“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 28, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Tuesday, (08/27/2024)

This Post about an International outreach to all proponents of Nuclear Arms Disarmament on a global basis at an ICAN meeting in Kazakhstan demonstrates that the 9 countries with nuclear arms are threatening the future of the a living world, pointing out that they are just 9 of almost 200 countries globally, and that Kazakhstan, a country “having suffered the devastating consequences of decades of Soviet nuclear testing – understand all too well why disarmament is a humanitarian necessity,” will preside over the third meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW, in March 2025.

I have chosen this brief, but challenging, article for this evening because it demonstrates that, by far, the larger world population wants nothing to do with nuclear arms, and for obvious good reasons.

But do the nuclear-armed countries give a damn? Frankly, I don’t think so. And “therein lies the rub.” The points made here by Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN, dramatically speak to the reasons that eventual world disarmament is necessary if Earth is to continue its ability to sustain life.

But the nuclear powers will never listen for reasons that are barely understandable by these peace-loving nations. And the hell of it all is that we who live in these 9 nations are so enamored of ‘all things nuclear’ that we are not only building bigger and more powerful nuclear weapons to manage an artificial resistance to nuclear war called ‘deterrence’, but are also adding untold more danger to all kinds of living populations, of the world by expanding and adding something called nuclear power to the mix, and that addition is potentially just as dangerous and life-threatening as their nuclear arms cousins. ~llaw

August 27, 2024 Updates

Measures to Strengthen Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones: ICAN remarks to Astana Workshop

On 27-28 August, Kazakhstan is hosting a meeting for all Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZ), to foster cooperation, enhance consultation mechanisms and explore how NWFZ can contribute to efforts to respond to existing and emerging security threats related to nuclear weapons. Hon. Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN,  delivered the following remarks: 

Measures to Strengthen Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones

Excellencies, distinguished colleagues,

It is my honour to deliver some brief remarks today on behalf of ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Let me begin by thanking our host, Kazakhstan, for its tremendous leadership over many years in advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament. It has demonstrated, through its actions, that a country is better off without these horrific, earth-endangering weapons. That disarmament can be done, and must be done.

Of course, the people of Kazakhstan – having suffered the devastating consequences of decades of Soviet nuclear testing – understand all too well why disarmament is a humanitarian necessity.

Like the hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear test survivors here and in other parts of the world have courageously shared their personal testimonies time and again, in the hope that no one else will ever suffer as they have. It is time to heed their warnings.

ICAN is delighted that Kazakhstan will preside over the third meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW, in March 2025 – continuing its leadership in this field. Your country has an important message to share with the world, especially in these deeply troubling times, with the nuclear arms race gaining speed and the threat of nuclear war looming large over us all.

Let me also extend my thanks to each and every country here belonging to a nuclear-weapon-free zone – for having rejected nuclear weapons in your region. Many of you have also rejected them globally, by joining the TPNW. You have shown that security is achieved through cooperation, not the development and stockpiling of horrifically destructive weapons.

One of our greatest challenges, as advocates for nuclear disarmament, is to keep expectations high, even in gloomy times like these. To raise the bar even as others try to lower it.

It is easy to become despondent and pessimistic when one considers the current state of affairs. Not only are nuclear-armed states failing to fulfil their legal obligation to disarm; they are instead moving in the opposite direction by enhancing and, in some cases, expanding their nuclear forces. An affront to humanity.

But the stakes are too high to give in to despair. And nuclear-weapon-free zones can be a source of hope and inspiration. They show that a different way is possible. If large geographic regions such as Latin America and Africa and Southeast Asia can be kept free of nuclear weapons, why not, one day, the entire world?

I sometimes hear members of the public say, ignorantly, that we need nuclear weapons because everyone else has them. They seem to believe that possessing nuclear weapons is the norm, when in fact just nine out of almost 200 countries in the world have them. Being a part of a nuclear-weapon-free zone is the norm.

This workshop is an important opportunity to foster greater cooperation among the various zones, and to continue the crucial work of reinforcing the nuclear taboo and building the institutional framework needed to eliminate nuclear weapons completely.

I wish to make two specific appeals to you today:

The first is to incorporate the perspectives of civil society in your work to the greatest degree possible. ICAN has been delighted to participate in the general conferences of OPANAL and meetings of states parties to the Treaty of Pelindaba, for example, and we would warmly welcome the opportunity for further cooperation.

It is important for the public to be aware that such discussions are taking place, and for public opinion to influence decision-making. We can help to ensure both.

My second appeal is for all members of nuclear-weapon-free zones to sign and ratify the TPNW if they have not yet done so. The TPNW complements and reinforces the nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties, as well as the Non-Proliferation Treaty and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. It is an opportunity to transform your strong regional norms into global norms.

Moreover, joining the TPNW should be a relatively straightforward process for zone members, given that the zone treaties and the TPNW have similar core obligations and objectives. Many of your countries would no doubt already have in place the necessary domestic legislation and procedures to fulfil your obligations under the TPNW.

Despite the many challenges that we face, it is essential that we continue the serious, practical work of laying the foundations for nuclear disarmament.

We must continue, with determination and urgency, the transition from nuclear-weapon-free zones to a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Thank you.

Further reading:

Experts and governments meet to discuss the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons

Leading Swiss figures call on Switzerland to join UN nuclear ban treaty

Nuclear Spending vs Healthcare

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

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 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, (08/27/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Iranian supreme leader open to nuclear talks with US: Report | Fox News Video

Fox News

Fox News contributor Mike Pompeo joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss his reaction to the report, former President Trump’s promise to fire officials …

UN nuclear chief visits Russia’s Kursk atomic plant near front line | Reuters

Reuters

U.N. nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi arrived on Tuesday at the Kursk nuclear power plant which Moscow says has been repeatedly attacked by …

Opinion: Why is the U.S. fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors? – The Portland Press Herald

The Portland Press Herald

Policy shifts without public messaging will only make adversaries more paranoid and a full-on arms race all but inevitable.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Can a Closed Nuclear Power Plant From the ’70s Be Brought Back to Life? – WSJ

WSJ

Surging demand for electricity and new investment in green energy drove the plan to restart Michigan’s decommissioned Palisades plant.

US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s post – Facebook – Facebook

Full Coverage

UN watchdog says fighting poses serious risk to Russian nuclear plant | Reuters

Reuters

IAEA’s Grossi visits Kursk nuclear plant · Kursk plant is 40 km (25 miles) from fighting · Russia says Ukraine has attacked the site · Ukraine has yet to …

Nuclear industry eyes Kentucky but don’t expect nuclear power plants anytime soon | News

The Paducah Sun

The director of an energy research center at UK told state lawmakers it’s not likely a nuclear power plant will be built in Kentucky in the next …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Nuclear Watchdog Says Russia Elevates Risk Running Kursk Reactor – Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com

Monitors from the United Nations atomic watchdog said Rosatom Corp. is elevating the risk of a radiological emergency by continuing to operate a …

Nuclear Watchdog Begins Inspection of Russia’s Kursk Plant – BNN Bloomberg

BNN Bloomberg

“The major concern right now is an accidental military strike,” said Robert Kelley, a former IAEA director and emergency-response coordinator at the …

Oconee County Nuclear Station siren activation – WYFF

WYFF

“The Oconee Nuclear Station is operating safely. “Duke Energy has received information that some emergency warning sirens sounded in the Pickens …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Russia warns the United States of the risks of World War Three | Reuters

Reuters

Lavrov says the West is playing with fire over Ukraine · Russia is clarifying its nuclear doctrine, Lavrov says · Lavrov talks about the dangers of …

If a China and America war went nuclear, who would win? | The Straits Times

The Straits Times

China uses “theatre” nuclear weapons – with a shorter range and smaller yield than the city-busting “strategic” missiles – to shorten the war by …

Lavrov: US doesn’t fully understand consequences of possible nuclear war

azərbaycan24

The US doesn’t fully understand the consequences that will occur in the event of a nuclear war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

OPINION: Why is the US fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors?

Anchorage Daily News

OPINION: Why is the US fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors? … Joe Biden also used to speak regularly and urgently about the dangers of …

Measures to Strengthen Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones: ICAN Statement to Astana Workshop

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

… threats related to nuclear weapons. Hon. Melissa Parke, Executive … threat of nuclear war looming large over us all. Let me also extend my …

Russia warns the United States of the risks of World War Three | Reuters

Reuters

Lavrov says the West is playing with fire over Ukraine · Russia is clarifying its nuclear doctrine, Lavrov says · Lavrov talks about the dangers of ..

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Hydrothermal explosions—a worldwide phenomena | U.S. Geological Survey – USGS.gov

USGS.gov

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

The disappearing mountains and hungry volcano: Researching the evolution of the Teton Range

MSN

… Yellowstone caldera following the Huckleberry Ridge eruption more than 2 million years ago. Related video: The ACTUAL Tallest Mountain In the …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 26, 2024

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A massive generator runs at Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant in California

LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Monday, (08/26/2024)

Well, here we are again, reporting another round of negativity about the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California at Avila Beach just over 10 miles southwest of San Luis Obispo. The plant is owned by PG&E, which, given the company’s seemingly eternal accident-prone and error-filled existence, definitely adds to why the plant should have been beginning preparing for its permanent shutdown and dismantling beginning in 2025 rather than a new lease on life through 2030 proffered up by billions of taxpayer dollars from California and the United States governments.

The plant, as the Los Angeles Times article below states, is risky, not the least of which are potential major radiation leaks from old age as well as the risk of a severe earthquake that could demolish the plant causing widespread damage similar to Japan’s Fukushima accident created by “acts of god” including an earthquake that created a tsunami in 2011. That plant is, of course, totally inoperable forever, but the parent company is being allowed to dump millions of tons of ‘safety-treated’ nuclear waste into the nearby Pacific Ocean, which of course has the fishing industry in a well-justified uproar.

And there are other risks, which are always prevalent during the operation of all nuclear power plants everywhere, including fires, terrorism or war, control of nuclear waste, which is already a growing problem for California at the 2013 shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente.

