Saturday, April 23, 2016

A Ukrainian nuclear power plant and the containment of a disaster | euronews, insiders

Japan's construction plans for new coal-fired power stations | Daily Mail Online

China Nuclear Power Sector Opportunity Analysis - Committed to Cutting Down Carbon Emissions - Research and Markets - Yahoo Finance UK

EDITORIAL: 40-year rule for nuclear reactors on verge of being a dead letter：The Asahi Shimbun

How Do Nuclear Power Plants Affect Local Economies? | The Daily Caller

Chernobyl’s 30th Anniversary (and Fukushima’s 5th): A Tale of Preventable Nuclear Accidents and the Vital Role of Safety Culture

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/najmedin-meshkati/chernobyls-30th-anniversary_b_9755658.html

U.S. and Saudi Arabia, trapped in a bad marriage - CNN.com

Ian Fairlie Spouts Tritium FUD

http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-fud/ian-fairlie-spouts-tritium-fud.html

Unearthing America's Deep Network of Climate Change Deniers

A new study attempts the first tally of those driving the peculiarly American strain of climate change denial.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-30/unearthing-america-s-deep-network-of-climate-change-deniers

Will the Upheaval in Fossil Fuel Industry Take the Rest of the Economy Down With It?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/04/will-the-upheaval-in-fossil-fuel-industry-take-the-rest-of-the-economy-down-with-it.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

EDF delays £18bn Hinkley Point investment decision

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fc1c57ce-08bc-11e6-a623-b84d06a39ec2.html#axzz46efatSO1

French Government to Lead $4.49 Billion Capital Increase for Power Utility EDF

Cash injection to help state-controlled company finance projects deemed political priorities

http://www.wsj.com/articles/french-power-utility-edf-to-raise-4-billion-in-new-shares-to-finance-projects-1461352100

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: Putting Indian Point Hysteria in Perspective

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-kremer/lies-damned-lies-and-stat_3_b_9672018.html

Why This Impending Bailout For Ohio Coal Plants Is Bad News For America

By Environmental Defense Fund Energy Exchange Blog, Friday, April 22, 2016 10:00 AM

American Electric Power's (AEP) Mountain

Wait – Ohio utility regulators did what? The $6-billion bailout of uneconomical coal and nuclear plants is bad enough. But the decision by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to let two power companies saddle ratepayers with their bad debt also sets a dangerous precedent that could have ramifications for consumers in other states. This… Keep reading →http://breakingenergy.com/2016/04/22/why-this-impending-bailout-for-ohio-coal-plants-is-bad-news-for-america/?utm_campaign=Breaking+Energy+Daily+Digest&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28819859&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-857DwZ4xpauKuM7_aW9YynCdWghyKGvC6FN_LqMcMKjcCJswl6bgim1F177_zNCEB1woaQFJ6uOgFsmJEhRSJ1ZbdsGA&_hsmi=28819859

Energy, Infrastructure And Shared Goals For Progress

By Energy Tomorrow Blog, Friday, April 22, 2016 2:00 PM

Battle Looms For Coastal Wetland In Southern California

Americans in the building construction trades know the importance of new energy infrastructure. Building things is what they do. In recent years they’ve recognized the value of partnering with the oil and natural gas industry on infrastructure projects to deliver energy, create jobs and boost the economy – all benefits of America’s ongoing energy revolution.… Keep reading →http://breakingenergy.com/2016/04/22/energy-infrastructure-and-shared-goals-for-progress/?utm_campaign=Breaking+Energy+Daily+Digest&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28819859&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9EmHjjh92Mp5GsFjnNpxHjTAOWvstgtxvMW47kfHgPKh-oPybFHjfoZXKykQA_dklMWHQuZttJoYThDusm9iovk3pqew&_hsmi=28819859

Interior Releases Final Rule For Blowout Prevention Systems And Well Control In Offshore Drilling Operations

By Kayla Byers, Bonnie Heiple, Mark Kalpin | WilmerHale, Friday, April 22, 2016 4:00 PM

