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Re: foundation awards unplug salem 12K
Although I am NOT a supporter of "Unplug Salem," your statement that the
current generation of nuclear power plants is "inherently safe," is, at best a
stretch. They are dependent on active safety systems, which require frequent
surveillances, a great deal of operator attention, and, generally, frequent
maintenance.
We'd also be well-served by forgetting about those "atoms for peace" promises
of "electricity too cheap to meter." We can be competitive with other power
generation processes, but not much better than that.
While not accepting our critics at face value, if we are to survive, we must
maintain the ability to identify and learn from our mistakes.
The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
It's not about dose, it's about trust.
Curies forever.
Bill Lipton
liptonw@dteenergy.com
"Otto G. Raabe" wrote:
> May 12, 2002
> Davis, CA
>
> What a great disservice to our nation and the environment to oppose the use
> of nuclear power for the generation of badly needed electrical energy. Not
> only are current nuclear power plants inherently safe, but they don't
> really pollute. Out nation already has all the nuclear fuel that is
> necessary to provide all the electrical energy that we need for the whole
> century in the form of plutonium and depleted uranium. With plentiful
> electricity we can desalinate ocean water to provide needed drinking water
> and make hydrogen fuel by hydrolysis of water to operate pollution
> fuel-cell-powered automobiles with an end to foreign oil dependence. That's
> what real environmentalists should support.
>
> Although the technical and safety aspects of nuclear waste disposal have
> been long solved, the perceptual and political forces driven by such
> misguided folks as Norman Cohen and the so-called Coalition for Peace and
> Justice (sic) and the UNPLUG Salem Campaign continue to claim that there is
> no solution or promulgate fallacies about the impact of nuclear power
> plants on people and the environment. What sad nonsense! Instead they
> promote the extremely expensive (more than 50 cents per kwh) and
> impractical solar and wind power approaches that would serious hurt our
> environment. Can you image covering 25 square miles with solar collectors
> and support roads to equal one Salem nuclear power plant, and drastically
> increasing the cost of electricity with a power source that turns off every
> night. How about covering 10% of New Jersey with wind generators? That will
> assure that the wild bird population does not get too large.
>
> Unfortunately, there can be no useful dialogue with Norman Cohen or any of
> the anti-nuclear activists because there convictions far exceed their
> ability to reason. I recommend that we all just delete his messages without
> reading whenever we see them posted.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Otto
>
> **********************************************
> Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
> Center for Health & the Environment
> (Street Address: Bldg. 3792, Old Davis Road)
> University of California, Davis, CA 95616
> E-Mail: ograabe@ucdavis.edu
> Phone: (530) 752-7754 FAX: (530) 758-6140
> ***********************************************
> ***********************************
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