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Obama's proposals for nuclear power ill-advised and sad

All,

Below find just a few links that describe the extensive and growing problems and risks at the 104 nuclear reactors currently operating in the United States. Included are comprehensive websites by groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists [1] and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service [2], as well as an extensive report on major problems and "near-misses" by Greenpeace [3]. Also included are specific articles that describe problems related to fire safety [4,5], spent fuel pool safety [6], and plant aging [7,8]. Not even addressed is the fact that we have no technology or site to permanently deal with the radioactive waste created by nuclear plants.

Despite all of the above, President Obama has just put U.S. taxpayers on the hook for 8.3 billion in construction loan guarantees for two new reactors in Georgia -- loans the Congressional Budget Office estimates have a "very high -- well above 50 percent" likelihood of default [9]. The loans are the first part of $54.5 billion in guarantees for new nuclear construction for which Obama is requesting Congressional authorization.

Obama's pursuit of nuclear power flies in the face of the position of Jon Wellinghoff, whom Obama appointed head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last March. According to Bloomberg, Wellinghoff's position last April was that "the U.S. may never need to build new nuclear or coal-fired power plants because renewable energy and improved efficiency can meet future power demand" [10].

Amy Goodman has an excellent short piece [11] about the ill-wisdom and sadness of Obama's proposals (including some very wise comments by Amory Lovins). Harvey Wasserman has an excellent piece highlighting the major design shortcomings of the plants proposed for Georgia and other states; the tritium leaks at 27 of our 104 currently operating plants; and the situation in France [12]. The situation in Britain is similar [13,14]

There are many safer, cleaner, cheaper, more quickly deployable, more job producing, more community enhancing strategies that do not create the intractable problem of nuclear waste, and do not increase the likelihood of catastrophic accidents, terrorism, and nuclear weapons proliferation. We need to vigorously embrace such strategies, and renounce new and phase-out old nuclear power plants

Best,

Joe

[1] Nuclear Power Safety - Union of Concerned Scientists
http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power/nuclear_power_risk/safety/

[2] Nuclear Information and Resource Service
http://www.nirs.org/

[3] An American Chernobyl: Nuclear “Near Misses” at U.S. Reactors Since 1986 - Greenpeace 2006
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/an-american-chernobyl-nuclear.pdf

[4] Fix Fire Safety Problems at U.S. Power Reactors - Union of Concerned Scientists
http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power/nuclear_power_risk/safety/fix-fire-safety-problems-at.html

[5] Dozens of U.S. nuclear power plants (NPP) are emerging as flagrant violators to current fire protection law at sites including Oyster Creek, Shearon Harris, Diablo Canyon, Arkansas Nuclear One, Davis-Besse, McGuire, Crystal River, Sequoyah, St. Lucie and Comanche Peak [addresses "inoperable" Thermo-Lag 330 fire barriers and other issues] - NIRS/WISE 1/9/04
http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/601/5566.php

[6] Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina - Story #4 in Project Censored's Top 25 Censored Stories for 2010
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/4-nuclear-waste-pools-in-north-carolina/

[7] Signs of Nuclear Regulatory Shortcomings Proliferate [aging nuclear reactors; Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio] - J.R. Pegg - Environment News Service 5/20/04
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2004/2004-05-20-10.asp

[8] How We Almost Blew Up Ohio - Judith Lewis - Mother Jones 4/27/08
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/05/how-we-almost-blew-up-ohio.html

[9] Energy Sec Unaware That Nuclear Loans Have 50 Percent Risk of Default - Kate Sheppard - Mother Jones 2/16/10
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/02/chu-not-aware-nuclear-default-rates

[10] U.S. May Never Need More Nuclear, Coal Plants, FERC Head Says - Tina Seeley - Bloomberg 4/22/09
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajl3fRv9AdDI

[11] Obama’s Nuclear Option - Amy Goodman - TruthDig 2/18/10
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/02/18

[12] Obama's Atomic Blunder - Harvey Wasserman - CommonDreams 2/17/10
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/02/17-5

[13] Sellafield: the most hazardous place in Europe - Robin McKie - The Observer 4/19/09
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/19/sellafield-nuclear-plant-cumbria-hazards

[14] A £1bn nuclear white elephant - Michael Savage - The Independent 4/6/09
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/a-1631bn-nuclear-white-elephant-1664427.html



Tag(s): nuclear power; nonproliferation; sustainability
Added by Joseph Miller on 2010-02-20 15:46:58   Post Reply





Recent Replies

Rosemarie Stallworth-Clark replied ...

Hello Blog on Nuclear Power...I don't know where else to post this disturbing report that I received from my friend, Gloria, in Alabama, sent this editorial to me today. It is, indeed, a very scary report from someone named Sorcha Faal. Apparently, Sorcha Faal is in Russia. Reading this, as the beautiful US Gulf Coast prepares for the worst environmental disaster ever, will ruin your day. It is a very hard read....not only for those of you who live near this gorgeous, most beautiful coastline on the planet, but for all of us in the US and throughout the world. I don't know what to suggest we do here, other than to call for the help of heaven and to ask for wisdom and guidance for our beloved president and others charged with the protection of our nation. I'm sharing with you because I'm thinking you wish to stay informed. As I type this, I'm hoping that somebody will write me back and say that this is just a "Snopes Scam." So if any of you have any information about the accuracy of this report, please share.

