American Nuclear Society scholarship applications for the 2011-2012 academic year are now online! Since ANS was established in 1954, it has promoted the awareness and understanding of nuclear science and technology (NS&T). To further that mission, ANS administers scholarships each year that support the development and education of those who will research and implement future applications of NS&T.

It's not too late to go nuclear for the holidays. PopAtomic Studios, the non-profit organization that is dedicated to arts-integrated outreach in support of nuclear energy, is raising funds to help complete its 501c3 federal tax exemption application. Make a donation to PopAtomic's cause and receive a nuclear-themed gift, for you or to give to a family member or friend.

The 32nd Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs is up at Canadian Energy Issues.  The carnival features blog posts from the leading U.S. nuclear bloggers and is a roundup of featured content from them.

Click here for the National Nuclear Science Week flyer.

The 27th Carnival of Green Business blogs is up at Calfinder's Residential Solar Blog! This week's carnival is a roundup of featured content highlighting news, opinions, and insights on issues of interest to the green business community.

Deal with New Jersey will let it operate for 10 more years without having to build cooling towers

The Georgia Tech Student Section of the American Nuclear Society will host the 2011 ANS Student Conference on April 14-17, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

In a previous post on the ANS Nuclear Cafe, I discussed how a Clean Energy Standard (CES) that included nuclear energy would be more effective (as well as more fair) than a portfolio standard that includes only "renewable" energy sources. There have been encouraging signs recently that this CES concept is gaining traction in Washington.

With Vermont's governor-elect, Peter Shumlin (D.)-the self-described number one opponent of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant-picking his cabinet and maintaining a high profile, the struggle continues unabated by the plant's proponents who want to keep it from being shut down.

This is the weekly Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers with contributions from the leading pro-nuclear blogs in North America.

National Nuclear Science Week will be held on January 24-28, 2011. The week is designed to recognize the contributions of the nuclear science industry and those who work in it every day.

Wind turbines are now a politically popular way for generating emission-free electricity for the grid. There are now windmills operating in many parts of the United States and more of them are proposed.

The December issue of Nuclear News is now available electronically to ANS members. The issue contains a special section on nuclear fuel, featuring the following articles:

Third Way and the Idaho National Lab are hosting the New Millennium Nuclear Energy Summit, a bipartisan forum on the future of nuclear energy in the United States. Today's event features Energy Secretary Steven Chu, White House Advisor Carol Browner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, and more than two dozen industry CEOs, labor and Non-Governmental Organization representatives, and energy investors.

On Sunday, December 5, 2010, the Financial Times reported on a story (subscription required) that has been available in nuclear-energy focused corners of the Web for about three weeks: A consortium worthy of serious attention has begun a study of the viability of nuclear propulsion for oil tankers. The three-member consortium includes Lloyd's Register,  BMT Nigel Gee, and Hyperion Power Generation. Enterprises Shipping and Trading, a Greek company that manages a large fleet of modern, double hull tankers, is funding the study.

Having recently attended a Pillsbury and Nuclear Energy Institute seminar on "Export Controls for the Nuclear Renaissance," it became clear to me why the United States is losing its leadership position in nuclear energy:  The bureaucracy is winning the war over effectiveness of policy and nonproliferation.

The 30th Carnival of Nuclear Energy blogs is up at Yes Vermont Yankee

At the American Nuclear Society's 2010 Winter Conference & Technology Expo, its Board of Directors revised and approved two position statements that are now available online (click here):

Capacity planning targets keep going up