Low Dose Radiation: The Conference in Pasco

Mid Columbia Master Singers perform at the front face of the B reactor
Photo courtesy of Energy Northwest

Low Dose Radiation

It is generally agreed that high radiation doses can be very harmful.   However, few things in nature are described by simple straight lines, and other effects of radiation are not so clear.  Is exposure to low levels of radiation harmful, neutral, or helpful? Let's just say that the answers are controversial: no "general agreement" here!

Next week, in Pasco Washington, a joint meeting of the American Nuclear Society and the Health Physics Society will attempt to get some clarity on the effects of low dose radiation. Experts from many countries will attend.  I am pleased to say I will be at that meeting and I will be blogging about it.  Watch this space!

Here's the press release announcing the meeting.

International meeting in Tri-Cities to discuss low dose protection standards

RICHLAND, Wash. – The American Nuclear Society and the Health Physics Society have joined to provide an international forum of current nuclear expertise to evaluate whether existing low dose protection standards should be reconsidered. Ethical standards for many, including radiation biologists and epidemiologists in recent years, call into question the justification for unintended consequences that may result from adherence to the long-established model.

Featured speakers include William Magwood, Antone Brooks, Michael Shellenberger and Gayle Woloschak. Nuclear expert at Atomic Insights Rod Adams [www.atomicinsights.com] and Nuclear Advocate Meredith Angwin will cover the meeting through their blogs. One of the media contacts will send an email with links to the posts at the end of each program day.

The conference will be held in Pasco, Wash., Oct. 1-3 at the Pasco Red Lion. For program details, visit our website at lowdoserad.org.

News media are invited to attend the meeting. Please coordinate interview requests with one of the the media contacts:
Gerald Woodcock, Arrangements Chair, 509-308-6452
Anna Markham, Communication Chair, 509-377-8162
---
Master Singers at the B Reactor

I have been to a meeting that held its banquet at a museum after-hours. That was pretty cool. This meeting will hold a kick-off banquet at a decommissioned reactor from the Manhattan Project!  That is beyond merely cool!  I am very happy that I will be able to attend this event.

The Mid-Columbia Master Singers will perform at the banquet: the photo above is from an earlier performance. Here's a video of their performance at B reactor last year.   Enjoy!

Update: Nuclear Career Opportunities. ANS hosts local meetings

The American Nuclear Society Northeastern Section is holding two meetings in September. These meetings are basically job fairs.

The first meeting is at the University of Rhode Island on Wednesday, September 17. The second will be at UMass Lowell (probably closer for most of us) on Tuesday September 30.

Here's the flyer about the Rhode Island meeting. It's a jpg, so the links don't work, but the links work in the web announcement.

Thinking about these meetings, I note that they are both on college campuses. Therefore, the meeting may be aimed at less experienced workers.  However, local nuclear company representatives will be there, and the companies have openings at many levels.  I think this is a splendid opportunity to talk to people from local nuclear companies: companies that are recruiting!

Note: I have just updated this post with a link to the information on the September 30 meeting in Massachusetts.

The Underpinnings of Energy Choices: Philosophy and Power

ANS Plenary Session, from ANS blog

Showing Up and Paying Attention

I returned recently  from the American Nuclear Society meeting in Atlanta. The plenary session featured chief executives from many facets of nuclear energy.  However, in my opinion, there was a pall over the meeting, due to the recent permanent closing of four American nuclear plants.

I have a blog post up today at ANS Nuclear Cafe: Philosophy, Shale Gas and the ANS Annual Meeting.

In this post, I discuss the statements of the industry executives in terms of the philosophy; Show Up, Pay Attention, Tell the Truth, and Don't be Attached to the Consequences.

 Fair Share

Clearing for a wind turbine

Earlier this month, my friend Howard Shaffer had a post at the ANS Nuclear Cafe: A Dangerous Precedent or a Slippery Slope.  This was also cross posted at The Energy Collective.

In this post, Howard looks at local control over energy projects, and discusses when this is a good thing, and when it is the slippery slope to unbridled nimby-ism.  The philosophical question: What is a community's "fair share" of a common burden? He includes extensive discussion of wind energy regulations in Vermont.

Energy Made Simple: Southern Company's 90 second videos

I just returned from the ANS Meeting in Atlanta.

