Bill Gates was interviewed tonight on the CBS News show 60 Minutes about his efforts to combat climate change: The good news is Gates believes it’s possible to prevent a catastrophic rise in temperatures. The bad news? He says in the next 30 years we need scientific breakthroughs, technological innovations and global cooperation on a scale the world has never seen….
Tag: Nuclear Energy
UK Nuclear Spacecraft Could Halve Time of Journey To Mars
British spacecraft could travel to Mars in half the time it now takes by using nuclear propulsion engines built by Rolls-Royce under a new deal with the UK Space Agency. From a report: The aerospace company hopes nuclear-powered engines could help astronauts make it to Mars in three to four months, twice as fast as the most powerful chemical engines, and…
Could Nuclear Power Be Used For Carbon Capture?
Forbes reports:
Nuclear advocates see a vast market for reactors in carbon capture and carbon-based products, not only for the next generation of reactors in development, but also for the aging dinosaurs they evolved from… The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, California, for example, is slated to shut down in 2024 and 2025. “If the waste heat from…
Bill Gates’ Nuclear Venture Plans Reactor To Complement Solar, Wind Power Boom
A nuclear energy venture founded by Bill Gates said Thursday it hopes to build small advanced nuclear power stations that can store electricity to supplement grids increasingly supplied by intermittent sources like solar and wind power. Reuters reports: The effort is part of the billionaire philanthropist’s push to help fight climate change, and is targeted at helping utilities slash their emissions…
After 48 Years, Democrats Endorse Nuclear Energy In Platform
It took five decades, but the Democratic Party has finally changed its stance on nuclear energy. In its recently released party platform, the Democrats say they favor a “technology-neutral” approach that includes “all zero-carbon technologies, including hydroelectric power, geothermal, existing and advanced nuclear, and carbon capture and storage.” Robert Bryce writes via Forbes: That statement marks the first time since 1972…
CIA Declassifies Cold War-Era Plans for a ‘Nuclear Bird Drone’
“During the Cold War, the CIA considered building a bird-sized drone designed to spy on the communist bloc,” reports Popular Mechanics. “The drone would carry ‘black box’ spy packages into Russia and China, as well as take secret photographs — all while hiding in plain sight disguised as a bird…” The project envisioned a fleet of 12 bird-shaped drones, powered by…
Iter: World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion Project Begins Assembly
Thelasko writes: The world’s biggest nuclear fusion project has entered its five-year assembly phase. After this is finished, the facility will be able to start generating the super-hot “plasma” required for fusion power. The $23.5 billion facility has been under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, southern France. Advocates say fusion could be a source of clean, unlimited power that would help tackle the…
Germany is First Major Economy To Phase Out Coal and Nuclear
German lawmakers have finalized the country’s long-awaited phase-out of coal as an energy source, backing a plan that environmental groups say isn’t ambitious enough and free marketeers criticize as a waste of taxpayers’ money. From a report: Bills approved by both houses of parliament Friday envision shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by 2038 and spending some $45 billion to…
‘Fallout’ TV Series From ‘Westworld’ Creators In the Works At Amazon
According to Hollywood Reporter, “Amazon Studios has licensed the rights to the best-selling video game franchise Fallout, with married writers and showrunners Joy and Nolan attached to oversee the potential TV series.” From the report: The project is currently in development but has a series commitment penalty attached. That means that if Amazon execs like the script, Fallout would bypass the…
America Makes a Big Investment In Next-Gen Nuclear Power
America’s Department of Energy “has started a new Office of Nuclear Energy projects called the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program” (or ARDP) reports Popular Mechanics: “The $230 million program will give $160 million to scientists working on two reactor designs that ‘can be operational’ in the very near future.”
The “Advanced” part of ARDP is an industry term for the generation of reactors…