NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Dec 09, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS WE FACE TODAY AND THEIR RISKS FOR TOMORROW

The following “Newsweek” article may be one of the most optimistic views I have read recently about the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Russia/Ukraine war —especially considering that nuclear power plants are already a part of this war — both in Ukrain4 and Russian territories. To me, that means this is already a nuclear war, complete with the innocent citizens who may be potentially “starved and frozen to death in the dark” (to paraphrase an old 3-Mile Island nuclear industry slogan ridiculing the danger of the accident and denying obvious reality at the time).

The author, Dan White, presents three scenarios in his story that present a weak and indecisive Putin, but also acknowledges his “habit of distorting the truth.”, which prompts me to think of a 4th scenario that is not mentioned at all in the article, but we all know it is the most serious scenario of all. And that is the coming involvement of re-elected U.S./ president Trump, who is also careless with the truth, beginning in late January. He was, during his 1st presidency, partially responsible for Putin’s invasion creating the current edition of the Russia/Ukraine war, and has foolishly claimed that he can “end the current war in “one day” after taking office. What the hell does that mean? To me, it means that he will support Putin’s Russia over the young Ukraine democracy. Trump’s time frame to end the war is also an outright nonsensical lie, of course

So it is, that Putin will most likely do nothing more than he is already doing to Ukraine until Trump is sworn in and then we can all shake in our boots to see what will happen next. I don’t know about nuclear weapons of mass destruction joining the fray, but I’m nervous as hell that it will . . . and that will be the beginning of the end. ~llaw

3 Signs Show if Putin Is Getting Serious About Using Nuclear Weapons | Opinion

Published Dec 09, 2024 at 12:04 PM ESTUpdated Dec 09, 2024 at 12:12 PM EST

01:09

Watch: Ukraine Hits Russian Troops With Daring Raid Behind Enemy Lines

By Dan White

Russian nuclear saber-rattling, which has threatened the world since the start of the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, recently reached a fever pitch in the wake of authorizations for Ukraine to use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. On Nov. 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law expanded criteria for the use of nuclear weapons, reserving “the right to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack” and to consider “any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.” Two days later the Russian military punctuated these threats with a dramatic demonstration of its potential to deliver a massive nuclear response by launching an “Oreshnik” intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine.

The moves have been hailed by Russian hawks such as Sergey Karaganov, who has long argued for a preemptive strike on the West using “God’s weapon” to save civilization from the “anti-human ideology” of liberal democracy. While high on menace these actions have ultimately been low on substance. Putin’s latest nuclear threats do not represent a fundamental change in Russia’s nuclear posture. Not yet at least.

It would be a mistake to dismiss Russia’s nuclear threats entirely. There are conditions under which Putin, like the leader of any nuclear power, would authorize a nuclear strike. The actual circumstances under which Putin might consider it almost certainly remain narrow despite the newly revised policy. These exact conditions can’t be discerned by analyzing official statements alone. Such statements are easy to make, and easy to retract, especially for Putin who has a habit of distorting the truth. Analysis is better directed toward identifying ways in which Putin might adopt what Nobel laureate and Cold Warrior Thomas Schelling has described as “commitment strategies,” which could bind him to a decision to use nukes.

Credible commitments, whether in marriage or in nuclear war, require a surrender of alternatives. Despite his bluster, Putin has not shown a willingness to truly constrain his decision making and continually exhibits great creativity in escalating the war in Ukraine by other means, such as involving North Korean troops. This flexibility could change, and attention should be paid to three possible scenarios in which Putin might raise the stakes by deliberately closing off non-nuclear options.

The first scenario is a decision by Putin to handcuff himself to automatic nuclear responses to specific actions by Ukraine or the West. Russia’s new nuclear doctrine has lowered the threshold for considering using nuclear weapons but still does not provide definite criteria for their use. Putin has himself never committed to nuclear retaliation as an option of first resort either. He has always provided himself flexibility by framing threats with cryptic language, such as warning of “consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.” Adopting more direct threats of “you do this, we respond with nukes,” would give Putin less room to back down.

A second, more dangerous commitment Putin could make is to take the decision to use tactical nuclear weapons out of his hands entirely and delegate the authority to battlefield commanders. This move would require taking low-yield nuclear warheads out of storage and mounting them on bombs or missiles for use as a battlefield weapon, a more complicated and dangerous process than it would first appear. The readying of nuclear weapons would incentivize a NATO preemptive strike to eliminate them—a reasonable move considering Russia’s repeated insinuations of possible nuclear attack on European capitals, and the difficulty of intercepting missiles once they are fired. To deter possible preemption, the Russian military would likely raise the readiness of its more powerful strategic nuclear forces. These escalatory moves would be mirrored by NATO, which would have to prepare to respond first in the event of a general nuclear exchange. The high potential for all of this to get out of hand makes any decision to decentralize control of nuclear weapons a credible step toward their actual use, not a bluff.

Finally, Putin could greenlight new nuclear testing as a way of rolling back norms around nuclear weapons. That Putin has not yet taken even this relatively minor step toward breaking the nuclear taboo indicates a broader strategic rationale for abstaining from nuclear use. At the top of these bigger strategic considerations is a need to retain the favor of major international partners such as India and China. Both countries have vigorously expressed their opposition to Russian nuclear use. Bucking the interests of his most valuable partners to resume nuclear testing, would indicate a determination by Putin to win the war at any cost, and represent a step toward making nuclear weapons one of the means for doing it.

Russia’s provocative actions provide unsettling reminders that the risk of nuclear war resulting from its invasion of Ukraine is real. But so far Putin has avoided committing himself to policy options that would make nuclear use a real likelihood.

Dan White is a Program Associate at The Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute.

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS are also added below by category, to Monday’s news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Monday, (12/09/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Artificial Intelligence wants to go nuclear. Will it work? – Nevada Public Radio

Nevada Public Radio

All Things · Culture · Food and Drink · The Guide · All Things · Culture · Food and … Across the tech sector, companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon …

Artificial Intelligence wants to go nuclear. Will it work? – Lakeshore Public Media

Lakeshore Public Media

Weekend All Things Considered. Next Up: 5:00 PM It’s Been a Minute. 0:00 … Across the tech sector, companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta …

Artificial Intelligence wants to go nuclear. Will it work? – WXPR

WXPR

All Things Outdoors · Arts in the Spotlight · The Extra · Field Notes · Health … Across the tech sector, companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Artificial Intelligence wants to go nuclear. Will it work? – NPR

NPR

Nuclear power offers a way out: plants like Three Mile Island can deliver hundreds of megawatts of power without producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Artificial Intelligence wants to go nuclear. Will it work? – WYPR

WYPR

Bryan Hanson, chief generation officer at Constellation Energy, says AI data centers require large amounts of power 24/7. “It’s a perfect match for …

Has Nuclear Energy Finally Overcome the Chernobyl Disaster? | OilPrice.com

Oil Price

Major nuclear accidents like Chornobyl and Fukushima have significantly impacted the global perception of nuclear power, hindering its potential …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Illogical disaster plans undercut Shimane nuclear plant’s return | The Asahi Shimbun

asahi.com

“I didn’t want the plant to restart,” said Kyoko Kobayashi, 65, who lives 12 km from the plant. If an emergency were to occur, she would need to …

We must consider the options to nuclear power because it matters | Letters to the Editor

Jackson County Sentinel

As a matter of fact, the Browns Ferry reactors did not shut down properly, but experienced problems during the tornado SCRAM – a sudden emergency …

CSIRO reaffirms nuclear power likely to cost twice as much as renewables – ABC News

ABC

In short: The CSIRO’s new GenCost report again says a nuclear power plant for Australia would likely cost twice as much as renewable energy.

Nuclear War

NEWS

Nuclear weapons must never be used, Nagasaki survivor tells Putin before Nobel ceremony

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not truly understand the destructive power of nuclear weapons, a 92-year-old survivor of the atomic bombing …

What would World War III look like? – Newsweek

Newsweek

Military experts weigh in on the ways that a potential global conflict might start and play out, including major players and how soon nuclear …

Nobel laureate warns Putin about danger of nuclear weapons – France 24

France 24

On November 21, Moscow fired its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in an escalation of the almost three-year war. The …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

3 Signs Vladimir Putin Is Getting Serious About Using Nuclear Weapons | Opinion

Newsweek

Russian nuclear saber-rattling, which has threatened the world since the start of the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, recently reached a …

Nobel laureate warns Putin about danger of nuclear weapons – France 24

France 24

… atomic bomb survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo, on Monday urged Russia to stop issuing nuclear threats in a bid to prevail in its war in Ukraine.

Nobel Peace Prize winner urges Putin to understand destructiveness of nuclear weapons

ABC News – The Walt Disney Company

It also noted that threats are being made to use the weapons in ongoing warfare, an apparent reference to Russia’s threats amid its war in Ukraine.

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Earthquake Rattles Yellowstone Region, Measured 61 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana

Country Herald

Geologists monitor seismic activity in the Yellowstone area closely, as it sits above a massive volcanic caldera. While this quake posed no …

SATURDAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, (12/07/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

A.I. energy demands fuel calls to restart idle nuclear reactor | Watch – MSN

MSN

… nuclear energy. NBC News’ Tom Winter gained exclusive access to the … 7 Things Our …

China insists nuclear stance defensive after ‘routine’ ICBM launch – Eastern Progress

Eastern Progress

Stay up to date and informed on everything that is happening at Eastern Kentucky University! Subscribe to the Eastern Progress newsletter for free …

“Peacecraft” and the Nuclear Policy Dilemma | The Duck of Minerva

The Duck of Minerva

And this leads to the underlying idea in how I think about nuclear risk reduction, which can be summarized simply as “peacecraft. … all the other …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

A.I. energy demands fuel calls to restart idle nuclear reactor – YouTube

YouTube

Energy demand is surging as experts highlight the massive power needed to fuel A.I.’s rapid growth. With this rising demand, some are advocating …

Is nuclear energy making a comeback? New regulations may signal a shift

The Economic Times

India aims to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2030, incorporating Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to complement traditional plants and address …

Nuclear reactor in Japan’s Matsue restarted for 1st time since 2012 – Kyodo News

Kyodo News

The only nuclear plant located in a Japanese prefectural capital is restarted in the city of Matsue after meeting stricter safety requirements …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

TVA will hold emergency drill at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant on Wednesday

Chattanooga Times Free Press

There may be more activity at TVA’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant next week, but it’s all part of a regular drill the federal utility does to test its …

Major Mistakes People Make During Earthquake Emergencies | Watch – MSN

MSN

“Man Builds Nuclear Reactor in Backyard to Power Home, FBI Steps in”. “Did You Know is your go-to outlet for amazing facts and mind-blowing …

IAEA Reviews Philippines’ Nuclear Infrastructure Progress – Mirage News

Mirage News

… reactor at the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). However, the plant … power plant , IAEA , emergency preparedness , industrial , management ..

Nuclear War

NEWS

World War III fears real? These US cities would be obliterated in a nuclear attack, claims new map

The Economic Times

The geopolitical situation across the world is quite intense at the moment, with no saying as to where things may land in the coming days.

Iran’s uranium enrichment ‘worrisome’ – UN nuclear watchdog – BBC

BBC

The IAEA agency says Tehran’s nuclear programme has “spawned in every direction” over the last decade.

Iran’s nuclear leap “extremely serious”, hurts diplomacy, Western source says | Reuters

Reuters

Israel and Hamas at War · Japan · Middle East · Ukraine and Russia at War … nuclear power generation or, potentially, nuclear weapons. “The …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling – The Express Tribune

The Express Tribune

… nuclear war “extremely unlikely”. From an academic point of view, the Russian threat of using nuclear weapons over the US-led NATO’s military …

Putin’s Strategy Tests Europe’s Defense Limits – Wilson Center

Wilson Center

… war footing. Many experts express concern that Western, and … Moscow’s Threats of Nuclear Escalation Reveal Lack of EU and U.S. Preparedness.

Senior commander warns of ‘third nuclear age’ | World News – Jamaica Gleaner

Jamaica Gleaner

… threats in check. Admiral Tony Radakin … While the Cold War saw two superpowers held at bay by nuclear deterrence and the past three …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

2020 Idaho quake prompts studies to better understand fault near Sawtooth Mountains

Montana Standard

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s …

Mag. 2.6 quake – – 50 km W of Petrolia, CA, on Friday, Dec 6, 2024, at 09:07 pm (GMT -8)

Volcano Discovery

… caldera, and Ijen in East Java. Germany · Germany. Photos … Yellowstone quakes · Yellowstone quakes. Latest earthquakes under Yellowstone volcano

SUNDAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, (12/08/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

US Military Alarmed by Russian Nuclear Weapon Platform in Orbit – Yahoo

Yahoo

… about what it contains have made those concerns all the greater. Launched in February 2022 just a few weeks before Ukraine was invaded, Russia’s …

Bunker Talk: Let’s Talk About All The Things We Did And Didn’t Cover This Week

The War Zone

In other words, it’s an off-topic thread. The caption to this week’s top shot reads: Storage-tunnel for nuclear missiles at an abandoned soviet …

Nuclear Energy: The Overlooked Energy Solution – Modern Diplomacy

Modern Diplomacy

While not the solution to all our energy concerns, nuclear energy can help ease the energy demand and supplement existing energy consumption.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

CSIRO refutes Coalition case nuclear is cheaper than renewable energy due to operating life

The Guardian

A draft GenCost report – the national science agency’s annual assessment of electricity costs – dismissed arguments by nuclear proponents that the …

Nuclear Energy: The Overlooked Energy Solution – Modern Diplomacy

Modern Diplomacy

While not the solution to all our energy concerns, nuclear energy can help ease the energy demand and supplement existing energy consumption.

