Global Politics, Climate Change, and Nuclear Power
The geopolitics of energy plays a key and dynamic role in modern life, affecting many aspects of international and global decision-making. This truth has been more than highlighted by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Issues surrounding energy are critical to security relationships among regions and nations and are central to all considerations of climate change and its impacts.
Innovation in energy technology today is at the core of the Energy Transition. It has the goals of mitigating global warming and creating more sustainable, less polluting systems for society. In a bold move, the European Union has now accepted nuclear power as a means to help achieve these goals. Such acceptance reflects, in part, growing global Interest in the new technology of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
Come hear a conversation between a nuclear scientist and an energy policy expert on this and other essential developments related to the Energy Transition and its geopolitical realities.
Nick Touran, PhD. A nuclear engineer in Seattle working on the design of an advanced nuclear reactor for a nuclear innovation company, TerraPower. He developed and maintains his website whatisnuclear.com and was a guest on NPR Science Friday.
Scott Montgomery. He is an author, geologist, and affiliate faculty member in the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. He writes, teaches, and lectures on a wide variety of topics related to energy (geopolitics, resources, nuclear power, climate change).