Decouple
364 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago -There are technologies that decouple human well-being from its ecological impacts. There are politics that enable these technologies. Join me as I interview world experts to uncover hope in this time of planetary crisis.
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Episodes
Is African Poverty a Climate Solution?
November 15, 2021 23:29 - 10 minutes - 24.8 MBSpecial Decouple Studios mini-doc from inside the walls of COP26. Decouple's Jesse Freeston follows two young nuclear energy advocates, Shirly Rodriguez and Princess Mbthobeni, as they roam the conference searching for evidence of a meaningful plan to reduce emissions AND raise living standards in Africa and beyond. Shirly Rodriguez is a nuclear engineer, and Princess Mbthoneni is the Nuclear Stakeholder Management Advisor for South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, as wel...
COP26: A sober sitdown with the German delegation's spokesperson feat. Stephan Haufe
November 11, 2021 18:10 - 30 minutes - 56.5 MBWe arrive at the COP26 German Pavilion for a scheduled interview with the German delegation's spokesperson, Stephan Gabriel Haufe, right as a press conference titled "Joint Declaration for a Nuclear-Free Green Taxonomy" is wrapping up. Mr. Haufe and I discuss Germany's Energiewende, expedited nuclear phaseout, ongoing reliance on coal until 2038, and the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline.
A Sober Sitdown with the German Climate Negotiators
November 11, 2021 18:10 - 30 minutes - 56.5 MBWhat has the Energiewende achieved, what hasn't it? An interview with the spokesperson for the German delegation to COP26, Stephan Gabriel Haufe. We discuss the expedited nuclear phaseout, ongoing reliance on coal until 2038, advances in solar + wind energy and the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline.
COP26: A sober sitdown with the German delegation's spokesperson feat: Stephan Haufe
November 11, 2021 18:10 - 30 minutes - 56.5 MBWe arrive at the COP26 German Pavilion for a scheduled interview with the German delegation's spokesperson, Stephan Gabriel Haufe, right as a press conference titled "Joint Declaration for a Nuclear-Free Green Taxonomy" is wrapping up. Mr. Haufe and I discuss Germany's Energiewende, expedited nuclear phaseout, ongoing reliance on coal until 2038, and the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline.
COP26: France’s coming nuclear renaissance? Feat: Carine de Boissezon
November 10, 2021 21:41 - 34 minutes - 78.6 MBDr. Keefer sits down in Glasgow with Carine de Boissezon, who is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the French electric utility Électricité de France. Carine brings a valuable inside perspective on nuclear power in France, a country that Decouple has frequently regarded as an exemplar of rapid decarbonization. Reversing intentions to reduce France's share of electricity from nuclear from 75% to 50%, President Macron recently announced that France would "relaunch" its construction of nuclear ...
France’s Second Nuclear Renaissance?
November 10, 2021 21:41 - 34 minutes - 78.6 MBDr. Keefer sits down in Glasgow with Carine de Boissezon, who is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the French electric utility Électricité de France. Carine brings a valuable inside perspective on nuclear power in France, a country that Decouple has frequently regarded as an exemplar of rapid decarbonization. Reversing intentions to reduce France's share of electricity from nuclear from 75% to 50%, President Macron recently announced that France would "relaunch" its construction of nuclear ...
COP26: Will the Revolution be Funded? feat. Eric Meyer
November 08, 2021 12:41 - 59 minutes - 136 MBDecouple mobile studios reports from Glasgow, Scotland, where Dr. Keefer and other pro-nuclear advocates are attending COP26, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference. Dr. Keefer is joined in-person by Eric Meyer, founder and executive director of the nuclear advocacy hub Generation Atomic, to discuss the goings on of COP26, the growing pro-nuclear movement, and the taboo subject of funding.
Will the Revolution be Funded?
November 08, 2021 12:41 - 59 minutes - 136 MBDecouple mobile studios reports from Glasgow, Scotland, where Dr. Keefer and other pro-nuclear advocates are attending COP26, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference. Dr. Keefer is joined in-person by Eric Meyer, founder and executive director of the nuclear advocacy hub Generation Atomic, to discuss the goings on of COP26, the growing pro-nuclear movement, and the taboo subject of funding.
