LLAW’s ‘All Things Nuclear’ #531 (02/05/2024)
LLAW’s ‘All Things Nuclear’ #531 (02/05/2024)
“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
LLAW’s THOUGHTS & COMMENTS:
The following is the kind of low-brow propaganda the media so often dishes out to the unknowledgeable average American citizen. It blames renewable energy resources for the energy problem, and tells us none of these energy capacity problems would exist if we had more nuclear energy. Nothing could be further from reality or the truth.
And also these people believe that isolated ‘incidents’, such as nuclear disasters like Fukushima and Chernobyl, and, yes, Three Mile Island, are not important because of their rarity, (meaning they know nothing about the history of ‘all things nuclear’, ignorantly failing to understand that nuclear power, like nuclear war, is by far the most dangerous man-made product of any kind on the planet. They don’t seem to care that nuclear energy could be used, in the wrong hands, to create doomsday, or the extinction of mankind’s and other animal existence in a matter of days, weeks, or months.
They also fail to realize that uranium, the radioactive fuel that makes nuclear power or products of any kind so life-threatening, is a fossil fuel just like, except for the radiation, coal, oil, natural gas, etc. is far more deadly than GHG (green house gasses) and, like the others, is not a renewable power supply. Also, uranium is so rare that lower grades of the ore will cause the cost of operating a nuclear reactor for power will very quickly skyrocket beyond any kind of affordability in only a few years. When I was in the nuclear business back in the 60s and 70s, the price of uranium went from $8.00 a pound for yellow cake to nearly $50.00 in just a few years when deregulation occurred. The cost today is in the $55.00 range, and is poised to leap into triple figures if this silly idea of tripling our world(s) nuclear power supply in the next 25 or so years should happen to gain footing, which thankfully it won’t happen.
No one who supports nuclear power seems to have done their homework about the reality of the nuclear product, but continuously listen to the propaganda that is constantly streamed from the nuclear industry to shove this world’s most dangerous product down our proverbial throats. Ignorance is as ignorance does. ~llaw
New pro-nuclear documentary warns of America’s increasingly fragile electricity grid
“Now that it's done, I'm really happy that it's out because we are weakening our electric grid with a lot of terrible policies,” the documentary's co-producer, energy expert Robert Bryce said.
Published: February 4, 2024 11:42pm
After energy expert Robert Bryce produced “Juice: How electricity explains the world” in 2019, he decided he was done making documentaries. “This process takes too long. It costs too much. There's too much friction. I'm not going to do it again,” he told Just The News he thought at the time.
Then, in February 2021, Winter Storm Uri descended upon the U.S. The Texas grid couldn’t keep up with the power demands that were placed upon it, and many people in the Lone Star state, including Bryce, found themselves sitting in the dark with no heat. “We got blacked out in Austin. My wife Lauren and I did for 48 hours,” Bryce said.
He learned later just how close the Texas grid came within a few minutes of total failure.
With some support from friends and colleagues, Bryce and his co-producer Tyson Culver set out to produced a followup to the 2019 documentary, “Juice: Power, politics and the grid,” which was released free to the public to view on YouTube this week. “Now that it's done, I'm really happy that it's out because we are weakening our electric grid with a lot of terrible policies,” Bryce said.
The five-part documentary begins with the Texas blackout and its causes, which grid expert and author Meredith Angwin calls the “fatal trifecta.” That’s an overreliance on wind and solar, over-reliance on natural gas and imports from neighboring regions.
Angwin, who gave one of the 30 interviews conducted through the series, explains that wind and solar are weather-dependent, meaning they can shut off at any moment, including when power is needed the most.
Natural gas is largely a “just in time” energy source, meaning it's not easily stored and supplies can be easily interrupted, especially during cold snaps when demand is high. Finally, relying on neighbors only works if they have surplus to export. With utilities across the country following similar green energy policies, shortages are becoming common and surpluses becoming rarer.
The series then reaches back to the days of Enron and evolution of energy policy that eventually led to the state the grid is in today.
The series goes on to recount the experience of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma. In 2011, Enel Green Power filed for a permit to build a wind project on the Osage tribe’s traditional land. From the start, the tribe objected over concerns it would impact traditional burial sites.
A legal fight followed concerned the tribe’s mineral rights, which grant the tribe control of the rock, oil, gas or any resource beneath the surface. Enel’s excavations, which are around 30-feet deep, to build the foundation for the wind turbines intruded upon the minerals the tribe owns. The Bureau of Indian Affairs determined the excavations did not have the proper mining permits from the tribe, and Enel ignored the order and built the wind farm anyway.
In December, the tribe’s legal efforts finally paid off, and a federal judge ordered Enel to remove the wind towers. The company said it plans to appeal the decision.