All nuclear power plants, as well as other nuclear facilities and products, like nuclear bombs, are also ‘risky business’, but we don’t seem to care enough to “bite the bullet” and rid ourselves of the most dangerous product ever known on planet Earth. Instead, we lie to ourselves, hide our heads in the sand, and continue on playing against the odds on the very future of life on planet Earth. That is the ‘real’ risk . . . ~llaw

California’s last nuclear plant is a risky, costly business

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

By Ryan Fonseca Staff Writer 

Aug. 26, 2024 6:30 AM PT

Why Diablo Canyon is a risky business

When you watch TV, run your AC or charge your phone overnight, a portion of the energy you’re using may have come from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

The PG&E-run facility — perched on the edge of the Central California coast — runs around the clock, generating electricity thanks to massive copper coils spun rapidly by steam generated by nuclear fission.

The plant is central in an ongoing debate over California’s energy future, Noah Haggerty, a mass media fellow at The Times, explained this week. Key arguments center on the skyrocketing cost of nuclear energy and the risks of an earthquake leading to nuclear disaster.

“As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration looks to the aging reactor to help ease the state’s transition to renewable energy, Diablo Canyon is drawing renewed criticism from those who say the facility is too expensive and too dangerous to continue operating,” he wrote.

Nuclear energy has become a costly power source.

It used to be that wind and solar power cost orders of magnitude more than producing electricity at a nuclear plant.

But the high demand for renewable energy spurred technological advances that have drastically reduced those costs. The state has been ramping up its power storage capacity, which cuts against one argument for nuclear power — that it’s needed to keep the lights on when there’s no sun or wind.

Nuclear energy now costs about double what those other sources do, Noah reported.

In recent years, nuclear plants have racked up costs because of more outages and equipment being replaced. MIT researchers in one study also pointed to higher costs from research and development. They also cited decreased worker productivity, possibly due to low morale.

Another reason for rising costs are safety requirements, many of which were put in place after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami led to a nuclear meltdown.

Earthquakes remain the key risk for the plant.

They make up about 65% of the assessed risk for the worst possible meltdown, Noah noted, because of nearby fault lines.

If an earthquake were to occur and critically damage the plant before operators could shut down the nuclear fission happening inside, the unchecked reaction would create a meltdown.

If that were to happen, the clean energy source could essentially become a giant dirty bomb, spewing radioactive material into the atmosphere faster than nearby communities could evacuate.

If you’re one for probabilities, here are a couple for you:

“Every year, nearby residents have roughly the same chance of seeing a nuclear meltdown as dying in a car crash,” Noah wrote. “Also, in any given year, they’re about 50 times more likely to face a mass-casualty radioactive catastrophe than get struck by lightning.”

Officials at the PG&E plant point to their many earthquake precautions, including reinforced infrastructure designed to prevent collapses, plus immersive simulations to train operators for the worst-case scenario.

Critics have voiced concerns that regulators have overlooked and lowballed some of the seismic safety risks.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Diablo Canyon was slated to start closing this year. Then Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped in.

Back in 2016, PG&E agreed to close its plant when the operating licenses expire in November 2024 and August 2025.

But in some last-minute legislative maneuvering, Newsom struck a deal to keep the plant running until 2030, which federal regulators later approved.

Newsom argues that keeping Diablo Canyon running is vital to protect against blackouts in the state and “provide an onramp for more clean energy projects to come online.”

In recent years, Californians’ attitudes on nuclear power have shifted.

A 2022 poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that 44% of state voters supported building more nuclear reactors in California, while 37% of those polled were opposed. Another 19% were undecided.

You can read Noah’s full story here.

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

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 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, Monday, (08/26/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says – KSMU Radio

KSMU Radio

… about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:30 PM All Songs Considered. 0:00. 0:00.

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says

Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI

… about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM World Cafe. 0:00. 0:00. All Things …

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says – WMUK

WMUK

All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM The Daily. 0:00. 0:00. All Things … And when we say deterrence, we shouldn’t just think about nuclear …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

IAEA Director General Statement on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

International Atomic Energy Agency

Given the serious situation, I am personally leading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in …

California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is a risky, costly business – Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

Two domes rise into the sky at a nuclear power plant. Twin containment domes, shrouded in fog, house the nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon nuclear …

Russia attacks near Ukraine nuclear plant – YouTube

YouTube

Russia’s attack Monday morning hit areas near Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Although the world is competing to secure nuclear power, Korea is in an emergency as four …

mk.co.kr

Nuclear power plants are essential for reducing carbon emissions and providing stable power to high-tech industries, including artificial intelligence …

With the world competing to secure nuclear power, Korea is in an emergency as four existing nuclear

mk.co.kr

Nuclear power plants are essential for reducing carbon emissions and supplying stable power to high-tech industries, including artificial intelligence …

Outages introduced as preventive measures, due to damage to power equipment – adviser to PM

interfax.com.ua

Emergency power outages are associated … “There were nuances related to the limitation of power output, including from nuclear power plants.

Nuclear War

NEWS

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says | WHQR

WHQR

We had an arms race during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Each side built tens of thousands of nuclear weapons at the …

IACS, UNM host groundbreaking forum on nuclear weapons

UNM Newsroom – The University of New Mexico

… nuclear war. The discussion, “Forum on Nuclear Strategy: Disarmament & Deterrence in a Dangerous World,” will be held from 1:45 to 5 p.m. (MDT) on …

IACS, UNM hosts groundbreaking forum on nuclear weapons

UNM Newsroom – The University of New Mexico

A groundbreaking discussion in September at The University of New Mexico will feature high-ranking public policy experts, influential spiritual …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Andreas Kluth: Why is the US fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors? – Manhattan Mercury

Manhattan Mercury

Andreas Kluth: Why is the US fighting nuclear threats behind closed doors … Joe Biden also used to speak regularly and urgently about the dangers of …

The Battle of Kursk probably won’t result in nuclear weapons use against Ukraine. But …

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

It can be predicted with reasonable confidence that Russia will not threaten, much less use, nuclear weapons against Ukraine … nuclear war was at its …

North Korea conducts ‘suicide drones’ test, Kim Jong un calls for war preparedness

Times of India

Animosity between North and South Korea is escalating as Kim Jong Un continues to fortify his nuclear-armed military and issue threats aimed at …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 25, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Sunday, (08/25/2024)

Sundays are now a day off for me, too, but I will, recognizing that “All Things Nuclear” don’t stop on weekends, continue to take the time to format the TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS section of this daily blog for you on both Saturday and Sunday to allow you to read the “best” information AI can find on a daily basis from all around the world, with nuclear news outlets from news organizations that you’ve never heard of, not just American sources, that are worthy of your attention.

Among the several really interesting headlines over the weekends, I will provide a link just below as the one I think may be the most important to you. This is the one for today:

Forget Three Mile Island: Energy Visionaries Plan a Fleet of Nuclear Power Stations Across America

The New York Sun

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

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 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, Sunday, (08/25/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says | WUNC

WUNC

… about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:30 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00. All Things …

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says – NPR

NPR

… about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age … All Things Considered · Fresh Air · Up First. Featured. The NPR Politics …

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says – WUFT

WUFT

… about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00. All Things …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, a year since release of treated radioactive water

YouTube

Today marks one year since Japan began releasing treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.

Forget Three Mile Island: Energy Visionaries Plan a Fleet of Nuclear Power Stations Across America

The New York Sun

‘We have seen a huge pivot and finally a recognition of the benefits that come from nuclear power,’ one backer says.

AI’s insatiable energy demand is going nuclear – Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance

Big Tech companies are striking major power-generation deals as they attempt to balance AI energy needs and sustainability goals.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant at risk of blackout amid Russian strikes – MSN

MSN

Currently, the plant is connected to the Ukrainian energy system by only one 750kV power line, the Dniprovska. If this line is damaged, an emergency …

Nuclear War

NEWS

North Korea Issues Nuclear Warning After Report of New US Strategy – Newsweek

Newsweek

The U.S. is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in warfare, detonating two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, during World War …

The post-Cold-War nuclear disarmament period is over, Pentagon says – NPR

NPR

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe speaks to nuclear expert James Acton from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the dangers of what is being …

Behind the propaganda: a glimpse of the real war in Ukraine –

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

With NATO behind him, Zelensky insists that Ukrainian forces will fight Russia until every inch of territory, including the Crimea, comes under …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Putin’s war is raising risk of another Chernobyl, says historian who inspired hit TV show

The Guardian

Serhii Plokhy’s account of the 1986 disaster stunned readers and TV audiences. Now his new book warns that the threat of nuclear terror has only …

Neutralizing Iran’s nuclear threat without force or sanctions – opinion – The Jerusalem Post

The Jerusalem Post

Successive Netanyahu-led governments have portrayed Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, …

Biden’s policy faux pas heightens nuclear risks – The Express Tribune

The Express Tribune

Biden’s policy faux pas heightens nuclear risks. The US president has shifted the focus of Washington’s nuclear strategy to deterring Beijing. By .

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone Biscuit Basin explosion may have created a new geyser – MSN

MSN

Geologists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) estimated the height of the plume by examining photos posted on social media. They also …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 24, 2024

1

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Saturday, (08/24/2024)

It is Saturday, the 1st weekend day I will not be looking hard at evaluating and making “Issues & Comments”, usually concerning the most dangerous, worthy, or sensitive of the Google AI articles I receive from my “Daily Digest” that I created on Google two years ago.

Sundays will be a day off for me, too, but I will, recognizing that “All Things Nuclear” don’t stop on weekends, continue to take the time to format the TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS section of this daily blog for you on both days to allow you to read the “best” information AI can find on a daily basis from all around the world, with nuclear news outlets from news organizations that you’ve never heard of, not just American sources, that bear your attention.

Among several really interesting headlines over the weekends, I will provide a link just below as the one I think may be the most important to you. This is the one for today:

North Korea Warns of ‘Serious Consequences’ as Kamala Harris Condemns ‘Tyrant’ Kim Jong Un

Newsweek

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

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 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, Saturday, (08/24/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

What it takes to replace a flight with a long-distance bike ride – BBC

BBC

Not everything was easy, of course. I was intimidated, harassed by motorbikes and, twice, treated to the cycling-in-traffic hallmark of being shouted …

19-year-old first-time delegate from California shares his experience at the DNC | KGOU

KGOU

All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM National Native News. 0:00. 0:00 … Prior to joining NPR, she worked at several news organizations covering …

There’s Nuclear In Wyoming: Chris Levesque On Our Modern Power Needs – Forbes

Forbes

“Nuclear is all about density, and that’s important as we look at the … things like electric vehicles and the electrification of industry.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear industry eyes Kentucky but don’t expect nuclear power plants anytime soon

Kentucky Lantern

Nuclear energy companies are interested in moving to Kentucky but it’s unlikely a nuclear power plant will be built in the next 10 years, …

Russia Issues New Nuclear Warning as Ukraine’s Kursk Invasion Expands – Newsweek

Newsweek

Moscow accused Ukraine of attempting an attack against a nuclear power plant in Kursk.

