Tag Archives: nuclear

Even a small nuclear war could cause 1+ billion deaths

Posted on August 24, 2020 by

Preface. Carl Sagan first introduced the idea of a “nuclear winter”, which helped to end the cold war.  The smoke from fires started by bombs would absorb so much sun the earth wold grow cold, dry, and dark, killing plants … Continue reading →

Posted in Extinction, Nuclear | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Nuclear powered airplanes, cars, and tanks

Posted on July 3, 2020 by

Preface. After all the research I’ve done on rebuildable, not renewable wind and solar, hydrogen, batteries, and other Green dreams of an endless future of growth based on them, I’ve come to see them as just as likely as nuclear … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Automobiles, Far Out, Nuclear Power | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The U.S. May Soon Have the World’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plants

Posted on June 18, 2020 by

Preface. This is nuts. Sea level rise threatens many nuclear power plants and drought has shut plants down since they need cooling to operate. As nuclear reactor age, they require more intensive monitoring and preventive maintenance to operate safely. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Power | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A nationwide blackout lasting 1 year could kill up to 90% Americans

Posted on April 11, 2020 by

Preface. What follows is the testimony of Dr. Pry at a 2015 U.S. House of Representatives session. I have cut, shortened, and rearranged the order of the 30 page original document.  The electric grid is coming down one way or … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, Congressional Record U.S., Electricity, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Policy, Extreme Weather, Infrastructure, Nuclear, Nuclear Power | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wind, solar, and natural gas are driving nuclear power out of business

Posted on February 28, 2020 by

Preface. I’m no fan of nuclear power because we may already be at peak uranium, there’s nowhere to store nuclear waste, and a spent nuclear pool fire could harm millions of people. But renewable wind and solar and natural gas … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Power, Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Decommissioning a nuclear reactor

Posted on June 26, 2019 by

Preface. Below are excerpts of articles about the costs and challenges of dismantling nuclear power plants in Europe. Other decommissioning news: 2018: Clearing the Radioactive Rubble Heap That Was Fukushima Daiichi, 7 Years On. The water is tainted, the wreckage … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear, Nuclear Waste | Tagged , | 1 Comment

New Yorker review of Eric Schlosser’s “Command and Control”

Posted on December 23, 2018 by

Preface.  This book has been on my reading list for several years now, but I have to admit I am lazy, lazy – the 656 pages is twice the length of most books.  And it would be hard to write … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear, Nuclear | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects”

Posted on November 13, 2018 by

Preface.  In my extract of the 178 pages in the book below, Smil explains why renewables can’t possibly replace fossil fuels, and appears to be exasperated that people believe this can be done when he writes “Common expectations of energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Nuclear Regulatory Commission accused of putting millions of lives and trillions of dollars at risk

Posted on August 2, 2017 by

[ Edwin Lyman and his co-authors in Science magazine have accused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of putting millions of American lives at risk, due to “pressure from the nuclear utilities and a Congress sympathetic to the utilities’ complaints of … Continue reading →

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The electromagnetic pulse EMP Threat: House of Representatives hearing 2005

Posted on March 10, 2017 by

[ Related articles: Russian hackers suspected in attack that blacked out parts of Ukraine How the weapon works (pdf): CRASHOVERRIDE Analyzing the Threat to Electric Grid Operations The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Nuclear spent fuel fire | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment