http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/6931 Much has been said about the need to abandon nuclear power and use all the alternatives at hand.   I find it interesting that those who bemoan taxpayer grants for nuclear power producers are strangely silent concerning the huge subsidies doled out over the past 30 years by the Department of Energy(DOE) to alternative power producers.   According to the ASME.org* website, "...DOE granted $40 million in seed money to private companies to develop low cost, utility-scale wind turbines. This despite the fact that according to the article, "...many experts in the power business are dubious about the future of wind energy in the United States." When you add all the other subsidies over the years the numbers are staggering.   Now I personally believe wind power will come into it's own soon and will be invaluable to American power consumers. I also support photovoltaic, solar and ocean wave generation of power. In fact France, China and Russia are among those already using ocean wave generators.   We must realize, however, that there is no generation of power without a cost-a human footprint! Some of the talk is serious and should concern us and some of it is silly and should be largely ignored.   Dr. Carey King and Dr. Michael Webber of the Environmental Science and Technology Department at the University of Texas did a study recently and drew the conclusion that electric cars use too much water! According to King and Webber a lot of water will be used to generate the electricity needed to charge the car's batteries. The articles written about the study inferred electric cars were a bad idea. Ah, excuse me! That water, turned to steam in the generation process comes right back into the eco-system as rain! It doesn't disappear from the earth!   Everywhere you turn there is someone pointing out something wrong with just about every way we generate power or power our transportation! Bio-diesel plants are spilling cooking oil, albeit bio-degradable, into various waterways. Many of those who complain so loudly about various power generation methods then drive home and buzz open their garage door and walk in their home and drop the thermostat and start their electric oven for the meatloaf while they use an electric can opener for the green beans and let the shower run until the water is hot and turn the TV on, while the robot is cleaning the pool and every light in the house is on and...   Nuclear power has been reliable and the new Generation III+ plants will be safer, greener and more efficient.   Yes, let's increase our use of alternative power generation but let's not destroy the bridge we're on before we get there!   Despite global warming claims the north east suffered a brutal winter this year. Can you imagine the cost of heating oil hitting the elderly, retired and the average working people? Our reliance on foreign imports is including more natural gas every year. We must use a source of power that produces a great amounts of electricity and produces no greenhouse gases. That power is nuclear power!   *ASME International is a 125,000-member organization focused on technical, educational and research issues. ASME conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds numerous technical conferences worldwide, and offers hundreds of professional development courses each year. ASME sets internationally recognized industrial and manufacturing codes and standards that enhance public welfare and safety.   Much has been said about the need to abandon nuclear power and use all the alternatives at hand.   I find it interesting that those who bemoan taxpayer grants for nuclear power producers are strangely silent concerning the huge subsidies doled out over the past 30 years by the Department of Energy(DOE) to alternative power producers.   According to the ASME.org* website, "...DOE granted $40 million in seed money to private companies to develop low cost, utility-scale wind turbines. This despite the fact that according to the article, "...many experts in the power business are dubious about the future of wind energy in the United States." When you add all the other subsidies over the years the numbers are staggering.   Now I personally believe wind power will come into it's own soon and will be invaluable to American power consumers. I also support photovoltaic, solar and ocean wave generation of power. In fact France, China and Russia are among those already using ocean wave generators.   We must realize, however, that there is no generation of power without a cost-a human footprint! Some of the talk is serious and should concern us and some of it is silly and should be largely ignored.   Dr. Carey King and Dr. Michael Webber of the Environmental Science and Technology Department at the University of Texas did a study recently and drew the conclusion that electric cars use too much water! According to King and Webber a lot of water will be used to generate the electricity needed to charge the car's batteries. The articles written about the study inferred electric cars were a bad idea. Ah, excuse me! That water, turned to steam in the generation process comes right back into the eco-system as rain! It doesn't disappear from the earth!   Everywhere you turn there is someone pointing out something wrong with just about every way we generate power or power our transportation! Bio-diesel plants are spilling cooking oil, albeit bio-degradable, into various waterways. Many of those who complain so loudly about various power generation methods then drive home and buzz open their garage door and walk in their home and drop the thermostat and start their electric oven for the meatloaf while they use an electric can opener for the green beans and let the shower run until the water is hot and turn the TV on, while the robot is cleaning the pool and every light in the house is on and...   Nuclear power has been reliable and the new Generation III+ plants will be safer, greener and more efficient.   Yes, let's increase our use of alternative power generation but let's not destroy the bridge we're on before we get there!   Despite global warming claims the north east suffered a brutal winter this year. Can you imagine the cost of heating oil hitting the elderly, retired and the average working people? Our reliance on foreign imports is including more natural gas every year. We must use a source of power that produces a great amounts of electricity and produces no greenhouse gases. That power is nuclear power!   *ASME International is a 125,000-member organization focused on technical, educational and research issues. ASME conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds numerous technical conferences worldwide, and offers hundreds of professional development courses each year. ASME sets internationally recognized industrial and manufacturing codes and standards that enhance public welfare and safety.   en-us I agree completely, There is a big push from Senator Kennedy about off shore wind farms... See, the people don't want the view obstructed. The generation 3 reactors are leaps and bounds safer and more effectient then the first and second gen. In Generation 3, we are not attempting to slow down the neutrons, this way we can use Uranium 238 and 235. This has advantages all the way around. Space Solar power is very promising but is a few years off before we can get a working concept up. There are a number of problems with this that have to be worked out, but ultimately will come about. Hydrogen power for cars is the way to go.. The only draw back is the by product is water. This is not a problem in and of itself, however if its not captured it can be. Water vapor is heavier then the green house gases produced by cars today. There is always problems with anything that we come up with, this is why it is not going to be one, single solution but several. Keep up the good work http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/6931/#c_42402 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/KennethSchustereit/6931/#c_42402 I agree completely, There is a big push from Senator Kennedy about off shore wind farms... See, the people don't want the view obstructed. The generation 3 reactors are leaps and bounds safer and more effectient then the first and second gen. In Generation 3, we are not attempting to slow down the neutrons, this way we can use Uranium 238 and 235. This has advantages all the way around. Space Solar power is very promising but is a few years off before we can get a working concept up. There are a number of problems with this that have to be worked out, but ultimately will come about. Hydrogen power for cars is the way to go.. The only draw back is the by product is water. This is not a problem in and of itself, however if its not captured it can be. Water vapor is heavier then the green house gases produced by cars today. There is always problems with anything that we come up with, this is why it is not going to be one, single solution but several. Keep up the good work