Nuclear Power II

[sfc_oliver]

So the answer is that the local Green Party has done nothing? 

At least some of us have attended a Tea party or two to protest against this wild spending during the past year.

[Towntalk]

13 nuclear stocks to power a portfolio

Nuclear energy, a touchstone of civic disharmony in the 1970s that has vanished from public debate in the past two decades, is about to make a stunning reappearance on center stage.
Suddenly transformed by time and forgiveness into a glowing modern alternative to oil and gas, the fossil-free fuel is being foisted on Congress and the utility industry as the best way to solve clean-energy mandates. If greenhouse gases and carbon emissions are the question, proponents say, then nuclear energy is the answer because, well, it produces exactly none of either.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/13-nuke-stocks-to-power-a-portfolio.aspx


Where the U.S. government researches a nuclear future

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10282741-52.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1040_3-0-5

Dennis:

What I asked was when was the last time the Green Party members actually put on their marching shoes, made their protest signs and physically marched around a nuclear power plant calling for it to shut down, or followed the example of Greenpeace?

That is a very simple question.

Hundreds of advocacy groups file papers either pro or con with very few actually being read by the powers that be, but the groups that actually get out there like PETA, Greenpeace etc. actuallly get the attention of the news media.

Now if your group were to actually to get out there and do a PETA version of protesting for your cause that would be another matter.

[irishbobcat]

Florida Greens file petition against NRC licensing of Levy Cty. nuclear plant
Distributed by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org

Green Party of Florida
http://www.floridagreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2009

Contact: Michael Canney, 386-418-3791, alachuagreen@gmail.com


Green Party files Petition to Intervene in NRC licensing of Levy County Nuclear Plant,joins Nuclear Information and Resource Service to challenge deficiencies in Progress Energy Combined Operating License Application (COLA)


Gainesville, FL -- On February 6, 2009 the Green Party of Florida (GPF, http://www.floridagreens.org) joined with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS, http://www.nirs.org) and the Ecology Party to file a legal challenge to a new nuclear power plant proposed by Progress Energy Florida (PEF) for a site in Levy County, near Inglis, Florida.

The filing is a formal Petition to Intervene in the NRC's licensing process for nuclear power plants, the latest in a series of such actions taken by NIRS and other groups nationwide to protect the health and safety of the public and the natural resources that are placed at risk by this industry. The interventions by parties with standing, which must follow rules established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), are intended to stop these nuclear boondoggles before construction work starts and millions of dollars are wasted.

PEF is seeking a license from the NRC to build the proposed Levy County Units 1 and 2 atomic reactors, on a site near the Gulf Coast that is the only "greenfield" site (no existing nuclear power facility) currently proposed east of the Mississippi River.

Among the contentions asserted in this Petition to Intervene:

Real options of energy efficiency and distributed generation with renewable energy options have not been adequately considered.
Progress Energy Florida does not meet financial qualification requirements.
Aquatic and radioactive waste impacts have not been adequately considered.
The Levy County project licensing is premature since the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design remains incomplete.

In all, 26 contentions challenging the Progress Energy Application were included, supported by four experts.

The Green Party joins hundreds or organizations and thousands of individuals in endorsing the NIRS Statement on Climate and Nuclear Power, which states:

"We do not support construction of new nuclear reactors as a means of addressing the climate crisis. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power."

The Green Party has always opposed nuclear fission technology as a means of generating electricity, and the abundance of clean, safe renewable alternatives in today's energy marketplace makes nuclear power obsolete, from both an economic and ecological perspective. Investor Owned Utilities such as Progress Energy could not generate profits from nuclear power generation without federal loan guarantees, tax breaks, and massive subsidies that shift the costs of the nuclear industry to taxpayers.

Greens call upon municipal utilities in Florida to explore all the available options for implementing aggressive conservation measures and investment in decentralized, renewable energy technologies. Merely by installing low-tech solar thermal water heaters on residential homes, electricity consumption could be reduced by 8-10%. The public should not be forced to subsidize nuclear power plants when proven solutions are available at far less risk and less cost as well. Gainesville Regional Utilities has rejected nuclear power as an alternative to coal, and instead of buying into the Levy Nuclear Plant, which will be located less than 50 miles from downtown Gainesville, GRU and the Gainesville City Commission opted to enact the nation's first Solar Power Feed-In Tariff ordinance.

