Sep 27
Tags: Not Local
A NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE? “If you’re tracking the nuclear power revival in America, last Tuesday, September 25, was a milestone. For the first time since 1973, a new application for building a reactor was placed before the federal government. ”
It’s greenhouse friendly. And if there’s nothing more important than combating the greenhouse threat, then nuclear power certainly should be undergoing a renaissance.
I favor the Chinese pebble bed reactors personally, but I will go for any nuclear plant we can get.
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Years ago I lived downstream from the Cordova, Ill. nuclear power plant which was held up from operation for something like 8 years by environmentalists. Cordova is located on the Mississippi River upstream of Davenport, IA and Rock Island, Il.
The area is an important wintering spot for the bald eagle and the environmentalists held that the cooling system (which ran quite a ways down the river as opposed to the more frequently seen towers) would harm the eagle’s food supply. So the big stack stood against the sky and all was quiet at the Cordova plant for many years.
As it turns out, in that area the Mississippi frequently freezes over. The environmentalists didn’t worry about the eagles food supply during those frozen over periods but finally, somehow the Cordova plant received permission to fire up.
I used to participate in the eagle count every February. It was a lot of fun but sometimes one could spend a whole day out in the cold and freezing rain and only see two or three adults and about as many juveniles.That winter the river froze as usual but we eagle counters noticed there was a big open water area that ran from Cordova down river for several miles. What few eagles noticed it that year must have told all their friends and relatives (;^}) because the next year there were too many eagles to count. Turns out the warm water from the nuclear plant attracted all kinds of fish and those fish attracted the eagles.
I took care of the plant manager that 2nd winter in the ICU and was talking to him about it. He confided to me that if ever there was anything he wanted to do so bad he could taste it was that when all the eagles showed up he wanted to paint a big fingernail at the top of the stack as a salute to all of the environmentalists. We had quite a laugh about that!
I think wind power and nuclear power are the way to go Bill. We simply can’t continue to burn fossil fuels as they aren’t quickly renewable. We’ve talked about that before, I think.
Most people are afraid of nuclear power because they associate it with the few accidents that have happened and fail to realize that most nuclear power plants have been operating for years without a mishap. A real problem with our nuclear power program is it has been in hiatus for years and as a result all of the power plants in the USA are over 25-30 years old and quite outdated. Nuclear technology has changed remarkably over those years.
The article on the pebble bead reactors was very interesting! Thanks for the links!
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I agree, about oil, but for no other reason than I do not like being beholden to miserable scumbags int he middle east who are taking every dollar we send over to them to buy weapons to kill our soldiers and Marines with. I am pretty excited about some new developments in solar, though I think that is years from fruition.
Eagles? Their just vultures, with a tiny bit more class…
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I agree about Iraqi oil but you know that OPEC only supplies only about…what?… something like 2% of the world’s oil? Venezuela could supply more but their president is such a futz that none of the oil companies want to fool with him or his oil. Offshore oil is still the biggest producer. That and Alaska’s North shore. But the caribou people have us tied up there.
About the eagle…well, I favored Ben Franklin’s idea of the turkey myself….they are reputed to taste ever so much better than an eagle but I don’t have any personal experience! But eagles are fun to watch when you’re out counting them. They do some pretty neat aerial stuff.
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rut-roh! We’ve discussed this one before, my friend. Or at least something very similar to it, anyway.
You know we can’t continue our reliance fossil fuels, Bill. In the first place, sooner or later we’re going to run out. The USA used to be the biggest (is that a word?) consumer of oil but we’ll soon be far surpassed by China and those folks over there don’t give a hoot about the environment while we’re trying to cut back to help save the environment. In the second place, the byproduct of fossil fuel combustion is (as I know that you know) carbon dioxide which is ruining the atmosphere for future generations.
Bill, I don’t think I’ll live to see the day but you might and for sure your girls will see the day when global warming raises the sea levels about 15 feet or so. You know what THAT will do to ocean currents~~>weather…to say nothing of coastline and wetlands.
I know you feel global warming is some sort of scientists’ myth but I don’t think so. The ever growing proof of global warming worries me a bit. We know that hundreds of animals/insects are becoming extinct every month and as the world warms, more will follow. I fear even humanity might follow.
I’m for getting rid of all the coal burning electrical plants and replacing them with hydro electrical plants wherever possible, solar heat, wind farms and nuclear plants.
Cars? I used to have a full sized Bronco which got 14 miles a gallon uphill, downhill, towing or not. I got rid of it and now I feel kind of guilty even mentioning that I once had such a gas-hog. Detroit or somewhere is going to have to get on the stick and produce an attractive car that people can afford to purchase which will burn something other than gasoline.
War for oil? I don’t think that is what Iraq is all about or for that matter, any of the squabble in the middle east….but you know a lot of people do and they don’t support the idea. I seriously don’t think the population would support a real war for oil, do you?
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Species have always been going extinct, which is a good thing, it frees up ecosystems for better species to move in to and adapt to. I am truly sorry some of those species are cute and photogenic, but species die out. And that is a good thing. What annoys me about the debate is it is so manipulated, those poor polar bears on that tiny little iceberg, floating around, you just know they are going to drown shortly, but people have got to know that polar bears spend the majority of their lives in the water and swim happily 70 to 90 miles a day. Enviro-weenies need to stop with the lies, I might be more willing to listen to their arguments.
War for oil? I can’t think of a better reason. Can you? Can anyone? Without oil, our society and all the little nice things we take for granted is gone, overnight. I would happily kill off a large percentage of the world to ensure the continued, unrestricted free flow of oil to our factories, farms and homes. And, I am pretty sure, most Americans woudl push that same button. Well, the honest ones anyway < s >.
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Bill says: “War for oil? I can’t think of a better reason. Can you?”
As a matter of fact, yes, I can, Bill: Freedom. It isn’t free, you know?
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Yours, mine? Thats not what is going on, is it?
Iraqis? I am all over that. A little nation building os great for our economy.
But, personally, I would take their oil, over their freedom. YMMV.
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Our freedoms are being eroded on a daily basis and most of us are standing by not paying attention.
But even at that, we have much more in the way of personal freedoms than many other countries do. I think, perhaps, that one would have to have traveled to other countries to realize the freedom, prosperity and conveniences that we enjoy in this country. Most have no idea how the rest of the world lives. We have it good here. Yes, I would go to war for my freedom, yours, too.
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