So, Who Still Wants Nuclear Power??

twirldoggy · March 17, 2011, 11:35:08 AM

If the wolves and boars come back, that means their food is also there. But it doesn't mean their food is pure. It was the stark devastation that really struck me.

srkruzich · March 17, 2011, 12:30:33 PM

Quote from: twirldoggy on March 17, 2011, 11:35:08 AM
If the wolves and boars come back, that means their food is also there. But it doesn't mean their food is pure. It was the stark devastation that really struck me.

I know and never said it was pure. Just that the earth has a good record of repairing damage to itself. There are no birds there that is one thing i noticed, also i don't believe there are any frogs. But give it time.

twirldoggy · March 17, 2011, 01:05:34 PM

No birds or frogs means no insects. Some of those should have made it back.

Also I did not quite understand why the man was lying on the ground. Guess he might be a criminal who was drinking.

The earth does have all the elements to repair itself. But in how many hundreds of years.

frawin · March 17, 2011, 02:00:16 PM

I have thought long and hard on how I felt about this. My first thought is that I am against Nuclear Power and the problems in Japan just reinforce that. We have far more of the Nuclear power plants than any other country in the world. If we shut them all down the Cost of Electricity in this country would be much higher, the biggest cost would be the big increase in Natural Gas that you use.

sixdogsmom · March 17, 2011, 05:45:00 PM

Pam, thanks for the website, sobering to say the least. Frank, thanks for your input; lots of people respect your opinion, as do I. Even though I rag you about big oil, I still respect you. Keep on peeps! I'm hearing some good input from both sides.!

Anmar · March 17, 2011, 08:53:22 PM

I don't understand how people can talk about the death toll near these facilities without discussing the tremendous rise in cancer rates in the areas where these disasters occurred. 2 deaths in the US from a partial meltdown is absurd.

Furthermore, some people are saying Japan shows us what we shouldn't be doing. Let me say this again, we have 25 of the exact same design power plant operating here in the US. Secondly, This is not something that we should be doing trial and error with when we have better energy alternatives available

sixdogsmom · March 17, 2011, 09:12:00 PM

And what are we doing to ourselves just to acquire the uranium? Folks near the mining sites suffer from accelerated kidney disease as well as cancer rates from the water contamination. This has to do with the methods of mining used to recover the uranium. There is also a depletion of water tables in the areas being mined; water that many of the central United States depend upon for drinking water. Hmmm--- are we thinking ahead on this? We have a foreign country running a mining operation on United States soil that is contaminating our water as well as producing nuclear grade waste. Hmmm----, makes you wonder don't it?

twirldoggy · March 18, 2011, 11:14:58 AM

I think that Japan now has a dead zone that will last hundreds or even thousands of years.

sodbuster · March 18, 2011, 07:12:54 PM

Quote from: frawin on March 17, 2011, 02:00:16 PM
I have thought long and hard on how I felt about this. My first thought is that I am against Nuclear Power and the problems in Japan just reinforce that. We have far more of the Nuclear power plants than any other country in the world. If we shut them all down the Cost of Electricity in this country would be much higher, the biggest cost would be the big increase in Natural Gas that you use.

Frank, you have long touted nuclear power here on the forum. You mention that you have thought long and hard on this subject and I, as well as anyone, respect that as a true statement. (Bonus points added for you being my Uncle and more knowledgeable about energy issues than the average bear

) Due to the problems in Japan, I understand your and everyone's hesitation. I too have concerns about nuclear power. I still think we should not abandon nuclear energy, just take lessons from this and perfect it to a better level. In the next few days I will try and post some of the newer and smaller examples of nuclear power that may cover many of our concerns. No source of energy is without its problems and disasters. I too agree that natural gas is the most current example of how the US should proceed. It too is not without its disasters; just check out the San Bruno, Ca natural gas explosion of 2010. (Of which I am positive my Uncle Frank is well aware.) Let's not all abandon the possiblity of increasing our nuclear power. We are good at technology and I think we can ameliorate the problems that it presents. That being said, I am not ready to have one of these old technology nuclear plants ibuilt in my backyard today.

David

sixdogsmom · March 18, 2011, 07:34:22 PM

Thank you for your response, David. This issue reminds me of an old popular print that I have seen a couple of times. It depicts a boat with immigrants going to a new land. All of the old folks are looking back to where they had come from, and the young ones are looking to the new shore. Maybe this has to do with fears of the past against the fears of the future and the unknown. I don't know the resolution, but I do know this; if I had a very young child, I would not send them to cross a busy highway by themselves. That can be considered as looking backward, I think. Caution should be the byword here, and it was not used when building the reactors in Japan (earthquake zone). We are barely a lifetime into the nuclear age, slowly beginning to understand the consequences of this genii we have released. I do hope and pray that we have not made a mistake.