The Conservation Report

Recent developments in nuclear energy will supposedly make it cheaper and safer to use. From mini nuclear power plants that do not contain weapons-grade material or moving parts, to thorium-based nuclear power plants, these new technologies are promising alternatives to today’s monsters. Regarding the mini nuclear power plants, it would be interesting to see exact numbers regarding how much feedstock would be required to run one of these mini nuclear power plants, who will remove the waste, and how much waste would result from these mini nuclear power plants. However, the numbers below look promising.  From the guardian.co.uk, UK:

Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb.

The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, contain no weapons-grade material, have no moving parts and will be nearly impossible to steal because they will be encased in concrete and buried underground.

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The reactors, only a few metres in diameter, will be delivered on the back of a lorry to be buried underground. They must be refuelled every 7 to 10 years. Because the reactor is based on a 50-year-old design that has proved safe for students to use, few countries are expected to object to plants on their territory. An application to build the plants will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next year.

‘You could never have a Chernobyl-type event - there are no moving parts,’ said Deal. ‘You would need nation-state resources in order to enrich our uranium. Temperature-wise it’s too hot to handle. It would be like stealing a barbecue with your bare hands.’

Other companies are known to be designing micro-reactors. Toshiba has been testing 200KW reactors measuring roughly six metres by two metres. Designed to fuel smaller numbers of homes for longer, they could power a single building for up to 40 years.

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BATS: Deadly Bat Disease Linked to Cold-Loving Fungus: Scientists have pinpointed the fungus linked to white-nose syndrome, the mysterious ailment that has wiped out large populations of bats in the northeastern United States.

BEES: Beekeepers protest outside Downing Street: Britain will suffer “agricultural disaster” unless more money is put into discovering what it killing the nation’s bees, the Government has been warned., Bush officials plan to dial back environmental protections, International Pollinator Conference Highlights Importance of Bees: U.S. continues efforts to protect declining pollinator populations , Whither The Honey Bee?, What’s Killing the Honeybees?, Whither The Honey Bee?, Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis

CLIMATE CHANGE: Dried Mushrooms Slow Climate Warming In Northern Forests: The fight against climate warming has an unexpected ally in mushrooms growing in dry spruce forests covering Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and other northern regions, a new UC Irvine study finds.

DEFORESTATION: Unknown Deforestation Exposed

DEREGULATION: Bush administration gives 10 days for species comments, So Little Time, So Much Damage , Bush team rushes environment policy changes, Bush’s parting moves on the environment, Bush officials plan to dial back environmental protections, To Gut Species Protection, Interior Calls “All Hands on Deck”

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Australia plans electric vehicle network

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.: A rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found nesting on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years, officials said Friday.

EXTINCTION: Asking ‘Why Do Species Go Extinct?’

FISHERIES: There’s no need for more flawed fisheries data: The National Saltwater Angler Registry that is being touted by some as a vital saltwater management tool cannot be expected to deliver any more accurate information than the present data-gathering mechanism.

HYDROELECTRICITY: 99 Year Old Hydroelectric Plant Coming Back Online

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT: Minnesota farmers: Wolf ruling threatens livestock

LED LIGHTS: New LED Bulbs Look Weirder, Save More Energy

NUCLEARIZATION OF ENERGY SOURCES: Nukenomics No Longer Add Up - Expert

POLITICS: Hackers and Spending Sprees: Highlights from NEWSWEEK’s special election project

SALMON: Hearings slated on protecting salmon: BANGOR - Two public hearings are scheduled this week on a proposal to designate Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin rivers as an endangered species.

SCIENCE: ‘Junk’ DNA Proves Functional; Helps Explain Human Differences From Other Species: In a paper published in Genome Research on Nov. 4, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) report that what was previously believed to be “junk” DNA is one of the important ingredients distinguishing humans from other species.

SOLAR ENERGY: Solar Cells Set New Performance Mark

T. BOONE PICKENS: Pickens Plan Reality Check: Energy Freedom or Farce?

WAL-MART: WAL-MART SELLING LEAD PAINT…TO PUT ON YOUR KID’S FACE!

WHALING: Japan Accuses Animal Planet of EcoTerrorism Prior to “Whale Wars” Premiere

WILDLIFE: Hawk Kills Owl At Montrose Beach: Bird Watchers At Fault?

“Environmental News Picks” are made possible with help from Kevin.

