No. 115: Reactor Resurgence

Nuclear energy has seen a resurgence of interest over the past decade, from new reactor types to the first signs of success for nuclear fusion. This week, we saw yet another tech company partnership to provide nuclear power for data centers. Given the intersection between clean energy, the climate crisis, environmental conservation, and artificial intelligence, it's worth a closer look.

I'm highlighting one of my favorite job boards as well, especially if your ambition stretches to humanity-scale impact – and if you're just starting your social impact job search, the career guide at 80,000 Hours will help you refine what you're looking for.

~ Greg

What we're reading

Amazon is collaborating with Energy Northwest to build four nuclear reactors in Richland, WA to help it reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. (KOIN, CBS affiliate)

• The reactors will be built along the Columbia River, a major waterway in the Pacific Northwest that partially divides Washington and Oregon.
• It wasn't that long ago that Microsoft announced they were restoring operations for a reactor on Three Mile Island to meet their electricity needs – striking given the partial meltdown there in 1979 and its reputation as the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. Restoration of service is planned for 2028.
  • But then Google made its own nuclear announcement. Those reactors are planned to go online starting in 2030.
  • Now Amazon is in the mix. The Columbia River reactors aren't the only partnership, either: they struck another deal with Dominion Energy in Virginia.
• Nothing against nuclear energy, but there are a couple of things that stand out to me:
  • First, the names involved. We're talking major tech companies with significant data center footprints, and that was before the acceleration of artificial intelligence. Their energy usage is off the charts, and you might be surprised that water usage is an issue, too, since it's used to keep data center temperatures in check. Generating an AI image can use as much energy as it takes to charge your smartphone, and the major AI companies are training video generation models.
  • Second, the timeline. There's a reason I shared the operational dates: these are long-term investments in emerging energy technology. When we talk about the climate crisis and meeting the goals set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement, the general consensus is that nuclear energy is too far away to have an impact. If you wanted to get to net-zero as quickly as possible, you would invest in other technologies first.
• Net-zero might be the stated goal, but AI is the energy hog here. This is about building the long-term energy infrastructure to support it.
  • The impact on our natural resources is far from the only impact we'll see from AI, but it is real and it is being felt today – not to diminish the risks of job loss and AI safety in general.

Job of the week

I think you're going to dig the featured job this week, even if it's not one you would apply to. That's because it's with Works in Progress, a magazine that focuses on world-changing ideas. Works in Progress is backed by Stripe; if you don't work in tech, let's just say they're ubiquitous for online payments.

They're looking for a Managing Editor who will manage their newsletter, social media accounts, and content pipeline – sort of a mix between editing and marketing. I can think of few things as energizing as discussing big ideas everyday, so be sure to give this one a shot.

Community roundup

• The CDC has released new guidelines meant to provide better pain management during IUD insertions. (USA Today)
• Students are choosing not to apply to universities if the state politics don't align with their values. A new poll released this month showed that over a quarter of students have excluded a university from their search, with Texas, Alabama, Florida, California, and New York rounding out the top five most excluded states. (The Hill)
• Scout Motors has revealed its first two electric vehicles: a pickup truck and an SUV.
  • If the name sounds familiar, it's because Volkswagen is reusing a trademark from an off-road vehicle produced from the 60s to the 80s. (CNBC)
  • As an aside, does anyone else find it wild that we're seeing so many electric pickup trucks? Tesla, Rivian, Ford, GM, and Scout at least.
• The How2Recycle labels are getting a revamp, but there's a chance they may run afoul of greenwashing laws in states like California. That's because some of the products that use the labels aren't recycled at significant rates; advertising them as recyclable could be considered misleading. (Grist)
• You might have seen recently that the EPA released new rules requiring cities to retire lead pipes within the next 10 years. It's a big win for clean water, but some cities like Chicago have been granted more time to replace their infrastructure. (Inside Climate News)
  • Apparently, Chicago city code required lead pipes until 1986 when the federal ban on lead service pipes went into effect. That left Chicago with a problem four times as large as cities like New York.
• Carbon capture technologies are a bit controversial, but I still found this breakthrough promising: scientists at UC Berkeley have developed a CO2-absorbing powder that requires less energy than traditional methods as part of its carbon-capture process. (LA Times)

Hot job opportunities

• Product Manager – Global Sustainability & Compliance – Costco – Issaquah, WA
• Entry Level Environmental Scientist – VHB – Watertown or Worcester, MA
• Business Support Specialist - Administrative Assistant – NREL – Arvada, CO
• Social Media Strategist – Scout Motors – Novi, MI
• Associate Sales Development Representative – Beanstack – Remote
• Manager, Project Delivery, Digital Transformation – Palladium – Washington, DC
• Program Operations Analyst – Stem – Remote (Eastern time zone preferred)
• Staff Accountant – Lovevery – Boise, ID
• Senior Marketing Analytics Manager – ChargePoint – Campbell, CA
• Continuous Improvement Manager – ZincFive – Tualatin, OR

Resource of the week

One of my favorite sources for social impact jobs is 80,000 Hours, which gets its name from the number of hours we dedicate to our careers over our lifetimes. Every social impact job board is a little bit different; 80,000 Hours is curated to focus on what I would call humanity-scale impact jobs. These are job opportunities where the impact tends to be global or transformative in a way that will greatly impact the future: think global health challenges, philanthropy, artificial intelligence, and the like.

I'd encourage you to check out the website as a whole, not just the job board; you might find their career guide especially useful if you're trying to navigate the social impact job market for the first time.

Test your knowledge

Space exploration technologies have had a remarkable impact on our lives on Earth: when we push the boundaries of our understanding, it turns out we learn a thing or two.

Recently, NASA launched a spacecraft towards Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, in an effort to learn more about life in the universe. Europa has an ocean beneath miles of ice – albeit not the kind of ocean we're used to – that may harbor the building blocks of life. Just six years to go until we find out for sure.

Geek out moment: I've been excited for this kind of mission since I was in high school, and I can't wait to see what scientists discover.

With Halloween on Thursday, I figured I'd drum up a little trivia from my childhood – maybe you'll recognize it, too?

What nonprofit organization, better known by an acronym, has held a trick-or-treat fundraiser for the past 80 years?

Email me your guess, and I'll send one lucky winner a couple of One Work stickers!

After a series of wet days, I'm getting used to wiping dog paws. My dog, however, is not. You can find me on LinkedIn and Threads.