"Wash. gov says nuclear energy must be considered"
Gov. Chris Gregoire is applauding President Barack Obama's recent push for nuclear power...She says the Northwest is in good shape to develop alternative energy sources ... She says nuclear energy must be part of that mix.I commend Gregoire for endorsing nuclear power. But the justification of "global climate change" concerns me, now that the "settled science" is looking increasinginly unsettled. What cutting edge science might inspire Gregoire's next policy proposal? Autism vaccination research?With global climate change, Gregoire says "options that were off the table now are on the table."
In any event, Gregoire usually only talks up things for government to do, so hope she's not scheming for a state-managed nuclear mega-project. That evokes other financial Chernobyls like Brightwater, Sound Transit, the Viaduct, etc. But maybe my concerns are misplaced. What could possibly go wrong with state-owned nuclear power plants?
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at February 03, 2010 05:19 PM | Email ThisWPPSS!!
Posted by: Stewart Street on February 3, 2010 07:01 PMNuclear power is a good thing, but as with any venture conceived and managed by Dimocrats....a BAD choice for folks expecting any return for their dollar.
Posted by: Saltherring on February 3, 2010 07:33 PMIt's not just that most of their policies are dumb, it's the sloppy management and execution.
You can bet that they will soon have full ownership of the radioactive decay series.
And, obviously, the windfall taxes and regulatory revenue if a new nuclear power plant should ever be built.
I'm enjoying the conundrum. Nuclear equals every kind of "green" there is. Plus promising it is an easy lie.
Obama and Gregoire are making false promises about their support for nuclear.
The idiotic paranoia in our population of anything that makes a Geiger Counter click means that nuclear will never be accepted.
Nevermind that the fatalities associated with nuclear energy production show the lowest death rates of any practical power generation.
The most dangerous job in the country is now rigging windmill generator towers.
Obama also promised off-shore oil drilling.
He may as well promise a green job for our 20% un-employed. Oh. Oops. I think he did that.
Posted by: Bart Cannon on February 3, 2010 10:11 PMHow the hell is he/she gonna allow nuclear power plants (and by the way, where the hell have they been the last few decades???) when they don't have a plan for the waste?
Nuclear power is clean. Nuclear power works when it's cold. It works when it's cloudy. It works when there is no wind.
And since it works, Democrats will never actually allow it to go forward.
#10. Exactly. Republicans would actually permit nuclear power plants to be built, and when they are back in power in November, the Dems will scream holy hell about it. You can set your clock by it.
So, Democrats, please understand, I *agree* with your rhetoric about building nuclear power plants, I just don't *believe* that you will do so.
Posted by: Gary on February 4, 2010 06:29 AMI don't know that much about Brightwater, aside from the fact it's PAID FOR by the people who caused the need for more sewer capacity.
When the Sound Politics echo chamber was cheering on W's fishing expedition in Iraq, I don't remember a single dittohead here calling for a means to PAY FOR IT. Now, that's how you cause a meltdown.
Similarly, Shark has been mimicking some crazy guy's claims about a Sound Transit WPPSS style meltdown for over a decade. That agency employed a conservative finance plan - unlike the SP favored bus agency, which actually IS on the edge of meltdown. And again, Sound Transit light rail has a dedicated funding source, chosen by the taxpayers themselves.
I would imagine that conservative confusion about how to PAY FOR THINGS may be rooted in the Reagan Wing. Ronald Reagan was a master at telling folks he didn't like Big Government, and didn't want them to have to pay for it. Well, it turned out that Reagan did a fine job of growing government; he simply didn't pay for that growth. This is what's called "conservative problem-solving."
That politically successful policy rendered financial Chernobyl results which last to this day.
Posted by: Reagan's Free Lunch on February 4, 2010 10:00 AMAnd believe me as one who was working during WHOOPS, that construction project ate up all the local talent. Ergo, if you want shovel ready and you want to throw money at public works jobs- build more nukes and put people to work.
Posted by: swatter on February 4, 2010 01:13 PM