LLAW’s All Things Nuclear #823, Wednesday, (12/04/2024)
NUCLEAR INSANITY & THE LAST DAYS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY? ~ LLAW
LLAW’s NUCLEAR NEWS TODAY & THE IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE
Anyone who doubts this well-summarized and very, very, important message from the Arms Control Association (ACA), is up in the night with no visible understanding of not only the future of the United States, but also the veritable future of life on planet Earth itself, including virtually all life.
This incredibly dangerous nuclear world situation is the most critical subject that exists in the world today, yet it was never a (or THE) most important issue facing the next U.S. president and his or her administration during the presidential campaign. And Trump was the most illogical human being — the most unstable, mentally erratic, thoughtless, and emotionally dangerous individual to hold the most powerful and important job in our country.
And he is backed by a proposed authoritarian agenda called “Project 25” that built our country’s future around this ‘shoot-from-the-hip loose cannon’ of a man who has so many character flaws, including being a convicted criminal, that he cannot begin to command or control a deviant and dangerous world that we are facing point blank right in from of our faces. ~llaw
Nuclear Challenges Facing the Next U.S. President
December 2024
By Daryl G. Kimball
Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Global nuclear dangers are growing, and international peace and security are at severe risk. In January, the second presidential administration of Donald Trump will be tasked with managing a complex array of nuclear weapons-related dangers, some of which were partly of his own making and all of which will be difficult to address. Trump’s proposed solutions to these challenges were hardly explained, let alone debated, during the 2024 campaign cycle.
The war in Ukraine and the risk of escalation: Perhaps the most critical foreign policy variable will be whether and how Trump pursues his ambitious goal to impose a deal that halts the ongoing war being waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine but would lead to major territorial concessions to Russia. A ceasefire likely will not come swiftly, and if it does, it will shape very profoundly the European security environment for years to come.
As Putin pushes to gain additional territory ahead of any talks, he may try to employ new or more lethal weaponry and use nuclear coercion to try to gain some advantage. Trump,
as U.S. President Joe Biden, should refrain from issuing nuclear threats of his own and instead join other global leaders to condemn threats of nuclear first use as inadmissible.
Heading off a three-way nuclear arms race. All major nuclear-weapon states are spending tens of billions of dollars modernizing their nuclear arsenals. Talks on nuclear arms control remain stalled. With the last remaining agreement limiting the Russian and U.S. arsenals due to expire in February 2026, an era of unconstrained nuclear competition looms.
In response, congressional Republicans and the authors of the Project 2025 plan want Washington to spend even more than the current $756 billion, ten-year price tag for nuclear modernization in order to increase the number and diversity of the arsenal. Such a buildup would reverse 35 years of Russian-U.S. reductions, is not necessary to deter nuclear attack, would divert resources from other defense and human needs, and would prompt China and Russia to match any U.S. increase.
Trump and his team have not offered a plan for constraining Russia’s strategic arsenal, and some Republicans may lobby Trump to withdraw from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Instead, Trump could try to achieve what Biden could not: a simple, informal deal with Putin pledging each side to maintain the existing caps on their strategic nuclear arsenals as long as the other does. This would allow the U.S. nuclear enterprise to focus on maintaining the existing force, buy time for formal talks to limit strategic, intermediate, and tactical nuclear weapons and the systems that carry them, and forestall a costly arms race that no one can win.
Maintaining the global test ban. No state except North Korea has conducted a nuclear test explosion in this century, the United States has not tested since 1992, and the world is more stable as a result. For the United States, nuclear explosive testing is technically and militarily unnecessary. A generously funded and proven Stockpile Stewardship Program maintains the existing U.S. warhead types.
Nevertheless, Trump’s former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien proposed a resumption of U.S. nuclear testing in Nevada, which would violate the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Project 2025 calls for reducing the time necessary to resume nuclear testing to six months or less. Any such move would be a self-inflicted nuclear policy disaster that would open the door to Chinese, North Korean, and Russian testing and blow apart global nonproliferation efforts at a time of heightened nuclear danger.
Stopping a nuclear-armed Iran. Since Trump withdrew from the successful 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Tehran’s leaders have restored their capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material and reduced access to international inspectors who are needed to guard against nuclear breakout.