PEF can't count on private investors to finance the nuclear plant, so the company obtained permission from the Florida Public Service Commission to raise utility rates by 23%, about half of which will be used to cover the costs of development and construction of the Levy County Nuclear Plant. "The 'Early Cost Recovery' scam is little more than legalized theft from utility customers, and it should be immediately repealed by the Florida legislature," said MIchael Canney, Alachua County Green Party co-chair and member of the GPF Green Energy Committee. "Progress Energy can't get private investors to finance this $20 billion boondoggle, so they are forcing their customers to become investors."

In 2007, the GPF worked with the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition to draft a comprehensive "green paper" on energy policy, which has this to say about the radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants:

"There is no safe method to dispose of or store the radioactive waste produced. All six of the 'low-level' nuclear waste dumps in the United States have leaked. There are no technological quick fixes that can effectively isolate nuclear waste from the biosphere for the duration of its hazardous life. Therefore, there is no such thing as nuclear waste 'disposal.' Current methods of underground storage are a danger to present and future generations. Any nuclear waste management strategies must be above ground, continuously monitored, and they must minimize transportation of wastes."


Green Paper on Climate Change and Energy Options for the State of Florida (http://pbcec.blogspot.com/search?q=Green+Paper+on+Climate+Change) by Green Party of Florida & Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition

The design of the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors PRF plans to install in the Levy Nuclear Plant continues to undergo revisions, even as PEF and the NRC proceed with the licensing of this plant. The NRC can't prove the proposed reactor designs are safe, but is allowing PEF to proceed with licensing anyway, which places the burden of proof on the public to demonstrate the potential problems with this technology.

The proposed nuclear plant will need more than 20 million gallons of water daily to cool the reactors, and PEF is drilling a private well field on site to draw millions of gallons of fresh water from the aquifer, yet PEF claims this project will have no detrimental effect on the local aquatic system.

In addition to participating in this Petition to Intervene in the NRC licensing process, Greens are joining with others concerned about climate change and energy policy to build a broad, community-based alliance to stop the Levy County Nuclear Plant and oppose subsidies for fossil fuels and the nuclear industry, while promoting investment in clean, safe, renewable and sustainable energy technologies.

"We don't see a push for solar energy here in the 'sunshine state' even in the form of off-setting our energy needs, said Jennifer Sullivan, co-chair of the Hernando County Green Party. "Solar technology is working in less sunny climates and as far north as Scandinavia. Think how many jobs could be created by investing in solar equipment manufacturing firms and by putting solar panels on every roof in the state!"

For more information:

Green Party of Florida http://www.floridagreens.org
Alachua County Green Party http://gainesvillegreens.webs.com
Nuclear Information and Resource Service http://www.nirs.org

Documents re PEF Levy County nuke plant:application on Florida DEP site: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/siting/Highlights/applications.htm

References on nuclear power:

Carbon-Free, Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy http://www.ieer.org/carbonfree/index.html
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research http://www.ieer.org
Rocky Mountain Institute http://www.rmi.org
Union of Concerned Scientists - Nuclear Power http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power

PETITION TO INTERVENE AND REQUEST FOR HEARING In the Matter of PROGRESS ENERGY FLORIDA, Levy County Nuclear Station Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 52-029 COL & 52-030 COL Feburary 6, 2009 http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/levy/levyhome.htm

Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power, a new study by CPA Craig Severance, finds that escalating reactor construction and operating costs could lead to electricity from new nukes as high as 25-30 cents per kw/h-significantly higher than industry estimates. http://www.nirs.org/neconomics/nuclearcosts2009.pdf

[Towntalk]

I've not read about any Green Party proyesters waving their signs and marching around any nuclear power planrs chanting:

Hay Hay; Ho Ho, Nuclear power plants have got to go. Hay hay; Ho Ho Nuclear plants have got to go. 

And what about sit in's? 

When was the last time you picked up your sign and marched around the Perry Nuclear Power Plant? 

[irishbobcat]

Green Party members do protest nuclear power plants throughout the year.

We are not sell-outs like the Democrats and Republicans to this dangerous source of power.

[Towntalk]

  Since the  Green Party  is opposd to all nuclear power plants, maby they should send out their troops to do a  sitdown protest  until all the plants listed on the Nuclear Street website are closed.

http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear-plants/

[sfc_oliver]

Sounds like a good thing, maybe our electric bills won't go up as high as others will if this cap and tax passes.

