Bad day in Oklahoma
Recently, Jay Honeck posted:
I find it supremely ironic that the ultimate solution to our
problems in the Middle East, as well as the ultimate solution to
our so-called climate crisis, is being politically quashed by the
same people who are screaming the loudest against burning
petrochemical fuels.
I find off-hand comments about "ultimate solutions" a bit
concerning. Care to elaborate?
Electricity created with nuclear fission can be used to create all
sorts of alternative fuels, from clean-burning hydrogen, to ethanol.
For reasons that are clear only to the activists themselves, dirty
and dangerous coal -- and politically unstable oil and natural gas --
are seen as "safer" than nuclear energy.
Thanks for the clarification! Not that I think that the solution is all
that simple.
Technically speaking, I agree that nuclear fission offers a more efficient
and less poluting source of energy than burning fossil fuels. However,
practically speaking, the process of obtaining nuclear fuel and containing
the waste (we have no real way to "dispose" of it) is problematic, even
disregarding issues presented by those with malicious intent. At this
point in time, these problems more than offset the benefits. Lest someone
gets the wrong impression, I am not an "anti-nuclear" activist. But, I
*do* live in Ohio, downwind from the plant that nearly had a hole eaten
through the reactor lid, and therefore have an interest in the way that
situation is being dealt with (yes, it's not over yet, folks!).
Thus, when these very same "environmentalists" protest against the
use of non-renewable energy (oil, coal, gas) and "global warming"
it's impossible to take them seriously. Their actions speak far
louder than their words.
Is this really an either/or issue, though? We could solve our problems in
the same way that they're solved in other countries; tax the heck out of
gas. How many Hummers with one person in them would we see on the road if
gas was $7.00 a gallon? As I see it, our biggest problem is that we
squander non-renewable energy sources.
Neil
|