Iran’s nuclear leap ‘extremely serious’, Western source says – Reuters

Reuters

… nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The … nuclear power generation or, potentially, nuclear weapons. Responding …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

As the local stock market faltered after the emergency martial law crisis, a third of all listed sto.. – MK

mk.co.kr

Nuclear power plant stocks such as HankOR Oilfield (265 won) and Woojin Ntech (14,140 won) also showed new low prices one after another. This is …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Ukraine war latest: US announces new $1bn weapons package for Kyiv – The Independent

The Independent

Ukraine Russia war latest news updates. … Anatoly Matviychuk, a Russian military expert, said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear …

Ukraine war latest: Putin’s top general calls US military chief in highly unusual move amid …

Sky News

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia will use “any means” to avoid defeat in the conflict and that the US must respect Moscow’s “red …

The Russian nuclear threat is looming once more | The Spectator

The Spectator

The West is once again engaged in a new Cold War with Russia where the threat of the use of nuclear missiles is real.

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

The Russian nuclear threat is looming once more | The Spectator

The Spectator

The West is once again engaged in a new Cold War with Russia where the threat of the use of nuclear missiles is real.

Map reveals safest states during a nuclear attack on US soil – Daily Mail

Daily Mail

If Vladimir Putin were to follow through on his threats, the below map shows the states most and least at risk of a nuclear attack. The Midwest ..

China is secretly stockpiling nuclear weapons – what the UK needs to do in response

iNews

Sir Richard Moore, Britain’s spy chief, is not the first world leader to be alarmed at the dangers posed by the war … “Russia’s repeated threats of …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

UNM physics student earns highly competitive NSF/USGS internship

UNM Newsroom – The University of New Mexico

He will be working on building a new capability in the PyLith modeling software to build models of surface deformation at the Yellowstone Caldera.

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Dec 06, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS STORY TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

This article will help explain my negative statements in yesterday’s posts about the risks involved in the concepts of Artificial Intelligence (AI), referring to its development by humans for humans, as “the blind leading the blind”. The threat of AI applies in all things nuclear — especially relevant to nuclear power plants and nuclear war management. This well-written article does not ignore the nuclear reactor power operational threats that exist in much the same manner as with nuclear weapons.

It is well known that AI could eventually put the human being itself along with our input and common-sense influence aside and create its own superhuman like intellectual and physical functions, including robotics that are far superior to humanity in both physical and mental capacity that could reduce our species to a minor life-level of living organisms. Or even worse — exterminate us . . . ~llaw

Beyond Human-in-the-Loop: Managing AI Risks in Nuclear Command-and-Control

Alice Saltini and Yanliang Pan

December 6, 2024

Commentary

On Nov. 16, U.S. and Chinese leaders met on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, jointly affirming “the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.” This declaration echoes a joint document submitted by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States during the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review process in 2022.

With countries increasingly prioritizing military applications of AI, integrating AI into nuclear weapons systems is becoming a distinct possibility, especially as nuclear arsenals undergo modernization. While some nuclear-weapon states have emphasized the importance of maintaining human oversight and control over decisions to employ nuclear weapons, it is too early to take a victory lap. Avoiding a “Skynet” scenario, where AI takes independent control of nuclear weapons, does little to reduce the real risks of unintended nuclear launches.

AI holds the promise of enhancing the performance and capabilities of nuclear command, control, and communications systems, which form the backbone of nuclear decision-making. However, if integrated with haste and without adequate risk assessment, safeguards, and redundancies, such integration could dramatically heighten the risk of unintended nuclear escalation. Escalation risks can arise from altered decision-making dynamics, accelerated processing speeds that outpace human supervision, or insidious errors that can propagate undetected through complex systems — regardless of whether humans remain in the decision-making loop.

To prevent nuclear calamity and ensure the responsible use of AI in nuclear command-and-control, states should move beyond mere prescriptive commitments to human oversight. Reducing the risk of unintended nuclear escalation requires a governance framework that establishes a quantitative threshold for the maximum acceptable probability of an accidental nuclear launch as a uniform safety benchmark. Valuable governance lessons can be drawn from civil nuclear safety regulation, in particular what regulators refer to as the “risk-informed” and “performance-based” safety governance approach. Applying these principles to nuclear command-and-control systems requires moving beyond the simplistic human-in-the-loop prescription to focus on assessing the system’s safety performance. The objective is to assess the quantitative likelihood of an accidental nuclear launch with a particular configuration of AI and non-AI subsystems and to ensure that that likelihood remains securely below an acceptable threshold.

AI’s Impact on Nuclear Risks

Assessing how AI can impact the nuclear domain and contribute to unintended escalation is no easy task. The current limited understanding of the behavior of AI models, their rapid and unpredictable advancement, and the complexity and opacity of nuclear systems and subsystems that feed into the decision-making process make this discussion largely speculative. Despite this, it is still possible to foresee how states might consider implementing AI as part of broader efforts to modernize aging nuclear arsenals based on existing nuclear postures and states’ desire to gain a strategic advantage.

For instance, Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, has pointed to AI’s potential to automate data collection, streamline processing, and accelerate data sharing with allies. Similarly, official statements and documents from other nuclear powers often frame AI as a tool to assist human decision-makers to make faster and more informed decisions, beyond the nuclear domain.

In principle, AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data from diverse sources is well-suited to identify threats quickly, analyze sensor data, automate the identification of objects, and evaluate potential courses of action. However, AI introduces a number of significant risks due to the inherent limitations of today’s advanced AI models.

First, AI is unreliable. Today’s AI can confidently generate false information that can lead to flawed predictions and recommendations, ultimately skewing decision-making. This phenomenon is termed “hallucinations.” Examples include a large language model generating incorrect facts about historical events, or a vision model “seeing” objects that are not there. Second, the opacity of AI systems — known as the “black box” problem — makes it difficult to fully understand how an AI system reaches its conclusions. This lack of transparency undermines trust and reduces the utility of AI in high-stakes environments like nuclear decision-making, where transparency is crucial. Third, AI systems are susceptible to cyberattacks, creating opportunities for adversaries to compromise the integrity of nuclear command-and-control systems. Finally, current AI models struggle to align outputs with human goals and values, potentially deviating from strategic objectives. The high-pressure environment of nuclear decision-making, combined with limited response time, exacerbates these dangers, as decisions may rely on inaccurate, opaque, compromised, or misaligned information.

Despite the declarations of some nuclear-armed states to maintain human control in nuclear decision-making, not all of them have explicitly committed to this, leaving room for grave consequences due to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of countries’ intent. But even if all nuclear states made similar declarations, there is no simple way to verify these commitments. Moreover, human–machine interaction itself can introduce severe risks. Operators may place excessive trust in an AI system, relying on its outputs without sufficient scrutiny, or they may distrust it entirely, hesitating to act when speed is critical. Both situations can skew decision-making processes even when AI systems function as intended. All of these limitations persist even when states maintain human oversight.

Further compounding these risks is the uncertainty surrounding AI’s future advancements. While current limitations may eventually be resolved, new risks could also emerge that remain unpredictable at this stage.

The Precedent of Civil Nuclear Safety Regulation

While the risks of AI-integrated command-and-control may seem novel, the management of nuclear risks with severe consequences for public health and safety is not a new challenge for governments. Indeed, the principles of risk-informed, performance-based, and technology-neutral regulation — drawn from the governance of civil nuclear safety — may usefully apply to the nexus of AI and nuclear command-and-control.

In the United States, the process of “risk-informing” the regulation of nuclear safety began with the 1975 Reactor Safety Study. This quantified the risks of accidents and radioactive releases associated with nuclear power generation using probabilistic-risk-assessment techniques such as event trees and fault trees. Simply put, these techniques map out the various sequences of cascading events, including system failures, that could ultimately lead to an accident, allowing the probabilities of various consequences to be quantified.

Prior to the quantification of risks, regulations were based primarily on prescriptive and deterministic requirements. For instance, regulators prescribed multiple redundant safety features to prevent certain foreseen accidents without explicitly considering the likelihood of any given accident sequence. After the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expanded its research into the more extensive application of probabilistic-risk-assessment techniques. This was recommended by investigations after the accident, culminating in a 1995 policy statement and subsequent plans to “risk-inform” the commission’s safety regulation.

Meanwhile, industry pushed for the more extensive use of performance-based regulation giving the licensee greater flexibility in determining how to accomplish a defined safety goal. Rather than specifying what safety features must be included in the reactor design, a performance-based regulatory requirement would simply establish a quantifiable safety outcome. In its public communication, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission illustrates its performance-based approach using a skydiving example. In this case, the regulator would institute a “performance requirement” that “the parachute must open above an altitude of 5,000 feet” without specifying whether that outcome should be ensured with a rip-cord or an automatic activation device.

Guided by the qualitative safety goal that nuclear power plant operation should not contribute significantly to individual and societal risks, by 1986 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had defined a measurable benchmark that “the overall mean frequency of a large release of radioactive materials to the environment from a reactor accident should be less than 1 in 1,000,000 per year of reactor operation.” That benchmark has since been refined into more operationalizable standards.

In recent years, as diverse and novel reactor concepts emerged, it became clear that many safety features prescribed for traditional reactors were no longer applicable. Regulators have therefore prioritized the development of technology-neutral regulations allowing greater flexibility in how reactor designs could satisfy safety performance benchmarks. In this context, the probabilistic-risk-assessment techniques and performance-based regulatory approach developed over the decades have proven critical for ensuring the adaptation of safety governance to technological advancement.

Subscribed

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Friday, (12/06/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

World on brink of third nuclear age, UK military chief warns | CNN

CNN

The world is at the brink of a third nuclear age, the head of the United Kingdom’s armed forces has warned.

Vladimir Putin’s Nuclear Bluff – WSJ

WSJ

But Russian political analyst Maksim Katz observed recently: “Everything we know about Vladimir Putin tells us that such a decision is unlikely.” “For …

Risk of Iran Building Nuclear Weapons Grows, U.S. Intelligence Says – WSJ

WSJ

… about Tehran’s nuclear work. The intelligence report, released late … All Things with Kim Strassel | opinion. Opinion: Biden Buyer’s Remorse.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Understanding Nuclear Energy with C4E’s ‘Nuclear 101’ Conversation – SBU News

SBU News – Stony Brook University

The Nuclear 101 presentation addressed the resurgence of nuclear power plants to address the growing need for power including the dramatic need for …

IAEA Looks to Expand Successful Global Nuclear Power Capacity Building Projects

International Atomic Energy Agency

Today, over 30 ‘newcomer’ countries are considering introducing nuclear power to mitigate climate change while strengthening energy security and …

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Companies Are Going Nuclear: Here Are 3 Energy Stocks You Should Know

Yahoo Finance

With the growing demand for carbon-free nuclear power, Constellation Energy is one solid stock to own to capitalize on these trends. 2. Cameco. Cameco …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Tennessee Valley Authority to share emergency training results at public meeting

Local 3 News

TVA along with other federal, state, and local agencies will conduct the training at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant on Wednesday, December 11.

AEP holds community open house on nuclear reactor project – WDBJ

WDBJ

… power homes and …

Texas Winter Could See More Rolling Blackouts | Dallas Observer

Dallas Observer

… power outages on renewable energy sources, claiming wind … energy emergencies that accompany them, support for expanding nuclear energy grows.

Nuclear War

NEWS

‘At the dawn of a third nuclear age,’ senior U.K. commander warns – CTV News

CTV News

Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the defence staff, said Britain needs to recognize the seriousness of the threats it faces, even if there is only a …

Biden Nuclear Weapons Employment Guidance Leaves Nuclear Decisions to Trump

Federation of American Scientists

The public report summarizes a classified employment guidance reportedly issued by President Joseph Biden in April and was submitted to Congress as …

Beyond Human-in-the-Loop: Managing AI Risks in Nuclear Command-and-Control

War on the Rocks

… nuclear war, regardless of whether humans are in the proverbial loop. They should also take the lead in researching probabilistic-risk-assessment …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

We are now living in ‘third nuclear age’ of expanding threats and arsenals, U.K. military chief warns

Yahoo

Adm. Tony Radakin says Russia’s nuclear threats and China’s expanding arsenal tossed the world into a new era. … nuclear weapons after the Cold War, …

Putin’s chilling map showing the 14 US cities Russia could nuke amid World War 3 fears

Irish Star

Vladimir Putin warned the West about the dangers of nuclear war in his State of the Union address … Despite only vague threats of nuclear war from the …

Senior UK Commander Warns of ‘Third Nuclear Age’ – USNews.com

USNews.com

… threats in check … While the Cold War saw two superpowers held at bay by nuclear deterrence and the past ..

