Goodbye choir, hello public. Evangelizing nuclear knowledge

Yesterday I participated in a packed schedule full of prepared talks by well qualified, highly credentialed nuclear energy professionals. It was in a beautiful, high capacity venue at the Knoxville Convention Center. Sound systems worked well, the MC kept us on schedule and there were several responsive assistants who provided microphones to those who had…

Watching elementary school students learning about nuclear science and technology

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a few hours watching about a hundred excited students rotate through several experienctial learning stations set up by volunteers for National Nuclear Science Week in Knoxville, TN. Representatives of the isotope production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory had provided a remote manipulator simulator. The students were able to take turns…

Meredith Angwin with Pat McDonald on Vote for Vermont

Meredith Angwin, who blogs at Yes Vermont Yankee and Northwest Clean Energy, was recently invited to talk with Pat McDonald on her television show called Vote for Vermont: Listening Beyond the Sound Bites. Angwin and McDonald covered a number of topics during the conversation. Meredith explained how we safely store used nuclear fuel, why some…

Energy for Humanity vision explained by co-founder Kirsty Gogan

Nuclear4Climate posted the below video on their YouTube channel yesterday. It features Kirsty Gogan, the Executive Director and one of three cofounders of the U.K. based civil society group Energy for Humanity. Though there is a small issue with sound quality, I think you’ll agree that Kirsty makes a strong case for nuclear energy as…

Atomic Insights could use your support; public recognition of contributions available if desired

Atomic Insights could use your support; public recognition of contributions available if desired

Atomic Insights LLC is a for-profit, tax-paying, publishing company based in the beautiful Blue Ridge foothills of South Central Virginia. Our service for customers is to produce and distribute accurate information about interesting or useful topics associated with atomic technologies. Among other topics we discuss atomic energy, the competitors to atomic energy, radiation, the risks…

Nuclear facts and feelings in pink and green by Sunniva Rose

Sunniva Rose is a nuclear engineer working on her PhD at the University of Oslo. She is also a talented public speaker who likes to capture her audience’s attention, partially by choosing colors like pink and green to highlight facts about nuclear energy, deaths per terawatt hour, and growth in human population. In Nov 2013,…

Sad-ending story of EBR-II told by three of its pioneers

During the period between 1961 and 1994, an extraordinary machine called the Experimental Breeder Reactor 2 (EBR-II) was created and operated in the high desert of Idaho by a team of dedicated, determined, and distinguished people. In 1986, that machine demonstrated that it could protect itself in the event of a complete loss of flow…

Atomic Show #241 – Rachel Pritzker, philanthropic problem solver

Rachel Pritzker is a philanthropist motivated to solve problems, even if they require rethinking long held notions. She is the founder and chairman of the Pritzker Innovation Fund, which she operates along with her brother, Roland. The tagline used by her organization is “Supporting the development and advancement of paradigm-shifting ideas to address the world’s…

Reminder: NRC Diablo Canyon relicensing public meeting Aug 5

Please remember that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is hosting two public meetings on August 5 in San Luis Obispo to provide an update on its review of Pacific Gas & Electric’s application to relicense the Diablo Canyon nuclear power station. That application was filed in November 2009. Here are the meeting details from the NRC…

Nuke Climate Change

What do you think of the early morning brainstorm above? As we approach the 70th anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there are a number of opinion pieces being published that repeat the refrain that using The Bomb was unnecessary. On the other hand, there are also some excellent treatises that provide historical justifications showing that…

Sierra Club member asks Executive Director Brune to support nuclear energy

A few days ago, a friend from Californians for Green Nuclear Power shared a letter he had written to Michael Brune, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club. He gave me permission to share his letter with Atomic Insights readers. My friend is a Sierra Club member because he agrees with many of its goals…