#nuclear agreement

[stop-war-ukraine]

Was the wrong country disarmed 30 years ago?

This December 5th marks the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum—an agreement meant to provide security assurances to Ukraine in exchange for its decision to give up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal.

[landwriter]

Who's your mutual crush share the gossip with us o.o

I love gossiping, Anon, but I love even more acting on crushes by doing a well-established and rigorous procedure known as Absolutely Fuckall.

My sincere apologies <3

[bhaalsdeepbat]

i really, really, really want to write accidental pregnancy au and i am frothing. i may be drawing baby ideas. like dhampir baby with durge claws, sharp teeth, and tail spikes. they'd be horrific. it'd be amazing.

[filosofablogger]

78 Years Ago - 6 August 1945

[darthfoil]

Also China is doing A Lot for climate change and nuclear power is FINALLY being seen as a viable possibility again and China is building a lot of that.

Hey, happy Earth Day! Who wants to talk about climate change?

Yeah, okay, fair, I kinda figured the answer to that would be "ugh do we have to?" What if I told you I have good news though? Good news with caveats, but still good news.

What if I told you that since the Paris Agreement in 2015, we've avoided a whole degree celsius of global warming by 2100, or maybe more?

Current projections are 2.7C, which is way better than the 3-5C (with a median of 3.7C) we were expecting in 2015. It's not where we want to be - 1.5C - but it is big, noticeable progress!

And it's not like we either hit 1.5C and avoid all the big scary consequences or fail to hit 1.5C and get all of them - every tenth of a degree of warming we avoid is going to prevent more severe problems like extreme weather, sea level rise, etc.

This means that climate change mitigation efforts are having a noticeable impact! This means a dramatically better, safer future - and if we keep pushing, we could lower the amount of global warming we end up with even further. This is huge progress, and we need to celebrate it, even though the fight isn't over.

It's working. Keep going.

[paknewsinsightspk]

Russia flaunts doomsday weapons to keep West from ramping up Ukraine support

This year has seen President Vladimir Putin repeatedly brandish the nuclear sword, reminding everyone that Russia has the world’s largest atomic arsenal to try to deter the West from ramping up support for Ukraine. He ordered his military to hold drills involving battlefield nuclear weapons with ally Belarus. He announced Russia will start producing ground-based intermediate range missiles that…

[creativemedianews]

Australia covers US and UK ‘against any liability’ for nuclear submarine hazards

Australia covers US and UK ‘against any liability’ for nuclear submarine hazards #Australia #liability #USandUK

[carlocarrasco]

US-Philippines Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (123 Agreement) enters into force

The Philippines moved some steps forward into a nuclear-powered future as the United States-Philippines Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (also referred to as the 123 Agreement) came into force recently, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article. This means that the legal framework for potential nuclear projects with American providers has been laid down. It is recalled that the…

[ianmiller42]

We Write Reports on CO2 Removal, But Fail to Remove Much

There has been a report issued on the state of carbon dioxide removal (http://ianmillerblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/06/c57f5-the-state-of-carbon-dioxide-removal-2edition.pdf) that paints a rather gloomy picture. A large number of countries pledged in the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions of CO2. So far, what has actually happened is the total is increasing. This report has given up on the 1.5…

[kevinmmiller]

Iranian Nuclear Ambitions (2003-2024)

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years. For the next 15 years, Iran will only enri

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years. For the next 15 years, Iran will only enrich uranium up to 3.67%. Iran also agreed not to build any new heavy-water facilities for the same period of time.[1] A nuclear weapon uses a…

[etccsy]

Nuclear Energy Between Peace And War: The story of destruction in the Middle East or its resurrection

In "Nuclear Energy Between Peace And War," Issam Khoury skillfully navigates the intricate interplay of nuclear energy, geopolitics, and environmental challenges in the Middle East. Meticulous in dissecting dual energy applications and geopolitical tensio

In a world where energy sources and geopolitical dynamics intersect, “Nuclear Energy Between Peace And War” by Issam Khoury stands out as a comprehensive guide. This book offers a deep exploration of the complex issues surrounding nuclear energy, shedding light on its peaceful and military implications and its impact on regional and international peace. In this article, we examine this…

