ANS Nuclear Cafe

September 12, 2011 marks the 114^th year since the birth of Irène Joliot-Curie, daughter of the powerhouse early nuclear researchers Marie Curie and Pierre Curie.

ANS President Eric Loewen speaking at press conference in Mumbai, India, 9/28/11

A high-powered nuclear energy delegation from the United States, led by American Nuclear Society President Eric Loewen, is visiting India this week to participate in the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Energy Safety Summit being held here on September 30.

Without much going on recently that hasn't been covered by other blog posts, I'd like to explore a topic not specifically tied to nuclear power or to activities currently going on in Washington, D.C. It involves an idea I have about a possible alternative means of having the electricity market account for the public health and environmental costs of various energy sources, and encouraging the development and use of cleaner sources (including nuclear) without requiring legislation. Given the failure of Congress to take action on global warming, as well as environmental issues in general, non-legislative approaches to accomplishing environmental goals may be necessary.

At 9 a.m. on September 12, the Entergy v. State of Vermont lawsuit began hearings, regarding the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, at the federal courthouse in Brattleboro, Vt.  In June,  Howard Shaffer and I had gone to Brattleboro to stand outside the courthouse on the morning of the injunction hearing.  At that time, the two of us provided a small pro-nuclear presence at an anti-nuclear rally organized by the Safe and Green Campaign.

The latest edition of the Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs is up at NEI Nuclear Notes

The Tennessee Valley Authority wants to build a new nuclear plant at its Bellefonte site in Alabama. Given last month's positive board meeting, it's a foregone conclusion that the Bellefonte plant will be resurrected from its living death as a parts plant for other TVA projects.

The American Nuclear Society's Public Education Program will be sponsoring a one-day teacher workshop on Saturday, October 29, in Washington, DC. The workshop-Detecting Radiation in Our Radioactive World-is intended for science educators (including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, physical science, life science, environmental, and general science teachers) at the high school and middle school levels. The workshop will be held prior to the ANS Winter Conference, October 30-November 3, 2011.

The French nuclear giant will get its chance to show what it can do with an American reactor

The 2011 Young Professionals Congress (YPC 2011) is coming, and the time to register is now! YPC 2011 is an embedded topical of the American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting in Washington, DC, October 30-November 3, 2011. YPC2011 is the fourth YPC, and the second to be held as an embedded topical in parallel with the ANS Winter Meeting.

The September issue of Nuclear News is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The issue contains a variety of features, including:

This post is the collective voice of the best pro-nuclear blogs in North America. If you want to hear the voice of the nuclear renaissance, the Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs is where to find it.

ANS President Eric Loewen on September 14 conducted a whirlwind one-day speaking tour in Idaho. While there, Loewen held a discussion/seminar with the Idaho State University ANS Student Section and presented at the dinner banquet of the 2011 Test, Research and Training Reactors (TRTR) Annual Conference, which was co-sponsored by the Idaho ANS Local Section.

Next stop, federal court!

Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be understood.  ~Marie Curie

Entergy, the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant (VY), has sued the state of Vermont in federal court. At the same time, VY is the subject of a suit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in which intervenors claim that VY does not have a discharge permit required by the Clean Water Act.

Authorities report one dead, four injured, one seriously. No radioactivity was released by the event

Last month, the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America's Nuclear Energy Future released its long-awaited full draft report to Secretary Chu, based upon the findings of each of its subcommittees. Several nuclear bloggers offered their thoughts on the draft summary of the BRC recommendations when they were posted back in May. Since that time, the release of the full draft report expands upon earlier BRC recommendations, which largely focused upon centralized interim storage for spent nuclear fuel until a new permanent geological repository can be sited.

The 69th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs is online now at Atomic Power Review.

As part of a Colorado speaking tour, American Nuclear Society President Eric Loewen visited the ANS student section at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) on Wednesday, August 24. More than 30 students and two faculty members attended his talk, and later that evening 17 students and two faculty members were among the attendees at the Colorado ANS local section meeting.

Have you ever heard the joke about the football player who was so ugly that, whenever he stepped onto the field, he was penalized 15 yards for illegal use of face? Okay, you probably haven't heard that one before, because I just made it up. The concept of ugliness, both in the abstract and as attributed to specific entities, has long inspired creativity; after all, it spurred me to develop that magnificent joke. (For you young folks out there, the term "illegal use of hands" used to be applied to something one shouldn't do in football, only in the last few years the terminology has changed, so . . . ahh, skip it.)