WolfeNotes.com

While clearly Oyster Creek and other Nuclear facilities are aging, the issue becomes how rapidly can we replace those older units with the latest 4th generation “Julich” type high temperature gas cooled reactors. Having been proven in testing to be 50% more efficient and meltdown proof, locating them even in urban industrial centers becomes of great benefit not only for power generation, but by utilizing the high temperature helium at roughly 1,200-1,400 degrees, it can compliment such things as water desalinization, and a vast array of industrial and other processes. The replacement of older nuclear units, coal fired units, and a reasonable estimate of needed future power and other requirements, puts a ballfield total of some 350-400 new units on the agenda. By using a modular standardized design and production line style rigorous engineering manufacturing and assembly adaptable to now closed auto assembly plant or ship building facilities, costs, like what happening from initial hand assembled autos through evolving production techniques will rapidly reduce costs. We can produce nuclear plants like cargo ships were in WWII, and in fact one design now being built in Russia, is in fact in a “barge type configuration” that can be towed to and into a pre built dock/transmission line site.

peeltheonion: Recently I heard that the Europeans are using fusion reactors instead of the fission reactor. I thought that an economical way to use fusion and fuel it with radioactive waste from fission reactors hadn’t been found yet. But I haven’t really been paying much attention to the nuclear industry for awhile. Are Europeans using fusion and are governments subsidizing the fusion reactors? Or are they now economical?

While the energy potential of thermonuclear fusion is magnitudes greater than fission, the U.S., since it had the best idea of using a multi- avenue approach back in the early 1970’s, failed to take advantage of the lessons learned in the original “Manhattan Project”. That Manhattan Project proved that with a “brute-force” or what was called “Apollo Project” approach, time estimates were only guide posts constantly leap past by human ingenuity. By the late 1970’s laser beam, tokamak, and other approaches conducted at Princeton, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and other labs had identified the key areas of study of self organizing dynamic processes that if collaborated on by scientists in the U.S., the then U.S.S.R., and others, would have with the proper level of funding, had us today with commercially operating fusion reactors. In the latest issue of “21rst Century Science and Technology”, Linden Blue of General Atomics in an interview with an accompanying article, show why solar, wind, and coal are in the dark ages as compared to the fully utilized potential of the Juelich HTGC fission reactor, as the most readily useable technology now, on the way to developing fusion.

The point here is that Dennis Zannoni pointing out the flaws and potential dangers of renewng a license for the aging first generation Oyster Creek nuclear power plant got shut down and marginalized for trying to protect the public by the then DEP Commissioner who may soon become the head of the USEPA. Lisa Jackson caved to pressures from Exelon who wanted to squeeze another ten years out of a nuke plant that has far exceeded its life expectancy. Instead of spending the money to build a safer, more effiecient, lower impact fourth generation pebble bed reactor Excelon will make big profits by pushing this old plant past it safe lifespan. This bodes extremely poorly for the country when all signals are that Jackson is easily swayed by corporate honchos while shutting out public servants whose job it is to inform her of the issues.

I read through the transcript from the link you provided. There are so many red flags!
Here is where I think the biggest problem lies: RUCH: We know it’s somewhat impolitic for us to be questioning an Obama nomination. At this time, particularly someone who would be the first African-American head of EPA. So, to some extent, we are the skunk at the garden party.
Lisa Jackson is NOT the best this candidate to head the EPA.

And Jackson has a Masters from Princeton, which is, I believe, where Michele Obama got her law degree. She’s in like flint.