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Energy
So,
we have some long term energy problems with our dependence on
fossil fuels. There really isn't much question about that. You
can expect to hear a
lot of talk over the next decade to the effect that we need
to start licensing and building nuclear power plants to reduce
our dependence on petroleum power. There are a
few problems with this approach that won't get much airtime
because the business of building nuclear power plants is going
to have some serious support from industries that stand to make
a profit in the construction. But here is at least part of the
downside:
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We still don't know of a safe place to store
radioactive
waste. We have tried storing it in big underground
tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Guess what?
The radioactive waste has a half-life of several thousand
years and it appears that the tanks have a full life of less
than 100 years. Many of these tanks are leaking and
there is a radioactive plume of
contaminated groundwater
heading for the Columbia River.
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Hanford is pretty much shot for nuclear storage at this
point. Washington State passed
Initiative 297 by a 69% to 31% vote tally to bar
importation of more nuclear waste to the Evergreen State.
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Thank goodness the waste is headed to a safe place like
Yucca Mountain, right? Well
maybe it's a safe place to store radioactive material
for ten thousand years. And maybe it's not.
Do we have other choices? Could we choose
power sources that are clean and safe? Power sources that will
still be producing power when our grandchildren are enjoying
time with their grandchildren?
Check out our friends at the
Energy Outreach Center. Ideas and projects that are good for
a business cycle or two, then dangerous for ten thousand years
may not be the way we really want to go.
If you are visiting the Olympia area and
have an interest in the green life, consider laying over at
Fertile Ground Guesthouse.
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