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ANIMAL WELFARE: Animals Often Victims of Foreclosures, More pets are being cut loose as owners respond to economic hard times: During an economic downturn what’s the first expense to go? Some may say dining out or taking lavish trips. How about the family pet? Rising home foreclosures, food…, Military Dogs Get New Vet Hospital, Modesto police dog helps save suicidal teen

BIOGAS: London gets its first biogas fueling station

CARBON: Obama’s Carbon Ultimatum

CARPOOLING: Vote and save gas with Zimride’s “Carpool to the Polls”

CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate Changing Walden Pond’s Flowers, Climate Changing Thoreau’s Woods

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC): Rebels Seize Congo Gorilla Park; Hopes Dim for Apes

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric black cab project makes progress: Londoners could be hailing the first battery-powered black cabs in early 2009

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: Species review begins: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a notice of review in the Federal Register initiating 5-year reviews for wildlife and plant species as required under the Endangered Species Act. The species in consideration in the notice of review are…

EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS AND TOXINS: Man to sue after ‘toxic sofa’ left him with heart failure: A man is suing a furniture company over claims his “toxic sofa” left him with a permanent heart condition.

EVOLUTION: Vampire Moth Discovered — Evolution at Work: A previously unknown population of vampire moths has been found in Siberia. And in a twist worthy of a Halloween horror movie, entomologists say the bloodsuckers may have evolved from a purely fruit-eating species.

FISHERIES: Migrating Alaskan pollock are creating the potential for a new dispute with Russia

FLORIDA EVERGLADES: High water in the Everglades threatens wildlife: With deer belly-deep in the marsh, state wildlife managers fear animals will die if water levels in the Everglades don’t recede.

FUEL CELLS: Pepperidge Farm Opens Largest Fuel Cell Plant In United States

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: 12,100 Megawatts of Geothermal Power by 2025: Department of Interior Opens Up Lands For Leasing

GLOBAL WARMING: Global Warming Good for Sharks?

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: 2 greenhouse gases on the rise worry scientists

HABITAT DEGRADATION LOSS FRAGMENTATION: Fearful Elephants Would Sooner Starve Than Cross Roads: New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS NATURAL: How gay sex can produce offspring

IVORY: Ebay Bans Ivory Sales Amid Conservation Concerns

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER: Cornell cuts back ivory-billed woodpecker search

MADAGASCAR: The Sapphire Mines of Madagascar, THE BIG PICTURE: The sapphire mines of Madagascar

MARINE MAMMALS: Orcas Missing From Puget Sound Thought Dead, Whale Endangered, Palin Pouts: The NYT reports that Cook Inlet Beluga Whales were listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act yesterday.

MINING: Bush rushes to open Grand Canyon to toxic uranium mining: BLM publishes proposed rule which ignores House committee’s resolution

NUCLEAR POWER: Should Libertarians Support Nuclear Power?

OBAMA IS NOT A SOCIALIST: “Socialism”

OCEANS: Pictured: The incredible secret world at the bottom of the sea: In a year-long mission, a BBC team probed a small part of the earth’s amazing undersea world. They completed 1000 dives and explored seven different oceans across the globe. What they found was extraordinary…

ORGANIC FARMING: Organic farming ‘could feed Africa’: Traditional practices increase yield by 128 per cent in east Africa, says

POLITICS: Biden Slammed During Florida Interview, Same Anchor Gives McCain Softballs, Where Eight Years Of Republican Leadership Has Left America Economically (VIDEO)

RECOMMENDED MAP: Map of Newspaper Endorsements in the 2008 US Presidential Election

RECYCLING: Thai Temple Built From One Million Recycled Bottles, Q and A: Recycling Astronaut Urine

SALMON: Dams Not Main Cause of Salmon Collapse, Study Says

SPACE: Depressed astronauts might get computerized solace, NASA unveils new lunar rover built for endurance, India’s manned mission not before 2012: Madhavan Nair, NASA turns to the private sector as China flexes new space muscles, Chandrayaan a wake-up call for America, says Obama

SCIENCE: Artificial Heart Gives New Hope to Patients: French Scientists Develop Artificial Heart that Beats Much Like the Real Thing, ‘Flying syringe’ mosquitos, other ideas get Gates funding: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded 100,000 dollars each on Wednesday to scientists in 22 countries including funding for a Japanese proposal to turn mosquitos into “flying syringes” delivering vaccines., It ain’t half snuggly, Mum! The ground-breaking pictures of animals capturing life in the womb, 3M taps into wind-power business with new `Wind Tape’: 3M Co., best known for its Scotch Tape, Post-it brand notes and adhesives, is going into the wind-energy business, with a new line of fillers and protective coverings that can extend the life of wind turbine blades.

