Educational Media Reviews Online

In this documentary covering events through 2016, activists, climate scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs explain the value and role of nuclear power for the future. The film is best when it follows several next generation nuclear reactor start-ups documenting the processes and lessons learned from young entrepreneurs. The flow of the documentary is interrupted and slowed down regularly with added footage of pro-nuclear activists, which proved more distracting than instructive. Viewers require a current knowledge of electricity generation and nuclear power. Therefore, this documentary is best suited for students in engineering and related energy production industry fields. For other classes and audiences, additional readings and discussions should be incorporated to avoid confusion.

Not many current documentaries exist on the pro-nuclear topic and considering the topic, currency matters. If educators and librarians can only buy one, NOVA’s 2017 documentary, The Nuclear Option, is the better choice for most viewers and collections. NOVA does a better job sharing both sides of the debate, explaining the complexities of nuclear power plants (new and old), and setting a good pace to allow for in-class viewing.

The New Fire is available in 2 versions: educational (59 minutes) and an original (80 minutes). The differences in the two versions are minimal. If streaming customers need closed captioning, this needs to be requested specifically as it is not typically included but is available. The pricing options vary, but the three college pricing options are a huge deterrent too.