I would like to stress the importance of nuclear energy. We need energy to drive innovations. We need energy to drive the economy. We simply need energy in order to reach our full potential as human beings.
1. Nuclear Energy is clean and safe.
There is currently only 70,000 tons of waste to deal with. Imagine that! I am being serious, because even though this sounds like a lot of waste, this pretty much makes up all of the waste that has ever been generated in the course of say 40 to 70 years of using it. Coal plants might burn that much coal in a month. There is definately more waste in coal waste than in nuclear by far. Also coal is like a big filter in the ground that catches toxic metals such as murcury and gallium. This makes it kind of hazardous.
2. Nuclear energy is abundant and limitless for at least a good billion years or so.
There is an unimaginably enormous amount of energy locked into nuclear isotopes. We can make these give us energy and keep doing it forever!
3. Nuclear waste can be recycled.
Now here is a recycling plan that makes a difference. I couldn't care less about recycling materials, unless they are very rare or valuable. The way I see it, the land fill is an opportunity to recycle later. Nuclear material can be recycled to give us our most valuable asset. Energy. This means that the 70,000 tons that was thought to be waste really is not waste, but an opportunity to recycle and obtain more energy.
I say that in order for something to have the greatest benefit there should be an inverse relationship between its value and its cost. As an example, water is the most valueable resource in the world if you've been without it for 2 days. But it has the greatest benefit to us because its cost is negligable. Energy should be the same way. Quality food as well... etc.
4. Cap and Trade is just a tax by any other name. There is a definite relationship in how much profit a corporation can make and how much they are going to charge for their services. All things being equal there will be a price set that will reflect all the input cost plus the profit margin. A carbon cap and trade will force the coporations to have a higher input cost and they will pass this on to us. There is no way around that. The only thing that will happen is higher prices and possibly a sqeeze on the profit margins of corporations as they find that they can not sell at quite the same amount they would have to raise prices in order to completely offset their carbon tax. Nuclear Energy is the solution to a zero carbon energy economy. And there is no limit to the amount of energy that can be produced. Solar and wind are limited in nature. Nuclear is 24/7 and produces energy all the time wether we are collecting it and using it or not.
5. We have all these spare nuclear weapons around. I would imagine that there is a highly refined stockpile ready to be all blown up. We could certainly borrow some of the material from there. After all what are we going to do with the nuclear material stockpile if we don't ever blow it up, god forbid we ever do. That material would be considered nuclear "waste" and is so highly refined that we would have to "dirty-it-up" a little in order to actually use it in a conventional nuclear power plant.
Nuclear material comes from nature. Ever thought about mixing it down and diluting it until it has a lower radiation level and then storing it maybe somewhere that it came from in the first place. Of course if we ever plan on recycling it that would just add an extra step to get it all back.
6. If we were to subsidize our own power we'd save a whole lot of money more than likely. I'm thinking trillions unless someone figures out how to keep making it more expensive. In reality nuclear power would be as simple as throwing some nuclear "logs" on the proverbial fire. I'm pretty sure that the first experiments were probably not far off as different enrichment levels were experimented. It could be practically free if we made no effort to put up any safeguards or use technology to get much better results. What keeps nuclear power expensive is regulation. The regulations that keep armed guard and massive facilities over top of this otherwise pretty simple powerplant. I am not saying that regulation is a bad thing. I am only saying that it is as expensive as we make it.
7. Nuclear Energy = Infinite Energy = Everything (quite literally). But as a practical example, Electrolosys on sea water produces Oxygen, Hydrogen and a few other things. Oxygen is nice for breathing and a lot of other good purposes. Hydrogen can power vehicles. Since we could make as much Hydrogen as we ever needed we now have all the transportation fuel we will ever need. This incudes the fuel to take us to the moon and mars, which is also based largely on Hydrogen. Burning hydrogen produces fresh water. There are many other necessities that can be generated from energy and electricity on which we could thrive.
