Obama is down for nuclear power, can I get a hell yea?

[werepossum]

I work in the nuclear industry so I follow this issue VERY closely, and wiretap has hit the nail EXACTLY on the head here. Obama often says he is for "safe and clean" nuclear power in speeches, but he invariably always contends that any nuclear plant will not be clean and safe and therefore will not allow them to be approved. Obama is 100% plain and simple against nuclear PERIOD. If you want to know what a politician believes you can't look at what he SAYS, you have to look at what he DOES. Obama has always said he was pro-nuclear, but he replaced the chairman of the NRC with an anti-nuclear democratic staffer with no technical background. The other big thing Obama has done was to decide not to fund the NRC, so it is impossible to get a license through the NRC because they don't have the money to review it. This is what happened to Yucca Mountain, the license application was submitted by the company I work for, but a grand total of $0 was allocated by the NRC to review it. This allows Obama and palls to say waste is an issue making nuclear "un-clean" even though Obama and Harry Reid (democrats) are the entire reason Yucca Mountain is not in operation. The idea is to strangle the nuclear industry by not allowing any new plants to be built or any waste repository to be built.

I tend to have the same cynicism as do you and Wiretap, but Walks-On-Water is still pretty new so I'll take him at his word until he shows otherwise. Or at least I'll take his words with the same truckload of salt as those of most politicians.

 

[Carmen813]

Hell Yeah!! ......... Too bad they will never materialize.
Political bullshit speech to appease the right.
If he actually did this he would lose his left wing base.

Hi, I'm part of the left-wing base and I support nuclear power. I don't support more drilling, so I guess that means I'm a radioactive hippy. Well, maybe I'm not really part of the base.

I need to get a T-Shirt.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I have a feeling this is political posturing on his part, but if he actually makes good on his words, then cool.

 

[Hacp]

Its pretty funny. France, the most liberal state in the world has Nuclear fuel but we don't. I guess the US based environmental wackos have more power than French wackos.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I work in the nuclear industry so I follow this issue VERY closely, and wiretap has hit the nail EXACTLY on the head here. Obama often says he is for "safe and clean" nuclear power in speeches, but he invariably always contends that any nuclear plant will not be clean and safe and therefore will not allow them to be approved. Obama is 100% plain and simple against nuclear PERIOD. If you want to know what a politician believes you can't look at what he SAYS, you have to look at what he DOES. Obama has always said he was pro-nuclear, but he replaced the chairman of the NRC with an anti-nuclear democratic staffer with no technical background. The other big thing Obama has done was to decide not to fund the NRC, so it is impossible to get a license through the NRC because they don't have the money to review it. This is what happened to Yucca Mountain, the license application was submitted by the company I work for, but a grand total of $0 was allocated by the NRC to review it. This allows Obama and palls to say waste is an issue making nuclear "un-clean" even though Obama and Harry Reid (democrats) are the entire reason Yucca Mountain is not in operation. The idea is to strangle the nuclear industry by not allowing any new plants to be built or any waste repository to be built.

Thank you for your post from the (well closer to the) front lines.

 

[woolfe9999]

Hi, I'm part of the left-wing base and I support nuclear power. I don't support more drilling, so I guess that means I'm a radioactive hippy. Well, maybe I'm not really part of the base.

I need to get a T-Shirt.

While the right favors nuclear power, the left is pretty split over it, with many on the left opposing or favoring. Overall, nuclear power rates well in opinion polls.

There really aren't any credible arguments against it IMO. The waste IS manageable. The reactors are NOT leaking radiation into ground water or the atmosphere as sometimes claimed. It IS an efficient way to generate power.

This is just an area where the far left is off its rocker.

- wolf

 

[kage69]

If being hit by a tornado I'd rather be in a nuclear power plant than a wind farm. The pros of nuclear power outweigh the cons. But as I said, we need to upgrade our energy grid first. Especially in the North East. (oldest, and thus, shittiest, remember the entire thing blew out because of a tree branch in Ohio)

Quoted for complete agreement!!! Service in New England can really suck, let's get that Smart Grid up and running asap!

 

[werepossum]

While the right favors nuclear power, the left is pretty split over it, with many on the left opposing or favoring. Overall, nuclear power rates well in opinion polls.

There really aren't any credible arguments against it IMO. The waste IS manageable. The reactors are NOT leaking radiation into ground water or the atmosphere as sometimes claimed. It IS an efficient way to generate power.

This is just an area where the far left is off its rocker.

