At the end of September 2013, Robert Stone was interviewed about Pandora’s Promise by Société Française d’Energie Nucléaire (SFEN). During that interview, he described his inability to convince a single European broadcaster — outside the UK — to show his documentary. According to Stone, representatives of broadcasting companies throughout the EU have told him that…
From the moment he first started thinking about producing a documentary that showed nuclear energy in a favorable light, Robert Stone, the director of Pandora’s Promise, recognized that he was going to be under intense scrutiny from people that adamantly oppose nuclear technology. As part of his plan to ensure that the important message of…
It is time for a career change. For the foreseeable future, I am going to write books and articles for a living. This career move has been a long time in the making. During my first interview for a nuclear-related job, Admiral Rickover asked me, “English major? Why are you an English major?” I responded…
Almost exactly 50 years ago today, President John F. Kennedy, Jr. visited Hanford, Washington to give a speech about the importance of electrical power and the role that he expected nuclear technology would play in the future. (HT to the TriCity Herald for posting the video provided by the Department of Energy and to Martin…
During the summer of 2013, Robert Stone, the director of Pandora’s Promise, was invited to show his documentary at the Traverse City Film Festival. Michael Moore, one of the most famous and financially successful documentary film makers in America, is the founder and president of the festival. After the showing, the two directors chatted about…
As a pronuclear advocate who majored in English as an undergraduate, I could not help but notice the frustratingly effective use of slanted language in the above video segment to damn nuclear energy with faint praise. From the very pregnant pause after President Obama says “if it’s safe…..”, to Dr. Lester’s multiply negative statement saying…
There has been a whole spate of scary stories published in the past couple of weeks about various aspects of nuclear energy. While the reason for the flood is not entirely clear, some atomic advocates — including me — believe that people who have invested their careers in working to halt nuclear energy are worried…
This video from the International Atomic Energy Agency includes many enlightening facts and images that should help people to understand why nuclear energy is a valuable, long-term investment.
Galen Winsor was a hands-on nuclear expert in the fullest sense of the phrase. Before irrational radiation protection rules were imposed, he and his colleagues directly handled used fuel. Since they needed to touch radioactive materials to accomplish their mission, they could not maximize distance or use shielding. Instead they limited their exposure time and…
This post originated as a comment buried deep in a thread that already includes more than 100 comments. It clearly explains why nuclear energy professionals can become rather abrupt when engaging in conversations about energy with people opposed to nuclear energy that claim to be energy policy experts. That is especially true in cases where…
I’ve been complaining about the lack of nuclear energy advertising for a long time. If you visit here regularly, you’ve seen the commercials from Bruce Power. You might even remember the Funkytown themed commercial from Areva. I think this commercial from Westinghouse is in the same league. Please let me know if you see it…
Nuclear energy in the United States and Europe is far more expensive that it should be. There is plenty of blame to spread; nuclear professionals have to accept some of the responsibility. If you want to do something about the high cost of nuclear energy, it might be best to start with taking the actions…