🌎 US nuclear power

The rise, fall, and revival.

Hey Freethinkers,

Let’s talk about energy.

It’s no exaggeration to say that many of the greatest challenges now facing humanity—from climate change to the changing world order—involve energy. So, in this edition of Freethink Weekly, we’re zeroing in on the subject by taking a close look at some of our most popular stories about this urgent topic. From the quest to build better batteries to the campaign to build more nuclear reactors, we’ve covered the people and innovations working to bring about cleaner, more abundant energy for all.

Onwards,
Damon

---

FUTURE EXPLORED

America’s plan to resurrect nuclear power

Nuclear power produces zero carbon emissions. It’s also a much more dependable form of clean energy than either solar or wind power. So why aren’t we building more nuclear reactors in the United States? Why is the total number of reactors going down instead of up? In this edition of Future Explored, we examine what’s standing in the way of nuclear power and explain what can be done to clear the path.

---

HARD RESET

The future of high energy density batteries

“In the 21st century, probably the most important technological revolution we need is a better battery.” Those are the words of Dr. Venkat Srinivasan of Argonne National Laboratory, where he is part of the team working to bring that revolution to life. In this episode of Hard Reset, we get an inside look at the new battery design that might help to unlock a new era of energy.

For more stories like these, don’t forget to subscribe to the Hard Reset channel on YouTube.

---

FREETHINK FEATURES

US hits 180 GW of solar power. Here’s how we get to 1,000 by 2035.

“We’re building more solar than most people realize, but not fast enough to catch up with the physics of climate change.” That’s what author and climate activist Bill McKibben told Freethink. In this article, we explore the major efforts underway to speed things up, from the innovations aimed at overcoming technical obstacles to the policy proposals designed to smooth the process.

---

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The master plan to end EV “range anxiety” forever

Electric vehicles today can largely compete with their gas-powered cousins in terms of cost and performance. But they still don’t match up in terms of range and convenience. In other words, if the battery in your EV starts to die while you’re out driving, there’s still no guarantee of a nearby charging station. But the times may be changing. In this article, we survey the trends in tech that might finally deliver more EV charging stations to more places around the U.S.

---

WORTH SHARING

Embrace your dark side: A new perspective on negative emotions

A life without pain would be full of suffering. Take it from people with the rare condition called congenital insensitivity to pain: Because they lack an internal alarm system, they fail to recognize when they’re in serious physical danger — letting cuts go untreated, not sensing infections, walking around with broken bones. A lack of negative emotions would be similarly dangerous. As Kross explains, negative emotions might be unpleasant, but they deliver us useful information about our inner and outer world.

---

Damon Root is the managing editor at Freethink.

---