Fracking In California Under Spotlight As Some Local Municipalities Issue Bans

On April 14, 2016, the Department of the Interior (DOI), through the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), released a final rule establishing requirements for certain offshore oil and gas drilling. http://breakingenergy.com/2016/04/22/interior-releases-final-rule-for-blowout-prevention-systems-and-well-control-in-offshore-drilling-operations/?utm_campaign=Breaking+Energy+Daily+Digest&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28819859&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8RccCxc5ZWek8yAnvDeF1uVryJfWdcohq-U0_eZJUA9KFJ_rpBxnSwuKL-tNMjYHiAUfpSOxYVPkHC_df4IX4449jGdw&_hsmi=28819859

Share A Bright Future for Solar Power in the Middle East

A Bright Future for Solar Power in the Middle East

https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/bright-future-solar-power-middle-east?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SaturdaysendLLSolar4232016&utm_content=topimage&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-875Yp6KFWtVtrPyeENOQ0p8gJyCSEoZo8E6a5omuN2a9CKEKw0k-nre0rqyCNadRuGzk5h_ZwaiqqSW7XmvYY6stRziA&_hsmi=28813316&hsCtaTracking=5057f92f-dd4b-4469-8316-5e5f8c4f6389|adea72ad-c0d6-42d4-8f41-c7f036231679

MIT Technology Review Weekend Reads: Earth Day

April 23, 2016

Weekend Reads:
Earth Day

Friday was Earth Day, but here at MIT Technology Review, we honor the planet year-round with in-depth coverage of the technologies developed to combat climate change. Here we present some of the highlights of that coverage over the past few years. You can read our latest by visiting the energy section of our website.

Stop Emissions!
During last year’s Paris Climate Conference, a climate scientist argued in our pages that even great advancements in renewable energy won’t be enough to solve climate change. We need a “massive deployment of affordable and dependable near-zero-emission energy.”

Hot and Violent
In a comprehensive review of three publications on climate change last year, we looked at the potential for changing temperatures to lead to economic upheaval and a more violent world.

Dear Mr. President: Time to Deal with Climate Change
In 2013, we pleaded with President Obama to take political risks on climate change during his final four years on office.

It’s Not Too Late
That’s what we said on a 2006 cover of MIT Technology Review. Read the entire package of stories to determine if we can still say that.

Climate Change: The Moral Choices
In 2013 we wrote about what ethicists were asking: What are our responsibilities and duties today to help safeguard the distant future?

Catastrophic' Leak Found in Nuclear Waste Tank at Washington State Storage Site

https://weather.com/news/news/nuclear-waste-leak-hanford-washington

Friday, April 22, 2016

As Paris Deal Is Signed, Gulf Coast Residents Demand End to Drilling -- Entirely

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35758-as-paris-deal-is-signed-gulf-coast-residents-demand-end-to-drilling-entirely

Bangladesh in final stages of preparations to build first nuclear power plant in Rooppur - bdnews24.com

Safety fears surround the world’s oldest atomic power plant | euronews, insiders

Moniz: Cities Playing Important Role in Low-Carbon Future - Bloomberg

Florida court reverses governor's approval of FPL's 2 proposed nuclear units | Utility Dive

NRC Considering Friends of the Earth's Petition About Diablo Canyon -- Occupational Health & Safety

NRC Considering Friends of the Earth's Petition About Diablo Canyon -- Occupational Health & Safety

By way of a notice published in the April 20 Federal Register, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has decided to accept Friends of the Earth's Petition to Intervene and Request for Hearing for consideration. FOE filed it Aug. 26, 2014, stating its concerns about the Diablo Canyon Power Plant's operational safety and its ability to safely shut down in the event of a nearby earthquake. (Diablo Canyon has been a prominent concern of the environmental organization since its founding in 1969.)