At the meeting,  I attended a panel on Communicating for New Nuclear Facilities, chaired by Mimi Limbach. Limbach's blog post about the panel appears today in ANS Nuclear Cafe:

Transparency and Proactive Outreach in Good Nuclear Energy Communications.

During the panel, Todd Terrell  of Southern Company showed a new video clip:
86 Seconds on Nuclear Energy and Gumballs.




When I went to embed that clip on my blog, I found another great clip by Southern Company on YouTube.  This clip is about the importance of energy diversity:
91 Seconds on Scrambled Eggs and Energy Policy


I am amazed and impressed with how much these clips communicate in such a short time.
Great going, Southern Company!

Standing Up for Nuclear. WSJ Vote and ANS Nuclear Cafe

Vote! Stand Up for Nuclear Energy at the Wall Street Journal Poll

The Wall Street Journal is having a poll on: Should the World Increase Its Reliance on Nuclear Energy?  It will only take you a moment to vote "yes" and presto...you will have stood up for nuclear power in a public forum.  Do it!  Take a moment to vote in the poll.

You can also comment (there are some great pro-nuclear comments on that poll, as well as the usual anti-nuclear fear-mongering).  Another way to be pro-nuclear in public.

DO VOTE!

Standing Up for Nuclear Power at the ANS Nuclear Cafe

Yesterday, the American Nuclear Society Nuclear Cafe blog had two posts about standing up for nuclear power.  One of the posts encouraged people to vote in the WSJ poll that I have linked to above.

I wrote the second post: Pro-Nuclear Activism: Something for Everyone.  This post described different ways to stand up for nuclear power, including writing pro-nuclear comments on web posts and newspaper articles.

Since many of us are scientists and engineers, we sometimes think we have to do a research project before we can write anything.  However, even a simple opinion counts in the public discourse. Sharing a pro-nuclear opinion is also standing up for nuclear energy.

I used this comment (at left) as my example.

Judge Murtha ruled for Vermont Yankee in the federal court case.  On a Vermont web site, an anti-nuclear commentator made the usual "they are all in bed together" type comment about Murtha.  Mr. Hagan replied: "you are like a kid blaming his loss of the game on bad calls by the referee."

Hagan's comment was also an opinion.  It was easy to write and it is now out there, in public.  Pro-nuclear.

Howard Shaffer and I gave a talk on pro-nuclear activism at the Connecticut chapter of the American Nuclear Society.  The ANS blog post has links to that talk.   Another part of the talk was about using props to "make it real" when you are giving a pro-nuclear talk.

For example, Howard Shaffer bought a tritium exit sign and it was delivered through the mail.  It contains far more tritium than leaked from the famous pipe at Vermont Yankee.  You can't send hazardous materials through the U S  Mail.  At many talks, this exit sign in Howard's hands has "made it real" in a way that words and viewgraphs can hardly match.

Meeting Success Story in Chattanooga

The meeting

The NRC meeting about MOX fuel was a success story for nuclear advocates "showing up."  Many ANS members (including students) came to the meeting, wearing colorful ANS shirts.  Many students and ANS members testified. No anti-nuclear zombies showed up. Maybe the zombies knew there would be pro-nuclear people at the meeting.

The press coverage noted the pro-nuclear presence, though it was still slanted anti-nuclear, in my opinion.  But pro-nuclear people were there, and the press had to cover their statements.  Here's the Times Free Press article on the meeting.

Visibility

Great shirts for visibility!

Plus, Suzy Hobbs Baker supervised the making of some great signs.  One anti-nuclear speaker called the students "cheerleaders" and requested "solutions" instead.  Actually, of course, the students are the future, and the future solutions.

Living in the Past with the Electrician

But you can't expect your average anti-nuclear person to understand that the students are the future.  They are still talking about the electrician who used a candle at Brown's Ferry 37 years ago.

Ah well. They need something to talk about. The fact that MOX fuel has been used all over the world for 30 years is NOT what they want to talk about.  So...back to that electrician!

Showing Up.

It works. 

It has never been more important.



-----------

Laura Scheele of ANS (ANS Nuclear Cafe blog) Steve Skutnik of University of Tennessee (Neutron Economy blog) , and Suzy Hobbs Baker (Popatomic Studios) did an immense amount of work to make this meeting a success for the nuclear side.  We owe them all a big thank-you!

Links to other blogs about this meeting can be found at my previous post  MOX and hearings in Chattanooga.

