New Blogs and Bloggers, including Evan Twarog (of Vermont Yankee)

I am pleased to welcome new bloggers, and thank another blogger for welcoming a new blog. Then I welcome another new blog. Then I notice a blog I left behind by mistake. Next, I welcome a non-blog.

In other words, it's time to wrap myself in knots keeping up with the nuclear blogosphere!

Evan Twarog blogs at Atomic Insights

At the U.N.
Evan Twarog, Rotary International
President Gary C.K. Huang,
Antonio DiSilva

Let's start close to home.  Evan Twarog is now blogging at Atomic Insights.  Rod Adams of Atomic Insights welcomes Evan with a thoughtful post: Another blogger for Nuclear Energy: Evan Twarog. Evan is the son of John and Cheryl Twarog: John is a shift manager at Vermont Yankee.

Twarog has been a frequent guest blogger at Yes Vermont Yankee. He participated in rallies for the plant, testified before the Public Service Board, and wrote letters to the editor.  Twarog also worked as a summer intern at the Ethan Allen Institute in 2013. He helped with the email program, and he worked on a project model of the electric grid (along with engineer Richard Schmidt). More recently, Twarog won a prestigious competitive scholarship to Renssellear Polytechnic Institute, and won a Rotary Global essay competition. As a result of the Rotary competition, Twarog visited India and recently spoke at the United Nations.

Now Twarog will be blogging at Atomic Insights.  Welcome, Evan Twarog!

Atomic Insights Welcomes Energy Northwest Blog

Rod Adams also welcomed Energy Northwest's new blog, Northwest Clean Energy.  Since I am the lead blogger at that blog, this is another chance for me to say: Thank you, Rod!  Thanks for giving Evan Twarog a great platform, and thanks for welcoming Energy Northwest's blog.

New Blog: Nuclear Defender

I want to welcome a very new blog: Nuclear Defender.  You can't help loving a blog showing two cooling towers near a containment dome (looks kind of like a crown) with the motto: "Keep Calm and Use Nuclear."  So far, the blog has only one post:The Big Bad Becquerel. This post describes what a becquerel is, how tiny it is, and why nuclear opponents love to reference becquerels. Everything looks big...in becquerels! Nuclear Defender reviews an article about leakage at Fukushima and all those becquerels.

Sigh.  It reminds me of my early blogging days, when tritium was always described in the Vermont press in "picocuries" (a trillionth of a curie).  Picocuries, Becquerels.  Very big numbers....for very small quantities.

I look forward to more posts from Nuclear Defender.

Just Found the Blog: CASEnergy Coalition

Christine Todd Whitman

Well, I knew about CASEnergy Coalition (Clean and Safe Energy Coalition) and have used their reference material, such as Economic Benefits of Nuclear Energy.  CASEnergy is led by some pretty heavy hitters, such as Governor Christine Todd Whitman (former Governor of New Jersey and former EPA administrator). But I didn't know CASEnergy had a blog. Yes, they do.  The blog is Clean Energy Buzz, and the archives go back to January 2014.

Yeah. My face is red, especially since Yes Vermont Yankee is on the CASEnergy blog roll.  At any rate, I just added Clean Energy Buzz to my blogroll. A belated welcome to Clean Energy Buzz!

I encourage you to read their latest post, a clear and informative Halloween look at Who You Gonna Call? Nuclear Energy Mythbusters.

There Isn't Actually A Blog: Energy For Humanity

A group of environmentalists have gathered together to start a new website and group: Energy For Humanity.  The founders are Pandora's Promise director Robert Stone, environmental campaigner Kirsty Gogan, and philanthropist Daniel Aegerter. They have no corporate backing, and this group hopes to continue the network and momentum started with the documentary Pandora's Promise.

They have a great website, well worth exploring.  However, they don't have a linkable blog, or at least, I don't see one.  Still, I urge you to visit Energy for Humanity.

I love to hear all these new voices!  All are worth a visit!

Nuclear Energy Blog Carnival 228: Here at Yes Vermont Yankee

Once again, we are proud to host the Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers here at Yes Vermont Yankee.  The Carnival is a compendium of nuclear blogs that rotates from blog site to blog site, and it is always a pleasure and an honor to host it.

This week, several posts are concerned with nuclear's effect on the environment, or people's perceptions of nuclear's effects on the environment.  So let's start there.

Nuclear Energy and the Environment.

