Opposition to

Nuclear Energy

“The blind and anti-scientific opposition to this proposition (nuclear energy) goes back to the mid-1980s when Greenpeace and much of the environmental movement made a sharp turn to the political left and began adopting extreme agendas that abandoned science and logic in favor of emotion and sensationalism.”* Dr. Patrick Moore, former executive of Greenpeace

Hmm! I can see the logic in this statement! Indeed, I have experienced it first hand! Early in ‘00 when I began to fight state control over groundwater I was hampered at every turn by environmental extremists who supported state control of groundwater. When I formed a group and began fighting the Lower Guadalupe Water Supply Project(LGWSP) we were quite alone for some considerable time in our efforts to save both our groundwater and the river water needed for the inflows to the bays and estuaries.

This is one reason I find it interesting that the Sierra Club which virtually kept quiet concerning the above mentioned project is now so excited about inflows to the bays and estuaries! I can only question: where were they in the thick of the battle?

Dr. Moore mentioned the political left. Our group never focused on politics, we were concerned with water. Liberal, conservative, left, right, Democrat or Republican, we all need clean water to live! Clear air to breathe and safe food to eat.

Politics have, however, snaked themselves into the issue and upon further examination I see the silly, insipid and insidious on both sides. Democrat Hillary Clinton has stated that those who disagree with the Global Warming as perpetrating an “attack on science.” Some Texas Republicans see locally elected water conservation districts as an “impediment to water marketing.”

Internationally, we are seeing an increase in the construction of new, Generation III+ nuclear reactors while I have personally been told that the industry is dying. A quick check of the facts of the matter indicate that Japan, the United Kingdom, China and Sweden are all building or preparing to build these new reactors. UK environmentalist James Lovelock warns, “Civilization is in imminent danger and has to use nuclear-the one safe, available energy source-or suffer the pain soon to be inflicted by our outraged planet.”*

“Nuclear energy can play a number of significant roles in improving the quality of our environment while at the same time providing abundant energy for a growing population.” Dr. Patrick Moore

In Victoria County we have an important opportunity to both provide that needed energy and reap the benefits of jobs and higher quality education for our community. I opposed the LGWSP because I felt OUR economic development was more important than that of San Antonio!

The low profile Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor planned for Victoria County is, by industry standards, “passively safe,” more efficient and uses less uranium fuel than the 30+ year old reactors in use in the U.S. today.

Having worked in co-generation, conventional steam power plants and chemical plants I can certainly testify that power plants in general are the cleanest plants to work in.

There has been some mindless speculation from some that a “lot of holes are going to be drilled down there and use up our groundwater!” I find this somewhat interesting since we have a locally controlled Groundwater Conservation District(GCD) that would regulate any such withdrawals. Interesting also that the same people who had ultimate faith in the need for a GCD now do not trust that entity to protect our groundwater! Stranger yet that those same folks have not even contacted the GCD to inquire about the prospect!

Truth be told, the ESBWR project for Victoria will require very little groundwater. Drinking, sanitary and reactor make-up water will require roughly 2000 acre/feet of groundwater per year! An extremely small amount of water indeed!

Since the last legislature directed, by codified law, that there must be water in the river adequate for inflows to the bays and estuaries, there is no way the plant can be permitted by TCEQ if those flows are not protected.

The builders of the project are, at this time, doing independent studies to confirm that the 75,000 a/f per year needed will actually be there. The idea that proper, documented studies would not be done for this multi-billion dollar project defies logic. In fact, the corporation’s stockholders would never allow the project to go forward without those studies!

As an environmentalist myself, I support the project. I also support wind, solar, photovoltaic, clean coal and geothermal energy production. I find it somewhat amusing and ironic that the attorney hired by a local ranching family to fight the Victoria nuclear project is also fighting a clean, renewable energy wind farm project near Kingsville.