Bryce explains in “Juice,” that aside from opposition from Native American tribes, local opposition to renewable energy projects is a major impediment to the growth of renewable energy. There are also major technical, financial and political barriers that the documentary argues makes intermittent wind and solar ineffective at reducing emissions and providing energy for the future.
The series also examines the potential for nuclear energy, starting with the political opposition that grew out of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. In interviews with nuclear advocates, the documentary argues the energy source is safe, that nuclear waste is not an unmanageable problem, and that nuclear energy, which doesn’t produce carbon dioxide emissions, has much more potential to reach net zero emissions than wind and solar.
Finally, the last episode looks at the European experience with green energy. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, European countries phased out nuclear energy, pinned a lot of hope on wind and solar, and became very reliant on Russian natural gas to back up its wind and solar portfolio.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the documentary argues, the folly of these energy policies became apparent as the countries scrambled to secure supplies of natural gas — at considerable expense to ratepayers. John Constable, director of the Renewable Energy Foundation, interviewed in the documentary calls the invasion of Ukraine the proximate cause of Europe’s energy problems.
“Why was the system so dangerously fragile that the invasion of Ukraine would have these sorts of consequences? And the reason for that is the 20 years of mistaken climate policies beginning in the early 2000s, which took Britain off the gas to nuclear track and committed us to renewables,” Constable ponders. The irony, Constable says, is that Europe is more dependent on fossil fuels than ever.
Bryce said that he hopes the documentary will change the conversation about energy and, perhaps, influence wiser policies. “We can help people and policymakers understand the dangers that are facing our grid. We are really playing with fire here and we ignore this fragilization of our electric grid at our extreme peril,” Bryce said.
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 6 categories (including a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links to the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear War
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War Threats
Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available, normally, at the end of this Post.
(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (02/05/2024):
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
New pro-nuclear documentary warns of America's increasingly fragile electricity grid
Just The News
All Things Trump · Cybersecurity · Education · Elections 2024 · Energy ... In interviews with nuclear advocates, the documentary argues the energy ...
Vox
We're here every weekday to explain the most important stories you need to know about. The Today, Explained podcast is hosted by Sean Rameswaram ...
The future of nuclear: France's nuclear dreams or nightmares? - Power Technology
Power Technology
Is all this optimism warranted? France has long been a nuclear superpower but lost its position as the world's second-largest producer of nuclear ...
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Fact Sheet: Nuclear Energy Technologies - Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Nuclear power has traditionally been generated through light water nuclear reactors, which use water to moderate neutron production and absorb the ...
The Future of American Energy Production Must Include Nuclear | RealClearEnergy
RealClearEnergy
... nuclear energy with two nuclear plants and five nuclear reactors. ... plant and has the second-largest nuclear power generating capacity in the nation.
Nuclear fusion reaction releases almost twice the energy put in | New Scientist
New Scientist
The US National Ignition Facility has achieved even higher energy yields since breaking even for the first time in 2022, but a practical fusion ...
Nuclear War
NEWS
How to Reduce Nuclear Risks Between the United States and North Korea
United States Institute of Peace
It should further seek to stabilize the Korean Peninsula such that future crises are less prone to spiral into a major conventional war that could ...
The US should sideline deterrence and let prevention lead the way | The Hill
The Hill
Leaders of America, China and Russia all agree that a nuclear war must never be fought and never can be won, especially if thermonuclear weapons are ...
Fear and Ambition Propel Xi's Nuclear Acceleration - Yahoo
Yahoo
Since China first tested an atomic bomb in 1964, its leaders have said that they would never be “the first to use nuclear weapons” in a war. China, ...
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Grappling with Nuclear Dangers at 90 Seconds to Midnight
Informed Comment
The top one was entitled “Emergency Planning at Connecticut's Nuclear Power Plants: A Guidebook for Our Neighbors” and was addressed to “Resident.
International missions continue to monitor BelNPP after start-up
BelTA – News from Belarus
The missions included comprehensive assessment of nuclear power infrastructure, safety assessment of emergency preparedness and response, personnel ...
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Why Some Insiders Fear This Is the Year North Korea Will Fire Nukes - The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
... attack and prepping for nuclear war ... threats of aggression” and “may be willing to take greater conventional ...
Defusing the Threat: The Stealth Warriors of the Nuclear Disablement Teams | SOFREP
SOFREP
Defusing the Threat: The Stealth Warriors of the Nuclear Disablement Teams ... In the shadows of the world's most perilous threats, the US Army's ...
Is a New Korean War in the Offing? - CounterPunch.org
Counterpunch
Bennett suggests that armed with more nuclear weapons in the years ahead, North Korea “could threaten one or more U.S. cities with nuclear attack if ...
Again, a most interesting and enlightening read, Lloyd.
Shirley Gaines