Water and Energy:  A Close Connection
http://www.nukepowertalk.blogspot.com/2014/09/water-and-energy.html

At Nuke Power Talk, Gail Marcus addresses an article which claimed that growing water shortages might shift energy production away from coal and nuclear power. Marcus points out that 1) cooling towers and advanced nuclear technologies can help meet the needs for water more efficiently, and 2) some renewable energy technologies also have significant water needs.

What it means to be pro-nuclear (part 1)
http://nuclearlayperson.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/what-it-means-to-be-pro-nuclear-part-1/

At the new blog, Nuclear Layperson, Amelia Cook (aka MillySievert) is asked by a childhood friend if she is "really convinced by nuclear"? Cook looks at the complicated nature of the "pro-nuclear" label and offers some alternative descriptions. One of her descriptions is I am pro low-carbon sources of energy. 

DOE Energy Calculator: Coal, Dynamite, Burritos, and Nuclear Candy
http://us.arevablog.com/2014/09/26/doe-energy-calculator-coal-dynamite-burritos-and-nuclear-candy/

The Areva Blog reviews the Department of Energy's online tool for calculating the average amount of

energy you consume each year.  in energy-equivalent terms of coal, dynamite, and burritos (yes, burritos). Turns out the average American burns up the annual energy equivalent of 15,370 pounds of coal (7.7 tons). But the DOE tool lacks a crucial alternative comparison: eight gummy-bear-size pieces of nuclear fuel would reliably power every hour of your life for a year – without climate impact emissions.

Vermont Yankee Powers Down While Vermont Protestors Flock Down to New York City to Protest Climate Change
http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2014/09/vermont-yankee-powers-down-while.html#.VChfRihCqvI

In this post, Yes Vermont Yankee considers the irony of Vermont protestors driving to New York City to protest climate change. They were carrying banners about "saying no to nuclear energy." The post also contains links to life-cycle studies of nuclear and renewable carbon footprints.

Nuclear power and the U.N. Green Climate Fund

http://canadianenergyissues.com/2014/09/25/nuclear-power-and-the-u-n-green-climate-fund/

Steve Aplin of Canadian Energy Issues  looks at what will actually reduce carbon. Back in 2008, if you were a major financial investor, the smart thing to do was to put your money into credit default swaps. If  you were a small investor and connected to the right people, the smart place to put your money was into one of Bernie Madoff’s funds. And today, if you want to cut carbon without killing your economy, the smart thing to do is to go gangbusters into wind and solar. Aplin suggest ignoring the smart green energy consensus reflected in reportage on the U.N. Climate Summit in New York. Instead, notice what technologies will actually reduce carbon.

Deer Leap Falls, Poconos
Not a hydro site, so far

Why I support nuclear energy

http://efncanada.com/support-nuclear-energy/

At the new blog for Environmentalist for Nuclear Canada, Robert Rock describes cost and safety as two important reasons to support nuclear energy.  Other blog posts at this new blog include subjects such as The basics of climate change.

Indeed, though nuclear does protect the climate and the environment, it is also a very valuable industry.  Using the Rock post as a bridge, let's look at the nuclear industry as, you know, an industry.

The Nuclear Industry as an Industry: New Builds and More

South Africa inks 9.6 Gwe $50B reactor deal with Russia

http://neutronbytes.com/2014/09/23/south-africa-inks-9-6-gwe-10b-reactor-deal-with-russia

Dan Yurman at Neutron Bytes reports on the Rosatom deal to build several (up to eight) nuclear reactors in South Africa. This deal has been on-again and off-again, and it mirrors the tender South Africa released in 2007 and then cancelled. But this time is different.  This time Eskom, the state-owned electric utility, isn’t in the picture.

Seven Decades Past, A New Dawn

http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2014/09/26/seven-decades-past-a-new-dawn/

At ANS Nuclear Cafe, Will Davis starts by looking back at the early days, when nuclear was part of the Manhattan Project. Seventy years ago, the first full scale nuclear reactor started up at Hanford, Washington, and the world hasn't been the same since.  See rare photos of the project to build it, and learn the history of the first working reactor.

The Nuclear Weapons States: Who Has Them And How Many

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/09/25/the-nuclear-weapons-states-who-has-them-and-how-many/

As long as we are talking about the Manhattan Project, let's look at whether nuclear energy leads to nuclear weapons? The answer is no. Nuclear energy does not lead to nuclear weapons. James Conca at Forbes explains that there are nine nuclear weapons states with about 10,000 weapons. These weapons were all made from nuclear weapons programs, not commercial nuclear energy programs. There are two paths to the bomb. Iran tried one but will not succeed. North Korea took the other and succeeded. 