Michael Shellenberger: A Heretic Among Heretics
November 04, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 146 MBIn this episode, I am joined by returning guest Michael Shellenberger. We briefly discuss his new book San Fransicko, which, like his best-seller Apocalypse Never, takes a heterodox stance on an issue that progressives feel they champion -- in this case, the drug and homelessness epidemic. We then transition to his past (and future) work in nuclear advocacy. Shellenberger has paid a toll for challenging orthodoxies within the environmental and nuclear communities, including the loss of many...
Michael Shellenberger a Heretic Among Heretics
November 04, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 146 MBIn this episode, I am joined by returning guest Michael Shellenberger. We briefly discuss his new book San Fransicko, which, like his best-seller Apocalypse Never, takes a heterodox stance on an issue that progressives feel they champion -- in this case, the drug and homelessness epidemic. We then transition to his past (and future) work in nuclear advocacy. Shellenberger has paid a toll for challenging orthodoxies within the environmental and nuclear communities, including the loss of many...
A Heretic Among Heretics feat. Michael Shellenberger
November 04, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 146 MBIn this episode, I am joined by returning guest Michael Shellenberger. We briefly discuss his new book San Fransicko, which, like his best-seller Apocalypse Never, takes a heterodox stance on an issue that progressives feel they champion -- in this case, the drug and homelessness epidemic. We then transition to his past (and future) work in nuclear advocacy. Shellenberger has paid a toll for challenging orthodoxies within the environmental and nuclear communities, including the loss of many...
Its Gas or Nuclear, you Pickering feat. Jesse Freeston
November 01, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 169 MBIn this special episode, I am joined live by filmmaker Jesse Freeston on the sunny beach in front of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, which provides Ontario with 3.2 GW of carbon-free electricity. I hand over the interviewer badge to Jesse for a second hour-long reflection on advocacy, antinuclearism, environmentalism, the Decouple journey, and anything else that crossed our minds on the scenic waterfront. Watch the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IhkGTcULU54 Listen to the fir...
Its Gas or Nuclear, you Pickering
November 01, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 169 MBIn this special episode, I am joined live by filmmaker Jesse Freeston on the sunny beach in front of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, which provides Ontario with 3.2 GW of carbon-free electricity. I hand over the interviewer badge to Jesse for a second hour-long reflection on advocacy, antinuclearism, environmentalism, the Decouple journey, and anything else that crossed our minds on the scenic waterfront. Watch the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IhkGTcULU54 Listen to the fir...
Sayonara Nuclear? Japan’s Energy Transitions feat. Yuriy Humber
October 26, 2021 07:30 - 1 hour - 144 MBI am joined by Yuriy Humber, founder of Japan NRG, to discuss Japan’s complex relationship with nuclear technology and its energy issues past and present. The first and only wartime victim of atomic weapons, it went on to embrace nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, becoming a world leader in the manufacture of nuclear technology and relying on it for 30% of its electricity before turning against nuclear after the Fukushima accident in 2011. Public opinions against nuclear energy ran as hig...
Sayonara Nuclear? Japan’s Energy Transitions
October 26, 2021 07:30 - 1 hour - 144 MBI am joined by Yuriy Humber, founder of Japan NRG, to discuss Japan’s complex relationship with nuclear technology and its energy issues past and present. The first and only wartime victim of atomic weapons, it went on to embrace nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, becoming a world leader in the manufacture of nuclear technology and relying on it for 30% of its electricity before turning against nuclear after the Fukushima accident in 2011. Public opinions against nuclear energy ran as hig...
Ted Nordhaus Deconstructs Degrowth
October 21, 2021 20:42 - 49 minutes - 113 MBI am joined by returning guest and co-founder of The Breakthrough Institute, Ted Nordhaus, to discuss degrowth as a proposed solution to climate change and other environmental issues. Nordhaus has written forcefully against the idea of degrowth, which posits that growth in human populations and consumption levels will inevitably bring us to the brink of what this planet can sustain. The only way to avert catastrophe is to therefore reduce human populations and minimize consumption. Nordhau...
Degrowth Deconstructed feat. Ted Nordhaus
October 21, 2021 20:42 - 49 minutes - 113 MBI am joined by returning guest and co-founder of The Breakthrough Institute, Ted Nordhaus, to discuss degrowth as a proposed solution to climate change and other environmental issues. Nordhaus has written forcefully against the idea of degrowth, which posits that growth in human populations and consumption levels will inevitably bring us to the brink of what this planet can sustain. The only way to avert catastrophe is to therefore reduce human populations and minimize consumption. Nordhau...
