Prejudice towards nuclear power among some policymakers is preventing a fact-based assessment of its benefits, including the ability to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, Bohdan Zronek, chief nuclear officer at Czech utility ČEZ, told participants in World Nuclear Association's Strategic eForum last week. ČEZ was one of seven utilities that wrote to the European Commission in March, arguing that the nuclear industry ought to benefit from future sustainable financing.

Speaking on the high-level panel Driving investment towards nuclear projects on 10 September, Zronek noted the emission reduction targets suggested by the European Commission and the European Parliament of, respectively, 55% and 65%, by 2030. The forecast for 2040 by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group, however, suggests "big trouble" ahead, he said.

"Most countries in Europe will be hardly sufficient in power production and it will be very difficult to know where to buy or import from. Power production is now more a matter of ideology and policy than a technical issue, which creates a tough environment for construction and financing of any power source as we operate usually as stock market utilities, and we all have to meet our laws, regulations and corporate rules," he said.

Despite the ongoing pandemic Americans seem to be increasingly taking to the skies, but we’re still locked out of most international destinations and air travel continues to feel like a risky decision. That doesn’t mean we can’t pretend that we’re traveling, though, and if we’re going to be living some kind of globe-trotting delusional fantasy we might as well invest in something like this Pan Am-branded in-flight service drinks trolley.

Racism is America’s original sin, and despite a century and a half and more of efforts to put it behind us, it is more of an issue than ever. A great deal of this is the responsibility of a man whose election to the presidency was hailed as the...

President Obama had a huge opportunity to advance the well being of Black Americans and put to rest the final vestiges of racism in America. He blew it. //

The first Black American President, instead of using the huge megaphone his historic presidency offered, chose instead to foment distrust and discord. The violence we now see in our streets will set race relations back for decades. Only once could history choose to offer the presidency to a Black American for the first time. President Barack Obama wasted that opportunity.

A devastating indictment of the media weaving false narratives.