IAEA Weekly News

6 December 2024

Read the top news and updates published on IAEA.org this week.

5 December 2024

Update 263 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Ukraine’s three operating NPPs have largely restored their electricity production after sharply reducing output last week as a precautionary step due to renewed attacks on the country’s increasingly fragile energy grid, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the IAEA said today. Read more →

5 December 2024

IAEA Building “Strong Cooperation” with Uzbekistan in Nuclear Energy and Health

The IAEA Director General has been in Uzbekistan this week as part of ongoing support to the country’s plans to harness nuclear science for its development, including through SMRs and a new cancer hospital. Read more →

4 December 2024

The Nuclear Fuel Producer in Romania is Committed to Safety, IAEA Review Says

A recent IAEA assessment mission to a nuclear fuel plant in Romania, concluded that the country had implemented nuclear safety measures in line with the IAEA safety standards. Read more →

3 December 2024

IAEA Profile: Harnessing Technology to Build Connections and Protect Data

“I was fascinated by the idea that someone on one side of the world could communicate with someone on the other side because of technology. It really spoke to me,” says Rutendo Zvirawa, reflecting on what inspired her to pursue a career in information technology. Read more →

2 December 2024

Bolivia to Srengthen Cancer Control Systems Based on Review Mission Recommendations

Bolivia has taken a critical step towards strengthening its cancer control system by hosting an imPACT Review mission led by the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Read more →

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Dec 05, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

I have posted two, perhaps contradictive, news stories from today’s LLAW’a ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA. The 1st is a non-controversial report from “World Nuclear News” (wnn) about Meta/]Facebook sending requests for proposals (RFPs) to potential nuclear power provider partners in their future AI development . The requests are for 1 to 4 GW (gigawatts) of nuclear produced power, which is a tremendous amount of power at either end of the request, probably meaning that Meta/Facebook has no idea how much power they will need by 2030, but apparently that seems to be okay with them so long as they have contracts for their nuclear power needs.

According to the 2nd article by “Environment Maine” with researchers from the 100% Renewable Energy, Environment America Research & Policy Center and The Public Interest Network explains why Meat/Facebook’s requests are “misguided”. I would also say they are premature (for reasons that may be considered sinister, including those from the previous technology companies Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

My personal concerns about the future of AI and its absolute control over ourselves have be redoubled . . . If there is such a thing as the “blind leading the blind”, this is it. ~llaw

Facebook owner Meta seeks up to 4 GW nuclear capacity

Wednesday, 4 December 2024

Meta is the latest tech company to seek nuclear as an energy source for its growing data needs as it seeks proposals for as much as 4 GW of nuclear capacity in the USA by the early 2030s.

The company, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among its brands, is releasing a request for proposals “to identify nuclear energy developers to help us meet our AI innovation and sustainability objectives”.

The target is between 1 and 4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity in the USA. “We are seeking developers with strong community engagement, development, and permitting, and execution expertise that have development opportunities for new nuclear energy resources – either small modular reactors or larger nuclear reactors,” the notice announcing the request for proposals (RFP) says.

It adds “we are taking an open approach with this RFP so we can partner with others across the industry to bring new nuclear energy to the grid”. Qualification to be considered closes on 3 January with initial RFP proposals due by 7 February.

In a blog post providing further background, it says: “We are looking to identify developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units, both to provide for Meta’s future energy needs and to advance broader industry decarbonisation. We believe working with partners who will ultimately permit, design, engineer, finance, construct, and operate these power plants will ensure the long-term thinking necessary to accelerate nuclear technology.”

Meta says that nuclear energy is more capital intensive, takes longer to develop, has more regulatory requirements and has a longer operational life so “we need to engage nuclear energy projects earlier in their development lifecycle and consider their operational requirements when designing a contract. And, as scaling deployments of nuclear technology offers the best chance of rapidly reducing cost, engaging with a partner across projects and locations will allow us to ensure that we can deploy strategically”.

The decision of the Facebook-owner to bring on its own nuclear energy supply follows in the footsteps of fellow tech giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon, and is the result of the vast energy needs required for huge and growing data centres with artificial intelligence developments set to push those energy requirements even higher. As with renewables, nuclear provides carbon free power, but crucially it also provides that power round-the-clock, which is a key requirement of data centres.

STATEMENT: Meta misguided in calling for massive nuclear energy scale-up

Nuclear power risks

Media Statements

December 4, 2024

Media Contacts

Johanna Neumann

Senior Director, Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, Environment America Research & Policy Center

Jon Maunder

Media Relations Specialist, The Public Interest Network

BOSTON — Meta announced a request for proposals (RFP) on Tuesday, asking energy developers to respond with plans to build 1-4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity to be delivered in the early 2030s. The tech giant wants to use the power for data centers to support energy-intensive artificial intelligence (AI).

The agreement comes on the heels of other large technology companies expressing interest in nuclear. In October, Google announced a partnership with California’s Kairos Power, to buy energy from small nuclear reactors starting in 2030, and Amazon announced that it signed agreements to support the development of new nuclear energy projects. Earlier this fall, Microsoft inked a deal with Constellation Energy that aims to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

Energy-intensive computing is projected to drive a surge in electricity demand after nearly two decades of little to no new growth. Already, this projected increase is prolonging America’s dependence on dirty energy. Polluting coal and gas fired plants are having their lives extended, new gas plants have been proposed, and there’s interest in reopening additional previously shuttered nuclear plants, such as Palisades in Michigan.

Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Senior Director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, Johanna Neumann, issued the following statement:

“The long history of overhyped nuclear promises reveals that nuclear energy is expensive and slow to build all while still being inherently dangerous. America already has 90,000 metric tons of nuclear waste that we don’t have a storage solution for. Do we really want to create more radioactive waste to power the often dubious and questionable uses of AI?

“In the blind sprint to win on AI, Meta and the other tech giants have lost their way. Big Tech should recommit to solutions that not only work but pose less risk to our environment and health.

“Data centers should be as energy and water efficient as possible and powered solely with new renewable energy. Without those guardrails, the tech industry’s insatiable thirst for energy risks derailing America’s efforts to get off polluting forms of power, including nuclear.”

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Thursday, (12/05/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Every Old Profit Opportunity Becomes New Again… Including Nuclear Energy | InvestorPlace

InvestorPlace

In 1979, General Electric Co. (GE) introduced its famous tagline: “We bring good things to life.” One of the things this iconic American company …

Inside look at bunker where officials monitor nuclear warning system – YouTube

YouTube

Inside look at bunker where officials monitor nuclear warning system … All Things Secured•903K views · 13:11 · Go to channel · What Will Our World …

Putin’s Nuclear Threats Scare Russians Too – The Moscow Times

The Moscow Times

Threats with nuclear weapons are all well and good as long as they do … Read more about: Nuclear arms , Ukraine war. Sign up for our free …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Risk of energy oversupply with nuclear power ‘highly unlikely’, says Mirion CEO Tom Logan

YouTube

Tom Logan, Mirion Technologies CEO, joins ‘Closing Bell Overtime’ to talk the software business, nuclear energy, its investor day and more.

Facebook owner Meta seeks up to 4 GW nuclear capacity

World Nuclear News

Meta is the latest tech company to seek nuclear as an energy source for its growing data needs as it seeks proposals for as much as 4 GW of …

STATEMENT: Meta misguided in calling for massive nuclear energy scale-up

Environment America

In October, Google announced a partnership with California’s Kairos Power, to buy energy from small nuclear reactors starting in 2030, and Amazon …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

How emergency testing works at Arizona’s Palo Verde nuclear plant – AZFamily

AZFamily

The emergency system for the Palo Verde nuclear power plant is being tested but the command center is underground, 60 miles away from the plant in …

Are you hearing a blaring sound today? Here’s what that is – Treasure Coast Newspapers

Treasure Coast Newspapers

The St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant outdoor warning sirens will blare at … Lucie County Public Safety Emergency Management Division and Martin County …

Greenlane Secures Exclusive Global Rights to Distribute Nuclear Safety Tablets Amid …

Stock Titan

… radioactive iodine that might be released into the atmosphere in a radiation emergency, such as a nuclear power plant accident. Additionally …

Nuclear War

NEWS

We are now living in ‘third nuclear age’ of expanding threats and arsenals, U.K. military chief warns

NBC News

The post-Cold War era of nonproliferation and disarmament is over, Adm. Tony Radakin said, adding that it is being replaced by a time of …

Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. Now it’s asking why – BBC

BBC

Under the partially raised concrete and steel lid of a silo, a vast intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) peeks out. But the missile is a replica, …

Putin’s nuclear threats aim to scare the west – but Ukraine’s allies are now calling his bluff

The Conversation

Russian president, Vladimiar Putin, stands at a podium pointing upwards, November 2024. PA-EFE/Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik/Kremlin pool. Putin’s nuclear …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

We are now living in ‘third nuclear age’ of expanding threats and arsenals, U.K. military chief warns

NBC News

Tony Radakin says Russia’s nuclear threats and China’s expanding arsenal tossed the world into a new era. … nuclear weapons after the Cold War, he …

‘Third nuclear age’ threatens the West, armed forces chief warns – BBC

BBC

… threatened by multiple foes including Russia, the head of the armed forces warned. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said “wild threats of tactical nuclear ..

Tucker Carlson warns of WWIII but Russia’s nuclear threats ring hollow – Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council

Putin’s ability to intimidate the West with nuclear threats has been his greatest single success of the entire war, but this approach is clearly no …

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Dec 04, 2024

Share

LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

Anyone who doubts this well-summarized and very, very, important message from the Arms Control Association (ACA), is up in the night with no visible understanding of not only the future of the United States, but also the veritable future of life on planet Earth itself, including virtually all life.

This incredibly dangerous nuclear world situation is the most critical subject that exists in the world today, yet it was never a (or THE) most important issue facing the next U.S. president and his or her administration during the presidential campaign. And Trump was the most illogical human being — the most unstable, mentally erratic, thoughtless, and emotionally dangerous individual to hold the most powerful and important job in our country.

And he is backed by a proposed authoritarian agenda called “Project 25” that built our country’s future around this ‘shoot-from-the-hip loose cannon’ of a man who has so many character flaws, including being a convicted criminal, that he cannot begin to command or control a deviant and dangerous world that we are facing point blank right in from of our faces. ~llaw

Nuclear Challenges Facing the Next U.S. President

Arms Control Today

December 2024
By Daryl G. Kimball

Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Global nuclear dangers are growing, and international peace and security are at severe risk. In January, the second presidential administration of Donald Trump will be tasked with managing a complex array of nuclear weapons-related dangers, some of which were partly of his own making and all of which will be difficult to address. Trump’s proposed solutions to these challenges were hardly explained, let alone debated, during the 2024 campaign cycle.

The war in Ukraine and the risk of escalation: Perhaps the most critical foreign policy variable will be whether and how Trump pursues his ambitious goal to impose a deal that halts the ongoing war being waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine but would lead to major territorial concessions to Russia. A ceasefire likely will not come swiftly, and if it does, it will shape very profoundly the European security environment for years to come.

As Putin pushes to gain additional territory ahead of any talks, he may try to employ new or more lethal weaponry and use nuclear coercion to try to gain some advantage. Trump,
as U.S. President Joe Biden, should refrain from issuing nuclear threats of his own and instead join other global leaders to condemn threats of nuclear first use as inadmissible.

Heading off a three-way nuclear arms race. All major nuclear-weapon states are spending tens of billions of dollars modernizing their nuclear arsenals. Talks on nuclear arms control remain stalled. With the last remaining agreement limiting the Russian and U.S. arsenals due to expire in February 2026, an era of unconstrained nuclear competition looms.

In response, congressional Republicans and the authors of the Project 2025 plan want Washington to spend even more than the current $756 billion, ten-year price tag for nuclear modernization in order to increase the number and diversity of the arsenal. Such a buildup would reverse 35 years of Russian-U.S. reductions, is not necessary to deter nuclear attack, would divert resources from other defense and human needs, and would prompt China and Russia to match any U.S. increase.

Trump and his team have not offered a plan for constraining Russia’s strategic arsenal, and some Republicans may lobby Trump to withdraw from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Instead, Trump could try to achieve what Biden could not: a simple, informal deal with Putin pledging each side to maintain the existing caps on their strategic nuclear arsenals as long as the other does. This would allow the U.S. nuclear enterprise to focus on maintaining the existing force, buy time for formal talks to limit strategic, intermediate, and tactical nuclear weapons and the systems that carry them, and forestall a costly arms race that no one can win.

Maintaining the global test ban. No state except North Korea has conducted a nuclear test explosion in this century, the United States has not tested since 1992, and the world is more stable as a result. For the United States, nuclear explosive testing is technically and militarily unnecessary. A generously funded and proven Stockpile Stewardship Program maintains the existing U.S. warhead types.

