Blackwell Blogs

historymike's musings: On Chernobyl and Nuclear Power

2006-04-27T18:57:00.000-04:00

historymike's musings: On Chernobyl and Nuclear Power
There was also a big leak at Exelon, Illinois plants which went unnoticed for something like three months.. And to think companies like Westinghouse, which caused Bloomington, Indiana to be the biggest concentration of PCBs on earth (and has MANY more industrial boo-boos)are among those who want to now build more reactors everywhere is too much trust. They haven't cleaned up their PCB mess in Bloomington, or the 88 other Superfund sites across the US. Then there's the matter of their guaranteed for life steam generating tubes on their trojan reactors, which leaked as well.... They pulled out of bidding for Illinois nuke storage construction because they refused to accept liability... Too much technology in the hands of people interested in money and not much else.. certainly irresponsible people, who cover up problems when they occur. I agree with historymike, and then some- let go of our childish greed and self importance and not only look at our children before we do things, but also the future of the next seven generations. Leaving more nuclear mess than we already have now is not my idea of doing that.

China and India Nukes

2006-04-23T09:33:00.000-04:00

What a hot topic.

I'm confused- George Bush doesn't want countries joining their little nuclear club, unless they say it's ok. India is ok, in my opinion so we can make money for our nuclear partners (a whole nuther issue) and sic them on Pakistan and other countries. But China is a confusion for me. Bush goes on about concern over China military buildup. Then he sends both himself and Cheney to China to lobby for them to buy Westinghouse (WEC) reactors.

WEC isn't even owned by a US company anymore... not since they went down to less than half their worth from the environmental battles and lawsuits they faced during the late 1980's and sold virtually everything off. Their nuke reactor building co was sold to UK's BNFL, who suffered economic meltdown and was rescued by UK government. Recently UK government decided to ditch their Nuke business and sold (is selling?) WEC to Toshiba of Japan. Now, why would the US government spend tax dollars to send (high up!) officials to China to lobby for WEC reactors?

And why would we want China to choose them because they would do so over, say, Areva of France, because they would be able to access technology from WEC? WEC was once leading operator of facilities that made nuclear grade weapons. Would this technology trade include this information?

Then there's the issue of safety and reliability. Looking closely at WEC's record, and I mean REALLY closely, they made an ENORMOUS and as yet unremedied PCB mess at at least 88 sites across the USA from really shoddy Power Division making things like electrical transformers and capacitors. Then WEC lost cleanup of Love Canal when it was pointed out by one of their own engineers in Bloomington, Indiana (biggest concentration of PCBs in the world from WEC-still Unremedied) that their Plasma Torch (sold to New York for Love Canal) was unsuitable for Bloomington cleanup because it was only for liquid hazardous waste, and Love Canal was in soil like Bloomington. They lost the robotics stuff to Japan because their hydraulics leaked. They have an ongoing issue over an escalator which ate a woman, their "cleanup" at nuke weapons plant Savannah River produced enormous amounts of the scary toxic benzene without cleaning up one bit of the plant, which cost us billions. I think they were also removed from "cleanup" at Hanford nuke reservation. Reports I read about their reactor in Brazil had the locals calling it Firefly because it was on again, off again. The Trojan In Portland Oregon was shut (and I think recently demolished) because the guaranteed for life WEC steam generating tubes leaked. And then there's the ongoing suit in the Philappine Islands over the enormous defrauding of the people with Marcos over building a nuclear reactor. This has never been built because Three Mile Island happened and scared Marcos off. Then when Cory Aquino left office and told WEC they could finish this reactor around 1993, then 600 year dormant volcano Mt Pinatubo blew up just three miles away and stopped that. I could go on but you get the point- even new and improved nuke technology should not be trusted- their technology is rife with messes theyve made, and they do not clean up after themselves. And they are SO EXPENSIVE! Check out all the money US government has given them of our tax dollars already! And I don't know about you, but I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

Then, of course, there's the issue that uranium is, like oil, not a renewable fuel, and recent reports show it's supplies are dwindling.

