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| By The Free Press |
It’s Wednesday, August 20. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: A scientist who worked for the Obama administration explains why he switched his stance on climate change. Danielle Sassoon, the U.S. attorney who quit her job after President Trump told her to drop corruption charges against New York mayor Eric Adams, speaks out. And the secret history of air-conditioning.
But first: Why America needs to go nuclear.
America needs more energy—and fast. From the massive data centers we need to compete with China in the AI race, to the air-conditioning we consume all summer, this country devours power.
And yet the U.S. energy grid is weak, vulnerable, and in some cases, unreliable. Last month, the White House warned that increased demand could cause a surge in power outages by 2030. And just last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that blackouts have been prevented in Texas, California, and New England only because of a boom in Americans getting household batteries as backup.
The Chinese grid, in contrast, is highly advanced and built for the future.
So, how can we boost our supply of energy?
As Sean Fischer reports in today’s lead piece, some people see nuclear as “the most perfect form of energy ever discovered”—and the answer to America’s power prayers.
But here’s some more bad news: America is reliant on Russia for the enriched uranium we need to power our existing nuclear plants. And, because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration placed a ban on importing it, set to take effect in 2028.
Since then, Sean writes, America has been scrambling to find a solution. And here’s the good news: The private sector has stepped up. This month, a scrappy start-up opened America’s first private uranium enrichment facility of the twenty-first century, in Paducah, Kentucky. To find out how, read Sean’s great piece.
Nuclear used to have a terrible reputation, but in recent years it’s attracted some cheerleaders—including Isabelle Boemeke, a Brazilian model who has become, in her words, the “world’s first nuclear energy influencer.”
For our second piece, Suzy Weiss speaks to Boemeke, who has a new book called Rad Future—in which she aims to sell “climate-anxious” Gen Zers on why more nuclear power won’t lead to more Chernobyls and Fukushimas, but rather a world where “everybody who wants to have access to electricity at any given time does.” She calls it energy abundance. But will young people really buy the ideas she’s selling?
—The Editors
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