In quick succession, the Obama administration has dealt a near-death blow to new civilian nuclear reactors in the U.S.

First, the Yucca Mountain Project, a waste storage facility in Nevada, was “zeroed-out” of the 2009 budget. Second, the administration has just ended U.S. participation in a new nuclear fuel recycling project, one that would extract more energy from existing fission energy sources, and reduce sharply the high level nuclear waste from nuclear power.

Presiding over both of these decisions–that effectively terminate the feasibility of new nuclear power plants for the U.S.–is Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, Nobel Laureate in Physics, and former director of the Lawrence Berkeley Energy Laboratory.

In contrast to the crowing of Senator Harry Reid about “killing” the Yucca Mountain Waste storage project, Dr. Chu described nuclear fuel recycling as an essential element of nuclear power for the U.S.,…

“The Wall Street Journal should hire reporters who understand the technical side of the energy industries and can cut through political agendas and narratives. A more competent editorial staff can identify and correct shortsighted reporting too.”

“Energy companies are accelerating searches for new oil-and-gas prospects outside the Middle East amid war and high prices,” reported the Wall Street Journal. While this surface take sounds reasonable, it is misleading and beneath what should be expected from an informed energy journalist.

Collin Eaton’s Big Oil Plows Billions into Far-Flung Drilling Sites to Escape Iran Turmoil” (April 19) needs correction. Major oil companies do not undertake major international exploration efforts without serious research and planning. That does not happen in days or weeks–even a few months.

“Far Flung” Places?

Writing about many oil company projects in “far flung” places, Eaton fails to note that they were preplanned and in highly prospective/active oil-producing locations.…

“There is no evidence that UN COP meetings and more than $10 trillion spent on renewables over the last 30 years have affected the climate. The average atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, which is blamed for global warming, has been rising over the last 50 years without any change to the trend.”

World leaders are in turmoil. For 30 years, the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and International Energy Agency, among business and political leaders called for a shift from hydrocarbon fuels to renewable energy. Thousands of laws were enacted to try to force a net zero energy transition. But it’s now clear that green energy is unable to meet the needs of growing developing nations or support the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution in advanced nations.

Since the founding of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, the UN has led efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to try to fight human-caused global warming.…

This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. Droz is also the author of the popular Substack Critically Thinking About Select Societal Issues.

Wind Energy — Offshore:
Monitoring offshore wind impacts needs to be done right
Theoretical upper limit for offshore wind energy extraction
Judge rejects US Wind permit review case

Renewables — Other:
*** Baseload Solar’s Four Little Secrets
*** Madison County wind farm neighbors feel betrayed by NY state
Wind turbine eagle-kill secrecy may soon end
Another Battery Catastrophe
The renewables trap

Nuclear Energy:
*** The World’s First Thorium Molten Salt Reactor
*** Why are developing economies pursuing small modular reactors?
*** California Coastal Commission Votes 9-3 to Extend Nuclear Operations to 2030
British nuclear fusion breakthrough
A Nuclear Resurgence, but Major Obstacles Remain

Fossil Fuel Energy:
Why Did NY Gov Hochul Back Down on New York’s Gas Ban?…