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A recent report by Goldman Sachs Research predicts an upcoming surge in worldwide investment in nuclear power generation. The June 12 report says that nuclear energy is set to increase significantly as a response to “rising power consumption, a shift toward cleaner energy and the need for round-the-clock power sources.”

An earlier Goldman Sachs report laid the groundwork for the analysis when it predicted a 165% increase in data center power demand by 2030 . Just a decade later, in 2040, Goldman predicts, global nuclear generating capability will increase from 378 gigawatts to 575 gigawatts.

After years of underinvestment in nuclear power, worldwide investment in the technology is spiking. The Goldman report sees the total number of reactors growing from about 440 total to 500 by 2030 to well over 900 given the 400 or so reactors that are in planning and in proposal stages today, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Since the first commercial reactor came online in 1954, support for nuclear power has grown and ebbed, in part in correlation with public concerns about safety and waste disposal. Incidents at Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 all fed the public concerns about safety.

Some have argued that the declining interest in nuclear power led New Jersey to prematurely allow the closing of the Oyster Creek nuclear power generation plant in Ocean County, contributing to the state’s electrical supply problems and the recent double-digit annual increases in rates.

In May, executive orders by President Donald Trump set targets for the increase in nuclear power in the United States from 100 gigawatts today to 400 gigawatts by 2050. The orders also lower regulatory and cost barriers to the development of new plants. Investment is likely to go both to large reactor plants and to newer small nuclear reactor technology.

As the turn to nuclear power increases, so will the need for uranium, according to the Goldman report. In North America the largest supplies of the metal are in Canada, which the World Nuclear Association calculates has 10% of the worldwide supply.

The New Jersey story of the week concerned a few surprises in the state’s June 10 primary election results. The winners, Mikie Sherrill for the Democrats and Jack Ciattarelli for the Republicans, were predicted. The surprise came with how quickly and convincingly Sherrill won against a strong field that was expected to produce a closer race.

The numbers do show some issues that confront Sherrill as she seeks to consolidate her support. The Garden State’s Democratic party usually leans toward the moderate end, which is where Sherrill had staked out her territory. Yet in this election the party’s progressive wing did well. Sherrill’s 34% of the total vote was surpassed by the combined 37% of the vote garnered by Ras Baraka and Steven Fulop, who, perhaps luckily for Sherrill, split the progressive wing between them .

Of the seven counties that comprise South Jersey , Steve Sweeney had the county Democratic endorsement in all but one, Cape May County, where the Democrats did not endorse anyone. Those party endorsements did not lead to victories. Sweeney won only two counties, Salem and Gloucester, losing to Sherrill in Atlantic, Camden and Burlington, and even to Spiller in Cumberland. Cape May County went for Sherrill.

Ciattarelli’s victory was no surprise, although some polls did expect Spadea to give him a bit more of a challenge. In the end Ciattarelli’s 68% of the vote showed the three-time candidate for the office is popular with the party base, where his endorsement from President Trump was more icing on the cake than a critical factor in his victory.

Now it is on to the general election and efforts to hold the enthusiasm of the base while broadening the appeal to the state’s 37% unaffiliated share of the voters.

Locally, the race for the Assembly in the 1 ^st Legislative District is an all-Cape-May-County affair. Incumbent Republicans Antwan McClellan (Ocean City) and Erik Simonsen (Lower Township) will face off against Democrats Carolyn Rush (Sea Isle City) and Carol Sabo (West Cape May). The district encompasses all of Cape May County, most of Cumberland County and parts of Atlantic County.

There were some major takeaways in the Assembly races. The primaries toppled at least two incumbents, with contested races still not settled. For New Jersey even small cracks in party organization control of the Assembly seats is an earthquake. No incumbents were defeated in the Assembly in the 2023 primaries.

On June 9 U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. abruptly fired all 17 of the members of the Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kennedy cited “conflicts of interest” as his reason. By Wednesday, he had named a new panel, bypassing the normally longer time period given to vetting those being considered.

A news article in Nature , a British weekly scientific journal, quotes Avalon’s Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious diseases pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a past member of the advisory board, who noted that the next meeting of the board is June 25, when the group is scheduled to decide if it will recommend vaccines for COVID-19, the human papillomavirus, meningococcal disease and RSV. “These are established vaccines,” Offit is quoted as saying. “and we’re voting on them? The entire childhood and adult immunization schedule in on the table.”