Iran’s new president has offered to engage in talks that could lead to action-for-action steps to deescalate tensions, which could help move Iran further away from the nuclear threshold. But most advisers in Trump’s circle want to double down on the failed "maximum pressure" sanctions policy of Trump’s first term to force Iran to back down or help Israel try to destroy parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Such action would make Iran’s acquisition of the bomb in the future far more likely. Last month, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Tehran would withdraw from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the United States and others sought to snap back international sanctions through the UN Security Council before October 2025. Iran’s nuclear knowledge cannot be bombed away. Any setback in its nuclear infrastructure would be temporary and likely lead Iran to pursue a clandestine bomb program.
The risk of nuclear war, nuclear arms racing, and nuclear proliferation is already greater than at any point since the Cold War. In the months ahead, the new Trump administration will make key choices that could determine whether the situation improves or deteriorates. It will be essential that responsible members of Congress, responsible Western and non-nuclear-weapon states, and civil society campaigners help steer toward a safer course.
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’a ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
(Please note that the Saturday and Sunday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS — unedited —are added to Monday news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War
Nuclear War Threats
Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Wednesday, (12/04/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Why nuclear energy could save net zero - Power Engineering International
Power Engineering International
Who do you see being the main users of nuclear power? Base economy industries like chemical, paper and steel, the corner stones on which everything ...
In Fukushima's Shadow, Japan Grapples With Nuclear Power's Return - WSJ
WSJ
... Things with Kim Strassel · Potomac Watch Podcast · Foreign Edition Podcast ... All. 13:22.
Meta Seeks New Nuclear Reactors to Run US Data Centers | Financial Post
Financial Post
... all things Trump | Dec. 5, 12 p.m. ET. Register Now >>. Sections. Search ... (Bloomberg) — Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking as much as 4 gigawatts of new ...
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Meta Seeks New Nuclear Reactors to Run US Data Centers - Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance
(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. is seeking as much as 4 gigawatts of new nuclear energy as the company looks for a reliable electricity source ...
Meta turns to nuclear energy for its AI ambitions - The Verge
The Verge
Meta says it wants to bring more nuclear energy to electricity grids to power its data centers.
Meta starts the search for nuclear partners to power energy-hungry AI - Business Insider
Business Insider
Meta is looking for nuclear energy developers to power its AI ambitions. On Tuesday, Meta said in a blog post that it's targeting 1 to 4 gigawatts ...
Nuclear War
NEWS
A Last Chance to Prevent Nuclear Anarchy - Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
As Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term as U.S. president, he is faced with a world sliding into nuclear anarchy.
Map Shows Safest US States to Live During Nuclear War - Newsweek
Newsweek
Now, Newsweek has looked at Scientific American's previous fallout maps of a nuclear attack on missile silos in the U.S. heartland—Colorado, Wyoming, ...
*NEW* Public Opinion and the Iran Nuclear Threat: Lessons from the NS 2024 Survey
The University of Oklahoma
This white paper examines Americans' perceptions of the evolving nuclear threats from Russia and China, based on the National Security Survey (NS ...
See more results | Edit this alertNuclear Power EmergenciesNEWS
Sirens to be tested surrounding Peach Bottom atomic power station - York Dispatch
York Dispatch
Full-volume testing of the emergency warning sirens surrounding the nuclear power plant in Peach Bottom will be done at approximately 1 p.m. ...
Ukraine convenes IAEA Board meeting over Russian attacks on nuclear power plant substations
pravda.com.ua
... emergency at one of the three operating nuclear power plants still under Kyiv's control. Support UP or become our patron! energyIAEA. Advertisement:.
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Putin's nuclear threats aim to scare the west – but Ukraine's allies are now calling his bluff
The Conversation
... attack Russia – in other words, the US and UK. Putin's nuclear threats and the use of the Oreshnik missile were reported with alarm around the world.
A Last Chance to Prevent Nuclear Anarchy - Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
... nuclear threats in the course of Russia's war in Ukraine. Recent reports based on information from senior U.S. officials indicate that the United ...
Map Shows Safest US States to Live During Nuclear War - Newsweek
Newsweek
Map Shows Safest US States to Live During Nuclear War · Inside America's Nuke-Proof Bunkers As Russian Threats Drive Demand · Vaping Map Shows States ...
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
Yellowstone's November update includes 88 earthquakes - Buckrail
Buckrail
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — On Monday, Dec. 2, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) released the November 2024 update on eruptions, ...
Taal Volcano (Luzon Island, Philippines): new Phreatomagmatic Explosion Today
Volcano Discovery
Yellowstone quakes · Latest earthquakes under Yellowstone volcano. List and interactive map of current and past earthquakes near Yellowstone volcano.