ANS Nuclear Cafe

I recently joined the latest social media phenomenon-"Pinterest"-after some good old-fashioned peer pressure from my pals. Basically it is an online scrapbook, where you can collect images from all over the Internet and organize or "pin" them under categories like "recipes to try" or "ideas for the garden" on your personal page. There is very little text and not much user-to-user interaction. You just browse thousands of images of party dresses, wedding ideas, art, or whatever you or other users have uploaded to the site. Essentially it's a whole lot of eye candy.

On March 21, 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a renewal of the operating license for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant for an additional 20 years. Vermont Yankee's original license would have expired on March 21, 2012, and its state-issued Certificate of Public Good does expire on that date. Most commentators agree that March 21 will not be the last day the plant operates, but the date does give opponents a focal point, and they are planning some kind of civil disobedience on that day. The question remains: Who are "they"?

Back in the playground-about half a century ago-I learned that it can be fun and frustrating to the bullies if you cheerfully accept the tags that they apply to you. Back then, I was called a four-eyed nerd; for some odd reason I had schoolmates who thought it was a bad thing to be the one who got straight A's and seemed to enjoy learning. The teasing did not bother me; it motivated me to read more good books and to strive to do even better in class.

The 86th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up

Congress trims funding while adding new priorities

Brown

Gilbert Brown, a professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a long-time member of the American Nuclear Society, has started a year-long fellowship at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C. The William C. Foster Fellows Visiting Scholars Program was established by Congress in 1983 and gives specialists in the physical sciences an opportunity to use their expertise in support of the arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament activities of the State Department.

A so-called scientific article issued on December 19 by Joseph Mangano and Janette Sherman purports that an estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan. The article, published in the International Journal of Health Services, is available by clicking here.

The 85th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up at:

What questions do young people have about nuclear power? Recently, Howard Shaffer and I had two opportunities to hear their questions for ourselves.

The 84th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up  Atomic Power Review

(With no apologies to Clement C. Moore, Henry Livingston, or the thousands who have already parodied the original)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted unanimously on December 22 in favor of publishing the final certification rule for Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design, instructing the agency's staff to forward the final rule, which amends Appendix D of 10 CFR Part 52, for publication in the Federal Register, expected by January 5.

An advanced reactor could be used to consume 112 tonnes of weapons grade material

Seems to be the season of controversy in Washington concerning nuclear issues and energy issues in general. First we had the whole Solyndra affair (discussed in my Nov. 28 post), and now we have an unprecedented-and highly politicized situation-concerning the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Sixty years ago on December 20, scientists and engineers in Arco, Idaho,

The December issue of Nuclear News magazine, which contains a special section on instrumentation and control, is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The special section contains the following stories:

ReActions is an information resource newsletter from the American Nuclear Society for teachers interested in the nuclear sciences. The new December issue highlights the upcoming National Nuclear Science Week (January 23-27) -along with online information sources for teachers using National Nuclear Science Week events to enhance classroom learning.

A continuing series from pro-nuclear blogs in North America

Bill Gates went to Beijing, but he didn't ink a deal, yet

In the past week, two exciting new art-based initiatives in the nuclear sector have come to my attention. I am thrilled about both and want to share them with my fellow American Nuclear Society members.