"Nuclear engineers work day to day with the most powerful and effective low-carbon energy technology ever in it," he says. "That gap between what the world says about them and what they know to be true is almost too much to get over for a lot of them" The nuclear industry gets scared of its own shadow, reflecting those fears back, writes Peter Bergen. 'It's part of our emotionally driven nature to be aware of novel threats'
Mark Nelson is the Managing Director of Radiant Energy Group, a consultancy which advises governments, nonprofits and industry about nuclear energy. He joins the show to discuss Chernobyl the memes vs Chernobyl the molecules, introducing nuclear festivals, adopting an abundance mindset, and a whole lot more. Important Links:
Show Notes:
- Why does the nuclear industry have a confidence problem?
- Electricity deaths vs nuclear deaths
- Chernobyl the memes vs Chernobyl the molecules
- How do we create better nuclear memes?
- Bureaucracy and the precautionary principle
- Steelmanning the case against nuclear power
- Recency bias, human OS and high visibility events
- The story of Three Mile Island
- Introducing nuclear festivals
- Wind and solar is not essential for the grid
- Take memes seriously
- Disambiguating nuclear weapons from nuclear power
- Tying financial needs with energy needs
- Escaping Mad Max
- How can we encourage an abundance mindset?
- Bipartisan enthusiasm for nuclear power
- MUCH more!
Books Mentioned:
- The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch