue to invest in nuclear energy – PM Attal | Reuters

Reuters

France will continue to invest in nuclear power and develop reactors, the country’s prime minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers on Tuesday, …

Nuclear War

NEWS

World War Three is approaching fast, and too few are willing to admit why – Yahoo News

Yahoo News

True, Tehran is probably only a few years away from building nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles. But as its economy tanks, the regime may suspect …

Mass starvation after nuclear war could be partially averted with one specific food

Live Science

A nuclear winter could reduce global calorie production by as much as 90%. But vast kelp farms could help save 1.2 billion lives until …

Nuclear Deterrence Justifies Possession — Threatens Use of World’s Deadliest Weapon

IDN-InDepthNews

… nuclear weapons that has brought the world close to nuclear war on a number of occasions.” Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEW

Doug Ford government to refurbish Pickering nuclear plant as demand for electricity grows

CBC

… nuclear power plant in Canada. (Mike Crawley/CBC). Chris Keefer, a Toronto emergency physician who is president of Canadians For Nuclear Energy …

Taiwan’s Election Has Big Ramifications for Energy Security – The Diplomat

The Diplomat

Lai’s fresh mandate allows him to renew the national dialogue on nuclear energy. The global energy crisis and climate emergency prompted 22 countries, …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

US to Station Nuclear Weapons in UK Amid Growing Russian Threats: Reports

The Defense Post

US to Station Nuclear Weapons in UK Amid Growing Russian Threats: Reports · Preparing for War · A ‘Step Towards Escalation’.

Nuclear Deterrence Justifies Possession — Threatens Use of World’s Deadliest Weapon

IDN-InDepthNews

It is based on the threat to wage nuclear war, which would kill … threats of wider regional conflict and the potential for nuclear escalation become.

The Rising Threat of Kim Jong Un’s North Korea | Opinion – Newsweek

Newsweek

… threats of nuclear escalation and the potential for Chinese … If a limited North Korean attack spiraled into a nuclear exchange or a larger war …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park – WorldAtlas

World Atlas

The park is known for its volcanic activity, as the Yellowstone Caldera that it sits over is a dormant supervolcano. This activity shows itself in …

The volcano that could cause the “end of humanity” is in America: NASA seeks to cool its eruption

Ruetir

In the heart of America is one of the most impressive geological phenomena in the world: the Yellowstone supervolcano, in the United States.t

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLOYD A. WILLIAMS-PENDERGRAFT

JAN 29, 2024

1

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LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:

Tonight’s Post tells you more about my background and why I am anti-nuclear in every respect possible. It should not have ever been discovered, or when discovered never allowed to be used, but left in place in the ground exactly where it came from.

We need more subscribers to “All Things Nuclear”. It is easy and it’s free; just go to one of my daily posts and you will be invited to subscribe. All you need is an email address.

Subscribed

The nuclear situation is becoming extremely more dangerous daily, both from the threats of nuclear war as well as the ridiculous belief that more nuclear power plants are necessary because they are cheap and clean. Neither of those statements are true. The exact opposite is true.

Anything nuclear is a threat to all life on planet Earth and all things nuclear must be entirely removed forever from our existence in both the world’s militaries’ and the commercial power industry’s operations.

I speak from parts of three decades in the commercial nuclear power business, from the mining and milling of uranium, the fuel source, to the selling of the unrefined fuel (U308) to the industry, both in the USA and to other countries. I left the commercial nuclear energy business not long after the ‘Three-Mile Island’ disaster in late 1979 when most nuclear industry corporate leaders, began their desperate war chant to survive, “Let the Bastard Freeze to Death in the Dark”. We were wrong then and we are wrong now. I am truly ashamed, even in my old age, to have worked for many years as a responsible part of the nuclear industry.

So experience and common sense tells me that we are playing with a power source that we don’t fully understand, know how to use properly or safely, and gives the world(s) militaries and/or the commercial nuclear power generating businesses the intentional and/or accidental power of mankind to destroy virtually every living thing on the planet, including Mother Earth herself.