Startup raises $4m to build nuclear reactors a mile underground – Data Center Dynamics

Data Center Dynamics

“We’ve innovated beyond other reactor designs and engaged early and often with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make atomic energy a viable option …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Nearly 300,000 Bangladeshis in emergency shelters after floods | Arab News PK

Arab News Pakistan

Blix, 96, who headed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1981 to 1997, spoke to AFP on a range of issues in an hour-long interview at …

Iceland: State Of Emergency Declared Due To New Volcanic Eruption | Watch – MSN

MSN

American crocodile population growing in Florida thanks to nuclear …

WHO Declares Public Health Emergency Over Mpox Outbreak in Africa – MyChesCo

MyChesCo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a Public Health Emergency … Nuclear power plant · Chester County Offers Free …

Nuclear War

NEWS

The cost of nuclear deterrence in a new world order | DW Business – YouTube

YouTube

if India peace deal and diplomacy won’t work which means neither sides committed to stop the war than we would see a tactical nuclear war.

At Televised Meet, Putin’s Scary Revelation; Alarmed UN Watchdog Rushes – YouTube

YouTube

Russia-Ukraine War: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug 22 accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station.

North Korea Warns of ‘Serious Consequences’ as Kamala Harris Condemns ‘Tyrant’ Kim Jong Un

Newsweek

… nuclear war.” More Korean Central News Agency via AP. “Amid the ever-escalating political and military tension in the Korean peninsula due to the …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Searching for nuclear bombs at the Democratic convention – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

With “joy” as the operative word among Democrats rallying at the DNC this week, nuclear threats appeared very far from their minds.

Zelensky vows retribution for Russia, calls Putin a ‘sick man’ for nuclear threats

South China Morning Post

Zelensky vows retribution for Russia, calls Putin a ‘sick man’ for nuclear threats. Zelensky also announced that Ukrainian forces carried out …

Vladimir Putin’s ‘Iron Doll’ makes WW3 threat – ‘we are a nuclear power’ – Irish Star

Irish Star

Vladimir Putin’s ‘Iron Doll’ makes WW3 threat – ‘we are a nuclear power’ … Fears of World War 3 have ramped up as a top Russian pundit, often dubbed ..

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Iceland: State Of Emergency Declared Due To New Volcanic Eruption | Watch – MSN

MSN

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 23, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Friday, (08/23/2024)

This all sounds like double standards to me. Putin’s anger or indignant attitude seems to be based on some mystical rule that turnabout is not fair, even in a long, drawn out war that is taking a heavy toll on both countries.

Is it any different than when Russia attacked the Ukraine more than three years ago and took over the Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeast Ukraine? Russian military personnel also are in charge of the plant’s operations, although the plant is currently primarily shut down due to the nearby Russia/Ukraine ground war that has threatened the safety of the plant many time over, and has also insanely disabled the electrical grid system that feeds the plant with its operational electrical power, resulting in diesel generators saving the day, creating a situation that could have caused a meltdown, threatening the lives of millions of citizens in Ukraine and parts of Europe.

Putin must not believe in the old adage, “All is fair in love and war.” ~llaw

Kursk nuclear plant is one of Russia’s top atomic power stations

By Reuters

August 22, 2024 6:10 AM PDT Updated a day ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on situation in Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions following an incursion of Ukrainian troops in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia August 22, 2024. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW, Aug 22 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Thursday of trying to strike Russia’s Kursk nuclear power station in an overnight attack.

He provided no documentary evidence to back up his assertion and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Here are some details about the plant.

* The Kursk plant is one of Russia’s top nuclear power stations. It supplies about half of the electricity used in the Black Earth region of southern Russia.

* It is located on the Seym River near the town of Kurchatov, named after Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, in Russia’s western region of Kursk. Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion in the Kursk region on Aug. 6.

* The plant has four Soviet graphite-moderated RBMK-1000 reactors – the same design as those at the Chernobyl nuclear plant which in 1986, when part of the Soviet Union, became the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

* Reactor Number 1, which dates from 1976, was shut down at the Kursk plant in 2021 to operate in non-generation mode. Reactor Number 2, which dates from 1979, was shut down in 2024. Reactor Number 3, from 1983, and Reactor Number 4, from 1985, are both operational.

* Construction of Kursk-2, essentially new reactors of the VVER-TOI type, was begun in 2018. The two reactors are not operational yet.

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

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 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, Friday, (08/23/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Museum dedicated to Kansas City’s influential garment district closing after 2 decades

KCUR

All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00. All Things … nuclear arms race. Stay Connected. twitter · instagram · youtube …

The Little League Coach of the Year explains why America loves coaches – The Washington Post

Washington Post

… about to go nuclear. Story continues below advertisement. They stick with us … “You miss all of those things if your focus is on, you know …

Early voting is about to begin in the Massachusetts state primary — with a first | WBUR News

WBUR

For the first time this year, every Massachusetts city and town is required to offer in-person weekend early voting for the state primary.

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to attack Kursk nuclear power plant with drone | Reuters

Reuters

Russia accused Ukraine on Friday of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station overnight in what it called an act of “nuclear terrorism”, …

EXCLUSIVE: US confirms nuclear pact with Armenia ‘under consideration’ – Civilnet.am

Civilnet.am

That could pave the way for the United States to design and build a new nuclear power plant in Armenia to replace the country’s aging, Soviet-era …

Putin says Ukrainian forces tried to strike Kursk nuclear plant – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukrainian forces have tried to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Station in an overnight raid.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Nuclear security, nonproliferation focus of National Lab’s summer school – Daily Energy Insider

Daily Energy Insider

… emergency response. Mintz gave students an overview of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team and the types of events for which they provide …

‘On brink of blackout’ – Ukenergo comments on situation at Zaporizhia nuclear plant – Букви

Букви

The line is crucial as it supplies the nuclear power plant with electricity … emergency diesel generators and safety systems. Failure of these …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Why Is the US Fighting Nuclear Threats Behind Closed Doors? – Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times

Joe Biden also used to speak regularly and urgently about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and war. But that was when he was vice president, and …

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to attack Kursk nuclear power plant with drone | Reuters

Reuters

Russia accused Ukraine on Friday of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station overnight in what it called an act of “nuclear terrorism”, …

Kursk nuclear plant is one of Russia’s top atomic power stations | Reuters

Reuters

President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Thursday of trying to strike Russia’s Kursk nuclear power station in an overnight attack.

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Why Is the US Fighting Nuclear Threats Behind Closed Doors? – Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times

Joe Biden also used to speak regularly and urgently about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and war. … Nuclear Threats Behind Closed Doors?

China ‘gravely concerned’ by reported US nuclear strategy shift – The Hill

The Hill

“It is the U.S. who is the primary source of nuclear threats and strategic risks in the world.” … war in Gaza in DNC speech · Supreme Court …

Iran: Neutralizing Nuclear Threat Without Force or Sanctions – IDN-InDepthNews

IDN-InDepthNews

… nuclear weapons. The threat of nuclear escalation acted as a deterrent, preventing full-scale wars between the two nuclear powers, knowing, as …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

The disappearing mountains and hungry volcano: Researching the evolution of the Teton Range

Phys.org

… Yellowstone caldera following the Huckleberry Ridge eruption more than 2 million years ago. The Yellowstone volcano is a hotspot, which means the …

IAEA Weekly News

23 August 2024

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

22 August 2024

IAEA Informed of Drone at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Director General Grossi to Assess Site

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed by the Russian Federation today that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. The drone fragments were reported to have been located roughly 100 metres from the plant’s spent fuel nuclear storage facility.  The IAEA was informed that the drone was suppressed in the early morning of 22 August. In this context, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed his intention to personally assess the situation at the site during his visit next week. Read more →

22 August 2024

Nuclear Security Includes All of Us

With women significantly underrepresented in the field of nuclear security, the IAEA actively promotes gender equality through various initiatives to foster a more diverse and sustainable workforce. Read more →

21 August 2024

IAEA, Kenya and South Africa Work Together to Trace Sediments in Kenyan Port

The IAEA, Kenya and South Africa have been working together to apply a more environmentally friendly method of tracing ocean sediments, in order to keep East Africa’s largest international seaport open for trade.   Read more →

20 August 2024

IAEA Releases Nuclear Power Data and Operating Experience for 2023

Newly released nuclear power data for 2023 collected by the IAEA, paint a picture of a clean energy technology at a crossroads amid the emergence of a new global consensus to accelerate its deployment. Read more →

19 August 2024

What Is Food Fraud, and How Can Nuclear Science Detect It?

Food fraud can be defined as any intentional action, taken to deceive customers about the quality and content of the food products for financial gain. The selling of fake food around the world has become a highly lucrative illegal activity. Read more →

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 23, 2024

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Methuselah, who is rumored to have lived for 969 years — the longest of us all.

LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Thursday, (08/22/2024)

Wow! Today is the 2nd Anniversary of “All Things Nuclear”! How on Earth could two trips around our Sun have possibly gone so rapidly, leaving nothing but memories so seemingly quickly? And with nary a day off with a “LLAW’s All Things Nuclear” blog post That’s 730 posts, one a day following right behind the latter. That is, I will say, dedication to my purpose here, which is to warn us all around the world that we humans are rapidly moving forward to our collective deaths from ‘all things nuclear’, especially from nuclear war and nuclear power, or a combination of the two with maybe a little help from Greenhous gasses. We could turn around and go back where we came from, but we won’t, and that is the shame and horror of it all . . . but even though I, and a handful of others, know how it could be done, it takes a world of unity, and we humans will not allow unity to happen. The only thing that could save us from ourselves is an unknown intervention from a higher form of life, and even that may not be a pleasant blessing either. But we should know that a life-giving and thriving planet Earth is, in every way possible, worth saving . . . I’ve never understood why we don’t en-masse understand that, but I do know it has something to do with our ability to think and use our natural intellect conclusively and collectively, or rather the lack of it.