[iamadarshbadri]

Review of T.C.A. Raghavan’s “The People Next Door”: A Compelling Narration of India-Pakistan Relations

India-Pakistan Relations, since their inception in 1947, have been fraught with a complex “enduring rivalry”—like characteristic, with multiple issue areas such as Kashmir, the Indus Waters Dispute, nuclear weapons, and more recently, state-sponsored terrorism. While several books have been written over the years addressing parts of—or the whole—issue of the complex rivalry between India and…

[heritageposts]

Harris has been a staunch supporter of Israel for years. In 2017 she addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference and reminded attendees that the first resolution she co-sponsored as a senator was aimed at combating “anti-Israel bias” at the United Nations. “Let me be clear about what I believe. I stand with Israel because of our shared values, which are so fundamental to the founding of both our nations,” she told the crowd. In 2018 she gave an off-the-record speech to the organization, but eventually released her comments. In that speech she claimed that she raised money for the Jewish National Fund as a Girl Scout. “Having grown up in the Bay area, I fondly remember those Jewish National Fund boxes that we would use to collect donations to plant trees for Israel,” she told the audience. “Years later, when I visited Israel for the first time, I saw the fruits of that effort and the Israeli ingenuity that has truly made a desert bloom.”

For those unfamiliar with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), they're a Zionist organization that has been instrumental in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

See Stop the JNF for more information on their history, the way they operate, and their decades-long campaign of greenwashing (i.e. destroying native plants, crops, and agriculture under the banner of 'making the desert bloom').

Continuing, the Mondoweiss article goes:

“The vast majority of people understand the importance of the State of Israel,” she added later. “Both in terms of its history and its present in terms of being a source of inspiration on so many issues, which I hope we will talk about, and also what it means in terms of the values of the United States and those values that are shared values with Israel, and the importance of fighting to make sure that we protect and respect a friend, one of the best friends we could possibly have.” While running for President in 2019, Harris was praised by the lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) for running to the right of Obama on the Iran deal. On the campaign trail Harris told Kat Wellman, a voter affiliated with DMFI, that she would reenter the agreement but “strengthen it” by “extending the sunset provisions, including ballistic missile testing, and also increasing oversight.” “I was very impressed with her. I thought she gave an excellent speech, she gave a very detailed, responsive answer to my question,” Wellman told a local paper after the exchange. “I’m pro-Israel, so I was I was very concerned and all about making sure we limit nuclear missiles in any country that could possibly destroy us all. I thought her answer was very good.” Harris has condemned the BDS movement and claimed that is “based on the mistaken assumption that Israel is solely to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” However, she voted against an anti-BDS bill in 2019 citing First Amendment concerns.

For the full article, which includes Kamala's response to Israel post Al-Aqsa Flood, see Mondoweiss (July 22, 2024)

[reasonsforhope]

On her fingers, Chicago’s Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar counted the city buildings that will soon source all of their power from renewable energy: O’Hare International Airport, Midway International Airport, City Hall.

[Note: This is an even huger deal than it sounds like. Chicago O'Hare International Airport is, as of 2023, the 9th busiest airport in the world.]

Chicago’s real estate portfolio is massive. It includes 98 fire stations, 81 library locations, 25 police stations and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet — in all, more than 400 municipal buildings.

It takes approximately 700,000 megawatt hours per year to keep the wheels turning in the third largest city in the country. Beginning Jan. 1, every single one of them will come solely from clean, renewable energy, mostly sourced from Illinois’ newest and largest solar farm. The move is projected to cut the Windy City’s carbon footprint by approximately 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking 62,000 cars off the road, the city said.

Chicago is one of several cities across the country that are not only shaking up their energy mix but also taking advantage of their bulk-buying power to spur new clean energy development.

The city — and much of Illinois — already has one of the cleanest energy mixes in the country, with over 50% of the state’s electricity coming from nuclear power. But while nuclear energy is considered “clean,” carbon-free energy, it is not considered renewable.

