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☆ The American public isn't against the use of nuclear energy, professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe American public isn't against the use of nuclear energy, professor saysWarren Miller, professor of practice at Texas A&M University's department of nuclear engineering, formerly assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, says "something like 55% of the public is pro-nuclear."

Persons: Warren Miller Organizations: Texas, U.S . Department of Energy

☆ UN Secretary General embraces calls for a new UN agency on AI in the face of ‘potentially catastrophic and existential risks’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The UN has an opportunity to set globally agreed-upon rules of the road for monitoring and regulating AI, Guterres said Tuesday at a first-ever meeting of the UN Security Council devoted to AI governance. Its creators themselves have warned that much bigger, potentially catastrophic and existential risks lie ahead. “China firmly opposes these behaviors.”Zhang’s remarks come on the heels of reports that the US government may seek to limit the flow of powerful artificial intelligence chips to China. Addressing the security council via teleconference, Jack Clark, the co-founder of the AI company Anthropic, urged member states not to allow private companies to dominate the development of artificial intelligence. “We cannot leave the development of artificial intelligence solely to private sector actors,” Clark said.

Persons: António Guterres, Guterres, ”, James, Zhang Jun, ” Zhang, Zhang’s, Jack Clark, ” Clark Organizations: CNN, United, UN, Council, ”, Tech Locations: United Nations, China, United States, teleconference

☆ What to know about nuclear power in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Those developments, which might give anyone pause about the future of nuclear power, are counteracted by other headlines. The question of nuclear energy splits governmentsGermany made the decision to decommission all of its nuclear plants after disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Nuclear power in the USAs of 2022, about 18% of US electricity is generated by nuclear power, according to the US Energy Information Administration. First, be very carefulI talked to one nuclear expert who said the US should be slow and methodical about nuclear power and another who argued there are multiple, public misperceptions about nuclear power that should be corrected. The more circumspect voice is Rodney Ewing, a Stanford University professor and expert on nuclear waste who was chairman of a federal review of nuclear waste procedures.

Persons: CNN’s Clare Sebastian, Larry, Joe Biden, Rodney Ewing, ”, I’ve, ” Ewing, “, David Ruzic –, Ruzic, we’ve, ” Ruzic, “ It’s, it’s, Ewing Organizations: CNN, International Atomic Energy Agency, US Energy Information Administration, FirstEnergy Corp, Department of Energy, Stanford University, Bulletin, Atomic Scientists, University of Illinois, Lawmakers Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe’s, Japan, Georgia, Germany, Fukushima, France, CNN’s, China, Tennessee, California, Illinois

The Islamic Republic is now simultaneously holding talks with the European Union and the United States. Last week, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani met European Union mediator Enrique Mora in the Qatari capital Doha in an effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. It takes place as Iran’s nuclear program advances beyond the requirements of nuclear energy and toward those of a bomb. The Islamic Republic faces parliamentary elections next year, and any easing of Western sanctions could give its rulers a boost in the polls. They had lamented being left out of the talks with Iran when world powers struck a deal with the Islamic Republic in 2015, but are now actively facilitating the dialogue.

Persons: Ali Bagheri, Kani, Enrique Mora, “ we’re, ”, Sanam Vakil, Ali Khamenei, Matthew Miller, Donald Trump’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Naysan Rafati, ” Vakil, Biden Organizations: UAE CNN, European Union, Qatari, Doha, CNN, US, Islamic, North Africa, Chatham House, Group, Russia Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Iran, Russia, Republic, United States, Union, EU, Tehran, Ukraine, Islamic Republic, “, Washington, London, Iraq, Arab, Qatar, Oman, Israel, ”, Korea, US

☆ EU to try again for renewable energy deal after nuclear row
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Reuters) - European Union countries will try again next week to pass a deal on new renewable energy targets, which have been stalled by concerns from France and other states that the law sidelines nuclear energy. Paris has sought changes to the law to offer more favourable treatment of nuclear energy, and said the final deal puts at a disadvantage countries like France with large shares of nuclear power. Nuclear energy is low-carbon, but not renewable. The EU law is designed to drive a rapid expansion of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Meanwhile, states including Germany and Luxembourg - both anti-nuclear countries - plus Denmark and Ireland have urged the EU to resolve the spat quickly, warning the delay endangers investments in renewable energy.