8. Arguements that Nuclear Energy is somehow worse in mining that ore than coal mining are illogical. Mining Coal and Mining Nuclear ore are pretty much the same thing and there are many of the same heavy metal by-products. The major difference I see is that with nuclear power the bedding structure can be set so that it is self-maintaining and produces its own fuel. Mining would at that point be unnecessary. Let me reitterate that there would be NO MORE MINING! Only isolated reprocessing. Coal will be mined forever. Once coal is burned there are more byproducts to deal with. Tenessee recently had a wall collapse where thousands of tons of coal ash byproduct are stored. Carbon sequestration reduces the useable power from coal so that would ultimately increase the amount of coal that was burned with some being used just to store the byproduct of the rest.
9. There is an enormous amount of energy in nuclear material. One pound of enriched Uranium can produce as much as 2.2 MILLION pounds of coal. That is only in one cycle which last about 18 months. There are currently a little over 100 nuclear powerplants in the United States. Those few power plants produce nearly 20% of our electricity demand. Wouldn't that mean that 500 powerplants would produce 100% of our electricity demand in the United States. We could build more and export electricity while fully powering our country at whatever level we feel like. Not the level that is set for us.
Nuclear energy is not the demon that it is made out to be. I could go on forever about how one can use the enormous amount of energy that is available in Nuclear Energy. The "not in my backyard" slogan is misleading and outdated. There are far worse things in your backyard. I guarantee it! But, since we live in the days of sloganism I'll close with this. There are six billion reasons to choose nuclear energy. What's yours?
More money needs to be allocated by Governments toward PROMOTION of climate change evidence. Plenty of television programmes have been produced to underline the impact on the planet of global warming, the melting of sea ice, rising sea levels, the knock-on effect of weather patterns from melting ice, destruction of habitat and wildlife such as in the Amazon rainforest and the impact on human life etc.With more funding various top networks could be utilized to broadcast these programmes on a dedicated climate change television and internet channel. Many networks only show programmes which get high ratings, so the creation of climate/environmental television and internet channel must be created to get more support, to generate more investment in alternative energy industry, and to broadcast energy saving initiatives to the public.
Government could easily find more money for a climate-only television channel. For example, the amount of money spent on defense spending could be reduced by a mere 1 or 2 percent to make funds available to get a climate channel going. The World Bank could be used for the creation of a dedicated climate channel in many countries, and to have it broadcasted via the web. A proportion of alcohol and cigarette tax could be allocated for a climate fund, to assist in the initial stage of the creation of a climate change channel. The public needs to be educated more on these issues, and investors will follow the trend of alternative energy creation very quickly if the climate issue is promoted more and more.Russell S.Wyllie of http://www.Youtube.com/RealClimateNews
The weapon design and arms control communities agree that it is not the capability to design a nuclear device that determines the pace of a country’s acquisition of a first weapon, but, rather, the availability of nuclear weapons materials that can be turned to weapons purposes. For a nation-state, the material for weapons can come from uranium enrichment plants (highly enriched uranium), or reactors and nuclear fuel reprocessing plants (plutonium), or both.
Regardless of its isotopic composition, the minimum amount of plutonium required to make a pure fission nuclear explosive, with a yield equivalent to one to 25 kilotons of chemical high explosives, is quite small, on the order of 1 to 3 kilograms (kg), with the exact amount depending on the level of design expertise and the desired nuclear explosive yield. The minimum amount of highly enriched uranium required is a few times larger—5 to 10kg.
While far from ideal for military applications, the isotopic composition of the plutonium typically produced in civil power reactors does not pose a serious obstacle to fabricating efficient and powerful weapons, as well as crude terrorist devices.