SHARKS: “Shark Island” Swarms With Jaws

SOLAR: FedEx Ups Its Solar Power Production To Almost Double: FedEx’s New Solar System Is Enough To Power 370 homes, Solar Refrigeration: A Hot Idea for Cooling: How to build a solar refrigerator: The brighter the sun, the better it works, Solar-Powered Rickshaw Unveiled in India, In downturn, solar industry sees bright days ahead, BWL will build solar array: Project expected to produce enough electricity to power up to 50 homes

TAILPIPE EMISSIONS: Is This the Most Eco-Friendly Car Innovation Since the Hybrid?

UNDECIDED VOTERS: Swing Set

WAVE POWER: World’s first wave farm now generating power for 1,500 homes

WIND POWER: UK Becomes World’s Biggest Producer of Offshore Wind Power, Wind Power Generators Guide

WTF?: Toilet stench clears out London airport

YEAR OF THE FROG: Yellowstone Amphibians Declining Under Climate Change

“Environmental News Picks” are made possible with help from Kevin.

AGRICULTURE: Birds Best Hope for Pest-Ridden Coffee Crops?

AMERICA: Making America Stupid

ARCTIC DRILLING: Drilling in the Arctic Refuge: The 2,000-Acre Footprint Myth: Oil development would stamp a spiderweb of industrial sprawl across the whole of the refuge’s 1.5-million-acre coastal plain.

ARCTIC MELTING: Arctic Sea Ice Drops to Record Levels

AUTO INDUSTRY: BMW leaps ahead on new car CO2 emissions, others still stalling, GM Takes Its Case to the People, The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can’t Have:Ford’s Fiesta ECOnetic gets an astonishing 65 mpg, but the carmaker can’t afford to sell it in the U.S.

BEES: Roadsides Helping Bees Thrive, Apples and pears at risk due to dramatic decline in the honeybee, experts warn

BICYCLE COMMUTERS: Real Estate Agents Cater To Bicycle Commuters

BIG OIL: Exclusive: More on the Interior Department’s Sex and Oil Scandal

BIOFUELS: Tequila endangered by switch to biofuels

CARBON SEQUESTERING: Green Cement is Carbon Neutral, Sequesters CO2 from Power Plants

CHINESE CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Elephants Decimated in Congo Park; China Demand Blamed

CLIMATE CHANGE: Sponges Feel the Heat From Climate Change

COAL: It’s the Coal, Stupid, Scrubbing King Coal: How come energy companies are gaga over alternative fuels? First off, define “alternative.”

COMPOSTING: How to Create a Dirt Cheap Compost Bin with a Garbage Can

DEFORESTATION: MTV Cuts Down Rainforest for Reality TV Show

DESALINATION: Desalination Closer to Reality in California

DEVIL FACIAL TUMOUR DISEASE (DFTD): Tasmanian Devil Cancer Worse

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: BMW confirms electric city car

ENERGY: U.S. Could Cut Fuel Use 50% by 2035, Wiggling Plastic at River Bottom to Generate Electricity, Massive floating generators, or ‘eco-rigs’, to provide power and food to Japan, Hawaiian Coal-Fired Plant Being Converted to Burn Biomass, Google search finds seafaring solution, Paint it white: Cool roofs save cash and carbon, New experimental homes will heat themselves, Researchers Developing the “Internet for Energy”, CleanTech Group to build $227 million waste to fuel plant in Indiana, Chicken Manure to power 90,000 Homes in the Netherlands!

ETHANOL: Mechanics see ethanol damaging small engines: Fuel blend, already implicated in high food prices, linked to rise in repairs

FISHERIES: Alaskans Choose Mine Over Fish

FUEL ECONOMY: 84% of Brits rate fuel efficiency #1

FUEL PRICES: Waving Goodbye to the Bus: As fuel prices rise, some districts are updating an old method of getting children to school.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: New Geothermal Technology Could Tap 120,000MW of Energy

GLOBAL WARMING: 5 Diseases that are Thriving Thanks to Global Warming, Earth Hotter Now Than in Past 2,000 Years, Study Says

GREEN: Both Conventions Touted as ‘Green’ Events, 10 Greenest Presidents in U.S. History: Which Leaders Fought to Protect the Environment?

