For Decades I Have been Totally Opposed to Atomic Power... However, the Continuation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant for another Five Years seems to make sense in this ONE CASE...
Headline: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant running until 2030, five years past its previous planned closure date.
The bill, SB-846, was similar to a proposal the governor put forth in August, but included some compromises.
This Summer when it was 113 Degrees for a week I ABSOLUTELY Wanted the Electricity to Flow... Powering the Air Conditioner here at Home... Even If My Comfort caused Problems for People Living in the Future...
The Basic problem with Atomic Energy is that It Creates Radioactive Waste that has to be Stored Safely for 10,000 Years... but I'll be Dead for Most of that time... and It Won't Matter to ME...
I'm Living HERE, NOW and I want that Air Conditioner to Work!
It appears that Solar and Wind is NOT Creating enough Electricity RIGHT NOW to Power Everything We Want to power... We may have enough capacity in 2030 but Today it's not enough... Especially Here near Sacramento where our Power Company, SMUD, gets most of its Electricity from Hydroelectric Dams on the American River... and the DROUGHT has reduced their output...
Remember: This Summer the Generators at the Oroville Dam TOTALLY STOPPED WORKING because there was no water flowing...
So... For an Extra Five Years we ought to keep Diablo Canyon Running... It'll cost $1.4 Billion Dollars of Federal Money to Pay PG&E to do the Needed Repairs and Maintenance... But It's TOTALLY WORTH IT... Especially Since the Money is Federal "Magic" Money... It's Created out of Thin Air... and It's Just Piling on to the $31 Trillion Federal Deficit... It's not REAL MONEY... It's Just Numbers in Computers... and Congress Already passed the Infrastructure Law... and Biden Signed it... So... Let's Spend it to Keep MY AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING.
Remember: Be Here Now - and If People in the Future Suffer for my Bad Choices... Sorry...
I lived next door to an Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant in Eureka, CA... PG&E Stopped Running the Reactor in 1974. They Stored the Waste in a Giant Swimming Pool for 40 years and then Moved it to Above Ground Casks... The only Foreseeable Problem is an Earthquake... and we Live in a Known Earthquake Zone... and Spilling the Toxic Waste on the Ground... or Terrorists creating a Dirty Bomb by Placing a Traditional Bomb under the Casks... However That's Unlikely... after all, there is a Fence to Keep the Crazies OUT!
Did You Know? A California Startup has Built a Slingshot to Launch Rockets to Outer Space... a VERY Practical Application of this Technology would be to Launch Atomic Waste into THE SUN... Just shoot it far enough UP and Towards The Sun... Gravity will Dispose of it forever...
Headline: Startup SpinLaunch completes first test flight with wild rocket-flinging launch system...
But I still think VOGTLE, Georgia is an Abomination! 16 Billion Dollars Over Budget and Six Years behind Schedule... and the Customers Will have to Pay for That Boondoggle!
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Headline: Greta Thunberg Says Germany Should Keep Its Nuclear Plants Open...
Germany shouldn’t close nuclear plants that are currently generating power if it means increasing the burning of coal, Greta Thunberg said.
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One other Thought... It Appears that the Vast Majority of People are NOT Changing their Behavior in order to Stop Climate Change...
For Example: People Still Fly in Jet Airplanes... and Those things Cause an Amazing Amount of Air Pollution that Causes Climate Change...
and People Keep on Driving Cars that Burn Gasoline... Often Just for Fun! I Understand that if you have to commute to get to work... there isn't much choice... if you are a parent, you have to be able to drive over to your kid's school and pick 'em up in an Emergency...
BUT... Driving 1,800 Miles for a Honeymoon is NOT UNDERSTANDING the Problem... Flying from San Francisco to New York to Visit the New Grandchildren... is NOT UNDERSTANDING the Problem...
and People are Rebuilding Homes in the Same Location that Was Destroyed... a Wildfire Wiped out Paradise, California and Many Residents are Building There Again...
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