http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/power/power.pdf
The proliferation of nuclear weapons is inextricably linked to nuclear power by a shared need for enriched uranium, and through the generation of plutonium as a by-product of spent nuclear fuel. The two industries have been linked since the very beginning and a nuclear weapons free world requires a non-nuclear energy policy. http://www.cnduk.org/index.php/information/info-sheets/briefings.html#nuclearpower
HOPE AND HYPE VS. REALITY IN NUCLEAR REACTOR COST
THE ECONOMICS OF NUCLEAR REACTORS:http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Documents/Cooper%20Report%20on%20Nuclear%20Economics%20FINAL%5B1%5D.pdf
The map, based on 18 months’ worth of satellite data, shows very high levels of NO2 above major European and North American cities and across much of north-east China. South-east Asia and Africa also have raised concentrations of the gas due to their burning of vegetation. “Ship tracks are visible in some locations,” says Steffen Beirle, one of the research team at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. “Look at the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean between the southern tip of India and Indonesia.” Although NO2 is formed naturally by lightning and by microbes in the ground, it is also released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels by power plants, heavy industry and vehicles. Large quantities of the gas can cause respiratory problems and lung damage, and can also contribute to harmful ozone forming near ground level.
Obama has commented on helping poor nations to develop clean technologies but as you can see, it is not the poor countries that harm the planet the most. It is the rich large countries doing all of the damage. We first need to look at home and prevent the devastation that has been ongoing. United States, China, and Europe need to change the way they live first before they can start criticizing other poorer nations that only amount to about 11% of emissions around the world. Our polar ice caps have lost nearly a third of its size from 1981 to 2003(NASA Data). Your plan is to reduce amounts of emissions by the year 2050. By your logic, we won’t have a polar ice cap left. There won’t be anything to save. The climates around the world are already beginning to shift. Melting glacial water changes the composition of the ocean and changes the weather patterns around the world. Yearly Warming Temperatures from NASA
http://politicalpete.com/
Today, as Virginians and residents of the 35th District celebrate Earth Day, it’s a great opportunity to take this time and reflect where we are and where we are going in terms of responsible, renewable green energy that both protects our environment and provides jobs for the Commonwealth. As we look to the future of our families, community and Commonwealth, we can all agree that strengthening Virginia’s economy, protecting our precious natural resources and building an exciting, renewable energy future will be the key to ensuring a healthier community in which to live and work. The future of our environment is an issue which transcends politics. However, as delegate it would be my responsibility to fight for policies which protect our environment, strengthen our economy and compliments the efforts people make on a daily basis to make Virginia a better place. According to a recent poll, 76% of Virginians think that global warming is real and will adversely affect our environment. Capitalizing on alternative energy sources and investing in smart, green technology that taps into local talents and resources will help ensure Virginia becomes and remains a leader in the stewardship for a better community for us all.
The campaign could use your help so please sign up today to volunteer! Any amount of time will help us reach our goal. After all, TOGETHER WE CAN!
Esam
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Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometres of forest?an area larger than Greece?and since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometres (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. Deforestation practices around the world are NOT going to stop no matter how bad the figures look. The truth is we need the timber for houses, furniture paper etc. The only thing that's going to slow the deforestation of the Amazon forest is the Y3000 Plan.
Continue reading Deforestation
The way for the U.S. to secure a leadership role in the 21st century is by leading on all the issues that confront the world, to exhibit thoughtful strength and realistic ideas. It will require more than military strength, diplomacy, reversing the current economic chaos, and strong alliances. Our place in the world, our rights, and our freedom depend on leading based on principles we don't just preach, but practice.
In the case of our reckless, decades-long descent into a position where we are addicted to fossil fuels mostly coming from abroad, the time for new ideas is past due. Clean new energy sources aren't just good for our children and the environment, they're a key to our national security. Now more than ever our leaders must partner with innovative businesses and entrepreneurs to make the United States more self-reliant again. The President and the Congress must resist the insidious temptation to do nothing about energy while dealing with the various other domestic and global challenges.
Of course, no matter if the business is banking or big oil, well-funded special interests don't want to give up the loopholes they've lobbied for over the years. They work to preserve their special deals with Congress, while lobbying the media into misleading Americans with catch phrases such as "Cap & tax" to keep us from thinking about what's at stake.
