CAPITALISTS SHOULD VOTE FOR NUCLEAR
The nuclear power industry probably has the worst marketing department in the history of the world, and also can't even figure out how to have their own lobbyists effectively pay off the Washington politicians, as does the rest of the energy industry.
JAM Views' mission is to not only help us all understand true economic and business principles, but to continuously uncover how the great majority of what "they" tell us simply is not true. Nuclear power falls into this category. If we all understood commercial nuclear power generation, and its incredible potential to completely change the technology landscape of our country, every capitalist and every New Green Deal believer would have to support its primary, and possibly only, position powering the United States.
Quick basics. Nuclear power today is generated by splitting or joining the nuclei of atoms. The nucleus is the heart of the atom which is the building block of molecules which form to create everything on the planet. So, let's first agree that there is pretty much an infinite supply of atoms for our projects. Fission is the splitting of the nucleus which releases a tremendous amount of energy, and which shows us that the universe has already been designed to hold incredible energy beyond our current understanding. Fission performed on one pound of uranium releases as much energy as burning six million pounds of coal. The atomic bomb (WWII) was created by an "uncontrolled" fission chain reaction. Commercial nuclear power plants are basically "controlled" fission chain reactions.
Fusion is the uniting of nuclei and is the basis for a thermonuclear explosion, like which fuels the sun, and which is thousands of times greater than the atomic fission. Unfortunately, currently, fusion needs about 122 million degrees Fahrenheit to ignite, like from a fission bomb, so commercial applications are still in the works.
In nuclear power plants today, fission creates a tremendous amount of energy which is converted to steam (which directly powers nuclear submarines), and is then converted to electricity to power our cities.
John Rie, prior owner of CBRS which specialized in bioremediation, and Alan Emery, former president of the Canadian Museum of Nature, are members of Est Actio, an international group of multi-disciplinary scientists "looking for ways to stabilize the climate." They released a report in the Wall street Journal promoting both the economic and green benefits of nuclear power. I've included a few highlights:
1. From 1970-1990 Sweden doubled its energy output by deploying nuclear plants. They also reduced carbon emissions by 50%, reduced fossil-fuel use by 40%, and expanded the economy by 50%.
2. The world will need 38.6 terawatts of power in addition to existing hydropower over the next 50 years (38,600 one-gigawatt power plants). Only nuclear or fossil fuels can meet this demand.
3. Wind and solar are three to five time more costly than nuclear.
4. Nuclear actually creates large profits. It costs $2.3 billion to build a one-gigawatt plant (Not a thousand jigawatts by Doc and Marty!), which at current electricity rates generates about $419 million net revenue annually, which is $33.5 billion net revenue over the 80-year life of the plant.
5. Reality on safety. The 1979 Three-Mile Island incident caused zero deaths or increases in cancer. The 2011 Fukushima "disaster" caused zero deaths or disease. The 1986 Chernobyl Plant's bad design and lack of Soviet Union response caused 150 deaths. The 2012 World Health Organization report estimates the burning of fossil fuels and biomass causes three million deaths world-wide every year.
6. Reality on waste. A nuclear power plant generates 20 metric tons of waste annually. A typical coal plant produces this much toxic waste (mercury, arsenic, etc.) in one hour (I probably shouldn't be writing this in West Virginia!). Most nuclear waste is hazardous for only a few decades, and newer technology plants are recycling nuclear fuel, actually using up waste. France is way ahead of us here. How did we let that happen?
The fact that nuclear power is not at least the dominant energy source for the United States today is purely a result of lack of education and entrenched corporate interests controlling Congress and the White House; Bush and oil on one side versus Obama and uneconomical Greens on the other.
Nuclear power is our limitless future if we can overcome politics, fear, and misinformation. Nuclear is the universe already given to us. We have not even touched the tip of the tip of the iceberg, and it is already the best economic-green option. Nuclear is about abundance instead of scarcity, and it simply needs a better marketing department. JAM Views members, and capitalists across the planet, should support nuclear, but most importantly, must support the commercial re-launch and not look to ineffective governments to control the future. Commercial implementations will achieve 100x the progress in 1/100th the timeframe it would take governments to move in the right direction. Remember the Laws of Thermodynamics; energy is neither created nor destroyed, yet merely transferred. We already have way more than we will ever need, and the net cost will eventually be zero. We just have to be smart enough to use it.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority it's time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain
* Thank you to the WSJ, Forbes and Fortune for the above statistics and quotations.
* For more information on Jeff's Books, Blog, and Legal Challenge, please visit www.jeffmartinovich.com.
** To access JAM Views directly please visit jeffreyamartinovich.blogspot.com
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