Advanced Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are a key part of the Department’s goal to develop safe, clean, and affordable nuclear power options. The advanced SMRs currently under development in the United States represent a variety of sizes, technology options, capabilities, and deployment scenarios. These advanced reactors, envisioned to vary in size from tens of megawatts up to hundreds of megawatts, can be used for power generation, process heat, desalination, or other industrial uses. SMR designs may employ light water as a coolant or other non-light water coolants such as a gas, liquid metal, or molten salt.
Advanced SMRs offer many advantages, such as relatively small physical footprints, reduced capital investment, ability to be sited in locations not possible for larger nuclear plants, and provisions for incremental power additions. SMRs also offer distinct safeguards, security and nonproliferation advantages.
The Department has long recognized the transformational value that advanced SMRs can provide to the nation’s economic, energy security, and environmental outlook. Accordingly, the Department has provided substantial support to the development of light water-cooled SMRs, which are under licensing review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and will likely be deployed in the late 2020s to early 2030s. The Department is also interested in the development of SMRs that use nontraditional coolants such as liquid metals, salts, and gases for the potential safety, operational, and economic benefits they offer.
Advanced SMR R&D Program Building on the successes of the SMR Licensing Technical Support (LTS) program, the Advanced SMR R&D program was initiated in FY2019 and supports research, development, and deployment activities to accelerate the availability of U.S.-based SMR technologies into domestic and international markets. Significant technology development and licensing risks remain in bringing advanced SMR designs to market and government support is required to achieve domestic deployment of SMRs by the late 2020s or early 2030s. TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE...
Through this program, the Department has partnered with NuScale Power and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) to demonstrate a first-of-a-kind reactor technology at the Idaho National Laboratory this decade. Through these efforts, the Department will provide broad benefits to other domestic reactor developers by resolving many technical and licensing issues that are generic to SMR technologies, while promoting U.S. energy independence, energy dominance, and electricity grid resilience, and assuring that there is a future supply of clean, reliable baseload power.
The revelation that China has advanced in developing hypersonic weapons has renewed calls for the U.S. military to invest both in hypersonic weapons as well as the capability to combat such weapons.
The test of a Chinese hypersonic missile in August appeared to catch U.S. military officials by surprise, with one person allegedly saying the U.S. had "no idea how they did this."
What are hypersonic weapons, and how worried should the American military be by China’s recent test?
A Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept (HAWC) missile in seen in an artist's conception. Raytheon Missiles & Defense/Handout via REUTERS. HYPERSONIC WEAPONS
Hypersonic weapons are broadly defined as any vehicle or missile that moves at Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound, or around 3,800 miles per hour. Intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have existed for some time: Russia, the United States, China and – most recently – North Korea have all tested ICBMs of this speed or greater, according to Popular Science.
The U.S. has actively pursued the development of such weapons since the 2000s. Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command General John Hyten has stated, these weapons could enable "responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats [such as road-mobile missiles] when other forces are unavailable, denied access, or not preferred."
These missiles fly up into space and travel some distance before re-entering the atmosphere as the missile aims for a target. Vehicles that follow this type of flight pattern are known as hypersonic glide vehicles.
The second version of such weapons would be the hypersonic cruise missile, which can fly through the atmosphere. The heat generated by Mach 5 flight, and the fuel required to propel at these sustained speeds, pose the greatest hurdle to development.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks at a news conference in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins CHINA’S TEST
China has previously demonstrated the capability to deploy ICBM as early as 2014, John Venable of D.C.-based think-tank The Heritage Foundation told Fox News.
"The Chinese began this particular glide vehicle in 2014," Venable said. "They had nine successful tests since then, approximately. The idea that this is new, that this is a revelation that caught the U.S. government by surprise is a misnomer." TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE...
Eviction protections are expiring across the United States and Canada right now, and millions of people are suddenly finding themselves facing eviction with a pandemic still raging and the start of winter just around the corner.
