The Irish government had me write a postcard to Britain’s prime minister when I was in elementary school.
They used “the children” to guilt Britain into shutting down Sellafield nuclear power plant, which is 100 miles or so off Ireland’s coast. Over one million postcards like this landed in Prime Minister Tony Blair’s mailbox.
It was pure propaganda… and it worked. The government shut down the plant.
Propaganda like this is why nuclear sounds like danger to most people. The truth is the opposite. Nuclear is indisputably the cleanest and safest energy source available to man, as you can see here.
Source: OurWorldInData
I’d happily live next-door to a nuclear power plant.
How to “out” an environmental wingnut with one question
Ask: “Are you pro-nuclear?”
If they answer anything but “yes,” we can’t be friends. Here’s how to make environmental wingnuts squirm at your next summer BBQ.
YOU: It’s great that you’re passionate about the environment. You probably hate fossil fuels like coal and oil, right?
POTENTIAL WINGNUT: Of course.
YOU: And you support nuclear, right? Because it’s clean and safe and produces minimal carbon emissions?
CONFIRMED WINGNUT: (crickets)
Here’s Bill Gates (center) ceremonially breaking ground on America’s first “mini” nuclear reactor:
Source: GatesNotes
His company, TerraPower, is building a nuclear plant in Wyoming small enough to fit in your garage… but powerful enough to provide energy to an entire city (!).
It’s similar to the reactors that power nuclear submarines. Crews sleep just a few feet away from these “boilers,” which hold enough energy to power the sub for years without refueling.
America has only built one new nuclear plant since 1980. And it cost $30 billion and took 14 years to complete.
Why? Regulation. Builders must submit up to 2 million pages of documents to get a new reactor approved.
Mini reactors are different. They can be mass produced in a factory. This will allow TerraPower to bang out 50 mini power plants in the time it takes to build one giant cooling tower today.
I hope you’re ready for a nuclear renaissance, ’cause it’s coming. It’s not a bad idea to encourage your kids to consider a career in nuclear engineering.
Nuclear lost the “narrative war” the first time around. The US was building reactors by the dozens in the ’60s and early ’70s. Then environmental wingnuts (with some funding from big oil) convinced everyone nuclear was evil.
This made our energy dirtier and more dangerous. A recent Science paper found emissions from coal plants killed 500,000 Americans between 1999‒2020. The real killer is the nuclear power plant that isn’t built.
Part of the reason we founded The Rational Optimist Society is to ensure great ideas—like cheap, abundant, clean nuclear power for everyone—win.
Reminder: There’s no such thing as a low-energy rich country
Here’s a great chart showing the link between a country’s wealth and its electricity consumption.
Notice: There’s no such thing as a low-energy, rich country.
Source: IEA
Conservationists have it backwards. We should be producing as much energy as possible, as cleanly and efficiently as possible.
TerraPower’s mini nuclear reactors could kickstart a new nuclear age. And that’s the “master key” that will make breakthroughs like flying cars… desalinization plants that pump out clean drinking water… and Mars-bound rockets, possible.
Widespread nuclear power could make high energy bills a thing of the past. Our kids’ kids’ electricity bills could cost less than a cup of coffee.
I really admire Joe Lonsdale
Lonsdale co-founded $50 billion military tech disruptor Palantir.
Many folks avoid doing anything controversial after they “make it.” Not Lonsdale. He broke ranks and is pushing back against the toxic ideas tearing Western society apart.
Joe wrote Brave Days, Great Days, a must-read piece that talks about fighting for the ideas we believe in:
We have to Build and Fight… It is absolutely essential to a free society, and to the United States. But building businesses, even bold businesses, isn’t enough. And too often, builders are not focused enough on fighting for the values that make enterprise possible in the first place!
Innovation and free enterprise are the reason we’re no longer living in mud huts, trying not to starve to death. But there’s a mass demoralization campaign being waged against innovators.
Just look at how the media portrays the man who is building rocket ships to take us to Mars and brain chips allowing paralyzed people to work:
Source: WSJ
If we keep demonizing our builders, we’ll get less innovation, which makes us all poorer.
As Lonsdale says, “whether and how we fought back… is what we’ll be remembered for.”
I want my sons and daughter to know I fought to build a better world for them. Wouldn’t you agree?
WARNING: Climate narrative violation
Over the past century did the number of people dying from heatwaves, extreme cold, hurricanes, droughts, and floods:
A. Double
B. Stay the same
C. Plunge 90%+
The answer is… C.
Research from our friend Bjorn Lomborg shows climate-related deaths plunged 97%+ over the past century.
Source: Lampadia
This is a good one to ask friends. Most folks pick A. Surprise them with the good news.
There aren’t fewer climate disasters these days. The difference is we invented tools to blunt Mother Nature.
Extreme heat… we invented air conditioning. Deadly floods… we devised dams, canals, and expert drainage systems. Droughts… we pioneered new farming methods that allow us to grow crops year-round.
Innovation—not politicians or guilt—solves climate change.
See you next week.
Stephen McBride
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