Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World

A bold, provocative, and knowledgeable case for the importance of nuclear science and how nuclear power is essential to reaching net zero.

What if net zero is not an environmental challenge, but an energy challenge?

In this visionary book, Dr. Tim Gregory challenges prevailing narratives around climate change, arguing that the goal of net zero is not simply to replace fossil fuels with renewables, but to power civilization using sources of energy that do not emit carbon dioxide. He unequivocally shows that only one emissions-free energy source can rise to that challenge: nuclear power.

Going Nuclear calls for decarbonization to be the twenty-first century’s Apollo program, illuminating the far-reaching potential of the atom beyond clean energy to advanced medicine, forensics, atomic gardening, and interplanetary exploration. By interweaving scientific optimism, myth-busting data, and ambitious policy, Gregory offers an alternative nuclear future that can meet the shared goal of environmental stewardship and continued human progress.

Dr. Tim Gregory works full-time as a nuclear chemist in the heart of the British nuclear industry. In 2017, Tim surpassed thousands of applicants for a place in the six-part BBC2 series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?, where he was put through the full rigours of astronaut selection and reached the final three. Since then, he has gone on to present a segment about meteorites on BBC4’s The Sky at Night and has made live television appearances on BBC Breakfast, BBC Look North, and BBC Points West.