McCain: Why Can't We Be Like France?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 6.08
Photo taken just before the invasion of Iraq
Hide those freedom fries, mon fréres Glenn Beck and John McCain almost switched into French in their admiration of the République française's love of nuclear power. McCain said to Beck "les Français sont en mesure de générer 80% de leur électricité avec l'énergie nucléaire. Il n'y a pas de raison pourquoi l'Amérique ne devrait pas." which we translate as "the French are able to generate 80% of their electricity with nuclear power. There’s no reason why America shouldn’t."
Except that the US is a bit bigger than France, and already generates more power from nukes than the French do. According to Joe Romm, to generate the same percentage as France, the US would have to build between 300 and 600 nuclear plants, depending on how you deal with existing plants needing retirement or growth in electricity demand.
Oh, and Joe calculates that it will cost some four trillion dollars, and would need seven Yucca Mountain sized waste disposal sites. And that there are serious problems in the supply chain. Whether you love or hate nuclear power, there is no way that we can build enough of it fast enough to make much of a difference. ::Climate Progress
I think the government needs to make better use of solar energy!!!! It's a simpler solution. The panels might be expensive, but the power from the sun is freeeeeeee!!
Why isn't it even on anyone's lips that the perfect way for Wal-Mart and those other "big box" companies like Costco and Home Depot -- is to line their roofs with solar panels and help supply the neighborhoods they build in with power?
Why aren't we greening roofs as insulation? (France has that, too, you know?)
Why aren't there *more* wind farms in West Texas (currently the largest supplier of such power)? Why don't we install solar panels under the turbines? (think hemp plants under corn stalks, but with less leaves and more sun)
For that matter, why aren't we growing hemp and making bio-fuel out of that? Anything you can do with peetroleum you can do with hemp oil. Anything you can make with bamboo, cotton, linen, etc, you can make with the hemp stalk. Putting the THC-bearing part of the plant into the same restricted category as Tequila would even take care of the "illegal to grow and break down" part (but I understand that's controversial...I'm making an argument here for innovation rather than potheads)
Why are we subsidizing highways instead of rail, which is ultimately the least-polluting travel alternative, especially when you consider the growth opportunity for mag-lev-trains.
Why are we replacing one archaic form of power supply with another? America is built on innovations in times of crisis. Looking at Atlanta's water supply issues, Vegas and Spain's water supply issue and the fact that riots are already happening over the food crisis. It's time for some innovation. The tools are there -- why aren't our policy-makers?
No matter what the alternative energy; it will need to happen at the consumer level.
There are huge tax rebates/incentives here in CT for installing solar, but it is still outside cost effectiveness for the average family.
What can the Federal Government do to help us?
The only argument I hear would be this is a matter of National Security; we need our independence. If that is the case then drilling for oil will begin before our collective heads spin.
No matter what the alternative energy; it will need to happen at the consumer level.
There are huge tax rebates/incentives here in CT for installing solar, but it is still outside cost effectiveness for the average family.
What can the Federal Government do to help us?
The only argument I hear would be this is a matter of National Security; we need our independence. If that is the case then drilling for oil will begin before our collective heads spin.
The French don't have a Yucca Mountain because they feed their nuclear waste back into their reactors. THATS some technology we could make use of...
We have a government unwilling to put "power" in the hands of the ordinary people. If they made it reasonable for most people to go renewable, those huge power companies (like The Southern Company or The Tennessee Valley Authority) who control most of our electricity would lose some of their grip on us. Our taxing authorities would lose sales tax on the energy that's sold to us and we'd quit having an excuse to blow up West Virginia for the coal. These are things I could do without.
When I wrote my US Senator on renewable energy credits, I didn't even get a straight answer from him. Did you write your Senator?
There are some debates about their nuclear recycling program. They aren't very good at telling anyone how its done or where the byproducts of the recycling process end up.
This article (and the other articles that makes fun of politicians proposing more fuel exploration) proves that environmentalists are responsible for our current predicament:
We can't drill, we can build hydroelectric dams and we can't go nuclear.
Instead, let's rely on immature, unproven and unreliable sources of alternative energy that, even in our wildest dreams, couldn't come close to keeping this country running.
I know -- to get to work, we can all hitch wagons to unicorns fed by fairy dust!
WE NEED TO START DRILLING FOR ARE OWN OIL,,(WHEREVER ), more refieries(STOP THE REGS.) AND MORE NECULARE TO BE BE BUILT,
NOW WHAT FOOLS ARE YOU