Exaggerated myths about nuclear accidents CAUSE negative health effects

This video was produced by the World Nuclear Association (WNA). It shows that the predicted health consequences of nuclear accidents are often orders of magnitude greater than the actual, measured health consequences of the accidents that have occurred. Instead of the “worst case scenarios” of hundreds of thousands to millions of people getting sick and…

Setting the Agenda – Nuclear Energy Assembly 2012

For the next three days (May 21-23, 2012), the Nuclear Energy Institute is hosting the annual nuclear industry conference and nuclear supplier expo called The Nuclear Energy Assembly. The meeting, normally held in Washington, DC, will be at the Westin in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over the past several years, Charlotte has become a significant hub…

It’s another day to follow @Atomicrod on Twitter

I do not have much time in my schedule over the next few days for a long form blog post, but I have lots of thoughts to share on a variety of atomic related topics. If you are interested in that stream of consciousness, follow @Atomicrod on Twitter. Others who have posted interesting recent tweets…

Nuclear experts crowd source detailed response to Fukushima Fuel Fable

Will Davis took the lead and tapped his well of colleagues who are nuclear energy professionals to produce a fact filled post for ANS Nuclear Cafe titled Spent fuel at Fukushima Daiichi safer than asserted. Aside: I have a small quibble about the chosen title; I wish that Will – or the assigned headline writer…

Reed College has a nuclear reactor operated by undergraduate liberal arts majors

Reed College is perhaps best known among technologists as the place where Steve Jobs learned about calligraphy – among a number of other useful topics. It is also the only liberal arts college that owns a research reactor that is operated primarily by undergraduates. I hope you enjoyed Will and Norm’s visit to the Reed…

Pronuclear videos continuing to proliferate – The Nuclear Option

With a hat tip to Ben Heard at Decarbonize SA, I thought it might inspire you to see two videos side by side. These videos were created in geographic locations that are about as far apart as you can get and still be on Earth. As far as I can tell, neither creative team knew…

Nuclear fission qualifies as “ultra low carbon” power; natural gas does not

In the power system marketing wars, both nuclear fission and natural gas are currently labeled as “low carbon” sources of electricity. Even though nuclear fission reactors can be clean enough to run inside sealed submarines, the forces who oppose nuclear energy insist that there is enough CO2 produced in the fuel cycle and in the…

Atomic thoughts best heard today @atomicrod on Twitter

Though many of you appreciate the long form blogging on Atomic Insights, there are just too many different topics worth mentioning today to try to put together a reasonably coherent post. If you want to engage and see just how many different issues have captured my attention today, I suggest that you watch the Twitter…

Human society is changing climate & ocean chemistry – what do we DO about it?

There was a scene in the ABC documentary titled I Can Convince You About … Climate” that featured Bjorn Lomborg, the self proclaimed “Skeptical Environmentalist”. Lomborg acknowledges that human activity is causing the climate to change due to changing atmospheric chemistry, but he thinks that the proposed solutions are either too expensive, not effective, or…

Has Apocalyptic Portrayal of Climate Change Risk Backfired?

During the Australian Broadcasting Company documentary titled I Can Change Your Mind About … Climate there is a scene where Anthony Leiserowitz (via Skype video) shares some of what he has learned during his research about climate change attitudes with Nick Minchin and Anna Rose, the show’s protagonists. Here is how the producers of “I…

Earth Day 2012 – terrific PSA by Energy-Northwest employees

Happy Earth Day, everyone. Here is a message from the employees at Energy Northwest that should start your day off right. After watching, please celebrate the day by planting a tree. If planting a tree just does not seem to be enough to make the world the kind of place that you want for your…