167th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs: Here at Yes Vermont Yankee

Traveling Carnival
The nuclear blog Carnival
also travels
--from blog to blog

The Past, the Present and the Future
The blogs this week look at problems from past accidents, current use of nuclear power, and the future use of nuclear power. The overall trend, (past to future) is upward for nuclear energy.  So let's get started with the blogs.

The Past: Problems at Fukushima
Two bloggers look at the recent headlines about cleanup problems at Fukushima.

TEPCO Faces New Setbacks at Fukushima Daiichi posted by Will Davis at ANS Nuclear Cafe

Will Davis takes an in-depth look at recent events at Fukushima Daiichi that have put TEPCO back in the media spotlight recently.

Fukushima Groundwater Issue Poses Many Questions  posted by Leslie Corrice at Hiroshima Syndrome

Tepco now admits contamination is entering their near-port quay. However, the data that has been posted poses many currently unanswered questions. But we can be quite certain that the contamination in the quay has not reached the open sea.

The Present: The Value of Nuclear: Oil Sands, Solar Power and Climate Change

NRDC feigns outrage over 1.2 billion tons of carbon from oil sands in Canada; supports 50 times as much from gas-fired generation in America posted by Steve Aplin at Canadian Energy Issues

Hypocrisy is when you talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Steve Aplin of Canadian Energy Issues

TVA Combustion Turbine Plant

found a whopping example of hypocrisy that should make anyone’s blood boil. A leading environmental group pretends to oppose greenhouse gas emissions while actually supporting their dramatic increase.

Vermont a more "dazzling" nuclear power producer than solar producer.  Guest post by Guy Page at Yes Vermont Yankee

A recent report on "dazzling dozen"ranks states by per-capita solar installation.  Vermont is high on the list. Guy Page of Vermont Energy Partnership calculates the true source of Vermont's in-state clean energy. In Vermont, installed capacity is 1000 watts per person for Vermont Yankee, and 34 watts per person for solar. Vermont is a "dazzling" clean energy state, all right, but it's not because of the photovoltaics. (The numbers tilt even more dramatically to nuclear when you compare power-produced by these systems, not just installed capacity.)

Energy and Climate Change: A Two Way Street by Gail Marcus at  Nuke Power Talk

Gail Marcus discusses a recent report by the US Department of Energy on the effects of climate change on our energy supply.  We have long heard that our energy use affects our environment, but we now are beginning to understand that climate changes can also affect our energy supply. Phenomena ranging from floods to droughts affect nearly every source of energy.  Marcus points out that advanced nuclear power concepts that don't use water as a coolant should be less vulnerable to such phenomena.

The Future: New Types of Reactors and New Reactors Being Built

Since Gail Marcus post on climate change bridged between the present to the future (new types of reactors). we will start this section with Rod Adams post, which bridges between the past (statements by Galen Winsor) and the future (use of plutonium).

Who Owns the Plutonium? How Much is it Worth? posted by Rod Adams at Atomic Insights

Plutonium in solution

Galen Winsor was a hands-on nuclear expert in the fullest sense of the phrase. Before irrational radiation protection rules were imposed, he and his colleagues directly handled used fuel. They limiting their exposure time and depended on just one of the “time, distance and shielding” trifecta of radiation protection. According to his story, Winsor and his colleagues knew enough about the material that they were handling to prevent most skin burns, but they had a job to do and did not allow a desire to lower doses below the level of immediate risk to impede their successful accomplishment.

Throughout Winsor’s talk, he points out the physical value of the irradiated material that some people insist on calling high level waste. He asks the final important questions – “Who owns the plutonium?” and “How much is it worth?” He recognizes that using it beneficially threatens a number of powerful interests.

Prisoner's Dilemma and New Types of Nuclear Reactors posted by Meredith Angwin at ANS Nuclear Cafe

Can nuclear advocates support existing reactors and new reactor concepts at the same time? Meredith Angwin thinks so – but sometimes nuclear activists can sound like they are in the classic Prisoner's Dilemma from game theory.  Communicating is the key to solving the dilemma.

The final blog post:  Yes, There is a Nuclear Renaissance

World-wide nuclear energy use to double by 2040 posted by Brian Wang at Next Big Future

EIA forecasts world nuclear energy will more than double by 2040.