While most Americans support a cap on carbon pollution there's now a flood of "talking points" and sound-bites circulating about the supposed short-comings and dangers of any new plan. The real threat of cap-and-trade is that it doesn't favor the mega-corporations, and the ultra-rich energy barons. Changing to new and cleaner energy sources changes where the money goes - more of it stays in the U.S., in smaller, newer companies; it creates jobs that we desperately need to recover from the fiasco of letting the financial giants "self-regulate."
"It looks like green jobs are real. Recently, two solar energy companies — Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. and Wacker Chemie AG — announced billion-dollar investment plans to build plants near Clarksville and Chattanooga." U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN)
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN)
In fact, a cap and trade system simply uses pure capitalism to reward efficient, innovative businesses while it effectively penalizes out-moded industries. Used world-wide it plays to American strengths, conveying tremendous economic advantage to industries and countries ready to innovate, and results in domestic job growth. Only somebody making lots of money off the existing rules could possibly deny the benefits of a global cap and trade system.
Many members of Congress benefit from huge campaign donations from energy companies. They'd be happy if we'd all stop paying such close attention to how energy policy intertwines with national security. They smile and want you to "trust" them to get it right, and the longer they've been there the more they want you to just trust, and not verify, that they're working for you. Uh huh.
Stephen Views the News April 15, 2009
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
* Derriere Orifice of the Week - Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) announced that he has compiled a secret list of 17 members of the House of Representatives who are SOCIALISTS. He would not reveal their names because, “they are a secret.” Responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request I admit that I also have compiled a secret list of members of Congress. It is made up of those legislators entitled to be called ASSHOLES. Through threat of waterboarding I have reluctantly agreed to admit that Mr. Bachus is on the list.
* Speaking of secrets – “The CIA no longer operates any secret overseas prisons, Director Leon Panetta said yesterday, and has not detained anyone since he became chief in February.” Under Bush the claim was made that the prisons or “black ops sites” as they were called, did not exist and even if they did exist the torture of detainees in these non-existent prisons did not take place. The apparent existential contradiction can be easily explained by, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” It also makes a joke of any oversight Congress pretends to have over the spy agencies and the Executive branch of our government.
* Speaking of more secrets ~ The Hypocrite Oath - “Medical professionals working for the CIA played a central role in the "ill-treatment" of terror suspects in U.S. custody overseas, according to a previously confidential report by the International Committee of the Red Cross” (conducted in 2007). One may ask why a person trained and sworn to protect life would willingly participate in the torture of another human being. The Nazis were infamous for their medical experimentation on concentration camp prisoners and eventually answered for their despicable inhumanity at the Nuremberg trials. But here we are talking about Americans – the good guys in war movies, the standard for international behavior. We are accustomed to instances of having scumbag politicians, spies, businessmen, religious leaders, teachers, police and bloggers. Scumbag medical professionals assisting in torture breaks new ground in the demise of the American dream that has led to this American nightmare.
* No secret – To be a Republican politician requires having the common sense of overcooked white rice. Texas State Rep. Betty Brown (R) said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they’re too hard to pronounce. “Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” I have an idea! Asian Americans males should begin changing their names to George Bush 1, George Bush 2, George Bush 3 and so on. Females can be Betty Brown 1, Betty Brown 2 and so on. I cannot wait to pick up my Chinese takeout tonight and greet the young lady behind the counter with “Hello Betty Brown 324,119.” I intend to convince Ms. Brown 324,119 to change the name of Chow Mein to Texas Chile and Sumei Dumplings to Turd Blossoms.
* Feel better about yourself ~ you are worth more than you think – The company Innovative Research’s website says it provides the research community with quality biomedical products. I was stunned at the breadth and price of their products. For example, 50 ml of Human Saliva is priced at $275, Human Breast Milk $275, Human Semen $375 and Human Urine $75. This will certainly bring about a change in my behavior. No more will I sell a pint of my blood for a mere $25 and a jelly donut.
