Nuclear-Powered Aircraft:
Visions from the Past I was surprised yesterday to see in one of my emails an article published on January 20 in The Atlantic entitled "Why There Are No Nuclear Airplanes." I have some personal...
View ArticleHigh Cost of Intermittent Renewables:
A Comprehensive AnalysisA recent report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency provides an analytic assessment of something that has been discussed for a long time--that there is a significant system cost...
View ArticleEnvironmental Impacts of Renewables:
Growing Recognition that Nothing is Free For a long time now, I have been harping on the point that the sun and the wind may be free, but collecting it and using it requires resources and produces...
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A Visit to Chernobyl:
The Site Today Late last October, I had the opportunity to visit Fukushima in conjunction with a conference I was attending in Sendai, so when my personal plans this month called for a stop in Kiev,...
View ArticleLessons of the 737 Max 8 Crashes:
The Role of Regulation Regulation has never been easy. Most of the time, it seems superfluous at best. Most of the time, most of the systems in our lives seem to work. Airplanes get to their...
View ArticleMaterials Supply in a Global Economy:
Implications for Nuclear and Wind Power One issue that, until lately, has gotten little attention, is that of the global supply chain for some of the materials that are essential to the continued...
View ArticleReplacing fossil-fueled automobiles:
Unexpected consequences I continue to be struck by the number of times I've found reports that reveal an unexpected downside of current technologies--or even more so, of the advanced technologies that...
View ArticleNIMBY:
It's Complicated Just when you think you know that "everyone" loves renewable energy and hates nuclear power, some news pops up to recalibrate your thinking. Last week, I saw almost back-to-back news...
View ArticleUnintended Consequences:
Good Intentions, Troubling Outcomes As many of my readers know, I occasionally highlight actions that have been taken or are being considered that have unintended consequences that either undermine the...
View ArticleElectricity and Public Health:
A Vital Link I haven't been blogging for the past month or so, in large part because I was on an extended trip. The last stop on the trip was to attend a wedding in Half Moon Bay, California in early...
View ArticleMore Unintended Consequences:
The Complexities of Transportation I recently came across several articles related to transportation--well, very loosely related, in one case--that once again show why it is so difficult to predict the...
View ArticleEnergy Supply and Bananas:
A Scary Parallel I recently came across an article on bananas that reminded me of arguments about the future sources of energy. If that sounds strange, bear with me. The article pointed out that our...
View ArticleWhither Nuclear Power:
Status and Prospects The New Year is always a time for reflection on the past and the future. And a new decade (if you count 2020 as the start of a decade) doubles the incentive to try to look at...
View ArticleFessenheim 1, RIP:
Another Reactor Closes The news today comes as no surprise. Fessenheim 1, France's oldest operating nuclear power plant, was disconnected from the grid this past weekend, completing 42 years of...
View ArticleCoronavirus Hits Nuclear Event:
A Major Nuclear Conference is Postponed I should have known that, in our highly interconnected world, the recent coronavirus outbreak would start hitting in unexpected places. COVID-19, as it is...
View ArticleCoronavirus and Nuclear--Take 2:
A Second Cancellation It may seem somewhat parochial to write about the coronavirus from the perspective of meetings for the nuclear community, but when you think that, just a few weeks ago, the news...
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The "We are Westinghouse" Ad:
What Were They Thinking? Normally, I'm the kind of person advertisers hate. And if they don't hate me, it's only because they don't know that I have a remarkable ability to read a newspaper or...
View ArticleCOVID-19 and Essential Services:
A Reminder of What's Important As we get used to the "new normal" of living with the specter of the novel coronavirus looming over us, we are being reminded of all the things it takes to maintain our...
View ArticleJill Biden's Title
I was as appalled as most people when I heard the news the other day about Joseph Epstein's opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal advising Jill Biden that she should not insist on being addressed as...
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Fiestaware: Understanding Radiation
Almost 10 years ago, I wrote a blog on Fiestaware when I noticed that the Post Office had issued a stamp honoring the man who had designed the original Fiestaware line (Frederick Hurten Rhead). My...
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