{"id":417287,"date":"2025-12-13T19:54:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T18:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417287"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:20:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T21:20:22","slug":"for-gen-z-why-nuclear-energy-future-is-a-unifying-force-in-a-divided-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417287","title":{"rendered":"For Gen Z, Why Nuclear Energy Future Is a Unifying Force in a Divided World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Grace Vanderhei<\/a> Gabriel Ivory<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just over a year ago, the headlines were everywhere: Three Mile Island Unit 1 was coming back online as the Crane Clean Energy Center. A site that once defined an entire industry\u2019s future has done it again, this time as a symbol of hope, optimism, and unity as we move toward a reliable and clean energy future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us, young professionals in the nuclear industry, this moment showed what\u2019s possible when communities come together. From union members and business leaders to viral social media posts and major media outlets, everyone celebrated the announcement of the restart. In a society often defined by polarization, this was a rare moment of shared pride and common purpose. This was a moment of unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As 2025 draws to a close, nuclear energy sits at the center of a new national conversation\u2014one driven by optimism, innovation, and a shared commitment to a cleaner future. Public support for nuclear energy is at historic highs, with six in ten Americans in favor of its expansion. Companies that defined Gen Z\u2019s childhood, like Meta, Google, and Amazon, are partnering with nuclear producers to power the data centers that keep our digital lives running. For Gen Z, this isn\u2019t just about keeping the lights on: it\u2019s about building a future where clean energy powers our ambitions, our communities, and our planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, many of us felt politics was a binary choice \u2013 two parties, two options, and endless division. But today, nuclear energy stands out as something different: a safe haven for young people across the political spectrum. It\u2019s one of the few issues drawing support from both sides, with the Biden and Trump administrations both advancing policies that strengthen nuclear energy\u2019s role in America\u2019s energy mix. For Gen Z, that bipartisanship represents progress, not politics. We know that America\u2019s ability to deliver reliable, emissions-free energy will define the nation that Gen Z will lead tomorrow\u2014politically, economically, and environmentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s up to all of us to seize this unique opportunity and recognize nuclear\u2019s potential to redefine America\u2019s energy conversation. Nuclear energy is more than a technology \u2013 it\u2019s a catalyst for unity, resilience, and innovation. It can deliver on our generation\u2019s hopes for a cleaner, fairer, and more sustainable world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuclear power doesn\u2019t just create reliable, emissions-free energy: it offers countless societal benefits. Generating stations do more than create electricity. They can also support system add-ons that help create clean water through desalination and create valuable medical materials for diagnosing heart disease and providing crucial cancer care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we think back to history class, we learned about iconic generational causes like the space race and the wonders that could be unlocked in the internet age. Each generation had something tangible to rally around, something that brought people together to move the world forward. For Gen Z, that unifying cause can be nuclear energy: a reliable, emissions-free solution that defines progress for our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve seen it firsthand. We both took the leap to work in the nuclear industry, and more specifically, on a historic nuclear restart. Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, closed for economic reasons in 2019, hurting hundreds of families whose livelihoods depended on it. Yet as demand for energy surged, the world rediscovered nuclear energy at a critical role. This momentum led to the announcement of the unit\u2019s restart exactly five years after being shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are both at the beginning of our careers and are hopeful that the momentum we\u2019re seeing now will carry forward for future generations. Being part of the nuclear renaissance, which is turning into a national movement, has filled our young careers with pride and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you are Gen Z or not \u2013 clean nuclear energy can be a uniting force in a divided world. The bipartisan support, private investment, and widespread public acceptance happening today didn\u2019t happen by coincidence \u2013 it happened because people came together to focus on what works. We can\u2019t afford to lose that momentum. Let\u2019s build on it and create the next generational cause: a nuclear energy-powered future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grace Vanderhei is former Miss America 2023 and a nuclear engineer, and Gabriel Ivory is a fellow engineer. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just over a year ago, the headlines were everywhere: Three Mile Island Unit 1 was coming back online as the Crane Clean Energy Center. A site that once defined an entire industry\u2019s future has done it again, this time as a symbol of hope, optimism, and unity as we move toward a reliable and clean energy future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":417289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9jbGltYXRlLXNjaWVuY2UucHJlc3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjVcLzEyXC9BUU1BNEIwQmxUV19PdjJlV1J1SzdIMnZSNmQ3b0o0WEt2UTh3ZlIxa0VEOTBaOXp0QnNlMXlpSVFZMldIT2pBbFNJWXNxMnJObGxXUUtKTHlrUV9fLTBwX3N6MHhTMk5CZ1BPZ280MGxxbHN2Vk1xa2xBY2xrN2JieFNGdzFNcC5qcGVnP2ZpdD03MjMlMkM0ODImc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJGb3IgR2VuIFosIFdoeSBOdWNsZWFyIEVuZXJneSBGdXR1cmUgSXMgYSBVbmlmeWluZyBGb3JjZSBpbiBhIERpdmlkZWQgV29ybGQiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTU1ODEyNDQ5fQ.klF70M24qq_kkMDr6tYKCUv3_9BPqe506eVY9JbiPT0MQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691827531,691818507,691818206],"class_list":{"0":"post-417287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-gen-z","9":"tag-nuclear-energy","10":"tag-nuclear-power","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMA4B0BlTW_Ov2eWRuK7H2vR6d7oJ4XKvQ8wfR1kED90Z9ztBse1yiIQY2WHOjAlSIYsq2rNllWQKJLykQ__-0p_sz0xS2NBgPOgo40lqlsvVMqklAclk7bbxSFw1Mp.jpeg?fit=1198%2C799&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Kyr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":345827,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=345827","url_meta":{"origin":417287,"position":0},"title":"The small modular reactor revolution is arriving soon","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s been a big year for nuclear energy in the U.S. The Department of Energy has allocated a large amount of capital to nuclear energy research and has committed $900 million to advance Gen III+ (more on them below) small modular reactors (SMRs). The Inflation Reduction Act\u2019s inclusion of nuclear\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"European Commission\"","block_context":{"text":"European Commission","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=european-commission"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/00SMR-CM-RENDER-New-2020-1.