Nevertheless, Trump’s former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien proposed a resumption of U.S. nuclear testing in Nevada, which would violate the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Project 2025 calls for reducing the time necessary to resume nuclear testing to six months or less. Any such move would be a self-inflicted nuclear policy disaster that would open the door to Chinese, North Korean, and Russian testing and blow apart global nonproliferation efforts at a time of heightened nuclear danger.

Stopping a nuclear-armed Iran. Since Trump withdrew from the successful 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Tehran’s leaders have restored their capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material and reduced access to international inspectors who are needed to guard against nuclear breakout.

Iran’s new president has offered to engage in talks that could lead to action-for-action steps to deescalate tensions, which could help move Iran further away from the nuclear threshold. But most advisers in Trump’s circle want to double down on the failed “maximum pressure” sanctions policy of Trump’s first term to force Iran to back down or help Israel try to destroy parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Such action would make Iran’s acquisition of the bomb in the future far more likely. Last month, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Tehran would withdraw from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the United States and others sought to snap back international sanctions through the UN Security Council before October 2025. Iran’s nuclear knowledge cannot be bombed away. Any setback in its nuclear infrastructure would be temporary and likely lead Iran to pursue a clandestine bomb program.

The risk of nuclear war, nuclear arms racing, and nuclear proliferation is already greater than at any point since the Cold War. In the months ahead, the new Trump administration will make key choices that could determine whether the situation improves or deteriorates. It will be essential that responsible members of Congress, responsible Western and non-nuclear-weapon states, and civil society campaigners help steer toward a safer course.

Subscribed

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Wednesday, (12/04/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Why nuclear energy could save net zero – Power Engineering International

Power Engineering International

Who do you see being the main users of nuclear power? Base economy industries like chemical, paper and steel, the corner stones on which everything …

In Fukushima’s Shadow, Japan Grapples With Nuclear Power’s Return – WSJ

WSJ

… Things with Kim Strassel · Potomac Watch Podcast · Foreign Edition Podcast … All. 13:22.

Meta Seeks New Nuclear Reactors to Run US Data Centers | Financial Post

Financial Post

… all things Trump | Dec. 5, 12 p.m. ET. Register Now >>. Sections. Search … (Bloomberg) — Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking as much as 4 gigawatts of new …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Meta Seeks New Nuclear Reactors to Run US Data Centers – Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) — Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking as much as 4 gigawatts of new nuclear energy as the company looks for a reliable electricity source …

Meta turns to nuclear energy for its AI ambitions – The Verge

The Verge

Meta says it wants to bring more nuclear energy to electricity grids to power its data centers.

Meta starts the search for nuclear partners to power energy-hungry AI – Business Insider

Business Insider

Meta is looking for nuclear energy developers to power its AI ambitions. On Tuesday, Meta said in a blog post that it’s targeting 1 to 4 gigawatts …

Nuclear War

NEWS

A Last Chance to Prevent Nuclear Anarchy – Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs

As Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term as U.S. president, he is faced with a world sliding into nuclear anarchy.

Map Shows Safest US States to Live During Nuclear War – Newsweek

Newsweek

Now, Newsweek has looked at Scientific American’s previous fallout maps of a nuclear attack on missile silos in the U.S. heartland—Colorado, Wyoming, …

*NEW* Public Opinion and the Iran Nuclear Threat: Lessons from the NS 2024 Survey

The University of Oklahoma

This white paper examines Americans’ perceptions of the evolving nuclear threats from Russia and China, based on the National Security Survey (NS …

See more results | Edit this alertNuclear Power EmergenciesNEWS

Sirens to be tested surrounding Peach Bottom atomic power station – York Dispatch

York Dispatch

Full-volume testing of the emergency warning sirens surrounding the nuclear power plant in Peach Bottom will be done at approximately 1 p.m. …

Ukraine convenes IAEA Board meeting over Russian attacks on nuclear power plant substations

pravda.com.ua

… emergency at one of the three operating nuclear power plants still under Kyiv’s control. Support UP or become our patron! energyIAEA. Advertisement:.

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Putin’s nuclear threats aim to scare the west – but Ukraine’s allies are now calling his bluff

The Conversation

… attack Russia – in other words, the US and UK. Putin’s nuclear threats and the use of the Oreshnik missile were reported with alarm around the world.

A Last Chance to Prevent Nuclear Anarchy – Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs

… nuclear threats in the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Recent reports based on information from senior U.S. officials indicate that the United …

Map Shows Safest US States to Live During Nuclear War – Newsweek

Newsweek

Map Shows Safest US States to Live During Nuclear War · Inside America’s Nuke-Proof Bunkers As Russian Threats Drive Demand · Vaping Map Shows States …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone’s November update includes 88 earthquakes – Buckrail

Buckrail

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — On Monday, Dec. 2, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) released the November 2024 update on eruptions, …

Taal Volcano (Luzon Island, Philippines): new Phreatomagmatic Explosion Today

Volcano Discovery

Yellowstone quakes · Latest earthquakes under Yellowstone volcano. List and interactive map of current and past earthquakes near Yellowstone volcano.

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Dec 03, 2024

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See Image credits and description information in the Wilson Center article

LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

Referring to the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power facilities as “Terrorism” rather than “War: is interesting, especially considering that it’s what Ukraine is calling the nuclear power conflict aspect of the war in this Article . But the point is well-made here, regardless, and the term is probably a way to try to soften the implications of potential nuclear war for the USA and NATO while a new and volatile USA administration takes over the ultimate power of the West.

It may well be a verbal ruse to calm Trump’s tendency to ‘shoot from the hip’, but it won’t prevent him rom remaining on the wrong side of the actual war. Much of the weak Ukrainian war support from the USA cannot have been ignored by the softball method of the Biden administration, which boomeranged as a more weak western support operation than, no doubt, even Russia expected, However, the ‘unapproved’ missile strike by Ukraine into Russia’s belly has made the war an even greater nuclear threat from Russia’s leader.

But the word ‘terrorism’ itself is the kind of conflict that invites a different style of ‘war — one that any country or even a territory can play. And that could increase the world’s attacks on nuclear power plants everywhere, including the USA, no matter the eventual outcome of the real Russia/Ukraine war regardless of Trump’s future influence on Putin.

In any case, Ukraine, and therefore the entire free world, is in jeopardy of losing or maintaining their democracies or republics, allowing authoritarian governments to increase global terrorism in a world-wide movement to control nuclear power as a way to subjugate the masses even moreso than they already are. And financial greed, along with control of both nuclear power facilities and uranium (nuclear fuel) that could become more valuable than gold or paper money because a whole new industry has become the new pillar of global wealth and ‘the bomb’ is right there beside the cash to keep the rest of us quiet and nervously content. Trump’s new administration will fit right in . . . ~llaw

Russian Energy Terrorism Poses Significant Threats in the Short and Long Term If Not Stopped

By Andrian Prokip on December 3, 2024

Kennan Institute

Energy SecurityUkraine

Image Credit

After more than two months in which Ukrainians enjoyed an unrestricted electricity supply, on November 17 Russia launched a “massive attack” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. There is reason to believe that the Kremlin will continue to put pressure on Ukraine’s energy system this winter. But the West also faces severe consequences and should be gravely concerned about Russia’s energy terrorism.

The November 17 attack was the tenth large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy system in 2024. The previous attack, on August 26, was the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy system in history. In between those two attacks, Russia carried out dozens of local strikes, primarily targeting power distribution facilities in front-line regions. The most recent wide-scale attack occurred on November 28.

As winter approaches, many are trying to guess what form Russia’s energy terrorism might take going forward, especially in view of a possible decrease in support from Ukraine’s allies next year. However, in this case, winter is not the only input into Russia’s strategic calculations. Russia plays a game that is long and broad, and increasingly transparently directed beyond Ukraine’s borders. How the West reacts—or fails to do so—is a major vector in the Kremlin’s planning.

Russia’s Motives in Conducting Energy Terror

Russian air strikes clearly aim beyond merely damaging Ukraine’s power infrastructure and economy. These attacks are probably linked to foreign political changes and are intended to sow panic among Ukrainians and disillusionment with the course of the war—perhaps enough to cause Ukraine to sue for peace.

Social media bots, believed to have been coordinated by Russians, were already calling for Ukraine to capitulate back in 2022. Russia has further pumped up disinformation efforts by putting it out that Russian attacks did not cause rolling blackouts, Kyiv did, because—according to the disinformation narrative – the government wanted to export more electricity to Europe at higher prices, and therefore restricted the power supply to Ukrainian housholds.to bring in more revenue. These false claims are similarly intended to fuel citizens’ anger against the government and divide Ukraine.

In the larger geopolitical picture, however, when planning these attacks, Russia almost assuredly considers foreign affairs and political developments, both domestic and abroad. Russia needs to undermine the West’s trust in Ukraine and the West’s belief that Ukraine can go on resisting.

The change in the U.S. administration will be the most significant foreign development that the Kremlin monitors in the coming months. Before Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, Russians may seek to attack Ukraine’s power system severely enough to create the impression that the country is destined for ruin. In September, during the presidential race, Donald Trump said Ukraine had already been demolished. Any major attacks resulting in significant power cutoffs in Ukraine over the next two to three months could strengthen the erroneous impression that Ukraine is buckling and lead to a drop in Western aid—an eventuality the Kremlin would welcome.

For these several reasons, Russia is likely to intensify its attacks on Ukraine’s power system. After a pause, it has collected enough missiles, and winter attacks are more psychologically harmful to the population than summer attacks. The Kremlin has opportunity to further degrade the situation in Ukraine, but the moment the new U.S. administration comes to power will be telling. If the White House believes the situation in Ukraine to be hopeless, its actions in regard to Ukraine may favor Russia’s interests.

What If the West Fails to Act to Stop Russian Energy Aggression Against Ukraine?

A null reaction to Russia’s energy terrorism will not produce good results for the West either. Neglecting Russia’s energy terror can be expected to have immediate, direct results for the West and strengthen Russia strategically.

The greatest present hemispheric threat is a potential nuclear facility accident. Attacks on the transformer substations connecting Ukrainian nuclear power plants with the rest of the power system could lead to uncontrollable processes in the nuclear reactors. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, a key link in the power system, pose a growing concern over nuclear safety.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP is the most vulnerable, and the most worrisome. Europe’s largest NPP, it is located in Russian-controlled territory, and part of its grounds has been converted to a military base for Russian forces and for storage of explosives. The plant is connected to the Ukrainian grid and needs an uninterrupted power supply to maintain reactor cooling. Further attacks on or degradation of the plant would result in widespread blackouts.

Even European countries with good relations with the Kremlin will suffer from power outages in Ukraine caused by Russian air attacks. Hungary and Slovakia, for example, depend heavily on oil and gas transit from Russia through Ukraine and are not eager to see disruptions of Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

There should be no illusion that if Ukraine experiences blackouts, it will try to keep the oil and gas transit going instead of citing force majeure as a reason to halt such supplies.

How the Kremlin Views and Dares the West

If the West does not respond vigorously to stop the Kremlin’s energy terror, the Kremlin will perceive such restraint as a weakness and believe it is free to act similarly against other states in the future.

It’s likely the Kremlin already believes the West is weak. Russia still uses Western components to produce its missiles and drones, and Western components were detected in North Korean missiles used to attack Ukraine as well. So the Russian perception is that Ukraine’s allies may help repair the power system but are unable to clamp down sufficiently, through control of supply chains or third party-sales of components, to stop or reduce Russia’s ongoing energy attacks by cutting off supplies—perhaps the most efficient way to bring about a near-term reduction in attacks.

A lack of response from the West will, by default, cede Russia a free hand to attack the power systems of other states, especially those bordering Russia and Belarus. The West should not be surprised if some “unrecognized” drone attacks power stations in the European countries close to Russia and Belarus.

On a grim note, some European states may not view negatively waves of labor migration from Ukraine in the event of energy supply interruption. In the Czech Republic, for example, Ukrainian refugees contribute more money to the national economy than they receive in support. Germany, the EU country that has taken in the most Ukrainian refugees, encourages more to enter the labor force. Labor shortages in different countries mean that the arrival of Ukrainians from an energy-stricken country need not be viewed as a threat but as an opportunity.

By Constraining Russian Attacks, the West Bolsters Its Own Security

Force is the only language the Kremlin understands. Ukraine should be supported not only directly, with weapons and energy system supplies, but with effective restraint of Russia to prevent or reduce future attacks on the Ukrainian power systems. By taking that step and mounting something more than a null response, the West can take significant steps toward ensuring its own security and stability.

The opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute.

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(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Tuesday, (12/03/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Inside Japan’s Nuclear Exclusion Zone as AI Fuels Atomic Energy’s Comeback – WSJ

WSJ

Surging demand for AI has sparked a race to secure supplies of nuclear power … All Things with Kim Strassel · Potomac Watch Podcast · Foreign Edition …

What Do We Know About Russia’s Nuclear Weapons? – The Moscow Times

The Moscow Times

How large is Russia’s nuclear arsenal? Russia and the U.S. together possess almost 90 percent of all nuclear weapons, according to a 2023 report ..