Senate energy bill has nuclear research provisions | Post Register

TVA eyes future of mothballed nuclear plant | Times Free Press

Massive nuclear plant plan near Everglades delayed by court | WINK NEWS

NUCLEAR: Advanced reactor bill raises 'red flags'

NUCLEAR:

Advanced reactor bill raises 'red flags'

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060036081

Peach Bottom must upgrade safety equipment, NRC says

http://www.ydr.com/story/news/2016/04/21/nrc-peach-bottom-must-fix-nuclear-fuel-pool/83344280/

China may deploy floating nuclear power stations in South China Sea: report

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/22/asia-pacific/china-may-deploy-floating-nuclear-power-stations-south-china-sea-report/#.Vxp07HCGhRk

Hillary the Hawk « LobeLog

How safe is nuclear power? A statistical study suggests less than expected

How safe is nuclear power? A statistical study suggests less than expected - See more at: http://thebulletin.org/2016/march/how-safe-nuclear-power-statistical-study-suggests-less-expected9246#sthash.2LpYnbZ3.dpuf

http://thebulletin.org/2016/march/how-safe-nuclear-power-statistical-study-suggests-less-expected9246

The climate change generation

http://thebulletin.org/climate-change-generation-gap9351

Earth Day 2016 Bureau of Atomic Scientists

http://thebulletin.org/sites/default/files/2016%20doomsday%20clock%20statement%20-%20final[5].pdf

OECD agency eyes new global standards on radioactive content in food

http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=659

ANS Nuclear Cafe Update: 4/22

Updates from ANS Nuclear Cafe Blog

Nuclear Energy for Earth Day

By ansnuclearcafe on Apr 22, 2016 01:27 am

by Beth Piper When Earth Day rolls around on April 22, it marks an opportunity for us to consider our relationship to the natural world, and how we can improve Continue Reading →
Read in browser »

Japan Seeks to Defuse Quake Fears

By ansnuclearcafe on Apr 19, 2016 09:13 am

Two significant earthquakes have struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Western Japan within a week, and the Japanese nuclear plant owners and their regulator (the Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA) have responded Continue Reading →
Read in browser »

Nuclear Energy Blog Carnival 305

By ansnuclearcafe on Apr 18, 2016 03:10 pm

The 305th edition of the Nuclear Energy Blog Carnival has posted at The Hiroshima Syndrome. • Click here to access Carnival 305. Each week, a new edition of the Carnival is hosted Continue Reading →
Read in browser »

Nuclear Energy for Puerto Rico

By ansnuclearcafe on Apr 14, 2016 09:39 am

By Will Davis Among the many different reactor concepts being investigated in the late 1950s and early 1960s was the idea that the steam produced by a boiling water reactor, Continue Reading →
Read in browser »

Presidential Candidates’ Views on Energy Policy

By ansnuclearcafe on Apr 13, 2016 12:33 pm

by Jim Hopf As we head into the final months of primary voting, I have briefly summarized the positions of the remaining presidential candidates on energy issues, and their potential Continue Reading →
Read in browser »

ANS Friday Nuclear Matinee – April 8, 2016

By ansnuclearcafe on Apr 08, 2016 11:45 am

Our Friday Matinee this week looks at China’s Shidao Bay nuclear plant. This plant, widely touted as a Gen-IV design, is a bit unusual in that it employs two HTGR’s Continue Reading →
Read in browser »

The Clean Energy Revolution

Fighting Climate Change With Innovation

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-04-18/clean-energy-revolution?cid=nlc-twofa-20160421&sp_mid=51206850&sp_rid=bWljaGVsZXRrZWFybmV5QGdtYWlsLmNvbQS2&spMailingID=51206850&spUserID=NTA0ODY0NjAzNjcS1&spJobID=902704124&spReportId=OTAyNzA0MTI0S0

Renewable energy versus nuclear: dispelling the myths

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2987577/renewable_energy_versus_nuclear_dispelling_the_myths.html

Upgrade on Hanoi Radiation Centre inaugurated

http://en.vietnamplus.vn/upgrade-on-hanoi-radiation-centre-inaugurated/92216.vnp

BWX Technologies to Help NNSA Convert Enriched Uranium to Fuel; Peyton Baker Comments

http://blog.executivebiz.com/2016/04/bwx-technologies-to-help-nnsa-convert-enriched-uranium-to-fuel-peyton-baker-comments/

South China SeaChina could build nuclear plants for region

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the company in charge of designing and building the platforms, is "pushing forward the work", said Liu Zhengguo, the head of its general office.

