WikiLeaks Exposes the Danger of Pakistan's Nukes by Fred Branfman, 1/13/2011

WikiLeaks Exposes the Danger of Pakistan's Nukes by Fred Branfman, 1/13/2011

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"Energy as a Driving Component of the Grand Strategy of the People’s Republic of China By Yossef Bodansky, Senior Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs

We have published a new members-only Special Report,
entitled "Energy as a Driving Component of the Grand
Strategy of the People’s Republic of China", from
GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs.

Link:
http://www.globalintelligencereport.com/articles/china-and-the-grand-energy-strategy

 

Summary:
China energyAnalysis. By Yossef Bodansky, Senior
Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs. The rising
economic and strategic power of the People's Republic
of China (PRC) is clearly the key dynamic of
Indo-Pacific and Eurasian geopolitics for the coming
decade, and the PRC's focus on fossil fuels as an
integral component and priority of this grand strategy
will drive both energy markets and security issues for
much of the world in the coming decade and more.

Pakistan to build ten nuclear power plants by 2030

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Three Mile Island, the Challenger Shuttle, and…Lehman Bros.? Industrial accidents and financial disasters have a lot in common. By Tim Harford

Three Mile Island, the Challenger Shuttle, and…Lehman Bros.?

Industrial accidents and financial disasters have a lot in common.

By Tim Harford

IndianOil and Nuclear Power Corporation sign JV agreement for setting up nuclear power plants

IndianOil and Nuclear Power Corporation sign JV agreement for setting up nuclear power plants

Nuclear goals stoked by Duke-Progress merger

Russia warns of ‘Iranian Chernobyl'

Russian nuclear officials have warned of another Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster at Iran's controversial Bushehr reactor because of the damage caused by the Stuxnet virus, according to the latest Western intelligence reports.

Mark Z. Jacobson's Proliferation of errors.

Mark Z. Jacobson's Proliferation of errors.

In a new paper, Mark Z. Jacobson rejects consideration of nuclear power technology as a post-carbon energy source:

we do not consider nuclear energy (conventional fission, breeder reactors, or fusion) as a long-term global energy source. First, the growth of nuclear energy has historically increased the ability of nations to obtain or enrich uranium for nuclear weapons . . . and a large-scale worldwide increase in nuclear energy facilities would exacerbate this problem, putting the world at greater risk of a nuclear war or terrorism catastrophe . . . The historic link between energy facilities and weapons is evidenced by the development or attempted development of weapons capabilities secretly in nuclear energy facilities in Pakistan, India, Iraq (prior to 1981), Iran , and to some extent North Korea.

Jacobson's statements here are misleading to the point of disingenuousness in several respects. It is possible to produce nuclear power without the use of enriched uranium, and it is almost inconceivable that Jacobson does not know this. If he truly unaware of natural uranium thermal reactors, he has no business pretending to have enough knowledge to form valid judgements about nuclear technology. Natural, unenriched uranium can be used as a nuclear fuel in power reactors that use graphite or heavy water as moderators. All Canadian power reactors are designed to operate with natural uranium, thus enriched uranium is not required by a nuclear power industry. The first American reactors built during World War II used natural uranium fuel.

Secondly, Jacobson fails to differentiate between low enrichment uranium used in civilian power reactors, and high enrichment uranium. Low enrichment uranium (under 20% U-235) is not used in nuclear weapons, as Jacobson no doubt knows, so his failure to note this distinction should be counted as a deceptive argument.

Jacobson: Beyond Cherry Picking

Jacobson: Beyond Cherry Picking

In a previous post I looked at Mark Z. Jacobson's decision to exclude nuclear power as an future energy source in a recent paper. In that post I reviewed Jacobson's assertions that the global spread of nuclear generated electrical power would cause nuclear proliferation and nuclear war. In the course of my investigating of actual instances of proliferation, I found that nations which lacked civilian nuclear power facilities were more likely to undertake the development of nuclear weapons than nations which possess civilian nuclear power facilities. Thus arguably the spread of nuclear power generation facilities may lead to a decline in nuclear proliferation risks.

In this post I intend to consider other arguments which Jacobson uses to justify the exclusion of nuclear power from future energy plans. A second part of Jacobson's argument for the exclusion of nuclear power claims that wind generated electricity leads to significantly lower CO2 emissions than would be the case with nuclear generated electricity. Jaacobson claims:

Further Jacobson objections to Consideration of Nuclear Power: Safety and Uranium from The Nuclear Green Revolution by Charles Barton

Further Jacobson objections to Consideration of Nuclear Power: Safety and Uranium

from The Nuclear Green Revolution by Charles Barton

APS Physics | FPS | Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors

APS Physics | FPS | Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors

Robert Hargraves and Ralph Moir introduce iquid fuel reactors:

APS Physics | FPS | Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors

Joe Romm and reactor construction by 2050

Good and better forms of nuclear energy

Good and better forms of nuclear energy

Leading computer expert warns of cyber attack on National Grid By Steve Connor, Science Editor

China Not Doing Enough to Control Spread of Nuclear Material, Lugar Says

China Not Doing Enough to Control Spread of Nuclear Material, Lugar Says

Israel Tests on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay By WILLIAM J. BROAD, JOHN MARKOFF and DAVID E. SANGER

Israel Tests on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay

By WILLIAM J. BROAD, JOHN MARKOFF and DAVID E. SANGER

Russia Says Next U.S. Arms Talks Must Include Others

Russia Nears Arms Pact Approval, Warns On Pullout -- Yahoo News/Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia's parliament moved closer to approving a landmark arms reduction treaty with Washington Friday by amending domestic legislation to stress that Moscow could withdraw from the pact if it felt threatened by the West.

The amendments required for Russia to ratify the New START treaty do not change the pact itself and were introduced before the second of three ratification votes in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

Read more ....

More News On Russia's Parliament Ratifying The Start Treaty

Russian parliament debates arms pact with US -- AP
Russian parliament moves closer to ratification of U.S.-Russian arms pact -- Canadian Press
Russian parliament prepares to ratify arms pact -- Washington Post/AP
Russian Parliament Panel Backs New START Ratification -- Global Security Newswire
Duma sets terms on Russia-U.S. arms deal ratification -- RIA Novosti
Duma puts forward its conditions for START ratification -- ITAR-TASS
Lavrov says much depends on START ratification -- Voice of Russia
A Cold War Treaty -- Alexander Golts, Moscow Times

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22c1b17a-1f71-11e0-87ca-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1B3Jww2zO

Mini nuclear: very small reactors will need huge sales effort