MOX and Hearings in Chattanooga

Plutonium pacemaker battery,
circa 1974

MOX and Meetings

Today in Chattanooga, the NRC is holding hearings on the possible use of MOX (mixed-oxide) fuel in Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power plants.  MOX fuel consists of plutonium and uranium oxides.  In the Tennessee reactors, the plutonium in the fuel will come from warheads: they will be blended down to reactor fuel.  The Megatons to Megawatts program that did the same sort of thing with uranium in warheads. Similarly, using MOX fuel in power reactors will move us toward non-proliferation and sustained peace.

MOX fuels have been used all over the world, for at least twenty years. Widespread use of MOX fuels began in the 1980s: currently, thirty reactors in France are using MOX fuel (data from the World Nuclear Association).  Also, as Howard Shaffer points out, all light water reactors use MOX fuel: some plutonium is made and used within the reactor, even though the fuel started as 100% uranium.

Naturally, some people are against using MOX.

The MOX fuel hearing in Chattanooga may be contentious, and the American Nuclear Society has encouraged its local members to come to the hearing and tell the fact-based, pro-nuclear side of the story.  They will be tweeting about it using the hashtag #MOXchat.  I will be doing a lot of retweeting this evening!

More about MOX

Dan Yurman writes about the meeting and the issues at Idaho Samizdat: Calling Out Red Herrings about MOX fuel.

ANS Nuclear Cafe has a Call to Action about the meeting:

David Pointer of the ANS Public Information Committee has a post on ANS Man vs the Anti-Nuclear Zombie Plague.  Pointer is the cartoon character in the post, as well as the superhero.  I mean, when he's Pointer in the illustrations, he has his actual red mohawk hair.  When he's ANS Man, he looks more like a conventional superhero. (Pointer went to school in Tennessee).

At Atomic Insights, Rod Adams posts about Plutonium Power to the People.

There's a video about MOX fuel at the ANS Nuclear Cafe post: Dr Ivan Maldonada presents ANS comments to TVA 

Areva has been making MOX fuel for French reactors for twenty years or so.  Areva has a very informative post: Can you talk MOX? Ten things you should know about MOX Nuclear Fuel.

William Tucker at Nuclear Townhall on MOX on the Witness Stand in Chattanooga.

Happy reading!  Happy weapons-to-clean-power transformations!

Sending my support and respect to my nuclear friends in Tennessee!

Two Upcoming Events: VSNAP and ANS

The First Meeting: VSNAP Meeting on September 10 in Vernon

VSNAP is the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the July 9 meeting of VSNAP: my post at ANS Nuclear Cafe describes the meeting. Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel: Safety Again!  The discussion was about safety, safety and safety.  The panel spoke as if the lawsuit hadn't happened.

The July meeting was in Montpelier, and poorly attended.  The next meeting will be at Vernon Elementary School at 6 p.m. on September 10.  I expect it to be well attended, because Vernon is near Massachusetts and many people come up from Massachusetts to protest the plant.  Many protesters live in Brattleboro, near Vernon, but even more seem to come from Massachusetts.

Liz Miller
DPS Commissioner

I suggest you come to this VSNAP meeting if you can, but remember that the opponents shout, carry signs, wear funny clothes and masks, and basically enjoy a good round of street theater.  As I wrote about the NRC meeting in Brattleboro, these meetings can be intimidating.  NRC Public Meeting In Brattleboro: The Politics of Intimidation. However, as Howard Shaffer has often said: "Nobody has ever actually hit me."

Also, the VSNAP panel is opposed to Vermont Yankee, and the crowd is opposed to Vermont Yankee.  Therefore, this meeting should be comparatively subdued.  It will be subdued compared to the behavior at an NRC meeting--that's what I mean by "comparatively subdued."

So I do encourage you to attend.

The Panel and The Plant

In June, Liz Miller lost a lawsuit against the NRC.  Miller is the chairperson of the VSNAP panel,  and she is Commissioner of the Department of Public Service (DPS). DPS had joined a local intervenor to sue  the NRC. In their lawsuit, DPS and the intervenor hoped to force the NRC to rescind Vermont Yankee's license. Their suit was based on a water quality permit issue. DPS and the intervenor lost in court.

More recently, Miller  asked the NRC to increase their scrutiny of Vermont Yankee until the NRC's work meets DPS standards for nuclear oversight.  The NRC has been reported as "cool" to her request.

Go to the meeting anyway

For nuclear supporters, this meeting will be fun if you're a masochist.

It turns out that I am invited to a reception that evening, and I won't be at the VSNAP meeting.  I will be devastated to miss it (not really!). Howard Shaffer plans to attend the VSNAP meting.

Why go?  Sheer masochism?  No.  There are reasons to go.

With any luck you might be able to convince the newspapers covering the meeting that the plant has supporters as well as ...um....detractors. Another reason  to attend is that some people from the plant are required to come to these meetings, and they like to see a friendly face in the crowd. You can be that friendly face. Also, Liz Miller is a dedicated plant opponent, but she is also a very nice person who tries to be fair to everyone who speaks.  Her behavior is another pleasant part of the meeting.

The Second Meeting: ANS Meeting in Connecticut on September 13

On the other hand, if you aren't a masochist you will enjoy attending the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Connecticut Region meeting on the evening of September 13.  As a matter of fact, I can guarantee you will enjoy the meeting, because Howard Shaffer and I will be speaking on "how to be a pro-nuclear activist."

This dinner meeting is a regularly scheduled meeting of the ANS, a professional society.  Such meetings are generally not announced to the public: they are only for society members. Guests are welcome, however, by pre-arrangement.  If you are interested in attending, please email me at mjangwin at gmail and I will put you in touch with the meeting organizers.

I hope you can come.  It will be a chance for Howard and me to come south from Vermont and see some of our supporters from Connecticut and other "points South."

American Nuclear Society Awards to Shaffer and Angwin

Howard Shaffer and Meredith Angwin
receive Presidential Citation Awards from
ANS Nuclear Society President Eric Loewen

The Awards

On Monday, June 25, Howard Shaffer and I received Presidential Citation Awards from the American Nuclear Society President, Eric Loewen.

Howard's plaque says:

For tireless efforts to provide accurate and credible nuclear energy information to the citizens of Vermont during the contentious re-licensing period for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. Howard’s dedication to furthering public understanding and dispelling fear and uncertainty with facts, through a variety of forums, correctly focused the public debate about nuclear energy. He has inspired ANS members and other nuclear advocates across the country.

My plaque says:

For providing rational, reliable, and unbiased information about nuclear energy to the citizens of Vermont during the contentious re-licensing period for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.  By establishing the Energy Education Project, Meredith nourished a grassroots organization that changed the public debate about nuclear energy, lending a credible voice and a helping hand to ANS members and other nuclear advocates well beyond the borders of Vermont.


How do we feel about it?

Well, you can see us grinning in the picture above! It was a wonderful thing to be honored this way, We have both worked hard to support nuclear energy in general and Vermont Yankee in particular. It felt amazing to have our work honored at this meeting, and to have people congratulating us in the hallways, at the lunch tables, and so forth.  You can read the ANS Nuclear Cafe blog post about us here.

Other people also received honors and awards, and some were made Fellows of the American Nuclear Society.  You can see their pictures, and read links to their stories, at this Honors and Awards post at ANS Nuclear Cafe.

What did we learn?

The main thing, for me, was learning we are not alone.  I had many conversations with other people who are also working hard to dispel the fear, uncertainty and doubt surrounding nuclear power.  I realized that building a community of nuclear supporters is the true aim.

I remember when I started my own efforts, and someone asked me "what  do you hope to accomplish?"  They asked rather aggressively, and I don't know what they expected my answer to be.   I said I wanted make it possible for people support nuclear power--and feel safe about saying they support it.

The importance of community

Some people advocate raising school taxes and others disagree. Both sides feel fine about expressing their views in public forums.  Both sides know that plenty of people disagree with them, but they also know that most people are going to keep it civil, and those who don't keep it civil will not be supported in their rudeness.

In contrast, people supporting nuclear power in Vermont are likely to feel intimidated by the opposition.  Opponents shout at meetings. They drive NRC officials out of the room or throw manure in their water glasses. There was arson at Vermont Yankee's office building.  (The office building is not on the plant site.)  The people who do these things are applauded by the other opponents.

In my opinion, one of the reasons that the opponents can get away with this type of action is that so few supporters bother to show up at hearings and so forth.  If there were more of us at the meetings, less intimidation would be possible

As I learned at the ANS meeting, pro-nuclear people are beginning to show up.  This is happening all over the country. Nuclear supporters are beginning to form communities.  Mutual support and community among people in favor of nuclear power is essential.  In my opinion, it is happening.