http://pulse.ng/world/south-china-sea-china-could-build-nuclear-plants-for-region-id4948446.html

Could Floating Nuclear Power Stations Bring New Opportunities for Offshore Mooring Systems Market?

http://pressreleaseping.com/could-floating-nuclear-power-stations-bring-new-opportunities-offshore-mooring-systems-market

Concrete Dome Completed on Barakah Nuclear Unit 2 Project

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2016/04/concrete-dome-completed-on-barakah-nuclear-unit-2-project.html?cmpid=enl-poe-weekly-april-22-2016&cmpid=enl_PE_Weekly_2016-04-22&eid=288118515&bid=1383453

PSEG Power Plant Expansion to Use GE/Alstom Equipment

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2016/04/pseg-power-plant-expansion-to-use-ge-alstom-equipment.html?cmpid=enl-poe-weekly-april-22-2016&cmpid=enl_PE_Weekly_2016-04-22&eid=288118515&bid=1383453

Supreme Court Finds Maryland Power Generation Law Preempted by FERC Jurisdiction

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2016/04/supreme-court-finds-maryland-generation-law-preempted-by-ferc-jurisdiction.html?cmpid=enl-poe-weekly-april-22-2016&cmpid=enl_PE_Weekly_2016-04-22&eid=288118515&bid=1383453

Renewable Energy Developer SunEdison Files for Chapt. 11 Bankruptcy

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2016/04/renewable-energy-developer-sunedison-files-for-chapt-11-bankruptcy.html?cmpid=enl-poe-weekly-april-22-2016&cmpid=enl_PE_Weekly_2016-04-22&eid=288118515&bid=1383453

Supreme Court Hands FERC Win On Authority Over Capacity Markets

http://breakingenergy.com/2016/04/21/supreme-court-hands-ferc-win-on-authority-over-capacity-markets/?utm_campaign=Breaking+Energy+Daily+Digest&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28777990&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8cBaQMs1L7UI-vD4w1xrPOdNlKyzksMxwYelG-pem7g-vT9oAypnHW1QWzxGMWeG-h57YQUPBYhpB4LbmF7z11wMzBKQ&_hsmi=28777990

Buying Clean Electricity

By U.S. Department of Energy on April 21, 2016 at 5:00 PM

New Combined Electricity Project Connect Spain and France

The electricity industry is changing. At least 50% of customers have the option to purchase renewable electricity directly from their power supplier, and everyone has the option of purchasing renewable energy certificates. Such power is sometimes referred to as “green power” or “clean power.”
In most states, you can buy clean power through one or more of the following programs:

GREEN PRICING

Some power companies provide an optional service, called green pricing, that allows customers to pay a small premium in exchange for electricity generated from clean, renewable (“green”) energy sources. The premium covers the increased costs incurred by the power provider (i.e., electric utility) when adding renewable energy to its power generation mix.

COMPETITIVE ELECTRICITY MARKETS

In some parts of the country, you can choose not only how your electricity is generated, but also who generates it.
Just as the long-distance telephone industry was restructured, certain states have restructured their electricity industry in order to allow competition among electricity generators. In some of these states, clean power generators, who specialize in producing electricity using renewable sources, are taking advantage of the restructured market to sell clean power products to residential, commercial, and wholesale customers. Some default suppliers are also teaming with these competitive marketers to offer more green power options.
Efforts to sell clean power are aimed at consumers who will choose to pay slightly more for renewable energy products and services that reflect their environmental values. The small premium you pay offsets the additional costs power companies incur in purchasing and/or generating electricity from renewable sources.

GREEN CERTIFICATES

Buying green certificates allows you to contribute to the generation of clean, renewable power even if you can’t buy clean power from your power provider (i.e., electric utility) or from a clean power generator on the competitive market.
An increasing number of clean power generators are now separating the power that they sell to power providers from the environmental attributes associated with that power. These environmental attributes, called green certificates (also known as “green tags,” “renewable energy certificates,” or “tradable renewable certificates”), are then sold to companies and individuals who want to help increase the amount of clean power entering our nation’s electricity supply.
By separating the environmental attributes from the power, clean power generators are able to sell the electricity they produce to power providers at a competitive market value. The additional revenue generated by the sale of the green certificates covers the above-market costs associated with producing power made from renewable energy sources. This extra revenue also encourages the development of additional renewable energy projects.
Several organizations offer green energy or renewable energy certificates that can be purchased separate from your current electricity service.

