[Leica] Energy sources

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

What ever happened to atomic power that was once touted as providing
electricity that would be too cheap to meter?

In fact the only two energy sources available for the US to become power
independent are coal and atomic energy. I served on a NAS committee that
reached this conclusion 35 years ago after the first Arab oil embargo and
little has changed since then. The basic problem of the US in using
renewable or environmentally produced energy is the distance between regions
which produce power and regions where the bulk of the energy is consumed.
Losses in the power grid make it necessary to construct generating
facilities reasonably close to big cities. Sure there is plenty of solar
power in Arizona and New Mexico but hardly anyone lives there. And a lot of
wind in the Great Plains too, about 1000 miles from major population
centers. In NY state, where I live, it has proven uneconomic to transmit
power from Niagara Falls on the western edge of the state to New York City
on the eastern edge.

Coal burning and atomic plants can be sited reasonably close to where the
generated power is actually used. The US has an estimated 1000 years worth
of coal and a large, but indeterminate, supply of atomic energy resources.
But clearly both types of generating facilities are undesirable neighbors.
Coal is one of the dirtiest fuels known. Burning it produces CO2, acid rain,
ash, and other toxic pollutants. Mining coal is one of the more hazardous
occupations known. Atomic energy plants are anxiety producing neighbors.
Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, although they happened nearly half a
century ago, still plague the dreams of nearby residents. We haven't figured
out a way to get rid of radioactive residues either. But if the world wants
energy independence from the totalitarian countries that control the bulk of
the world's oil, coal and atomic energy are our future. (Apologies to
Canada, Norway, and the UK.)

We live less that four miles away from a major atomic energy plant (Indian
Point) located adjacent to the prettiest portion of the Hudson River. It
hasn't been a bad neighbor at all. It pays half our school and property
taxes, employs a number of local people, and assures up of a reasonably
reliable source of electric power, although at Con Edison's inflated prices.
We don't need to turn on the lights to read at night. The green glow from
our finger tips illuminate the pages well.

One anecdote about the atomic plant. Every year at Earth Day there is an
organized protest at the gates of the plants by groups wishing to see it
closed. Many protesters arrive by motorcycle, obviously ignoring the fact
that they are 1000 times more likely to be killed on the ride to the plant
than if they lived next to it their entire lives. The morale: "You are as
safe as you think you are."

Sorry for the rant. Now I feel better.

Larry Z