The famous project to install 130 massive industrial wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound off of the coast of Massachusetts has hit another stumbling block. Financing for the project was dependent on approval of an application for a large Department of Energy loan guarantee, but the project has been notified that their application is no…
President Jimmy Carter, was born on October 1, 1924 into a family that developed a depressingly high rate of pancreatic cancer. His father, brother and two sisters died of the disease, and his mother also suffered from it. Alone among his siblings, Jimmy, now 86 years old, escaped that fate and attributes his good health…
On March 28, 2010, we relaunched Atomic Insights with a completely new look. According to Google Analytics, you apparently like the way that the site looks and feels. Thank you for continuing to visit. If you really like the way that the site looks and would like a recommendation for an exceptional designer, please contact…
The video and music were created by New York University’s Studio 20 in collaboration with ProPublica, which has been investigating and reporting on the effects of hydraulic fracturing for the past three years. My view is that fracking can be safe, if done correctly, but there is a significant temptation for lightly capitalized companies to…
In a tradition that I have not been good about following in recent months, I would like to point you to a new blog supporting the use of nuclear energy – TalkNuclear. Here is a quote from the “About” page of that blog: This blog is operated and maintained by the Canadian Nuclear Association. The…
George Monbiot has recently published some thought provoking articles about the dilemmas facing people who are focused on protecting the natural environment. Those articles have made me think hard about trying to share my own thoughts on the matter, perhaps offering a way of overcoming at least some of the challenges. One of my favorite…
Chairman Gregory Jaczko testified recently that the NRC decided to begin closing down the agency’s effort to review the Yucca Mountain license application in early October, 2010. Some of his fellow commissioners testified that they did not agree with the decision and they do not agree that the commission has made the policy decision to…
On May 4, 2011, the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy conducted a hearing titled The Role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in America’s Energy Future. Watching that hearing and digesting what I heard has resulted in several sleepless nights. I have been struggling with how to share…
The Economist recently published a column titled Climate politics: Flush with cash. So what? that described the results of a recent study by Matthew Nisbet, an researcher at American University in Washington, DC. According to Nisbet, groups classified in the environmental category spent almost $400 million on climate change and energy issues in 2009. The…
In a recent ANS Nuclear Cafe post, I mentioned the radiation hormeis theory proposed more than three decades ago by Dr. Don Luckey, a biochemist and nutritionist who wrote a book in 1980 titled Hormesis With Ionizing Radiation. According to Dr. Luckey and a number of other researchers in the field, a small dose of…