Dear readers,

When I read the message, I was speechless at first. Japan wants to discharge treated Nuclear waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific (+). Everything about this message sounds wrong. You may remember the pictures that went around the world in 2011. To the column of smoke that rose above the reactors in Fukushima when core meltdown and hydrogen explosions occurred after a severe earthquake and huge tsunamis. It was the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The environment was radioactively contaminated for kilometers and hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated.

And it is precisely from this nuclear ruin that cooling water is to be disposed of in the sea. It seems like a second environmental catastrophe, this time deliberately brought about. Because supplying polluted water to a sensitive ecosystem can only end badly, according to common sense. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a different opinion and has now given the green light for the project. It would have “negligible” environmental impact, said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. After all, all harmful substances are filtered out of the cooling water, except for the radioactive isotope tritium, before it is dumped in the sea.

What to do with the nuclear waste?

But how tritium affects the marine ecosystem has not yet been researched in detail. This is not the only reason why some researchers consider Japan’s plans to be worrying. However, there are other voices in science who consider the plans to be entirely justifiable. So does Tony Hooker, director of the Center for Radiation Research, Education and Innovation at the University of Adelaide in Australia. From his point of view, a completely different question arises: Even if the project is safe, does it make sense to misuse oceans as garbage dumps, where they are already weakened anyway?

“It would be a good opportunity to explore other disposal methods in the future,” says Hooker. For example, experts at the Pacific Islands Forum had suggested using the Fukushima sewage to make concrete, in which the remaining tritium would then be trapped. Disposing of radioactive material is and will remain a problem – and it is getting bigger as more nuclear power plants go offline. As great as people’s desire for an energy transition is, as you can read in our “That gives hope” section, it also means finding solutions for the ghosts of the past. And we are still at the very beginning.

Yours, Laura Beigel

What can I do?

Nowhere is it as hot in summer as in a top floor apartment. For homeowners, the heat can become a real nightmare, especially if it lasts at night. “At some point this puts a constant strain on the body,” says Andreas Matzarakis from the Center for Medical Meteorological Research of the German Weather Service. He spoke to my colleague Heidi Becker about how to make life under the roof more bearable in the summer. His advice: “Good insulation is the be-all and end-all.” This applies not only to walls, but also to windows, through which most of the heat comes into the apartment.

Ventilating attic apartments is only worthwhile very early in the morning or very late in the evening. So when it’s cooler outside than inside. Otherwise, owners should try to darken their apartment with blinds to minimize solar radiation. To sleep better at night, it can help to cool bed sheets, for example with cooling pads. Or just put a fan by the bed. It uses little electricity, says Matzarakis, and can provide cooling at temperatures of up to 35 degrees.

That gives hope

Significantly more people in Germany than previously assumed are in favor of an ambitious climate policy. These are the results of the Social Sustainability Barometer 2023. 68 percent support the energy transition, 54 percent the transport transition, and for 41 percent the issue of climate protection has gained in importance. The majority of those surveyed no longer heat all of the rooms, or only with lower temperatures. However: 58 percent of people are of the opinion that they are already doing everything possible to protect the climate, they see their own options for action as exhausted. In their eyes, responsibility for action lies with politics and industry instead.

What was important this week

The outlook

The satellite instrument Lightning Imager has started its work in space. In the future, it will continuously record lightning in different parts of the world – both during the day and at night. The European space agency Esa and the European weather satellite operator Eumetsat showed what this looks like in several animations on Monday. The Lightning Imager is intended to give meteorologists more certainty when forecasting severe storms, which could occur more frequently and be more severe due to climate change. The satellite instrument should also make air traffic safer.

Subscribe too

Crisis Radar: Conflicts, wars, catastrophes – analyzed by Can Merey, new every Wednesday.

The day: The news briefing from the editorial network Germany. Every morning at 7 a.m.

Priceless: Valuable tips and background information about money – every Wednesday.

Capital Radar: Personal impressions and backgrounds from the government district. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Life and us: The guide for health, well-being and the whole family – every second Thursday.

What’s up, America? The USA newsletter provides background information on developments in politics, society and culture – every second Tuesday.

The Stream Team: The best series and film tips for Netflix and Co. – new every month.