Growing power demands – coupled with increasingly frequent climate-driven disasters – have led even staunch environmentalists like NRDC head Manish Bapna to rethink their past opposition to nuclear power.
Three Mile Island didn't kill anyone or cause major public harm, but it fundamentally changed U.S. nuclear policy for 40 years. Why did an accident with a relatively contained consequence have such a chilling effect – and what’s really different today? With dozens of new, purportedly safer designs at various stages of development and construction around the world, is it time for all of us to give nuclear energy a fresh look?
Guests:
Manish Bapna, President and CEO, NRDC
Denia Djokić, Assistant Research Scientist, University of Michigan
Josh Freed, Senior Vice President for Climate and Energy, Third Way
Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety, Union of Concerned Scientists
Highlights:
00:00 – Introduction
02:30 – Manish Bapna explains shift in posture on nuclear power
07:45 – Why permitting and transmission reforms are necessary
12:00 – Ed Lyman and Josh Freed share concerns about climate change but differ on the role of nuclear energy
16:15 – Ongoing risks of nuclear energy
20:30 – Supply chain concerns
25:00 – Discussion of radioactive waste handling
31:30 – Role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its independence under the current administration
40:00 – Where nuclear fits into carbon-free future
43:00 – Denia Djokić on how new advanced designs differ from older reactor designs
49:30 – SMRs are not plug-and-play
53:30 – New nuclear can’t meet the speed demands of AI
55:30 – Additional considerations around nuclear energy
57:30 – Climate One More Thing
For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit our episode page at ClimateOne.org
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