Consensus standards in industry
http://newsok.com/consensus-standards-in-industry/article/5345101

Nanocrystal
World's smallest reference material
Developed by NIST

In this post, Robert Hayes describes important standards in industry. These range from manufacturing
specifications to testing and procurement requirements. He describes the important role of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and professional organizations (ASME, for example) in setting these standards.

A Plea to Tepco and Tokyo – Just Do It!

http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-commentary.html

At Hiroshima Syndrome, Les Corrice considers the best possible way to reduce the wastewater problem at F. Daiichi? Tepco and Tokyo should start dumping the stored waters already run through ALPS as soon as the local fishermen and the public have been fully informed. Wait a minute…they already have! Damn the radiophobic fears and unfounded rumors…JUST DO IT!

Electricity Prices Soar in New England. And Soon in Vermont.
http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2014/09/electricity-prices-soar-in-new-england.html#.VChAVihCqvI

Yes Vermont Yankee reports that electric prices in Massachusetts and New Hampshire are jumping by 35-50%, partially due to the retirement of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant and Salem Harbor coal plant. The state of Vermont will not be immune from this trend.

Passive Safety: Staying on Track

http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurepassive-safety-staying-on-track-4385660/

In this article at Nuclear Engineering International, Joseph Somsel takes a somewhat critical look at passive safety design concepts based on a case study of Casey Jones' famous accident. The successful deployment of a passive safety system was a major cause of the accident.

Somsel notes that basic problem for our industry is that making a nuclear power plant ten times safer won't make a single additional sale.  Making electricity from a nuclear reactor half the cost will sell many of them.

This look into the future (and into the railroad past) leads to the last part of our blog carnival.  What's new!

New Types of Reactors

Integrated Molten Salt Reactor should demonstrate the lowest lifetime cost of energy of any known technology

http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/09/integrated-molten-salt-reactor-should.html

Canada's Terrestrial Energy Corporation is a leader in molten salt reactors. Nextbigfuture believes they have a good chance at creating an energy revolution because of their low cost and low development risk design. Their main advantage is the Canadian oilsands. Hundreds of IMSR reactor can be used to generate steam for oil recovery.

Cost is important. Low cost and accessible energy supply is linked to living standards and quality of life.

Molten Salt Reactor Projects in the U.K.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/09/molten-salt-reactor-projects-in-uk.html

Molten Salt, laboratory scale

A feasibility study for a next-gen Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) has won funding from the Technology Strategy Board, the UK government’s strategic innovation agency. The bid was led by the indefatigable Jasper Tomlinson and Professor Trevor Griffiths. In a first for the UK, the project will produce a rigorous desk- and computer-based study of the feasibility of a pilot-scale MSR, based on the latest science.

Ian Scott has recently founded a UK based molten salt reactor development start-up, Moltex Energy LLP.

Welcome to New Blogs

I was about to label this post: Welcome to new bloggers!  Then I decided that Welcome to New Blogs was a better choice of title.

Yurman's twitter icon

Dan Yurman

You see, the first blogger I want to welcome is Dan Yurman. He's not new to blogging. Indeed, he is a towering figure as a pro-nuclear blogger! (And he's tall, too.)

Dan's Idaho Samizdat was the first pro-nuclear blog I ever heard about.  Dan Yurman and Rod Adams were the first to welcome my own blog when it started on New Years Day, 2010.

So I can't say "New Bloggers" to Dan.  However, I can say: Welcome Back, Dan Yurman! We have missed you! 

Here's a link to his new blog: Neutron Bytes. And here's a link to his Welcome Post about how his new blog will be structured.

Ed Kee

Edward Kee
Photo Courtesy of Nuclear Energy Institute

Ed Kee is a new blogger, but he is not new to the nuclear industry.

With degrees from the Naval Academy and Harvard, Kee has been a consultant in energy economics for two decades.  Here's a link to his biography.  Most recently, Kee was vice president at NERA Economic Consulting.

He has recently started his own company, which gives him the freedom to blog. His blog is the Commentary section at his website for Nuclear Economics Consulting Group (his new company).   Welcome to Kee and his knowledge of economics! The nuclear blogosphere needed someone with Kee's expertise.

Nuclear Economics blog
His first post: Nuclear Power Plants: Long-Term Assets in a Short-Term World.

