Energy & Resources

Professor Ramana explains why the proposal to build a Natrium nuclear reactor in Wyoming is unlikely to be commercially viable, taking into account the long history of failed sodium cooled reactor projects around the world (Paywall).

Read this new collection of essays and illustrations from the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, offering 10 illustrated meditations on crisis from the 2020 Wall Scholars. Professor Ramana writes on the nuclear crisis in Japan at a time of global upheaval.

For Vietnamese fishers, their fate is now largely charted not just by their country’s fishing regulations but also by that of their neighbors in the South China Sea. Rappler cited a study co-authored by Professor Rashid Sumaila (SPPGA & UBC Oceans), which found that destructive fishing practices have decimated the East Sea’s fish stocks since the 1950s.

A rapidly warming climate has people questioning whether nuclear power is a viable option for decarbonisation. Director Allison Macfarlane warns that the construction time for nuclear plants is much longer compared to renewable projects and America “can’t afford to wait that long” (Subscription).

“We were born on a damaged planet careening toward environmental collapse. Yet our intellects are poorly equipped to grasp the scale of the Earth’s ecological death spiral.” As an anthropologist, Postdoctoral Fellow Vincent Ialenti shows us how thinking across time can help us become more responsible planetary stewards and foster empathy across generations.

After state officials unveiled Wyoming’s Natrium nuclear project, industry critics are doubtful plans will follow through. Director Allison Macfarlane warns that “we can’t pin our hopes on [nuclear] as the thing that’s going to get us out of the next 20 [crucial] years.”

This book, edited By Mary Menton and Philippe Le Billon, is about environmental defenders and the violence they face while seeking to protect their land and the environment.

With the WTO and Biden administration prioritizing environmental concerns, Professor Rashid Sumaila (SPPGA; Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries) is optimistic that an agreement to ban harmful fisheries can be reached in the near future.

Following news that former prime minister Jean Chrétien was part of a secret project to set up a radioactive nuclear waste repository, officials have declared that the proposal is dead. But Professor Ramana and Kerrie Blaise say that the proposal raises ethical questions about moving nuclear waste or producing it in the first place (Subscription).

To meet its goal of climate neutrality by 2050, Canada has invested more than $75 million into the development of small modular reactors (SMRs). Professor Ramana weighs in on the conversation (French).

SPPGA Director Allison Macfarlane speaks on the feasibility of small modular nuclear reactors and waste management in wake of New Brunswick’s plan for deployment of SMRs (Article in French).

Three independent UN human rights experts, including Professor David Boyd (SPPGA; IRES) expressed deep regret over Japan’s decision to discharge potentially radioactive Fukushima nuclear plant water into the ocean, impacting millions across the Pacific.

Drawing on 32 months of interview-based ethnographic fieldwork, Postdoctoral Fellow Vincent Ialenti examines Finland’s “mankala” nuclear energy companies through the lens of anthropological theories of corporate form.

China is the world’s largest exporter of seafood – and its largest consumer. After decades of overfishing, the nation is now looking for seafood in open and contested waters. Professor Rashid Sumaila (SPPGA & UBC Oceans) has more.

Researchers are making use of new gene-editing techniques in medicine, bioenergy, industrial biotechnology, and beyond, and the field of crop breeding is no exception. Milind Kandlikar co-authors a study examining this phenomenon.

Professor David Boyd (SPPGA; IRES) recently presented a UN report on the global water crisis, particularly on its disproportionate effects and state/business obligations to ensure safe and sufficient water for all.

For two decades, the story of India’s Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is one of rising costs, delays and never-ending promises of commissioning. “Shouldn’t India then stop pursuing the breeder programme?” say Prof Ramana & MPPGA Student Nidhi Sharma.

Professor Paul Evans discusses what this could mean for trade, resources, and international relations.

Complete transition to cooking gas reduces gender inequality by improving women’s respiratory health. Professor Milind Kandlikar’s (SPPGA; IRES) co-written paper says that improving the affordability, supply and reliability of clean fuels should be a key focus.

In July, a $60 million bribery and corruption case came to light in Ohio. The guilty party—one of Ohio’s largest utility corporations. For years, the firm lobbied to continue operating its unprofitable nuclear plants, write Professor Ramana and MPPGA Alumna Cassandra Jeffery.