The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than 2 years now with unimaginable suffering to its people. Yet somehow the press continues to focus on the risks at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, Zaporizhzhya. On April 11, 2024, the IAEA director general reported that “direct attacks against Zaporizhzhya Read more…
As the 11th anniversary of the Fukushima accident passed in March, there were none of the regular articles that we see in the press every year to remind us how scary that event was. Often these articles have focused more on the nuclear accident and barely mentioned the catastrophic impact Read more…
“We are the healthiest, wealthiest, and longest-lived people in history. And we are increasingly afraid. This is one of the great paradoxes of our time.” As said by Daniel Gardner in his book “The Science of Fear: How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain” more than a decade ago; Read more…
Over the last few years, we have written extensively about the strength of peoples’ beliefs and how difficult it is to change them. In spite of this, I thought we were making progress with a push to more evidence-based decision making. For something as polarizing as nuclear power, facts-based decision Read more…
When a report on the benefits of nuclear technology starts with “The public are often unaware of the extent to which aspects of their everyday life involve products and processes originated from the application of nuclear technology via the nuclear industry”, it tells me that the time has come to Read more…
“It’s always amazing when a United Nations report that has global ramifications comes out with little fanfare.” So starts an article in Forbes talking about the most recent UNSCEAR report on the consequences of the Fukushima accident in Japan. Three years after the accident, UNSCEAR, the United Nations body mandated Read more…
Over the summer we talked about Pandora’s Promise, where 5 prominent environmentalists had changed their mind from being against to being supportive of nuclear power. They visited Chernobyl and Fukushima, explored the realities of the technology, sought the scientific truth and came away supportive. That being said, looking at the Read more…
I have written much about the strength of our beliefs and how they influence important decisions. A case in point is the decision to close nuclear stations early in Germany. As we in the rest of the western world try and understand the German approach to eliminating nuclear power on Read more…
As I was thinking about what to write this month, I was invited by my dry cleaner to attend a protest in a nearby park against genetically modified food. This somewhat infuriated me as I know without doubt that GMO has helped millions around the world and had never killed Read more…
Last month we talked about Fukushima two years on and focused our discussion on making sure we remember the real people whose lives continue to be severely impacted by this accident. This month, as we also remember Chernobyl on its 27th anniversary, I wanted to talk about the legacy of Read more…
With the second anniversary of the Fukushima accident having just passed, it was with little fanfare outside of Japan. There were the requisite articles in the press about Japan and its quest to reform its energy infrastructure. There was talk about the devastating consequences of the tsunami and the Fukushima Read more…
I participated in the WNA Annual Symposium in London earlier this month. During the event I had ample opportunity to discuss my last post on developing a better understanding of the beliefs behind the public’s view of nuclear power and what we as an industry need to do going forward. Read more…
Since the Fukushima accident earlier this year, it has become clear that the nuclear industry has a fundamental problem. As so eloquently said in the introductory session of the WNA Annual Symposium in London last month by WNA Executive Director John Ritch there is a common belief that while nuclear Read more…
Although it has been more than two months since I last posted; Fukushima continues to dominate the discussion both within and outside of the industry. So here I am, sitting on the balcony of my beautiful room in Brunei – overlooking the South China Sea – contemplating how this major Read more…
It has now been about two months since the horrific earthquake and tsunami that caused the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The people of Japan continue to suffer from this mind boggling natural disaster with the death toll at well over 20,000. And yet when we hear Read more…
With everything going on due to this major natural disaster in Japan, it is absolutely incredible to watch how much of the reporting is about the Fukushima plant that goes well beyond the current status of the plant and efforts to get the situation under control. There is a lot Read more…