I have linked these daily Blog Posts from two of their several source platforms by posting them to Facebook (because Facebook reaches far more people than any other social media platform —numbering in the multiple billions world-wide. Yet, so far, I have just a handful of faithful followers and a few hundred sporadic or occasional visitors. Of course these smallish steps over the two years will not convince me to stop or to throw my hands up and quit, even though Facebook has tried to shut my blog posts down several times, and has attempted to permanently delete about 8 or 10 of them for various violations of their so-called “Community Standards” varying from ‘Cyber Security’ to ‘SPAM’. One way or another, though, I have and will continue on because I am old, set in my ways, and have long known the nuclear industry from its uranium mining roots, uranium fuel processing, and the many dangers ‘all things nuclear’ poses to all of human and other life on this beautiful blue-green planet.

Even if we humans, who have blindly allowed ourselves to be led down a crooked path toward inevitable extinction by governments, corporations, and the nuclear industry’s propaganda, there are those of us who know the industry and who understand the ‘armageddon-like’ trip to and over the proverbial cliff to our demise. But we are never able to convince a world full of apathetic, uncaring, fatalistic, or even simply fearful, nor, most of all, those millions of enthusiastic followers of the mythical future of nuclear power as our ultimate savior. Yet we should still do ourselves the intellectual favor and honor to know the true nature and mechanics of ‘all things nuclear’ and what atomic energy, nuclear fuel, nuclear power plants, and nuclear war are all about and why they will ultimately destroy us and most other innocent life, too, leaving planet Earth a barren and dead planet. Education is all-important, and that is what my anti-nuclear blog is all about.

(And, by the way, I also post my blog to “Linked In”, not only because it is of University of Wyoming origin — where I was born and raised — a venture that has grown internationally, and has a huge well-rounded professional following and I am looking for just the right Sponsor that could allow me to expand the dalily information and purposes that are provided in the blog.)

So those are the reasons I will continue on with the blog and these posts with one exception: Beginning Saturday, I will no longer post on weekends or holidays in deference to my health (both mental and physical) combined with my seemingly Methusalahian-like years of age . . . so I am more likely to be able to continue on with this dramatic global murder mystery of a tale that I have to tell you all for many more years — provided we have “many more years”, which I highly doubt, but at least until there is no more story to tell except the last chapter. ~llaw

Speaking of stories, there are several extra-interesting ones in TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS below. (I’m taking the rest of the day off . . .)

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

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 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, Thursday, (08/22/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

What does Ukraine’s incursion into Russia say about a so-called ‘red line’? – KRWG

KRWG

INSKEEP: I talk with Ukrainians. I think they felt for a long time that the U.S. was way too worried about Russian nuclear retaliation. Have the …

What does Ukraine’s incursion into Russia say about a so-called ‘red line’? – NPR

NPR

Evelyn Farkas is watching all this. She was a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Obama administration and now leads a nonpartisan think tank …

Daily Report | Air & Space Forces Magazine

Daily Report | Air & Space Forces Magazine

Get your daily fix of Air & Space Force news delivered right to your inbox every day. There’s no more reliable source for news about your Air …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

It’s time for the U.S. to lead on nuclear energy – Clean Air Task Force

Clean Air Task Force

Nuclear energy is a proven energy source that already accounts for around 10 percent of electricity generation globally and nearly 20 percent …

Putin accuses Ukraine of trying to strike Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant | Reuters

Reuters

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Ukraine of trying to strike Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant in an overnight attack and said Moscow …

IAEA’s Grossi on Russia, Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant Risks – YouTube

YouTube

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi talks on Bloomberg Television about escalating safety risks at both the …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Telephone survey shows how many Kazakhstanis support nuclear power plant construction

Kazinform

Opponents to the construction (32.5%) associate nuclear power plants with potential emergencies and environmental consequences. At the same time …

British defence contractor to work on top secret nuclear monitoring base – The Telegraph

The Telegraph

Serco lands £250m contract to build emergency power station at Greenland space base.

WATCH NOW: DC firefighters respond to emergency call on Wisconsin Ave

DC News Now

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Several firefighters in D.C. were on the scene of an emergency … reactor at the damaged Fukushima Nuclear power plant …

Nuclear War

NEWS

If a China and America war went nuclear, who would win? – The Economist

The Economist

During the cold war America and the Soviet Union both planned to use lots of tactical nuclear weapons to destroy large and dispersed troop formations, …

Putin accuses Ukraine of trying to strike Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant – Reuters

Reuters

Acting Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov told Putin that the situation at the Kursk plant, which has four Soviet graphite-moderated RBMK-1000 reactors, …

Putin says Ukrainian forces tried to strike Kursk nuclear plant – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

The Russian leader does not offer any evidence for his claim but says the UN nuclear watchdog has been alerted.

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Amid Iran, Russia Attack Threats, USA’s Major Nuclear Weapons Policy Change Revelation

YouTube

Iran Israel War | Nuclear Weapon Threat: U.S. President Joe Biden … Amid Iran, Russia Attack Threats, USA’s Major Nuclear Weapons Policy Change …

Amid Iran, Russia Attack Threats, USA’s Major Nuclear Weapons Policy Change Revelation

Hindustan Times

Watch this video for all the details. News / Videos / World News / Amid Iran, Russia Attack Threats, USA’s Major Nuclear Weapons Policy Change …

Global threats don’t happen in silos. They shouldn’t be managed separately, either.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

… opportunities to come up with more effective strategies across a range of threats. … Humans should teach AI how to avoid nuclear war—while they 

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

The disappearing mountains and hungry volcano | NSF – National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

… Yellowstone caldera following the Huckleberry Ridge eruption over 2 million years ago. The Yellowstone volcano is a hotspot, which means the volcano …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 21, 2024

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LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Wednesday, (08/21/2024)

This article is an interview by two brilliant people, one who despises the nuclear industry, and one who supports it to a degree, discuss the nuclear industry and the mythical dream of an ‘explosion’ of nuclear produced power that will save us from global warming and climate change.

Nuclear energy will not do either because it just simply takes way too long to put nuclear power plants into nuclear power production, among other issues including the survival of life on planet Earth. CO2 and other greenhouse gasses are ‘breathing down our throats’ and those of us who know the nuclear industry know that, aside from its nasty, dirty, radioactive leftovers and propensity for nuclear “accidents” (that the industry laughably calls ‘clean energy’) the time frame of nuclear power production to adequately solve the fossil fuel problem is far too far away and far too dangerous.

Those clear-thinking scientists like M.V. Ramana, and others with ‘hands-on’ experience know that nuclear energy is incapable of solving the environmental problems we have ignorantly created everywhere around the world, and nuclear products of every kind, including the much ballyhooed SMRs, only compound the problem and increase the dangers of our own method of a potential, even likely, mass extinction of our own suicidal making on planet Earth. ~llaw

Challenging the nuclear industry: interview with M.V. Ramana

20 years ago, you would have been laughed out of the room for claiming that nuclear energy is clean technology. The urgency of the climate crisis has drawn some people to some strange conclusions. -Commentary

by Susan O’Donnell

August 20, 2024

Reading Time: 9min read

M.V. Ramana, author of “Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change,” advocates for rethinking nuclear energy’s role in addressing climate change. Photo by Susan O’Donnell.

Despite nuclear energy’s notorious problems, the industry remains remarkably resilient, receiving solid support from governments around the world.

Most recently, in Canada, a ministerial working group of federal cabinet members issued “a plan to modernize federal assessment and permitting processes to get clean growth projects built faster.” The plan includes aligning resources so that “nuclear energy remains a strategic asset to Canada now and into the future.”

A prolific and well-known critic of the nuclear industry in Canada – including in New Brunswick – is physicist and professor M.V. Ramana. Ramana is Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the University of British Columbia. He is back in Vancouver after spending the winter academic term at Princeton University in the U.S., where he previously worked as a researcher for many years.

I last spent time in person with Ramana in June in Montreal where we co-organized a panel, “Challenging the Canadian Nuclear Establishment,” for the Socialist Studies conference. We spoke by phone in July about his new book, Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change.

O’Donnell: Your last book was about nuclear power in India. Your new book is about nuclear energy and the climate crisis. Why did you want to write about that?

Ramana: About 20 or 30 years ago, if someone had talked about nuclear energy as an environmentally friendly, clean technology, they probably would have been laughed out of the room. But in the last decade or two, the nuclear industry seems to be succeeding in changing how people think of this technology, including some environmentalists and people broadly on the left who one would expect to be critical of the industry’s claims.

Much of that is the emergency framing, in which climate change is seen as the overwhelming problem, and we are asked to ignore every other consideration in addressing that.

Nuclear energy has several well-known problems. The fact that there could be catastrophic accidents has been proven time and again. There is no demonstrated solution to managing radioactive waste for the hundreds of thousands of years it will be hazardous. The link between nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. Climate change is framed as such an existential risk that we should overlook all these other problems.

This argument misses the question of whether nuclear energy is a feasible solution. This is the larger context in which I was trying to address the problem.

As well, these framings of nuclear energy as a solution to climate change miss the relationship between the nuclear industry and the fossil fuel industry and other industries that prefer to maintain the status quo.

O’Donnell: I was at a meeting recently with climate activists who support more nuclear development, and someone said that my opposition to nuclear energy is helping the fossil fuel industry. You just suggested the opposite.

Ramana: Their argument presumes that fossil fuels can only be replaced by nuclear power and ignores the possibility that one might switch to renewables. It’s a standard logical fallacy. Both the fossil fuel industry and the nuclear industry use this narrative. Both will claim that you cannot operate an electricity grid without so-called “baseload” sources of power, and fossil fuels and nuclear power are portrayed as the only options for producing that kind of power.

That form of thinking is outdated at this point. It was how people thought about managing an electricity grid back in the early part of the 20th century, ideas about trying to have power plants operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So-called “baseload” plants meet the minimal electricity demand that is always present. And then for the much higher demands during certain periods of the day or the year, we will run other kinds of plants.

The growth of renewables goes against that form of thinking because renewables cannot be classified either as baseload or peak power. They generate when the wind the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, and their inclusion forces us to rethink how we manage the grid.

We have come a long way from the idea that we cannot operate a grid using only renewables to understanding that the grid will be stable even with a very high proportion of renewables. If at all there’s any question, it’s about the last 10% or so.

O’Donnell: Right now, among my colleagues, we’re wondering if the “SMR era” is coming to an end in Canada. Here in New Brunswick, it looks like the ARC reactor design is on its way out. Much of the hype in Canada now is about big reactors. We’re seeing SNC Lavalin/ AtkinsRéalis more prominently, trying to sell their big new 1000 MW CANDU design, we hear Bruce Power talking about building multiple new big reactors. The buzz is about big reactors and meanwhile the SMR companies are having money problems. The SMR companies are not getting the resources they need to reach the stage of applying for a license to construct their reactor designs. Maybe in Canada we will skip over the SMR era, except for the one at Darlington, whenever that might be built, and just focus on refurbishments and big reactors.

