Carnival of Nuclear Energy 282

1. James Conca, Forbes, Should We Fear That Russian Nuclear Materials Are Being Smuggled To Terrorists?

FBI and Moldova have been thwarting Russian nuclear smugglers trying to sell radioactive and nuclear materials to terrorists. Four such sting operations have occurred in Moldova since 2010, with the smugglers trying to sell radioactive uranium and cesium for millions of dollars. But what is this material used for? Not nuclear weapons, but something called a Dirty Bomb, or radiation dispersal device. Our irrational fear of radiation makes a dirty bomb the ultimate weapon of terror. But a psychological weapon, not a nuclear weapon. The public should not be any more afraid of a dirty bomb than an ordinary car bomb.

2. Hiroshima Syndrome’s Fukushima Commentary – The News Media’s penchant for only reporting the nuclear-negative is a crime

The Press’ proclivity for accentuation of the nuclear negative, and elimination of the positive, is obvious. A prime example is the Fukushima child thyroid study. A questionable posting alleging a Fukushima child thyroid cancer epidemic hits the streets and gets widespread coverage. However, the factual information showing the kids in Fukushima have a lower rate of anomalies than the rest of Japan has never seen the light of day. The Press is committing a moral crime on the human race!

3. Atomic Insights – Atomic Show #245 – Building a prosperity program on used nuclear fuel foundation

Senator Sean Edwards, a Liberal Party Senator from South Australia, has sponsored the development of a solid prosperity plan guided by one of the basic principles of economic success — provide a product or service that solves a problem that is important enough for customers to be willing to pay dearly for a solution.

In this case, Edwards and his team — led by Ben Heard, a person who is no stranger to Atomic Insights participants — have decided that they should plan to offer a service to the world that effectively answers the frequently asked question, “What do you do with the [nuclear] waste.

Rod Adams, Sean Edwards and Ben Heard discussed the plan and its implications for both South Australia and the rest of the world.

4. Energy Northwest blog – Bringing together military veterans and the energy industry Post by Kelley Ferrantelli, Energy Northwest Human Resource

Ferrantelli explains the many ways that Energy Northwest reaches out to recruit veterans, and why hiring veterans is a win-win for the energy industry

5. Northwest Clean Energy – Public Power Week: Why we have reason to celebrate Post by George Caan, executive director of Washington Public Utility Districts

Caan describes the role of public power (consumer-owned utilities) in Washington State, where they deliver about two-thirds of the power used in the state. Washington Public Utility districts have the lowest electric rates in the nation. They provide their communities with inexpensive, clean, reliable energy, and help Washington State businesses thrive. Public Utility Districts also run very effective energy-efficiency programs. In Washington State, public power districts support their consumers, who are also…their owners.

6. Atomic Power Review – Westinghouse Announces Lead Cooled Fast Reactor Initiative

This week, Westinghouse executives held an exclusive conference only for nuclear bloggers. Only Atomic Power Review answered the invitation, and thus got an exclusive look at all the available data on Westinghouse’s bid to enter the GEN-IV reactor business by obtaining the next Department of Energy Funding Opportunity Allocation. See the link for complete details as well as Westinghouse’s own press release.

7. At Yes Vermont Yankee – Vermont Yankee closed: the consequences were completely predictable

The economic consequences of closing Vermont Yankee were completely predictable, and they were even predicted. In this post, Meredith Angwin reviews the economic predictions: Losses of hundreds of millions of dollars (per year) in the local communities. These predictions are now coming true. (She also points to a more detailed post that she wrote at the American Nuclear Society blog.) Also, did wind and solar take up the electricity loss? Well, no. This post ends with dramatic charts of the actual renewables on the Northeast grid: hydro, wood and refuse.

8. James Conca, Forbes – Bravo – Japan Restarts A Second Nuclear Reactor

Amid protests by local citizens and anti-nuclear groups, Japan restarted the second of its shuttered nuclear reactors today, just two months after restarting its first one. There were no problems during the restart. As more nuclear restarts occur Japan can begin ratcheting down its fossil fuel imports, ratcheting up its economy, and getting back to being the economic powerhouse like we all remember.