Following the money: who’s funding Stanford’s Natural Gas Initative
A few days ago, I wrote about Stanford University’s new Natural Gas Initiative (NGI) and described why I thought the existence of that program helped to explain why some prominent…
The ‘smoking gun’ series on Atomic Insights provides links to articles that describe a direct anti-nuclear statement from someone who is openly supporting a competitive energy source. This afternoon, I received an anonymous tip with a link to an article in The Australian dated July 30, 2007 and titled Nuclear threatens our jobs: union. Here is the smoking gun part of the article:
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union mining division boss Tony Maher warned yesterday that nuclear power would jeopardise job security for coal miners and power workers.
As his union launched an advertising campaign attacking the Howard Government’s greenhouse policy, Mr Maher said: “The real threat to coal miners’ job security and power workers’ job security is 25 nuclear reactors in Australia.
“That’s the harsh reality. A solar farm down the road is not going to close down a coal-fired power station. But 25 nuclear reactors will,” he told the Ten Network’s Meet The Press program.
I have a different analysis to offer. The nuclear industry’s need for employees who are willing to work hard and follow strict safety rules makes it likely that most, if not all coal mine and power workers would be able to find good jobs in a growing nuclear industry. If the union members take a hard look they will find that many of the jobs that the industry will create are terrific blue collar jobs that are often held by union workers.
The real potential losers in a growing nuclear industry are the capitalists that control equipment and land that is far less adaptable for new uses than human minds and hands. I started to use the word “own” instead of control in the previous sentence, but the fact is that a good deal of the capital equipment in the fossil fuel industry is heavily leveraged against future earning potential. If nuclear power was growing and taking market share, it would also pose a significant financial threat for the lenders who financed that equipment, land, and mineral rights.
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.
I have always tried to be clear when I talk about how fossil fuel interests have been responsible for much of the success of the organized anti-nuclear movement. Many people in various discussion forums have misinterpreted my words “fossil fuel interests” as meaning just major oil companies, but I am trying to encompass a larger…
Proving the Principle provides some wonderful and inspiring stories about the days when the United States had a place where atomic tinkerers could explore new ideas and test those ideas with real reactors and real materials. It also provides some insights about the economically and politically motivated reasons that a place with those characteristics no…
The above clip came from a lunchtime talk that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association on July 8, 2010, during the Energy Epicenter conference. Aside: People who are not from Colorado might need some background to explain the reference to working with Governor Ritter on “1365”. There is another…
A couple of days ago, I wrote about my discovery that Robert O. Anderson, a long time leader in the global petroleum business, had provided the seed money that David Brower used to fund Friends of the Earth, an organization that has been fighting against nuclear energy for more than 40 years. I pointed out…
Richard Muller has a lot in common with Amory Lovins. They both received MacArthur Foundation Fellowships (aka “Genius Grants”) several decades ago – Muller in 1982 and Lovins in 1993. They both get a lot of attention from the commercial media and from elected politicians. They both were active members of large environmental groups early…
I love honest people. Engaging in straightforward discussions and even arguments is one of my favorite pastimes. This morning, I opened up my copy of Chesapeake Energy’s annual report and read the following clear statement of objectives: Some of the great public debates of the next 10 years will focus on how we should meet…