Generation Atomic’s June Volunteer Of The Month

We are thrilled to nominate Scott Travis for Volunteer of the Month! Inspiration to nominate Scott came from the countless hours organizing and promoting the screening of Oliver Stone’s “Nuclear Now,” focusing particularly on making the film accessible to younger audiences. More broadly, Scott has also sparked meaningful conversations about nuclear energy within local environmental and political groups. Over the past several years, he has continuously introduced these vital dialogues to local leaders and political candidates, helping to shape our community’s understanding and perception of nuclear energy. His tireless efforts are not just commendable, but are a model of the impact volunteers can have on a community and a cause! Learn more about Scott below.

Q: When did you first get into nuclear advocacy and why?

“I’ve been curious about nuclear since I was a kid, but my interest spiked in 2008 when my uncles Jim and Tom Blees clued me into the advantages of advanced nuclear tech and how we need a lot more of it to decarbonize everything fast enough, and they showed me the math about the inadequacy of conventional “renewables” so I started studying and learning from may experts and gradually became convinced. Tom published his book “Prescription for the Planet” in 2007 that makes the climate justice case in full, among all the other reasons we need more nuclear. At the end of 2008 I was licking some wounds after being a part of a friend’s campaign for DFL nomination to US Senate that lost in the end, and aside from that I was pretty discouraged about our species’ prospects, so I’m sure glad my uncles caught me when they did the with the eye-opening info about nuclear because it was such good news for us all!”

Q: What has been one of your favorite moments while being a nuclear advocate?

“The night of May 8, 2023! : we got to organize and host a screening of Oliver Stone’s film “Nuclear Now” along with a great speakers’ panel at the end for a big audience full of folks who care about what’s happening and who asked all kinds of great questions!”

Q: What hopes do you have for the future of nuclear energy?

“I hope enough of us can overcome the disinformation about nuclear that’s been heaped on us by self-dealing fossil fuel interests for decades, and come to learn how we clearly need a lot more nuclear around the world and agree to support development of it in order to decarbonize as much as we can as fast as we can. My climate goals include providing the safest, cleanest, and most affordable energy we can for all eight-ish billion of us, all while making sure the climate stays livable. Ideally, we should develop enough nuclear to supply most the overall energy we all need because it’s so much better than all the rest of the options for powering grid-based needs.”

Thank you to Scott and all of our volunteers for all of your hard work!