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: California’s 220 MPH High-Speed Train Will Be Emissions-Free

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Paris Preview: Officially Official, Honda’s new hybrid is the Insight!, Toyota Prius owners can double their mileage by ordering a kit that converts their vehicle into a plug-in hybrid, Consumer Reports says that some hybrids do pay off - quickly, For Gustav-Level Outages, Cities Tap Hybrid Buses for Power, Honda Reveals New “Insight” Prius Killer, NYC gets hit with lawsuit over “unsafe” hybrid taxis, Berlin Hearts Electric Smarts

LANDFILLS: GM plans to dump use of landfills

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS: “Pristine” Reefs Part of Planned Marine Reserve

NEW SPECIES: New Giant Clam Found; May Have Fed Early Humans, New Catfish Species Found

NUCLEAR POWER: Another “Incident” at French Nuclear Plant

PHEV: Toyota launches plug-in Prius hybrid in UK

POPULATION GROWTH: Scientists: Save the planet—have fewer kids: As rising populations strain a warming planet, a British journal suggests having smaller families

REDISCOVERED SPECIES: Tiny Frog, Believed Extinct, Found in Australia

SALMON: Snapping Salmon: A Biologist’s Underwater Passion

SMART CAR: NYC garages grant smart for two cheaper parking rates, Vegas HUMMER dealer switching to SMART

SOLAR: COULD SOLAR HIGHWAYS POWER OUR CITIES?, SOLAR TREE by Vivien Muller

TAILPIPE EMISSIONS: California Moves on Bill to Curb Sprawl and Emissions

TRUCKING INDUSTRY: Trucking industry pushes for cleaner fleet, improved funding for nation’s infrastructure

WATER AVAILABILITY: Sun Used to Purify Water

WETLANDS: Iraq’s ‘Garden of Eden’ May Get Global Protection

WHALING: 4,000+ Japan Whale Harvest Not Justified, Experts Say

WIND POWER: Groundbreaking Energy Ball Wind Turbine for Home Power, Offshore wind farms may line U.S. coast

WTF?: THINGS THAT EXIST: High Heels For Babies

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Too Few Asian Vultures in Captivity to Save Species?

ACID RAIN: Acid rain molecule tells all

AGRICULTURE: Urban farming blooms in London

AIR POLLUTION: China’s olympic pollution efforts paid off, expert says, Dutch paving stones clean air pollution: A Dutch University will see if chemically tricked-out paving stones can clean the air

ANIMAL MIGRATIONS: Vanishing animal migrations need saving, experts say

ARCTIC MELTING: Vanishing Arctic ice may hurt Japan’s wildlife, tourism

ENERGY: Green Conservative Newt Gingrich claims tire inflation lines big oil’s pockets, Power from your tailpipe? It’s possible

FOOD: The ruby roman: Japan’s colossal new grape

FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: Sweden requires fuel-efficient driving lessons

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Geothermal power tapping its potential: A New York seminary and 3 million households are discovering that it is a viable alternative as oil prices keep rising steeply

GLACIAL MELTING: Glaciers before and after

GLOBAL WARMING: Kangaroo farming could reduce global warming

HOUSING MARKET: Pets abandoned by owners after foreclosure: Animals are the newest mortgage victims as owners leave pets behind, House sold for $1 in sign of US property crisis: In a sign of how desperate the property crisis has become in parts of the US, a foreclosed house in Detroit has sold for just one dollar – around 50 pence, Swimming pools at foreclosed houses become mosquitoes’ home

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: The 11 least fuel efficient hybrids

INVASIVE SPECIES: Invasive snail multiplying in Lake Michigan, Venomous lionfish prowls fragile Caribbean waters

JELLYFISH: Mysterious jellyfish swarms seen in Europe, U.S.

MADAGASCAR: Black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) listed as critically endangered

MARINE MAMMALS: Humpback whales on road to recovery

NATURE: In shark vs. polar bear smackdown, shark wins: A polar bear jawbone recently found in the stomach of a Greenland shark

NUCLEAR WASTE: McCain camp lies about Nevada nuclear waste dump

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Comment by Wesley P. Warren, Director of Programs / NRDC, McCain appears on oil rig to strengthen call for offshore drilling: A July oil-rig appearance had been scuttled after Hurricane Dolly and a major oil spill both struck the Gulf of Mexico region, Worth the risk? Debate on offshore drilling heats up, Texas A&M economist weighs pros and cons of offshore drilling, Wellington chamber weighs pros, cons of offshore drilling

SCIENCE: Deep-diving seals are cheap labor for Antarctic surveys, ‘Sugar coating’ used to waterproof paper

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Largest insectarium in the U.S. recently opened in New Orleans, Lonesome George a Father?

