The best way to stop terrorists from infiltrating our nuclear plants is not to have nuclear power plants in the first place. Although it is commendable that NY Senator Schumer is taking action to make sure our nuclear plants stay safe from those people intent on harming us, the public should take a closer look at the tiger whose tail they have latched onto as a major energy source.
This is an issue for the Rochester, NY region: “Nuclear power plants across the nation, including Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Wayne County, need to improve security procedures to prevent possible terrorist infiltration, according to an audit by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The audit was requested in March after it was discovered that suspected al-Qaeda member Sharif Mobley had worked in New Jersey nuclear power plants for six years before he was arrested in Yemen in early March with other suspected al-Qaeda members.” (October 5, 2010) Ginna, other nuclear power plants need to improve security | Democrat and Chronicle
Why is it ‘your’ decision to have nuclear plants? When the public doesn’t demand renewable energy (like off-shore wind power ((Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project (GLOW)) and solar power), does nothing to vote for candidates who encourage renewable energy, doesn’t choose the wind option on their electric bill or take steps to conserve energy, they are enabling by default other energy options such as coal and gas, hydroelectric, and nuclear power.
Coal and drilling for gas pollute our atmosphere and warm it up by emitting greenhouse gases. Hydroelectric is limited because of limited falling water resources and it has unfortunate effects on fish. Think dams.
When you demand (and the demand is increasing) constant energy to power all your stuff, your home, your gadgets, but are not willing to conserve and make it known by your vote and your buying habits that you demand a viable and sustainable future by using clean, renewable energy, you are pushing our environment to its limit to sustain human life.
Nuclear Power: In order to have nuclear power, this clean energy source that doesn’t spew particulates into the air nor emit greenhouse gases, we taking a terrible risk, an unnecessary risk. Nuclear power demands that we must use cutting-edge technology that needs the best and the brightest because there is absolutely no room for human, software, or hardware error. Think: Major Nuclear Power Plant Accidents It’s fun to have some of our electronic toys run on split-second, cutting-edge technology, but do we really want our future to depend on such marginally safe technology? Think how this most recent preventable disaster occurred despite all claims that it wouldn’t: Hungary Sludge Reservoir at Risk of Collapse - NYTimes.com (10/09/2010) Human error in judgment and technological prowess always hits a snag. As we ratchet up our impact to the environment, we risk not being able to recover from them -- ever.
When we look out from our cottages and bemoan the specter of wind-farms dotting the waterscape and fight tooth-and-nail to stop them, we are forcing the rest of our state and our country to use nuclear power and other environmentally dangerous energy. We have to put our concerns in perspective. A terrorist attack on a wind farm or a solar array will do what? Stop power for awhile and create an annoying mess to clean up? A nuclear power attack -- throwing radioactive isotopes into the air onto our properties, lasting tens of thousands of years, inflicting cell and possibly DNA damage and disease for centuries -- is altogether different. The accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) should have awakened everyone to the vastly different kind of damage that nuclear power can create.
Besides the recent move by Senator Schumer to shore-up safety at our nuclear power plants, there have been other nuclear power stories in the news. Has your local media been informing you of these?
- YouTube - Nuclear Waste On Great Lakes Protested A plan to ship 16 steam generators on the Detroit River and Great Lakes has sparked an international outcry. What alarms residents on the U.S. and Canadian sides of the waterways is the material inside the generators -- nuclear waste. The Global Report (9/17)
- CBC News - Technology & Science - Great Lakes nuclear shipments topic of hearing Sending radioactive steam generators to Sweden best option, Bruce Power says A Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearing begins Tuesday into an Ontario nuclear power plant's request for permission to ship radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and across the Atlantic Ocean for processing in Sweden. The request to ship 16 school bus-sized radiation-contaminated steam generators is part of a plan by Bruce Power, a private nuclear utility that generates about a fifth of Ontario's electricity, to refurbish its nuclear generating plant on the shores of Lake Huron. (September 28, 2010)
- Indian Point cooling towers get lukewarm reception | LoHud.com | The Journal News Stadium-size cooling towers astride Indian Point's nuclear reactors isn't a vision that some elected officials want to see. "Towers are not going to be well-received," said John Testa, R-Peekskill, as he questioned whether residents' opinions would be seriously considered. Indian Point officials briefed county lawmakers Monday on plans to comply with federal clean-water regulations and the prospect of huge structures along the Buchanan banks of the Hudson River (September 28, 2010) LoHud.com | The Journal News | Westchester, Rockland, Putnam news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, New York
- Ginna fixing pump, NRC reports | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle Federal regulators have scaled back oversight at the Ginna nuclear power plant in Ontario, Wayne County, after the plant's owner made progress in addressing a key piece of backup equipment that failed several tests last year. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission focused on the turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump during a special July inspection at the plant, on the Lake Ontario shore about 15 miles east of Rochester (September 2, 2010) Democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle | Rochester news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Rochester, New York
- Indian Point 3 'should be ready to go back to green' safety rating soon | LoHud.com | The Journal News Indian Point 3's four emergency shutdowns in the first eight months of 2009 cost the nuclear reactor a top safety rating, but federal regulators say worker response in each case was "acceptable" and the company could be back to the highest rating as soon as July. (June 22, 2010) LoHud.com | The Journal News | Westchester, Rockland, Putnam news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, New York
- An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back - Green Blog - NYTimes.com The American nuclear industry, primed to begin new construction projects for the first time in 30 years, is about as eager for an operating problem at an old reactor as the oil industry was for a well blowout on the eve of opening the Atlantic coast to oil drilling. Nonetheless, a nuclear reactor where a hidden leak caused near-catastrophic corrosion in 2002 has experienced a second bout of the same problem. (June 7, 2010) The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
Comments
The short answer is that "renewable energy" destroys the planet even faster than burning coal.
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