* The wrong defense – On FOX News last Sunday Brit Hume attempted to defend former president George W. Bush. Hume said that Bush did indeed believe in Global Warming. If that is the truth, how much more egregious is the Bush administration’s complete lack of action relative to Global Warming? It opposed higher gas mileage standards, did little to nothing to encourage green technology and ignored the Kyoto agreement of world powers to address warming. I had concluded that President Bush just did not get it – remember, science was involved. If Hume is correct, Bush is even more culpable than previously thought. We lost eight years in addressing potential disasters that may result from the warming of our planet - world-wide flooding and famine that could lead to world-wide war.
* The wrong war ~ a time to mourn – James Dobson is stepping down as leader of the religious right organization Focus on the Family. “Dobson conceded that evangelical conservatives had lost most of the recent so-called “culture war” battles… Humanly speaking, we can say that we have lost… the nation is now “absolutely awash in evil.”
On what is a rare occasion I agree with Mr. Dobson that the culture wars of the religious right are being lost and evil permeates our society. I would suggest, however, that the wrong battles were being fought and to some extent contributed to the greed that is at the core of our current economic travails. In an attempt to foist their “religious” agenda on our non-sectarian society the religious right forged an alliance with the Republican Party. In convincing their members to support Republicans, Dobson, Jerry Falwell and their brethren helped elect Republican legislators that were pro-business and anti-regulation, pro-deficit spending while reducing taxes for the wealthy. The Republican allies of the religious right, Bush and company, swept us into an unprovoked war leading to the loss of over 100,000 lives and the displacement of millions of Iraqis. Imagine if their broad influence had been directed to the business and political segments of our society to promote integrity, fairness, workers rights and protection of the environment. The religious right lost a generation of meaningful influence while being used as pawns by the GOP. It is indeed a sad eulogy.
* Love is a Many Splendored Thing – “A Saudi judge has refused for a second time to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man.” Anyone in our culture would be appalled at this nuptial pedophilia. However, the judge was not as radical as it would appear on the surface. He granted that the child could apply for a divorce when she reaches puberty. And isn’t it almost always about money? “The girl's father, according to the attorney, arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, who is ‘a close friend’ of his.” On a social note, the wedding festivities will be held at Chucky Cheese and then the newlyweds will leave immediately for Disney World.
* On the lighter side ~ of heavy – All is “normal” in the land of Governor Sarah Palin. Her pick for Alaska Attorney General, Anthony Ross, is a racist, a writer of several manifestoes attacking Martin Luther King, Jr. as a communist subversive, a homophobe and anti-environmentalist. And to think that we almost had the opportunity to call her Madam Vice-President. The backlash to this nomination may result in Palin withdrawing the Ross nomination. As if Sarah did not have enough on her plate with the backbiting between her and former almost son-in-law Levi Johnston, her sister-in-law Diana Palin was arrested for twice burglarizing a house, during which she was accompanied by her 4-year old daughter. They will not be going to Disney World any time soon.
* Today is U.S. Tax Day – two views:
“I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
“What at first was plunder assumed the softer name of revenue.” Thomas Paine
I have just moved to Fulshear, Texas. Texas is my home state, and I am glad to be back home. I was born in Corpus Christi, but I have lived in several places in Texas: El Paso, San Antonio, Blanco, Abilene, and Twin Sisters. I have also lived in Louisiana; Indiana, where my first child was born; Georgia, where I graduated from Valdosta State University; and Florida, where we helped carry Barack Obama on to the White House.
I am so happy to be back home, but we have a lot of work to do in Texas.
Many issues concern me, but I must focus on only a few.
I am concerned about the high school drop out rate. While I lived in Florida, I taught ABE (Adult Basic Education)/GED to adult females at a county jail for two years.
This opened my eyes to a common thread running through most high school drop out's which I will discuss in later posts.
I am concerned about Global Warming. The laissez faire attitude some people hold toward this issue informs me of the need for community education.
This will, hopefully, also be a topic blogged here.
Hope to be back with you soon.
The prospectus of the Y3000 forest boasts multiple positive scientifically proven side effects not just for its immediate region but for thousands of kilometres outside of the region. The best part is The Y3000 Desert can be duplicated anywhere in the world.
