Readers of Atomic Insights know that I have never been a fan of Dr. Greg Jaczko. He is a politician with no background in nuclear energy production either through education or professional experience. His only claim to knowledge of nuclear energy came through his policy jobs on Congressional and Senate staffs, but his employers in…
Every week, people who write articles about nuclear energy gather their favorites together in a single post called the Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers. We’ve been doing this regularly for more than two years; it is my pleasure to host the 112th issue of the Carnival. Here are our favorite posts from the first week…
Richard Martin’s new book titled Superfuel: Thorium, The Green Energy Source for the Future is a book that should come with a warning label. Though the author professes to be worried about climate change and fossil fuel depletion and wants to be seen as favoring new nuclear power development, that support comes with a very…
I just finished watching the archived video of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the nominations of Dr. Allison Macfarlane to be a Commissioner and Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Kristine Svinicki to serve an additional five year term as a Commissioner. It was disheartening to see that the Senate’s…
On June 13, 2012, Allison Macfarlane will be a witness in her confirmation hearing as a new commissioner and the prospective Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Commissioner Kristine Svinicki will also be a witness in her quest to be confirmed for a second term as a commissioner. In June 2007, I had the opportunity…
My wife has known for many years that I have rather eclectic tastes in tourist destinations, but even with that history, she gave me a rather odd look when I suggested that we spend my day off by driving to Chatham to visit Virginia Uranium. When I pointed out how close Chatham is to our…
I’ve noticed an interesting pattern. A day or two before something negative about Dr. Greg Jaczko is released to the press, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) goes on the offensive against the source providing the negative news. It happened on December 9, 2011. On that day, Congressman Markey released a report that was harshly critical of…
Updated (May 9, 2012 05:47 am) This now includes information from Southern California Edison and the California Independent System Operator explaining why they had published an “estimated return to service date” for San Onofre. Original post starts here. Stories that underly other stories can be fascinating topics for discussion. Yesterday morning, a friend sent me…
Another Friday, Another Episode of “As the Chairman of the NRC Turns” On Friday, April 27, 2012, Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, released a letter addressed to Chairman Jaczko of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That letter, cosigned by 23 fellow US Congressmen, asked Chairman…
Following a flurry of news reports about the renomination of Ms. Kristine Svinicki, one of his colleagues at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko decided to hold a previously unscheduled press conference at the National Press Club. Inquiring minds, like mine, are wondering why he made that decision. First of all, I…
Meredith Angwin, the energetic and caring pronuclear blogger at Yes Vermont Yankee shared the following message. It deserves wider notice so that the individual events attract the kinds of audiences that can make a difference in direction that the discussions take. Three upcoming events need your attention and support. The local (New England) grid depends…
The latest episode in the distracting soap opera at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has provided more fodder for the political pundits in their efforts to turn nuclear energy deployment and regulation into a partisan issue. Fortunately, some of the players seem to understand that the subject is too important and has too many nuances…