Two More Blogs: Actinide Age and Power for the USA

Rod Adams Atomic Insights blog introduced me to these two blogs. If you search Atomic Insights for "Another Blogger for Nuclear Energy," you will find Rod's introduction to these two blogs, as well as introductions to the Yurman and Kee blogs.

Actinide Age has been published since late last year (yeah, I''m slow).  It's an Australian pro-nuclear blog, also pro-renewable. One post shows the solar panels at the blogger's home. (This Is the Life.) He wonders whether he would use such panels if Australia were powered by low-emission nuclear energy. The blog is well-written, well illustrated, and most important, well-reasoned. The blog motto:  Inexhaustible clean energy is optional. Choose wisely.

Power for the USA is one feisty blog.  I can't think that I have a single reader who will agree with everything in this blog! But readers will agree with many aspects, and the blogger is certainly knowledgeable.  Rod Adams's introduction to the blog gathered almost thirty comments, and a discussion/dispute between the blog owner, Donn Dears, and Rod Adams.

Donn is a retired executive with GE.  He is in favor of nuclear energy and gas turbines. He is against exaggerated fear of both radiation and global warming.  Whether you agree with all the posts or not, you have to admire a blog with posts such as Our Navy Should Go Nuclear, Not Green.

New Blogs

We have a wonderful new set of pro-nuclear blogs with so many different slants on the issues!

• World overview (Yurman, Neutron Bytes)
• Economics (Kee Nuclear Economics)
• Australian pro-renewable (Actinide Age)
• Energy for the United States (Donn, Power for the USA).

Enjoy!

Welcome to New Blog: Atoms for California

 Another Local Pro-Nuclear Blogger!

Welcome to the blog Atoms for California!

Okay, Meredith, I can just hear my readers say---California is not "local" to Vermont.   What are you talking about with "another local pro-nuclear blogger"?

California is indeed across the country from Vermont, but I want to welcome another locally-focused blog.  Every pro-nuclear blogger has his or her own area of interest and expertise--our blogs are not interchangeable. My blog list includes an amazing group of powerful pro-nuclear voices.  We need all these voices.

That said, I believe that locally-focused blogs can be particularly strong and effective. Local people know the history, background, issues, and chief players of their own locality.  For example, I am authoritative about what happens (and is likely to happen) at the Statehouse in Montpelier.  It would be hard for me to know very much about which type of reactor the Czech Republic is most likely to buy.

Atoms for California

Atoms for California is very impressive pro-nuclear blog, written by a man who truly knows the situation in California.  In the Author Disclaimer section of the blog, we learn that the blog author's father works as a senior nuclear engineer at San Onofre, and he himself works for the California Energy Commission.  The blogger makes it very clear that this is his personal blog, and has nothing to do with the Commission.

The Table of Contents provides a wealth of material, including a history of the Electric Program Investment Plan (EPIC) in California.   The "Objectives of this site" page is not a quick mission statement, but a nine-point program with statements such as Challenging the exclusion of nuclear power from California’s Loading Order.

This is a blog to read!

Advantages of Local Blogging

Local bloggers can grow local followings. Local bloggers can be well-enough known to be interviewed repeatedly by the local press.  I have often thought that every locality with a nuclear facility needs a local pro-nuclear blogger.  Every such locality has at least one anti-nuclear group with a web presence.  The reporters know where to find the anti-nuclear quotes.  We need to give the reporters a place to find the pro-nuclear quotes.

(The facilities themselves are like any big business--the press releases go through a LOT of review.  Which means the press releases are often dry, evasive and late to the party.  Bloggers have more fun, are usually more readable, and can give reporters a straight story in snappy sound bites.)

So--hats off to the local pro-nuclear bloggers! Hats off to Atoms for California,  Steve Aplin at Canadian Energy Issues, and Ben Heard at DecarboniseSA.  These blogs are not strictly local--after all the world is interconnected.  But they start with their local issues, and they have powerful local impacts. 

Think globally, act locally.  I hope more people will start blogging.

----
Update: I rearranged this post a little in order to do a better job of featuring the Atoms for California blog.

And a hat-tip to Rod Adams for his welcome to Atoms for California. Rod got his post up first, as he often does.

I don't know where any of us pro-nuclear bloggers would be without Rod!

