Iran’s first nuclear Power Plant
Most of the energy special interests like oil and gas enterprises are opposed to nuclear power as a means to produce electricity…no surprise there. Opposition is also heard from environmentalists and scientists who are concerned about the safety of these plants due to their precarious locations; some of which are smack in earthquake territory.
There is no doubt that some people like the French and the Japanese have been able to harness nuclear power to produce electricity rather cheaply and safely…until now. This earthquake/tsunami in Japan has placed a big question mark on the use of nuclear power both for the Japanese and for us.
One of the GOP’s arguments for the continuation of nuclear power is that “you don’t quit driving on a road because there was a bridge collapse up ahead, you repair it and continue your travels” I seriously question the validity of such argument. First because we are not talking about a bridge that can be repaired or made brand new and there would be little or negligible impact on the environment and the lives of humans. With nuclear power, as safe and as reliable as these power plants are, just one tiny mistake made by humans; one mishap delivered by nature could spell catastrophe for decades if not for centuries.
In the 70’s, a third world country; embarked upon a gargantuan project to become energy independent following the contrived oil crisis back then. Brazil set out to build the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Arguably, 200 smaller dams could have been built; but what is done is done…and then they had the tenacity to convert all their vehicles to run on Ethanol which they obtained from sugar cane (a self-sustaining resource because you burn the refuse from the bulk to get the fuel) and yes…Brazil borrowed heavily from The World Bank, they saw their economy falter and at one point it was debatable if Brazil could even survive the severe economic crisis. Today, the story of Brazil is one of success and a model to be followed.
I am not suggesting we build gargantuan hydroelectric dams…I am suggesting that America embarks on an enterprise even more ambitious than that. Every household in America (where feasible) would have either a solar collector or a windmill. The cost of this would be astronomical but worth every penny and extensive wind farms and solar collectors should be built throughout the country as well.
Of course one would expect the usual suspects to object. The Republicans would have a collective 9,000 ton cow as their benefactors pressure those legislators to oppose any effort to become energy independent. The Koch brothers will have their hands in it up to their armpits; organizing right-wing opposition, creating think tanks and with their millions trying to sway public opinion.
Rising out of the Andalusian countryside like a gigantic obelisk, a 40 story concrete tower surrounded by fields of photovoltaic panels is the first stage of Europe’s first commercial solar power station , which recently went into operation in a sunny region outside Seville, Spain. The eye-popping spectacle bears more than a passing resemblance to Sauron’s Mordor Lighthouse in Lord of the Rings – only shiny, happy and sunny, rather than dark and fiery. Dumb analogies aside, there’s no way that our meager words do justice to the sheer awesomeness of the project
I envision the creation of endless wind farms, beautiful and efficient solar collectors such as the ones they already have in Spain. With a little help from consumers and a lot of effort from our government we can silence and neutralize what has been a thorn on the side of Democracy, security and even peace as the Middle East would not be of such strategic importance any longer.
I would like for somebody to tell me why this is not feasible; why we could not do this since it is the logical and reasonable alternative. A country that put a man on the moon should have at its disposal technology that far exceeds the demand for such an endeavor.
At California Nuclear Plant, Earthquake Response Plan Not Required
FULL STORY: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/california-nuclear-emergency-response_n_836751.html
“As the world's attention remains focused on the nuclear calamity unfolding in Japan, American nuclear regulators and industry lobbyists have been offering assurances that plants in the United States are designed to withstand major earthquakes.
But the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which sits less than a mile from an offshore fault line, was not required to include earthquakes in its emergency response plan as a condition of being granted its license more than a quarter of a century ago. Though experts warned from the beginning that the plant would be vulnerable to an earthquake, asserting 25 years ago that it required an emergency plan as a condition of its license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fought against making such a provision mandatory as it allowed the facility to be built.
Officials at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, did not respond to calls seeking comment before the story was published. After publication, a spokesman for the company said the plant does have an earthquake procedure that had been implemented during a 2003 earthquake near the facility, and that staff are trained to respond. The company did not provide further details upon request.
As Americans absorb the spectacle of a potential nuclear meltdown in Japan -- one of the world's most proficient engineering powers -- the regulatory review that ultimately enabled Diablo Canyon to be built without an earthquake response plan amplifies a gnawing question: Could the tragedy in Japan happen at home?
Experts who recall how the California plant came to be erected offer a disconcerting answer: Yes. And some are calling for more urgent government action to review safety at nuclear plants across the country.
"What they're displaying now is exactly what was wrong in the past with the nuclear establishment, which is that they didn't have their priorities right," said Victor Gilinsky, who served on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the Diablo Canyon debate and agreed with the call for greater attention to earthquakes in emergency plans. "They're more concerned about the protection of the plants, and installation of further plants, than they are about public safety. The president should be saying, 'I want every single plant reviewed.'"
Back when the California plant was being finalized in the mid-1980s, local activists and environmental lawyers sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in an effort to slow the project, arguing that the clear risks from earthquakes nearby required additional planning.”
PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.topnews.in/law/irans-first-nuclear-power-plant-opens-224493
SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/california-nuclear-emergency-response_n_836751.html
http://inhabitat.com/sevilles-solar-power-tower/
http://www.windenergyplanning.com/european-offshore-wind-supergrid-deal-signed/
