Nuclear Power (spun off from Japan earthquake discussion)

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

Yes, it is obviously dangerous to build nuclear power plants on a major fault zone, and in a place that's susceptible to tsunamis. How much of the US should heed this warning about where not to build Randolf?

Well, California is riddled with faults and no way to predict when one of them will cut loose. The San Onofre nuclear plant is directly upwind from where I live, not a pleasent thought. It's built right on the beach with faults offshore by islands where underwater landslides could occur and produce a tsunami. Probably the "safest" nuclear plant I know of is in the middle of Arizona. The cooling water is supplied from the Colorado river.
Certainly the combination of earthquake and tsunami that devastated the nuclear plants in Japan was a rare and unusual event. The destruction of power lines to the plant and damage to the plumbing, pumps and backup generators has prevented rapid stabilization of the nuclear facilities. Could this happen here? I think it is very doubtful such a catastrophic event could happen here. That's not to say that our nuclear facilities are one hundred percent reliable, however. We have 23 GE Mark 1 nuclear reactors similar to the ones in Japan. As long as the coolant water system is functioning, they seem to be fine. Newer plants rely on convection cooling rather than pumps. Pehaps, it is time to retire the Mark 1s.
Oh wait! we have an oil problem, don't we!

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Pehaps, it is time to retire the Mark 1s.
Oh wait! we have an oil problem, don't we!

Well it's probably time to retire ANY nuclear reactors that are on a fault, and find whoever authorized it and either convict them or put them in a mental institution. But reactors similar to the ones in Japan would probably be just fine in most of the rest of the US.

But yes, we have an oil problem, which is not helped by the moratoreum on drilling in the gulf. BO wants to (or has he already) tax coal into oblivion. He continues to restrict drilling in the gulf. If politicians succeed in shutting down nuclear reactors here then what then? Are we supposed to power our country with windmills?

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

Well it's probably time to retire ANY nuclear reactors that are on a fault, and find whoever authorized it and either convict them or put them in a mental institution. But reactors similar to the ones in Japan would probably be just fine in most of the rest of the US.

But yes, we have an oil problem, which is not helped by the moratoreum on drilling in the gulf. BO wants to (or has he already) tax coal into oblivion. He continues to restrict drilling in the gulf. If politicians succeed in shutting down nuclear reactors here then what then? Are we supposed to power our country with windmills?

Remember the movie "Soylent Green"?

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Remember the movie "Soylent Green"?

Well the consumer price index just rose the highest it's risen in 2 years. Corn and other prices are sky rocketing. So that may be an option.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

Well the consumer price index just rose the highest it's risen in 2 years. Corn and other prices are sky rocketing. So that may be an option.

Isn't it true that according to economic theory, prices should decline during a recession?
Humm, I wonder what's going on.

[smc]

Originally Posted by randolph

Isn't it true that according to economic theory, prices should decline during a recession?
Humm, I wonder what's going on.

It is ONLY a theory that prices SHOULD go down in a recession. Reality has shown that it doesn't necessarily work that way.

Prices change because of fluctuations in supply of and demand for goods as well as supply of and demand for money. Most people tend to forget about the money issue. The theory is based on the assumption that greater supply and less demand of GOODS caused by a recession will lead to lower prices.

Keep in mind that the money supply is always expanding, which automatically leads to a continuous inflationary pressure -- which may or may not rear its ugly head as actual inflation in the economy, depending on other circumstances. If wages remain low and economic growth is stagnant or declining, as in a recession, the pressure on manufacturers and sellers of goods with respect to prices may not necessarily work as one would expect. Depending on the particularities of the recession at any given moment, some prices may be increased to compensate for the shortfall in overall sales of goods. That equals inflation.

[randolph]

From Huffingtonpost

TOKYO -- Behind Japan's escalating nuclear crisis sits a scandal-ridden energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses.
Leaks of radioactive steam and workers contaminated with radiation are just part of the disturbing catalog of accidents that have occurred over the years and been belatedly reported to the public, if at all.
In one case, workers hand-mixed uranium in stainless steel buckets, instead of processing by machine, so the fuel could be reused, exposing hundreds of workers to radiation. Two later died.
"Everything is a secret," said Kei Sugaoka, a former nuclear power plant engineer in Japan who now lives in California. "There's not enough transparency in the industry."
Sugaoka worked at the same utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant where workers are racing to prevent a full meltdown following Friday's 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami.
In 1989 Sugaoka received an order that horrified him: edit out footage showing cracks in plant steam pipes in video being submitted to regulators. Sugaoka alerted his superiors in the Tokyo Electric Power Co., but nothing happened ? for years. He decided to go public in 2000. Three Tepco executives lost their jobs.
The legacy of scandals and cover-ups over Japan's half-century reliance on nuclear power has strained its credibility with the public. That mistrust has been renewed this past week with the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant. No evidence has emerged of officials hiding information in this catastrophe. But the vagueness and scarcity of details offered by the government and Tepco ? and news that seems to grow worse each day ? are fueling public anger and frustration.
"We don't know what is true. That makes us worried," said Taku Harada, chief executive of the Tokyo-based Internet startup Orinoco. Harada said his many American friends are being urged to leave the capital while the Japanese government says the area is safe, probably to avoid triggering panic.

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Isn't it true that according to economic theory, prices should decline during a recession?
Humm, I wonder what's going on.

High gas prices means the price of every thing goes up. It's interesting that you don't hear much panic via the news about the rise in gas prices this time. I guess they're always doing their part to make their chosen one look good.