I have been trying to learn more about Africa, its people, its markets, and the concerns that face that large continent. One of my current information sources is the MBendi web site and its weekly newsletters. In their 17 November 2006 newsletter, there was a disturbing paragraph that should cause biofuels developers to pause and…
Duke Energy has been planning to build a couple of large coal fired power plants near Charlotte. The project, which Duke officially calls the Cliffside Steam Station Modernization includes building two “state of the art” 800 MWe coal fired steam plants and decommissioning four small plants with a total capacity of 198 MWe that are…
The current topic on Chevron’s well publicized WillYouJoinUs discussion on energy issues is “What role should nuclear power play in the world’s energy future?” The initial conversation features recycled columns by two well known commentators: Patrick Moore – Going Nuclear; A Green Makes the Case. Originally published April 16, 2006 in The Washington Post Amory…
One of the most beautiful places I have ever visited was Lake Tahoe. While leafing though an airline magazine on my way back from Albuquerque, I noticed that the area’s Visitors Authority had started a new advertising campaign that I thought was really cool, since it fits in with my idea about changing the color…
A couple of days ago, I mentioned the fact that the DOE might have decided to remove funding from the INIE – Innovations in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education – program. I promised to find out more information and get back to you. While the current status of the program is still a little unclear since…
During day three of the ANS Winter Meeting, I chose to focus my efforts to learn about advances and efforts underway in the areas of training and education. That area seems very important to me – as the Second Atomic Age begins it will be very important to work diligently to train operators, technicians, engineers,…
The agenda for Day 2 of the ANS Winter Meeting included a wide variety of technical breakout sessions with papers being presented on topics as varied as “Multigroup Formulation of the “Correction” Hybrid Mont Carlo/Deterministic Transport Method” to “Optimization of Fission Product Identification Using Compton Suppression and Gamma-Gamma Coincidence” to “Integral Test and Analysis for…
Glen Reynolds at Instapundit has an opinion on a lot of topics, but I really like what he had to say about nuclear power on 13 November. He was responding to a story about America’s need for rapidly expanding its electricity production capability. Here is is comment: It seems to me that nice, clean nuclear…
It is tougher that I thought it would be to participate in a conference and also cover it as a blogger. That is especially true when wireless connectivity is either spotty, toll, or non-existent. The Albuquerque Convention Center supposedly has hot spots, but I cannot seem to find one that provides me with any kind…
For the next several days, I will be attending the American Nuclear Society annual Winter Meeting, which is being held in Albuquerque, NM. There should be some interesting reading as I attempt to share my impressions about the presentations, the buzz in the hallways, and the conversations on the associated show floor. One indication that…
Actually, the article that caused me to ask that question had a slightly different headline Can Russia Substitute More Coal for Gas?. It should be pretty obvious that Russia “can” burn more coal, it has the second largest reserves in the world and currently extracts less than 1/4 of the amount produced in the United…
Iran is a complex and diverse country that is portrayed in a very negative light in many US publications. It has also been the subject of many confusing and bellicose statements by US government leaders for many years. However, with very few exceptions, Americans have little first hand knowledge of the people or the country…