Deregulating the Atom

A new pro nuclear blog has popped up. It is named Deregulating the Atom, and it is the brain child of Robert Steinhaus, and Rick Maltese, both well known in the nuclear blogging circle. Rick describes DtA as,

a new site is needed to cover the subject of what prevents the earths greatest invention from developing in the home of it’s birth place.

Robert & Rick focus on the problems for new nuclear projects posed by what appears to be a full court press against new reactor construction by government regulators. I might add that the NRC currently appears to be a major obstacle to the emergence of a new generation of advanced technology, factory built small reactors.

This blog promises to produce some lively copy. It already has Q & As on nuclear regulations with that irrepressible curmudgeon, DV8 2XL , and with Rod Adams who also can be something of a curmudgeon. (Needless to say I have had arguments with both Rod here and with DV8 2XL on Brave New Climate recently, and I am certainly not a curmudgeon.) Of course both Rod and DV8 2XL can be quite brilliant when they aren't disagreeing with me.

Robert and Rick are quite proper bloggers, and they provide us with a mission statement,

There is an urgent need for intervention with the tightly secured, overzealous and outdated nuclear regulatory bodies in our world. The urgency I speak of is that we have serious climate change happening as a result of pollution from our cars and our coal plants and other industrial and commercial activity. Phasing in electric cars and nuclear plants would go a very long way to eliminating the effects of green house gases.

But first those coal plants put out a large amount of energy and we can’t just shut them down without affecting the economy. So the only sufficiently powerful and carbon-free energy source that can meet and surpass the demands of energy is nuclear energy.