Supplementing the Nuclear Workforce

I've got two stories on the nuclear workforce that came across my desk today. First, here's a feature from PRI's Marketplace on a recent visit to ANS' most recent student conference:

SARAH GARDNER: It's a Friday afternoon on the campus of Oregon State University. Young people from all over the U.S. are here for the American Nuclear Society's annual student conference.

If this were the '80s, there might be protesters outside. But times have changed, and Idaho State nuclear engineering major Caleb Robison feels it.

CALEB ROBISON: There's a lot more buzz about nuclear going on.

Robison says when student groups on his campus got together recently, he met some unexpected allies.

ROBISON: You wouldn't have ever expected it because the uh, I guess I'd call 'em tree huggers, I don't know what organization they were from, they came over and you would have thought that we were best friends. They said it was such a great idea and they supported nuclear power and they wouldn't have said that 10 years ago. They would have been exiled from their own group for having said that.

These aspiring nuclear engineers say global warming has forced many to rethink nuclear power since it doesn't emit greenhouse gases. And they're convinced it's safe.

Here's a more detailed story from Reuters on the same topic.

UPDATE: More thoughts from We Support Lee.