Persons: Paris, Bruno Le Maire, Kate Abnett, Dominique Vidalon, Frances Kerry Organizations: Union, EU, European Commission, French Finance, France, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, France, EU, Paris, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland

☆ Bank of America says there's a bull market underway in Uranium and names an ETF to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

There should be a shortage of uranium through 2035, according to Jared Woodard, investment and ETF strategist at Bank of America. At the same time, demand is for uranium — which is a form of nuclear energy — is growing and the "third bull market" could be here. There's also better risk-adjusted returns compared with other commodities and stocks, he said, even if a bull market is just starting. Woodard added that uranium exposure can help diversify a portfolio given its low correlation to other markets markets. Woodard also noted the ETF has the highest number of energy, materials and industrial holdings in North America and Europe.

☆ Oliver Stone says you should be more worried about the climate crisis than the risks of using nuclear power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Oscar-wining director Oliver Stone released a documentary calling for more use of nuclear power. And nuclear power kills far fewer people than fossil fuels — the main cause of the climate crisis — in terms of air pollution and accidents. These events distorted the safety risks of nuclear energy, Stone argues, noting that beyond the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, few people have died from nuclear accidents. Stone told Insider he didn't know that Ralph Nader, who famously campaigned against nuclear power plants, described the documentary as a "propaganda boomerang." "I'd rather not," Stone told Insider.

☆ Russia says high waters threaten dam near Ukrainian nuclear plant - Tass
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official told Tass agency on Thursday. "This (would create) functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety," he told Tass. Last November, after Russian forces withdrew from the nearby southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, satellite imagery showed significant new damage to the dam. Russian troops took over the plant as they invaded parts of Ukraine last year. It is at the centre of a nuclear security crisis due to near-constant shelling in its vicinity which Kyiv and Moscow blame on each other.

☆ The UK and Germany have very different ideas about the future of nuclear energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Joumanna Bercetche | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As the price of oil increased, energy independence became a priority, and Germany started commissioning more nuclear reactors. It took the nuclear disasters in Chernobyl in 1986, which was then part of the Soviet Union, and Fukushima, Japan, in 2011 to shift German public opinion against nuclear energy. Germany's decision to end its reliance on nuclear energy made it reliant on Russian pipeline gas. The UK's first nuclear power station was built in the 1950s, but it was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who, in the 1980s, proposed constructing a nuclear power station every year for a decade as part of the country's industrial strategy. A study by market research firm YouGov in 2022 showed that almost half of Britons back the use of nuclear energy, compared with 31% who are opposed.

☆ Oliver Stone's new movie makes the case nuclear power is the obvious solution to climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oliver Stone's new movie, "Nuclear Now," makes an impassioned case that nuclear energy is a necessary and obvious solution to climate change. People ought to be more afraid of climate change than nuclear energy, the movie argues. He started reading about climate change, including a review of the book "A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow" by Joshua S. Goldstein and Staffan A. Qvist. "This is a simple, practical, understandable argument for how to solve climate change from nuclear energy," Stone told CNBC on Friday. In the movie, Stone presents a case that the beneficial potential of nuclear energy has not been reached because society conflated its collective fear of nuclear bombs with nuclear energy.

☆ Opinion: Nuclear power is a vital part of climate change solution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Opinion Don Lincoln | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Last week, Germany closed its last three nuclear power plants, becoming nuclear free for the first time in 62 years. Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, many countries began phasing out nuclear power plants, citing issues of nuclear safety and long-term storage of nuclear waste. Would not generating that power from carbon-free nuclear power plants be preferable? In the US, the regulatory process involved in building a nuclear power plant is slow and obstructive. In addition, modern nuclear power plant designs generate less waste than earlier designs and further improvements should be pursued.