Emmet Penney and the Nuclear Barbarians
October 18, 2021 07:03 - 1 hour - 155 MBI am joined by returning guest Emmet Penney to discuss his new project, Nuclear Barbarians. The project is Emmet’s own brand of nuclear advocacy, differing starkly from most of the pro-nuclear movement, which he believes has been “captured by an environmental movement that hates it.” Emmet has set out on his own terms to convince a wide audience that nuclear power rules. Emmet offers a harsh critique of the environmental movement, tracing it from what he argues are its elite Victorian origi...
Nuclear Barbarians feat. Emmet Penney (Explicit)
October 18, 2021 07:03 - 1 hour - 155 MBI am joined by returning guest Emmet Penney to discuss his new project, Nuclear Barbarians. The project is Emmet’s own brand of nuclear advocacy, differing starkly from most of the pro-nuclear movement, which he believes has been “captured by an environmental movement that hates it.” Emmet has set out on his own terms to convince a wide audience that nuclear power rules. Emmet offers a harsh critique of the environmental movement, tracing it from what he argues are its elite Victorian origi...
How to Feed a Warming Planet
October 12, 2021 06:58 - 1 hour - 167 MBIn a change of pace for Decouple, I am joined by Dr. Channa Prakash for a wide-ranging discussion on crop science and agriculture. We discuss biotechnology, its history, and the great positive changes it has brought to global food production. We also assess the strongest criticisms. Among those are concerns that we have become dependent on chemical inputs for farming, namely pesticides and fertilizers, and that this has often lead to the over-application of these chemicals resulting in enviro...
How to Feed a Warming Planet feat. Dr. Channa Prakash
October 12, 2021 06:58 - 1 hour - 167 MBIn a change of pace for Decouple, I am joined by Dr. Channa Prakash for a wide-ranging discussion on crop science and agriculture. We discuss biotechnology, its history, and the great positive changes it has brought to global food production. We also assess the strongest criticisms. Among those are concerns that we have become dependent on chemical inputs for farming, namely pesticides and fertilizers, and that this has often lead to the over-application of these chemicals resulting in enviro...
Winter Is Coming feat. Mark Nelson
October 09, 2021 15:52 - 46 minutes - 107 MBI am joined again by Mark Nelson to speak on the energy shocks tearing through Europe and Asia. What are its causes, and what will its consequences be? The crisis comes on the heels of what academics and policymakers thought was an energy transition away from fossil fuels. But as countries pay record prices to scrap together enough coal, gas, and oil to avoid shortfalls, we are seeing just how unprepared they were for the fossil-free world they have been trying to create. The procurement of...
Europe's Winter of Discontent
October 09, 2021 15:52 - 46 minutes - 107 MBI am joined again by Mark Nelson to speak on the energy shocks tearing through Europe and Asia. What are its causes, and what will its consequences be? The crisis comes on the heels of what academics and policymakers thought was an energy transition away from fossil fuels. But as countries pay record prices to scrap together enough coal, gas, and oil to avoid shortfalls, we are seeing just how unprepared they were for the fossil-free world they have been trying to create. The procurement of...
Byron and Dresden's Near-Death Experience feat. Madi Czerwinski
October 04, 2021 07:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBI am joined by returning guest of Madi Czerwinski, founder of the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal, to reflect on the recent win for Illinois low-carbon power. This win was the last-minute reversal of fate for Byron and Dresden nuclear power stations, which had been scheduled for an early retirement. Madi Czerwinski walks us through the strange timeline of events and the various forces at play through this year-long battle, describing the arguments and the tension between Labor and so-called...
Illinois' Nuclear Near-Death Experience
October 04, 2021 07:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBI am joined by returning guest of Madi Czerwinski, founder of the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal, to reflect on the recent win for Illinois low-carbon power. This win was the last-minute reversal of fate for Byron and Dresden nuclear power stations, which had been scheduled for an early retirement. Madi Czerwinski walks us through the strange timeline of events and the various forces at play through this year-long battle, describing the arguments and the tension between Labor and so-called...
The EU Green Taxonomy Soap Opera feat. Myrto Tripathi
September 27, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 178 MBThe EU Green Taxonomy has been a source of acrimony in the EU since it launched. It was meant as a tool to guide investment towards a "low carbon, resilient and resource-efficient economy" by classiflying technologies into three tiers: "Sustainable," "Transitory," or "Brown." The initial categorization committee did not include scientists or engineers but rather limited itself to green finance and environmental NGO's who constrained the sustainable definition to wind, solar and tidal, exlu...
What’s up with the “Modernism” in Ecomodernism? feat. Alex Trembath
September 20, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 156 MBThis week, I am joined by Alex Trembath, Deputy Director of The Breakthrough Institute, to deconstruct the “modernism” in Ecomodernism. Modernism is a philosophical movement born of industrialization that has influenced art, architecture, politics and so much more. It is forward looking and firmly entrenched in a notion of progress. Who have been its beneficiaries and victims? Do the problems generated by modernity like climate change require “modern” solutions? How do we make sense of this t...
The Preconditions of France's Nuclear Buildout feat. François Perchet
September 13, 2021 14:25 - 54 minutes - 126 MBWe are often told that we need a World War 2 level mobilization to address the looming threats of climate change. What if there is a better historical precendent for climate action based on science, peace and cooperation rather than total war, competition and destruction? We often speak of France as a shining example of a nuclear buildout done right. In the last quarter of the 20th century, under the Messmer Plan, France completed 43 Light Water Reactors in 15 years out of a total fleet of ...
The Belgian Green’s Climate Own Goal feat. Rob De Schutter
September 10, 2021 16:44 - 40 minutes - 92.1 MBIn 2025, Belgium will close its last two nuclear plants, which make around half of the countries power. The plan? Replace it with gas. The day after this episode was published, advocates rallied against this climate hypocrisy in the capital, Brussels, at one of the largest Stand Up for Nuclear events yet. I am joined by Rob De Schutter, founder of the Belgian Ecomodernists, to discuss what political decisions have led Belgium to this point, how the closure of the majority of its clean energy ...
The Belgian Green’s Climate own goal feat. Rob De Schutter
September 10, 2021 16:44 - 40 minutes - 92.1 MBIn 2025, Belgium will close its last two nuclear plants, which make around half of the countries power. The plan? Replace it with gas. The day after this episode is published, advocates will rally against this climate hypocrisy in the capital, Brussels, at one of the largest Stand Up for Nuclear events yet. I am joined by Rob De Schutter, founder of the Belgian Ecomodernists, to discuss what political decisions have led Belgium to this point, how the closure of the majority of its clean energ...
Taiwan's Energy Gamble feat. Angelica Oung
September 06, 2021 17:35 - 51 minutes - 118 MBIn this episode, I am joined by Angelica Oung, an energy reporter from Taiwan, to discuss Taiwan's plan to power the island with up to 50% natural gas, 30% goal, 20% renewables, and 0% nuclear. This would mean shutting down its three operable nuclear plants, and flushing the money spent on a fourth fully constructed but never used reactor down the drain. The plan appears to be a whole-hearted embrace of what Meredith Angwin calls the "fatal trifecta" of energy: over-reliance on renewables,...
A Natural Gas Masterclass feat. Mark Nelson
August 30, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 151 MBNatural gas occupies a strange place in the climate debate. By helping to phase out coal, it has led modest decarbonization efforts in the United States and elsewhere, but it continues to emit climate change-causing CO2. Environmental NGO’s have switched between loving it and hating it. In this episode, returning guest Mark Nelson joins us to deepen our understanding of natural gas, fracing [sic], its economics, and more. We touch on the chemistry of hydrocarbons; the immense infrastructure ...
Ontario’s Climate Retreat feat. Edgardo Sepulveda
August 23, 2021 07:00 - 37 minutes - 86.3 MBIn the past two decades, Ontario has become a world leader in clean electricity by phasing out coal generation, which it did 90% by restarting units at the Bruce and Pickering Nuclear Generating Stations. Ineffective clean energy policies now threaten that leadership. With the decision of Ontario Power Generation not to refurbish Pickering, fossil gas is set to ramp up to fill the lost capacity. The closure of 3.1 GW of nuclear power at Pickering and its replacement with fossil gas will const...