111th Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers Here at Yes Vermont Yankee

Yes Vermont Yankee is pleased to host the 111th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers.

Fitness for Duty: Nuclear Workers and Chairman Jaczko

Gail Marcus on Drug Testing:  At Nuke Power Talk, Gail Marcus discusses Fitness for Duty for workers at nuclear power plants.  Random drug testing has long been required at U.S nuclear plants, and will now be required in Canada.

At Nuke Power Talk, Gail Marcus tells tales of poppy-seed bagels and helicopter pilots flying "high."  Her thoughts are triggered by the announcement from Canada about introducing a random alcohol drug testing requirement at nuclear power plants. Her post is based on her experiences working for Commissioner Kenneth Rogers at NRC during the period when NRC introduced its random drug testing requirement.

Rod Adams on Jaczko:  Rod Adams at Atomic Insights asks about Jaczko's fitness for duty: Why Was Jaczko Asked To Resign?

NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko was asked to resign from his position of authority over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because the agency charged with independent audits of his organization found that he was not trustworthy and not discharging the duties assigned to him as the Chairman of a duly appointed group of commissioners who share equal responsibility for policy formulation, policy related rule-making, orders, and adjudication.

(I suppose the good news is that Jaczko wasn't taking drugs or eating poppy-seed bagels.)

Follow the Money: Misleading Estimates on Nuclear Costs and Money Wasted on Waste

Steve Skutnik on economic analysis. At Neutron Economy, Steve Skutnik deconstructs yet another faulty economic analysis of nuclear energy: Deconstructing anti-nuclear economic myths: A response to Veronique de Rugy

Recently, Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy published a piece in Reason entitled "No to Nukes," laying out the litany of reasons why nuclear energy is incapable of surviving in a free market for energy without intense federal subsidies. There's just one problem with the argument: the facts. Steve Skutnik looks at the various factors de Rugy overlooks in her nuclear hit piece, including both the actual economics of nuclear as well as the generous subsidies (both implicit and explicit) which nuclear's chief competitors also benefit from.

(I've stolen the chart at right from Skutnik's blog post.  Ms. De Rugy claims that the French must endure high electricity costs due to their decision to have nuclear power.  I sometimes wonder why opponents make claims that are so easy to refute.)

Dan Yurman on Court Waste Rulings: At Idaho Samizdat, Dan Yurman describes how recent Court Waste Confidence Rulings bolster nuclear opponents case.  Two recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia show just how much time, money, and political capital have been wasted on developing a rational solution to the political problem of managing the nation’s spent fuel.

World Wide News: Japan, Russia, Asia and the U.S.

Leslie Corrice on Japan: Leslie Corrice of Hiroshima Syndrome posted this update in the Commentary section on June 29: The most dangerous nukes in Japan...NOT!

Corrice says that should come as no surprise to anyone that the two Japanese nuclear plants alleged to be most dangerous are Oi units #3 & 4. It should be taken as little more than politically expedient speculation by a minor group of lawmakers exploiting their nation’s nuclear anxiety to gain increased exposure in the Press. The Diet Group’s nuclear hit list should not be given serious consideration. It is arbitrary, speculative, politically expedient, and clearly intended to keep Japan’s level of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt at a fever pitch. 

Brian Wang on World-Wide Progress: Brian Wang at Next Big Future submits four stories about innovative reactor projects in Russia and Asia: 

Russian Fast Reactor: The government of the Sverdlovsk region of Russia has approved the construction of the country's first BN-1200 fast reactor at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant. The unit will be built to replace the existing smaller BN-600 reactor at the plant, which is scheduled to be shut down by 2020.

Chinese Molten Salt Reactor. The U.S. Department of Energy is quietly collaborating with China on an alternative nuclear power design known as a molten salt reactor that could run on thorium fuel.  China plans to have a 5 megawatt molten salt reactor in 2015.

Reactors in India, including Fast Reactors: India is finishing its 500 MWe prototype fast neutron reactor and plans 2 more. India also is making more 700 MWe nuclear reactors.

Plasma Physics in the U.S:.  Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPP) describes how they will increase the current of their dense plasma fusion project which should boost the power by about 100 times. 