Not knowing where you’re going to live next month is an unbelievably scary position to be in, and there are a lot of people out there who are facing this for the first time in their lives. It’s okay to be scared. But it’s also important to start taking steps to deal with this as soon as you realize that might be at risk of eviction.
Here’s what you do:
Do not leave your home. Many landlords count on their tenants not knowing or understanding their rights, and take advantage of that to try to illegally evict them without following proper procedure.
Many landlords have been ignoring and violating eviction moratoriums during this pandemic. Don’t fall for it. There is a legal process that has to be followed to evict you, even if your name isn’t on the lease - your landlord cannot simply slip a note under your door ordering you out by the end of the week, no matter what they tell you.
Do not leave your home until a judge orders you to do so. You may have a better shot in court than you think you do, and seeing the court process to the very end buys you valuable time to figure out your next move.
Start calling and contacting legal aid services as soon as your landlord threatens or files eviction - these services often only do intake for new clients on certain days, so it’s a good idea to research these services ahead of time.
Understand your rights. The protections you have under the law depend on where you live - it’s critical that you take the time to educate yourself about what those protections are. Your area will likely have a Residential Tenancies Act, a Tenant Act, or something along those lines.
Look online for information specific to your area. There may also be special protections and procedures in place because of the pandemic. If you live in NYC, for instance, you have a right to free legal counsel if you are facing eviction. Find out what protections you have in your area.
Contact resources in your area. Again, depending on where you live, there are different resources available. There may be a tenant support agency that can connect you to free legal resources directly. You might be eligible for unemployment benefits or emergency income. Your state or city might also have emergency funding or eviction prevention programs in place.
NYC, for instance, offers “one shot deal” emergency grants that cover rental arrears for people who are facing eviction due to unexpected crises. You should also look at emergency housing options, community food banks, or other resources that can help you survive this situation. In many cities you can call 211 or 311 to learn more or about resources, or you can go online.
Attend your eviction hearing. Once you are given a date and time for your eviction hearing, it is critical that you attend. Even if you have not paid rent in several months and you think your case is hopeless, you absolutely must show up for this hearing.
If you don’t attend, you will lose by default - if you attend, you may be successful in winning leniency, the opportunity to pay back rent with a payment plan and avoid eviction, or even just a few weeks’ extension on the eviction date so you have more time to come up with a plan. Attend your hearing.
Have a back-up plan. Even with legal aid resources on your side, you have to prepare for the possibility that you might not be able to fight your eviction. Buy yourself as much time as you can, and use that time to start researching possible options. Is there a cheaper room for rent that you can afford with your unemployment benefits?
Do you know anyone you can stay with? Are there any housing non-profits in your area that can help? Do you have any leads on employment in the future? Explore your options, and remember that it’s okay to ask for help right now - people in your life can’t help you unless you tell them that you’re struggling.
Call your representatives. You are not the only person suffering as a result of expiring COVID protections - your elected officials need to know that letting these programs expire is having serious, dire consequences for real people that they represent. Call everyone.
Call the office of your congressman, call your MP, call your state senator, your MLA, your local city counsellors. Tell your story, and make as much noise as you can. It doesn’t guarantee that anything will be done, of course, but it makes the problem harder for your elected officials to ignore.
Important Resources for Americans:
LawHelp.org - website for learning more about local laws and finding free legal aid in your area
JustShelter - a database of community resources available to people facing eviction (might not include all emergency pandemic programs)
Eviction Moratorium Database - a database showing where evictions have been legally paused or restricted because of the pandemic
National Evictions Database - a database where you can look up what the legal eviction process is supposed to look like in your state
Tenant’s Union Resources - a website where you can find information for the tenant’s union or pro-tenant organizations in your area
Legal Services - a federal non-profit that helps connect low-income households to legal resources for fighting eviction Fannie Mae Renters Resource Finder - a database that will tell you if your rental unit is federally financed, and show you resources to fight eviction accordingly
Freddie Mac Renters Resource Finder - another website to show you if your rental property is federally backed and connect you to resources Eviction Lab - a website that outlines information about pandemic eviction moratoriums and restrictions currently in place in your state The National Housing Law Project - a comprehensive database of resources for people facing eviction or foreclosure Important
China Freaked Out: The Navy Surfaced 3 Missile Submarines Simultaneously
What history has shown in recent decades is that military posturing has become an integral part of how countries deal with one another.
