union of concerned scientists

Plutonium is the nuclear nightmare. A by-product of conventional power-station reactors, it is the key ingredient in nuclear weapons. And even when not made into bombs, it is a million-year radioactive waste legacy that is already costing the world billions of dollars a year to contain. And yet, some scientists say, we have the technology to burn plutonium in a new generation of "fast" reactors.[read more]

On Monday the Union of Concerned Scientists released an analysis estimating the MPG equivalence of electric vehicles. The point of the analysis is this: taking as given an objective of greenhouse gas emission reduction, how do electric vehicles compare to internal combustion vehicles in that dimension? To do such an analysis requires...[read more]

Union of Concerned Scientists Image via Wikipedia A previous reprint of an article originally published in Ecocentric noted that power plants need lots of water primarily for cooling. “Several Texas power plants that rely on cooling ponds are in a tough spot because their reservoirs aren’t being replenished, and that lack of cooling...[read more]

 How can Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry talk so irresponsibly about global warming–and get away with it? Have we really reached a point where, in order to appeal to the hard core of the Republican Party, candidates have to ignore the fact that the earth is getting warmer, and that human activities are...[read more]

Nuclear Industry Subsidies Part II: The Mining Sector Doug Kaplow, in a Union of Concerned Scientists report titled, Nuclear Power: Still not viable without subsidies," has offered us an attempt to assess subsidies offered by the Government to the Nuclear Industry. Koplow charges that one form of government subsidy has to do with...[read more]

I hate to paraphrase a terrible sexist joke but when it comes to nuclear power, I sometimes feel like we can’t live with it and we can’t live without it. There are lots of reasons to worry about nuclear power. No. 1 may be cost. As I noted last week,  a recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists tallied up the costs of...[read more]

There is no shortage of coverage. The question is how good is it? This is a proposal for the American Nuclear Society (ANS) to annually make awards to the mainstream news media for excellence in coverage of nuclear science, engineering, and the global industry. (see disclaimer below) The purpose of the award(s) is to recognize...[read more]

On August 24th, Mr. Lochbaum posted a story on the Union of Concerned Scientists website about an event in 1988, then proceeded to link it to a 2005 event at a different plant and makes the case that the nuclear industry is filled with screw-ups and near misses. You can read the original article here. As it happens, my career has...[read more]

The Union of Concerned Scientists, Joe Romm at Climate Progress, William Connolley and Tim Lambert have done a fine job rebutting the cynical and lazy "global cooling" section of the upcoming book Superfreakonomics*.Of the criticisms that climate scientists receive from those skeptical of climate change, the most ridiculous by far is...[read more]

Most of you have probably seen the news already that a recent study can’t explain all the warming that we know happened in the geologic past purely from atmospheric CO2 emissions. What’s that–there’s Something Else that could be causing warming besides CO2??? Is it time to raid the palatial headquarters of the IPCC and Al Gore’s home...[read more]

From the inbox ("I've been reading your blog almost daily ... I've learned a lot there ... Would you please consider posting the following?"):The Union of Concerned Scientists is engaging Pennsylvania scientists and economists to emphasize the importance of taking action to mitigate the worst effects of climate change in the...[read more]

From the RESECON listserv (see below) comes an opportunity to sign a U.S. Scientists and Economists' Call for Swift and Deep Cuts in Greenhouse Gas Emissions petition: There is growing momentum in the United States to establish policies that cap and reduce our nation's heat-trapping emissions. A central feature of the policy debate—in...[read more]