tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post7408235396032648282..comments2023-05-17T04:01:26.506-04:00Comments on The Neutron Economy: Why I became a nuclear engineerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-39767406696314662992011-06-13T20:46:40.988-04:002011-06-13T20:46:40.988-04:00Steve - thank you for sharing. I've just disco...Steve - thank you for sharing. I've just discovered your blog via the Carnival, and it's great to find Rod Adams and donb here already. I'm sure DV82XL will turn up here as well.<br /><br />Passion is definitely what we need - mine is getting cranked up as I learn more about energy and all the related issues. My current concern is the lack of urgency I see in business and government. I feel urgency because declining ERoEI in our industrial energy sources is going to reduce the amount of energy available for implementing effective technology, while we squander our energy capital on low ERoEI 'renewable' chimeras. And squander a lot of the energy we do have on our energy rich lifestyle in the developed world.<br /><br />Best of luck on your final defense!Andrew Jaremkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07781060305332803073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-81655692106196941092011-06-10T11:03:04.499-04:002011-06-10T11:03:04.499-04:00Rod Adams wrote:
Steve - thank you for sharing. I ...Rod Adams wrote:<br /><i>Steve - thank you for sharing. I hope you maintain your passion in the face of a concerted negative campaign against nuclear energy technology.</i><br /><br />I second Rod's comments. I think you will maintain your passion because you know you are not alone in your views. In addition to the depth of knowledge you have acquired to earn your Ph.D., you also have a breadth of knowledge and interests that show the great impact your work will have. You will probably never be famous, as most engineers. But the work of all those non-famous engineers provides us with the marvels we have. Cheap, abundant and clean energy is the marvel that makes all the others possible.<br /><br />donbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-70789537256755636602011-06-10T04:39:41.357-04:002011-06-10T04:39:41.357-04:00Going over your comment again, I realize I may hav...Going over your comment again, I realize I may have misread a bit (it being late).<br /><br />I think what you're saying is that the mainstream opposition to nuclear is truly driven by those with a profit agenda (e.g., fossil) rather an ideological one (Malthusians).<br /><br />In my view, which perhaps you agree with, I think the activist set genuinely does believe in what they say, and many of them perhaps fail to realize how they are being regarded as "useful idiots" (as the Soviets used to say) by fossil producers (particularly natural gas). <br /><br />I think the vanguard of these kinds of movements are driven by a Malthusian bent - although it's not difficult to believe that their sources of funding from fossil sources comes with two ideas in mind: first, simple "greenwashing" of fossil companies through purchasing credibility via "environmentalist" organizations, and second (which I believe you are arguing) buying themselves a way to bolster their own market demand (e.g., as a backup for renewables) while weakening demand for competitors.<br /><br />That being said, I think it would be much harder for fossil companies to engage in such tactics were it not for a Malthusian vanguard (the "useful idiots") for which to provide political cover. (Conversely, of course, I think such so-called "environmentalist" groups would be far less influential without the constant influx of self-interested dollars.) In that sense, I see the "Deep Green" Malthusianism as symbiotic with the interests of the fossil industry, whether either likes to admit it or not.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-15903620391273420902011-06-10T04:16:37.706-04:002011-06-10T04:16:37.706-04:00@Rod: Thanks for reading!
I think it's true ...@Rod: Thanks for reading! <br /><br />I think it's true that some opponents, particularly those who have made it their business to oppose every conceivable waste management alternative (e.g., reprocessing), are bent upon using the waste question to defeat nuclear energy in general. (In this sense, I think they realize the strategic value of the question as much as I do, with their logic running the reverse current, of course: "constipate" the fuel cycle and the public won't accept new nuclear...)<br /><br />That being said, I can say from personal experience that I've met people who are moderately opposed to nuclear who were ignorant of options such as reprocessing, and as a result their opposition has softened after explaining the availability of technical options. And I think most of the people who ask this question in earnest (i.e., the general public) are truly interested in this question and want to know that technical solutions exist. So even though a few (and they are quite loud) voices pose the question disingenuously, I think the majority simply speak from honest curiosity and ignorance alone. These are the people we have to reach out to, namely because we can answer their doubts with confidence.<br /><br />I do think you're right though that there does exist a minority - the Erhlich/Malthusian types - who oppose energy abundance overall. All too often I see these same people being the ones pushing renewables, fully aware of their incapacity to provide the large amounts of power necessary to sustain modern society. (For these people, it's not a bug, it's a feature). These kinds of folks, often from the "Deep Green" side of things, is where I unfortunately think much of the overall mistrust as to the reality of issues like AGW is created. (It may be bankrolled by the fossil industry, but the average climate skeptic is driven by the notion that AGW is being pushed by the very same people who have been railing against modernity since the 70's...)<br /><br />By the way, I'm fairly certain you've shared your story as to your entry into the nuclear world as well, but if you have a link ready or you feel like summarizing it on Atomic Insights (I'm a regular reader), please do let me know! I'd love to get together a collection or group post on how nuclear professionals and advocates came to where they are today.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-60975340032016606672011-06-10T03:26:03.922-04:002011-06-10T03:26:03.922-04:00Steve - thank you for sharing. I hope you maintain...Steve - thank you for sharing. I hope you maintain your passion in the face of a concerted negative campaign against nuclear energy technology. By now, I expect that you realize that some of the people who ask that prevalent question "well, what do you do with the waste?" do not really want to hear any answers. They think they have already thrown down the trump card that should stop all discussion or dreaming about using the incredibly dense energy source.<br /><br />My view about the source of the opposition to nuclear energy continues to harden. There is a great deal of concern among the decision makers and marketers in the natural gas and petroleum business. They would stand to lose a great deal of wealth and power if nukes succeed in making power clean and abundant. <br /><br />Some people think it is the misanthropic "Population Bomb" types like Paul Erhlich who hate the idea of abundant, cheap power that people can use to create more manmade wonders like the Chicago skyline. As a guy who has spent the last 40 years watching the world's wealth continue to concentrate in the hands of groups like BP executives, Saudi royals, Russian oligarchs, Iranian clerics and Nigerian thugs, I know where the funds that support the organized opposition to nuclear comes from.<br /><br />Welcome to the world of nuclear professionals. I am glad that you, unlike a certain someone who earned a PhD in physics studying the low energy behavior of mesons and baryons, recognized that you needed some education in addition to physics to be able to make a contribution to our industry.Rod Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652375336090790205noreply@blogger.com