Ramana: It depends on what you mean by “end of the SMR era.” Even the reactor at Darlington, the BWRX-300, is going to take another 10 to 15 years. During that period, at least, the SMR dream will be alive. The reactor will be much more expensive and take much longer, and so on, but one shouldn’t underestimate the power of both the nuclear industry and its supporters within the government to keep pushing the idea that the next time around, it’s going to be all fine. That has been their standard argument.

In the United States, for example, the AP 1000 reactors built in Vogtle were a complete failure by most measures, right? But now that the reactors have started functioning, you see people from the nuclear industry counting this as a great success. And it’s not that they’re going to decide to build another set of reactors anytime soon, but you cannot rule out that possibility within, let’s say, the next 10 or 15 years.

We see that in people like Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Energy Secretary, talking about how much nuclear energy must expand over the next few decades, making an argument for more nuclear plants, whether they be small or big. The nuclear industry would want to argue that it’s not a question of small versus large, it’s going to be both. That’s going to be their talking point, and they don’t want to be asked to make a choice, because that infighting is going to weaken the other side, they understand that quite well.

O’Donnell: A chapter in your book deals with the high financial and temporal cost of nuclear energy. You show conclusively, and independent analysis backs you up, that nuclear power is more expensive and takes longer to build than renewable energy and storage.

You found this quote by President Macron of France, which is the most nuclearized state in the world, admitting that France needs to massively develop renewable energy to meet its immediate electricity needs because it takes 15 years to build a nuclear reactor. In the face of clear evidence, a lot of people question why France, and other countries including the U.K. and Canada, seem to be determined to build more nuclear reactors.

Ramana: The first reason is related to how these governments get advice on their energy strategies and policies. The advice tends to come from the very institutions invested in promoting nuclear energy. In the United States, it’s the Department of Energy deciding on energy policy, and one of the Department of Energy’s priorities is to promote nuclear energy. It’s the same in Canada, it’s Natural Resources Canada giving the advice. There’s an institutional bias towards nuclear energy present in the decisions made about energy policies.

The second reason is that in two of the countries you mentioned, the U.K. and France, both have nuclear weapons. In both countries, the relationship between the nuclear energy sector and the capacity to make nuclear weapons as well as the nuclear submarines used to deliver nuclear weapons, has been a talking point the nuclear industry uses to get government support. It’s clear that policymakers are thinking about this connection as a reason to support nuclear energy and make it flourish to the extent that it can.

The last thing is that these countries only look at the low carbon nature of nuclear energy and they see climate change as primarily a technical, maybe economic, issue. They think it can be fixed by changing what technologies we use to generate energy, and some taxes or cap and trade schemes to try and make sure that the market values carbon in an adequate way.

There is no consideration of any deeper changes that we might need to make, towards society and the way we produce and consume materials and energy. That means that nuclear energy or renewables are the only two options that they can think about.

O’Donnell: Coming back to the financial aspects of nuclear power, I often hear that Bill Gates is famously supporting nuclear power, and you do mention him in your book. It’s a puzzle why billionaires, who you would assume are savvy with money, would support nuclear power if it’s such a bad investment.

Ramana: They do invest some money, but only when they expect public funding to be a significant part of whatever project they are proposing. They can use public funding to then raise more money from private markets.

After the 2008 financial crisis, Silicon Valley billionaires have a dearth of investment opportunities for the financial holdings that many of them have. They are trying to find things to invest in. Many of these investors have large portfolios, with every expectation that most of those investments will not materialize in major gains. But the hope is that if you put in 20 investments, and one of them makes a lot of money and becomes like a Facebook type success, then that will more than compensate for all the other investments. And so, they usually look at these long shots. Even if there is a 1% probability, it’s worth investing in.

People like Bill Gates, and Sam Altman and other people also, see technology as a kind of saviour for whatever they want to do. Climate change is a problem for them, because it looks like the effects of climate change might prevent business as usual from continuing, and business as usual is what has allowed them to become the very wealthy people they are. They want people to believe that climate change can be fixed using technological changes and that they themselves will be leading the investment in these technologies and solving climate change.

The challenge they see is that if people don’t have this belief, then they might start making more radical demands. I think I quote Sam Altman in one of my chapters, saying, “People then start thinking this crazy degrowth stuff,” which he calls “immoral” if I remember right. That kind of radical demand is something they don’t want to see become more prominent. And so, technology is always portrayed as not just a savior but also capable of solving climate change. They want that belief to be very central and not questioned. Nuclear energy is part of that portfolio of technologies they envision as solving the problem.

For these investors, the environmental and other risks associated with nuclear power are not challenges they envision as having to deal with. They are not going to live near a nuclear waste repository, or uranium mine, or even a nuclear plant, so they’re not particularly concerned about all these environmental impacts.

Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change by M.V. Ramana is published by Verso Books and available as an e-book for $11.20 CAD.

Susan O’Donnell is adjunct research professor and lead investigator of the CEDAR project in the Environment & Society program at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She edited this interview for publication..

An earlier version of this article was published by The Energy Mix on August 3, 2024

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

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 2 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, Wednesday, (08/21/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Holtec argues state has no authority to ban radioactive water discharge into Cape Cod Bay

WBUR

… nuclear reactor system at Pilgrim as part of the plant decommissioning … All Things Considered · Ways To Listen · All Radio Programs. Podcasts. The …

Challenging the nuclear industry: interview with M.V. Ramana – NB Media Co-op

NB Media Co-op

Much of that is the emergency framing, in which climate change is seen as the overwhelming problem, and we are asked to ignore every other …

What does Ukraine’s incursion into Russia say about a so-called ‘red line’? | TPR

Texas Public Radio

He’s threatened to use nuclear weapons, and frankly, I think the Ukrainians understand how Vladimir Putin thinks, how the Russians think, and they …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear fleet maintained high performance in 2023

World Nuclear News

Global nuclear electricity generation increased in 2023, despite a 1 GWe drop in overall capacity, to 392 GWe, of operable nuclear power plants, …

IAEA releases 2023 nuclear power data : Energy & Environment

World Nuclear News

The International Atomic Energy Agency has released its annual nuclear power data publications – and says they paint a picture of a clean energy …

Preface to World Nuclear Performance Report 2024

World Nuclear Association

… nuclear power plants. The average capacity factor of nuclear reactors increased by 1%, reaching 81.5% in 2023, highlighting the reliability …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Sizewell C community events tackle climate emergency | East Anglian Daily Times

East Anglian Daily Times

The team at Sizewell C is raising awareness of the new nuclear power station and how it will combat climate change at community events across the…

Nuclear War

NEWS

China Responds to Top-Secret US Nuclear War Strategy – Newsweek

Newsweek

China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused the United States of creating the largest nuclear threat.

Biden approved secret nuclear strategy focusing on Chinese threat, New York Times reports

Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden approved in March a highly classified nuclear strategic plan that for the first time reoriented Washington’s deterrent …

Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Strategy Refocusing on Chinese Threat

The New York Times

In a classified document approved in March, the president ordered U.S. forces to prepare for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Strategy Refocusing on Chinese Threat

The New York Times

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has repeatedly threatened the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine, including during a crisis in October 2022, …

Biden approves nuclear strategy refocusing on China threat – report – The Guardian

The Guardian

… threatened to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The US-based Arms Control Association said it understood US nuclear weapons strategy and posture …

China ‘concerned’ after report alleging US nuclear strategy change – VOA

VOA

U.S. and Chinese officials both frequently speak of the dangers of nuclear war, but efforts to hold dialogue on the issue have failed. Last year, U.S. ..

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone Thermal Features, From Apollinaris To Zomar – National Parks Traveler

National Parks Traveler

Editor’s Note: Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Traffic: The largest hydrothermal explosions the world has ever known | News | Head Topics

Head Topics

… yellowstone-national-park-after-massive-explosion&quot … Steam explosions are one of the biggest potential hazards at Yellowstone Caldera.

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 20, 2024

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I intentionally did not listen to this “X” conversation between Trump and Musk on August 12th because I knew my anger would drive my blood pressure through the top of my head or at least LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Tuesday, (08/20/2024)out of my ears. And, just reading this annotated article, it no doubt would have. llolloll! The simple reading of this incomprehensible, untrue, and childish (as always) abbreviated 2 hour long discussion with Trump clearly demonstrates his inability to think coherently, and, as is Trump’s wont, filled with lies.

And I, for the life of me, cannot understand what he means when he claims that Putin’s Russia would never have invaded Ukraine had he been President in 2022. Putin ignored Trump then, so why would Putin not have ignored him in 2022. Trump blamed the Russia/Ukraine war on Biden during their fiasco of a debate.

To simply answer the author of this article, Walter Pincus, a Pulitzer Prize recipient for journalism and many other prestigious awards, who asks at the end of his story: “In short, do you want a leader whose word cannot be trusted?” Pincus says he doesn’t; and I, for sure, don’t either . . . ~llaw 

Donald Trump and Elon Musk – the Annotated Version 

Posted: August 20th, 2024

By Walter Pincus

Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics that ranged from nuclear weapons to politics. He is the author of Blown to Hell: America’s Deadly Betrayal of the Marshall Islanders. Pincus won an Emmy in 1981 and was the recipient of the Arthur Ross Award from the American Academy for Diplomacy in 2010.  He was also a team member for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 and the George Polk Award in 1978.  

OPINION — “One of the things we’re going to do is we’re going to build an Iron Dome over us. Israel has it. We’re going to have the best Iron Dome in the world. We need it and we’re going to make it all in the United States, but we’re going to have protection because it just takes one maniac to start something. We’re going to have protection and we’re going to have…Why shouldn’t we have an Iron Dome? Israel has one. Some other places have one that nobody even knows about frankly. Israel has it. We’re going to have an Iron Dome.” 

That was former President Donald Trump speaking on August 12, during his live-streamed, two-hour discussion with Elon Musk on the latter’s X platform. 

It was one of Trump’s many references to national-security matters during his exchanges with Musk that showed how limited his knowledge is of military subjects, despite his earlier four years as U.S. Commander-in-Chief – and how often he claims wrong information as facts to present his view of things. 

Much of what Trump says on defense matters remains unchallenged, so I want to deal with a few statements he made during his Musk conversation, not least because its 1.1-million-person audience may actually believe what he said.  