American Nuclear Society Meeting in Chicago

Wrigley Building in Chicago
Near the ANS meeting hotel

Many bloggers (myself included) spent most of the week at the American Nuclear Society annual meeting in Chicago.  Here's a few links to blog posts about that meeting.  I expect more blog posts will follow soon.

I recommend Dan Yurman's post on the Social Media meet-up, where bloggers discussed how to make good video presentations and put them on YouTube.

I recommend this post about the award that Howard Shaffer and I received.  The ANS also named three new Fellows (the highest honor) and you can read about their achievements. Margaret Harding won an award for her educational work at the time of Fukushima.   I link to an interview with her. The Young Members Group was also quite active, including working dinners and fun runs.  

Will Davis has a great post at Atomic Power Review about visiting the vendor hall and collecting information.  Among other things, this was the first ANS convention at which a Chinese nuclear company had a booth. Here's Eric Loewen, the President of ANS, welcoming people to the convention and talking about all the different events.

Howard Shaffer and I Receive Awards at American Nuclear Society

Yesterday, at the President's Special Section of the American Nuclear Society Meeting in Chicago, Howard Shaffer and I received awards for our work in advocating nuclear power and Vermont Yankee in Vermont.  We received the President's Citation Award.  

The American Nuclear Society Nuclear Cafe blog post today is about our awards. Meredith Angwin and Howard Shaffer Receive President's Citation Awards.

ANS Conference, Carnival and Thorium Update

Wrigley Building, Chicago
Short walk from the ANS convention hotel 

American Nuclear Society Conference

Right now, I am at the American Nuclear Society convention in Chicago.  It feels so good to be here.  I am currently just doing a bit of coffee-drinking and email-catching-up, but I met up with Margaret Harding and Gail Marcus and Howard Shaffer and...well, LOTS of other people last night!  It's great to be here, and it's great to be in Chicago, the town where I grew up.

For fuller description of the Meeting So Far (the main meeting hasn't officially begun yet) I recommend the following posts:

Will Davis on the first few house in in Chicago for the meeting, at Atomic Power Review.

Short Video of the American Nuclear Society president Eric Loewen welcoming people to the meeting, at American Nuclear Society Nuclear Cafe.

At idaho Samizdat, Dan Yurman tells how to follow the conference on twitter and Facebook.

At this conference, Margaret Harding will receive a major and well-deserved award.  She was a voice of clarity for many during the Fukushima crisis: not pulling her punches about what was happening OR what was being exaggerated.  Read an interview with Harding at American Nuclear Society Nuclear Cafe.

110th Carnival of Nuclear Energy at Atomic Power Review

Okay.  I don't know how Will Davis does it.  He's at this conference, and he also put together a terrific blog carnival.  Maybe he doesn't need to sleep? It's a possibility...

Meanwhile, take advantage of his hard work by visiting the 110th Carnival of Nuclear Energy at Atomic Power Review.  Topics include new builds, Yucca Mountain, India, the new Commissioner.  A huge and important Carnival!

Superfuel Book Review

Comments on my Superfuel book review post have been coming thick and fast.  Some comments are about the kind of people who support thorium ("thorium heads") and those who support light water reactors ("nuclearati").  Insults on both sides.  Cavan Stone put the matter best in his comment.

No question, given everything we have available today, LWRs should be every utility's top choice for their base load power, until we develop and commercialize something EVEN BETTER. Yet I should note, nobody in the main body of the LFTR community is talking at all about shutting down LWRs. Rather everyone is talking about opening up new markets that the LWRs have not even touched. Yet, there are members of the established nuclear community trashing LFTR without scientific justification.

Meanwhile, Rod Adams is doing a series of posts based on the book: There are three suprefuels: uranium, plutonium and thorium.  Adams attempted commercialize a new type of reactor, the Adams Atomic Engine. He holds patents on that concept.  His opinions of new reactors are well worth reading. As usual, he gets terrific comments on his posts.  Comments include the fact that if a LFTR is built, the same anti-nuclear people will fight it.  Also, the LFTR might be a way to begin learning about nuclear by people who are currently anti-nuclear.

76th Carnival of Nuclear Energy at Next Big Future and the Green Bag Luncheon about Activism

The 76th Carnival of Nuclear Energy is up at Next Big Future. Brian Wang has put together a great carnival. With movies! Will Davis at Atomic Power Review has posted an enlightening set of Japanese videos on Fukushima, and Brian put several of the videos directly on the Carnival.

