North Star Writers Group – Syndicated Commentary: Opinion, Humor and Features

Conservatives Love Nuclear Energy, But Their Vaunted Free Market Does Not
North Star Writers’ Group September 9, 2008

“………………………there is something that nuclear power hasn’t been, which is an attractive investment for private capital. That, not hairy-arm-pitted environmentalists, is why nuclear energy went cold soon after Three Mile Island, not because of the incident itself. If environmental concerns and safety issues were all that were necessary to derail an entire industry, the nation would not today be dependent on coal energy, what with its high-profile links to pollution and global warming, and high-profile disasters getting it out of the ground…………………..

Nuclear energy today has its strongest support among conservatives, who’ve latched onto it presumably because after two decades of being wrong about global warming and the costs of a fossil fuel-based economy, nuclear gets them a foot back into the door. Many talk glowingly out of one side of their mouths about the glories of the market, which separates the men from the boys through competition, where the best wins out – if only government would get out of the way. From the other side of the mouth comes talk about nuclear energy, and they point to France as a model of how to do nuclear right.

The problem is that France, like most countries, doesn’t operate its utilities based on the free market.

Tags: nuclear.antinuclear, radiation, uranium

September 9, 2008 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics | Leave a comment

Carts Horses And Nuclear Power Stations (from The Herald )

Carts, horses and nuclear power stations

The words cart and horse sprang to my mind after reading (The Herald, September 8) that the Scottish Chamber of Commerce is calling for more nuclear power stations as part of Scotland’s future energy supply.

As yet, despite 50 years of a nuclear industry, not one speck of Britain’s high-level nuclear waste has been safely disposed of. Until such time as the technical and political challenges of this major problem are solved, I think the SCC needs to be a bit more thoughtful about its desire to keep Scotland’s wheels turning.

The vague assumption that the disposal of high-level waste is a problem that can be addressed at some unspecified time in the future must be pointed out for the folly that it is. Building nuclear power stations without a means for safely disposing of the toxic waste is madness Bob Downie, Glasgow.……………………………………….The government is desperate to sell its minority share in British Energy to gain a few billion pounds, so such a deal makes a mockery of Gordon Brown’s mantra that our energy supplies should not be at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

France could similarly hold us to ransom on energy prices and, not being subject to British laws, could easily walk away from any future (and very expensive) decommissioning costs.

I therefore support the Scottish Government’s stance on no nuclear power in Scotland.
Andrew D Mowatt, Hamilton.

Carts Horses And Nuclear Power Stations (from The Herald )

Tags: nuclear.antinuclear, radiation, uranium

September 9, 2008 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics | Leave a comment

This deal may cause India to collapse

This deal may cause India to collapse
rediff newes September 08, 2008 Rajeev Srinivasan There have been hosannas and hallelujahs aplenty about the fact that the Nuclear Suppliers Group has decided to provide a waiver of sorts to India. The fine print is yet to be deciphered, but already the usual suspects are taking credit for having brought about ‘energy security in our time.’…………..

…..The confidential letter from the US State Department to the House Foreign Relations Committee, as publicised by Representative Howard Berman, is refreshingly candid about the real facts behind the deal: To use pithy Americanisms, the Indians are being taken to the cleaners. Being sold a bill of goods. Led to the slaughter. Being totally sold snake-oil, with the active connivance of their leaders………………………what exactly is India getting? After all the huffing and puffing, India has now been given the privilege of spending enormous amounts of money — absolute billions — to buy nuclear fission reactors and uranium? This is a good thing?……

…………If all goes well, India will be left holding the bag for absolute mountains of extremely dangerous and long-lived (10,000 years, say) radioactive waste,

Tags: nuclear.antinuclear, radiation, uranium

September 9, 2008 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics | Leave a comment