Saturday, February 26, 2011

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Nuclear Power Advocates

Nuclear power advocates are easy to find, they live and work at the 104 commercial nuclear plants and on board the Navy's nuclear ships. They have one thing in common, they know what they are talking about, they live with nuclear power. In 1996 when the R. E. Ginna nuclear power plant was getting new steam generators installed, the neighbors baked a cake to celebrate and provided hot coffee and cocoa to the workers. Outside agitators (anti-nuclear activists) came into town and held a meeting at a local church, they tried to instill fear, it did not work. Why? Because in the 26+ years of Ginna's operation, it had been a good neighbor, a good friend, treating people fairly and keeping people informed. Fear is easy to instill when there is a vacuum of understanding; constant, accurate communication is a key to combat fear. We need to continue being good neighbors and expand our circle of friends to include people like George Will. http://www.newsweek.com/id/236177 We need more nuclear power and we need to start building plants now for a decent tomorrow.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Today could be US Nuclear Power's New Begining!

"The Obama administration is set to announce a federal loan guarantee to build the first nuclear power plant in the United States in almost three decades", an administration official said. Let's hope this is a meaningful boost to new construction, it all depends upon the "cost" of the loan guarantee, which could actually make money for the US government. The company that receives the loan guarantee will have to pay an up front percentage, if this amount is too high, then the guarantee is not worth having (It's like increasing the interest rate) and no new plants will be built. I am hoping for a reasonable rate which will get the ball rolling on the next wave of safe, reliable, clean, economic, nuclear power plants built in the United States of America. This is in my opinion vital to the future of the United States and maybe the world! A strong energy infrastructure is essential to economic growth and the survival of the American way of life! Whether or not "Global Warming" is an issue, we need to stop experimenting with our atmosphere, it is the only one we have right now. Let's all hope this is the begining of the Nuclear Renaissance we have been hoping for!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

First Blog Attempt 2/12/2010

This is my first attempt at Blogging - bear with me! I will be blogging about things I find interesting or important. I believe we need to invest in our energy infrastructure now, in order to have a viable future later. Nuclear power, I believe is the best, safest, most reliable, current technology to provide energy. The plants operating now are safe and the new designs are even safer.
Building 100's of new nuclear power plants would improve the economy, reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign oil, create jobs, reduce pollution, and provide for future technological advancement.
I have been working with nuclear power for about 30 years, I would be glad to have a Nuclear power plant or high level waste disposal facility in my backyard. My family and I live in a home within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. (where I work) I have a great understanding of the risks involved and am completely comfortable with a plant "in my backyard". I have confidence that my grandchildren’s grandchildren will be smart enough to treat the nuclear "waste" as a valuable resource or at least smart enough to handle it safely . If the cavemen thought their children would be too stupid to use fire safely, where would we be now?
Using Chernobyl as a reason not to build is like saying because of the Hindenburg I will never fly in a commercial airliner.
Nuclear power has the smallest environmental impact of any current energy production method per unit of energy produced. One fuel pellet about the size of a pencil eraser produces the same energy as about 1 ton of coal, and if reprocessed 2/3 of what’s left can be reclaimed. Nuclear power is our best option for reliable, environmentally friendly base-load electrical power.
Thank you for visiting my blog!