Topics: @DOEFeatured, Clean Energy Finance, Clean Energy Technologies, Energy Bills, Green Certificates, Green Tags, U.S. Department of Energy

http://breakingenergy.com/2016/04/21/buying-clean-electricity-2/?utm_campaign=Breaking+Energy+Daily+Digest&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28777990&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--hqdum8I00UFf-paRs7hwBy8_WLROWvTWw5XhSblzJQMJ0Gb_GJHcqxkx3AyqLGqQMhlshECvpCC3hW4RQCqaNeFq7_A&_hsmi=28777990

Federal fracking rule in hands of federal judge in Wyoming

The future of federal rules aimed at protecting land, water and wildlife from energy-production practices including hydraulic fracturing now rests with a judge in Wyoming. … Continue Reading http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2016/04/federal-fracking-rule-in-hands-of-federal-judge-in-wyoming.html?cmpid=EnlWeeklyPetroApril222016&eid=288118515&bid=1383469

Earth Day Q & A with Dr. Jim Conca

https://northwestcleanenergy.com/2016/04/22/earth-day-q-a-with-dr-jim-conca/

Chernobyl disaster 30 years on: lessons not learned

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2816%2930304-X/fulltext?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=0140-6736_20160423_387_10029_&elsca4=Public+Health|Infectious+Diseases|Health+Policy|Internal%2FFamily+Medicine|General+Surgery|Lancet

Company proposes new nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/company-proposes-new-nuclear-waste-storage-site-in-new-mexico/article_8f430d50-807a-52d6-a0e1-2fbdc454fb65.html

Fukushima Update 4/21/16

Only three of 80 fish caught outside the F. Daiichi port show any Cesium-134. Cs-134 is the unmistakable “fingerprint” of Fukushima contamination. 36 other fish contained detectible Cs-137 alone, indicating that it was residuals from the post-WWII nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific. Regardless, none of the fish had combined Cesium concentrations greater than Japan’s 100 Becquerel per kilogram limit. The fish highest in Cesium was a “Sebastes Cheni” (rockfish) at 55 Bq/kg. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2016/images/fish02_160415-e.pdf

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2016/images/fish02_160415-e.pdf

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/117546/117546-6128991741015052293

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Does The Middle East Still Matter? The Obama Doctrine And U.S. Policy

By Patrick Schmidt, Wednesday, April 20, 2016 10:00 AM

President Obama Delivers State Of The Union Address

Four eminent scholars and policy practitioners debate the president’s worldview and how it will shape American interests and options in the next administration. On March 12, Derek Chollet, Ellen Laipson, Michael Doran, and Michael Mandelbaum addressed a Washington Institute Policy Forum inspired by the controversial Atlantic cover story “The Obama Doctrine.” Chollet is the counselor… Keep reading →

NRC asks for input on how it will review advanced reactors

https://neutronbytes.com/2016/04/21/nrc-asks-for-input-on-how-it-will-review-advanced-reactors/

South Dakota sites mulled for nuclear waste drilling project

http://www.salon.com/2016/04/21/south_dakota_sites_mulled_for_nuclear_waste_drilling_project/

Guest Post by Michael Shellenberger - New voices — Left and Right — speak out for nuclear

New voices — Left and Right — speak out for nuclear

Dear Friends,

On April 4, the day before Jim Hansen and I visited an Illinois nuclear plant threatened with premature closure, American presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for closing Indian Point nuclear plant in New York.

Jim felt the need to respond, and we posted his strongly-worded statement at Environmental Progress's web site. "For the sake of future generations who could be harmed by irreversible climate change," Hansen wrote, "I urge New Yorkers to reject this fear mongering and uphold science against ideology.”