The coming European blackouts and SMR opportunities feat. Kalev Kallemets
August 19, 2021 11:48 - 1 hour - 144 MBGermany has once again embarked on a war on two fronts this time attempting to phase out its two main sources of reliable baseload power, Nuclear and Coal. Nevermind the fact that during a climate emergency nuclear, despite being almost zero carbon, is being phased out at breakneck speed while coal will languish on the grid for another 15 years. Germany is not alone. In many countries in the EU baseload electricity generation is on the chopping block. European energy systems are largely fo...
The coming European blackouts and SMR opportunities feat: Kalev Kallemets
August 19, 2021 11:48 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBGermany has once again embarked on a war on two fronts this time attempting to phase out its two main sources of reliable baseload power, Nuclear and Coal. Nevermind the fact that during a climate emergency nuclear, despite being almost zero carbon, is being phased out at breakneck speed while coal will languish on the grid for another 15 years. Germany is not alone. In many countries in the EU baseload electricity generation is on the chopping block. European energy systems are largely fo...
Assessing the Sixth IPCC report feat: Zeke Hausfather
August 14, 2021 05:16 - 1 hour - 46 MBThe IPCC has released their first major update in 8 years, the sixth assessment report (AR6.) IPCC and @carbonbrief contributor and @BTI climate and energy analyst Zeke Hausfather joins us to help us make sense of it all. AR6 provides greater resolution and precision in terms of our understanding of climate sensitivity and the resulting temperature ranges we can expect moving into the future. It also gives us a more confident estimate of climate impacts like sea level rise and the effect of...
Assessing the Sixth IPCC report feat. Zeke Hausfather
August 14, 2021 05:16 - 1 hour - 140 MBThe IPCC has released its first major update in 8 years, the sixth assessment report (AR6). Zeke Hausfather, who contributed to the IPCC report and is a climate and energy analyst at The Breakthrough Institute, joins us to help us make sense of it all. AR6 provides greater resolution and precision in terms of our understanding of climate sensitivity and the resulting temperature ranges we can expect moving into the future. It also gives us a more confident estimate of climate impacts like s...
Medical Isotopes? We CANDU that!: Feat James Scongack
August 09, 2021 16:00 - 35 minutes - 81.4 MBMedical isotopes make modern medicine possible. We depend on a steady supply to sterilize medical equipment, as radiation sources for oncology treatments and for diagnostic imaging. Canada is a world leader in the production of medical isotopes and punches far above its weight. Canada's national research reactor, which closed in 2016, provided a number of isotopes including Molybdenum 99 which treated 76,000 patients a day in over 80 countries. Now CANDU power reactors have been put to t...
SMR Economics and the Nuclear Secret Sauce feat. Tony Roulstone
August 03, 2021 03:57 - 1 hour - 150 MBIn the West, many nuclear advocates have pinned their hopes for a nuclear renaissance on Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs. SMRs range from a potentially faster way for nuclear nations to build more plants; to a way for countries to start their nuclear power programs; to special application power sources that serve specific country needs, such as those under development in Russia and China. Yet-to-be-built SMR designs make a lot of bold promises. A question looming over the nuclear industry is...
How Radiation Affects Us feat. Dr. Douglas Boreham
July 26, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 148 MBWe live in a radioactive world. Every minute, 7,000 potentially cell-damaging radioactive releases occur in our bodies. How are we still alive? And what are the real risks associated with radiation? In this episode, Dr. Keefer is joined by Dr. Douglas Boreham, a world expert in the effects of low doses of ionizing radiation, to tackle the biological effects of radiation. They discuss various types of radiation; the linear no-threshold hypothesis; fears of airborne "hot particles" of uraniu...
Batteries, Energy Lysenkoism, and Geopolitics feat. Mark P. Mills
July 19, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 156 MBIntermittent weather-dependent sources of electricity need backup storage to compensate for gaps in production. Elon Musk has promised that Solar + Powerall batteries ensure that your home will never lose power. In this episode, returning guest Mark P. Mills breaks down the concept of energy storage, the physical requirements and limitations of our current storage technologies, and what to expect in the future. Batteries will play an important role in the future of the grid and will continu...
What Went Wrong at Vogtle? feat. Mark Nelson
July 12, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 138 MBVogtle was supposed to be the beginning of a nuclear renaissance. The two AP1000's at this site were the first new reactors to be built in the USA in the 21st century. There was optimism that a novel modular design that economized space and materials would be on budget and on time. Vogtle, however, has become the poster child of the United States' inability to build affordable nuclear reactors. The timeline has almost doubled and the cost overrun tripled. The project bankrupted the reactor...