It is very expensive to build and operate nuke reactors, and decommissiong costs are skyrocketing as UK is finding, maybe because they own BNL nuke cleanup company... It also takes a long time to build these reactors, and we need help NOW.

Then, of, course, there's the waste. It is piling up everywhere there's a reactor. And no solution seems in sight. Shouldn't we conquer this problem first before creating more waste?

Then there's nukes in warfare. Seems to me the only country with nuke weapons to use them is the US. They were of course, used in Japan during the world war. More recently, we've used uranium weapons in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. So we're like making this nuclear mess all over the world to go along with our chemical mess here, at all our military bases abroad, and the chemical spraying of Vietnam and places like Mexico (marijuana) and Colombia (also on what US government calls drugs). I think IAEA should stop the US. We're the ones making all these messes and leaving them and going on to make the next mess. Not tomention that our soldiers are suffering from these exposures, and it then affects children they have. The US government needs some accountability here!

What happens when one day US has to clean all this up and pay for all the peoples harmed, including the soldiers they send to "liberate" all these people? We, the people taxes gonna pay for that?

And I hardly see how with all the debt Bush has incurred, and all the money we now owe China from Bush. I said during the first primary when young Bush ran when he bankrupted his campaign funds and had to gather more that should he be elected he would bankrupt this country.

Maybe that's why Bush is lobbying China for WEC nukes, because we owe them so much money. It's about all I can figure.

Anyway- I just want it to all stop. I really want peace in my lifetime, and I don't see nukes in any form as a part of it.

Why Are We Not Leading

2006-04-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

Here's what America seems to be leading in these days:

WAR
Nuclear Testing and desire to build more nuke power plants
Use of depleted uranium in war
Greenhouse gas emissions
Energy Abuse
Resistance to halting greenhouse gas emissions
Resistance to developing alternative energies and products
High health care costs
Dangerous prescription drugs
People, especially politicians, acting out of ego instead of spirit

Many of us are greatly concerned about our country. Our moral, economic and excellence standings in the world are faltering before our eyes. Many of us envision:

An all new alternative industrial revolution. You will remember during the first industrial revolution how people worked together with a frenzy, as if there was some sort of emergency, and now there is. Not only is our entire world economy in peril from oil dependenceand when oil supplies are dwindling as is Uranium, the very existance of our earth is endangered. Species go extinct in alarming numbers each day. The ozone hole grows, and global warming is making it's mark in droughts, floods with mudslides from deforestation and powerful storms like hurricanes, tornadoes (2006 so far this April sees about 3 times as many as in the past 3 years) and cyclones. The earthqaukes are continuing in the Indonesian region of the great tsunami, and volcanoes there are still being watched-this is where Krakatoa lies.

So why not an all new alternative industrial revolution?
All new products requiring all new machines and tooling, making all over again, stepping lightly over the earth, working with earth instead of against her.

Just imagine all the jobs! And all the corporations could make all new money- except this time they won't have to spend their Bottom Line fighting environmentalists!

With all our American ingenuity, WHY IS AMERICA NOT LEADING THIS EFFORT?

Political will. The lack of political will. Were I one of America's leaders, I would hardly feel myself worthy of holding back our country from this greatness...... not to mention the opportunity to help the entire world!

We want what you got

2006-04-19T22:25:00.000-04:00

April 20, 2006

During the battle for truth and justice in the Love Canal toxic waste tragedy (http://www.chej.org), the turning point came when the residents learned from federal health officials their chromosomes had been permanently changed. This made them and their children more susceptible to diseases, including cancer.

Ever since I became an environmental activist in 1986, I have watched government on all levels use our hard earned tax dollars to aid and protect companies contaminating our lands, waters, products, food, the entire earth, our atmosphere and our very bodies.

Drug companies and insurance firms fees and prices go up and up. Recent news reports stated health care costs would continue to rise for Americans. Congress uses oour tax dollars to pretend they are doing something to alleviate the costs, but again help and protect these companies, too.

Then Congress votes themselves health care.

It's time Congress gave us the health care they vote themselves paid for with our tax dollars. Go to http://dreamingallthisagain.tripod.com/ and click the link to sign the petition for Free Health Care For Us Too.....