Offit also pointed out that insurers may not have to cover vaccines that are not recommended by the advisory panel, making the decisions by Kennedy about much more than increasing individual choice about vaccinations. A lack of insurance coverage could lead to widespread under-vaccinations even by those who want them.

In a June 11 article for the Philadelphia Citizen , Offit said, “With RFK Jr. as head of HHS – and two sycophants from the FDA at his side – the anti-vaccine movement is influencing policy.”

The write-up in Nature contains brief discussions of many of the individuals whom Kennedy has appointed to the advisory board, many of whom the article says have little or no background in vaccines or infectious diseases.

For Offit, “it’s a dangerous time to be a child in America.

Week in Review

*A standing-room-only crowd worried about the possible disbanding of the understaffed West Wildwood Police Department forced the Board of Commissioners to move its regular meeting outdoors on Friday, June 6.

*Cape May City, in collaboration with the New Jersey Historical Commission, unveiled the first New Jersey Black Heritage Trail historical marker at 720 Franklin St. on Wednesday, June 11.

*With hurricane season now underway, seasonal and year-round residents are being encouraged to “stay informed and be prepared” by the county Office of Emergency Management.

*Spending on New Jersey’s June 10 primary election reached historic levels , according to a June 6 release from the Election Law Enforcement Commission. Candidates and independent groups spent more than $122 million.

*In a June 4 filing with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, wind farm developer Atlantic Shores formally requested the termination of the order approving its offshore wind project near Long Beach Island and Atlantic City.

*Ocean City has launched a new system to direct visitors to available parking spots: The real-time guidance system directs motorists to paid municipal parking lots with open spaces through dynamic message boards and a mobile app.

*In the state’s 1st Legislative District, Assembly incumbents Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen will face Democratic primary winners Carolyn Rush and Carol Sabo in November. 26-year-old Princeton University student Brandon Saffold was unsuccessful in his bid for a nomination.

*Although pundits had been predicting a close race for the gubernatorial nomination on the Democratic side of the New Jersey primary election, the winners on both sides — Mikie Sherrill for the Democrats and Jack Ciattarelli for the Republicans – were known less than an hour after the polls closed June 10.

* Democrat Eric John Morey is campaigning to join his cousin, Republican Will Morey, on the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners.

*Two Sea Isle City police officers were promoted at ceremonies at Municipal Court June 2, when patrolman Michael Mol was promoted to sergeant and Sgt. Shawn Lesniewski was promoted to lieutenant.

*In response to a question at the June 2 Middle Township Committee meeting, Mayor Christopher Leusner said he hoped state budget cuts aimed at the Volunteers of America would be rethought.

*Members of the USS Jacob Jones Memorial Monument Committee in Cape May City have stepped back from considering the Cove on Beach Avenue as a possible site for the monument and are now considering two other locations suggested by those attending recent information sessions.

*The American Coastal Coalition has warned mayors and administrators in the state’s coastal areas of significant cuts to federal beach replenishment funding .

*A Wildwood man was killed and his passenger was injured when his car went off Route 47 in the Goshen section of Middle Township and struck a tree.

*Christopher Ryan Blevins, the man named as the boyfriend of the woman whose body was found in a refrigerator in a section of Belleplain State Forest in Dennis Township, has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder in connection with her death.

*A North Wildwood firefighter removed a snake from the engine compartment of a pickup truck after the owner saw it climb into the vehicle.

*A motorcyclist from Woodbine was killed after an automobile turned left in front of him, resulting in a collision.

*The county commissioners on June 10 once again took up the subject of President Donald Trump’s “one, big, beautiful bill,” which contains large federal funding cutbacks , among them provisions that opponents say will strip many New Jerseyans of medical and food benefits.

*West Wildwood residents are taking their case to save the borough’s Police Department to the next level, asking state officials to intervene in what they believe to be the borough’s plan to disband the department.

*Gov. Phil Murphy has lifted the drought warning for all of New Jersey, which had been in place since November 2024. The Coastal South Region, which includes all of Cape May County, remains under a drought watch due to deficits in groundwater and stream flow.

*About 600 people representing numerous causes and demographics came together in front of the Cape May courthouse Saturday to send a message – there is no room for a king in the United States of America.

Spout Off of the Week

We have a beautiful Dune Drive with an island median strip in the middle and the garden club planning beautiful trees, plants and bushes. We do not need a “no dogs allowed” sign in each street. They are unsightly and detract from the beauty of the natural landscape. I don’t think the gardens are going to be overrun with dogs.