Lawsuit filed against owners of Seabrook nuclear plant over alleged project sabotage

NHPR

All Things Considered · Today’s Schedule · All Radio Programs · Printable … NH News NuclearSeabrook Nuclear plantEnergyTransmissionElectricityelectric …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

The nuclear moment: Clean energy source produces minimal greenhouse gases

Washington Times

One thing Hollywood is very good at is scaring the bejesus out of Americans — even when it is merely spreading false fears.

Flag as irrelevant

Fresh Start – With Power Demand On The Rise, Could New Nuclear Units Be Added To Old …

RBN Energy

Given that conventional nuclear plants can be very challenging to site and permit, there’s been a lot of talk about installing small modular reactors …

As US ramps up nuclear power, fuel supplier plans to enrich more uranium domestically

The Akron Legal News

JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press Published: December 3, 2024. OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) — A supplier of fuel for nuclear power plants announced a $60 …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

NWMO has response plan for transport emergencies | Local News | chroniclejournal.com

The Chronicle-Journal

Nuclear Waste Management Organization (canada) · Radioactivity · Nuclear Technology · Nuclear Energy · Truck · Nuclear Physics · Energy Technology …

Limerick Nuclear Plant Siren Test Heard Across Pottstown – Daily Voice

Daily Voice

Residents of Pottstown and surrounding areas were alerted by the full-volume test of the emergency warning sirens from the Limerick Generating …

Limerick Nuclear Plant Siren Test Heard Across Pottstown – Mountain View

Mountain View

The sirens, which sounded for approximately two minutes, are designed to prompt residents to tune into local Emergency Alert System (EAS) …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Nuclear Challenges Facing the Next U.S. President | Arms Control Association

Arms Control Association

The war in Ukraine and the risk of escalation. Perhaps the most critical foreign policy variable will be whether and how Trump pursues his ambitious …

Putin Ally Predicts Nuclear ‘Radiation Zone’ Could End War in Ukraine – Newsweek

Newsweek

Konstantin Malofeyev said that if Russia fired a nuclear weapon, the resulting radiation zone would end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Charles Oppenheimer: Nuclear War Must Be Avoided – The New York Times

The New York Times

Charles Oppenheimer is the grandson of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who led the Manhattan Project. Dec. 3, 2024, 1:00 p.m. ET.

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Inside America’s Nuke-Proof Bunkers As Russian Threats Drive Demand – Newsweek

Newsweek

War · Vladimir Putin · Terrorism · Coronavirus · Iran · Israel · Taiwan · China · Pandemics. Inside America’s Nuke-Proof Bunkers As Russian Threats …

Nuclear Challenges Facing the Next U.S. President | Arms Control Association

Arms Control Association

… threats of nuclear first use as inadmissible. Heading off a three-way … The risk of nuclear war, nuclear arms racing, and nuclear …

Russian Energy Terrorism Poses Significant Threats in the Short and Long Term If Not Stopped

Wilson Center

The greatest present hemispheric threat is a potential nuclear facility accident. … Ukraine at War Must Deal with the Threat of Strategic Corruption.

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Hydrothermal Explosions — more common than you think! (Yellowstone Monthly Update – Dec 2024)

YouTube

… Yellowstone last month? Subscribe for more Yellowstone volcano content @usgs Read Caldera Chronicles https://usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/ …

San Francisco Giants free-agent profile: Corbin Burnes, RHP – The Athletic

The New York Times

Text me if the Yellowstone caldera blows. Advertisement. And it means that when I go on vacation for a few days, all of the Hot Stove rumors start …

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Dec 02, 2024

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LAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

So, those who are wealthy enough or important enough believe they can go underground to survive, and perhaps some of the underground shelters could provide protection for a short time, but for how long is a short time begs the very question of survival — and even its meaning or definition.

An all out global nuclear WWIII would decimate the earth’s environment for years to come and would provide an inhospitable “Nuclear Winter” that could last for generations of humans, so, I have to wonder, why would anyone want to live in an underground nuclear shelter when most everything on the surface of planet Earth has been destroyed to mere rubble, including human and other species. Food and water resources would be gone, meaning that underground living at best would eventually be subject to death from starvation and related health issues.

I remember some of the concern and even the panic that prompted moving underground during the Cold War and particularly the Cuban missile crisis when we went through this same issue, but all but a few of of our species prepared to brace themselves by going about their lives in a ‘so what’ way, relying on “hope” that our respective “leaders” would come to their senses, and it happened that they did and there was no permanent harm done and life went on as normal.

Today’s danger of nuclear war is much greater than back then because there are more nations brandishing nuclear weapons of mass destruction this time around, but I don’t know that the level of our collective fear is any different than it was then. Perhaps that is partly because we are more psychologically conditioned to other ‘crucial’ or ‘critical’ demands on our time that we don’t seem to worry about such a thing as a nuclear World War III. ~llaw

Inside America’s Nuke-Proof Bunkers As Russian Threats Drive Demand

Published Dec 02, 2024 at 12:56 PM ESTUpdated Dec 02, 2024 at 1:33 PM EST

By Hugh Cameron

Live News Reporter

Fears that the Russia-Ukraine conflict may soon spiral into a global, nuclear confrontation have driven Americans’ interest in underground bunkers as a means of surviving future catastrophes.

While perhaps seen by many as a remnant of the Cold War, a market has emerged for modernized fallout shelters equipped with the amenities of a typical American home. Those in the bunker trade spoke to Newsweek about the industry’s latest trends, and the motivations driving their clients—including executives from listed U.S. companies—to plan for apocalyptic scenarios.

One such example is Survival Condo, a 15-storey, 20,000-square-foot bunker in northern Kansas capable of housing and sustaining 75 individuals for over five years. Refashioned from a decommissioned government missile silo, which the company says was designed to “survive a direct nuclear strike,” Survival Condo assures its clients that they will enjoy unrivaled protection from any future disaster on American shores.

Larry Hall is the owner of Survival Condo, having purchased the silo in 2008 for $300,000, and told Newsweek that interest in his business often piques in response to significant global events. “We see periodic increases in the interest level for our bunkers that mirror world concerns,” Hall said. “COVID was a good example and during the past nine months the election and specific global hot spots support that observation.”

Hall said that traffic on his site had risen over the past few months—”nuclear” emerging as one of the most searched terms—and chalked this up to the Ukrainian conflict. The primary concern expressed by prospective clients, he said, was “the fear of Putin escalating the war with Ukraine by using tactical nuclear weapons.”

Cory Hubbard is the co-owner of DEFCON Underground Mfg., a company specializing in underground bunkers and bomb shelters for clients across America.

Like Hall, Hubbard said that interest in the company had spiked as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war. “When the Ukraine war first started I’d say call volume went up several [hundred] percent,” Hubbard told Newsweek, adding that there was also a noticeable uptick “whenever Putin mentioned nuclear anything.”

However, he said that interest in the company’s shelters tended to increase alongside any kind of “big world event,” and that customers may be seeking a shelter for numerous reasons besides war with Russia.

As the online forums of self-described preppers make clear, bunkers and other disaster-related provisions are not reserved solely for end-of-the-world scenarios, and may be made in anticipation of extreme weather events, domestic political upheaval, or another world-halting pandemic, events collectively referred to by the community with the acronym SHTF—scenarios in which “s*** hits the fan.”

Aside from protection against Russian nukes, Hall said that Survival Condo’s prospective customers were also motivated to seek his services by the possibility of a conflict between Israel and Iran, tensions between China and Taiwan, fears over domestic terrorism by “undocumented migrants,” as well as the possibility of another pandemic sweeping the country.

Hall is preparing to open another facility in Tescott, Kansas, which promises to offer protection against everything from solar flares and meteor storms to civil unrest and deadly pandemics. His company also offers custom bunker designs for those hoping for a nuke-proof shelter of their own, rather than the flagship condominium facility.

With price tags in the millions, Hall admits that his company’s luxury offerings are “not for everyone,” but told Newsweek that Survival Condo had been approached by several notable, affluent individuals and groups seeking security against whatever the future may hold.

“One interesting development is that we have had an increase in inquiries from some tightly held companies that have expressed the desire for a complete facility for their company,” Hall said. “The requests are for a hybrid design, nuclear-hardened bunker that would have several floors for a backup data center and luxury living quarters for the company owners.”

While he could not disclose the specific companies in question, Hall said that several such requests came from “crypto and crypto mining” firms, some of which are publicly traded.

“Most people just call looking for a bunker and need to have things explained to them,” Hubbard said of his clientele. “There is a lot that goes into how and why the shelters are made and designed. Most people have no idea what it actually takes.”

Besides food and supplies to outlast whatever disaster has swept the country, he said that many underestimate what is needed for a truly nuke-proof bunker.

“Fallout shelters or actual bomb shelters typically require four to six feet of dirt on top of them to handle the radiation from a nuclear blast,” he said, adding that entrances to these shelters must also be designed “with certain angles” to protect against radiation.

Hall said an underappreciated aspect of his company’s fallout shelter was the communal aspect and the daunting, alternative prospect of outlasting a calamity with only a handful of individuals by your side.

As well as the mandatory provisions—redundant sources of electricity and water and medical supplies—Survival Condo offers an indoor spa, pool and workout facility, as well as a theatre and classroom for adults and children to mingle in the post-disaster period. Hall said that clients found these luxuries particularly beneficial during the pandemic, as many sought refuge in the bunker.

“COVID was a test case that our existing owners told me that they underestimated the benefit of being able to have conversations with other adults about the global situation and to bounce ideas with,” Hall said. “Most of our clients have children, and the ability of the kids to all play together during COVID in our protected environment was a huge plus for the parents.”

Read more Russia

• Final NATO Meeting for Biden Administration Focuses on Ukraine
• Putin Ally Calls Zelensky ‘An Illegitimate Drug Addict’
• Nuclear Bomb Map Shows How US, Russian, North Korean Weapons Compare
• Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact of US Weapons on North Korea, Russia, China

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(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Monday, (12/02/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

In Fukushima’s Shadow, Japan Grapples With Nuclear Power’s Return – WSJ

WSJ

… Things with Kim Strassel · Potomac Watch Podcast · Foreign Edition … View All. 6:23. How TGI Fridays Lost Its …

In Fukushima’s Shadow, Japan Grapples With Nuclear Power’s Return – WSJ

WSJ

View All. 1:59. Notre Dame Cathedral’s Restored Interior Unveiled. 0:58.

The Secret Pentagon War Game That ​Offers a Stark​ Warning for Our Times

The New York Times

Suddenly it was all about emergency deployments to Germany. … Nuclear retaliation is not quite the same as nuclear warfighting, but it deploys all the …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

A New Reckoning for Nuclear Energy – The Atlantic

The Atlantic

The Republican Party’s national platform trumpeted nuclear power, as did Kamala Harris in describing her economic agenda; this fall, three of the …

Inside Japan’s Nuclear Exclusion Zone as AI Fuels Atomic Energy’s Comeback – YouTube

YouTube

Japan is home to vast nuclear plants made dormant after the Fukushima meltdown. The area around the power plant remains a ghost town almost 14 …

7 ways Amazon is thinking big about nuclear energy

About Amazon

On World Nuclear Energy Day, learn how Amazon is innovating to power our operations and address climate change.

Nuclear War

NEWS

The Secret Pentagon War Game That ​Offers a Stark​ Warning for Our Times

The New York Times

The devastating outcome of the 1983 game reveals that nuclear escalation inevitably spirals out of control.

Ukraine war latest: Russia makes ‘rapid advances’ toward key defences; US will not return …

Sky News

The US is not considering the idea of returning to Ukraine the nuclear weapons it gave up after the Soviet Union collapsed, White House national …

Inside America’s Nuke-Proof Bunkers As Russian Threats Drive Demand – Newsweek

Newsweek

While perhaps seen by many as a remnant of the Cold War, a market has emerged for modernized fallout shelters equipped with the amenities of a typical …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Chilling warning as Russian who infiltrated US army issues dire World War 3 threat

Irish Star

Chilling US nuclear map reveals potential targets as WW3 …

Is World War III inevitable? This is a simulation of how nuclear war would unfold over 12 …

The Economic Times

The updated doctrine allows a nuclear response even to conventional attacks if they are supported by nuclear powers, signaling heightened risks of …

The Secret Pentagon War Game That ​Offers a Stark​ Warning for Our Times

The New York Times

The threat they pose is immediate and real. It leaves us to grapple with the central truth of the nuclear age: The sole way for humanity to survive is .

Sunday, December 1, 2024, Nuclear News

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear Energy Prevents Air Pollution and Saves Lives – Reason Magazine

Reason Magazine

The panic following the catastrophic meltdown of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in the Soviet Union in April 1986 resulted in nearly 400 …

Is Nuclear Powering the Future or Fading into Obsolescence? – Energy Digital Magazine

Energy Digital Magazine

Nuclear energy is gaining renewed attention as countries seek reliable, low-emission power sources as climate challenges and energy security …

New Target Emerges in Russia’s Attacks on Ukraine’s Grid: Nuclear Facilities

The New York Times

Russia has increasingly hit critical substations linked to nuclear power plants in an effort to disconnect them. The assaults risk a disaster, …

See more results | Edit this alertAll Things NuclearNEWS

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance | KERA News

KERA News

… nuclear reactors, nuclear power still has its critics. … The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Tags. All Things …

Opinion – Has Biden’s ‘just enough’ strategy pushed Putin to the brink of nuclear war?

