[ RadSafe ] CA Nuclear Plants

[howard long]

FYI - 
Howard Long

NUCLEAR POWER GETS FRESH LOOK
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have signaled a new era of common sense    
for California regarding energy matters by announcing last week that    
nuclear power has a great future and should be considered, says the    
Appeal Democrat.  Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, (R-Irvine) has    
introduced two bills (AB 1776 and AB 2788) in the current session to    
repeal the state's nuclear power-plant prohibition.

Schwarzenegger and DeVore are joined by public opinion that    
increasingly looks favorably on nuclear energy:

  o  A 2006 poll of likely voters, for example, showed those    
      favoring nuclear power to be equal to those opposed, each    
      drawing 46 percent of responders.

  o  That's an impressive increase from just one year before when    
      opponents were 55 percent and those in favor only 37 percent.

There are at least 434 operating nuclear reactors worldwide meeting the    
electrical needs of a billion-plus people, according to a report by the    
National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA):

  o  Nuclear power provides about 75 percent of France's energy    
      and even 20 percent of U.S. power from 103 nuclear plants,    
      including two California plants in San Onofre and Diablo    
      Canyon.

  o  China plans 30 new nuclear reactors in the next five years.

  o  For 30 years there were no applications processed for nuclear    
      plants in California, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission    
      has received seven applications in the last year alone and    
      expects another dozen by year's end, representing a total of    
      22 reactors, according to the Sacramento Bee.

  o  A single, quarter-ounce pellet of uranium creates as much    
      energy as three and a half barrels of oil, 17,000 cubic feet    
      of natural gas or 1,780 pounds of coal -- without CO2    
      emissions.

Source: Editorial, "Nuclear Power Gets Fresh Look,"    
Appeal-Democrat, March 21, 2008.

For text:

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/gov_61732___article.html/nuclear_schwarzenegger.html