- wolf

The far left can't even see its rocker. The far left couldn't find its rocker on a map with GPS and guide dogs. Hell, it probably never even had a rocker, and if it did, it certainly burned it as capitalist oppression.

Whee!

 

[ebaycj]

I live in South Carolina and I never understood the "not in my backyard" mentality. We have a good amount of reactors and no one really cares.....

The only time people went "Oh shit" was the morning of 9/11. We realized that flying a plane into one probably wouldn't be a good thing for us.

They are also designed to withstand plane strikes.

 

[Carmen813]

They are also designed to withstand plane strikes.

Well technically, so were the Twin Towers. But aside from that, yes, they are incredibly strong. For god's sake there is a controlled nuclear explosion going on inside!

 

[rcpratt]

Well technically, so were the Twin Towers. But aside from that, yes, they are incredibly strong. For god's sake there is a controlled nuclear explosion going on inside!

Err, there's no explosion, but yes the pressure vessel is quite strong because of the high pressures and temperatures. The containment is what would be resisting a tornado or plane though, which is mostly concrete. Lots and lots of concrete.

 

[K1052]

Well technically, so were the Twin Towers. But aside from that, yes, they are incredibly strong. For god's sake there is a controlled nuclear explosion going on inside!

You've got to get through that just to get inside the building

Then you have to breach the 5 foot thick steel reinforced concrete dry well, 4 feet of steel/concrete lead reactor shielding, and an absolute minimum of 4 inch thick high grade steel pressure vessel to get at the core.

 

[Carmen813]

Err, there's no explosion, but yes the pressure vessel is quite strong because of the high pressures and temperatures. The containment is what would be resisting a tornado or plane though, which is mostly concrete. Lots and lots of concrete.

I know I know, I was going for dramatic flare It's a controlled nuclear reaction.

 

[rcpratt]

I know I know, I was going for dramatic flare It's a controlled nuclear reaction.

Sorry, sarcasm detector fail ^_^

 

[Darwin333]

I have never understood the lefts, especially the true environmentalists, position on nuclear power. At this point in time its either nuclear or fossil fuels, period. I am in the solar industry and one day a large majority of our electricity will come from renewables but that day isn't here yet. Even then we are going to need a serious breakthrough in energy storage or we will still need large power plants online at all times. Do you want to keep the coal plants online or nuclear and you don't get to chose neither.

To make matters worse, that day likely will not come until we have a much better grid in place and we don't have anymore money to invest into a project of that size. I am not sure if we could borrow it either at the rate we are currently borrowing. I was hoping that the stimulus package would have a lot more funding for a new grid than the paltry sum that was included and it would have (saved or) created a ton of good paying jobs. I doubt it will become a real priority until we are on the brink, fortunately I can live without the grid.

I haven't done much research on new power plants (all fuel types) currently being built but I read somewhere that the number is very few. If that is true and we continue to dick around we will find ourselves in a bind. When that happens we will build the whatever can be built the quickest and cheapest. I guarantee that environmental issues go right out the window when US citizens start running out of juice.

 

[Strk]

Its pretty funny. France, the most liberal state in the world has Nuclear fuel but we don't. I guess the US based environmental wackos have more power than French wackos.

Actually, we have around twice as many reactors producing twice as much power; however, France gets a much larger proportion of their energy from nuclear power. I believe the only ones that receive more proportionately have it simply because they're a small country, so getting 75%+ only requires a couple of reactors.

 

[spidey07]

My state has been pushing for nuclear for a while. Even trying to figure out where to put them. Lifting the ban as well. Even approved on site waste storage.

http://www.courier-journal.com/arti...ations+with+best+potential+for+nuclear+plants

State officials are scouting potential nuclear power plant sites around Kentucky as part of a broader effort to expand the state's electricity supply beyond traditional coal-fired generators.

The assessment is wrapping up as legislation to end what has effectively been a 26-year moratorium on nuclear power cleared the state Senate and awaits a hearing in a House committee. The bill is backed by Gov. Steve Beshear's administration.

Senate Bill 26, which passed 27-10 in the Senate on Jan. 20, would ease the restriction by allowing on-site waste storage if the plan is approved by the federal government.

 

[SunSamurai]

After we start getting more than 50% of the grid on Nuclear, maybe we can update the craptastic grid, and at the same time upgrade our network backbones.

Stuff like this would make me ok with being in debt. Actually improving shit. Mindblowing right.

 

[spidey07]

Well after more reading this is indeed the poison pill that it sounded like during Obama's state of the union. He'll push nuclear in order to get cap and trade.