Nuclear Energy is Union Energy feat. Bob Walker
July 07, 2021 14:48 - 43 minutes - 99 MBNuclear energy is only possible thanks to a highly-skilled, largely unionized workforce. In popular culture, nuclear workers have been portrayed as incompetent (e.g. the Simpson) or as evil incarnate by anti-nuclear activists like Dr. Helen Caldicott. In Canada, nuclear generation is publicly owned and run by a highly unionized workforce. It provides cheap, clean, and reliable energy to the commons AKA our grid. Due to the energy density of fission, each nuclear worker has an outsized role i...
A Good War feat. Seth Klein
July 02, 2021 16:49 - 43 minutes - 98.6 MBSeth Klein, a writer and public policy researcher, joins Dr. Keefer to discuss his book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency. Klein draws on the history of Canada during World War II, when the country massively industrialized to help Britain with the war effort in what he describes as a "true society-wide mobilization." He uses this history to argue for a similar society-wide, wartime-like mobilization to fight climate change. Klein makes a bold argument: We have tried ...
Fragilizing South Africa’s Grid feat. Gaopalelwe Santswere
June 28, 2021 09:00 - 59 minutes - 137 MBGaopalelwe Santswere, a nuclear physicist and regulatory expert, joins Dr. Keefer to discuss the electricity sector in South Africa whose aging coal fleet is in need of replacement. Despite operating the only two nuclear power reactors on the continent at Koeberg, and plans in the early 2000’s for nearly 10,000MW of nuclear, the government is pursuing an energy policy that prioritizes wind and solar. Gaopalelwe tracks the influence of foreign powers in the direction of South African energy ...
Emergency Reactor feat. Zion Lights
June 21, 2021 20:31 - 48 minutes - 55.4 MBReturning guest Zion Lights, a powerhouse pro nuclear advocate whose most recent initiative has been to launch the group Emergency Reactor, joins me this episode with reflections on her activism in the pandemic; her observations speaking with more receptive, younger generations about nuclear power; navigating political media; "lifestyle politics" versus data-driven activism; and confronting backward environmentalist notions such as overpopulation and the idea that we cannot make progress on ...
Why Nuclear Energy Has Been a Flop feat. Jack Devanney
June 17, 2021 15:43 - 50 minutes - 116 MBAt its birth, nuclear energy entered a highly competitive market for electricity generation. Oil was so cheap that it was stealing market share for electricity generation from coal and driving prices to all-time lows. Despite being a brand new technology 1960s nuclear plants were hitting prices of 3 cents/kWh in today's dollars. Gaddafi and OPEC then contributed to the price of oil skyrocketing. All of a sudden, many wanted to build a nuclear plant and early adopters were reaping huge profit...
What's happening at Taishan? feat. Mark Nelson
June 14, 2021 20:56 - 18 minutes - 21.5 MBThe Taishan nuclear plant in the Guangdong province of China houses two French-built EPR reactors, the first of their kind in the country. For the past couple of weeks, equipment has registered slightly elevated radiation readings inside and directly outside the plant. The cause so far appears to be leaks from one or more fuel rods. Mark Nelson joins me in this brief episode to reflect on this breaking story; its coverage in the media; the phenomenon of fuel rod leaks; issues with first-of-a...
Small, Modular and North of 60 Feat: Jay Harris
June 11, 2021 22:27 - 1 hour - 218 MBA special crosspost from the WeCANDUIt podcast. Jay Harris, an indigenous energy consultant and proponent of small modular reactor (SMR) for remote locations talks about the energy, nutrition and water challenges facing remote northern communities. We explore the fascinating history of SMRs in remote environments which goes back to the 1950's and we look at the possibilities and challenges of SMRs in the far north. Jay is a member of the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan and has wor...
Energy Democracy and Its Discontents feat. Edgardo Sepulveda
June 06, 2021 08:03 - 1 hour - 155 MBEdgardo Sepulveda, a telecoms regulatory economist, returns to the Decouple podcast to discuss energy equity and how it relates to discussions of energy poverty and energy democracy with a deep dive of the June 2 Public Power Resolution tabled by Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman. Electricity is considered a “necessity good” in economics. For a variety of reasons in the industrialized world people will use about the same amount regardless of income. Given, however, that income is not evenly distr...