Yahoo

He called nuclear weapons “the silent shadow present in all their … He also expressed concern “about the escalation and where it’s all going.”.

Daryl Kimball on Changes to Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine | C-SPAN.org

C-SPAN

Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl Kimball discussed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine and how it could impact the U.S. and its …

Nuclear War

NEWS

China Warns of Nuclear War Risk in Ukraine – Newsweek

Newsweek

Officials recently cited by the New York Times floated moving nuclear weapons into Ukraine as insurance against repeat Russian aggression.

Putin threatens to target Kyiv ‘decision-making centres’ with new missile – BBC News

BBC

The Russian leader’s comments come after Moscow’s overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s power grid.

Putin threatens Kyiv decision-makers after striking energy grid – BBC

BBC

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to attack decision-making centres in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with the country’s new …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Putin threatens to strike Ukraine again with new missile after wave of attacks on energy

CNN

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strike Ukraine again with a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile following Moscow’s latest …

How Russia aims to black out Ukraine: expert explains attack patterns – video

The New Voice of Ukraine

… nuclear power plants from the grid … Теги: energy sector Nuclear Power Plant war on energy Russian attacks targeted pressure emergency blackout.

Ukrainian nuclear power plants reduce electricity production due to Russian strikes – IAEA

pravda.com.ua

On the morning of 28 November, emergency power cuts were introduced in all Ukrainian oblasts following the latest large-scale Russian missile and …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Why China is probably on board with Putin’s nuclear threats – The Hill

The Hill

By now, he has made so many threats to do so that most observers believe he has just been bluffing. Putin’s most recent threat came in response to the …

US intelligence dismisses nuclear threat despite Putin’s warnings | Daily Sabah

Daily Sabah

The concerns faded for some officials as Putin did not act on his threats … nuclear force or other deadly tactics outside the war zone.

Putin threatens Ukraine in remarks after former-Soviet states security summit – NPR

NPR

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Putin’s threats to expand use of these hypersonic missiles in his nightly address. … war,” …

Saturday, November 30, 2024, Nuclear News

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

A tour of Norris Geyser Basin’s backcountry thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park

Idaho Capital Sun

Norris Geyser Basin is one of the only major thermal basins located outside of Yellowstone Caldera (it is about 2.5 miles north of the caldera rim) …

Trump’s Lithium – Energy & Capital

Energy & Capital

How would it make you feel to learn that Donald Trump is behind the development of the biggest lithium resource known to man?

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Reason to be Optimistic About Nuclear Energy – Brownstone Research

Brownstone Research

What about storing the radioactive waste of nuclear power plants? And what are the costs to bring a nuclear reactor back online? All excellent …

Nuclear Energy Wins New Fans—Even in New York State | Barron’s

Barron’s

As electricity needs grow, state governments all over the country are warming to the idea of building small nuclear plants.

How GE Vernova plans to deploy small nuclear reactors across the developed world

CNBC

GE Vernova’s small modular reactor, BWRX-300, could play a role in developing more nuclear power over the next decade.

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

How GE Vernova plans to deploy small nuclear reactors across the developed world

CNBC

The plant generates 300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 200,000 U.S. households. The average reactor in the U.S. fleet has about …

Ukraine war latest: Russia open to resuming nuclear tests for first time since Soviet era – Sky News

Sky News

He also said he would work “directly” with Donald Trump, that Vladimir Putin was a “terrorist and a killer”, and that he will “do everything” to end …

Facing up to Disaster(s). – by Chris Dixon – E.S.P. Adapt

Substack

It is not surprising then that ideas about impending disaster, nuclear war or collapse, whether financial, economic, environmental or societal, all of …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Senior Russian diplomat says possibility of new nuclear tests remains open question | Reuters

Reuters

A possible resumption of nuclear weapons tests by Moscow remains an open question in view of hostile U.S. policies, a senior Russian diplomat was …

Putin threatens Ukraine with nuclear missiles – CNN

CNN

Annie Jacobsen, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times Best Selling author of “Nuclear War: A Scenario” joins CNN’s Michael Smerconish to …

Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact of US Weapons on North Korea, Russia, China

Newsweek

The recent escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war has led to increasing talk of nuclear war and Newsweek has looked at the impact of a Russian nuclear …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Millions still without power in Ukraine after Russian attacks – Agencia EFE

Agencia EFE

… energy expert at the Kyiv-based Razumkov Centre, told EFE. “This is another indirect attack on the nuclear power plants, which triggered emer …

Nationwide Cellphone Outage in Denmark Triggers Major Disruptions, Emergency Services Hit

MSN

Iodine tablets stocked for emergencies in Kudankulam plant, says Dept of Atomic Energy … Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) area in line with the …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

China Warns of Nuclear War Risk in Ukraine – Newsweek

Newsweek

“China is paying close attention to the nuclear risks triggered by the Ukraine crisis and has reiterated time and again that nuclear weapons …

The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing? – The Week

The Week

They will do little to turn the tide of the war. So why are we taking the chance? “Like many Russia-watchers”, I believe the nuclear threats are empty …

Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact of US Weapons on North Korea, Russia, China

Newsweek

End of dialog window. North Korea Warns U.S. Of Thermonuclear War … Hakeem Jeffries’ Office Says Threats Targeting Democrats Were Signed ‘MAGA’.

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Nov 29, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

Our nuclear-armed world leaders are quickly losing whatever s left of their minds about the possibility and even probability of nuclear war exterminating life on planet Earth. You really mean the USA is or was actually considering providing Ukraine with nuclear weapons in order to “deter” Russia from continuing its non-nuclear missiles. We actually believe that would work? For more than one day? Fight fire with a bigger fire? How stupid are we? How self-aggrandizing are our power-addicted leaders?

Why would any world leader and their political and military stooges think that escalating war is a way to avoid nuclear war — especially in today’s nuclear world? Yet, according to this truncated story, such a plan is or was considered as a way to avoid additional non-nuclear missile attacks on Ukraine and its nuclear power plants. As I wrote yesterday, Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian citizens in such a way as this is a war crime as well as a ‘crime against humanity’. Humanity has, apparently, lost track of what the word ‘crime’ even means —Trump’s reelection proves that — but also as well as a definition for “humanity”. Such words as ‘peace’, ‘forgiveness’, ‘friendship’, ‘care’, ‘heart’, ‘kindness’, ‘love’, and most of all, if only, ‘empathy’ come to mind.

In today’s worlds of old and all the way up until today mankind has fought tooth and nail, but with the advent of nuclear weapons and nuclear power, we cannot continue fighting to settle our differences. There is only only one way to solve our insane global hatred problem to survive as a species, and that is to actually universally unite as the humanitarian, peaceful, and considerate human beings that we only “pretend” to be today . . . ~llaw

China Warns of Nuclear War Risk in Ukraine

Published Nov 29, 2024 at 9:47 AM EST

00:52

Biden Admin Calls On Ukraine To Lower Draft Age To Boost Military Ranks

By Micah McCartney

China News Reporter

China has renewed its warnings over the potential use of nuclear weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war, in response to recent speculation about the possibility of the U.S. stationing them in the embattled country to deter future Russian aggression.

“China is paying close attention to the nuclear risks triggered by the Ukraine crisis and has reiterated time and again that nuclear weapons should not be used and nuclear war must not be fought,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during Thursday’s regular press conference.

She’d been asked to respond to last week’s New York Times report citing anonymous U.S. officials who floated returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine as part of discussions on deterring a third Russian invasion after an eventual negotiated ceasefire.

Ukraine once inherited the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, including approximately 1,900 strategic warheads, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Kyiv agreed to relinquish these weapons in exchange for security assurances from the U.S., U.K., and Russia.

“Under the current circumstances, all parties need to remain calm and exercise restraint,” Mao said. “Joint efforts are needed to cool down the situation through dialogue and consultation to reduce strategic risks.”

Newsweek reached out to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department with written requests for comment.

China has sought to position itself as a neutral player in the Ukraine conflict, now in its 33rd month. However, the country has consistently avoided labeling Russia’s 2022 invasion as such and has provided Moscow with substantial economic and diplomatic support.

Trade with its northern neighbor and purchases of Russian oil and gas have soared. Meanwhile, Beijing has amplified the Kremlin’s narratives while censoring anti-war criticism of Vladimir Putin on Chinese social media platforms.

China has also deepened military cooperation and diplomatic ties with the Kremlin, framing the relationship as a counterweight to U.S.-led global dominance.

The Biden administration’s recent decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike targets within Russian territory has reignited fears of escalation.

However, analysts have argued that the risk of a nuclear response from Russia is overstated.

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Friday, (11/29/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance | KERA News

KERA News

… nuclear reactors, nuclear power still has its critics. … The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Tags. All Things …

Opinion – Has Biden’s ‘just enough’ strategy pushed Putin to the brink of nuclear war?

Yahoo

He called nuclear weapons “the silent shadow present in all their … He also expressed concern “about the escalation and where it’s all going.”.

Daryl Kimball on Changes to Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine | C-SPAN.org

C-SPAN

Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl Kimball discussed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine and how it could impact the U.S. and its …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear Energy Prevents Air Pollution and Saves Lives – Reason Magazine

Reason Magazine

The panic following the catastrophic meltdown of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in the Soviet Union in April 1986 resulted in nearly 400 …

Is Nuclear Powering the Future or Fading into Obsolescence? – Energy Digital Magazine

Energy Digital Magazine

Nuclear energy is gaining renewed attention as countries seek reliable, low-emission power sources as climate challenges and energy security …

New Target Emerges in Russia’s Attacks on Ukraine’s Grid: Nuclear Facilities

The New York Times

Russia has increasingly hit critical substations linked to nuclear power plants in an effort to disconnect them. The assaults risk a disaster, …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Putin threatens to strike Ukraine again with new missile after wave of attacks on energy

CNN

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strike Ukraine again with a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile following Moscow’s latest …

How Russia aims to black out Ukraine: expert explains attack patterns – video

The New Voice of Ukraine

… nuclear power plants from the grid … Теги: energy sector Nuclear Power Plant war on energy Russian attacks targeted pressure emergency blackout.

Ukrainian nuclear power plants reduce electricity production due to Russian strikes – IAEA

pravda.com.ua

On the morning of 28 November, emergency power cuts were introduced in all Ukrainian oblasts following the latest large-scale Russian missile and …

Nuclear War

NEWS

China Warns of Nuclear War Risk in Ukraine – Newsweek

Newsweek

Officials recently cited by the New York Times floated moving nuclear weapons into Ukraine as insurance against repeat Russian aggression.

Putin threatens to target Kyiv ‘decision-making centres’ with new missile – BBC News

BBC

The Russian leader’s comments come after Moscow’s overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s power grid.

Putin threatens Kyiv decision-makers after striking energy grid – BBC

BBC

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to attack decision-making centres in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with the country’s new …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Why China is probably on board with Putin’s nuclear threats – The Hill

The Hill

By now, he has made so many threats to do so that most observers believe he has just been bluffing. Putin’s most recent threat came in response to the ..

US intelligence dismisses nuclear threat despite Putin’s warnings | Daily Sabah

Daily Sabah

The concerns faded for some officials as Putin did not act on his threats … nuclear force or other deadly tactics outside the war zone.

IAEA Weekly News

29 November 2024

The 2024 IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme got underway in Vienna, Austria, this week. Read the top updates and stories published on IAEA.org.

29 November 2024

IAEA Completes International Physical Protection Advisory Service Mission in Zimbabwe

An IAEA team of experts has concluded an International Physical Protection Advisory Service mission in Zimbabwe. The mission, conducted at the request of the Government of Zimbabwe, took place from 18 November to 29 November 2024. Read more →

28 November 2024

Update 262 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Ukraine’s three operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) reduced their electricity generation this morning following renewed attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure that further endangered nuclear safety during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. Read more →

26 November 2024

Ministerial Declaration Adopted on Importance of Nuclear Science for Addressing Global Challenges

IAEA Member States have adopted a declaration recognizing the important role of nuclear science, technology and applications in addressing current and evolving global challenges. The declaration was unanimously adopted at the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme in Vienna this morning. Read more →

26 November 2024

VIDEO: How the IAEA and Nuclear Techniques Support a Sustainable Future

Nuclear science and technology play a significant role in improving the lives and well-being of people worldwide, especially in the fields of health, food and agriculture and the environment. Read more →

25 November 2024

IAEA to Host Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology’s Role in Addressing Global Challenges

The 2024 Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme will take place on 26-28 November 2024 at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Read more →

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Nov 28, 2024

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See Al Jazeera article below for description of image and photo credits.

LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

Some say, “all is fair in love and war; other’s say attacking civilians in war is a violation of International Laws. This attack on Ukraine by Russia, as well as many others, leaves little doubt that Russia is violating international and other laws against humanity, but who is going to do anything about it? The answer, of course, is nobody.

