Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Climate change

Atomic Show #266 – Seeing the Light about atomic energy potential

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Facing the immense threat of climate change, the need to power several billion more people and the continuing reluctance to use the most powerful tool available, Scott L. Montgomery and Thomas Graham Jr. realized that there was an information and perception gap about nuclear energy of roughly equivalent magnitudes.

Their desire to help fill the gap with reliable, carefully researched information inspired them to write Seeing the Light: The Case for Nuclear Power in the 21st Century.

On March 7, 2019, I spoke with Dr. Montgomery. I learned that he, like so many of today’s effective nuclear energy communicators, once considered himself part of the antinuclear movement. He was influenced by the activists of the 1960s and even laid down in front of a bulldozer to protest of building the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant.

Like many of the protesters of that era, he did not trust big business or the government; after all, they had been working together to keep the war going in Vietnam for more than a decade and apparently – to the protesters – didn’t care much about the opinions of the public.

As a geologist, he worked for a while in the oil and gas industry. Then, when reentering academia, he was assigned to teach courses about energy. He realized during his preparation for those courses that he needed to learn more about nuclear energy.

As a scientist, he approached the topic willing to understand and to revise his position if evidence proved that he had been wrong in his initial reaction to nuclear energy. The fact that he decided to write a book emphasizing the importance of nuclear energy in the dual goal effort to both reduce emissions and increase the amount of power available to society provides a hint about where his research took him.

The discovery of the evidence that changed his mind makes a fascinating story. You might learn something new from listening to it.

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Atomic Show #264 – Building momentum in advanced nuclear energy

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It’s not glaringly obvious, but preparatory steps enabling a take off for advanced nuclear power systems are making measurable progress.

Enabling legislative acts have been passed by both the Senate and House and signed by the President, turning them into laws requiring actions.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is back to full strength and under a skilled, experienced chair.

Two of the Commissioners have both education and work experience as nuclear power engineers. A majority of the Commission has indicated that they have a better understanding of their legislated responsibility to take actions that provide “reasonable assurance of adequate protection.”

Nuclear energy has been garnering bipartisan support in Congress as one of the few topics that can attract support from a variety of often contentious groups and individuals.

People who care deeply about clean air and water like the fact that nuclear energy can run inside sealed buildings and produces no air or water pollution.

People who care about the future for all of the world’s children like developing a powerful technology that has three useful superfuels – uranium, thorium and plutonium. Taken together, those fuels provide an inexhaustible resource.

People who want the US to have “energy dominance” recognize that we will have more fuel to export if we consume less of it at home. Some even recognize that we can build powerful, friendly global relationships by engaging in cooperative efforts to empower the world with actinides.

There may even be some people in the traditional hydrocarbon supply economy who recognize that their skills, capital, and attention could be invested in an atomic future. They might realize they would have more long term success by building capability in atomic energy than expending their resources drilling ever deeper holes in ever more challenging locations with ever increasing opposition from people who have determined that the atmosphere doesn’t need an ever increasing quantity of hydrocarbon residues.

On Sunday, Jan 27, 2019, I gathered a group of people who are paying close attention to the incremental developments that are adding up to make it possible to deploy new and improved atomic energy systems.

The panel included:

Meredith Angwin – Author of Campaigning for Clean Air, Voices from Vermont Yankee, and an upcoming book titled Shorting the Grid.

Steve Aplin – blogger at Canadian Energy Issues

Dr. Ben Heard – founder and director at Bright New World

Jessica Lovering – Director of Energy at the Breakthrough Institute

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Nature and Nuclear Power, the hills and valleys will be thankful and every creature rejoice!

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By Wade Allison Emeritus Professor of Physics at Keble College, Oxford  A canary, alive and singing in the coal mine, gave miners confidence that the air was safe to breathe. But today our problem is not carbon monoxide in a mine but carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and oceans. The Industrial Revolution was built on […]

Atomic Show #260 – Pro-nuclear voices from COP23 in Bonn. Not a warm welcome

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This episode of the Atomic Show is a conversation among five clean energy advocates who attended the COP with the goal of sharing what they know about the ways that nuclear energy can help reduce global emissions while also providing a growing amount of reliable power. With more power, more people will have a pathway […]

UN Environment Program Rejects WNA’s Money. Won’t Allow Sponsorship Of Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF17)

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The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) has rejected the World Nuclear Association’s (WNA) offer to provide financial support to the 8th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF). Described by its chairman as the “largest business-focused side event during the annual Conference Of Parties” the event is scheduled to take place alongside COP23 in Bonn, Germany. Originally accepted as a gold sponsor […]

Broad Interest in Nukes, Especially SMRs, at National Clean Energy Week

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National Clean Energy Week was conceived in June by the Coalition of Responsible Energy Solutions. During July and August the organizers attracted partners, sponsors and speakers. They developed a week-long agenda and located venues for the expo, symposium and panels. Festivities began with a welcome reception for invited guests at Google’s Washington, D.C. office on […]

People’s Climate March: Why Nuclear Advocates Felt Excluded And Chose To Stay Away

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On a blisteringly hot April day in Washington, D.C., some people and organizations interested in addressing climate change gathered and marched with signs and chants. Notably, the event excluded the scientists, engineers, clean air advocates, environmentalists and clean energy technologists who recognize that nuclear energy is an important, ultra-low carbon dioxide tool. Along with groups like […]

Clean and Doable Liquid Fission (LF) Energy Roadmap for Powering Our World

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By: Robert Hargraves and Chris Uhlik Introduction This essay responds to an article by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson et al, 
100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World. Their controversial WWS roadmap has several interesting features and benefits. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum energy […]

Eduardo Porter says states that close nuclear are going in wrong direction for climate

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In a recent New York Times column titled On Climate Change, Even States in Forefront Are Falling Short, Eduarto Porter begins by lauding California’s claimed position as a leader in environmental consciousness. He points to recent political statements by the state’s elected officials indicating they plan to stubbornly resist any Trump Administration efforts to interfere […]

Will China convert existing coal plants to nuclear using HTR-PM reactors?

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It would be a huge benefit to the earth’s atmosphere if China, India, Brazil and the US could reduce direct coal burning while still making use of much of the capital that they have invested in building coal fired power plants. It would make an even larger difference in reducing air pollution in the areas […]

Three nuclear science deniers express their concerns about climate science denial

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A major reason that climate change skepticism has captured a strong foothold in the United States is that many of climate activists are illogical and inconsistent. They profess grave concern about climate change and call it one of the greatest threats to human civilization on Earth. They adamantly refuse to critically consider the usefulness of […]