According to Forrest Morgan, an analyst for the RAND Corporation, such actions all point to what is known as “crisis stability”—the “building and posturing forces in ways that allow a state, if confronted, to avoid war without backing down.”
Showcasing Might in Pacific One particular example Morgan sheds light on is when the U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class SSGNs surfaced in the Pacific more than a decade ago.
“In July 2010, three SSGNs surfaced nearly simultaneously in Western Pacific and Indian Ocean waters, allegedly to signal U.S. displeasure over Chinese missile tests in the East China Sea,” he writes.
This caught the attention of plenty of local reporters as well.
“The appearance of the USS Michigan in Pusan, South Korea, the USS Ohio in Subic Bay, in The Philippines and the USS Florida in the strategic Indian Ocean outpost of Diego Garcia not only reflects the trend of escalating submarine activity in East Asia, but carries another threat as well,” Greg Torode reported for the South China Morning Post.
“Between them, the three submarines can carry four hundred sixty-two Tomahawks, boosting by an estimated 60 percent-plus the potential Tomahawk strike force of the entire Japanese-based Seventh Fleet—the core projection of U.S. military power in East Asia. One veteran Asian military attaché, who keeps close ties with both Chinese and U.S. forces, noted that four hundred sixty-odd Tomahawks is a huge amount of potential firepower in anybody’s language,” he continued.
The reporter concluded that “it is another sign that the U.S. is determined to not just maintain its military dominance in Asia, but to be seen doing so—that is a message for Beijing and for everybody else, whether you are a U.S. ally or a nation sitting on the fence. READ MORE...
4,400-pound sunfish caught off North Africa literally tips the scales
The massive ocean sunfish weighed more than 4,400 pounds, scientists estimate. (Image credit: Reuters / Seville University)
Fishers recently hauled up a surprising catch off the coast of North Africa: a colossal ocean sunfish weighing an incredible 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms).
At least that's how heavy marine biologists estimated the mammoth fish to be, based on its girth and the dimensions of sunfish that had previously been captured and weighed. "We tried to put it on the 1,000-kilogram (2,200 pounds) scale, but it was too heavy," marine biologist Enrique Ostale told Reuters. "It would've broken it."
Fishers in Ceuta, a Spanish territory bordering Morocco, discovered the animal tangled in their nets in early October. They immediately called in Ostale, head of Seville University's Marine Biology Lab in Ceuta, to examine the massive sunfish. After first isolating the creature in an underwater pen attached to the boat, the team briefly hauled the fish into the air, using a crane.
Like other ocean sunfish, all of which belong to the genus Mola, the creature resembled an oblong pancake with huge, googly eyes stuck to its sides. Two massive, winglike fins extended from the top and bottom of the fish; in the ocean, sunfish wave these fins to and fro to propel their hefty bodies through the water.
Once the sunfish had been hoisted on deck, the team measured the animal and determined it to be 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) long and 9.5 feet (2.9 m) wide; for scale, a king-size bed is only 6.6 feet (2.03 m) long by 6.3 feet (1.9 m) wide. After measuring the sunfish and taking photos and DNA samples, the crew released the animal back into the sea, where it soon disappeared into the watery depths. READ MORE...
Even if we traveled at the speed of light, we'd never catch up to these galaxies.
Distant galaxies, like those found in the Hercules galaxy cluster, are not only redshifted and receding away from us, but their apparent recession speed is accelerating. Many of the most distant galaxies in this image are receding from us at speeds that appear to exceed the speed of light. We will never be able to reach any of the ones presently located more than 18 billion light-years away. (Credit: ESO/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM. Acknowledgement: OmegaCen/Astro-WISE/Kapteyn Institute.)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The universe is expanding, with every galaxy beyond the Local Group speeding away from us.