WIND POWER: Off shore wind farm locations found via satellite

Ken writes:

There are several ways to utilize Thorium, which also has potential economic advantages on the front end (more abundant than uranium and no expensive enrichment required). It has already been used in pebble bed reactors both here and in Germany for commercial power production. There is a company, Thorium Power Ltd which is close to marketing a fuel design that not only converts current light water reactors into Thorium burners, but also enables these same reactors to dispose of long term nuclear waste products from other reactors. Another option actively under development in Japan is the liquid fluoride thorium reactor, which they call Fuji II. This one promises to be the most efficient reactor ever built since it can almost completely burn down the input thorium fuel. It can also be used as a nuclear waste ‘garbage disposal’ for all the long lived transuranic waste from current reactors. Bye bye Yuka Mtn!

Tell McCain and Obama to support research into the utilization of Thorium and write you congress people too. Don’t make this a narrow partisan issue, it is far too important, I’m as blue as they get and I fully support nuclear power. Coal is killing the planet, it’s not the CO2 (which is bad), it is the heavy metals. A single coal plant will dump 30,000 pounds of highly toxic mercury into the sky to fall back into the oceans. Just picture that much mercury in five gallon pails. Probably several hundred of the heavy stuff. Then pick up the pails one at a time and dump them into the nearest river upstream of your water source. Get the picture? Repeat for each of the hundreds of coal fired plants across the country. Repeat for Arsenic, Chromium, Uranium and Thorium. Mercury stays around in the environment for hundreds of years so repeat year after year. Ever wonder where all the mercury in tuna comes from? Oh, did I mention acid rain?

Despite my stance on traditional uranium-based nuclear power, I do believe in using and promoting new technology to solve our energy problems – sans major impacts to the environment. If the claims and feasibility of thorium-based nuclear energy are true then thorium-based nuclear energy should be part of the debate.

Here is a reason why we need to move away from dirty energy sources such as coal: Mercury pollution from an unknown source or sources is currently a huge problem in the Great Salt Lake and for waterfowl that feed on the brine shrimp inhabiting the lake.

The new age of nuclear power? What if there was a nuclear reactor with “no possibility of a meltdown,” that “generated its power inexpensively, created no weapons-grade by-products, and burnt up existing high-level waste as well as old nuclear weapon stockpiles,” and “what if the waste produced by such a reactor was radioactive for a mere few hundred years rather than tens of thousands?” Proponents of a new generation of nuclear reactors that are powered by thorium claim these thorium-based nuclear reactors can deliver what uranium-based reactors never could.

ANIMAL WELFARE: Wild horses may face death sentence

ANTARCTIC MELTING: At Antarctic Peninsula, Fast Change

BIODIVERSITY: Bat bonanza: 100+ species found in 5 acres of jungle

CARBON: McCain flips flops on flip flop re: CA CO2, The world’s wetlands, threatened by development, dehydration and climate change, could release a planet-warming “carbon bomb” if they are destroyed…

CARPOOLING: It’s time to start thinking in terms of PMPG, people-Miles-per-gallon

CLIMATE CHANGE: Glacier tunnel collapses, Yellowstone geysers may stop erupting, study suggests, Some European grasslands may resist warming, Rare Argentina winter ice break

CORALS: Coral-wrecking starfish curbed by fishing regs, Tainted African dust clouds harm U.S., Caribbean reefs, A third of reef-building corals at risk of extinction

CONSERVATION: McCain turns back on Grand Canyon: GOP hopeful talks like Teddy Roosevelt but doesn’t act like him, Fatal attack on conservationists’ truck in gorilla park

DEVIL FACIAL TUMOUR DISEASE (DFTD): Cancer causing Tasmanian devils to breed younger

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: N. Rockies wolves get federal protection restored

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: Stanford Environmental Law Clinic announces Ninth Circuit upholds case requiring U.S. EPA to regulate invasive species pollution, 9th Circuit Court tells EPA to close loophole for ballast water

EVOLUTION: Bug-eyed flatfish evolution revealed

FISHERIES: Mexican resorts destroying mangroves, dooming fisheries

FUEL ECONOMY: Smart ForTwo MHD stop-start system is claimed to reduce petrol consumption by eight per cent

GIANT SQUID: Giant squid dissected in public

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 7,000 square foot home has zero carbon footprint

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT: Planes, machinery and car traffic are so noisy now in many cities that some birds must tweet louder and alter their songs in an attempt to be heard over the near-deafening urban din, new research has determined…., Badgers, rabbits undermine England’s ancient monuments

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Honda’s hybrid-only Prius fighter!, Nissan, GM and Ford agree to build hybrid taxis for New York City

MINING: MSHA: Poor engineering left Crandall mine primed for killer collapse

NATURE: 8 Natural wonders added to UN heritage list

NEW SPECIES: Mystery bug invader stumps museum experts

NUCLEAR POWER: A renegade against Greenpeace: Why he says they’re wrong to view nuclear energy as ‘evil’

NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Pentagon: Over 1000 nuclear weapon parts missing?