You ask, “Well, what can we do about it?” The probable best and only answer is for humanity to unite in a common global demand directed at the diverse world(s} of our nations’ leaders to “cease and desist and destroy” all things nuclear. Three and a half decades ago the down under country and territory of New Zealand banned by imposing this Act against all things nuclear: The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act 1987 is arguably the strongest anti-nuclear weapon domestic legislation in the world. It bans nuclear weapons and propulsion from New Zealand’s land, sea and airspace out to the country’s 12-mile territorial limits.

The rest of the world(s) must do the same to ensure our own, and other living creatures’, survival as a species. “We the People” are the only known faction that can make this happen. It will take unity from at leas 2.5 billion adults around the world. The Internet can help us do that — nothing else can . . . ~llaw

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ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear War
4. Nuclear Power Emergencies
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (There are 2 Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are 2 Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available at the end of this Post.

(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (01/29/2024):

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Sunday Puzzle: In and Out

wmky.org

All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM The World. 0:00. 0:00. All Things … Aftermath of a nuclear explosion / Slip through a trap door. 5. Contest in …

Labour struggle on green investment plans – YouTube

YouTube

US reportedly to station nuclear weapons in the UK amid Russia threat … Resisting Putin’s war: the women risking it all on the streets of Russia.

Federal notices suggest US may bring its nuclear weapons back to England

Stars and Stripes

In 2019, six locations in Europe were accidentally revealed in a report published by a NATO committee. The report referred to about 150 nuclear …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

The Future of the Zeitenwende: Scenario 5—Poland Becomes a Nuclear Power

Internationale Politik Quarterly

Russia, the largest nuclear power in the world, has made active use of its nuclear arsenal since day one of the war. While nuclear weapons have not …

Halushchenko: Khmelnitsky can become Europe’s most powerful nuclear plant

World Nuclear News

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko says that the process of adding four new units at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant will start …

House Bill 1071 starts groundwork to bring Uranium mining and nuclear power to South Dakota

KEVN

House Bill 1071 will …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Federal notices suggest US may bring its nuclear weapons back to England

Stars and Stripes

… nuclear weapon in the U.S. stockpile since the end of the Cold War. The U.S. is reportedly planning to move nuclear weapons to RAF Lakenheath …

Ukraine To Build 4 Nuclear Reactors As War Hits Power Supply | Barron’s

Barron’s

Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in televised comments that all four new reactors would be at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western …

Talking about security, U.S. puts Europe at risk of nuclear war – CGTN

CGTN

If Washington is sincere about the security of its allies, abandoning the plan to station nuclear warheads in the UK is the first step.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Climate emergency: No official substantiation why India focusing on coal, nuclear power

Counterview

The continuing gaps and lapses in policies and practices within the electricity power sector in particular, and in the larger energy sector in general …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Turning back the clock: Did the Doomsday Clock time tick closer to midnight?

Open Access Government

The Bulletin highlighted numerous threats to this dangerous state, including the Russia-Ukraine war … Nuclear threats. The ongoing conflict between …

Experts react: Three US servicemembers were killed in Jordan. Will the US strike back at Iran?

Atlantic Council

… threats they posed to US forces in the region. Iranian-aligned forces … attack in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The significance of this …

Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv ‘uncovers mass weapons fraud worth £32m’

The Independent

ICYMI: US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat. The US is preparing to station nuclear weapons in …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yes, Yellowstone’s A Supervolcano, But Its Top Scientist Says Stop Calling It That

Cowboy State Daily

Yellowstone is one of the largest volcanoes on the planet and it technically qualifies as a “supervolcano,” but calling it that is misleading, …

Seasonal ground motion in Yellowstone | U.S. Geological Survey – USGS.gov

USGS.gov

A deformation update for Yellowstone caldera—October 2023 edition. Since 2015, Yellowstone caldera has been subsiding at a rate of about 2–3 cm ( …