The facts about “Iron Dome” 

For example, Iron Dome is recognized as a short-range defense system, useful perhaps in the U.S. for border protection, but not to provide what Trump seems to imply – protection for the entire U.S. from nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). 

Iron Dome is an Israeli-developed system, designed originally to defend Israeli cities from enemy artillery and short-range rockets fired from up to 40 miles away. Its range has since been increased to up to 150 miles. A typical Iron Dome battery has three or four launchers (20 missiles per launcher) and each battery can defend up to 60 square miles, so they are strategically placed around cities. They can operate day and night, under adverse weather conditions, and can respond to multiple threats simultaneously. 

The U.S. has for more than a decade contributed more than $2 billion to Iron Dome’s development, and a Raytheon/Israeli joint venture in the U.S. produces an interceptor missile used by the Iron Dome system. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps have purchased Iron Dome batteries for tactical defense purposes. 

Perhaps Trump had in mind two other Israeli missile defense systems that the U.S. has helped in funding – “David’s Sling,” designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, long-range rockets, or cruise missiles; or “Arrow 3,” which intercepts ICBMs during space flight. 

It’s also possible that Trump was just using Iron Dome as a stand-in for his desire for a nationwide U.S. missile defense system that does not exist; and maybe he wants to build one because Iron Dome seems to have protected Israeli cities.  

However, 35 minutes later, in the same conversation with Musk, Trump referred to the current fear of a mass Iranian attack on Israel “from hundreds and maybe thousands of rockets.” In that situation, Trump said, “You know, their Iron Dome, as they call it, as we all call it, but their shield that they built, that can be swamped. We’ll use the term that’s appropriate, swamped. But they swamp it by shooting enough missiles. You [referring to Musk] know this better than anybody. By shooting enough missiles, they can’t defend themselves. You know, they [Iran] just obliterate the whole place [Israeli cities]. And that’s what some people think they’re looking to do.” 

So suddenly Iron Dome, which Trump earlier saw as protecting Israel, and by analogy the U.S., can be overcome – “can be swamped” – by “enough” of Iran’s missiles. Trump’s shifting faith in Iron Dome can be explained, not by the actual capabilities of the weapon system, but what Trump wants to appear saying at any given moment. 

In this case, when Trump first brought up Iron Dome it was after Musk had said, “People have become complacent about, but they actually have forgotten that there are currently a lot of nuclear missiles that have targeting parameters for the United States and other countries.” 

Trump initially wanted to show what he would do in response, and somehow Iron Dome, which has recently been much publicized in helping to safeguard Israel, was in his mind.  

When he returned to the subject some 35 minutes later, the context was different – Trump then wanted to criticize the Biden-Harris administration for not supporting a possibly “swamped” Israel and so, as he put it, “if you vote for her, you ought to have your head examined.” 

The case of Nord Stream 2 

Trump also used national security situations, and inaccurate information, to promote himself. 

“I shut down Nord Stream 2.” Trump said early in the Musk conversation, adding, “That was the big oil pipeline, the biggest, I think the biggest pipeline in the world going all over Europe. I shut it down. Biden came, and then they say, I loved Russia. I was a friend of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and I loved Russia. No, he [Putin] actually said to me one time, ‘If you are my friend, I’d hate to see you as an enemy.’ I shut down his pipeline.” 

The first thing to note is that Nord Stream 2 is a natural gas pipeline, not used to carry oil. More important, Trump did not shut it down. Instead, Congress imposed sanctions on international companies building the pipeline as an amendment to the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Bill. Ultimately, however, although the legislation held up Nord Stream 2’s construction for almost a year, it began again in 2020 during the Trump administration, with Russian companies doing the work, unaffected by U.S. sanctions.

Putin announced completion of the pipeline in September 2021, and the Biden administration reached agreement with Germany – which had regulatory authority over Nord Stream 2 – that the U.S. would apply new sanctions if Russia used Nord Stream 2 as a “political weapon.”  

After Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Germany suspended certification of Nord Stream 2, and the U.S. applied sanctions to Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom, that was to operate the pipeline. It never went into operation and in September 2022, undersea explosions damaged both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2.  

In short, Trump had nothing to do with shutting down Nord Stream 2. 

Trump’s “axis of evil” 

Perhaps the most confused part of the foreign policy Trump shared during his conversation with Musk conversation came when he tried to articulate what he actually thinks about Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. 

At one point Trump described them as a “modern day axis of evil,” and said, “These are powerful countries, very heavy nuclear, which is the biggest threat,” apparently a reference to nuclear weapons. To date, Iran has not acquired nuclear weapons, though Tehran is much closer to having them than it was in 2017, when Trump withdrew the U.S. from the international agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear activities. 

During the Musk conversation, Trump never referred to Iran’s nuclear program. Instead, he said, “Iran would not be attacking [Israel], believe me. You know, when I was there [as President], and I say it with respect, because I think we would have been good with Iran. I don’t wanna do anything bad to Iran, but they knew not to mess around.” 

Trump went on to claim that as a result of sanctions his administration imposed in 2018, “Iran was broke…It’s all about the oil. That’s where the money is. But if you buy oil from Iran, you’re not gonna do any business with the United States. And I meant it…And they [Iran] were at a point where they were, they had no money for Hamas. They had no money for Hezbollah.” 

That wasn’t true either. As Trump’s own Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put it during a May 2020 interview, when Trump was still in office, Iran’s leaders “are using the resources that they have to continue funding Hezbollah in Lebanon and threatening the state of Israel, funding Iraqi terrorist Shia groups, all the things that they have done historically – continuing to build out their capabilities even while the people inside of their own country are suffering.” 

As for Russia, and as mentioned above, Trump has spoken repeatedly of his friendship with Putin. During the Musk conversation, Trump also reiterated, in an odd form, his oft-stated view that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine had he been President in February 2022. 

Trump claimed to have had the following exchange with the Russian President: “I said to Vladimir Putin, I said, ‘Don’t do it. You can’t do it, Vladimir. You do it, it’s gonna be a bad day. You cannot do it.’ And I told him things that what I’d do. And he said, ‘no way.’ And I said, ‘way.’ And it’s the last time we ever had the conversation. He would never have done it.” 

Of course, Trump never said when that alleged conversation took place, how it came up, or what it was that he would have had the U.S. do if the invasion had taken place on his watch. 

Perhaps some reporter at some future Trump press conference will ask about that. 

Trump went on to say of Putin, “I got along well with him. I hope to get along well with him again. Getting along well with them [leaders of the modern-day axis of evil] is a good thing, not a bad thing.” 

“I got along well with Kim Jong Un,” Trump told Musk, and he then went on to describe their meetings and exchanges while Trump was in the White House. In the end, Trump said, “I got along with him great. We were in no danger. But President Obama thought we were gonna end up in a war, a nuclear war with him. And let me tell you, he’s got a lot of nuclear stuff, too. He’s got plenty of nuclear. He can do plenty of damage.” 

Unmentioned was that back in 2017, then-President Trump vowed to “confront very strongly” North Korea’s “very, very bad behavior” in test-launching ICBMs and other missiles. Back then, Trump also said that North Korea would be “met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before” for its nuclear threats. 

But despite Trump’s tough words, Kim went ahead with North Korea’s nuclear program, and now Trump appears to accept Kim’s having nuclear weapons – even admiring him for it. 

Do you want a president as Commander-in-Chief who changes his-or-her mind on a weapons system to suit his-or-her current mood; a president who claims credit for events they did not affect; or who said they had told a foreign leader something, but may not have done so?  

In short, do you want a leader whose word cannot be trusted? 

I don’t. 

The Cipher Brief is committed to publishing a range of perspectives on national security issues submitted by deeply experienced national security professionals. 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views or opinions of The Cipher Brief.

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

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 2 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, (08/20/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Donald Trump and Elon Musk – the Annotated Version – The Cipher Brief

The Cipher Brief

… nuclear weapons to politics. … Trump went on to claim that as a result of sanctions his administration imposed in 2018, “Iran was broke…It’s all about …

White House Appoints Jason Dunaway, Day & Zimmermann President, Union Operations, to …

PR Newswire

… Nuclear Power Project Management and Delivery Working Group. Dunaway … things better. Our 37,000 employees help bring big ideas to life …

India’s NTPC confirms plans for nuclear subsidiary

World Nuclear News

That is, as you know, that is joint venture with NPCIL. NPCIL is the lead partner; 51(%), we are 49(%). “But I’m happy to share with all of you that …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Nuclear fleet maintained high performance in 2023

World Nuclear News

Global nuclear electricity generation and average capacity factors increased in 2023, despite a 1 GWe drop in overall capacity, to 392 GWe, …

IAEA Releases Nuclear Power Data and Operating Experience for 2023

International Atomic Energy Agency

Newly released nuclear power data for 2023 collected by the IAEA, paint a picture of a clean energy technology at a crossroads amid the emergence …

China Approves Record 11 New Nuclear Power Reactors – Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com

China approved 11 nuclear reactors across five sites Monday, a record amount of new permits as the nation leans even more heavily on atomic energy …

China approves five nuclear power projects, state media reports | Reuters – Reuters

Full Coverage

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

State agencies to simulate nuclear emergency response – Post Bulletin | Rochester …

Post Bulletin

… Nuclear Generating Plant emergency situation. The exercise will test the capabilities of all responsible agencies to take decisive action to an …

NRC to perform special inspections at Cook Nuclear after repeated generator failure

ABC57

“Emergency diesel generators are important because they provide backup power to safety equipment when power from the electrical grid is not available.

Bruce Power, employees and community raise $40000 for Alberta wildfire emergency relief

Saugeen Times

Our 4,200 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable nuclear power ..

Nuclear War

NEWS

Is America buying nuclear weapons to win a war or to prevent one?

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

America’s technological lead in anti-submarine warfare meant that, for much of the Cold War (and perhaps through to the present), US attack submarines …

Belarusian president says Ukraine would ‘applaud’ nuclear weapons use by Russia

abcnews4.com

The comment comes as the Russia-Ukraine war draws closer to the two-and-a-half-year mark.

Striking A Balance: The United States’ Competing Demands of Deterrence and Assurance …

38 North

Amid a historic low in inter-Korean relations and the wider Indo-Pacific region’s rapidly deteriorating security environment, the risk of nuclear war …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

The U.S. and China Can Lead the Way on Nuclear Threat Reduction – Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy

… nuclear threats. In theory, no first use refers to a policy by which … A tit for tat risks becoming a full-blown nuclear war that no one wants.