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Discounts help bus travel thrive in some cities

SCIENCE: Yellow submarine probes undersea world, New maps to help tap ocean winds, Magnets can deter sharks: research, Northern lights mystery exposed by scientists

SYNGAS: Ottawa building North America’s first gasification facility

WIND POWER: Whales, dolphins inspire wind turbine tech

A great interactive diagram that illustrates how nuclear power plants work can be found here. Copious amounts of water are needed to run nuclear power plants. When heated through nuclear fission, water provides steam to produce electricity. However, water also acts as a coolant within the system. Water is a nuclear power plant’s Achilles’ heel. Droughts in states such as North Carolina are of a great concern, because droughts threaten the shut-down or scaling back of nuclear power plants.

I received the email below from the American Family Association (AFA):

The AFA is a non-profit organization that promotes conservative Christian values. I accept these emails, because I find their arguments laughable. The AFA’s assertions are seriously flawed due to their own ignorance and prejudices. As a result, they often loose on many if not all their arguments. Furthermore, the organization demonizes environmentalists and homosexuals falsely. In the email to me they claim that “we have abundant energy reserves, but efforts to provide for our needs end up in court because of radical environmentalists!”

The organization is implying that American families are not getting relief because of radical environmentalists. However, the real truth is that Americans are not getting relief, because (1) matter cannot be created or destroyed, and (2) energy within a system suffers from increased entropy. We are bound by the laws of thermodynamics, and the laws do not forgive gross consumerism and waste.

Usable nonrenewable resources like coal and oil are turned into a useless form when burned, and once coal and oil are burned they are forever lost. Additionally, the waste cannot provide the same amount of energy as the original natural resource. Given these and other reasons, I have a problem with the AFA’s and Newt Gingrich’s assertions.

Newt Gingrich has a three-pronged approach for solving high energy prices. First, he wants to punish speculators by dumping oil from America’s strategic petroleum reserve into the market. However, since oil prices are based on international supply and demand, he would be sending American strategic petroleum reserves to China and India.  Furthermore, what happens when we replenish the strategic petroleum reserve?  Certainly, high prices would return or perhaps even higher prices.

Second, the green conservative wants oil shale development in Colorado. However, little is known of the environmental impacts, or how to efficiently extract and produce the oil shale. Some even call oil shale fever a mirage. Colorado Senator Ken Salazar rightly noted that:

We need to face the reality that the American people have been living in a mythical world of energy. We cannot, in my mind, drill our way to energy independence.

Maximizing the use of alternative sources is last on Gingrich’s list. He wants a “great deal of nuclear power” to fight climate change, and solve our energy crisis. He states that nuclear power plants “produce 24 hours a day, all day long…”, but he does not take into account the known unknowns associated with climate change. For example, nuclear power plants have to shut down in times of extreme drought. My home state of North Carolina is currently experiencing unprecedented drought. As a result, “nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back or temporarily shut down later this year because drought is drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate.” Furthermore, the industry cannot successfully store radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.

Gingrich claims that his solutions are rationale, and green conservatives like to attack environmentalism for not being rationale. However, conservatives have not been rational on environmental issues for some time. Conservatives are too little too late, because they argue the same solutions that environmentalists have championed. Furthermore, green conservatives seek narrow solutions, while environmentalists take a broad approach. For example, some environmentalists will argue for market-based mechanisms and nuclear power in addition to litigation and regulation. However, conservatives loathe litigation and regulation, which are necessary to uphold market-based mechanisms and tortfeasors.

Having to rely on the nuclearization of energy sources as a major component to our energy portfolio does not make us carbon serious since the risk of doing so may be foolish instead. As a modern civilization we have a myriad of ideas in addition to policy and technological choices available as alternatives to the nuclearization of energy sources. However, we lack the cohesion and wisdom from our leaders to seriously tackle the issues of energy needs, environmental needs and development. Furthermore, the philosophy of nuclearizing our energy sources or portfolio copiously is naive. I believe an opposite policy that does include nuclear energy (but not chiefly), amongst renewable energy sources in addition to seriously implementing some of our other choices like upgrading the electricity transmission grid is more efficient, imaginative, resourceful, and wiser.