According to Ukraine’s military and ministry, this is the 11th attack this year on civilian electric power sources, and a million people are said to be without power from this latest missile barrage from Russia.

The following is from the article:

Breach of international law . . .

“The ministry said it was the 11th massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure this year.

Catriona Murdoch, director of the starvation and humanitarian crisis division of Global Rights Compliance, an international human rights foundation, said Russia was breaching international law with attacks on the energy system.

“Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are not just acts of war – they are crimes that deliberately target and terrify the civilian population, leaving millions vulnerable,” she said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera.

“[The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants] in relation to such attacks on energy during the winter of 2022, perpetrators must be held accountable for this second wave of attacks which are a violation of international law,” Murdoch added.”

So it is, as I see it, that nuclear power plants are part of nuclear war, as the Russia/Ukraine war has demonstrated multiple times. There has also been an attack by Ukraine’s military on a nuclear power plant in Russia, which must fit into this same International Law.

Mankind’s inhumanity to mankind must somehow be stopped forever if mankind is to survive, but there is no power except humanity itself to end this never-ending inhumane world-wide treatment of ourselves. We need help from somewhere unknown if we are to survive and it certainly will never come from our political and military leaders of the nuclear-armed countries around the world . . . ~llaw

News|Russia-Ukraine war

Putin threatens Ukraine with new missile as Russian barrage hits power grid

Russian missile attacks have been reported across Ukraine, with emergency power outages affecting more than one million people amid freezing temperatures.

Ukraine analyses new Russian missile wreckage as Moscow threatens to escalate conflict

Published On 28 Nov 202428 Nov 2024

Updated:

8 hours ago

President Vladimir Putin has said 100 drones and 90 missiles were launched at Ukraine over the past two days “in response to strikes deep” inside Russia as he threatened to hit Kyiv with a new missile.

Putin was addressing a meeting of a security alliance of former Soviet countries in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on Thursday after Ukraine said Russian missiles targeted its power infrastructure.

He also addressed Russia’s use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile last week on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Putin told the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit that Russia has begun serial production of the nuclear-capable weapon, and the Ministry of Defence was currently selecting more targets in Ukraine for strikes with the new missile.

Those targets could include “decision-making centres” in Kyiv in response to Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons, he added.

In the event of a massive use of the Oreshnik, the force of the strike “will be comparable to nuclear weapons”, he threatened.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Thursday that the country’s power infrastructure came “under massive enemy attack” prompting the national power grid’s operator to introduce emergency power cuts amid freezing temperatures.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack a “despicable escalation”, accusing Russia of using cluster munitions.

“In several regions, strikes with cluster munitions were recorded, and they targeted civilian infrastructure,” he said in a post on Telegram. “This is a very despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics.”

He said Ukraine needed more Western air defence systems “now” to protect against the Russian strikes.

“This is especially important in winter when we have to protect our infrastructure from targeted Russian attacks,” Zelenskyy added.

Cluster munitions have killed or wounded more than 1,000 people in Ukraine since Russia launched its all-out war in February 2022, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) said in its annual report in September.

They also pose a long-term risk since many fail to explode on impact, effectively acting as landmines that can explode years later, the CMC noted.

Russia and Ukraine are not among the 112 states that are party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use, transfer, production and storage of cluster bombs.

Reporting from Kharkiv, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig said the attack seems to be Russia’s “largest in recent months”.

“The Ukrainian air defences have been in action to intercept some of those missiles, but there are reports of residential buildings being hit in Kharkiv as well as debris falling in areas of the capital, Kyiv,” he said.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 91 missiles and 97 attack drones, adding that 79 of the missiles and 35 of the drones were intercepted.

At least some of the weapons hit their targets, Ukrainian officials said.

“Power facilities in several regions were damaged,” the Ukrenergo national power grid electricity operator said, adding that it had introduced emergency blackouts across the country.

Authorities in the Lviv and Kyiv regions said critical infrastructure sites had been hit.

There have been power outages in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk regions, according to Ukrenergo, as temperatures across the country dropped to about 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).

The CEO of the Yasno energy supplier, Serhii Kovalenko, subsequently said there were emergency blackouts all over the country because of the attacks.

More than a million customers in Ukraine’s west, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines, were without power.

“As of now, 523,000 subscribers in Lviv region are without electricity,” chief of the western region, Maksym Kozytskyi, said on social media.

Regional officials said at least 280,000 others were cut off in the western Rivne region and another 215,000 in the northwestern Volyn region, which also borders Poland, a European Union and NATO member.

“Power engineers are working to ensure backup power supply schemes where possible. They have already started restoration work where the security situation allows,” the Ministry of Energy said.

Breach of international law

The ministry said it was the 11th massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure this year.

Catriona Murdoch, director of the starvation and humanitarian crisis division of Global Rights Compliance, an international human rights foundation, said Russia was breaching international law with attacks on the energy system.

“Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are not just acts of war – they are crimes that deliberately target and terrify the civilian population, leaving millions vulnerable,” she said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera.

“[The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants] in relation to such attacks on energy during the winter of 2022, perpetrators must be held accountable for this second wave of attacks which are a violation of international law,” Murdoch added.

More to Read:

What do more powerful weapons mean for Ukraine?

Ukraine urged to lower conscription age to 18; US to send Kyiv more weapons

Russia hoping for “sanctions relief” with any peace deal

Russian rouble drops to lowest level against the dollar in 32 months

---

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Thursday, (11/28/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance – NPR

NPR

Nuclear has been a big topic lately. The Biden administration wants to triple nuclear … Heard on All Things Considered. Nuclear energy may be seeing a …

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance

Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI

All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM World Cafe. 0:00. 0:00. All Things … WOODS: Even if Mike’s company Kairos does succeed in eventually building …

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance – KGOU

KGOU

Nuclear has been a big topic lately. The Biden administration wants to triple nuclear … All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM National Native News.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance – KSMU Radio

KSMU Radio

WAILIN WONG, BYLINE: In October, Google announced it would buy a ton of nuclear energy from a company called Kairos Power starting in 2030. DARIAN …

Nuclear energy may be seeing a renaissance – NPR

NPR

The Biden administration wants to triple nuclear energy production by 2050. Plus, tech giants are looking to incorporate nuclear power into their …

This startup is getting closer to bringing next-generation nuclear to the grid | MIT Technology Review

MIT Technology Review

Kairos Power signed a big deal with a tech giant and got approval to build its next test facility.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Putin threatens Ukraine with new missile as Russian barrage hits power grid – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

… nuclear weapons”, he threatened. Ukraine A State … power grid’s operator to introduce emergency power cuts amid freezing temperatures.

Russian Attacks Leave One Million People Without Power In Western Ukraine

StratNews Global

National and local officials reporting blasts and emergency power cuts across the country. Ukraine Disconnected Many Nuclear Power Units From The …

Emergency power outages implemented in Ukraine: energy facilities under large-scale attack

pravda.com.ua

Emergency power outages have been urgently implemented across all Ukrainian oblasts due to Russias large-scale missile and drone attack.

Nuclear War

NEWS

Nuclear attack unlikely despite Putin’s warnings, US intelligence says | Reuters

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin conducts an exercise of Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrence forces to train actions of officials on operating …

Russia warns US against ‘spiral of escalation’ but says it will keep channels open | Reuters

Reuters

Russia said it would keep informing Washington about test missile launches in order to avoid “dangerous mistakes”.

Putin threatens Ukraine with new missile as Russian barrage hits power grid – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

President Vladimir Putin has said 100 drones and 90 missiles were launched at Ukraine over the past two days “in response to strikes deep” inside …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Nuclear attack unlikely despite Putin’s warnings, US intelligence says | Reuters

Reuters

The concerns faded for some officials as Putin did not act on his threats but remained central to how many in the administration weighed decisions on …

A growing nuclear debate: The risk of calling everything a nuclear threat

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

If nuclear threats were made as frequently as the media claims, national leaders and their publics might not know when a real threat was being made.

Russia ‘unlikely’ to launch nuclear attack despite Putin’s threats, US intelligence says

The Kyiv Independent

Russia ‘unlikely’ to launch nuclear attack despite Putin’s threats, US intelligence says. Share. Share on Twitter · Share on Facebook

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Nov 27, 2024

1

Share

See “Popular Mechanics” article for credits

LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

Why do we continue to delve into energy solutions that we don’t understand and some, like nuclear fusion, have long been scientific experiments, most all negatively unsuccessful that can’t possibly be in a “Race Against Time” that will save us from fossil fuels if we continue to demand more electrical power all around the globe. Our nuclear power plants (that operate on a much simpler process called ‘fission’) are not going to solve the fossil fuel problem either because we are also grasping for uranium fuel (which is, in the geological science, a fossil fuel, too, and though nuclear fission not only produces small amounts of greenhouse gasses and uranium mining, milling, and refining are well-known polluters, it all ads up to dealing with nuclear waste and, even worse, radiation — the most dangerous natural resource of them all. Have not nuclear bombs and the looming potential of nuclear war proven that to mankind? I guess not, but I do not understand why not . . .

So there is, logically, no “race” to save humanity from our own greedy power-starved electrical world to save us from our own ‘race’ to eventual extinction. That is, if nuclear war doesn’t do us in first. The only ‘race’ among fusion’s experimental scientific laboratories would be to see who creates successful fusion first, which may never happen for all kinds of reasons. But as “Popular Mechanics” and author Caroline Delbert points out quite well, we maybe wasting our available collective time. ~llaw

In the Race Against Time for Fusion, a New Reactor May Break the Final Barrier

Still, the hope of limitless energy clashes with the realities of scientific hurdles.

By Caroline Delbert Published: Nov 26, 2024 8:00 AM EST

sakkmesterke//Getty Images

• The science news ecosystem repeats unfounded claims about nuclear fusion.
• OpenStar’s reactor has an unusual design, but it’s just as unproven as all the others.
• Their reactor has a central magnet inside a sphere of plasma, instead of a traditional donut.

---

A recent spate of nuclear fusion announcements have covered an emerging fusion reactor in New Zealand. The company behind this reactor, OpenStar, claims to have the only viable path to producing energy using nuclear fusion in the near future.

Their unusual design comes from a 20-year-old experiment that began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). But nuclear fusion has become a very crowded house, and almost all the startups are linked with prestigious universities like this. Is OpenStar’s idea really going to break through the noise? We don’t have enough information yet, and repeating these claims does not help science.

The kernel of news from New Zealand-based OpenStar is that their experimental reactor, named Junior, has achieved first plasma. To be clear, this is not a step toward producing energy using nuclear fusion—it’s almost the opposite. All fusion reactors require an extraordinary amount of construction and power before they can predictably turn a cloud of (usually hydrogen) gas into a hydrogen plasma. This involves electrical current, powerful electromagnets, and so on.

First plasma, as a milestone, only shows that your fusion reactor was constructed and plugged in correctly. There are countless more milestones that need to be hit on the way to energy production, and OpenStar promises these in the next six years. But along the way, they’re not opposed to celebrating milestones equivalent to kindergarten in a school where no student has made it even to ninth grade—nor are they alone in doing so. Fusion companies do this all the time, and the echo chamber of fusion news sites repeats the story, often just rephrasing a press release and repeating claims without the context that there have been a dozen similar claims in the last five years.

So, what makes OpenStar different within this crowded and echoing field? That, at least, has a concrete answer. It’s all in the shape. Most of the active fusion reactor experiments around the world are tokamaks, but OpenStar’s is not. A tokamak is a toroidal (donut-shaped) chamber where a stream of plasma is held in place (and away from the walls of the tokamak) by electromagnets. As plasma is heated, it becomes too hot for traditional containers and materials to hold it, so the magnetic fields keep it contained. Those magnetic fields also keep the plasma as condensed as possible to encourage the charged atoms to fuse.

IEEE Spectrum recently reported on OpenStar’s choice to “ditch the traditional doughnut-shaped design.” Instead of a surrounding structure of magnets, their design has one central magnet and an overall spherical shape. That magnet must be a superconductor for the design to work, and for that to function as necessary, it must be chilled to near absolute zero using ongoing and expensive equipment. For their demonstration, they precooled the magnet to ensure an 80-minute window of operability before it grew too warm—something that likely won’t be practical when using a fusion reactor to produce energy, when the cost of bringing the reactor down from fusion temperature and back up again could cost many thousands of dollars in labor, electricity, and other resources.

That central magnet—which the team at OpenStar says will include batteries in order to help it function longer—sits in the midst of a plasma stream that will reach over 100 million degrees Celsius. If all of this works (which is an enormous, unproven “if”), the design of the reactor has the potential to be more efficient and powerful than tokamak designs.

But, again, none of this has ever worked. Everyone’s timelines and milestones are still speculation.

Related Story

• Scientists May Have Tamed Fusion’s #1 Nemesis

---

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

(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in today’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Wednesday, (11/27/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

India’s New Nuclear Submarine Base Challenges China’s Naval Ambitions – WSJ

WSJ

India and China are competing for influence in a critical area of the Indian ocean—the Bay of Bengal—with nuclear submarines, military bases and a …

In the Race Against Time for Fusion, a New Reactor May Break the Final Barrier – Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics

Still, the hope of limitless energy clashes with the realities of scientific hurdles.

