“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw
On My Mind Today:
Since I’ve not mentioned anything about Yellowstone National Park for months and months, one of literal dozens of my former Wyoming playgrounds, I thought this short article was worthy of how the Geology personnel keeps the part free of human debris and other stuff. ~llaw
(Hats found and retrieved from Yellowstone Lake — See article for explanation! ~llaw
Today’s Featured Article:
The Most Common Trash Removed From Yellowstone Thermal Areas Might Surprise You
Margery Price details how Yellowstone’s Geology Program takes care of the park and cleans up after the four million tourists who visit each year.
By Hunter Reis
News Writer
Sep 15, 2025 3:42 PM EDT
Humans unfortunately tend to litter, even in beautiful and historic places like Yellowstone National Park. While you may suspect plastic water bottles or cigarette butts to be the main offender, it’s actually a peculiar clothing item that gets left behind the most.
In the most recent edition of the Yellowstone Caldera Chronicle, a weekly column written by geologists and scientists from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Margery Price details how Yellowstone’s Geology Program takes care of the park and cleans up after the four million tourists who visit each year.
Hat Pollution Is a Big Problem
“This immense amount of visitor traffic combines with the area’s intense winds to create a near-constant stream of trash and hats that blow into delicate hydrothermal areas,” Price wrote. The Physical Science Technician shares that in 2025 alone, 13,000 pieces of trash were collected throughout the park — including 300 hats.
The hydrothermal ponds that fill Yellowstone park are incredibly dangerous to touch. One 17-year-old visitor fell into a geyser in June and was sent to the hospital with significant burns to his foot and ankle. The extremely hot temperatures of the thermal pools makes retrieving a lost hat pretty much impossible without the right equipment.
“To reach this debris, which is often literally floating in boiling water, the Geology team uses a collection of tools,” Price details, “30-foot grabber poles, to fishing rods and extra-long slotted spoons, the team uses (or creates!) any device necessary to remove items safely.”
Park rangers estimate that around $6,000 worth of hats were lost or left behind in Yellowstone in 2025 alone, including a fake Louis Vuitton bucket hat and a ball cap that reads “I pee in the lake.”
Other Litter Is Even More Time-Consuming to Clean Up
While hats are a fun surprise for the cleanup crew, they’re not the worst of the issue when it comes to manmade pollution in the park. “Nearly all of this litter is unintentional,” says Price, “although sunflower seed shells, orange peels, and other food materials discarded by the occasional visitor accumulate as well and are particularly time-consuming for the team to remove.”
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest” RELATED MEDIA”:
There are 7 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that also play an important role in the survival of human and other life.
The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning 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:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War Threats
- Nuclear War
- Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
- IAEA News (Friday’s only)
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’S ALL NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Tuesday, (09/16/2025)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Next-Gen Nuclear Reactors Are Coming to US, Wright Says – YouTube
YouTube
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright talks about the future of nuclear energy in the US, climate change and exporting more energy.
US Looks to Boost Uranium Reserves for Nuclear Power – Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance
… nuclear reactors, which generate about a fifth of US electricity. … Select ‘All‘ to see top events in other countries or view all events. View …
US and UK expected to sign nuclear energy deal during Trump visit – The Hill
The Hill
Opponents of nuclear energy express concerns about potential radiation … See all Hill.TV See all Video. Top Stories. See All · Court Battles.
Nuclear Power
NEWS
US Looks to Boost Uranium Reserves for Nuclear Power – Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s comments underscore the Trump administration’s plans to promote nuclear energy as the demand for power soars …
UK and US unveil nuclear energy deal ahead of Trump visit – BBC News
BBC
The key focus of the so-called Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy is to make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power …
US Looks to Boost Strategic Uranium Reserve for Nuclear Power – Bloomberg.com
Bloomberg.com
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright comments underscore the Trump administration’s plans to promote nuclear energy as the demand for power soars with the …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Constellation to Test Emergency Sirens Week of Sept. 15-19 – Oswego County
Oswego County
The Nine Mile Point Clean Energy Center is a dual‑unit nuclear power facility that produces enough carbon‑free electricity to power the equivalent of …
Big Tech data centers may face power cuts in emergencies – Maryland Daily Record
Maryland Daily Record
Rising energy demand from Big Tech data centers could force power reductions during grid emergencies to prevent blackouts and high bills.
UAE showcases peaceful nuclear success as global officials tour FANR – Gulf News
Gulf News
… nuclear and radiological emergencies. They also engaged in … All four units of the Barakah nuclear power plant are now fully operational.
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Nuclear Danger Remains in Ukraine Peace Settlement – Global Security Review
Global Security Review
… threat and a step toward war. Most recently, Medvedev again warned against nuclear danger by referring to the American television series The …
WW3 fears explode as Putin attack dog issues chilling threat to RAF Typhoon pilots | World
Daily Express
We must consider these planes, each of their takeoffs for us is the beginning of a nuclear war.” The threats from Kremlin-controlled me after ..
Russia and Belarus Stage Simulated Nuclear Strike During Zapad-2025 War Games
The Moscow Times
Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko latewr asked Moscow to station the missile system in his country, citing threats from NATO members Poland, …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Russia shows off conventional and nuclear military might in drills — and raises tensions with NATO
ABC News – The Walt Disney Company
… War II.” Rutte branded Moscow’s action as “reckless” as he announced a … nuclear attack. Russian state media boasted that it would take the …
Moscow and Minsk rehearse launch of nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus, Lukashenko says
Reuters
Russia and Belarus are rehearsing the launch of Russian tactical nuclear weapons as part of joint war games, Belarusian leader Alexander …
Russia shows off conventional and nuclear military might in drills — and raises tensions with NATO
Star Tribune
One year ago this month, Putin outlined a revision of Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, noting that any nation’s conventional attack on Russia that is …
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
The Most Common Trash Removed From Yellowstone Thermal Areas Might Surprise You
Men’s Journal
In the most recent edition of the Yellowstone Caldera Chronicle, a weekly column written by geologists and scientists from the Yellowstone Volcano …
The Startling Number Of Hats Yellowstone Employees Have Recovered From Thermal Areas
Wide Open Spaces
… Yellowstone National Park Geology Program, wrote in a weekly Yellowstone Caldera Chronicle story. Yellowstone Caps. Employees frequently clean up …