In the near term aftermath of The Great East Japan Earthquake, Amelia Timers of The Energy Collective asked Dan Yurman, who blogs at Idaho Samizdat and ANS Nuclear Cafe and me to join her for a discussion about the events that were happening at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station. She and the staff had developed…
CNBC’s Jim Cramer invited Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, onto his Mad Money show on June 28, 2011 to talk about the recent Ian Urbina articles (June 26, June 27, and June 28) in the New York Times. Cramer wanted to give McClendon a chance to tell the natural gas story from a…
The oil and gas industry public relations organizations are spinning up in response to the New York Times pieces on the long term viability of natural gas produced by hydraulic fracturing. (See Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas and S.E.C. Shift Leads to Worries of Overestimation of Reserves) Several commentaries appeared yesterday that…
Barry Brook is an Australian climate scientist who operates the well-respected forum on energy and environment called Brave New Climate. He recently published a video that takes just 2.5 minutes to summarize his view of the energy choices that face humanity. My bet is that you will want to share it with your friends and…
On June 26, 2011, the New York Times published an article titled Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush. That article described how emails from natural gas industry insiders, financial analysts covering the gas industry, and several independent geologists describe the challenges associated with producing gas by hydraulic fracturing. The mosaic that emerges…
Though the technique of injecting large volumes of high pressure water and chemicals into shale formations will result in the trapped natural gas being released, the people quoted in the NY Times article do not agree that the technique magically produces low cost gas in unprecedented abundance. The New York Times published an article on…
Watch the full episode. See more Colorado State of Mind. On Friday, June 24, 2011, the Colorado State of Mind program aired a discussion about nuclear energy that featured respectful conversation from several different points of view. The impetus for the discussion was to reflect on the implications of the recent Associated Press portrayal of…
Will Davis blogs at Atomic Power Review. Since four of the six Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants were destroyed by the effects of a tsunami and subsequent loss of power to supply cooling water, Will has been providing well researched updates to his readers. I highly recommend visiting his site if you want to know…
Several months ago, I signed up to receive press releases from Representative Ed Markey, mainly so you don’t have to endure the pain yourself. On June 21, 2011, I received one titled Markey, Welch to GAO: No Way to Assess Integrity of Buried Pipes at Nuclear Reactors that offers some food for thought about the…
Yesterday, I pointed Atomic Insights readers to a series of articles that provide an overview of the history of the antinuclear movement. In addition to recently reading those articles, I have been rereading a 1982 book by Bertrand Goldschmidt titled “The Atomic Complex: A Worldwide Political History of Nuclear Energy.” The two self-assigned homework projects…
Instead of producing a lengthy, original post for you to read, I am going to ask you to invest the time in reading three important and related posts: The History of the Antinuclear Movement – Part 1, History of the Antinuclear Movement, Part 2a and History of the Antinuclear Movement, Part 2b. Whether you are…
Arnie Gundersen has been making money by spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt about nuclear energy for more than a decade. His career has received a measurable boost since March 11, when a large earthquake and powerful tsunami successfully peeled off most of the many layers of protection at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Ever…