Team Trump mustn’t buy Putin’s nuke threats: We’re not on the verge of WW III

New York Post

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin is beating his chest again, hinting he may use nuclear weapons, but no one — particularly President-elect Don..

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Map Shows States Generating the Most Nuclear Energy – Newsweek

Newsweek

Data from the Energy Information Administration has revealed which states are producing the most energy through nuclear power.

Why Businesses and the Government Are Turning to Nuclear Reactors for Our Increasing …

POWER Magazine

To offset the rising consumption, Fortune 500 companies, as well as the federal and local governments, are now looking to advanced nuclear reactor …

Nuclear energy adaptation faces setbacks – YouTube

YouTube

… nuclear power by 2040, according to officials from the Ministry of Energy. The State Minister for Energy, Sidronius Okasai Opolot, emphasized the …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Emergency leaders say nuclear reactors pose unnecessary risk – News Hub

News Hub – Medianet

The ELCA submission highlights that nuclear reactor emergency planning and management has not been addressed by proponents of nuclear energy and …

Court upholds rejection of call to halt Miyagi Prefecture nuclear reactor – Kyodo News

Kyodo News

… emergency evacuation plans for the Onagawa nuclear power plant’s No. 2 unit in Miyagi Prefecture, stating they were not relevant as it could not …

Public can question nuclear plant owner about restart at open house – mlive.com

MLive.com

A recent public meeting in Benton Harbor hosted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission focused on the return of wider emergency preparedness in …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact of Russian Weapons on Major US Cities – Newsweek

Newsweek

Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over the war in Ukraine are promoting talk and fears of WWIII and a nuclear war.

Russia’s Updated Nuclear Doctrine Isn’t a Blueprint for Weapons Use. Its Primary Value Is …

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Moscow’s actual nuclear decisions would likely not involve Putin carefully parsing doctrinal clauses.

What Can Stop the Cycle of Escalation in Ukraine? | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Joshua Yaffa on the tenuous trajectory of the war in Ukraine, new weapons from the Biden Administration, and Vladimir Putin’s threat of a Russian …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Team Trump mustn’t buy Putin’s nuke threats: We’re not on the verge of WW III

New York Post

Team Trump mustn’t buy Putin’s nuke threats: We’re not on the verge of WW III … Vladimir Putin has …

Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact of Russian Weapons on Major US Cities – Newsweek

Newsweek

As global tensions escalate amid threats of nuclear war from Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, Newsweek has looked at the impact of a Russian …

Putin Ally Issues Nuclear War Warning to US – Newsweek

Newsweek

He continued, “Yet I must comment on the nonsense: 1) The very threat of transferring nuclear weapons to the Kyiv regime can be considered preparation .

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Small 3.7 Quake Hits Near Mammoth Lakes, Mono County, California, USA

Volcano Discovery

More on VolcanoDiscovery … List and interactive map of current and past earthquakes near Yellowstone volcano. … Browse through our photo galleries …

NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Nov 26, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

As I keep saying every chance I get, the whole world — perhaps excluding the American voters and other influencers who put Trump back in office for a 2nd presidential term — are extremely nervous about Trump’s entire political, military, and economic agenda, but particularly his questionable concepts about ‘all things nuclear’ (including nuclear war) and the extremely sensitive handling of the Russia/Ukraine war related to his political and personal relationship with Putin right out of the gate for starters.

We are now less than two months away from Trump’s inauguration day, and the few days between now and then are very important days because the whole Russia/Ukraine and potential nuclear conflict must be avoided both now and after Trump takes office and we all know that Trump is a loose cannon if nothing else.

So it is, that whenever I run across a responsible media story directed at this world- wide apparent ‘vacuum’ in time, I am inclined to post the story for us all here to read and evaluate before Trump is given a free pass to the possibility of nuclear war . . . ~llaw

Putin’s strategy in Ukraine ahead of Trump’s return

Ian Bremmer

Nov 25, 2024

Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take: Hi everybody. Ian Bremmer here, and a Quick Take to kick off your week. Want to talk about the Russia-Ukraine War. We are seeing further escalation over the course of the last week. The United States and the United Kingdom and France have all given permission after months of foot dragging for the Ukrainians to use their missiles, these missiles provided by the NATO allies, to target military targets inside the Russian Federation.

Putin has been warning them not to do that. They decided they were going to, the Russian response has been to formally change their nuclear doctrine so that they would be considered to be in a state of war legally against any country that allowed Ukraine to use their missiles against Russia. In other words, essentially, Russia is claiming that they’re now at war with France, with the UK, with the United States. And also, the Russians used a medium range missile hypersonic nuclear capable directly against the Ukrainian target in Dnipro.

In other words, what we’re seeing from Putin is, “I’m showing you what you’re doing is moving towards World War III, and that’s how I’m responding.” Does that mean that Putin is actually escalating towards direct war with NATO allies? The answer to that is no. He wasn’t doing that when he was losing the battle in Ukraine in the early months. He’s certainly not doing it now that he’s winning.

And he is winning. He has more troops on the front lines, including those from North Korea, those from Yemen, those that he’s getting from other countries. Also, he’s taking more territory on the ground in Ukraine at a faster pace now, more significant amounts of territory in Southeast Ukraine than at any point since the opening months of the war. Plus Trump is President-elect. Trump has said, “I want to end this war.” And he is coming in just in a couple of months.

So what Putin is doing is not threatening World War III. He’s instead showing off just how bad this Biden policy is, this existing NATO policy is. He’s making it easier for Trump to pivot away and say, “I’m the peacemaker. We were heading towards World War III, this horrible escalation. I’m the guy that got the great deal done and look how brilliant I am.” Putin is facilitating that.

Now, of course, to make that happen Trump still has to give Putin something that he wants. He has to give an outcome that is acceptable to Putin. And Putin’s made clear, at least thus far, that he’s not going to give up any territory that he has. That he’s not prepared to accept that Ukraine would be able to join NATO. He’s also said that Ukraine can’t continue to have a functional armed forces which is something that would be completely unacceptable to Ukraine.

The devil’s going to be in the details here. There clearly is an opportunity for Trump to end the war. He’s promised he’s going to end the war, and I think he can. I think he can create a ceasefire. The Ukrainian leadership has already made clear that they are supportive of ending the war, but they’re not just going to listen. There has to be a back and forth conversation with the Americans. Seeing what it is that Trump is prepared to put forward, and whether or not the Russians are capable of accepting it, are willing to accept it. Even though it will look like a win for Russia compared to where they would’ve been under Biden, under Harris, or at any other point in the last couple of years.

Still, if you are Putin, there is an open question. You’re taking land right now. The Ukrainians don’t have the people to continue to put up a strong defense. Why wouldn’t you delay this out for another three, another six months? Take more land. Try to get all the territory that you have formally annexed over the course of the war. Why not settle the war on your terms? A lot easier to do if you’re winning than losing. And the question there will be to what extent Trump is willing to cause material punishment to Putin if he doesn’t say yes.

And that’s an open question. Trump historically has been willing to take easy wins that don’t necessarily play well over the long term. Look at Afghanistan. He wanted to get the Americans out. He cut a deal with the Taliban. It was a deal that was clearly very advantageous from a military and from a governance perspective for the Taliban than it was for the United States. He cut that despite the fact that the allies were not supportive or coordinating. That undermined the US deeply. Biden then continued with that plan. And it was one of the biggest losses that the US has experienced over the last four years.

Now, that of course, was a loss that ultimately fell on Biden. This would be a loss that would ultimately fall on Trump. And so does he want to risk that? That’s a very interesting question. And of course, you also have to look at Trump’s staff because he can make a phone call with Zelensky and with Putin, but ultimately, it is the secretary of state, the national security advisor and others that are going to have to work out the details of that agreement. And those people, at least thus far, are not people that are oriented towards giving away the store to Putin. They’re people-oriented towards mistrust of Putin, towards a hard line against the Russians, towards support of Ukraine.

I am thinking here that number one, there’s a reasonably high chance that Trump can get the win that he wants, but number two, this isn’t likely to be a walk in the park for the Russian president. The Europeans need to play here as well. And what will be important, there’s been a few formulated conversations thus far between President-elect Trump and some of the European leaders.

They haven’t gone very far, but they’ve also not blown up the bilateral relationships. Their ability to work with Trump advisors on Trump, and on a greater coordination of what an ultimate solution or settlement of the Russian-Ukraine war would be, will make a dramatic difference as to what extent this is sustainable. To what extent this leads to not only Ukraine that can continue to defend itself and the territory that it is left with, but also can integrate into Europe, can be politically successful as a democracy over time. And that NATO will stay strong and stay together and stay aligned with the United States because they don’t have another choice. There is no autonomous European military capacity. It’s either NATO sticks together or it fragments.

Those are all things that we’re going to watch very carefully over the course of the next couple months. But for now, an escalatory period. And it’s all performative and it’s all oriented towards what happens when Trump becomes president. That’s it for me, and I’ll talk to you all real soon.

GZERO Additional Trending Stories:

Global leaders scramble to align with Trump

Russia-Ukraine: Don’t expect full-on invasion, but Putin isn’t bluffing

Ian Bremmer on the 2024 US election ahead

The US is the world’s most dysfunctional major democracy

Why Ukraine invaded Russia

Harris, Trump and the hypocrisy in US politics

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(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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:

1. All Things Nuclear
2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
4. Nuclear War
5. Nuclear War Threats
6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this evening’s Post.)
7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

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 (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 NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Tuesday, (11/26/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

India’s New Nuclear Submarine Base Challenges China’s Naval Ambitions – WSJ

WSJ

… Things with Kim Strassel · Potomac Watch Podcast · Foreign Edition Podcast … Why Tech Elites Want Us All to Have More Kids …

Meet a Nuclear Safety Engineer Whose Job Is to Predict Risks and Avoid Them | GE Vernova News

GE Vernova

… nuclear business, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, for an … “It was always just fascinating to me to think about how it all worked,” he says.

Putin’s strategy in Ukraine ahead of Trump’s return – GZERO Media

GZERO Media

They decided they were going to, the Russian response has been to formally change their nuclear … Those are all things that we’re going to watch very …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

The Promise Of Nuclear–Powered National Security Space | Aviation Week Network

Aviation Week

The U.S. needs nuclear propulsion to power spacecraft beyond geostationary orbit for human space exploration and dynamic space operations.

Letters to the Editor: Nuclear power’s promise: Live well now, poison humanity in the future

Los Angeles Times

Pacific Gas and Electric’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the only operating nuclear plant in California, is seen in Avila Beach in 2023. (Brian van der …

Defects in Michigan nuclear plant’s tubes could complicate reopening plans

The Detroit News

… Nuclear Power Plant in west Michigan, according to a federal official. The issue prompted some nuclear safety advocates to question whether the plant …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system risks nuclear disaster: rights experts | UN News

UN News – the United Nations

… nuclear power plants,” the experts emphasised. Tweet URL. Severe damage … Humanitarian organizations mobilized swiftly and provided emergency …

Power Outages: How the Schedules Will Function on November 26 – all the latest news today – 112

112

… emergency power outages have been implemented. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported a decrease in electrical capacity at …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Putin Ally Issues Nuclear War Warning to US – Newsweek

Newsweek

Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev warned of nuclear war if the U.S transfers nuclear weapons to Ukraine: “The consequences are obvious.”

Russia’s Medvedev warns West over discussing nuclear weapons for Ukraine – Reuters

Reuters

Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that if the West supplied nuclear weapons to Ukraine then Moscow could consider …

Safest place on Earth after nuclear war: World War III map shows 8 regions where you can stay safe

The Economic Times

A nuclear war could trigger catastrophic food shortages, leading to the starvation of

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Safest place on Earth after nuclear war: World War III map shows 8 regions where you can stay safe

The Economic Times

This heightened threat comes after Russia revised its nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for a nuclear response. Previously, Russia’s policy …

Biden isn’t escalating the war in Ukraine — he’s doing the right thing

msnbc.com

… war in Ukraine, but it does represent yet another nuclear threat. The … Giving in to these sort of threats shows that nuclear extortion works, …

WW3 nuclear map sparks terror as Putin signs new doctrine – ‘no safe country exists’

Irish Star

Map shows horrifying range of Russia’s nukes as Putin’s allies …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

New research reveals the looming global threat of supervolcanoes

The Brighter Side of News

The Yellowstone Caldera is an infamous “supervolcano” having produced three “supereruptions”. (CREDIT: iStock). Toba Caldera (Indonesia). Size: 100 …

A Massive Supervolcano is Showing Signs of Waking Up, Threatening the Globe

Vision Times

One of the world’s more well known supervolcanoes is located in the United States in Yellowstone National Park, called the Yellowstone Caldera. It …

Supervolcano Is Making Scientists Uneasy With Potential Chaotic Outcome – TheTravel

TheTravel

Gianmarco Buono and his team took a closer look at The Phlegraean Fields, a large caldera volcano west of Naples, Italy. … Yellowstone, Long Valley in …