A nuclear-loving teenager has been blocked by one of the ABC’s top scientists after he suggested the doctor was wrong.
Nuclear for Australia founder Will Shackel, 18, revealed Dr Karl Kruszelnicki had blocked him on X after the pair argued about nuclear power on Thursday.
Will said that all he had done to upset Dr. Karl was point out that California’s energy supply was not 100 percent renewable as the professor had claimed.
The teen shared a screenshot of the blocked message that appeared when he searched for Dr. Karl’s profile on the social media site to prove his claims.
“So Dr. Karl just blocked me,” she wrote on Friday.
‘All I did was point out that California is not 100 percent renewable.
‘It has a nuclear plant called Diablo Canyon Power Plant that provides about 10 percent of its power.
“I find it worrying that exposing a simple fact justifies the blocking of an 18-year-old.”
Nuclear for Australia founder Will Shackel, 18, was blocked by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki on X on Thursday (pictured, Will points from afar at the Diablo Canyon power plant).
Dr. Karl shared a nuclear study conducted in California that claimed the state had used 100 percent renewable energy sources for 98 days.
Will shared a photo proving he was blocked on Friday.
Dr. Karl blocked Will after he responded to a tweet sent by the doctor that cited an article praising California’s energy policy.
Dr. Karl had shared a new study published in the journal Renewable Energies stating that California was 100 percent renewable for a period of 98 days at the end of 2024.
‘”No blackouts occurred when wind, water and solar electricity supply exceeded 100 percent of demand on the state’s main grid for a record 98 of 116 days from late winter to early summer 2024 for a average (maximum) of 4.84 (10.1) hours per day,” he cited.
Will responded by asking “what happened” to the energy created by Diablo Canyon’s power plant during that time, but instead of receiving an answer, the teen found himself stymied.
The power plant is located approximately 336 kilometers south of Los Angeles and is currently fighting to have its licenses renewed.
Will said he was “frankly quite surprised” by Dr. Karl’s decision to immediately cut off communication.
“I’ve just come to terms with the fact that the nuclear plant exists and, as I understand it, it definitely supplies power to California,” Will told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I didn’t think Dr. Carl would care about me, and originally the comment didn’t go down well.
“And then I found out that he had blocked me and obviously I shared it on Twitter because I thought it was quite shocking that this highly respected scientist would block an 18-year-old like that.”
Will asked Dr. Karl if any energy created by the Diablo Canyon Power Plant had been used in California during the 98-day period, but found himself blocked almost instantly (pictured, Will at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant) .
Will told Daily Mail Australia he was “shocked” to find himself on Dr Karl’s blocked list.
Will said he was “really disappointed” that a scientist he had once respected decided to block him instead of answering his question.
“You know, Dr. Karl tries to talk to my generation about science and other things, and I’ve obviously respected his past work,” he told the publication.
“So I was really disappointed in him for that.”
While it is unclear exactly how much of California’s energy supply came from the Diablo Canyon power plant during the study period, Will said he had seen the plant in operation during a site visit in July 2024.
‘I have seen it with my own eyes. “I went there and witnessed it while it was working,” he continued.
Will’s tweet showing that Dr. Karl had blocked him prompted many of his followers to share their own screenshots, proving that he wasn’t the only one.
“I just asked if the government paid you to spread a narrative,” one user responded with a screenshot of their own showing they had been blocked by Dr. Karl.
‘Me too. Within seconds of my first comment on one of his posts, a second said with another screenshot showing the locked page.
When asked what he would tell Dr. Karl if given the chance, Will revealed that he would implore him to “open his mind to all forms of energy.”
“If you were in front of me, I would tell you to open your mind to nuclear energy and support our work to lift the ban on nuclear energy,” Will said.
“We need all clean energy options on the table to drive our society to decarbonize.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Dr Karl for comment.