Nuclear Power Madness

[Better Believe It]

Nuclear Power Madness
by Norman Solomon
March 14, 2011


Like every other president since the 1940s, Barack Obama has promoted nuclear power. Now, with reactors melting down in Japan, the official stance is more disconnected from reality than ever.

As the New York Times reported on Monday, “most of the nuclear plants in the United States share some or all of the risk factors that played a role at Fukushima Daiichi: locations on tsunami-prone coastlines or near earthquake faults, aging plants and backup electrical systems that rely on diesel generators and batteries that could fail in extreme circumstances.”

On Sunday, even while nuclear-power reactors were melting down, the White House issued this statement: “The president believes that meeting our energy needs means relying on a diverse set of energy sources that includes renewables like wind and solar, natural gas, clean coal and nuclear power. Information is still coming in about the events unfolding in Japan, but the administration is committed to learning from them and ensuring that nuclear energy is produced safely and responsibly here in the U.S.”

Bipartisan for nuclear power? You betcha. On Sunday morning TV shows, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell voiced support for nuclear power, while Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer offered this convoluted ode to atomic flackery: “We are going to have to see what happens here -- obviously still things are happening -- but the bottom line is we do have to free ourselves of independence from foreign oil in the other half of the globe. Libya showed that. Prices are up, our economy is being hurt by it, or could be hurt by it. So I'm still willing to look at nuclear. As I’ve always said it has to be done safely and carefully.”

Read the full article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/14-5

[buddysmellgood]

1. We need a real plan to replace the aging nuclear with either modern nuclear systems or green power.

Green power is proven, we just need to scale up. Think of the jobs that would create.

[snappyturtle]

2. +1

[houstonintc]

3. Nuclear power isn't bad...

Building these plants on active fault-lines and geologically unstable areas is a terrible misjudgment however.

There are a lot of advances in nuclear technology and green technology is also booming. We need to use both but we need to be smart about it. Lets keep the nuclear reactors off the main fault-lines.

[Nederland]

4. Too early to say

At this point in time we do not have all the facts necessary to render judgement. What we do know is this: Japan was struck by the fourth most powerful earthquake in recorded history, and none of the containment structures in any of its 53 reactors were breached. Containment structures are designed to do one thing: contain radiation in the event of an emergency. So far they have done exactly that. Could something happen in the next few days to change that? Absolutely. However, until we see containment structures fail, it is difficult to categorize what has happened as anything but a resounding affirmation of nuclear design and construction in Japan.