[ RadSafe ] Nuclear Power Study

[Steven Dapra]

Feb. 8

         A link to Beaver's article "Failed Promise":

http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_15_03_5_beaver.pdf

         On the second page of his article, Beaver says "a nuclear 
power revival is necessary."  Counting the references, the article is 
about 12 pages long.

         A link to the Yucca Mountain article is here:

http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=777

         I didn't want to download the article, hence I don't have 
the direct link.

Steven Dapra


At 02:09 PM 2/8/2011, you wrote:

>  From the web:
>
>Why Nuclear Power Lost Its Glow
>
>Nuclear power in the United States may soon undergo a revival. The 
>White House has pledged to triple the amount of federal loan 
>guarantees for the construction of new reactors; and the Department 
>of Energy has said that if big reactors are too costly to build, it 
>would support building smaller, cheaper ones designed to serve local 
>communities and businesses. This prospect raises the question: Why 
>did nuclear power languish for three decades?
>
>The answer may have little to do with standard explanations, such as 
>the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 and concerns about waste 
>disposal. According to sociologist William Beaver (Robert Morris 
>University), the seeds of the industry's demise were planted in the 
>1950s, when federal policymakers jumpstarted commercial nuclear 
>power with lavish subsidies. By 1960, federal subsidies to the 
>industry totaled about $7 billion in today's dollars.
>
>The government scramble, Beaver argues, bypassed the development of 
>economical nuclear power, which required time to mature and become a 
>routine industrial process. Had the federal role been more limited, 
>General Electric, Westinghouse, and other manufacturers would have 
>developed commercial reactors, but at a much slower pace. Beaver 
>writes: "Perhaps the country asked too much from the technology--a 
>resurgence of national vitality during the Cold War, along with the 
>enhanced prosperity that inexpensive energy helps to achieve."
>
>"The Failed Promise of Nuclear Power," by William Beaver (The 
>Independent Review, Winter 2011)
>
>"The Demise of Yucca Mountain," by William Beaver (The Independent 
>Review, Summer 2010)
>
>
>Joel I. Cehn
>joelc at alum.wpi.edu