☆ Japan nuclear disaster: Fukushima's fishing industry fears Tokyo's next move may finish it off
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emiko Jozuka Krystina Shveda Junko Ogura Marc Stewart Daniel Campisi | Emiko Jozuka | Krystina Shveda | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Ocean currents have since dispersed the contaminated water enough that radioactive Cesium is nearly undetectable in fish from Fukushima prefecture. A year before the 2011 disaster, government data shows Fukushima’s coastal fishing industry landed catches worth around $69 million. At the same time, ground and rainwater have leaked in, creating more radioactive wastewater that now needs to be stored and treated. This isotope is radioactive tritium, and the scientific community is divided on the risk its dissemination carries. He argues TEPCO should build more storage tanks to allow for the decay of the radioactive tritium, which has a half-life of 12.3 years.

CNN —The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month. The Energy Department warned Rosatom in the letter that it is “unlawful” for any Russian citizens or entities to handle the US technology. The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration told CNN in a statement that the letter is authentic. “The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration can confirm that the letter is legitimate,” said Shayela Hassan, the deputy director of public affairs for the National Nuclear Security Administration. She added: “The Secretary of Energy has the statutory responsibility for authorizing the transfer of unclassified civilian nuclear technology and assistance to foreign atomic energy activities.

☆ Germany has shut down its last three nuclear power plants, and some climate scientists are aghast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

16 April 2023, Baden-Württemberg, Neckarwestheim: The Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant. The era of commercial power generation with nuclear power plants in Germany came to an end on Saturday with the separation of the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim and Emsland nuclear power plants from the power grid. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesAs of Sunday, April 16, Germany is no longer producing any electricity from nuclear power plants. With the separation of the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim and Emsland nuclear power plants from the power grid, the era of commercial power generation with nuclear power plants in Germany came to an end on Saturday. Nuclear energy is also often more expensive than wind and solar power, Quaschning said, adding, "there are no longer any real advantages with nuclear energy."

☆ Germany Quits Nuclear Power, Ending a Decades-Long Struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Melissa Eddy | Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It began as a movement of pacifists chaining themselves to fences outside nuclear power plants. Germany’s three remaining reactors will be shut down by Saturday — ending nuclear power generation in Europe’s largest economy. Britain, Finland and France are doubling down on nuclear energy as a source of reliable electricity and extremely low carbon emissions. Last year, Poland signed with Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear power plant, some 200 miles east of the German border. In the United States, the Biden administration is backing technology to build a new generation of smaller nuclear reactors as a tool of “mass decarbonization.”

☆ Uranium is having a 'renaissance.' What to know about it, and how to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But despite the strong outlook for the commodity price, stocks and funds related to the commodity have not risen in lock step. The Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM) and Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SRUFF) are down about 7% and 4% so far this year, underperforming the broad S & P 500 , which has gained 6.5% . He said the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust is a smart play because it has the best risk-to-reward ratio in his eyes and has the benefit of holding actual uranium as opposed to just mining stocks. The company also manages the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF, which Huhn said has a larger emphasis on the mining stocks than the commodity price. Zuri-Invest's option is unique because it has a shorter settlement time and can be redeemed for either money or physical uranium, Huhn said.

☆ Fact Check-Twitter account of former U.S. Department of Energy employee Sam Brinton not suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Brinton, who held a deputy assistant secretary position at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, does not have a suspended Twitter account. A tweet said “RIP” alongside a screenshot of a suspended account for the Twitter handle @SamBrinton (here). However, the real Twitter account for Brinton is @sbrinton (twitter.com/sbrinton) and was not suspended at the time of writing, while the account under @SamBrinton is indeed suspended (twitter.com/sambrinton). Reuters was unable to verify what the @SamBrinton account said or looked like, as no screenshots are viewable on web archive (here). The screenshots of a suspended Twitter account are not of Sam Brinton’s real account handle.

☆ U.S. State Department sanctions target Russian cabinet ministers, nuclear arms firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by sanctioning more than 60 top Russian officials, including cabinent ministers and regional leaders, and three enterprises that run the country's nuclear weapons program. The department said it also was imposing sanctions on scores of other Russian officials and entities and Russians involved in the theft of grain from Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Ukranian civilians and troops have died in the war ignited by Russia's invasion, millions have been driven from their homes and villages, towns and cities destroyed. All of those sanctioned were being targeted under an executive order authorizing "sanctions with respect to specified harmful foreign activities" of the Russian government, the department said. Under the sanctions, any U.S. property owned by those designated or controlled on their behalves by a U.S. citizen are blocked.

