In the past few days, spot prices for natural gas have increased by more than 20% as temperatures approaching 100 degrees affect high natural gas consumption areas like the upper midwest, Texas and the mid-Atlantic regions. As of the close of trading today, here are the prices at some key locations: NYMEX Henry Hub Future…
I have been giving some thought to China’s nuclear power development prospects and plans. It seems to me that there are some aspects that might be worth discussing. The publicly announced plans to build 30-50 new plants during the next 15 years are pretty well known, but there are some undercurrents that lead me to…
It was one of those weeks when Shane and I could simply not match our schedules for a talk. Just so none of you would miss your Atomic Show fix, I have obtained permission to post an interview of me conducted by Paige and Gretchen of Mommycast. I had been corresponding with them about my…
This blog, of course, is mainly about atomic energy and related topics. I do not currently have a personal blog where I feel free to comment about whatever comes to mind, but I thought I would take a little detour this morning and share a comment that I posted in response to a CNET article…
Mohamed El Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency was recently interviewed for the German publication Spiegel. The translation of the original is available under the title of Anger, Frustration and Humiliation Abound El Baradei is a rational man steeped in the long traditions of diplomacy and compromise. His suggestions for actions to…
I came across a thought provoking article on Alternet by Peter Asmus titled Texas Blows by California in Wind Energy. Normally, I am not much of a fan of Mr. Asmus. After all, he was the author of a December 2005 article on Alternet titled Loving Nuclear Power in which he posed the question Why…
Aljazeera is reporting on the damaging effects of the recent heat wave on the west coast of the US. In an article titled US reeling under heatwave, power cuts the Arab news network has an almost gloating lead paragraph: Americans are sweating through a searing heat wave that has caused major power meltdowns from coast…
There is a man named John Pavich running as a Democratic candidate for the 11th congressional district of Illinois. He has announced a 5-step program to “improve” nuclear power plant security. I found out about it in an article titled Pavich introduces plant plan. Please read this article, and if you live in the 11th…
Sometimes, important things happen in the world that get almost no notice. I was rummaging through some old email, including items from a mailing list that I have been subscribed to for years, when I ran across a story titled Poisonous mud wreaks havoc on Java. Apparently a gas exploration project has gone horribly wrong…
I commute into Washington, DC every day of the work week. It is nearly impossible to be in the city for more than a few minutes at a time without a close call with a bus displaying the marketing slogan “Powered by Clean Natural Gas” in letters large enough to stretch from one end of…
Shane and I start with a lengthy and informative discussion about saturation diving, a technique that allows humans to operate in deep water for weeks at a time. This technique is often a part of off-shore oil drilling and production and is one of the many reasons that there are high costs associated with that…
The July 16, 2006 issue of the New York Times Magazine has a long and detailed article by Jon Gertner titled Atomic Balm. I highly recommend taking the 20 minutes or so that it will take to read it to obtain an interesting viewpoint from a skilled writer who has not published much about nuclear…