Following a statement by the World Health Organization on the low predictive rate for cancer in Fukushima, Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted Thursday pledging his goal to restart Japan’s inactive nuclear power plants. This move, together with a renewed push to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), shows Abe’s …
“What is radiation?” That simple, three-word question largely embodies the concerns that many Americans have about nuclear power. The answer can be just as complicated as one wants to make it. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, radiation is “energy radiated in the form of waves or particles.” Jim Hopson puts it …
While nuclear energy is unique, uranium, its primary fuel, occurs naturally within the earth much like other, better understood energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. In each case, extracting the fuel is an essential first step in the production of power. Despite the similarities, uranium mining can …
Nuclear power plants produce almost 80 percent of the emission-free energy in the nation, and cooling towers—though often misunderstood—are an essential part of what makes that possible. Despite their being perfectly safe and far removed from anything radioactive, for many people cooling towers conjure up images of toxic waste, environmental …
Last week, President Barack Obama announced that he would nominate Dr. Allison Macfarlane, a nuclear waste expert from George Mason University, as the United States’ top nuclear regulator. Conventional wisdom is that Dr. Macfarlane satisfies all the major political interests involved with the NRC decision. She is a vocal opponent …
Two major financial news publications, the Economist and The Wall Street Journal, published major articles in the past week arguing that the American nuclear renaissance has ended before it ever really began. While the articles differ slightly in their presentation, the basic common thread is that new nuclear power cannot …
