Dave Kraft is the Executive Director and co-founder of Nuclear Energy Information Service or NEIS for short. Dave was responsible for creating the “Know Nukes!” series of videos on nuclear topics in cooperation with CAN-TV Chicago; and is a co-founder of the Radiation Monitoring Project, designed to provide training and field monitors to communities contaminated by radioactive substances.

With Dave we talk about the impacts nuclear has from resources, economics, land use, the climate, and the short and long term effects.

Contact and connect with Dave: ​​dave [email protected]

NEIS: https://neis.org/

Solar Panels Plus Farming? Agrivoltaics Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgZBlD-TCFE&list=TLPQMDYxMDIwMjHSbLRM4kKjrA&index=5

Petuuche GIlbert tells his personal experience of living in the Grants Mining District in New Mexico and has been working on nuclear and mining issues for 30+ years. Petuuche is also an environmental and human rights activist as well as a member of the Multicultural Alliance for Safe Environment and President of the Indigenous World Association, a United Nations NGO.

New Mexico has no nuclear power plants, but it does have the nation's second-largest uranium resource equal to nearly one-third of U.S. known uranium reserves. We talk about uranium mining which is the first part of the nuclear fuel chain and is the  process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Uranium from this type of mining is used almost entirely as fuel for nuclear power plants.

The Grants Mining District, where Petuuche lives, was the primary focus of uranium extraction and production activities in New Mexico from the 1950s until the late 1990s. Nuclear is responsible for infusing about $3 billion a year into New Mexico’s economy, Los Alamos National Laboratory is being held up by lab officials, politicians and others as an example of the kind of high-tech economic drivers.

With Petuuche we talk about the Grants Mining District, nuclear activity and funding in New Mexico, Consolidated Interim Storage (CIS), his work in the area, and what his hope for the future is. 

Contact and connect with Petuuche: [email protected] or [email protected]

Grants Mining District: https://www.epa.gov/grants-mining-district

https://www.env.nm.gov/gwqb/grants-mining-district/

Trinity Nuclear Testing: https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/trinity-test-1945

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/trinity-test

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP): https://www.wipp.energy.gov/

New Mexico’s income from nuclear: https://apnews.com/b39a6e39d88441099ed2f99017f9fa4a

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/709600915/new-mexico-is-divided-over-the-perfect-site-to-store-nation-s-nuclear-waste

https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/region-state/newmexico.html

https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=NM

This week I spoke with Maggie and Arnie Gundersen. Maggie is the president of Fairewinds Energy Education and Arnie is a nuclear engineer and expert witness he is also the chief engineer for Fairewinds Associates, Inc, paralegal services and expert testimony firm. They both previously worked in the nuclear industry when they both came to the conclusion that this is not the future they want to support or work in and began their research and formation of Fairewinds to inform and educate people around the world, legislative officials, and members of the press concerning the scientific and economic issues relating to the production of electricity and the sources of energy used to create power.

With both Maggie and Arnie we talk about the history of nuclear, what resources we need for it, fission vs. fusion, their peer-reviewed publications, and what they're currently working on. To contact and connect with them and Fairewinds Energy Education will be in the show notes below.

Thank you so much to both Maggie and Arnie for speaking with me. To read their peer-reviewed publications and learn more about their organizations Fairewinds will be in the show notes below. And tune in next week where we will talk about how the uranium is mined to get the end product of nuclear. Thanks everyone and have a good week!

Contact and connect with Maggie and Arnie Gundersen: [email protected]

Fairewinds: https://www.fairewinds.org/

Peer Reviewed Papers: https://www.fairewinds.org/fairewinds-peer-reviewed-papers

Hi everyone and welcome back to the In Our Backyard Podcast and if you’re new, welcome. In the Real Cost of Nuclear season, I thought I would start things out with a re-release episode with Kevin Kamps who is with Beyond Nuclear. He specializes in high-level waste management and transportation; new and existing reactors; decommissioning; Congress watch; climate change; and federal subsidies.

We talk about all things nuclear: breaking down nuclear jargon and terms, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), how likely it is that another accident will happen, and how Kevin got into anti-nuclear himself.

To contact and connect with Kevin will be in the show notes below and I hope you enjoy the episode.

Thanks Kevin for speaking with me, if you have any suggestions for future episodes contact BREDL through their website bredl.org or on one of our social media platforms in the show notes. Thanks for tuning in and come back next week for another episode of the Real Cost of Nuclear season.

Contact and connect with Kevin: [email protected]

Beyond Nuclear: http://www.beyondnuclear.org

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: https://ieer.org/

Insurmountable Risks Book: https://www.amazon.com/Insurmountable-Risks-Dangers-Nuclear-Climate/dp/1571431624

Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities (CISF): https://www.nirs.org/campaigns/dont-waste-america/cis/ https://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/consolidated.cfm

Decommissioning: https://www.nei.org/resources/fact-sheets/decommissioning-nuclear-power-plants

Deep Isolation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2019/01/31/can-we-drill-a-hole-deep-enough-for-our-nuclear-waste/#960b74a68a7b

BREDL: https://www.bredl.org/index.htm 

Hi everyone, it’s your host Jenn Galler and I’m back with another season of the In Our Backyard Podcast and it’s all about Nuclear Energy. We’ve heard pros and cons of what nuclear power can entail, and in this season I’ll be breaking down what the real costs of nuclear power are. From the mining of uranium, transportation of the fuel, the use of it, where the waste will go, and whether it’s a long term energy solution. I’ll also be breaking down nuclear jargon along the way, discuss if it’s an essential energy source, and the safety of it. I’ll be talking with nuclear experts, learning facts, propaganda, and what’s happening with the nuclear industry today. I’m excited to dive into this topic with you all, so let’s get started!