See the disturbing report below:

> May 1, 2010
> US Orders Blackout Over North Korean Torpedoing Of Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig
> By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers
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> A grim report circulating in the Kremlin today written by Russia’s Northern Fleet is reporting that the United States has ordered a complete media blackout over North Korea’s torpedoing of the giant Deepwater Horizon oil platform owned by the World’s largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean that was built and financed by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd ., that has caused great loss of life, untold billions in economic damage to the South Korean economy, and an environmental catastrophe to the United States.
> Most important to understand about this latest attack by North Korea against its South Korean enemy is that under the existing “laws of war” it was a permissible action as they remain in a state of war against each other due to South Korea’s refusal to sign the 1953 Armistice ending the Korean War .
> To the attack itself, these reports continue, the North Korean “cargo vessel” Dai Hong Dan believed to be staffed by 17th Sniper Corps “suicide” troops left Cuba’s Empresa Terminales Mambisas de La Habana ( Port of Havana ) on April 18 th whereupon it “severely deviated” from its intended course for Venezuela’s Puerto Cabello bringing it to within 209 kilometers (130 miles) of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform which was located 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of the US State of Louisiana where it launched an SSC Sang-o Class Mini Submarine ( Yugo class ) estimated to have an operational range of 321 kilometers (200 miles).
> On the night of April 20 th the North Korean Mini Submarine manned by these “suicidal” 17th Sniper Corps soldiers attacked the Deepwater Horizon with what are believed to be 2 incendiary torpedoes causing a massive explosion and resulting in 11 workers on this giant oil rig being killed outright. Barely 48 hours later, on April 22 nd , this North Korean Mini Submarine committed its final atrocity by exploding itself directly beneath the Deepwater Horizon causing this $1 Billion oil rig to sink beneath the seas and marking 2010’s celebration of Earth Day with one of the largest environmental catastrophes our World has ever seen.
> To the reason for North Korea attacking the Deepwater Horizon, these reports say, was to present US President Obama with an “impossible dilemma” prior to the opening of the United Nations Review Conference of the Parties to the Treat on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ( NPT ) set to begin May 3 rd in New York.
> This “impossible dilemma” facing Obama is indeed real as the decision he is faced with is either to allow the continuation of this massive oil leak catastrophe to continue for months, or immediately stop it by the only known and proven means possible, the detonation of a thermonuclear device.
> Russian Navy atomic experts in these reports state that should Obama choose the “nuclear option” the most viable weapon at his disposal is the United States B83 ( Mk-83 ) strategic thermonuclear bomb having a variable yield (Low Kiloton Range to 1,200 Kilotons) which with its 12 foot length and 18 inch diameter, and weighing just over 2,400 pounds, is readily able to be deployed and detonated by a remote controlled mini-sub.
> Should Obama choose the “nuclear option” it appears that he would be supported by the International Court of Justice who on July 8, 1996 issued an advisory opinion on the use of nuclear weapons stating that they could not conclude definitively on these weapons use in “extreme circumstances” or “self defense” .
> On the other hand, if Obama chooses the “nuclear option” it would leave the UN’s nuclear conference in shambles with every Nation in the World having oil rigs off their coasts demanding an equal right to atomic weapons to protect their environment from catastrophes too, including Iran.
> To whatever decision Obama makes it remains a fact that with each passing hour this environmental catastrophe grows worse. And even though Obama has ordered military SWAT teams to protect other oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico from any further attack, and further ordered that all drilling in the Gulf of Mexico be immediately stopped, this massive oil spill has already reached the shores of America and with high waves and more bad weather forecast the likelihood of it being stopped from destroying thousands of miles of US coastland and wildlife appears unstoppable.
> And not just to the environmental catastrophe that is unfolding the only devastation to be wrecked upon the United States and South Korea by this North Korean attack as the economic liabilities associated with this disaster are estimated by these Russian reports to be between $500 Billion to $1.5 Trillion, and which only a declaration of this disaster being an “act of war” would free some the World’s largest corporations from bankruptcy.
> Important to note too in all of these events was that this was the second attack by North Korea on its South Korean enemy, and US ally, in a month as we had reported on in our March 28 th report titled “ Obama Orders ‘Immediate Stand-down’ After Deadly North Korean Attack ” and which to date neither the Americans or South Korea have retaliated for and giving one senior North Korean party leader the courage to openly state that the North Korean military took “gratifying revenge” on South Korea.
> And for those believing that things couldn’t get worse, they couldn’t be more mistaken as new reports coming from Japanese military sources are stating that North Korea is preparing for new launches of its 1,300 kilometer (807 miles) intermediate range ballistic “Rodong” missile which Russian Space Forces experts state is able to “deploy and detonate” an atomic electromagnetic pulse ( EMP ) device, and which if detonated high in the atmosphere could effectively destroy the American economy for years, if not decades, to come.
> © May 1, 2010 EU and US all rights reserved
> [Ed. Note: Western governments and their intelligence services actively campaign against the information found in these reports so as not to alarm their citizens about the many catastrophic Earth changes and events to come, a stance that the Sisters of Sorcha Faal strongly disagrees with in believing that it is every human beings right to know the truth. Due to our missions conflicts with that of those governments, the responses of their ‘agents’ against us has been a longstanding misinformation/misdirection campaign designed to discredit and which is addressed in the report “ Who Is Sorcha Faal? ”.]



Posted on 2010-05-04 15:56:26.  

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