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/00SMR-CM-RENDER-New-2020-1.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/00SMR-CM-RENDER-New-2020-1.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/00SMR-CM-RENDER-New-2020-1.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/00SMR-CM-RENDER-New-2020-1.webp?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":367191,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=367191","url_meta":{"origin":417287,"position":1},"title":"U.S. and India revamp bilateral energy, trade pacts","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A little over two years ago, representatives of President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated\u00a0a commitment\u00a0to a \u201cstrategic clean energy partnership,\u201d stressing that \u201cclimate and clean energy collaboration should promote energy access, affordability, energy justice, while supporting sustainable economic growth and just energy transitions.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"clean energy\"","block_context":{"text":"clean energy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=clean-energy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Screenshot-2025-02-22-092724.png?fit=1200%2C703&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Screenshot-2025-02-22-092724.png?fit=1200%2C703&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Screenshot-2025-02-22-092724.png?fit=1200%2C703&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Screenshot-2025-02-22-092724.png?fit=1200%2C703&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Screenshot-2025-02-22-092724.png?fit=1200%2C703&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":218755,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=218755","url_meta":{"origin":417287,"position":2},"title":"\u201cFueling\u201d a counter-revolution in Europe: Can it happen here?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/09\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Shades of Emanuel Macron! California Governor Gavin Newsom has horrified his core constituency by announcing his state will NOT be shutting down the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-683.png?fit=923%2C519&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-683.png?fit=923%2C519&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-683.png?fit=923%2C519&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-683.png?fit=923%2C519&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":424814,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424814","url_meta":{"origin":417287,"position":3},"title":"Nuclear is the most reliable path to affordable electricity","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Political leaders are increasingly prioritizing affordability (without the need for subsidies) as a cornerstone of electricity policy. They are now recognizing that high costs burden households, stifle economic growth, and fuel public discontent in wealthier nations that are providing taxpayer subsidies to support unreliable electricity from wind and solar.","rel":"","context":"In \"electricity policy\"","block_context":{"text":"electricity policy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=electricity-policy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0NuScale-SMR.jpg?fit=1032%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0NuScale-SMR.jpg?fit=1032%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0NuScale-SMR.jpg?fit=1032%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0NuScale-SMR.jpg?fit=1032%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":390128,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=390128","url_meta":{"origin":417287,"position":4},"title":"Mad Miliband: \u201cThe future of [nuclear] fusion energy starts now\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Apparently, all you need to do to ensure \u201cthe creation of highly skilled jobs and driving growth into our industrial heartlands\u201d is to create planning guidelines for nuclear fusion plants.","rel":"","context":"In \"clean energy jobs\"","block_context":{"text":"clean energy jobs","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=clean-energy-jobs"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQPerHIO-8CNWqosa8JatiEs5bLgweA8O6uwleP3fgHvqFI9n69-FzrSEGHTMEgdd6FOqYRTY7UlhtPDQkTx8QyHL0kIotVZr07nFeBL4QsFALxgCDWa1wJxQHtvgPu6jX3udC0tIer_tUBTgMDGH0p3LgMsbw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQPerHIO-8CNWqosa8JatiEs5bLgweA8O6uwleP3fgHvqFI9n69-FzrSEGHTMEgdd6FOqYRTY7UlhtPDQkTx8QyHL0kIotVZr07nFeBL4QsFALxgCDWa1wJxQHtvgPu6jX3udC0tIer_tUBTgMDGH0p3LgMsbw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQPerHIO-8CNWqosa8JatiEs5bLgweA8O6uwleP3fgHvqFI9n69-FzrSEGHTMEgdd6FOqYRTY7UlhtPDQkTx8QyHL0kIotVZr07nFeBL4QsFALxgCDWa1wJxQHtvgPu6jX3udC0tIer_tUBTgMDGH0p3LgMsbw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQPerHIO-8CNWqosa8JatiEs5bLgweA8O6uwleP3fgHvqFI9n69-FzrSEGHTMEgdd6FOqYRTY7UlhtPDQkTx8QyHL0kIotVZr07nFeBL4QsFALxgCDWa1wJxQHtvgPu6jX3udC0tIer_tUBTgMDGH0p3LgMsbw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQPerHIO-8CNWqosa8JatiEs5bLgweA8O6uwleP3fgHvqFI9n69-FzrSEGHTMEgdd6FOqYRTY7UlhtPDQkTx8QyHL0kIotVZr07nFeBL4QsFALxgCDWa1wJxQHtvgPu6jX3udC0tIer_tUBTgMDGH0p3LgMsbw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":294490,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294490","url_meta":{"origin":417287,"position":5},"title":"France dumps Renewables Target, goes back to Nuclear instead, risking Global Pariah Status","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/01\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In a radical move, the French government has quietly dropped their renewables targets from their draft energy bill, risking being seen as unfashionable losers in billionaire ski clubs. The nation that, forty years ago, built 56 nuclear reactors in 15 years has decided they just need to build another 6\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/019EconomyEDF1-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/019EconomyEDF1-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/019EconomyEDF1-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/019EconomyEDF1-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/019EconomyEDF1-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=417287"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417292,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417287\/revisions\/417292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/417289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=417287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=417287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=417287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}