Atomic Insights

Though I often describe Russia as a nation of skilled chess players to my colleagues as I attempt to remind them that Russia's "Great Power" aspirations did not start or end with the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, even good chess players can make short sighted moves. This morning, Russia, after another round of failed negotiations with Ukraine, has once again begun to cut off deliveries...

I hope some of you have missed having regular updates to Atomic Insights during the past week, but I also hope that you have been able to take some time away from normal routines to think, visit with friends and family and consider future actions in the coming year. For people of many cultural traditions, the time between the winter solstice and the New Year is a time to relax. I have been engaging...

The Podcast Network has rebuilt the hard drives and data bases that provide access to The Atomic Show and the other fine independent audio shows. I am slowing restoring the show archives to provide access to the library of shows produced since March 2006. Right before the site went down, I finished up a somewhat different kind of production where I commented on clips from Democracy Now! from the December...

Every year, there are reminders of the anniversaries of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Some of the reminders come from those who do not want to forget the technical lessons learned, some come from people who were directly affected, and some come from those who point to those accidents and claim that they are evidence that nuclear power is inherently too risky to consider for future power sources...

As a life-long lover of words, I enjoyed reading a PalmBeachPost.com article titled State's green-energy future down to one choice: Renewable or clean? . It was a well-written piece that should help people understand just how important the battle over certain words can be. In this specific case, the difference between one word and the other may result in the movement of billions of dollars. In...

I have been aware that many nations in the Middle East are looking towards nuclear power as a vital part of their future energy mix, but until this morning I was unaware of the scope of the Kingdom of Jordan's plans. According to Taylor Luck's December 22, 2008 article in the Jordan Times titled Aqaba site under consideration for Kingdom’s first nuclear power plant the kingdom is actively working...

Due to technical difficulties at The Podcast Network, the Atomic Show Podcast is temporarily unavailable. If anyone has a desire to listen to a particular show, please let me know and I will provide you with a link where you can download a copy. The timing of the system issues is unfortunate - I have a new show all prepped and ready to go. Oh well, that's life in the digital age. Read More...

President-elect Obama is expected to name John Holdren as assistant to the president for science and technology during his next weekly radio address. Professor Holdren teaches environmental policy at Harvard University. His selction adds to a slate of policy influencers that advocate increased actions to combat the effects of CO2 and other pollutants produced as a direct result of burning fossil fuels...

I grew up in South Florida, a place where the only hills are overpasses. Nearly every summer, we traveled to northeast Georgia or western North Carolina where Dad, a good ol' boy from southern Georgia, shared his love of mountains with all of us. We played in mountain streams, fished for trout, dove off of rafts in the middle of lakes, and hiked until our feet hurt. As I listen to people who talk...

China has announced the start of construction for 6 new nuclear reactors on a site in Yangjiang City, Guangdong province. Each plant will produce 1,000 MW of electrical power (1 GWe). The total cost for the 6 reactor project is expected to be $10.2 billion. The announcement, when added to others means that China plans to start projects for a total of 10 new reactors in the months of November and December...

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I have to admit that I could not have written the blog headline before a few minutes ago. I simply did not know enough about President-elect Obama's choice for Secretary of Energy to make an educated statement. However, with the help of Google and some friends of Atomic Insights, I have now found enough material to make me even more excited about the future course of atomic energy in America. The...

I am one of the biggest nuclear technology fans I know, but I have to express my strong disappointment in the people who are making decisions for the nuclear industry. They are tone deaf when it comes to politics and marketing. We are on the cusp of a tremendous opportunity to take the initiative and frame discussions about our incredible technology in a positive light as a planet saving silver bullet...

Part 2 of 2 - CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl and the 60 minutes crew provide a look inside Saudi Aramco, the world's most profitable company and its largest oil supplier - by far. The interviews focus on Ali Al-Naimi, the Saudi Oil Minister, but also include discussions with a number of technical experts and supervisors at one of the most impressive control centers I have ever seen. At the end...

Part 1 of 2 - CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl and the 60 minutes crew provide a look inside Saudi Aramco, the world's most profitable company and its largest oil supplier - by far. It is incumbent on any good nuclear proponent to understand as much as possible about the overall market in which our favorite technology competes. The below embedded video provides a unique view of the massive investments...