Chris Burk
@crburk916.bsky.social
All Things Nuclear ⚛️ | Energy, Climate, Science | International Affairs & Diplomacy | Globetrotter | favorite color: #APECblue 🔌💡 ⚡️ 🌐
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington, Virginia
Pinned
I'm pleased to announce that I've started a short-term assignment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, specifically the Office of Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Disposition (NE-8). #DOE #nuclearenergy #nuclearwaste
Reposted by Chris Burk
Frank Gehry was an architectural icon whose bold designs have shaped cityscapes all over the world.
I send my condolences to his family and admirers. Frank’s work will continue to inspire generations to come.
I send my condolences to his family and admirers. Frank’s work will continue to inspire generations to come.
December 5, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Frank Gehry was an architectural icon whose bold designs have shaped cityscapes all over the world.
I send my condolences to his family and admirers. Frank’s work will continue to inspire generations to come.
I send my condolences to his family and admirers. Frank’s work will continue to inspire generations to come.
Reposted by Chris Burk
Without significant changes, “the multilateral system as it exists will crumble,” warns President of Finland Alexander Stubb. And “the alternatives are much worse: spheres of influence, chaos, and disorder.”
The West’s Last Chance
How to build a new global order before it’s too late.
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Without significant changes, “the multilateral system as it exists will crumble,” warns President of Finland Alexander Stubb. And “the alternatives are much worse: spheres of influence, chaos, and disorder.”
Reposted by Chris Burk
there's a certain personality that's very debilitating in modern life. 100 years ago, if you wanted to buy something, you'd go to five local shops and decide. now with the internet, you need to spend 1,000 hours so you can own the best version in the world like you're some venetian patrician
December 5, 2025 at 2:12 AM
there's a certain personality that's very debilitating in modern life. 100 years ago, if you wanted to buy something, you'd go to five local shops and decide. now with the internet, you need to spend 1,000 hours so you can own the best version in the world like you're some venetian patrician
I'm pleased to announce that I've started a short-term assignment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, specifically the Office of Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Disposition (NE-8). #DOE #nuclearenergy #nuclearwaste
December 3, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I'm pleased to announce that I've started a short-term assignment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, specifically the Office of Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Disposition (NE-8). #DOE #nuclearenergy #nuclearwaste
Reposted by Chris Burk
Today in 1949, the US Atomic Energy Commission and US Air Force conducted a secret experiment at the Hanford Reservation in Washington State, exposing thousands of people living downwind to dangerous levels of radioactive iodine-131 and xenon-133 from freshly-irradiated or “green” uranium fuel.
December 2, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Today in 1949, the US Atomic Energy Commission and US Air Force conducted a secret experiment at the Hanford Reservation in Washington State, exposing thousands of people living downwind to dangerous levels of radioactive iodine-131 and xenon-133 from freshly-irradiated or “green” uranium fuel.
The mysterious black fungus from #Chernobyl that may eat #radiation. bbc.com/future/artic... by Alex Riley for BBC.
The mysterious black fungus from Chernobyl that may eat radiation
Mould found at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster appears to be feeding off the radiation. Could we use it to shield space travellers from cosmic rays?
bbc.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:26 PM
The mysterious black fungus from #Chernobyl that may eat #radiation. bbc.com/future/artic... by Alex Riley for BBC.
Reposted by Chris Burk
The stuff that's going to come up between now and the 2026 midterms as people who aren't deranged nerds try to wrestle with the politics of energy prices, grid planning, and how data centers fit in will legitimately break my brain like some sort of lovecraftian horror.
November 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
The stuff that's going to come up between now and the 2026 midterms as people who aren't deranged nerds try to wrestle with the politics of energy prices, grid planning, and how data centers fit in will legitimately break my brain like some sort of lovecraftian horror.
Reposted by Chris Burk
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
No more PJM data centers unless they can be reliably served: market monitor
The PJM Interconnection’s market monitor urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rule that large data centers can only come online if the grid operator can still meet reliability metrics.
www.utilitydive.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:17 AM
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
Reposted by Chris Burk
‘That doesn’t exist’: Doge reportedly quietly disbanded ahead of schedule
‘That doesn’t exist’: Doge reportedly quietly disbanded ahead of schedule
Statement by Trump administration confirms longstanding suspicions that Musk-led agency is on its way out
The “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has apparently been dissolved with eight months still remaining on its contract, ending a drawn-out campaign of invading federal agencies and firing thousands of federal workers.
“That doesn’t exist,” office of personnel management (OPM) director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about Doge’s status, adding that it was no longer a “centralized entity”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:11 AM
‘That doesn’t exist’: Doge reportedly quietly disbanded ahead of schedule
Reposted by Chris Burk
The governor of Japan's Niigata Prefecture has given approval for the restart of units 6 and 7 at Tokyo Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear plant in the world
It will displace gas and coal consumption
🔌💡 world-nuclear-news.org/articles/nii...
It will displace gas and coal consumption
🔌💡 world-nuclear-news.org/articles/nii...
Niigata governor consents to restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors
The governor of Japan's Niigata Prefecture has given his approval for the restart of units 6 and 7 at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. Pending backing of ...
world-nuclear-news.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The governor of Japan's Niigata Prefecture has given approval for the restart of units 6 and 7 at Tokyo Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear plant in the world
It will displace gas and coal consumption
🔌💡 world-nuclear-news.org/articles/nii...
It will displace gas and coal consumption
🔌💡 world-nuclear-news.org/articles/nii...
Reposted by Chris Burk
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
wapo.st
November 13, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Reposted by Chris Burk
Getting to the bottom of why the State Department quietly deleted 15 pages of history on the risk of inadvertent nuclear war.
Free link below.
Free link below.
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Getting to the bottom of why the State Department quietly deleted 15 pages of history on the risk of inadvertent nuclear war.
Free link below.
Free link below.
Reposted by Chris Burk
Another Dieselgate - hopeful but not optimistic that the eventual settlement money will get spent better!
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
About 1m Ford diesel cars sold in UK with defective emissions controls, court told
Ford denies having created ‘defeat devices’ in legal action on behalf of 1.6 million owners against five carmakers
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Another Dieselgate - hopeful but not optimistic that the eventual settlement money will get spent better!
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Chris Burk
NEW from me: CO2 emissions in China have now been flat or falling for 18 months, the first time that energy demand growth at or above historical averages doesn't drive emissions up, thanks to the clean energy boom. 🧵👇
🇨🇳 📰 NEW | Analysis: #China’s #CO2 #emissions have now been flat or falling for 18 months
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-co2-emissions-have-now-been-flat-or-falling-for-18-months/
@laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social w/ @carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-co2-emissions-have-now-been-flat-or-falling-for-18-months/
@laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social w/ @carbonbrief.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:35 AM
NEW from me: CO2 emissions in China have now been flat or falling for 18 months, the first time that energy demand growth at or above historical averages doesn't drive emissions up, thanks to the clean energy boom. 🧵👇
Reposted by Chris Burk
“A lot of regulatory and policy and safety initiatives are driven by tragic events such as this,” retired US Coast Guard Capt. McAvoy told CNN. “The expression is that a lot of regulations are written in blood.”
November 11, 2025 at 3:15 AM
“A lot of regulatory and policy and safety initiatives are driven by tragic events such as this,” retired US Coast Guard Capt. McAvoy told CNN. “The expression is that a lot of regulations are written in blood.”
Reposted by Chris Burk
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Ukraine’s energy sector faces wide-scale investigation over ‘kickback’ allegations. Anti-corruption agency says state nuclear power operator Energoatom taking illicit payments.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n... by bsky.app/profile/luke... doing excellent work for bsky.app/profile/theg...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n... by bsky.app/profile/luke... doing excellent work for bsky.app/profile/theg...
Ukraine’s energy sector faces wide-scale investigation over ‘kickback’ allegations
Anti-corruption agency says state nuclear power operator Energoatom taking illicit payments of 10-15%
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Ukraine’s energy sector faces wide-scale investigation over ‘kickback’ allegations. Anti-corruption agency says state nuclear power operator Energoatom taking illicit payments.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n... by bsky.app/profile/luke... doing excellent work for bsky.app/profile/theg...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n... by bsky.app/profile/luke... doing excellent work for bsky.app/profile/theg...
Reposted by Chris Burk
Why,
You grave but reckless senators
You grave but reckless senators
November 10, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Why,
You grave but reckless senators
You grave but reckless senators
Reposted by Chris Burk
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by Chris Burk
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Chris Burk
US history and political discourse focus on presidents, but Congress is the heart of our democratic system.
Nancy Pelosi is in the first rank of American leaders, plenty of presidents never matched her achievements or political skill.
She’s one of a kind, a towering figure with a tremendous legacy
Nancy Pelosi is in the first rank of American leaders, plenty of presidents never matched her achievements or political skill.
She’s one of a kind, a towering figure with a tremendous legacy
November 6, 2025 at 2:37 PM
US history and political discourse focus on presidents, but Congress is the heart of our democratic system.
Nancy Pelosi is in the first rank of American leaders, plenty of presidents never matched her achievements or political skill.
She’s one of a kind, a towering figure with a tremendous legacy
Nancy Pelosi is in the first rank of American leaders, plenty of presidents never matched her achievements or political skill.
She’s one of a kind, a towering figure with a tremendous legacy
Reposted by Chris Burk
So many iconic Pelosi moments- ACA, IRA, ARRA, the '06 and '18 midterms... but for me it's the night of 1/6/21.
We were waiting to see how many days until they could return to the Capitol to finish certifying the election.
She told us, "tonight." I still tear up thinking about how that felt.
We were waiting to see how many days until they could return to the Capitol to finish certifying the election.
She told us, "tonight." I still tear up thinking about how that felt.
November 6, 2025 at 6:01 PM
So many iconic Pelosi moments- ACA, IRA, ARRA, the '06 and '18 midterms... but for me it's the night of 1/6/21.
We were waiting to see how many days until they could return to the Capitol to finish certifying the election.
She told us, "tonight." I still tear up thinking about how that felt.
We were waiting to see how many days until they could return to the Capitol to finish certifying the election.
She told us, "tonight." I still tear up thinking about how that felt.
Reposted by Chris Burk
Happy FSTL day to all who celebrate
November 7, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Happy FSTL day to all who celebrate
Reposted by Chris Burk
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. It looks like you are looking on my works! Would you like help
•despairing
• or does nothing besides remain
•despairing
• or does nothing besides remain
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works and I hope this email finds you well.
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works and govern yourself accordingly.
November 3, 2025 at 10:13 PM
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. It looks like you are looking on my works! Would you like help
•despairing
• or does nothing besides remain
•despairing
• or does nothing besides remain