I had first documented the negative climate impact of Sanders' proposal last December in an analysis I did for Slate. Just his proposal not to relicense existing plants, I found, would increase pollution about same amount as the U.S. produces each year making electricity.

Not long after Jim made his statement, Bernie Sanders supporter Leigh Philips wrote a long and eloquent left-wing case for nuclear power in the New Republic, which cited both the Hansen Statement and EP's campaign, Save Diablo Canyon.

"In recent years, a small and scrappy, but growing, grassroots pro-nuclear movement has emerged among progressives, scientists, conservationists, climate activists, and trade unionists who see nuclear power fundamentally as a social justice issue—as the best, cleanest way to end energy poverty around the world. Witness, for instance, the campaign to save the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California."

The next day, Phillips's left-leaning case for nuclear was joined by a right-leaning case in the Wall Street Journal, also pointing to our efforts:

"Honest greens have always said nuclear power is indispensable for achieving big carbon reduction. James Hansen, the former NASA scientist who has been chaining himself to fences since the first Bush administration, was in Illinois last week lobbying against closure of a nuclear plant. Ditto activist Michael Shellenberger."

I tend to roll my eyes when celebrities opine on energy issues and thus confess my hypocrisy for being delighted when the actor Robert Downey, Jr., apparently inspired by the Wall St. Journal article, gave a wonderful, on-camera statement later the same day:

"It’s like half the people that were out there saying “No nukes! Shut down the power plants!” are now realizing nuclear is the best way to go for energy for the future," said the star of Iron Man movies. "I think it’s natural to reexamine your beliefs as you age up.”

Three days later the Washington Post published a strong editorial, "Mr. Sanders' War on Clean Energy," and the New York Times yesterday similarly criticized Sanders' rejection of nuclear power as bad for the environment and ideologically-driven.

Momentum is clearly shifting. Environmental Progress has since January been building a grassroots movement of supporters around the world. We started our defense of nuclear with Save Diablo Canyon, extended it to the mid-west in Illinois, and we will be in New York and Europe before June.

Our goal is to reverse nuclear's declining fortunes — not just save plants at risk of premature closure but also build new ones — at the speed we need to avoid dangerously high levels of global warming.

Ours is a massive undertaking. Many people — even sympathetic on-lookers — believe we cannot succeed against an anti-nuclear lobby that spends over $500 million every year denying the scientific consensus that nuclear is the safest way to make reliable electricity, and has the smallest impact on the natural environment.

And every day brings some new bad news. Right now rumors are flying that Pacific Gas & Electric is cutting a deal behind the scenes with lawmakers and regulators to close Diablo Canyon in 2025, just half-way through its lifespan. Time is running out for legislation in Illinois to protect and expand clean energy, including nuclear. And every week seems to bring another frightening-sounding claim about Indian Point nuclear plant in New York that, on closer examination, proves outlandish.

The truth is, I decided to start Save Diablo Canyon despite all the discouraging information for a very simple reason: I knew I would deeply regret not trying what in my gut I felt had to be done. Over the last three years I had watched anti-nuclear activists force the closure, directly and indirectly, of California's San Onofre Nuclear Station, Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim, Oyster Creek, Fitzpatrick, and Kewaunee. I simply couldn't take it any longer.

I had hoped others would step forward but nothing prepared me for such a strong response from so many people. Jim Hansen has been active and engaged and incredibly generous with his time. Our open letter calling for fair treatment of nuclear in Illinois was signed by an ever-growing number of climate scientists and conservationists. And at the grassroots level, pro-nuclear environmentalists are stepping up, asking how they can help.

It is still early days, but what's happened over the last few weeks is incredibly promising. "It's starting to feel like a movement," I wrote in an email to one volunteer, who had driven over five hours from Minneapolis to help with our Illinois visit. "That's because," she wrote back moments later, "it is!"

In solidarity,

Michael

P.S. Thanks very much to the surprising number of you who last week made financial contributions. Movements need organizations and organizations — especially ones like Environmental Progress, that are independent of any financial interest — depend on supporters like you. Those looking to donate can click here. And thank you again.

Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire