Atomic Show #156 – ANS Annual Meeting, Platts SMR, NRC’s shrinking budget
Lisa Stiles and Rod Adams met for a chat about recent nuclear industry meetings including the American Nuclear Society annual meeting that Lisa attended in San Diego in early June and the Platts – DOE Small Modular Reactor meetings that Rod attended in Washington, DC in late June.
After signing off with Lisa, Rod asked a poll type question. How many people would be willing to support an effort to build an independent atomic advocacy group that would not be dependent upon industry contributions and industry decision makers? Would you be interested in helping to establish a pro-nuclear voice that can work to establish a comparable level of activity and credibility as what has been developed over several decades by the anti-nuclear activists?
Please respond either via the comment section or via an email to rod at rod(underscore)adams(at symbol)atomicinsights.com (to actually send an email, replace the parenthetical words with the appropriate symbol – this is a spam limitation measure.)
Links to items discussed on the show:
American Public Power Association sponsored study on replacing coal with natural gas
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission FY2011 press briefing on its budget submission
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:06 — 24.4MB)
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I’m interested in being a pro-nuclear voice. How can I help?
In seven years I’m eligible for retirement. Years go by so quickly, suddenly that doesn’t seem very long compared to how it felt in the Navy 1981 to 1988. I’m wondering what to do “when I grow up.”
Perhaps pro-nuclear activism? But how? Look at the attacks. Crazy stuff I learned at ANS: San Onofre (and for that matter all California coastal thermo plants) must stop using the Pacific OCEAN for cooling. Vermont Yankee– people afraid of miniscule amounts of tritium gives political power to anti’s.
I admire your activism, Rod. I too often feel hopeless/helpless. Nuclear (fission) energy WILL power the future– if not here then elsewhere.
I’m with Mr. Burkle above. I don’t know how to help, other than money (a scarce commmodity, natch). I have no radical activism skilz.
Reese – do not overlook the value of money (whatever one can afford) in enabling pro-nuclear activism. I have a number of friends (you can find links to them on the Atomic Insights blog roll) who are ready and willing to do battle with the opposition forces, but are hampered by limited resources. I personally think that we have facts on our side, but need some “megaphones” and “ink” in order to ensure that those facts become better known by all participants.
As I have documented in many posts at Atomic Insights, it is apparent to me that the opposition to nuclear energy has access to plenty of resources, but loudly shouted lies are still lies. People who do not know the difference can be excused for believing them if they never hear the truth, but these days it really does not take much to ensure that the truth becomes part of the discussion. Though the forces who want to keep us addicted to fossil fuels or a combination of fossil fuels and unreliable, weather dependent energy sources are strong and have money, they are hugely outnumbered by the people who want access to clean, cheap, abundant power to do work.
“hampered by limited resources” – ha! That takes the cake – yellowcake, that is. The pro-nuclear forces have had a wealth of funds to promote their agenda. It is the anti-nuclear people that have had to scrape by with bake sales to build the awareness that nuclear is not the pretty picture painted by the pros.
Kent – really? I know people who have been professional anti-nuclear activists for their entire career and they are nearly eligible for Social Security.
If you have had to resort to bake sales, I suppose you have not yet figured out just how many very wealthy people have a vested interest in keeping nuclear energy from competing with fossil fuels. Those pushers have worked very hard for many years to addict most of us to their products; they hate the idea that an entire country like France can declare that it will no longer burn hydrocarbons in its electricity system and nearly completely achieve that goal in just 20 years of constructing nuclear plants.
The total output from the world’s nuclear power plants is equivalent in energy value to the oil production of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Nigeria all put together. 50 years ago, that source of energy was barely known by anyone.