Bush Presses for Nuclear Energy Expansion

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Saturday renewed his push for expansion of nuclear energy and sought support for plans to revive nuclear fuel reprocessing to deal with radioactive waste from commercial power plants.

"As America and other nations build more nuclear power plants we must work together to address two challenges," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "We must dispose of nuclear waste safely, and we must keep nuclear technology and material out of the hands of terrorist networks and terrorist states."

The administration has asked Congress for $250 million next fiscal year to accelerate a decade-long research program into reprocessing nuclear fuel, reducing the amount of reactor waste that eventually would have to be buried.

The United States abandoned nuclear fuel reprocessing in the 1970s because of nuclear proliferation concerns. Conventional fuel reprocessing requires the separation of pure plutonium, which can be easily transported and could be used in a weapon if obtained by terrorists.

Bush's plan envisions a new approach to reprocessing _ one not yet fully demonstrated outside the laboratory _ that would not result in the separation of pure plutonium and, therefore, its advocates maintain, poses less of a proliferation risk.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021800502.html

[NV Whino]

1. He can't have it unless he learns to pronounce nuclear correctly

[PurpleChez]

4. I was gonna say that!!! Denied!

Granted, I think the man is a staggering bumblefuck, but I have heard some intriguing theories that "nook-yoo-lar" and some of his other difficulties with his native language are contrived to appeal to...uh...the less educated among us. ("Listen, Hoss, he's a dumb as we are! Let's vote for him!") I mean...the man is not the sharpest knife in the drawer by any means, but he was born and educated (through the college level) in New England. Some of the Hometown Hick persona must have been a put-on, although I don't doubt that it has long since become second nature.

[megatherium]

9. Didn't he lose a congressional race early in his political

career, and vowed to never be "out-Texaned" again? Or was that his dad? Hence the fuckbrain speaking style and the retrograde attitudes on social issues.

[PurpleChez]

10. That was dumbya. He lost a congressional race.

Maybe in the mid-to-late 70s. Something tells me that there was, as you imply, an impression that he wasn't enough of a hick, just a little too Connecticut.

[High Plains]

47. Hmm, that sounds like George Wallace

Who lost an early race by appealing to Alabamians' progressive instincts and then vowed never to get "out-niggered" again.

[wordpix2]

2. Chimpy* plans to lessen nuke proliferation with tech not yet developed?!$!

This reminds me of the Reagan/Poppy/King George Jr. Star WArs program that has never worked in r&d phase after spending billions.

snip:
Bush's plan envisions a new approach to reprocessing _ one not yet fully demonstrated outside the laboratory _ that would not result in the separation of pure plutonium and, therefore, its advocates maintain, poses less of a proliferation risk.

[Massacure]

3. The easiest way to do that would be with a fast spectrum reactor

Sometimes also called breeders. They are generally cooled with liquid sodium, but that has a bad tendency to create nasty fires. I don't think we will see a reactor fast spectrum reactor until a solution is worked out to keep the sodium from interacting with anything. Some reactor designs propose using lead instead of sodium though. We'll just have to wait and see what happens I suppose.

[acmejack]

5. What about PBR?

I thought they were the next big thing nuclear-wise. As to the sodium, the Russians tried to use it to cool the plants on a few of their submarines, it really didn't work out well at all for them, just as you said.

We need to get some fusion going on and get over this fission stuff, it's just so old fashioned!

[wordpix2]

6. "old fashioned:" well, * is a Stone Age kinda guy

[Massacure]

19. Pebble beds are extremely stable; so stable the fuel cannot be reprocessed

Uranium and thorium reserves are not sustainable enough for that.

[jpak]

11. ChimpCo's nucular program is a scam

It will benefit no one except ChimpCo cronies.

Under this plan US taxpayers will have to pay to dispose of spent fuel produced by foreign nuclear power plants.

A breathtaking criminal enterprise...

[oneighty]

13. West Valley

Nuclear Reprocessing plant built by (largely) the 'New York State Atomic and Space Authority' sponsored by then Gov. Rockefeller.

The facility was leaded to J.P. Getty. J.P. contaminated the area, abandoned the facility more or less. Tax-payers are stuck with cleaning that mess up forever and ever.

Go fer it Bush.

180

[jpak]

14. It produced 20 million dollars of plutonium

and 600,000 gallons of high-level liquid waste that will cost taxpayers ~$8 billion to clean up.

Making the true cost of reprocessed plutonium produced there ~$4 million per kg.

And this is ChimpCo's Fuel of the Future??????

[oneighty]

20. Ah You are familiar

with Ashford Hollow.

I worked at UB in those days. I was the Democratic Candidate for State Senate. Interesting times. Buttermilk Creek. Tritium Release. Hydraulic fracture of deep rock layers and injection of radio active waste-just a test you know. I passed up an invitation to tour the facility. I regret that now.

