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Fukushima

Oct 25
Love5

Developing Nations are Going Nuclear – Will the West Follow or Fall Futher Behind?

By Energy Rant No Comments
Last week I provided an extensive analysis of how Chernobyl’s RBMK reactor design and the chain of reckless events led to its 1986 disaster. The study sets the stage to explain why that won’t happen with power plants in the United States. Let’s take a minute to examine why nuclear power is a good fit for our needs. Nuclear Power’s Plug into Our Grid Commercial nuclear power plants operate continuously at full power for 90-95% of the year. They require an average of three to four weeks a year for maintenance and refueling. One charge of nuclear fuel, about 3%…
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Oct 18
Love4

Safe Nuclear Power v Chernobyl

By Energy Rant No Comments
Green and climate change warriors – see how important nuclear power is to CO2 emissions in one chart, courtesy of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). The closure of two nuclear plants wiped out more than twice the carbon-free electricity generated by all renewables in the state. Why is nuclear power overlooked or not an option? I can think of three reasons: 1) it’s scary, and people don’t understand it; 2) it’s too expensive; 3) radioactive waste. Accidents and Disasters Reason #1, it’s scary, is due to prejudice and ignorance. There has only been one nuclear power plant disaster…
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Jul 07
Love0

Misunderstood Uranium – Boogeyman and Small Boxes

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 4 Comments
If we are to get serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we must put down the mud balls, enjoy some sacred-cow burgers, burn the little boxes in which we confine ourselves, and maybe have a little counseling about that boogeyman under the bed. This post first addresses the little boxes and may assuage fear of the boogeyman. A major step in the right direction is a rebirth of nuclear power as discussed in a recent post, The Nuclear Option. One thing is for sure, if you find yourself in any sort of reader comment and chat session, there is apparently…
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Aug 27
Love0

Denver – Get Out While You Can!

By Energy Rant No Comments
A year and a half ago, I ranted about the media’s nuclear ignorance and hype while covering the Fukushima tsunami and damage to the Daiichi reactor cores.  I always like to follow up on my rants with new news on the fallout, pun intended. Dr. Richard Muller of the UC Berzerkeley does a nice job of putting things in perspective in his recent article published in The Wall Street Journal.  He also saves me the pain of reeducating myself on radiation energy and cell damage.  The REM (Roentgen Equivalent Man – go ahead, dazzle your coworkers) is the unit of…
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Mar 23
Love0

No Brazil Syndrome

By Energy Rant, Uncategorized 3 Comments
AAAAAAAAHHHH!  Turn it off!  Turn it off!  Turn it off! Disclosure: I am not a nuclear physicist but I do have the equivalent of a MS degree in nuclear engineering from a classified (as in secret) U.S. nuclear laboratory. A week ago I was sitting here writing my blog in the aftermath of the Japanese devastation: Billions of dollars of damage, at least 10,000 fatalities, and parents finding their deceased children or elderly parents in smashed vehicles and destroyed buildings. What is the media absolutely obsessed with?  Why of course, something they know absolutely nothing about.  I have never seen…
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All things energy. That’s our jam.

We talk a lot about energy – from the serious to the satirical.

All things energy. That’s our jam.

We talk a lot about energy – from the serious to the satirical.

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