94th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers at NEI Nuclear Notes

The 94th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up at NEI Nuclear Notes. David Bradish has put together a great Carnival. Look, I'm not just saying that because the Carnival includes a picture of me and Howard at the October Rally. I would have said it is a great Carnival, even without the picture! Because it is.

Gail Marcus of Nuke Power Talk discusses the importance of funding for nuclear education. I put the Vermont Yankee issues in perspective at ANS Nuclear Notes, and announce the March 17 rally in support of Vermont Yankee, taking place near the plant.

At Atomic Power Review, Will Davis takes on the "Palisades Embrittlement" claims. His two-part post has real facts, as opposed to the unreal facts (a displaced atom in the crystal structure is a "microscopic hole"?) in the media.

At Nuclear Green, guest blogger NNadir describes the natural Oklo reactors. These were natural (not man-made) reactors that ran in Africa, moderated by water, quite a long time ago. Billions of years ago, actually. In 2 billion years, most of the fission products at Oklo migrated less than half the length of a football field. It's always nice when nature does the testing for us, isn't it? The Carnival includes a drawing of the Oklo reactors.

There's a lot on new technologies, including new technologies from the past. At the Energy from Thorium blog, Kirk Sorenson describes world-wide efforts to get thorium reactors in wider use. Do you know there's a parliamentary group in UK that is considering thorium? Rod Adams describes one way to stop needing so much oil...use nuclear power to convert coal to a liquid fuel. It's been done before, but we can do it better now (new technology from the past!) Steve Skutnik at Neutron Economy describes how small modular reactors can help...Iowa. Yes, Iowa. Iowa is heavily dependent on coal and very rural. SMRs could well be the answer (new technology from the past again!) At ANS Nuclear Cafe, Wesley Deason launches a series of posts on nuclear power for space exploration. At Next Big Future, Brian Wang describes the latest on GE's proposed laser uranium enrichment plant.

The Carnival includes world-wide nuclear news. Dan Yurman at ANS Nuclear Cafe follows the scandal in India, where Western NGOs, given money to help poor people in India, used the money to provide liquor and food to people who protest near the nuclear facilities. At Yurman's own blog, Idaho Samizdat, he reviews North Korea suspending its weapons program, and news from Iran, U K and South Africa. At Brave New Climate, Barry Brook asks how close did the Fukushima get to a really widespread nuclear disaster? Answer: not close at all. Meanwhile, at Next Big Future, Brian Wang does levelized cost comparison of nuclear, solar, and coal. Nuclear and solar costs depend on future costs of construction and financing. The cost of coal-fired power is controlled by commodity prices. Of course.

NEI Nuclear notes itself covered quite a few great topics, including the proposed Clean Energy Standard, the PBS Fukushima documentary, and tornadoes in the South. Come to the Carnival for great reading!

Oh yes, and if you are free on March 17, think about coming to the pro-Vermont Yankee rally!