Today, most of the universe's galaxies are already receding faster than the speed of light.
All galaxies currently beyond 18 billion light-years are forever unreachable by us, no matter how much time passes.
Our universe, everywhere and in all directions, is filled with stars and galaxies.
The Milky Way, as seen at La Silla observatory, is a stunning, awe-inspiring sight to anyone, and offers a spectacular view of a great many stars in our galaxy. Beyond our galaxy, however, are trillions of others, nearly all of which are expanding away from us. (Credit: ESO / Håkon Dahle)
From our vantage point, we observe up to 46.1 billion light-years away.
As long as the light from any galaxy that was emitted at the start of the hot Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago would have reached us by today, that object is within our presently observable universe. However, not every observable object is reachable. (Credit: F. Summers, A. Pagan, L. Hustak, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, and L. Frattere (STScI))
Our visible universe contains an estimated ~2 trillion galaxies.
The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (XDF) may have observed a region of sky just 1/32,000,000th of the total, but was able to uncover a whopping 5,500 galaxies within it: an estimated 10% of the total number of galaxies actually contained in this pencil-beam-style slice. The remaining 90% of galaxies are either too faint or too red or too obscured for Hubble to reveal. (Credit: HUDF09 and HUDF12 teams; Processing: E. Siegel)
However, most of them are already permanently unreachable by us.
(CNN)From cool, dewy European mountain ranges and humid Central Asian forests to the urban sprawl across North America and the arid landscapes of the African continent, millions of people are cooking with only the sun's rays as fuel.
This culinary magic is known as solar cooking. Instead of burning a fuel source, solar cooking uses mirrored surfaces to channel and concentrate sunlight into a small space, cooking food while producing zero carbon emissions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.6 billion people around the globe cook their daily meals over open fires. Fuelled with wood, animal waste, kerosene and charcoal, these fires produce highly polluting smoke and contribute to deforestation, soil erosion and ultimately desertification -- but solar cookers could provide an alternative.
Solar cookers and shrinking forests Solar Cookers International (SCI) is an non-profit that advocates for the adoption of solar thermal cooking technologies. SCI says it knows of over 4 million solar cookers around the world, which people are using to cook and bake in the direct sun or through light clouds.
One of these people is Janak Palta McGilligan. The 73-year-old is a member of the SCI Global Advisory Council and director of the Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development in Madhya Pradesh, India -- which she founded with her late husband in 2010. TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...
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Distant galaxies, like those found in the Hercules galaxy cluster, are not only redshifted and receding away from us, but their apparent recession speed is accelerating. Many of the most distant galaxies in this image are receding from us at speeds that appear to exceed the speed of light. We will never be able to reach any of the ones presently located more than 18 billion light-years away. (Credit: ESO/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM. Acknowledgement: OmegaCen/Astro-WISE/Kapteyn Institute.)
The Milky Way, as seen at La Silla observatory, is a stunning, awe-inspiring sight to anyone, and offers a spectacular view of a great many stars in our galaxy. Beyond our galaxy, however, are trillions of others, nearly all of which are expanding away from us. (Credit: ESO / Håkon Dahle)
As long as the light from any galaxy that was emitted at the start of the hot Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago would have reached us by today, that object is within our presently observable universe. However, not every observable object is reachable. (Credit: F. Summers, A. Pagan, L. Hustak, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, and L. Frattere (STScI))
The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (XDF) may have observed a region of sky just 1/32,000,000th of the total, but was able to uncover a whopping 5,500 galaxies within it: an estimated 10% of the total number of galaxies actually contained in this pencil-beam-style slice. The remaining 90% of galaxies are either too faint or too red or too obscured for Hubble to reveal. (Credit: HUDF09 and HUDF12 teams; Processing: E. Siegel)