South Korea, US kick off annual drills over North’s military, cyber threats | Reuters

Reuters

Seoul and Washington say the exercises are defensive and a response to the North’s threats. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the …

Belarusian president claims Ukraine is ‘pushing’ Russia to strike with nuclear weapons

Fox News

Lukashenko’s comments regarding the threat of nuclear warfare were not the first issued by the Putin ally since Russia invaded Ukraine. Similarly

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone thermal features, from Apollinaris to Zomar | U.S. Geological Survey

USGS.gov

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

Digging into the history of hydrothermal explosions at Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin

Idaho Capital Sun

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Creative Commons …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 19, 2024

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This photo taken on September 11, 2022 shows a general view of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. STRINGER / AFP

LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Monday, (08/19/2024)

So, are we already seeing a growing, more serious, nuclear war in the making? I have long contended that the constant attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine over the past couple of years is proof that nuclear power plants are easily used as nuclear weapons. And now we have the Russian nuclear power plant in Kursk also involved in attacks by Ukraine combatants. This is an alarming and extremely dangerous situation, and it could very easily get worse quickly. And it should be a dramatic lesson to us all.

This is what International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi had to say about the vulnerability of nuclear power plants suffering direct military attacks: “Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack, and neither are they supposed to, just as with any other energy facility in the world. This latest attack highlights the vulnerability of such facilities in conflict zones and the need to continue monitoring the fragile situation.” (Read the article just below for more.)

To me, that means nuclear power plants can, if they’re not already, being used as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and if such a menace can exist in the Russian/Ukraine war, it can happen anywhere in the world where nuclear power plants exist, and, yes, the United States leads the world in the number of operating nuclear power plants. Canada also has a large collection of nuclear power plants along the Eastern seaboard just north of the USA. These two nations are simply sitting ducks for nuclear warfare to radiate the entire central and eastern population in both countries.

In the early stages of her recent book, “Nuclear War: A Scenario”, Annie Jacobsen, in her alarming well-researched book describes how a nuclear power plant can easily be used as a WMD out of the blue, in just one shocking instant and, in a short time more, destroy a huge part of California. She creates a scenario of North Korea dropping a nuclear bomb on the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, owned by the infamous Pacific Gas & Electric utility (PG&E), the last commercially operating nuclear power plant in California. The scenario shows how chaos and death arrive virtually instantly in Southern California, also affecting downwind States to the west. Just one nuclear bomb can kill millions of people and other life in a matter of minutes and a few hours.

And yet we are anxious to quickly build more of these nuclear power plants, that are, in reality, vulnerable sitting ducks — waiting to be transformed into nuclear bombs that, as Mr. Grossi describes above, cannot withstand a military attack, much less a nuclear one, What on Earth are we thinking? ~llaw

IAEA urges ‘maximum restraint from all sides’ at Zaporizhzhia

19 August 2024

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warns that the nuclear safety situation is deteriorating after a drone strike on a road near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s perimeter.

(Image: ZNPP/Telegram)

The IAEA team stationed at the Zaporizhzhia plant (ZNPP) was informed on Saturday that an explosive carried by a drone detonated just outside the plant’s protected area, close to the cooling water sprinkler ponds and about 100 metres from the Dniprovska power line, which is the only remaining 750 kilovolt line providing external power supply to ZNPP.

“The team immediately visited the area (see picture above) and reported that the damage seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload. There were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment. However, there was impact to the road between the two main gates of ZNPP,” the IAEA update said.

There has also been “intense” military activity close to the plant over the past week, the IAEA team reports. Recent days have seen a fire in one of the cooling towers and damage to a power and water substation in nearby Energodar, where many of the nuclear power plant workers and their families live.

Grossi said: “Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers … I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides and for strict observance of the five concrete principles established for the protection of the plant.”

He added: “Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack, and neither are they supposed to, just as with any other energy facility in the world. This latest attack highlights the vulnerability of such facilities in conflict zones and the need to continue monitoring the fragile situation.”

The six-unit ZNPP, Europe’s largest, has been under Russian military control since early March 2022. It is close to the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Kursk nuclear power plant

Grossi reported that he had held talks at the weekend about the safety and security situation at Zaporizhzhia and also “recent events in the territory of the Russian Federation, including the proximity of military action to an important and operating nuclear power plant”.

The Director General of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said that during talks with Grossi he had invited the IAEA’s head to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant. The IAEA statement said “Director General Grossi has expressed his readiness to assess the situation, including by making a visit to the plant”.

Ukraine and Russia each accuse the other side of putting nuclear safety at risk and breaching the IAEA’s central safety principles for nuclear facilities. Grossi explained at the United Nations in April that the IAEA would not attribute blame without “indisputable proof” and said the agency aims to “keep the information as accurate as we can and we do not trade into speculating”.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

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

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:

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2. Nuclear Power
3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
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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, (08/19/2024)

Nuclear Power

NEWS

IAEA urges ‘maximum restraint from all sides’ at Zaporizhzhia – World Nuclear News

World Nuclear News

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warns that the nuclear safety situation is deteriorating after a drone …

Nuclear power will be procured at pace and scale country can afford, says Ramokgopa

Energy Central

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reiterated that government will procure nuclear power at a pace and scale the country …

Safety at Ukraine Nuclear Plant Deteriorates After Nearby Blast: IAEA – Kyiv Post

Kyiv Post

Russian occupying management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant claimed a Ukraine drone dropped an explosive charge on a road used by staff, …

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

UN watchdog IAEA ‘extremely concerned’ about safety at Russia-controlled nuclear power …

The Hill

GMT], the Ukrainian drone dropped a shell on the road that runs along the power units outside the perimeter. Personnel use this road all the time. No …

Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day: Americas – Bloomberg

Bloomberg

Good morning. Stocks are poised for a muted open as focus turns to the Federal Reserve, with clues as to its monetary policy expected at the end …

Nuclear War

NEWS

North Korea Warns US of ‘Prelude’ to Nuclear War – Newsweek

Newsweek

North Korea has criticized the “provocative joint military exercises” of the U.S. and South Korea, warning that these could lead to military …

Putin Ally Set To Attack Ukraine From Behind As Kursk Revenge? Big Move By Russian … – YouTube

YouTube

… war #russiansoldiers #war #ukraineRussia #ukraineRussiaconflict … Big Move By Russian Nuclear Bomb Host. 5.1K views · 1 hour ago #kursk …

North Korea calls allies’ latest joint military drills a ‘prelude to a nuclear war‘

Stars and Stripes

… -scale military exercise that kicked off Monday, likening it to a “beheading operation” against Pyongyang and a “prelude to a nuclear war.”

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Algeria Provides Emergency Fuel Aid to Lebanon | OilPrice.com

Oil Price

Algeria began supplying fuel oil to Lebanon to restart its power plants and restore electricity after a complete blackout caused by a severe fuel …

PSPA Emergency Declaration Declared At Hervey Bay – Mirage News

Mirage News

PSPA Emergency Declaration Declared At Hervey Bay. Police have … Iran Lacks Domestic Uranium for Nuclear Power: New Signs. 20 Aug 2024 1 …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

North Korea Warns US of ‘Prelude’ to Nuclear War – Newsweek

Newsweek

… threats posed by North Korea. Sign up for Newsletter Newsletter. The Bulletin. Your Morning Starts Here. Begin your day with a curated outlook of top …

US and South Korea begin joint military drills as North Korea accuses them of invasion rehearsal

NY1

… nuclear attack scenarios. The U.S. military has not confirmed the … threats of nuclear conflicts against Washington and Seoul. Earlier this …

South Korea, US kick off annual drills over North’s military, cyber threats

Yahoo News Canada

Pyongyang has long denounced the allies for stoking tensions with military drills, calling them rehearsals for a nuclear war. … threats of nuclear …

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Aug 18, 2024

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The war in Israel (Shutterstock)

LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Sunday, (08/18/2024)

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “nuclear regional war”, because any war that includes nuclear weapons, no matter how regional, will be joined by major nuclear armed countries. For instance the U.S. would join Israel if nuclear arms were used in the Palestinians could be aided by several countries, including Iran (if they successfully build their intended nuclear arsenal) and even North Korea, which would make such a regional war an immediate international war which would become WWIII.

But I have purposely avoided posting the Middle East war situation here until now, hoping that Israel would come to its senses, but when I read that Israeli leader Netanyahu wants a “larger war”, I was forced to change my mind. This article, which points out all the factions and discuses the possibilities of the future, seems like a logical place to begin . . . ~llaw

Still overlooked connections: Israel, “Palestine” and regional nuclear war

A “Two-State Solution” would enlarge not “only” the jihadist terror threat to Israel (conventional and unconventional), but also prospects for major regional war. In these existential security matters, Israel doesn’t need more common sense. It needs disciplined and dialectical thought. Opinion.

Prof. Louis René Beres

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  Aug 18, 2024, 1:07 PM (GMT+3

North Korea nuclear threatIsraeli Nuclear ProgramPakistani Nuclear ThreatNuclear WarProf. Louis René Beres

The war in IsraelShutterstock

Though significant, connections between Palestinian Arab statehood and nuclear war remain generally ignored. For Israel, the seemingly discrete perils of war with Iran and Palestinian Arab statehood are potentially intertwined and mutually reinforcing. This means that continuing to treat these issues as separate security problems could represent an especially grievous policy error.

There are variously clarifying particulars. Once established, a Palestinian state could tilt the balance of power between Israel and Iran. For the moment, there is no law-based Palestinian state (i.e., no Palestinian Arab satisfaction of authoritative requirements delineated at the Montevideo Convention of 1934). But if there should sometime come a point where Palestinian statehood and a direct war with Iran would coincide, the effects could prove determinative. In a worst case scenario, the acceleration of competitive risk-taking in the region would enlarge the risks of unconventional warfare.

For the moment, any direct war between Israel and Iran would be fought without any “Palestine variable.” Ironically, however, one more-or-less plausible outcome of such a war would be more pressure on Israel to accept yet another enemy state. To be sure, Iran’s leaders are unconcerned about Palestinian Arab well-being per se, but even a continuously faux commitment to Palestinian statehood would strengthen their overall power position.

Additionally, any formal creation of “Palestine” would be viewed in Tehran as a favorable development regarding wars fought against Israel. While nothing scientifically meaningful can be said about an unprecedented scenario (in logic and mathematics, true probabilities must always be based upon the determinable frequency of pertinent past events), there are persuasive reasons to expect that “Palestine” would become a reliably belligerent proxy of Iran.

