American Enterprise Institute argues for Nuclear Industry

[kristopher]

Three Mile Island: "...there is no conclusive evidence that anyone was even injured that day-–but the incident did mark the beginning of the dark ages in the nuclear power industry in the US. New plant construction was halted. An absolutist opposition to nuclear power became a canon of the American left."

The Left: "According to the left's playbook, there is no viable way to reduce greenhouse gases except to ratchet up renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind power and clean coal technologies."

Renewable potential: "Let's be clear, we still get about 10,000% more energy from nuclear sources than from all the renewable (non-hydro) alternatives that exist in the world. A massive switchover to alternatives is not and never was technologically feasible."

Waste: "Concerns over emissions and waste, once considered insurmountable, are dated. The "emissions" from nuclear power plants are almost the same as any large concrete structure. There is little evidence that the very occasional low radioactive air releases represent any health risks.... The problem results from decisions made in the 1970s to halt fuel reprocessing, which reduces the volume of spent fuel by 97%. France reprocesses and stores beneath the floor of one room in their La Hague plant all of their waste from 30 years of nuclear energy production."

Nuclear industry: "The problem results from decisions made in the 1970s to halt fuel reprocessing, which reduces the volume of spent fuel by 97%. France reprocesses and stores beneath the floor of one room in their La Hague plant all of their waste from 30 years of nuclear energy production.


http://www.aei.org/article/101875

So all you "lefties" out there, remember, you are for coal and your objections to nuclear are based on a hysterical over-reaction to the non-event that was the TMI meltdown.

[Statistical]

1. TMI was a non-event.

Pressure vessel never breached. Containment held. Emergency systems worked as expected (despite operators). Fission was halted and core was cooled before it would melt reactor vessel.

We learned a lot from the experience and new procedures, instruments, and training were added.

[kristopher]

2. Confirmed on DU - "TMI was a non-event."