NAPSNet 22 March 2012

Recommended Citation

"NAPSNet 22 March 2012", NAPSNet Weekly Report, March 22, 2012, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-weekly/napsnet-22-march-2012/

DETERRENCE: Nuclear safety and security after 3/11, Peter Hayes, Global Asia, 7:1, pp. 20-27 (Spring 2012)

Peter Hayes notes that the events at the Fukushima nuclear disaster exposed design flaws in current nuclear technology whose solutions are linked to dramatically unsettling security issues. If the nuclear industry in Japan does not recover, then the future of Japan’s enormous stockpile of separated plutonium, now about 80 metric tons, must be addressed.

DPRK: Launch of satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 is legitimate right of DPRK: KCNA, KCNA (18 March 2012)

The DPRK announced that it would launch an “earth observation satellite” on April 15. According to KCNA, the satellite launch will not violate North Korea’s moratorium on long-range missile tests. The US has urged it to call off the launch. Mark Fitzpatrick notes, “space launches differ from ballistic-missile tests in their purpose and trajectory…. [but] they are intricately linked.”

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Ageing, the built environment and adaptation to climate change, Tracie Harvison, Rachelle Newman & Bruce Judd, ACCARNSI discussion paper, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility – NCCARF (October 2011) [PDF, 1.18 MB]

Current policy has failed to adequately consider the consequences of older persons being more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in comparison to younger cohorts. Given that Australian society is rapidly ageing, the implication is that the vulnerability of the community as a whole to climate change will escalate unless action is taken to build the adaptive capacity of older persons in coping with the impacts of climate-induced exposures.

ENERGY SECURITY: Rethinking ‘inevitability’ of nuclear energy, Kim Kyung-ho, The Korea Herald (6 March 2012)

A candidate for governor of a Korean province first argued in favor of hosting a new nuclear plant, but changed his position after the Fukushima accident. Public opinion polls and the activities of civil society organizations—which tout efficiency and renewable energy–show growing opposition to ROK nuclear power, though official government policy remains dedicated to expansion of nuclear capacity, deeming it less expensive than other options.

GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Nuclear issue creeps up agenda for April election, Shin Hyon-hee, Korea Herald (18 March 2012)

The ROK anti-nuclear movement is gaining momentum after it was revealed that operators had attempted to hide a temporary black out last month at a plant in Busan, with a recent poll showing 6 out of 10 respondents opposed to increased nuclear power reliance. Nearly 1000 protestors demonstrated in both Seoul and Taiwan on the anniversary of the Fukushima accident, with ongoing demonstrations in Seoul in advance of next week’s Nuclear Security Summit.

 

Note: We regret that the Austral Security section is not included in this week’s NAPSNet report and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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