Challenging Amory Lovins Critique of Stewart Brand's Support For Nuclear On Gristmill

ByRod Adams

Last week, I got involved in a discussion on Grist following the publication of an article by Amory Lovins titled Stewart Brand’s Nuclear Enthusiasm Falls Short on Facts and Logic. As a long time skeptic when it comes to words published by Amory Lovins on the topic of nuclear energy and its economic competitiveness, I thought I could add some value to the discussion.

Steve Kirsch, the guest author of a recent post at Brave New Climate titled The Integral Fast Reactor had also contributed to the fray. The discussion got really interesting when Mr. Lovins joined in with a number of responsive posts directly critical of my contributions to the discussion. Charles Barton of Nuclear Green has also joined in to share some of his insights about nuclear energy and Mr. Lovins understanding of its potential contributions to the fight against fossil fuel dependence and global climate change.

Though I mentioned this activity on Twitter (I “tweet” as Atomicrod) a couple of times, I have neglected to mention it here. A frequent contributor to Atomic Insights sent me a blast email yesterday criticizing me for failing to share more details so that he could join in the fun of the give and take on Grist. He told me it was not fair that I was keeping the information about the debate from my readers. All I can say is sorry – now if you are interested, get a large cup of coffee and get ready to invest some significant time.

No one has recently accused either Amory Lovins or me of being brief in our responses.

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

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