Chicago’s move toward renewable energy has been years in the making. The goal of sourcing the city’s energy purely from renewable sources was first established by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2017. In 2022, Mayor Lori Lightfoot struck a deal with electricity supplier Constellation to purchase renewable energy from developer Swift Current Energy for the city, beginning in 2025.

Swift Current began construction on the 3,800-acre, 593-megawatt solar farm in central Illinois as part of the same five-year, $422 million agreement. Straddling two counties in central Illinois, the Double Black Diamond Solar project is now the largest solar installation east of the Mississippi River. It can produce enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes, according to Swift Current’s vice president of origination, Caroline Mann.

Chicago alone has agreed to purchase approximately half the installation’s total output, which will cover about 70 percent of its municipal electricity needs. City officials plan to cover the remaining 30 percent through the purchase of renewable energy credits.

“That’s really a feature and not a bug of our plan,” said deputy chief sustainability officer Jared Policicchio. He added that he hopes the built-in market will help encourage additional clean energy development locally, albeit on a much smaller scale: “Our goal over the next several years is that we reach a point where we’re not buying renewable energy credits.”

Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Orlando, Florida, and more than 700 other U.S. cities and towns have signed similar purchasing agreements since 2015, according to a 2022 study from World Resources Institute, but none of their plans mandate nearly as much new renewable energy production as Chicago’s.

“Part of Chicago’s goal was what’s called additionality, bringing new resources into the market and onto the grid here,” said Popkin. “They were the largest municipal deal to do this.”

Chicago also secured a $400,000 annual commitment from Constellation and Swift Current for clean energy workforce training, including training via Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit aiming to increase the number of women in union construction and manufacturing jobs.

The economic benefits extend past the city’s limits: According to Swift Current, approximately $100 million in new tax revenue is projected to flow into Sangamon County and Morgan County, which are home to the Double Black Diamond Solar site, over the project’s operational life.

“Cities and other local governments just don’t appreciate their ability to not just support their residents but also shape markets,” said Popkin. “Chicago is demonstrating directly how cities can lead by example, implement ambitious goals amidst evolving state and federal policy changes, and leverage their purchasing power to support a more equitable renewable energy future.” ...

Chicago will meet its goal of transitioning all its municipal buildings to renewable energy by 2025, the first step in a broader goal to source energy for all buildings in the city from renewables by 2035 — making it the largest city in the country to do so, according to the Sierra Club.

With the incoming Trump administration promising to decrease federal support for decarbonizing the economy, Dane says it will be increasingly important for cities, towns and states to drive their own efforts to reduce emissions, build greener economies and meet local climate goals. He says moves like Chicago’s prove that they are capable.

“That is an imperative thing to know, that state, city, county action is a durable pathway, even under the next administration, and [it] needs to happen,” said Dane. “The juice is definitely still worth the squeeze.”

-via WBEZ, December 24, 2024

[tenth-sentence]

If the United States were to be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, participate in the race for armaments and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such weapons.

"Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists – Appendix B: The 'Franck Report'" - Robert Jungk, translated by James Cleugh

[arotechno]

i live with two friends who will soon be married, and the three of us intend to eventually buy a house together. when i discussed this with her, my mother said to me, "are they ever going to want their own place?"

and it's a fair question, right? the "normal" thing for a married couple to do is to establish a nuclear family unit, apart from other family and friends. and her instinct is to look out for me, and make sure i am not walking into financial agreements that are untenable.

but that's the tendency allo people, particularly cishet people, have: their first thought is always, aren't they going to get rid of you? won't they leave you? won't everyone?

and they don't see the hurt it causes. because it's what they'd do, so what?

that's the subtle manifestation of arophobia. if your worth is defined by your romantic prospects, then you're worthless on your own. someone else will always come first, surely. you're lacking in some universal truth, and everyone can see it. marriage is forever and divorce equals failure and friendship, well, it isn’t something you ought to negotiate.

and why wouldn't we have talked about it?

it's times like these when i cling to the phrase (subject to change). there is no permanent state of the self, no guarantees that life will go one way or another, no use in striving for permanence in a world that's constantly changing faster and faster every day. i won't make myself smaller, couch-surf through people's lives living out of an emotional suitcase, just because they may leave me one day. and why should i? forever is (subject to change).