September, 2008

During the period of September 28 - October 1, 2008, Washington, DC is hosting the 4th International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology . If you are reading this on the day that I post it, you still have a little time to get over to the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel. (I wonder if...

A friend sent me a link to a well-written expose of the treatment given to a card carrying UK Green Party member after his "Damascene conversion" from an opposer to a supporter of nuclear power. As he says, ...the Green case against nuclear power is based largely on myth and dogma. My tipping...

I generally try to remain on topic on Atomic Insights, so please forgive me or simply move past this post if you do not want to read about something outside of the energy field. For the past couple of weeks I have been struggling to understand just why my country's leaders are working feverishly...

Roger Fraley at XDA produced a pithy summary of the benefits and limitations of various energy alternatives . Here is what he said about nuclear power: There is one solution that seems just the ticket. Nuclear. It produces almost no CO2. It works really well (just look at Sweden and France) and a single...

There are already tributes being paid to the long career and many contributions of Paul Newman. One activity that will probably not be mentioned in most media is Paul Newman's sustained efforts to share information about nuclear energy and to promote its use through his Newman-Wachs racing team ...

The New York Times has a complete, uncut version of the presidential debate , including even the introductory monologue by Jim Lehrer to the live audience telling them how to behave during the debate. I listened carefully to the whole thing - after all, the selection of a Commander in Chief is important...

A friend sent me a link to a Harvey Wasserman comment about nuclear energy on DailyKos . As usual, he is pushing his lifelong anti-nuclear agenda by pointing to a Colbert Show skit with Jackson Browne - who is a far better singer than he is an energy solutions analyst. If you have time, stop by for a...

One of the many things that continue to bug me about the world is the way that many people in the computer and electronics world have captured the term "tech" for their industries. I sometimes feel like that kid in a great big family who finally acts up just to get some attention. I want to...

Examiner.com has published an opinion piece by Judah Freed titled McCain and Obama Both Wrong on Nuclear Power that demands a response. It is a terribly biased and ignorant view of nuclear power and energy sources in general. Click on the "Read the rest of this entry" link below to view my...

There is a new pronuclear voice in town - CleanEnergy4America.org . I read about it on NEI Nuclear Notes this morning and just had to check it out. I recommend that you do the same - right now. After you have perused the well designed site, come back here for a little more discussion. While I followed...

I just read a pithy quote that distills part of my beef with the Amory Lovins school of energy thought - he makes statements about energy supply costs that imply that there is no difference between a kilowatt-hour avoided and a kilowatt-hour supplied and that there is no difference between an intermittent...

World Nuclear News has published a brief article with the following thought-provoking quote "EDF Energy said: "One element we will be consulting on as we develop our plans is the visual impact the plants will have." I think it is fantastic news - perhaps there will be even more people...

I have long struggled to understand my country's views on Iran. Throughout my career as a professional naval officer, the official position has been demonization, with words and actions roughly equal to those applied to Cuba. I have done a lot of reading over the years about our involvement in the...

After blogging about Warren Buffett's decision to purchase Constellation Energy Group , I received some comments from readers posing an interesting question. One reader interpreted the decision as a signal that Buffett, one of the world's most savvy investors, supported the development of new...

There is nothing like having cash available when good products go on sale. Warren Buffett made what may go down in history as one of the best purchases of his long and distinguished career yesterday when he beat out EDF in a bid to purchase Constellation Energy Group for $26.50 per common share in cash...

The Nuclear Fuel Recycling Discussion in South Carolina broke an all time record for the number of comments received on an Atomic Insights post. I got so interested in the discussion that I invited one of my favorite bloggers - NNadir from Daily Kos - on to The Atomic Show Podcast to discuss some of...

In recent weeks, there has been an expanding discussion of the concept of nuclear fuel recycling in the state of South Carolina. I have been following it rather closely for a number of reasons. I have a soft spot in my heart for South Carolina; I spent five and a half very good years living in Charleston...

The author of Wind Fuels Gas missed a golden opportunity for a feature spot in the Atomic Insights Smoking Gun series. He produced an exceptional opinion piece linking the political popularity of intermittent renewable energy with the marketing efforts of global fossil fuel companies and pointed out...

Here is a random bit of food for thought. In the current presidential debate, much is made of the "pork barrel" expense of building a bridge to an island with "just" 50 inhabitants. Knowing little about the specific island, I still want to offer these observation from some of the...

Several days ago, I blogged about an article in The Economist that profiled Amory Lovins and talked about his "frugal" vision for the world's energy supply system. In the thread of comments attached to that post a reader named Gordon provided commentary indicating that he was a true believer...

Jack Spencer at the Heritage Foundation is hosting a Capitol Hill event on September 15, 2008 called American Jobs and the Nuclear Renaissance . Nick Loris has posted the details on the Heritage Foundation Blog - The Foundry . I think it might be time to take a few hours of leave from my day job to visit...

Alexandra Prokopenko at Atom Watch has been keeping a close eye on the question Where Should Germany Store Its Nuclear Waste? This question has been gaining increasing importance in recent weeks because Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats announced desire to reopen the decision to prematurely shut...

On Tuesday September 9, 2008 Amarillo.com published an update on Amarillo Power's planned nuclear project in the Texas panhandle. For undisclosed reasons, the company - led by George Chapman - has notified the NRC that it will be filing its construction and operating license application in late 2009...

One of the trends that has become obvious to the fuel traders in the electrical power business is that their job is quite a bit more "interesting" today than it was 5-10 years ago. Instead of being able to reliably contract for coal, residual oil or natural gas at stable prices or with moderate...

Dr. Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is one of my favorite nuclear scientists. Her technical specialty is waste handling and recycling, but she is also a great teacher and communicator. When not working abroad, she participates in a very interesting partnership between Idaho State University and Idaho National...