Another fascinating post: Rod Adams reviewed the PBS special on Chernobyl, Radioactive Wolves. His review was insightful, thoughtful and controversial. The post has over 150 comments as people argue the validity of the Linear No Threshold theory. The comments are well-thought out and occasionally acrimonious. Fun and informative.

The ANS Convention

I am at ANS Winter Meeting in Washington D.C. Many important people are here (for example, NRC Chairman Jaczko). For me, the most important people here are people I have met on-line that I am finally meeting in person. Margaret Harding. Dan Yurman. Laura Scheele. Ulli Dechter, Steve Skutnik, Jim Hopf, David Mohre, Paul Bowersox. Also, it is wonderful to see people whom I have met before but see very rarely: Fritz Schneider, Jackie Clark, Rod Adams, Gwyneth Cravens. It is a wonderful experience for me.

Howard Shaffer and I gave a luncheon talk, the Green Bag luncheon. Dan Yurman has two posts at ANS Nuclear Cafe that mention or describe our talk.

Hall Talk Monday: What Does the News Media Want From Nukes and What Works in Vermont

Hall Talk November 1: Vermont, Do You Know Where Your Electricity Comes From?

Interesting comments from people who don't live in Vermont, on the Vermont situation.

I hope to blog more about this convention in the future.

60th Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers

The 60th Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers is up today at Atomic Power Review. This is the first time Will Davis has hosted the Carnival at his site, and he has done a splendid job! I was hooked on reading it. He starts the Carnival with an ambiguous picture: guess what this photo shows? You have to read to the end of the blog to find out what it is. (Well, you can cheat and scroll down to see the answer. I did.) And when you read the answer, you will learn some nuclear history

Series Posts

Two posts are each part of important series:

1. In the fourth part of Charles Barton's multi-part post on Nuclear Subsidies, Barton explains that most supposed "subsidies" to nuclear are not subsidies at all. In these four well-researched posts, Barton discusses government relationships to nuclear energy, other energy projects, and military nuclear. In another post, Barton describes Google's floundering attempts to go "green" without considering small modular reactors.
2. In the third of three posts on Lessons Learned from Fukushima, Margaret Harding describes the political lessons of Fukushima. Her earlier posts have described techniclal and corporate lessons.

Thought-Provoking Posts

Rod Adams of Atomic Insights wonders why nuclear advocates rarely mention the positive role of nuclear power in preventing climate change. Adams makes a convincing case for not hiding nuclear's climate-beneficial light under a barrel.

Rick Maltese of Deregulate the Atom writes a bold (and probably correct) prediction that Japan will speed up nuclear development in the future. While noble suicide was a tradition in Japan during the feudal era, the country won't choose to commit economic suicide by phasing out nuclear during the modern era.

Looking toward the future, Dan Yurman of Idaho Samizdat watches Jaczko attempt to delay and derail APR1000 regulatory approval. (Despite the fact that no APR builds have even been suggested for Nevada! Okay, that was my snarky comment, not Dan's post.)

Brian Wang of Next Big Future notes that if Germany phases out nuclear, they will be going to fossil. In another post, Wang, once again, keeps us up with the fusion future. Wang reports that t the United States has joined the Stellerator fusion project in Germany.

Announcements and Bartenders

The Carnival includes my paired Yes Vermont Yankee posts about the Vermont Attorney General (AG): "Vermont AG will announce", and "Vermont AG has announced" that he is not bringing criminal charges against Entergy. The AG sure got a lot of mileage out of a non-event! Myself, I'm planning to hold a press conference to announce that I will hold another press conference to announce whether or not I am bringing charges against the Vermont AG. (Just kidding, I think. Maybe.)

Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed Dan Yurman's post at ANS Nuclear Café, Some Good News for a Change. So few nuclear posts start with a conversation with a bartender! This bartender, see, tells a bunch of nuclear people that they are a gloomy crowd and should lighten up, and then Dan says....Okay. As Yurman points out: There's lots of good news in the world of nuclear. The United Kingdom is building nukes, Finland has asked for more bids for reactors, and more. I'll drink to that!

The 60th Carnival! Bartenders, Germany, climate change, APRs, fusion. Something for everyone! Pay it a visit.