Andrew Sullivan agrees with Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Senator John McCain that nuclearization of energy sources is necessary to being carbon serious. Certainly an argument against nuclear power is the production of bomb making material or the proliferation of nuclear weapons but that argument or main assertion by itself does not take into consideration these issues:

1. Although nuclear power should be part of our energy portfolio major reliance on nuclear power is lazy and misguided.

2. Nuclear power is susceptible to droughts because nuclear power plants require large amounts of water for cooling. Droughts can force nuclear plants to shut down.
3. Nuclear power is susceptible to earthquakes.
4. Nuclear power relies on nonrenewable resources that must be extracted just like oil.
5. Storing nuclear waste is controversial and seems impossible.
6. Electricity produced by nuclear reactors is expensive.
7. Because nuclear power relies on a nonrenewable resource, the cost of electricity is subjected to availability or supply and demand. This problem parallels crude oil availability and fuel prices.
8. The ability of solar and wind energy to compete with nuclear sources is not far behind. Some folks may argue that the competitiveness of renewable resources is already here. In fact, wind energy alone has the possibility of replacing the current output of energy from nuclear sources.
9. The cost of building more nuclear power plants can be invested in a more pressing need: modernizing, rehabilitating, and upgrading the electricity transmission grid.

We need well thought holistic solutions not magic bullets. I believe the policy of nuclearization of energy sources is no better or wiser than Senators Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s gas tax holiday.

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On the Net: The Cartoons of Clay Bennett

Droughts are yet another reason to loathe nuclear power. Renewable energy now! Clean energy now! If so many people can own an iPod then the market can make room for integrated solar and/or wind power systems in most homes in America. As a collective, we can make a huge difference. Although I do concede that nuclear power must play a role in future energy needs, it should not be the primary caregiver. From Yahoo! Finance:

“Water is the nuclear industry’s Achilles’ heel,” said Jim Warren, executive director of N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, an environmental group critical of nuclear power. “You need a lot of water to operate nuclear plants.” He added: “This is becoming a crisis.”

An Associated Press analysis of the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors found that 24 are in areas experiencing the most severe levels of drought. All but two are built on the shores of lakes and rivers and rely on submerged intake pipes to draw billions of gallons of water for use in cooling and condensing steam after it has turned the plants’ turbines.

Because of the yearlong dry spell gripping the region, the water levels on those lakes and rivers are getting close to the minimums set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Over the next several months, the water could drop below the intake pipes altogether. Or the shallow water could become too hot under the sun to use as coolant.

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And I agree in that it is not the only answer. From Reuters UK:

Many energy experts say one key to cutting back carbon dioxide emissions that heat the Earth’s atmosphere would be to rely more on nuclear power to generate electricity instead of coal-fired plants

But Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said reducing energy consumption, especially from automobiles, would do more to fight climate change.

“I don’t see that (more) nuclear plants can be a global answer” to climate change, Vanhanen said in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington. “It can not be the only answer.”

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I applaud the president for signing the energy bill and taking some kind of stance on climate change and addressing carbon pollution. However, his stance has come too late. I remember in the beginning how this administration denied climate change and later labeled it cyclical but now we are at present and at present it is clear that the earth is changing. International governments and the efforts of activists like Al Gore have put pressure on the Bush Administration.

Sadly, the energy bill saw incentives for solar and wind power cut. Therefore, our primary weapons against carbon pollution and to help save our precious nonrenewable resources were cut and renewable energy was overall a loser under this bill. The electric and oil sectors were winners. Change is coming and the polluters are being dragged kicking and screaming. I loathe how the conservatives and republicans have hijacked what the environmentalists and the left have argued for a very long time. We were right. We were right about the Iraq war and we were right about climate change. I take comfort in my altruistic efforts.

Anyhow, is nuclear power the answer? Certainly, nuclear power must be a tool to meet energy demands but we should not lazily depend on it. Nuclear power relies on a nonrenewable resource and the storage of radioactive waste seems impossible and unsustainable. Although Chernobyl represented a different time and place we must remember Chernobyl and not forget. I believe we must approach nuclear power with caution.

President Bush noted in the 20 December 2007 press conference that:

…if you’re truly serious about dealing with greenhouse gases, then it seems like to me you ought to be a strong supporter of nuclear power. Nuclear power enables us to generate electricity without emitting one unit of greenhouse gases.

20 December 2007 President Bush Press Conference transcript highlighting the environment and energy; from Scoop - New Zealand News:

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday you joined together with House Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to sign the energy legislation and talk about the importance of the bill in curbing greenhouse gases, among other goals. However, your administration then told California that it couldn’t implement its own plan to restrict tailpipe emissions. How important is fighting greenhouse gases to you? Why can’t the states try to do more? And can you tell me anything about your conversation with Vice President Gore about climate change a few weeks ago?

THE PRESIDENT: Remind me about that here. Let me finish the first part of the question and remind me you asked that.

