Month: February 2010

The Energy Tribune has an excellent cautionary tale titled New Research Questions Haynesville Shale Economics for those people who insist that abundant shale gas is the saving grace for the US energy needs and that its abundance is sufficiently large to serve as THE bridge to a solar/wind utopia. I have been watching the energy…

I was fortunate enough to attend a sampling of sessions at the Platts Nuclear Energy 2010 meeting held in Bethesda, Maryland from February 17-19. Due to other commitments, I missed the first day, but I did make it to a series of insightful talks by key participants in the resurgent nuclear energy plant construction industry….

Bill Gates chose to talk about energy and climate at this year’s TED talks. Here is the video of his talk.

This morning I took the Orange line train of the DC Metro system to work. It was not as busy as usual, perhaps because Fridays tend to be days when some of the city workers have already completed their assigned hours by working a compressed work schedule. Aside: One thing I tend to notice while…

Some of you who listen to The Atomic Show might remember episode #132 titled The Atomic Show #132 – Ray Squirrel Interviews (Atomic) Rod Adams. That show was a lengthy interview conducted via Skype during which a journalist asked me a whole bunch of questions. A few of you know that the interview was conducted…

There is a terrific, must read article by Rebecca Smith in the February 18, 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journal titled Small Reactors Generate Big Hopes. It may not be there when you check it, but right now, that article is occupying a prominent place on the landing site for one of the most…

Carol Browner, President Obama’s top energy and climate adviser and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clinton Administration spoke on CNBC’s Squawk Box about the announcement that Southern Company would receive an $8.3 Billion loan guarantee for units 3 and 4 at its Vogtle power station in Georgia.

Yesterday, President Obama visited a technical training center in Lanham, MD to announce the Department of Energy’s decision to guarantee a loan of $8.3 Billion to Southern Company to build two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor power plants at its Vogtle site in Georgia. If one visited that site today, it would appear that the…

The coal industry is not the only one that has decided that it is worthwhile to spend serious money on focused advertising that plays on the patriotic feelings that Americans have while watching its athletes compete against those from other countries. I have also noticed a series of well produced ads talking about the benefits…

I enjoy watching the Olympics and marveling at just how fast, strong, and graceful humans can train their bodies to be. I enjoy watching sports that are almost completely foreign to me and thinking about the time, effort and passion that people invest to be great at those sports. It is impressive to know that…

The US Department of Energy has a stockpile of approximately one ton of Uranium 233 that was produced as part of several experimental programs including the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment and the Light Water Breeder Reactor. According to a March 3, 1997 decision by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the stockpile is held in…

Like all but immediately essential federal government workers in Washington, DC, I have spent the past 4.5 working days at home since the city has been effectively shut down. We have experienced two heavy snowfalls within 48 hours of each other. While shoveling what must have been several tons of heavy, wet snow over a…