The debate - which focuses on hydrogen produced from nuclear or renewable energy - has already delayed negotiations on new EU renewable energy targets and threatened a multi-billion-euro hydrogen pipeline. Some EU officials fear it could spill into other green energy policies, potentially delaying laws needed to meet EU climate targets. "There are outstanding obstacles, but they will be resolved," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said of the climate conclusions on Monday, without specifying what the obstacles were. A draft of the conclusions, seen by Reuters, said: "EU energy diplomacy will promote the increasing uptake and system integration of renewable energy, hydrogen and its derivatives." They says they acknowledge nuclear's low-carbon contribution, but that it should not be put on a level footing with renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

☆ Oliver Stone's new film puts nuclear energy in the spotlight. These stocks are ready to hop on the trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In his latest documentary "Nuclear Now," Stone argues for the use of nuclear energy as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. "We had the solution [nuclear power] … and the environmental movement, to be honest, just derailed it. For investors, the film adds to growing interest in nuclear power as a fossil fuel alternative beyond renewables. These funds invest in a variety of stocks tied to nuclear power throughout the value chain. Other global nuclear energy ETFs such as Sprott Uranium Miners (URNM) and the VanEck Uranium+Nuclear Energy (NLR) have gained more than 13% and 4% in 2023, respectively.

☆ Nuclear energy could support the energy transition, says Delta Clean Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNuclear energy could support the energy transition, says Delta Clean TechJeff Allison, president of Canada's Delta Clean Tech, discusses the role of nuclear energy in solving the global energy crisis and amid the energy transition.

☆ Utility company executives acquitted of negligence in Fukushima nuclear disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power plant after a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 14, 2011 in Futaba, Japan. DigitalGlobe | Getty ImagesA Japanese court on Wednesday found three former utility company executives not guilty of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and the subsequent deaths of more than 40 elderly residents during their forced evacuation. watch nowThe acquittal disappointed and angered dozens of Fukushima residents and their supporters who attended the ruling or rallied outside the court. It's so irresponsible," said Yuichi Kaido, a lawyer representing the Fukushima residents. The Supreme Court in June, however, said the disaster was unforeseeable and dismissed compensation demands by thousands of residents.

☆ Pakistan says it has provided list of nuclear facilities to India under annual practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan said it had handed a list of its nuclear installations and facilities to the Indian mission in Islamabad on Sunday under a decades-old agreement between the two nuclear-armed rivals. It said lists are exchanged annually on Jan 1 and that India had simultaneously handed over a list to the Pakistani mission in New Delhi. Pakistan first officially tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and has since developed a significant stockpile of nuclear capable missiles, as has India. The list included 705 Indian prisoners detained in Pakistan, including 51 civilians and 654 fishermen, the statement said. It added that the Indian government also shared with the Pakistani mission in New Delhi a list of 434 Pakistani prisoners in India, including 339 civilians and 95 fishermen.

☆ Japan turns back to nuclear power to tackle energy crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan confirmed a major nuclear power policy shift on Friday to tackle an energy crisis more than a decade after the 2011 Fukushima disaster prompted it to idle most of its reactors. Public opinion has been hostile towards nuclear energy since a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, but the mood has shifted due to soaring energy costs amid the prolonged war in Ukraine and repeated power crunches in both summer and winter. Quake-prone Japan, which previously said it had no plans to build new reactors, will now seek to replace decomissioned ones and extend the lifespan of others, the industry ministry said. Under a strategic energy plan approved by the Cabinet last year, Japan aimed to reduce its dependence on nuclear power as much as possible. Further details will be discussed in parliament next year, an official at the industry ministry said.

☆ Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Scientists generate more power than used to create reaction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Fusion is the way that the sun makes power, but recreating a useful fusion reaction here on earth has eluded scientists for decades. The National Ignition Facility target chamber at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is where scientists shoot lasers and watch and measure what happens when those lasers collide on a fuel source. Reaching ignition means the fusion experiment produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy that used to drive the reaction. "For the first time on Earth, scientists have confirmed a fusion energy experiment released more power than it takes to initiate, proving the physical basis for fusion energy. But it's proven extremely challenging to sustain a fusion reaction here on earth, and scientists have been trying for decades.

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