Fusion: Confusion?

 

Nuclear fusion involves light elements, like hydrogen, being combined under pressure, with a massive release of energy. It's basically how our sun produces its constant radiation. It can be argued that reproducing this process on Earth, is attractive, as it could generate electricity without 'greenhouse gas' emissions (as do coal, oil and gas power plants) or dangerous radioactive waste (as do nuclear fission reactors). The UK government has now promised £410m to help establish a nuclear fusion device in England. Could this money be better spent?  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/16/ministers-pledge-record-410m-to-support-uk-nuclear-fusion-energy). Folk have been studying nuclear fusion for many decades. In addition to the UK's programme, there's a collaborative enterprise in Europe and a small undertaking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The MIT project is the most advanced and seems likely to be ready to produce some electricity later in 2025. Progress on such projects is, however, glacially slow. It's likely to be decades (if ever?), before any UK-based nuclear fusion plant could boost its energy security. One might ask "why attempt to produce a mini-sun, when the real thing is already above us?" It could be reasonably argued that the £410m could be better spent on fitting solar panels to UK homes and other buildings. This would produce a much bigger and more immediate 'bang for the buck'. Time is of the essence, as they say!  

Fickle Financial Fashions

Adrienne Butler notes that, after COP26, the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) was set up, many global banks rushed to commit to this voluntary body to align "lending and investment portfolios with net zero emissions by 2050".This didn't, however, seem to change their behaviour. Members of NZBA actually lent more to fossil fuel consortia than non-members. The impending US governmental changes has led to a rush for the door. Since the start of December 2024, six major US banks have left the NZBA (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/15/woke-capital-net-zero-banking-alliance). Banks, especially in the US, appear worried about being labelled as 'woke capital'. There's even been suggestions that banks will be sued for discrimination, by not lending to coal companies. What we have is confirmation of two truisms. Firstly, most banks only want the appearance of acting in the best interests of humanity. They crave maximising profits. Secondly, the fossil fuel companies have all the cash. They ought to be paying for their environmental damage but in stead they use their massive financial reserves to avoid any curtailing of their activities. 

'Bringing Back the Leech' in Jersey?

 

The PFAS ('forever chemicals') saga runs on and on. It sounds Medieval, but Jersey residents (UK, Channel Islands) are now being advised to blood let. In the Middle Ages, leeches were commonly used for blood letting. Blood removal was erroneously regarded the 'cure' for a variety of  human ailments. Jersey's private drinking water supplies are contaminated by PFASs via  water run-off  from the busy airport. Fire-fighting foams (largely used in exercises), appear the primary source of pollution. Folk, with dangerously high levels of blood PFASs, are being urged to undergo medical blood letting. This would be done by blood donor teams rather by leeches. The extracted blood couldn't, of course, be used in transfusions. 'Patients', however, can replace it relatively quickly, reducing their blood PFAS levels  (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/16/bloodletting-recommended-for-jersey-residents-after-pfas-contamination). This seems to be the shape of things to come. PFASs are now a wide-spread threat to human health. Their usage needs to be strongly curtailed.

Reach For the 'Forever Chemicals'?

 

PFASs (so-called 'forever chemicals') contaminate ground waters in many UK locations. Hotspots include sewage treatment plants; sites where firefighters are routinely trained and Royal Air Force bases. Fire-suppressant foams and cleaning agents  are especially loaded with PFASs. Forever chemicals don't breakdown and have been linked to cancers, impaired immune responses and fertility problems (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/15/raf-bases-hotspots-of-forever-chemical-groundwater-pollution-mod-documents-show). Ground waters, however, don't stay in these locations. The water finds its way into aquifers and rivers, supplying folk with drinking water. Living near a hotspot, carries serious health risks. Most people are fairly near a sewage treatment plant.

Climate Denial: Coming To a Stage Near You!

 

It seems odd timing, given the US devastation produced by the Los Angeles fires. But a US climate denial lobby group is extending its 'business' to Europe. Heartland UK/Europe has opened its doors in London. The body receives funding from the oil giant ExxonMobile and a slew of wealthy US Republican donors. They proclaim that climate change is a 'scam' (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/15/farage-and-truss-attend-uk-launch-of-us-climate-denial-group-heartland). There is, of course, a 'scam'. The scam is claiming that climate change has nothing to do with fossil fuel emissions and that attempts to limit their impact, is a cunning ploy to make the general population poorer. Oil companies need to continue to 'drill baby, drill' to add to their already massive profits. The only way the general population is made poorer, is if they have to pick up the costs of attempts to limit climate change and/or the damage produced by extreme weather events. The polluters should pay (they can afford to)! The collection of right wing politicians, clustering around Heartland UK/Europe's launch, presumably see opportunities to benefit from the generated misinformation.  

What Goes Up?

 

Patrick Schroder notes there's been more than 60,000 space launches, over the last 60 years. There's now 56,450 tracked objects, orbiting this planet. Since 1961, more than 560 orbital fragmentation events have also taken place. The created debris, is making life more hazardous for astronauts as well as folk on the ground. Not everything burns up, as it re-enters the atmosphere (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/13/space-junk-rockets-satellites-hazards-regulation). Things are getting more problematic. Commercial organisations are increasingly entering the 'space race', making it even more likely that space junk will accumulate. There's also likely to be duplication of effort, driven by competing communications systems as well as alternative 'space tourism' initiatives. Folk on the ground, have already had damage to their properties. People might well be killed. It will be interesting to see how courts react to lawsuits in the more developed parts of the globe. It's also worth reiterating, that space junk also makes life very difficult for astronomy.

Forever Costly

 

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is a family of circa 10,000 synthetic chemicals, used in many consumer products (clothing, carpeting, food packaging etc.) and industrial processes, to make items water and/or stain resistant. They have, however, long-established problems. PFASs are known as 'forever chemicals' as they're not broken down in the environment. They're becoming ubiquitous, being even found in rainwater across the globe. PFASs have also been shown to influence disease (e.g. cancers) and fertility in humans as well as other animals. It's now been estimated that a clean-up of  'forever chemicals' in the UK and Europe will take at least 20 years. The costs to the entire continent is estimated at £1.6tn. The UK alone would have to pay £9.9bn per year. Under these circumstances, one might have thought that PFAS producers would be ceasing making these compounds. In actuality, however, they are following the 'tobacco playbook' to fend off regulation. This play book involves casting doubts on findings and finding excuses for delaying actions (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/14/cost-clean-up-toxic-pfas-pollution-forever-chemicals). The 'forever chemical' problem is yet another human-manufactured health crisis. There must be better ways of bringing rogue manufactures to heel. The trouble is that producers can be tricky. If they are rich enough, they can 'get away with murder', reinventing themselves. It's notable that the aforementioned tobacco companies are now producers of vapes. They are, of course, creating the next generation of nicotine addicts, as well as causing considerable environmental problems. Nothings stops our profits!