Energy ..Bushs' high card

[Shortyfuse]

I predict that Bush will be talking about energy R&D in his state of the union. It is the one thing the Democrats are not talking about now and it is on the mind of anyone who get an electric or gas bill. ( I mean hell they just passed an energy bill.0 And then want they look like heroes. Because we all know that alternate energy was their idea. Not Jimmy Carter. What they will not mention, maybe, is the amount of nuclear power plants they will let their buddies build.

[mac56]

1. And the record profits Exxon-Mobil and Shell just reported.

Welcome, Shortyfuse!

Actually: this probably should be GD instead of Latest Breaking News.

[Shortyfuse]

2. Thanks

..

[TheFarseer]

3. You're right

this issue is there for the taking. I don't have any doubt we are the party that would really do something about alternative energy, but we're not saying enough about it. We're getting bogged down in Alito and screwing around with wiretapping and trying to look tough on terror. These are important issues, but these are ineffective and unpopular issues next to alternative energy. While we screw around, they could pick up the baton for this and run with it. Will they? No idea, but if they do we lose twice - we get aced out of a political issue and we get nothing done on this because anything they do will be disingenuous and do nothing to actually help the situation.

[shraby]

4. Bush tried that in his very first state of the union speech.

How he was going to have more plants like nuclear and coal powered, yada yada yada. Yup, just like all the other lies he's spouted in the last 5 years.

[xxqqqzme]

10. don't forget gong to MARS!

[skids]

5. Possibly...

...I have been noticing an increased level of "hydrogen economy" material in the press, perhaps a little astroturfing to set the stage.

Shame they just cannot wrap their heads around throwing money at wind instead of nuke subsidies. Unlike nukes, wind would be something that could revive our manufacturing base.

[cliss]

6. Energy....Bush's "Ace"?

What a joke. Let's look at the ugly facts:
a) Bush is an oil man. He had an oil company in Texas. Cheney is an oil man. So is Condaliar Rice, and many other people in this administration.

What happened during their tenure? Oil prices went up. Way up.

Now, there is a silver lining in this cloud: when gas prices go up, Bush's numbers plunge down. I'd like to see him convince ONE person on his
"energy policy".

[Shortyfuse]

7. Cannot believe how easy

You under estimate the corporate spin machine. Heck they elected him twice.

[Yoda Yada]

8. Will he also explain his "Energy Policy" from 2000-2006?

... which was too little, too late.

If this is ALL Bush has...then Democrats just need to mention ENRON and Bush's "hands off" policy while he watched ENRON bilk California. Oh, yeah,.....SUDDENLY Bush is concerned about energy.

Democrats rebuttal: "NOW he has an energy policy? Where was he when America was crying, "Foul"?

repeat...repeat...repeat...

[jpak]

9. Energy High Card????

If the Chimp argues that we need new nucular power plants to "reduce our dependence on foreign oil", he is a fool - as is anyone that believes this nonsense.

Less than 2.5% US oil consumption is used to generate electricity - at peaking power plants that nuclear can't replace.

Furthermore, the US imports more than 66% of its uranium for nuclear power reactors. When current stocks of yellowcake (mined and milled in the 70's and early 80's) are depleted, the US will have to import more than 97% of its uranium - at *current* levels of demand.

The Chimp is also expected at announce that the US will end its ban on spent fuel reprocessing and reprocess foreign spent fuel as well.

Reprocessed plutonium is the most expensive fuel known to man. The now defunct Nuclear Fuel Services plant in West Valley NY produced 1200 kg of plutonium. It will cost taxpayers $8 billion to clean up and decommission this facility - making the true cost of plutonium produced there ~$4 million per kg.

US taxpayers will have to shell out billions to construct a new spent fuel reprocessing plant (Japan's new reprocessing plant cost $20 billion) - and there is virtually no no US market for it.

The taxpayers are currently paying Duke Power millions of dollars to use MOX fuel produced from blended-down weapons grade plutonium. One nuclear utility pulled out of the program - the DOE couldn't pay them enough to use the stuff.

So why the fuck are they doing this?????

Two words - Jimmy Carter. The GOP RW hated him for banning spent fuel reprocessing in the first place - this is pay back...and... GOP cronies like Westinghouse will reap megabucks from this program.

Democrats not doing something about alternative energy?????

What horse shit.

Blue States from Maine to California have enacted Renewable Portfolio Standards calling for 10-30% of each state's electricity to be generated from renewable sources in the next ten years.

Maine has already exceeded its RPS goal and generates ~50% of its electricity from biomass and small hydro. With ~900 MW of wind power on the drawing boards, it is well on the way to become the first state to generate all of its electricity from renewable sources - thanks to Maine Democrats.

California's plan will provide $3 billion in rebates for domestic PV - that's Billions with a B.

What did Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force do for alternative energy - huh?????

The Governor of New Mexico (a Democrat and Clinton's former Energy Secretary) is seeking to develop ~8000 MW of solar, biomass and wind capacity (twice NM's peak demand), and the transmission infrastructure so that NM can export renewable electricity.

Democrats ARE leading the way on energy.

All ChimpCo is doing is lining his Energy Cronie's pockets with your tax money.

[megatherium]

12. Fuel isn't that big a component of the price of nuclear energy.

It's the capital costs of the plants that's so daunting to investers in this type of energy; the costs of the protracted legal battles that must be fought to successfully site, build and license each plant. Once a nuke is up and running, it puts out power at a lower rate than any other source of energy. This of course doesn't include the formidable costs of decomissioning a plant nor of waste disposal.

Reprocessing was abandoned by Carter because of the fear of nuclear proliferation and because it wasn't economic. Perhaps if nuclear fuel does become in short supply, it will begin to become economic. However, there's very good reason to believe that when the high grade uranium ore is depleted in several decades, there will be plenty of not-so-high grade ore available. (See Kenneth Deffeyes' new book Beyond Oil: The View From Hubbert's Peak. He describes his own investigations into this matter.)

I read some years ago that the nuclear industry believed it was due for a comeback in this country: as natural gas increases in price, our baseline capacity will have to come from coal or nuclear. Their judgement was that renewables for baseline generation were not going to be available in any amount that matters. They judged that the country would face a choice between coal and nuclear. They expect that coal will be unacceptable because of global warming. Now it appears that their expectations are bearing fruit politically. (However, a rapid expansion of coal capacity is underway; new coal plants that promise to be cleaner and to allow resequestration of CO2 are being built. We get twice as much power from coal as in 1975; nuclear power is still 20% of our capacity in spite of no new plant construction in 20 years because they're getting good at keeping nukes on line.)

Please correct these impressions of mine. I'm not an expert in these matters like your foil NNadir.

[Lorien]

11. I doubt if he will, but it's true that Dems aren't making an issue out

of it...or much of anything, for that matter. We've got enough ammo to level BushCo-if only SOMEONE would lead and make real issues out of it all.

BTW-you should probably repost this in GD.

[Bridget Burke]

13. If that's his "high card"....

Maybe he's ready to fold.

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. wrong forum, dude

could the rules possibly be more clear?