[Towntalk]

U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear-plants/


The power we here in the valley who use First Energy  are using is comming from a nuclear power plant,



Name:   Perry Nuclear Power Plant
Address   10 Center Rd.
   Perry, Ohio 44081

Name:   Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant
Address   5501 N. State Route 2
   Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449-9760


Name:   FirstEnergy
Address   76 South Main St.
   Akron, Ohio 44308

[sfc_oliver]

No, not a good Idea, my son works for them. I doubt Dennis and crew could handle him in any seminar they might teach.

[Towntalk]

Dennis:

You're the expert on this topic so how can you and the Green Party convince China and India to go along with the G-8 program on climate change IF you went to Congress?

Remember that the United States is so deeply in debt to China that we couldn't get out of their clutches in the lifetime of your great grandchildren.

A Lesson on Warming

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/opinion/10fri1.html?_r=1&hpw

"Without China's participation, the fight against global warming is essentially lost."

Sarge:

Answer to your question:

Shut the plant down and fire the workers that build the parts, and compel them to go through a 6 week course in sensitivity training taught by the Green Party.

BY THE WAY DENNIS, IT WAS UNDER DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATIONS THAT NUCLEAR POWER WAS INSTITUTED ... EVER HEAR OF ATOMS FOR PEACE A REPUBLICAN PLAN?? SO DON'T ACCUSE ME OF BEING A CONSERVATIVE!

[sfc_oliver]

Did you know that there is a company in the Mahoning valley which builds parts for Nuclear reactors in China and France? Sure would be nice if they could supply the same parts to places in the USA.

[Towntalk]

WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER THE SECOND QUESTION DENNIS?

As with your responses to other posts you choose sarcasm over substance.

Aside from Three Mile Island, name one other AMERICAN nuclear plant that caused leakages.

The whole point of the post was why the government is perfectly willing to build nuclear power plants in other countries when they deem them too dangerous four ours. Is that too hard to grasp? 

And how many American dollars will be spent building the plants overseas?

[irishbobcat]

Let's put the nuke plant in your backyard so you can Glow baby Glow!

[Towntalk]

It's perfectly alright for the United States to provide other countries with the technology to build nuclear power plants, BUT NEVER EVER HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Arab Emirates Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

http://www.state.gov/t/us/125782.htm

Better we become a Fourth World country than use all the technology we have to benefit AMERICA and its people.

By the way, are the Anti-Nuclear folks also opposed to Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine and medical imaging that uses radioactive isotopes (radionuclides) in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear medicine thus relies on the process of radioactive decay. Molecular imaging may employ nuclear medical techniques when it uses radioisotopes to produce images that reflect biological processes that take place at the cellular and sub cellular level.

Nuclear medicine procedures use pharmaceuticals that have been labeled with radionuclides (radiopharmaceuticals). In diagnosis, radioactive substances are administered to patients and the radiation emitted is detected. The diagnostic tests involve the formation of an image using a gamma camera or positron emission tomography, invented by Hal O. Anger, and sometimes called an Anger gamma camera, as well as single photon emission tomography SPECT. Imaging may also be referred to as radionuclide imaging or nuclear scintigraphy. Other diagnostic tests use probes to acquire measurements from parts of the body, or counters for the measurement of samples taken from the patient.

In therapeutic use, radionuclides may be administered to treat disease, or provide palliative pain relief. To a large extent therapeutic nuclear medicine is an emerging field, although a few isotopes, such as iodine-131 have long been used therapeutically.[1]. Use of radiation from radioisotopes (such as cobalt-60) external to the body has merged with the practice of radiotherapy (Radiation therapy medicine), where these radionuclides are used by practitioners who also employ other sources of radiation. See radiotherapy for discussion of the therapeutic use of external radioisotopes. Finally, the use of implanted capsules of isotopes (brachytherapy) may be handled by nuclear medicine or radiation therapy medicine.

Nuclear medicinal tests differ from most other imaging modalities in that diagnostic tests primarily show the physiological function of the system being investigated as opposed to traditional anatomical imaging such as CT or MRI. In some centers, the nuclear medicine images can be superimposed, using software or hybrid cameras, on images from modalities such as CT or MRI to highlight the part of the body in which the radiopharmaceutical is concentrated. This practice is often referred to as image fusion or co-registration.

Nuclear medicine diagnostic tests are usually provided by a dedicated department within a hospital and may include facilities for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals. The specific name of a department can vary from hospital to hospital, with the most common names being the nuclear medicine department and the radioisotope department. Nuclear medicine is a technologically embedded specialty that requires collaboration of not only physicians ( nuclear medicine physicians or radiologists), technologists, and support personnel, but also medical physicists, engineers, radiochemists, radiopharmacists, radiobiologists, and instrument manufacturers.