Progressives for Nuclear Progress: Welcome to a New Blog

Welcome to the new blog in the pro-nuclear blogosphere: Progressives for Nuclear Progress. This blog, by Eric Schmitz, has the subtitle: Bringing the American Left on board for a clean nuclear future.  Together it reads:

Progressives for Nuclear Progress

Bringing the American Left on board for a clean nuclear future.

The blog also has a Facebook page Progressives for Nuclear Progress.

In his latest post I take a vacation and what happens?  Will Davis at Atomic Power Review welcomes  the new blog.  Davis notes that Schmitz is an engineer, and I would like to note that Schmitz is a good writer.  Let's look at his two most recent posts.

Teachable Moments   

Schmitz (so far) has taken some news item or blog post about nuclear power, and made very thoughtful (and sometimes acerbic) comments.  For example, in his post: "Fail-Safe"--when failure does NOT mean disaster,  Schmitz critiques Entergy for its communication about some malfunctioning radiation monitors. Schmitz says that the problems with those monitors was a "teachable moment." He notes that  "fail-safe" does not mean "this can never fail."  It means: "Even if this fails, safety is not affected."

Progressives

In another post, Schmitz comments on the Breakthrough Institutes major post: Liberals and Progressives for Nuclear.   As Schmitz says: "I have come to realize that we (liberals and progressives) cannot afford to continue sticking our heads in the sand when it comes to the one kind of power generation that is capable of providing ample energy at nearly zero carbon cost."

By the way: please read the Breakthrough Institute post on Liberals and Progressives for Nuclear.  It features an impressive group of people, with impressive quotes.  Paul Allen, Mark Lynas, Gwyneth Cravens, Stephen Tindale (former director of Greenpeace).  Read it!

Slightly-off topic: Non-Progressives

The "other side of the aisle," is also noticing that more liberals and progressives are supporting nuclear nowadays.  Joseph Somsel writes Nuclear Power's New Friends in American Thinker.   He reviews  Pandora's Promise. He basically likes the movie, but  he warns the nuclear industry not to embrace climate change. Somsel writes: "As public opinion becomes more aware of the falsity of the claims of impending climate catastrophe, nuclear needs to maintain its distance. "

Well, I don't agree with Somsel about climate change, but there you are. Personally, I welcome all nuclear supporters, no matter what they think about global warming.  Climate change is only one of many reasons to support nuclear energy.

Charles Barton

In any reasonable discussion of nuclear communication, all nuclear bloggers must acknowledge the leadership of Charles Barton of Nuclear Green Revolution.   Barton has been blogging from an avowedly liberal political stance...since 2008!  Other pro-nuclear blogs started earlier, and were written by liberals, but Barton is the person who explicitly combined the two topics.

 I am always and eternally grateful to Charles Barton for his work in changing nuclear energy from a Republican-Democratic debate to..an energy discussion.

I am pleased to see Eric Schmitz's blog joining Barton's blog.

Nuclear Green

New Carnival and Two New Blogs

The 143rd Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up at Hiroshima Syndrome. It includes blog posts on unexpected interactions (cool white pavements save energy...unless you consider the effect of reflected sunlight on buildings), smog in China, the status of new reactor builds, the Crystal River decision, and more.  Come to the Carnival and have some fun!

Meanwhile, I have added two new blogs to my blog roll.  One really IS a new blog:  Diary of a Nuclear Tourist. Suzy Hobbs Baker is an artist and communicator.  She founded Popatomic Studios and the Nuclear Literacy Project (NLP).  As part of NLP, she is taking a nuclear tour of Europe, and blogging about it.

Here's her post at ANS Nuclear Cafe about the Diary of a Nuclear Tourist project, and here's her post Day One, Up and Running. I welcome this new project and new blog!

I cut and pasted part of the blog banner here, because Baker is an artist and the banner is just so neat!

The second blog I have added is Nuclear Grrl--Atomic Feminist.  The subheading is "Questioning the universe one neutron at a time." I have followed NuclearGrrl on Twitter for quite a while, but somehow missed the fact that she has a blog.  Her bio reads: The musings and opines of a wickedly assertive female nuclear engineer, Buckeye, afro queen, black mamba, feminist, clinic escort, and all around spectacular human being.  Her most recent post A Snowstorm and a Pilgrim  comments on the headlines written when the snowstorm took down the power grid and Pilgrim went off-line. As she notes: CBS Local got it right but AP wrote a doomsday headline.  (None of us is surprised by AP, are we?)