The question is how to have an effective strategy. Is it more effective to let each state make a decision as to how to proceed in curbing greenhouse gases? Or is it more effective to have a national strategy? Director Johnson made a decision based upon the fact that we passed a piece of legislation that enables us to have a national strategy, which is the — increasing CAFE standards to 35 miles an hour [sic] by 2020, and a substantial increase of alternative fuels, 36 billion gallons by 2022.

And so the Director, in assessing this law, and assessing what would be more — more effective for the country, says, we now have a national plan. It’s one of the benefits of Congress passing this piece of legislation.

I told Vice President Gore that I take the issue seriously. And we’re developing a strategy that will deal with it, and an effective strategy. Yesterday’s bill is a part of that strategy. When you replace as much gasoline on a mandatory basis as we’re suggesting, it’s going to do a lot to improve the greenhouse gases. And by the way, the bill I signed was a little weaker than the one I suggested, but nevertheless was happy to sign it.

And one of the key components, by the way, to be successful on reformulated fuel standards is to spend research and development money on cellulosic ethanol, new ways to manufacture ethanol. We can’t rely only on corn in order to meet these standards. And I understand a lot of people in the farm belt are getting concerned — unless, of course, you’re a corn grower. But if you’re feeding cattle or feeding hogs, the cost of business has gone up. And that’s one of the tradeoffs you have to make. So what I want to assure people out there is that we’re spending a lot of taxpayers’ money in a way to figure out how to use wood chips or switchgrass in order to make ethanol. But this is a real national plan.

Secondly, in order to be effective on a global basis, countries that emit greenhouse gases need to be at the table. One of the main reasons I was against Kyoto was that China wasn’t at the table. I mean, we could do all we wanted to do, but it wouldn’t affect greenhouse gases over the long run unless a country like China had agreed to participate in a strategy.

And so we went to the Bali Conference with that in mind, and worked out a compromise that said we’re committed to a process that’s going to unfold over the next two years, but we’ve also got a parallel process working to make sure major emitters sit at the table and come together, hopefully, on a goal that we all agree to. And it’s a strategy that I laid out at the G8 in Germany; it’s a strategy that was explained to everybody there in Bali; and it’s a strategy we think will be effective.

And so, absolutely I take the issue seriously. But I want to make sure that we’re effective in what we do, and secondly, do not wreck our economy in whatever we do. See, it is hard to develop the technologies necessary to be able to make sure our standard of living remains strong and deal with greenhouse gases if you’re broke. If you don’t have any money, it is really hard to develop new technologies. And so we need to be prosperous for a lot of reasons, primarily so our citizens can have a good life; but also so that we’re wealthy enough to make the investments necessary to deal with greenhouse gases.

Finally, if you’re truly serious about dealing with greenhouse gases, then it seems like to me you ought to be a strong supporter of nuclear power. Nuclear power enables us to generate electricity without emitting one unit of greenhouse gases. I am — to me, I am amazed that our country isn’t more robust in supporting the advent of nuclear power. I certainly am, and applaud those efforts by members of the Congress to provide incentives for the construction of new plants.

But if you’re somebody that says greenhouse gases are of vital national interest, then you ought to be saying I’m for the development of nuclear power plants. It is by far the best solution to making sure we have economic growth and at the same time be good stewards of the environment.

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Nuclear power is not clean or safe. Relying on nuclear power as the primary energy mix of the future is lazy and very dangerous. We have safer and cleaner options. From the San Diego Union Tribune, United States:

Before speaking publicly, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a longtime project opponent, called the federal plans for transporting nuclear waste across the nation and through Las Vegas “a disaster waiting to happen.”

“If the material is as safe as we’re told it is, let it stay where it presently exists,” Goodman told the crowd.

Robert Halstead, transportation adviser for the state Nuclear Projects Agency, said the spent reactor fuel and defense waste destined for Yucca Mountain contained more lethal elements than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II.

Each truck cask of spent nuclear fuel would contain 350,000 curies of radioactive cesium and strontium, or about 20 to 30 times the amount of fission products released by the Hiroshima bomb, Halstead said.

“Every dedicated train hauling three or four rail casks would contain more cesium-137 than the total amount released during the Chernobyl nuclear power accident,” he said. He referred to the April 1986 explosion at a reactor in Ukraine that spewed radiation over a large swath of the former Soviet Union and much of northern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of people were resettled.

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Are nuclear reactors worth it? Is relying on nuclear power too much the lazy way out of emissions control? Nuclear power relies on a nonrenewable resource and the waste seems impossible to dispose or store.