Years ago, Bill Christofferson coordinated Nukewatch, a statewide effort to raise awareness about the risks of nuclear power generation.
In fact, we did a little work on this together when we both lived in Madison - - about a thousand years ago.
Anyway: Good thing Bill is still an organizer.
In addition to his ongoing work work for peace in Iraq, Bill took to the pages of Crossroads, the Journal Sentinel's Sunday opinion section and put readers on notice that nuclear power is back on the table for consideration in Wisconsin.
Though the basic safety, financial and environmental problems that have plagued nuclear power generation for decades - - that's why no nuclear power plants have been built or approved anywhere in the US for a long, long time - - nukes worked their way through political compromise into the final recommendations approved by Governor's Task Force on Global Warming.
With the endorsement of both industry leaders and environmental groups and activists.
We'll hear a lot more about this in the months and years to come, but if you thought nuclear power in the US, or in Wisconsin, was dead and buried after the Three Mile Island meltdown, think again.
Seriously?
ReplyDeleteNot while Jim Doyle is governor.
Probably, not while anyone else is governor, either.
ReplyDeleteThe time and money it takes to design, site, build, and contract for enough fuel to last a power plant's lifetime is likely 20 years.
The likelihood of finding an enormous pool of capital willing to wait 20 years for ROI is mighty slim.
The number of skilled, experienced engineers-- considering that lots of others will be planning/building Nukes--simply isn't there. I admire the work of hands-on engineers. But, I mistrust the generations of engineers who have for most of their lives/education engineered mostly by moving pixels around on a screen.
The price of Uranium--given current and future demand, as well as the dynamics of additional demand and diminishing supply--will make nuclear way more costly than we can imagine or afford.
And, who will we get to insure it, AIG?