180

[formercia]

49. which is over twice the energy value of the Plutonium

numbers don't look good.

Besides the cost of producing the Plutonium in the first place, paid for with taxpayer dollars.

[formercia]

15. Short term capital gains

The idea is to use Plutonium mixed with U238 as a reactor fuel. The draw is that the US government is willing to literally give away weapons grade Plutonium to be converted into fuel for these new reactors. The energy companies see a chance to make enormous short-term profits from the free fuel. Once the supply is depleted and they have to reprocess spent fuel to keep the cycle going, they will drop the program like a hot potato and the taxpayer will be stuck with paying to dispose of all the waste and decommissioning of the reactors.

[jpak]

18. One Virginia utility pulled out of the MOX program

because "it wasn't in its best ecomomic interest" (or words to that effect).

This is a $5+ billion program and they can't even PAY utilities enough to use the stuff.

The Plutonium DisEconomy marches on...

[WinkyDink]

44. The short version: The Mafia M.O.

Take over a legit business, loot it, leave it.

[formercia]

48. Also used as a means of laundering liability

Say you have a company that's profitable but your long term liability due to retirement pension, medical and seniority make future look grim. You sell your company to the 'boys' who will get rid of the 'deadwood', milk the State for tax breaks and training program subsidies, and when they run out, strip the plant of anything of value, fire the work force and leave town. It happened at a plant where I worked.

[ovidsen]

7. Time to dump the "nukes are evil" mantra

Shrub is dumb as a box of rocks. Just so you understand me...

But give a million chimps a million typewriters, and they might come up with a couple of bright ideas.

This is one of them.

[sandnsea]

8. Dispose of waste safely

Yeah, that would be the trick. There are other solutions. Everybody knows there are other solutions. This is just another corporate give-away. Every time we're faced with sensible and safe vs known to be dangerous, why oh why do we choose the dangerous.

[jpak]

12. Yucca Mountain is already in need of millions of dollars of repair

The estimated cost is now >$65 billion and the DOE admits it doesn't have the foggiest idea what the final cost might be...

...and they now admit that taxpayers - not nucular utilities - will have to foot the bill for most of it...

[hunter]

16. Political Corruption and Nuclear Power are a bad mix.

There is no room for corruption in the nuclear power industry. The Bush Administration's support of this plan taints it.

[skids]

17. bingo.

We cannot, in good conscience, permit nuclear power in a nation full of Mike Browns and Ken Lays.

[rodeodance]

21. Bush, Officials Tout Energy Initiatives (marked as 'Energy Week")

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060218/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_energy;_ylt=AoSh9d.C_.9inM3zUQpEBb.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-

Bush, Officials Tout Energy Initiatives

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - Record-high gasoline prices have dropped, yet there are fears another surge is around the corner. Larger heating bills this winter are still socking it to American wallets.


Amid those anxieties,President Bush is making it "energy week" in his administration, and he and top Cabinet officials plan to crisscross the country to tout a package of energy initiatives highlighted in last month's State of the Union address.

With the renewed focus on an issue of top concern to Americans, they hope to keep high energy costs from dampening consumer enthusiasm and the country's economic revival — and to prevent Democrats from using it as a potent weapon in this fall's congressional elections.

"The best way to meet our growing energy needs is through advances in technology," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. "We will pursue promising technologies that will transform how we power our vehicles, businesses and homes — so we can reduce our nation's dependence on foreign sources of energy."

[wtmusic]

22. He's not capable of using the word "overconsumption"

and thus anything he recommends is worthless

[rodeodance]

23. "cellulosic" ---i want to hear him pronouce this word.

.....On Tuesday, with a stop at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., the president highlights his proposals to speed the development of biofuels such as "cellulosic" ethanol made from wood chips or sawgrass.

Six Cabinet officers are scheduled to appear at more than two dozen energy-related events in more than a dozen states over the week.

Bush said in his State of the Union address that he aimed to replace three-fourths of the country's oil imports from the Middle East over the next 19 years by increasing spending on research into such renewable fuels as a substitute for gasoline.

But even his own Cabinet members and top aides have acknowledged that, because of the way the global oil markets work, it is virtually impossible to actually replace imports from a specific region.

[hatrack]

24. He's pimping alternative energy and NREL just fired 31 scientists . . .

NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) in Golden, CO, just fired 31 engineers, scientists and researchers specializing in (gee whiz!) solar power, ethanol, biomass and basic physical research.

And the Littlest President is going to go there next week to talk about his "plans" for alternative energy.

Spread the word on this bullshit photo-op. This hypocritical son of a bitch has me so enraged I can't even try and laugh off the hypocrisy and bullshit any more.

Oh, and you heard about the rolling natural gas shortages in Denver today, didn't you?

