Browse by Tags

I got distracted this morning with doing some Analytics work on Atomic Insights, trying to figure out more about who reads this publication. If you have not tried Google Analytics and you have a web site or blog, you should. Fascinating and somewhat addicting to page through all of the different ways...

I have had a little extra time on my hands for the last few days. One of the things that I did was a vanity search to see where there was mention of my name on recent blogs. (Sometimes this kind of search can lead to surprising results.) One of the items that I found was a rather curious comment on an...

Here is another pithy clip from Ted Rockwell's testimony to the Senate Republican Conference on June 22, 2009. He provides some solid engineering reasons why he agrees that modular reactors provide an interesting alternative to large ones. He is specifically addressing the B&M mPower™ in response...

In May, I attended a gathering of the North American Young Generations in Nuclear (NA-YGN) and had the opportunity to spend a good deal of time talking with a group of engineers from Charlotte, NC, which is quickly becoming a bustling hub of activity in fields associated with atomic energy development...

Kirk Sorensen, a good friend of mine, brought his three daughters and lovely wife to the American Nuclear Society annual meeting. During a session focused on education and public communications, there was a scheduled talk about a program in Texas aimed at encouraging high school aged girls with excellent...

For those who believe that conservatives are always in favor of nuclear energy while liberals are always opposed, here is a story from Canada. Steven Harper's Conservative Government, claiming that it is a "sinkhole" that has only been a drain on public finances has decided that Atomic...

Atomic Show 134 - Five Atomic Geek Lunch has been posted. In related news, a good friend also sent me the below screen shot of iTunes on June 16, 2009. Pretty cool, don't you think? ...read more

One of the mantras often repeated by the anti-nuclear community during the nadir of the nuclear industry was that any company announcing a nuclear project would see its stock price hammered on Wall Street. That argument has actually been quite effective at slowing down corporate interest in investing...

At ANS annual meetings, the President's Reception is the traditional kickoff event with lots of good food, freely flowing beverages and opportunities to meet and greet old friends and make new ones. There are not too many places where a guy can find conversations about supercritical CO2, liquid metal...

During my nearly thirty years of being a nuke, I have participated in hundreds of conversations about the basis for the widespread misunderstandings about the technology that are held by the general public. A variety of possible causes have been proposed over sodas, beers and glasses of wine including...

Discover Magazine recently published an article with interesting information about next generation nuclear power plants that contains all of the information that you need to know about why the US Department of Energy is one of the largest employers of scientists in the country yet rarely succeeds in...

On June 4, 2009 the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals held a hearing on the topic of shale gas development through the technique of hydraulic fracturing. While spending a couple of hours this morning listening to a somewhat testy exchange of opinions and positions...

On Monday, June 8, 2009, Senate Republicans have scheduled a hearing co-chaired by Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator John McCain to discuss a vision of building 100 new nuclear plants in 20 years. According to the email accompanying the press release announcing the event, this hearing is the kickoff...

A rather unknown, but real effect of America's response to 9-11 was a sharp reduction in the ability of the nuclear power industry to share its own story through the use of plant tours and well designed, site located visitor centers. The security restrictions imposed as a result of the fear caused...

On a rainy June 3, 1979, there was a large gathering of people on the Long Island shore near the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant. According to some observers, there were 15,000 people in the crowd, but others dispute that number and say it was considerably fewer. The purpose of the rally was to organize...

As regular readers know, I harbor cynical thoughts about the motivations of some anti-nuclear commentators. I honestly believe that many of them are supportive of continued market domination by coal, oil and/or gas. I even have a series of blogs with the keyword of "smoking gun" (go ahead,...

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that the NRC had published a notice of proposed rulemaking titled "Variable Annual Fee Structure for Power Reactors" [NRC-2008-0664] . I also promised that I would post a link to my submitted comments. I finally got around to completing that task. You can...

Judging from the number of blog posts that have been generated in the past 24 hours in response to the New York Times article titled In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble , some people have never heard of the concept of learning curves or been involved in a project where everyone is inexperienced...

When I am not listening to podcasts on my daily commute, I often turn to NPR (National Public Radio) for some thoughtful stories. Though I missed yesterday's edition, a friend sent me a link to an interesting story titled Face-Off Over 'Fracking': Water Battle Brews On Hill that describes...

A reader introduced me to a site that I had not yet visited called Watt's Up With That . He told me that there was an active conversation going discussing the merits of atomic fission (aka nuclear power) versus renewable energy and fossil fuel. When I found the thread titled Renewable energy – our...

There is a thoughtful discussion going on at The Energy Collective about Robin Carey's advice to nuclear advocates titled Message to the Nuclear Industry: Get Over Yourselves . As is often the case, Robin confuses the issue a bit by addressing "the nuclear industry" but then talking more...

I can almost hear Another One Bites The Dust , the ubiquitous Queen song played at so many American high school sporting events. According to Professor Barry Brook's Brave New Climate , James Hansen and Tom Blees have influenced another long time anti-nuclear activist to take another look at nuclear...

Though I have not yet received and read Atomic America: How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History , I have done enough skimming to make me suspect that it is at least partially aimed at my efforts to share information about nuclear power so that knowledge will...

The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blogged about Phil Radford, the 33 year old activist who has taken over the reins at Greenpeace USA . Not suprisingly, Mr. Radford affirmed his opposition to clean coal, asserted that renewables could do the job of supplying all needed electricity ...

David Walters, who blogs at Daily Kos and Left Atomics joined me for a discussion about the benefits that a revived nuclear power industry could bring to the working class and to aid in economic development in states like North and South Carolina. Part of the inspiration for the show was an interview...