Jacqueline Fahrenholz is a rising second year master’s student at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. She is pursuing a dual master’s degree in Environmental Management focusing in Ecosystem Science and Conservation along with a master’s degree in Forestry. Jackie worked with BREDL as a GIS Specialist this past summer, helping the organization get familiarized with the program as well as identifying tools necessary for completing tasks that have already been Identified. Some of the projects the team has focused on, include but is not limited to AERMOD modeling and the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate extension.

With Jackie we break down what GIS is, how environmental groups can use it, what got her interested in the environmental field, and what her plans for the future are.

Contact and connect with Jackie: [email protected] 

Leija Helling is a Community Organizing Associate with Center for Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ). The campaign that she is working on is called Make Polluters Pay which is making polluting corporations pay for their contamination.

To give some background, there are currently 1,388 toxic waste sites in the United States that are so dangerous they have been designated “Superfund” sites by the federal government. But there’s no money left to clean up the contamination. Originally, big polluting companies paid into a fund that was used to clean up their messes. But in 1995, Congress let the Polluters Pay Tax expire. By 2003, our Superfund was broke. Ever since, cleanup efforts have slowed to a crawl while all of us as taxpayers are left holding the bag.

Today, some of the biggest polluting corporations are making billions of dollars per year in profits and paying zero dollars in taxes. As climate change causes more flooding, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, increasing the risk of widespread toxic exposure from these sites, there is no time to waste.

With Lejiah we talk about what got her into organizing work, the Make Polluters Pay campaign, why young people should / are involved in the climate movement, and imaging a better future.

Contact and connect with Leijah: [email protected]

Make Pollutors Pay: http://chej.org/makepolluterspay/

This week we will be diverting from the Youth in the Climate Season to bring you a bonus episode about the No Coal UNC rally happening today at UNC Chapel Hill. Today at 11, there will be a Kick off rally where people will be using their voices and presences to demand justice for the dirty coal that UNC is continuing to burn. You can listen to episodes 3 on the Road to Renewable Season with Jovita Lee and 1 on this season with Amelia Covington if you want to hear more on the UNC coal plant. On this episode is Chris Carlton and Liz Evans who are apart of a group called Raging Grannies which are grannies who are using creative actions to speak out for social issues.

CLEAN ENERGY NOW!

(Tune: “Bella Ciao” Song of the Italian Resistance WWll)  New lyrics by Chris Carlson for the Raging Grannies

We need to wake up! We need to wise up!

We need to open our eyes

And do it NOW! NOW! NOW!

We need to stop this toxic coal plant

And we need to stop it now!

They’ve been mining, they’ve been burning,  They’ve been dumping their coal ash

For a hundred years!

Hardest hit/ are poor communities,

And that’s got to stop right now!

Coal is burning. It’s quite concerning.

We’ve got to solve it, get involved

And do it NOW! NOW! NOW!

DAQ! we’re telling you:

Restore the Heat Input Limit, Now!

We’re on a campus/ that’s in a crisis

They’re full of shit! Useless permit!

Change it NOW! NOW! NOW!

We need the proof/ that you’re complying

With the Clean Air Act right now!!

No point in waiting/ or hesitating;

We must get wise to their lies

If we’re to stay alive!

We need to build/ a Clean New Future,

And we’re gonna start right Now!!

Contact with Chris and Liz: [email protected] and [email protected]  

This episode is a re-release from a few months ago where I talk with Nick Trombetta who is a part of the Sunrise Movement which is a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. They’re building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.

With Nick we discuss the Sunrise Movement's mission, why it is important for youth to be involved in the climate movement, the Green New Deal, and actions they’re taking locally.

In the episode there are talks about politicians, but BREDL does not endorse any politician or political party. Thanks for listening and if you like it, please share with a friend!

Contact and connect with Nick: [email protected]

Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/?ms=SunriseMovement-WeAreTheClimateRevolution

How to get involved: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/take-action/?ms=HowtoTakeActionwithSunrise

Madeline Parker is from NC Warn. Madeline is a Youth Climate Justice Organizer, which is an arm of the organization that was created in 2017. Their intention is to further develop and deepen NC WARN’s commitment to actively involving youth in the fight for climate justice and against the climate crisis, working both in school settings and out in the general community.

We are all impacted by the climate crisis, but youth are the ones most impacted and all too often are not invited to the conversation or able to amplify their voices and engage in the movement.

With Madeline, we discuss her work, working with Youth who are already engaged in the Climate Movement, why there has been an uprising in youth speaking out, challenging the status quo, how youth are keeping engaged in COVID and more. Thank you for listening and if you enjoy it please share with a friend!

Contact and connect with Madeline: [email protected]

NC Warn: https://www.ncwarn.org/our-work/youth-climate-justice-organizing/