Thank You for 1K Subs and Virginia Goes Nuclear
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good afternoon,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
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Quick Thoughts
Support and follow the work of IWF’s Center for Energy and Conservation today if you haven’t already.
And congrats to my friend and IWF colleague, Meaghan Mobbs, on the launch of her Center for American Safety and Security.
My friend and our IWF CEC Senior Fellow has a fantastic new op-ed in WSJ on Biden’s wayward climate agenda.
My adopted hometown, Alexandria VA, turns 275 today. I’m lucky to call this place home!
You should listen to The National Parks Band and their new single SCENIC ROUTE.
Poland will up their defense spending quotient to 5%—the highest of any NATO country. Boom! Lithuania also plans to up theirs to 4%. Eastern Europe FTW.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the next dispatch previewing my reporting trip to ICAST in Orlando next Friday!
New Subscriber Milestone
Over a 1,000 of you follow this scrappy Substack dispatch of mine. I’m in disbelief, but also grateful you’ve taken an interest in natural resources/conservation issues that animate me. I hope you also enjoy when I sprinkle my travels and tease original interviews across my Townhall column and two podcasts.
As I’ve promised before, I’ll start to offer occasional subscriber-only exclusive content now that I hit a sustainable number of followers. Should you be interested in upping your support beyond a free account, take advantage of this deal here.
If you plan to upgrade, great. If not, please continue to follow. The majority of my content will stay free. But I shouldn’t divulge ALL my musings gratis. I know many of you will understand.
Be on the lookout for subscriber-only content dropping soon! I anticipate doing 1-2 posts each month.
Thank you for following and amplifying my work. As always, send me leads or tips on serious stories to pursue. I’ll be able to tackle more this fall.
Have a great weekend!
Virginia Goes Nuclear
Virginia with Governor Glenn Youngkin at the helm, despite Democrats undermining him, is in a great position. CNBC declared - yet again - the Commonwealth is No. 1.
Youngkin, who has been floated as a potential VP pick for former President Donald J. Trump, always says he wants to make Virginia the best place to work, live, and raise a family. And he’s arguably done his best, despite the aforementioned partisan roadblocks he’s faced.
Speaking of good policy, Governor Youngkin signed Senate Bill 454, to deploy small modular nuclear reactors, into law at North Lake Anna Nuclear Station this week. Had I not been filming in Delaware this week, I would have covered the event as press.
“To meet the power demands of growing and thriving Virginia, it is imperative we continue to explore emerging technologies that will provide Virginians access to the reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy they deserve," Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a press release. "In alignment with our All-American, All-of-the-Above energy plan, small modular nuclear reactors will play a critical role in harnessing this potential and positioning Virginia to be a leading nuclear innovation hub. This legislation will allow us to press forward with the potential sighting of an SMR here at North Anna. Together, our potential to unleash and foster a rich energy economy for Virginians is limitless."
Per Virginia’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) state profile, Old Dominion already relies heavy on nuclear energy. Nuclear supplies 31% of the Commonwealth’s net electricity generation — from two nuclear plants! — as of March 2024.
I recently learned that Northern Virginia, close to where I reside, was home to the first nuclear reactor in the Commonwealth. SM-1 Nuclear Reactor in Fort Belvoir, now permanently closed, was “the first atomic power generator to produce electrical energy for the U.S. power grid.” Despite opening in 1957, it closed in 1973 and is expected to be fully decommissioned by 2026. (A shame, if you ask me). Nevertheless, there are four reactors at two power plants operating today that supply 31% of Virginia’s electricity generation. Incredible!
I wrote at IWF earlier this week on how to make women fall in love with nuclear energy
The facts don’t lie: nuclear energy, despite being vilified as a dangerous invention, is the cleanest and most reliable energy source.
Nuclear plants are, on average, 2.5 to 3.5 times more reliable than comparable wind and solar facilities. The Department of Energy reports nuclear power boasts the highest capacity factor rate of any energy source at 92.5% efficiency, compared to wind (35.4%) and solar power (24.9%).
Concerned about solar and wind having intermittency issues, and the problems they pose to the environment? You’re not alone. Nuclear energy can quell fears about these ugly clean energy downsides because it’s actually the most land-efficient source out there.
A single nuclear plant only requires a little over one square mile of land to operate a 1,000-megawatt (MW) facility. In comparison, wind and solar plants need 360 and 75 times more land, respectively, to generate the equivalent amount of energy.
#2: Make Nuclear Facilities Aesthetically Beautiful
If facts aren’t convincing enough, we must show that nuclear facilities are safe and can be aesthetically beautiful. After all, women are visual creatures—and we love to admire beautiful places and structures.
One company aiming to shed misconceptions about nuclear’s visual appearance is Oklo Power Inc.
…
Architectural Digest praised Oklo’s Aurora concept because it has the potential to power 1,000 houses, run efficiently for 20 years without refueling, and save consumers one million tons of carbon emissions while turning “nuclear waste into clean energy.”
Virginia, like the rest of America, wants to supercharge nuclear. I’m here for it.
Scenes from the Week
This week, I traveled within the Mid-Atlantic region to film Episode 19 of my CFACT original video series Conservation Nation. Can you guess the theme/topic?
ICYMI
Articles/commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
A recent District of Conservation podcast episode of mine was heavily referenced in this New York Post article and recycled on Bearing Arms and NotTheBee. Whoa!
ARTICLES/BLOGS
IWF: 3 Ways To Make Women Fall In Love With Nuclear Energy
Townhall: Fake Meat Not Economically Viable, Politically Popular
IWF/Washington Examiner: Net-zero policies drive up household appliance costs
District of Conservation
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
And check out a new episode of The Sportswoman Show with Fish Untamed host Katie Burgert!
Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts and encourage your friends to subscribe to the newsletter too.
—Gabriella
I am new to your post/blog/whatever, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I was amused to read how you thought we need to get women interested in nuclear. Personally, I believe the best evidence was the photoshoot done by Madison Hilly a few months ago, showing her pressing her pregnant belly against a container of spent fuel.