Global warming solutions and accurate research is being outdated just as rapidly as house hold computers were in the 90?s. Research up until now can show the statistics of the current Amazonian forest climate yet information directly related to what the world would be like without the Amazon is scarce.
Continue Reading FULL article
Saving the environment against global warming needs action now and it involves you more then you think. You don't need to spend thousands of hours creating something new. We have done all the work for you. All you need to do is support us and the Y3000 Plan we have designed. Our philosophy is "if we get enough people to join our site or leave a comment, Governments will have to listen ". In the Y3000 Plan we have already established: What a trillion dollar stimulus package buys. How Waste Water treatment plant can be energy self-sufficient. How much you are costing the environment. How clean energy can make more money. How many types of taxes your paying and what you get for your dollars.
Continue Reading Part 3B Save the environment
Suggestions to saving the planet and creating millions of jobs are everywhere. But if you think it doesn't involve you think again. There's has never been a better time in history to have your thoughts heard. If its positive action your looking for then you must read this free info article. You don't need to be a rocket scientist or invent anything, simply adding your name can be enough to bring around change. It's called the Y3000 Plan. The Y3000 plan is designed to burn human waste (methane gas, for energy) in sewage plants, sending the left over waste into deserts and reducing Green House emissions by 20,000 tons a year. Why would we move it to the desert?
Continue Reading Part 3A
Building a new man made Amazon forest may not be as far fetched or difficult as some would have us believe. With global warming and co2 emissions on the rise the world is screaming for ACTION and Australia has the answer. In a land bound by sea Australia boasts desert lands of 1,317,000 sq kilometres which occupy 18% of the continent which are comprised of ten separate deserts sharing median rain falls of 150mm per year.
Continue Reading Complete Article
The high proportion of methane dissolved in the effluent represents a substantial loss of biogas for energy production, as well as representing a serious greenhouse risk should the methane subsequently escape to the atmosphere (since methane has twenty one times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide).
One possible avenue to reduce methane loss suggested by the pilot plant results is to add a controlled amount of air to the biogas used for mixing the reactor. The experimental results also showed that air in the biogas suppresses the formation of hydrogen sulfide, possibly avoiding the need to scrub this corrosive compound before using the biogas as a fuel. However, too much air would be toxic to anaerobic bacteria and would reduce biogas production. Further research is needed to determine the optimal amount of air to be used in mixing the reactor.
Some methane remaining in the effluent could prove beneficial in enhancing nitrogen removal by "denitrification" in the downstream process, and research is currently being conducted at the University of Queensland to study denitrification using methane.
The plant utilised an "anaerobic migrating bed reactor" which was subdivided into four reaction cells in a series. The contents of the first three cells were mixed intermittently by injecting bubbles of recirculated biogas, and the sludge was allowed to settle in the unmixed last cell.
To maintain a uniform distribution of sludge through the four cells, the flow direction was reversed automatically over a 24-hour cycle. The sludge settling characteristics are therefore critical in governing the sludge concentration and reactor volume required. (See figure 2).
Sewage treatment is a significant user of energy. Operation of pumps, blowers and other equipment at a typical sewage treatment plant requires an annual electrical energy consumption of about 50 kWh per person. Thus,substantial amounts of energy are required to treat sewage from major population areas, and sewage treatment often comprises the largest use of electricity by local governments.
At the present time around the world, your waste is costing a fortune and costing the environment even more. The Y3000 Plan can be implemented around the world. However the Y3000 Plan has been designed with Australia in mind because I'm more familiar with the Australian Landscape.
Australia Has invested approx 48 billion dollars to service around 21 million residents. Using the same figures America has invested $694,456,320,000 into servicing 300 million people. Waste Water Management systems around the world are the greatest waste of tax payers money ever.
The estimated combined annual profit estimated for the United States of America and Australia in 2009 is $0.00 until now Waste Water management has been the only resource owned by the government that doesn't make a profit.
