Skip to main content

Checking in on the Washington Capitals

By


With a record of 2-2-2, the Caps' play so far this season has been inconsistent and somewhat disappointing. Media coverage of NEI's corporate sponsorship with the team, meanwhile, has been steady.

Stories about the partnership have appeared on: the AP wire, the Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital, The Washington Post's Sports Bog, The Toronto Star, Sports Business Daily, E&E News, Idaho Samizdat and NBC4, the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.

And we were pleased to learn yesterday that mention of the Caps/NEI deal has made ESPN Magazine's, much-discussed "Body Issue" [page 44]. Does this mean nuclear energy can now be considered sexy?

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Incidentally, the Toronto Maple Leafs, another ice hockey team, are also backed by a nuclear sponsor -- Bruce Power, who is the operator for the Kincardine and Darlington nuclear reactors in Ontario. Then again, given the Leafs' dismal record, Bruce Power may not want this to be all that well known. If you are a Leafs fan, people have to give you credit for loyalty and perseverance. I gave up on the Leafs a long time ago, but maybe that's why I am cheering for Bruce's planned new build, greenfield reactor(s) in Peace River, Alberta. This should give Bruce an opportunity to back a winner in either the Oilers or the Flames. TT.
October 16, 2009 at 12:34 AM
KB said…
@ Anonymous: Given Xcel Energy's partnerships with both the Wild and Avs, rooting for Minnesota or Colorado are options as well.

And a Save-the-Date reminder: CBC/Hockey Night in Canada will broadcast Caps at Toronto, 11/21 and 12/12.
October 16, 2009 at 9:15 AM
Anonymous said…
Just a clarification to the first comment mentioning Bruce Power... the Darlington station is actually owned and operated by Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Bruce Power does operate the Bruce station, but under lease from the owner (OPG). The history of how this came to be is interesting, but off-topic for this discussion. Cheers!
October 16, 2009 at 11:02 AM
DocForesight said…
I think it's time someone slashes Greenpeace, then drop the gloves for hand-to-hand "discussions".

My rooting for the MN "No Stars" goes back to the days of Gump Worsley, Bill Goldsworthy, Lou Nanne and that crew. There was a time when even the skates were color-coordinated with the uniforms.
October 16, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Nanomaterials Can Make Nuclear Reactors Safer and More Efficient

By
The following is a guest post from Matt Wald, senior communications advisor at NEI. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattLWald.

From the batteries in our cell phones to the clothes on our backs, "nanomaterials" that are designed molecule by molecule are working their way into our economy and our lives. Now there’s some promising work on new materials for nuclear reactors.

Reactors are a tough environment. The sub atomic particles that sustain the chain reaction, neutrons, are great for splitting additional uranium atoms, but not all of them hit a uranium atom; some of them end up in various metal components of the reactor. The metal is usually a crystalline structure, meaning it is as orderly as a ladder or a sheet of graph paper, but the neutrons rearrange the atoms, leaving some infinitesimal voids in the structure and some areas of extra density. The components literally grow, getting longer and thicker. The phenomenon is well understood and designers compensate for it with a …
1 comment
Read more

Missing the Point about Pennsylvania’s Nuclear Plants

By
A group that includes oil and gas companies in Pennsylvania released a study on Monday that argues that twenty years ago, planners underestimated the value of nuclear plants in the electricity market. According to the group, that means the state should now let the plants close.

Huh?

The question confronting the state now isn’t what the companies that owned the reactors at the time of de-regulation got or didn’t get. It’s not a question of whether they were profitable in the '80s, '90s and '00s. It’s about now. Business works by looking at the present and making projections about the future.

Is losing the nuclear plants what’s best for the state going forward?

Pennsylvania needs clean air. It needs jobs. And it needs protection against over-reliance on a single fuel source.


What the reactors need is recognition of all the value they provide. The electricity market is depressed, and if electricity is treated as a simple commodity, with no regard for its benefit to clean air o…
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Nuclear Plant Closures Are a Crisis for Small Town USA

By
Nuclear plants occupy an unusual spot in the towns where they operate: integral but so much in the background that they may seem almost invisible. But when they close, it can be like the earth shifting underfoot.

Lohud.com, the Gannett newspaper that covers the Lower Hudson Valley in New York, took a look around at the experience of towns where reactors have closed, because the Indian Point reactors in Buchanan are scheduled to be shut down under an agreement with Gov. Mario Cuomo.


From sea to shining sea, it was dismal. It wasn’t just the plant employees who were hurt. The losses of hundreds of jobs, tens of millions of dollars in payrolls and millions in property taxes depressed whole towns and surrounding areas. For example:

Vernon, Vermont, home to Vermont Yankee for more than 40 years, had to cut its municipal budget in half. The town closed its police department and let the county take over; the youth sports teams lost their volunteer coaches, and Vernon Elementary School lost th…
Post a Comment
Read more