Musings:

I have been thinking about my blog roll.  What are my criteria for putting a blog on the blog roll?  I think I am beginning to see how I choose blogs.  They have to be one of two things:

-  Pro-nuclear power blogs, preferably referencing actual operating plants.
Or
-  Local New England news blogs, often referencing Vermont Yankee.

I just recently realized these are my criteria, though I didn't have an explicit statement about it before.

What about blogs that I don't include? I don't have blogs that are primarily about global warming or thorium reactors.  I believe that global warming is man-made, and I hope the thorium reactor is developed.  However, so far, I don't put blogs on these subjects on my blog roll.  This may change in the future.  Currently,  I use the criteria above.

My blog list has 26 blogs. Visit the blogs and have fun!

Carnival of Nuclear Energy plus New Blogger

Carnival

The 124th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is now posted at Atomic Power Review.

Once again, Will Davis starts the post with an opportunity to guess "what is this" about a picture from the nuclear past.   I thought I knew what this picture showed.  I was wrong.  Maybe you will do better.  Give it a try!

The Carnival contains a link to Gail Marcus of Nuke Power Talk discussing Japan's nuclear future (Marcus worked in Japan).  There are two posts on pro-nuclear activism: my post about Vermont and ANS Nuclear Cafe's Laura Scheele on Tennessee.

At Atomic Insights, Rod Adams asks why NRC commissioners chose to have a meeting with anti-nuclear groups, no pro-nuclear groups invited. (I commented on this post that it was Deja Vu All Over Again, since the NRC commissioner did the same thing in Vermont two years ago--met with the opponent groups only.)

Three excellent posts by Brian Wang of Next Big Future about world-wide good news on nuclear energy.  Art Wharton at ANS Nuclear Cafe encourages United States leadership  in nuclear energy--American leadership is a non-proliferation issue.

Come to the Carnival!

New Blogger for Nuclear Energy: Andrea Jenetta at I Dig U Mining

Those of us in the nuclear industry and nuclear blogosphere know Andrea Jennetta, the founder and publisher of Fuel Cycle Week (FCW).  As Jennetta describes FCW:  the only nuclear industry publication with a sense of humor, incisive analysis and discernible opinions.

Now Jennetta has started a new blog: I Dig U Mining.  This is a terrific blog, with short, pointed posts and great illustrations.  Here's a typical post:  What's In A Harmless Solar Panel Anyway?

Rod Adams has a very thoughtful post welcoming Jennetta's blog. Her blog will cover a neglected part of the nuclear story: uranium mining.  In the same post, Adams also welcomes Nuke Roadie's blog.  (I have an earlier post welcoming Roadie.) Both blogs are very welcome!

Welcome to New Blogs from Nuke Roadie and Milton Caplan Plus a Link to My Post At ANS Nuclear Cafe

Two Great New Blogs

Nuke Roadie: The first blog, Nuke Roadie, was started this month by Nuke Roadie.  Nuke Roadie is known to many of us in the nuclear blogosphere for his blog comments, Facebook page, and twitter feed @nukeroadie.  Nuke Roadie is a contract worker in the nuclear industry. (Yeah, you might have guessed that.) I have appreciated his excellent comments on my blog and other blogs.  I have been following him on FB and Twitter for years. I am delighted to see his new blog!  I have added it to the Yes Vermont Yankee blog roll.

MZConsulting Blog: The second blog, Milton Caplan MZConsulting Blog, is not a new blog.  I had just never encountered it before.  Milton Caplan commented on my blog post at ANS Nuclear Cafe.  This led me to check out his company's blog.  MZConsulting is a Canadian company, consulting in nuclear energy, and Mr. Caplan is chair of the World Nuclear Association Economics Working Group.  You can read a little more about Caplan here. As you could expect, these blog posts are thoughtful and authoritative. I have added this blog to my blog roll.

The Search for Nuclear Happiness at ANS Nuclear Cafe

On Tuesday, I posted at ANS Nuclear Cafe on my methods for seeking happiness while supporting nuclear energy.  The Search for Nuclear Happiness includes my favorite techniques to support both nuclear energy and my own personal satisfaction.  One technique involves brownies--- or actually, coffee-and-brownies.  Well, actually, it's not about the brownies, it's about getting together with other supporters! I believe supporters of nuclear energy have a Brownie Deficit, because we don't hang out enough together.  Nuclear opponents are constantly getting their groups together for this and for that.  Such meetings energize them.

Meetings with our pro-nuclear friends can energize us.

Eat brownies, enjoy your friends, and read pro-nuclear blogs!