How about keeping them separate Mr. President and letting American's choose what is best for their energy needs depending on what state they are in? You know Mr. Constitutional Lawyer, that damned 10th amendment.

 

[wiretap]

When you hear people say the grid needs improving, it's mostly due to so many people demanding power, but not enough base load plants to keep up with the demand. We DON'T need a "smart grid". A smart grid opens up the grid for easier cyber attacks and controls the power going to your home on a house by house basis, even seeing how much certain devices in your home use. That opens up the door for even more legislation to limit how you and businesses use power, and further eliminates your privacy in your home. We actually want the grid to be as primitive and simple as possible.

 

[werepossum]

I have never understood the lefts, especially the true environmentalists, position on nuclear power. At this point in time its either nuclear or fossil fuels, period. I am in the solar industry and one day a large majority of our electricity will come from renewables but that day isn't here yet. Even then we are going to need a serious breakthrough in energy storage or we will still need large power plants online at all times. Do you want to keep the coal plants online or nuclear and you don't get to chose neither.

To make matters worse, that day likely will not come until we have a much better grid in place and we don't have anymore money to invest into a project of that size. I am not sure if we could borrow it either at the rate we are currently borrowing. I was hoping that the stimulus package would have a lot more funding for a new grid than the paltry sum that was included and it would have (saved or) created a ton of good paying jobs. I doubt it will become a real priority until we are on the brink, fortunately I can live without the grid.

I haven't done much research on new power plants (all fuel types) currently being built but I read somewhere that the number is very few. If that is true and we continue to dick around we will find ourselves in a bind. When that happens we will build the whatever can be built the quickest and cheapest. I guarantee that environmental issues go right out the window when US citizens start running out of juice.

The left doesn't think, it feels. Therefore it sees no problem with opposing the cleanest form of power we have. There are those on the left with two valid issues here, though - conservation and environmental. Our homes and businesses are ridiculously inefficient and under-insulated, which wastes energy. Fixing this would decrease the overall amount of power needed. And nuclear plants take a LOT of cooling water, which means for the hot, semi-arid west and southwest they are contraindicated. For those we need to either burn coal, oil, or gas, wire in power from wetter climes, or use widespread solar (probably evaporative solar) power plants. As is usually the case, one size doesn't fit all.

I largely agree with Wiretap about the smart grid, it's been way over sold. The smarter the grid the more efficient, but also the more sensitive, so that a short circuit or sudden power failure in one section causes a surge that ripples throughout the grid, taking down a large area. Since it takes more energy to power up the grid than to maintain it, it becomes quite difficult to restart the grid. I have no wish to take on any more aspects of Venezuela than our president already favors.

 

[Zargon]

When you hear people say the grid needs improving, it's mostly due to so many people demanding power, but not enough base load plants to keep up with the demand. We DON'T need a "smart grid". A smart grid opens up the grid for easier cyber attacks and controls the power going to your home on a house by house basis, even seeing how much certain devices in your home use. That opens up the door for even more legislation to limit how you and businesses use power, and further eliminates your privacy in your home. We actually want the grid to be as primitive and simple as possible.

yes. we simply need more/better lines in lots of area.

less trees would help too ^_^

 

[piasabird]

27 out of 104 nuclear power plants have levels of Tritium contamination. That makes for some yummy drinking water.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100201/ap_on_bi_ge/us_leaking_nuclear_plants

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Radioactive tritium, a carcinogen discovered in potentially dangerous levels in groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, has now tainted at least 27 of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors — raising concerns about how it is escaping from the aging nuclear plants.

The leaks — many from deteriorating underground pipes — come as the nuclear industry is seeking and obtaining federal license renewals, casting itself as a clean-green alternative to power plants that burn fossil fuels.

 

[wiretap]

The entire site property and drinking water is consistently monitored around all nuclear plant sites. Any abnormal levels have to be reported. Tritium is naturally in your drinking water, but quite frankly it's the least of your worries when it comes to your drinking water. You'd shit a brick if you saw the chemicals that cities add to the water supply. Chlorine, bleach, lithium, flouride, ammonia, etc.. You're better off drinking bottled distilled water, or have something like an Ecoloblue water generation unit.

And just as a hint.. none of the primary cooling systems containing radioactive water are anywhere where leaks could get outdoors.. they're all within the containment structure.. and any leak, no matter how small, go to radwaste processing within the plant. On top of that, you're not going to get any long half-lifes in anything unless you have hot particles as contaminants. Hot particles themselves tend to stick within pipes.

 

[MotF Bane]

Cool, more tritium. That stuff's expensive.