Australiaand beyond – nuclear, climate, Covid news

On the coronavirus scene –   it’s pretty much same same. Spain registered more than 8,000 new cases in 24 hours, France also reported a second consecutive day of more than 4,000 new cases.  USA leads the world in Covid-19 deaths, and exceeded 70,000 confirmed infections per day in July –  recorded 43,000 new cases on Thursday. With no usable vaccine yet available, the most prominent tool governments have at their disposal is to confine their populations or enforce social distancing.  Still, the World Health Organisation hopes that the coronavirus crisis can be over in two years.   Making everything more difficult, disinformation about vaccines is flourishing.

Climate change: 2020 Is proving another disastrous year for our Earth’s climate.  Don’t blame the IPCC – at least they warned us.  Once again, the Arctic is the star, in this ongoing global tragedy.

The nuclear lobby keeps toting small nuclear reactors as clean and green, and journalists and politicians keep buying that story. The U.S. Democratic Party now supports the nuclear industry, making it indistinguishable from the Republicans on this issue.

 Some bits of good news.  The Latest COVID-19 Tests Work Without ‘Tickling Your Brain’.    Large Blue Butterflies Were Extinct in England, But Now Those Beauties Are Back After 50 Years.    Beautiful Mural in Warsaw Eats Up Smog, purifying the Air, Equal to 720 Trees.

AUSTRALIA

NUCLEAR.

Pointless to remove New South Wales Uranium mining ban, as uranium glut continues, and nuclear industry declines.  Uranium mining to become legal in NSW, as govt supports OneNation in nuclear push  –  NSW to start mining uranium after agreement on plan to lift ban.   Uranium ban brought benefit to New South Wales.  New South Wales Nature organisation calls for the State to remain free of uranium mining.

Reject the racist, undemocratic National Radioactive Waste Management Amendment Bill.  Dept of Industry hiding the facts on choice of Kimba nuclear waste site.  Conflict of interest in Kimba Community Liaison Officer’s connection to nuclear waste dump push.

BHP’s Uranium mine Olympic Dam makes a financial loss for second year running.

Military to Weapons Sales – Professor Peter Leahy and the revolving door.

CLIMATE.   Adam Bandt urges another Labor-Greens coalition for climate action.
Labor Left weighs up plan for ‘drastic’ climate policy
  How to avoid a housing industry bloodbath – invest in making buildings more efficient.

We’ve been electing governments that damage our children’s future.

The end of the environment – Bob Brown.  Slowing of population growth could be a good thing for Australia.

RENEWABLE ENERGY. Wind and solar output surge to new record high in main grid.  How rooftop solar is eating into Australia’s biggest coal generator. West Australia’s biggest solar farm sails to full generation capacity.   Many car dealers are simply not interested, or don’t have the information, to deal with Electric Vehicle inquiriesSolar drinking water for Adelaide, as Happy Valley Reservoir adds 5B array. Golden Plains wind farm set for 2021 construction after Supreme Court win.  Researchers find black and white solution to wind turbine bird deaths.

INTERNATIONAL

International Lawyers Make Urgent Appeal to British Government- not to extradite Julian Assange.

Artificial Intelligence brings a new worry into nuclear weaponry.

Take the money away from nuclear weapons – spend it on Covid-19 relief.  The Prospects of Nuclear Disarmament in the New Nuclear Architecture.

Greta Thunberg on the global inaction on climate change.

Unprecedented rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

28 trillion tonnes of ice have disappeared from the surface of the Earth since 1994.

Global warming is bringing new “fire regime”all too quickly.   Experts are calling for international collaboration to combat wildfires.

Book Review- Tempting Fate – Nuclear Politics.

ARCTIC.  Heat from the ocean’s interior contributes to loss of Arctic sea ice.  Permafrost will thaw faster, as global heating causes more rain in the North.  Greenland’s meltdown taking flight.

BIKINI ATOLL.  Bikini Atoll – food grown there is radioactive – but, it’s “technically habitable”!

FRANCE.  France’s nuclear energy continues to be hit by global heating, drought, water shortage.

USA.

TAIWAN.  USA’s nuclear weapons – not the best way to protect Taiwan.

UK. Is the £20 billion Sizewell C project right for the region and country? A real setback to UK”s Bradwell nuclear project: Colchester Council voted unanimously to reject the proposal.    Hitachi waiting for tax-payer funding, to start nuclear projects in UK.   Scotland’s Covid-19 recovery and Climate Policy. UK relations with China at a low point; bad news for nuclear power projects.

– Wow! Only the bare 313 years before the Dounreay nuclear power site could be used for anything else!

Installing solar PV can increase house prices by an average of £32,459 across the UK.    Huge electricity transformer will land on a Gwynedd beach, headed for nuclear power project.

JAPAN.  Japan’s Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant delayed, for the 25th time!  Resistance to nuclear waste survey in Hokkaido.

RUSSIA. Court actions over delays in delivering Russia’s giant nuclear icebreaker line.

CANADA.  Canada communities don’t want the so-called “clean” Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs).  Community opposition to South Bruce Nuclear Waste Repository.

EUROPE.  Northern Europe: detecting radiation and where it comes from.

IRANIran says sabotage caused explosion at Natanz nuclear site.

PAKISTAN.  A Pakistan threat of nuclear war with India.

SPAIN.  Cumulative exposure to ionising radiation from diagnostic imaging tests.

CHINA.  China feels India’s nuclear weapons programme driven by prestige: US report.

ISRAEL Report: Israel ‘deeply concerned’ by Saudi Arabia, China alleged nuclear cooperation,

YEMEN.  Danger in Houthi Smuggling of Thorium to Iran.

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