[evworldeditor]

26. CSIRO Fires 5,600 in Australia

Down under in Australia, the government's principle research agency, CSIRO announced it would cut 5,600 jobs and shift research away from wind and solar energy to coal and carbon sequestration research, apparently in keeping with its participation in the Asia-Pacific Partnership.

http://www.evworld.com/general.cfm?section=directory&page=insider&nextedition=41

[Timefortruth]

25. Didn't they slash funding into research into alternative energies

and petroleum?

Oh yeah, facts don't matter.

[PhilipShore]

27. EV World: Bush Calls for More Nuclear Power Plants and Plug-In Hybrid Cars

EV World
Bush Calls for More Nuclear Power Plants and Plug-In Hybrid Cars
Source: The White House
Feb 18, 2006

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=11074&url=

SYNOPSIS: Official text of president's February 18, 2006 radio address, which includes call for plug-in hybrid cars, as well as Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

[pocket]

28. civilized nations like Germany are shutting down theirnukes for good

figures that chimpy wants to build more over here.

[dufrenne]

29. Not a fan of

Nuke energy over let's say solar, wind etc, but like it a lot better than oil...

[Coastie for Truth]

30. I spent close to a decade

at a think tank - incubator - venture fund that had a major commitment to solar -- and I taught thermo----

Got a reading list for you--
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<>

and then we can tlak about the merits of photovoltaics. Great for niches - even big niches -- but not for base.

[Solo_in_MD]

32. It may be the right answer for now

[greenman3610]

37. how can you move to an energy source

that's so dangerous, if the 'wrong" person
gets it you have to bomb thousands of innocent
people to stop them.

that shit's crazy.

furthermore, here's something a lot of folks don't understand.

Our current powerplants carry most of their load during the
day, but at night, they don't get shut down, they are
still working, but the power, in most cases, is not fully
used. It's called "spinning reserve".
The use of plug in hybrids could tap this spinning reserve
at night, and substitute that unused resource for
large amounts of oil products.
The technology is there now, and an enlightened government would
be mandating fleets of plug in hybrid government vehicles
to jump start the industry and get our technology moving on this.
There is more room than people realize for relatively rapid
technological change that could dramatically shift the
equation on energy use.

[hunter]

42. Germany *says* they are shutting down their nukes.

But maybe tommorrow, not today. Same with Spain, Sweden, etc. These nations have shut down a few creaky old reactors, but now they are at the point where they need the electricity existing nuclear pants produce. If these nuclear pants are replaced with coal or gas burning plants, the world is not a better place.

[European Socialist]

31. What next? Dumya plants a tree.?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

33. ...Except for Iran

Since they have nukular power we have to bomb them...

[Betsy Ross]

34. Plug-In Hybrid cars?

Do you think he knows what a hybrid is? Or does he just want to make it mandatory to plug into the energy cartel?

[Lorien]

39. He seeks to spread disinformation about hybrids

as he did several years ago when he stood on the Whitehouse lawn with a small child and said "someday, 20 years from now or so, this young lady may be able to drive a car like this" (gesturing to the Honda hybrid, which is even less sophisticated than the Prius).

[yurbud]

40. plug in hybrid has an extra layer of flexibility

you can charge batteries from the engine OR plugging in. If you only do short hops of less than a hundred miles or so, you can get by with using next to no gas--but the option is there when you need it.

[yurbud]

41. how many wind turbines, solar cells or even solar thermal collectors

could be built for the cost of one nuke plant?

[Trillo]

35. So where was Bush when all those EV1s were being disposed of? n/t

[Strelnikov_]

36. Translation

Dick and Karl and Bodman and this Rainwater guy are telling me we are really in the shit about this energy thing.

Hell, Dick's so upset he went out and got tanked last weekend and accidently shot some guy he was hunting with. Ke-rist on a crutch, like I needed him falling off the wagon right about now.

So, Karl tells me I need to go out and speechify about energy so when the shit hits the fan this summer it will look like we are doing something, instead of sittin around with our thumbs up our asses waitin for those Iraq prospects to come in. I asked Karl if we could just blame it on Clinton, but he just shook his head. Hell, it's always worked before, but you know Karl.

So, Karl tells me to talk about nuk-ler power, cause the money boys like it. And talk about hybrids, cause that always gets those lefties excited.

Shit, now Rummy sez we have to go sit on Nigeria's oil, cause the natives are getting restless. Dick, get the hell away from that bottle . . .

[BenDavid]

38. Sean hannity

is writing a new book and the working title is...Inside Bush's Ass...Indepth view....