A “Two-State Solution” would enlarge not “only” the jihadist terror threat to Israel (conventional and unconventional), but also prospects for major regional war. Even if such a war were fought while Iran was still pre-nuclear, it could still use radiation dispersal weapons or electromagnetic pulse weapons (EMP) against Israel and/or target the Dimona nuclear reactor with conventional rockets. In a worst case scenario, Iran’s already nuclear North Korean ally would act in direct belligerency against the Jewish State.

In these complex strategic assessments, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations ought never be confined to “general principles.” Rather, variously specific issues will need to be addressed head-on: borders; Jerusalem; relations between Gaza and the “West Bank;” the Cairo Declaration of June 1974 (an annihilationist “phased plan”); the Arab “right of return” and cancellation of the “Palestine National Charter” (which still calls unambiguously and unapologetically for the eradication of Israel “in stages”).

Not to be overlooked by any means, any justice-based plan would need to acknowledge the historical and legal rights of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria. Such an acknowledgment would represent an indispensable corrective to lawless Hamas claims of “resistance by any means necessary” and to genocidal Palestinian calls for “liberating” all territories “from the river to the sea.” On its face, the unhidden Palestinian Arab expectation is that Israel would become part of “Palestine”. But this ought not to come as any surprise. All Islamist/Jihadist populations already regard Israel as “occupied Palestine.”

“Everything is very simple in war,” warns classical Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz in On War, “but the simplest thing is still very difficult.” American presidents have always insisted that regional peace be predicated on Arab recognition of the Jewish people’s right to security in their own sovereign nation- state.

Concurrently, most Arab leaders in the Middle East secretly hope for a decisive Israeli victory over Hamas in Gaza and over Hezbollah in Lebanon. For these leaders, Hamas represents a foreseeably unmanageable scion of the Egyptian “Moslem Brotherhood” and Hezbollah a terror-surrogate of Shiite and non-Arab “Persia.”

What about North Korea and future Middle Eastern war? Pyongyang has a documented history of active support for Iran and Syria. Regarding ties with Damascus, it was Kim Jung Un who built the Al Kibar nuclear reactor for the Syrians at Deir al-Zor. This is the same facility that was preemptively destroyed by Israel in its “Operation Orchard” (also known in certain Israeli circles as “Operation Outside the Box”) on September 6, 2007.

For Israel, nuclear weapons, doctrine and strategy will remain essential to national survival. In this connection, the country’s traditional policy of “deliberate nuclear ambiguity” or “bomb in the basement” should promptly be updated. The key objective of such dramatic changes would be more credible Israeli nuclear deterrence, a goal that will correlate closely with “selective nuclear disclosure.” Despite being counter-intuitive, Iran will need to become convinced that Israel’s nuclear arms are not too destructive for purposeful operational use. Here, in an arguably supreme irony, the credibility of Israel’s nuclear deterrent could vary inversely with its presumed destructiveness.

In order for Israel to construct theory-based nuclear policies, not policies that are merely visceral, ad hoc or “seat-of-the-pants” creations, Iran should be considered a rational foe. It remains conceivable that Iran would sometime act irrationally, perhaps in alliance with other more-or-less rational states (e.g., Syria, North Korea) or with kindred terror groups (e.g., Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Houthi).

In any event, such altogether realistic prospects should never be dealt with in Washington or Jerusalem as matters of “common sense.” In existential security matters, Israel doesn’t need more common sense. It needs disciplined and dialectical thought.

What about non-Arab Pakistan? Unless Jerusalem were to consider Pakistan a genuine enemy, Israel has no present-day nuclear foes. Still, as an unstable Islamic state, Pakistan is subject to coup d’état by assorted Jihadist elements and is closely aligned with Saudi Arabia. At some point, the Sunni Saudi kingdom could decide to “go nuclear” itself, in large part because of Iran’s “Shiite” nuclear program.

Would such a decision by Riyadh represent a net gain or net loss for Israel?

It’s not too soon to ask this question.

For Israeli nuclear deterrence to work longer-term, Iran will need to be told more rather than less about Israel’s nuclear targeting doctrine and about the invulnerability of Israel’s nuclear forces/infrastructures. In concert with such changes, Jerusalem will also need to clarify its still opaque “Samson Option.” The point of such clarifications would not be to suggest Israel’s willingness to “die with the Philistines,” but to enhance the “high destruction” pole of its nuclear deterrence continuum.

If the next US president maintains America’s support of Palestinian statehood,[1] Iran will more likely consider certain direct conflict options vis-à-vis Israel. At some point in these considerations, Israel could need to direct explicit nuclear threats (counter-value and/or counter-force) toward the Islamic Republic. As policy, this posture could represent a “point of no return.”

For Israel, the unprecedented risks of Palestinian statehood could prove irreversible and irremediable. These risks would likely be enlarged if they had to be faced concurrent with an Israel-Iran war. It follows that Jerusalem’s core security obligation should be to keep Iran non–nuclear and to simultaneously prevent Palestinian statehood. From the standpoint of authoritative international law, meeting this two-part obligation would be in the combined interests of counter-terrorism, nuclear war-avoidance and genocide prevention. Prime facie, meeting this overriding obligation would be in the interests of regional and global justice.

LOUIS RENÉ BERES was educated at Princeton (Ph.D., 1971) and is Professor (Emer.) of International Law at Purdue. Born in Zürich at the end of World War II, he writes extensively on world politics, law, literature and philosophy and is a member of the Oxford University Press Editorial Advisory Board for the annual Yearbook on International Law and Jurisprudence. He is also a six-times contributor to this publication, including lead articles, and has been published at Horasis (Zurich); Jurist; Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; global-e (U. of California); Yale Global Online; Harvard National Security Journal (Harvard Law School); International Security (Harvard); World Politics (Princeton); The Atlantic; The New York Times; Israel National News; US News & World Report; Air-Space Operations Review (USAF); The Brown Journal of World Affairs; Parameters: Journal of the U.S. Army War College; Modern War Institute (Pentagon); The War Room (Pentagon); BESA Perspectives (Israel); INSS (Israel); Israel Defense (Israel); The Hudson Review (New York) and others. His twelfth book, Surviving Amid Chaos: Israel’s Nuclear Strategy, was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2016 (2nd. ed., 2018)

[1] Supporters of a Palestinian state often argue that its prospective harms to Israel could be reduced or eliminated by expecting the new Arab state’s original “demilitarization.” For informed legal and diplomatic reasoning against this argument, see: Louis René Beres and (Ambassador) Zalman Shoval, “Why a Demilitarized Palestinian State Would Not Remain Demilitarized: A View Under International Law,” Temple International and Comparative Law Journal, Winter 1998, pp. 347-363; and Louis René Beres and Ambassador Shoval, “On Demilitarizing a Palestinian `Entity’ and the Golan Heights: An International Law Perspective,” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Vo. 28., No.5., November 1995, pp. 959-972.

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

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 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, Sunday, (08/17/2024)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Paying MORE Tax The Only Way To Simplify Taxation? | Moneynomics | Vivek Kaul | Neil Borate

YouTube

… all things budget, taxation, indexation… and all others kinds of … Why I changed my mind about nuclear power | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxBerlin.

Ukraine war latest: Safety ‘deteriorating’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after drone strike

Sky News

“I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides and for strict observance of the five concrete principles …

Opinion: Special interests are pushing a dangerous new nuclear missile – The Portland Press Herald

The Portland Press Herald

The Pentagon is in the midst of an enormously expensive program aimed at building a new generation of nuclear-armed missiles, …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

How likely is it that nuclear power plants will be hit in Ukraine, Russia? | DW News

YouTube

The Ukrainian airforce says they have struck and destroyed another bridge in Russia’s Kursk region – as they seek to disrupt Moscow’s combat …

Military experts suggest Iran may declare itself a nuclear power by year’s end | Fox News

Fox News

The move to declare itself a nuclear power would provide Iran protection at certain levels but ultimately does not create invincibility from any …

A New Era for Nuclear Power in the U.S. | OilPrice.com

Oil Price

… nuclear plants and the development of small modular reactors. Nuclear. The U.S. Palisades Power Plant could become the first nuclear plant to …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Safety at Russian-Occupied Nuclear Plant Worsens After Drone Strike – BNN Bloomberg

BNN Bloomberg

… emergencies ministry. Ukrainian forces also attacked a fuel depot in Russia’s Rostov region overnight in a joint operation by military …

Zambia Weighs Emergency Power Price Hike as Crunch Deepens – Energy Connects

Energy Connects

Zambia Weighs Emergency Power Price Hike as Crunch Deepens. By Bloomberg. Aug … Nuclear energy poised for its global moment. Dr Sama 1920X1080 …

Flight attendant turned author reveals her top emergency safety tips – Daily Mail

Daily Mail

Her latest novel, Worst Case Scenario, looks at exactly that, with an airplane crashing into a nuclear power plant. But the Phoenix-based writer …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Ukraine war latest: Safety ‘deteriorating’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after drone strike

Sky News

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear facility in Europe and has been occupied by Russian soldiers since the early stages of its war with Ukraine.

Still overlooked connections: Israel, “Palestine” and regional nuclear war | Israel National News

Arutz Sheva

Though significant, connections between Palestinian Arab statehood and nuclear war remain generally ignored. For Israel, the seemingly discrete …

Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia nuclear safety deteriorating, says IAEA – BBC

BBC

The plant was seized by Russia’s forces early in the war and has come under repeated attacks which both sides have blamed the other for. ‘Russians are …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Still overlooked connections: Israel, “Palestine” and regional nuclear war

Arutz Sheva

North Korea nuclear threatIsraeli Nuclear ProgramPakistani Nuclear ThreatNuclear WarProf. … nuclear threats (counter-value and/or counter-force) …

Clarifying Strategic Risks: Scenarios of an Israel-Iran War – Modern Diplomacy

Modern Diplomacy

Clarifying Strategic Risks: Scenarios of an Israel-Iran War … Iran continues to taunt Israel with threats of annihilation. But such threats have no …

“As The Only Victim…” China Pans Japan For “Not Learning From History” After Nuclear …

YouTube

… nuclear threats and regional tensions. Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang denounced their actions as Cold War thinking and warned that the US .

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Surprise Yellowstone geyser eruption highlights little known hazard at popular park

The Daily Gazette

Yellowstone encompasses the caldera of a huge, slumbering volcano that shows no sign of erupting any time soon but provides the heat for the …