subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Thu, Aug 21 2008 

Published: June 24, 2008 12:30 pm    print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Nuclear power plants worth exploring

Loné Beasley Publisher

Back in the late 1970s a great hue and cry went up from environmentalists paranoid over a push to build nuclear power plants, so much so the idea eventually went by the wayside. The infamous Three Mile Island incident in March 1979 near Middletown, Pennsylvania had skeptical naysayers nearly beside themselves saying, in effect, “I told you so!” With that “disaster” the move toward nuclear power breathed its last.

Jimmy Carter’s presidential commission issued a 178 page report blaming the incident on mechanical malfunction complicated by operator error and mismanagement.

But was it really such a great disaster? Hardly. No lives were lost, nothing was contaminated and no one died of radiation poisoning.

The subject comes up again due to spiraling energy costs and Republican Presidential candidate John McCain’s recent bold announcement that he wants 45 new nuclear reactors built in the United States by 2030.

According to the New York Times there are currently 104 reactors supplying approximately 20 percent of America’s energy needs.

Part of McCain’s thinking on the issue is colored by the fact other industrial powers are constructing new nuclear power plants of their own. The Times quotes the presidential candidate as saying, “China, Russia and India are all planning to build more than a hundred new power plants among them in the coming decades. Across Europe there are 197 reactors in operation, and nations including France and Belgium derive more than half their electricity from nuclear power. And if all these nations can find a way to carry out great goals in energy policy, then I assure you that the United States is more than equal to the challenge.”

McCain didn’t speculate on how these reactors would be financed, and to start construction of 45 new ones may be overreaching due to construction costs.

Still, perhaps the most telling piece of evidence regarding nuclear power plant safety in America is that since the Three Mile Island incident almost three decades ago no other nuclear accident has been reported. Nuclear power is safe, clean and relatively inexpensive. McCain’s idea is worth exploring.

print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.



monster
wheels
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premium jobs

40353
EDUARDO’S Now Accepting Applications for All Positions. Full or Part Time. Apply in person at 1240 North Hills Centre....>MORE

40355
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. is hiring at our Ada, OK store! Assistant Manager - Up to $10.00 hr. DOE. *1 ...>MORE

#40485
SIGN-ON BONUS
The Daily Oklahoman has routes available in the Ada
& Allen areas. Call 405-475-3612
...>MORE

40316
PERSONAL CARE AIDE needed for the Ada area. Please call Darla Curley @ HealthCare Innovations, Private Services, Inc. 87...>MORE

40447
OFFICE ASSISTANT - Full Time or Part Time. Send reply to File 214 c/o Ada Evening News, P.O. Box 489, Ada OK 74821....>MORE

40449
The Chickasaw Nation is accepting applications for the following: * Licensed Practical Nurse For a description of the Ch...>MORE

40477
Management - Republic Loans has an opening for the position of assistant manager. We prefer someone with collections, fi...>MORE

#40432
Full Time Travel Agent We will train.
Needed to work 8:30 am to 5 pm,
Monday - Friday. Send reply to Box 215 c
...>MORE

40374
May's Home Care
Are you an RN or LPN who is searching for...
• a family friendly schedule? • a Monday - Friday
...>MORE

40458
McCortney Family Hospice searching for
• F/T RN Case Manager
• On-Call LPN - Part Time or Full Time
No ho
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2008. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index