[NuttyFluffers]

43. well, i'd prefer a huge investment in renewables, but...

considering we have tons and tons of nuclear waste already, and more being made every day, and those nuclear power plants are not going to close tomorrow afternoon (but it's a nice thought, if we had a viable alternative to replace the energy in a day, isn't it?), might as well reclaim the waste and slow down the production of more. i'd appreciate it if we reprocessed the waste. there would be more fuel extracted without having to dig up more fresh uranium, and eliminate at least some of the current waste we produced. not a bad idea. the problem's with us, there is a partial solution available (one that's far better than "hey, let's bury it all in some sucker's backyard!"), and the result is less killer waste that'll hang around worse than herpes.

but why doesn't he just have our scientists talk to france and learn how they do it? they've seemed to have quite a collection of data on how to do this reclaimation well and it'd be better than trying to reinvent the wheel. oh wait, that's right, apparently france is "bad" and their technology is probably 'ferrign and freedum hatin.' *sigh* yeah, good diplomatic relationships are for unmanly men... that and i really don't trust these jokers to do anything right, even what seems like a good idea.

[Barrett808]

45. So, would Rumsfeld's ABB stand to profit? n/t

[fshrink]

46. Aside from the fact

- that being ruled by oil, this country systematically nipped any serious attempt at developing other forms of energy, and still does, engineering war if need be,
- that the so-called "nuclear energy" is in fact nothing else so far than a more efficient way to boil water, make turbines spin etc...
- that we do not know what to do with waste, which, therefore, will necessarily wind up in some poor country, or poor area, but still on the ame planet,
- and that 250 mils is infected chicken shit when it's about developing our understanding of matter anyway,
- that, therefore, this is just an opportunistic PR line squeezed into the usual pack of lies, carefully written by some neurotic intern working in the WH basement,
- that the Idiot will use his fetish word, "terrorism", in just about anything, just like this nation puts sodium and fructose everywhere, to make it eaten up more easily (e.g. "We need to plant trees because it prevents terrorists to have a clear view of the area")

Aside from that, and more, the potential yield of fusion is difficult to ignore.

[MadHound]

50. We do not need to resorty to nuclear energy people

We have plenty of clean, renewable energy sources that are fully capable of supplying our electrical needs both now and far into the future. A 1991 DOE survey found, suprisingly, that there is enough harvestable wind energy in three states, Kansas, North Dakota and Texas, to supply all of the US electrical needs, including growth factors, through the year 2030. And in the time it take us to put up one reactor, we can build 100 wind farms. The US has been described as the "Saudia Arabia of wind power" because our country is blessed with a topography that is ideal for generating wind energy.

Couple this with biodiesel hybrids and high capacity rechargable batteries, and we have a sensible, sane, renewable energy resource that will not only meet our domestic needs, but that we can also develop into a thriving industry and export abroad.

We have absolutely got to stay away from nukes. Nuclear plants have two inherent problems with them that cannot be corrected, human error and radioactive waste. Because of these two problems alone, we should reject nuclear plants, and instead pursue clean, renewable alternatives like wind and solar. It is the right, sane and sensible thing to do.

[Massacure]

53. Solar is moral, but not sensible.

As for wind, you cannot efficiently transfer electricity from North Dakota to Maine, and the wind is not constant.

[MadHound]

55. Actually as the price for electricity rises,

And the development of thin film photovotaic solar continues, solar power is making more and more sense. Frankly, individual solar is indeed making sense over the long run. It has been shown that if a family puts up two kW of solar panels, they will pay of their investment within fifteen years, and still have a twenty five year life expectancy in their panels, thus they will be getting essentially free electric for that quarter century.

And we don't need to put all of our wind turbines in one area. That is the beauty about America, we are blessed with an embarrassment of wind power. Instead of trying to wheel in that power from ND to Maine, place some windmills off the coast and wheel it in from there. And if the wind doesn't blow one day in the Atlantic:eyes: you can wheel power into Maine from your Appalachian turbines.

Our electrical grid can't support wheeling power nationwide(at least not yet, though we can work on that too). But it can be wheeled from one area to another within a large area. Witness Enron, they wheeled power into California all the way in from Texas. And if the wind isn't blowing where you need it to, move over five hundred miles and it will be blowing a gail.

In addition, with the advances in turbine technology, it doesn't take as much wind to crank those turbines as it used to. Slow tip speed turbines are a marvel, and you would be suprised at the rpms at which they can still crank out power. Back that up with solar, and we have a viable energy strategy.

[pinniped]

51. Uh oh, and there's that thread about * blabbing about a new....

scientific energy breakthrough that will startle Merkans.

It will startle Merkans when they find a nuke plant in their backyard.

[NYC]

52. Yes, I'm startled. Wasn't Cheney talking about

opening a new nuclear plant a week or something? That was several years ago.

[drfresh]

54. I'll give George credit

I read his little plan, and it sounds great on paper. Not that I don't believe he'll screw it up somehow, but we really do need more nuclear power (and energy research) in the USA and abroad. Nuclear power provides ample electricity and its clean, so we should pursue it in addition to wind and solar.