Tuesday July 2nd… Dear Diary. The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track United States extreme or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Russian “Chernobyl” To Be Used To Expoit Arctic Oil And Gas
The Climate Guy was really frowning when he saw this CNN article on a huge floating Russian nuclear reactor that will be used to power efforts to drill for Arctic oil and gas. What could possibly go wrong here? Plenty with a capital P. Besides the obvious radiation hazard if, God forbid, there ever was an accident, electricity generated from this “barge ship” will be used to further rerelease more carbon into the air.
Mostly greedy, hungry for capital Russian interests have financed the project. If only these same interests would leave oil and gas in the ground, instead building power generating wind turbines in the Arctic area for any electrical generating needs. Well, if only. The short-sighted export and usage of oil and gas remains very big business in Russia. Here is a quick reference from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Russia
Quoting Wikipedia:
“Russia’s vast geography is an important determinant of its economic activity, with some sources estimating that Russia contains over 30 percent of the world’s natural resources.[23][24][25] The World Bank estimates the total value of Russia’s natural resources at $75 trillion US dollars.[26][27] Russia relies on energy revenues to drive most of its growth. Russia has an abundance of oil, natural gas and precious metals, which make up a major share of Russia’s exports. As of 2012 the oil-and-gas sector accounted for 16% of GDP, 52% of federal budget revenues and over 70% of total exports.[28][29] Russia is considered an “energy superpower“.[30][31] It has the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves and is the largest exporter of natural gas. It is also the second-largest exporter of petroleum.”
Here is the CNN article on that floating hopefully not “disaster waiting to happen:”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/europe/russia-arctic-floating-nuclear-power-station-intl/index.html
Russia plans to tow a nuclear power station to the Arctic. Critics dub it a ‘floating Chernobyl’
By Mary Ilyushina, CNN
Updated 4:47 PM ET, Sun June 30, 2019
This is the world’s first nuclear barge.
Murmansk, Russia (CNN)Next month, a floating nuclear power plant called the Akademik Lomonosov will be towed via the Northern Sea Route to its final destination in the Far East, after almost two decades in construction. It’s part of Russia’s ambition to bring electric power to a mineral-rich region. The 144-meter (472 feet) long platform painted in the colors of the Russian flag is going to float next to a small Arctic port town of Pevek, some 4,000 miles away from Moscow. It will supply electricity to settlements and companies extracting hydrocarbons and precious stones in the Chukotka region.A larger agenda is at work too: aiding President Vladimir Putin’s ambitious Arctic expansion plans, which have raised geopolitical concerns in the United States.
Aerial view of the Akademik Lomonosov, Russia’s floating nuclear power plant. Photo: CNN
The Admiral Lomonosov will be the northernmost operating nuclear plant in the world, and it’s key to plans to develop the region economically. About 2 million Russians reside near the Arctic coast in villages and towns similar to Pevek, settlements that are often reachable only by plane or ship, if the weather permits. But they generate as much as 20% of country’s GDP and are key for Russian plans to tap into the hidden Arctic riches of oil and gas as Siberian reserves diminish.
Project engineers say they’ve learned the lessons of Fukushima.
“This rig can’t be torn out of moorings, even with a 9-point tsunami, and we’ve even considered that if it does go inland, there is a backup system that can keep the reactor cooling for 24 hours without an electricity supply,” said Dmitry Alekseenko, deputy director of the Lomonosov plant.
However, experts of Bellona, an NGO monitoring nuclear projects and environmental impacts, say 24 hours might not be enough to prevent a disaster should a tsunami land the rig among towns with two active nuclear reactors aboard. [more]
Aye ya ya. The human race seems to be coming up with fancier, more ingenious ways for short term comfort and profit, but longer term self destruction. I’ll be letting my readers know about more such projects with time, which Greenpeace if you are listening, needs to target.
Here is more climate and weather news from Tuesday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article.)
Here is an “Oh my God, Wow!” item for Tuesday:
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Guy Walton- “The Climate Guy”