Nuclear focused investment fund proposal

There was a thought provoking letter to the editor on DesMoinesRegister.com titled MidAmerican’s nuclear plant proposal puts risk on consumers that is worth bringing to the attention of nuclear industry decision makers and influencers. The author is a member of the Iowa Public Interest Research Group, a chapter of an organization that has been opposed…

Making art with radioactive materials – In memory of James Acord

An alternative title for this piece might be – Seeing the art that already exists in radioactive materials. Until today, I had never heard of James Acord, a sculptor who devoted more than 20 years of his life to sustained efforts to create art from radioactive materials. The first part of that struggle involved 12…

Using art to communicate about nuclear energy – PopAtomic Ted Talk

Suzy Hobbs Baker is the founder and director of PopAtomic Studios. She is a professional, talented artist and the daughter of a nuclear engineer. She recently gave a TEDx talk titled Art & Nuclear Energy. In the video you will find out more about how Suzy found herself at a key intersection between liberal arts…

Real story about nuclear plant liability insurance

At least twice in the past few days, I have been challenged about the value of nuclear energy with something close to the following comment posted on during a recent Google+ discussion about energy choices. A good way to measure the safety of nuclear power in America, using objective criteria, would be to require nuclear…

Is nuclear industry guilty of “Failure to Launch?”

Following the afternoon session of the public meeting about the Lee nuclear power station draft environmental impact statement, I had an interesting conversation with a man from the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). He had spoken during the meeting about the large amount of taxpayer money that had been wasted on building and then not…

A Day to Think About Atomic Dreams

A frequent participant in discussions on Atomic Insights submitted the below as a way to stimulate a conversation in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King. He thought of it as an outline, but with just a little editing it was good to go. I have a dream. I have a dream that access to copious…

The Conundrum – do we really have to give up a high energy lifestyle?

I received an invitation by email to read and review a post on a blog called “TXCHNOLOGIST”. The invitation was well worded and inviting, most likely composed by a trained expert in public relations. The subject post, titled Your Prius Won’t Save You: Questions for David Owen, Author of The Conundrum intrigued me. It was…

Cautionary story for nuclear plant vendors and prospective plant owners

Florida state Rep. Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey), who voted in favor of Florida’s 2006 Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) advanced cost recovery law, has become the prime sponsor of a new law to overturn that rule. According to a January 11, 2012 op-ed published by the Tampa Bay Times titled No more blank checks…

Put Nuclear Power in your stockings

I know, I am like one of those people who are still sending out Christmas cards in January. However, I just ran across this brief little video that I thought was worth sharing. The good news, bad news story is that Amazon lists Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works as temporarily sold…

Empowering a more prosperous world – one atom for peace at a time

I spent New Years Day 2012 engaged in an activity that reminded me how much fun it can be to rapidly consume energy for what some may consider to be a frivolous purpose. I joined a group of successful, relaxed and energetic members of the Smith Mountain Lake Water Ski Club to participate in the…