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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
Thanks to all, interesting discussion.
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
Just how do you de-commission a nuke plant?
Have many commercial plants have been shut down permanently? -
hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
Thanks for the link.
The really appalling detail is that, if I recall correctly, a 900 MW reactor produces 30 tons of radioactive waste a year.
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
Regarding nuclear waste. Spent fuel rods still contain more than 90% fissionable material (soured with fission products), but are not re-processed in North America. Is mining and processing new nuclear fuel so much cheaper than re-cycling?
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
It was interesting to discover that the utility rate increases consumers are paying to finance the building of Southern’s newly licensed reactors will continue for an indefinite time, no matter if the reactors ever go on line. Sounds like they’re turning these new nuke projects into free money whether or not they are ever finished.
Interesting that the construction has been going on for some time – long before the license was granted.
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
There has been talk of building nuclear reactors to supply the heat required to process the bitumen. Currently they are using a lot of natural gas.
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel
Welcome,
Authors. I’ve not read all of the book yet, but I find it intensely interesting and thoroughly engrossing. Great work, well detailed. Highly recommended.
It is clean that nuclear power has not delivered the promises of the ’50s. I appreciated your discussion of the lack of progress in efficiency and cost-effectiveness over the the decades, as compared to the development of other technologies over the same period.
In the “Nuclear Power is Green”-myth section you say of climate change science, “The subject is essentially a scientific debate. It therefore has shades and nuances of meaning but contains no neutral truths and remains far from settled” p.49 Do you have questions about the degree of human influence on the climate?
You also express little faith in the future of wind and solar power as major sources of energy.
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hpschd commented on the diary post Occupy Oakland (OO): Mayor Quan Says Not Again by Louis.
Occupy must be working. They are so frightened of it.
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hpschd commented on the diary post Pull Up a Chair and Bee Updated by eCAHNomics.
You might want to consider vetch. It is hardy, perennial, and the very pretty blossoms make great bee-fodder, although they bloom much later than periwinkle. Seems controversial, though. Sigh. Maybe American vetch ? For ‘earlies’ we have snowdrops, which are much visited by bees, and which gracefully disappear after blooming (unlike tulips and such — those great, floppy [...]
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hpschd commented on the diary post Pull Up a Chair and Bee Updated by eCAHNomics.
Yes indeed! In fact, periwinkle is considered an invasive plant here, and not allowed in yards that border on parkland, ravines, or other open land. (there are other, better links, but City of Toronto *loves* pdf’s, and I do not). However, it is one of the few things that will grow under my big old maple [...]
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hpschd commented on the diary post Pull Up a Chair and Bee Updated by eCAHNomics.
Tom, E-Chan,all — good morning! Been wondering about your girls, E-chan, and happy to find this post today. We are having a light drizzle here in Toronto, after more than a week of sunny days. The warm winter has given us everything that blooms happening all at once. I have never seen so many bloissoms [...]
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes William deBuys, A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest
I am concerned that water will become a commodity under NAFTA and once that happens, there will be only limited control over the export of vast quantities of water.
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hpschd commented on the blog post FDL Book Salon Welcomes William deBuys, A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest
I am in Canada. I wonder how long it will take before they build pipelines from Canada to the SW US to carry *water*.
Do you address the issue of water wars and water commodification?
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hpschd commented on the diary post A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest – Book Salon Preview by Elliott.
Welcome William DeBuys and Brad Johnson I am in Canada. It seems to me that it is only a matter of time for new pipelines to be build to carry water from Canada to the SE US. Thanks to NAFTA. I’ve not read your book yet (I’ll request it for the Toronto library) Do you [...]
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hpschd wrote a new diary post: Phosphates and the world’s longest conveyor belt
I started out by wondering about TSP – Trisodium phosphate – in cleaning solution. Phosphates are an environmental hazard when they end up in rivers and lakes because blue-green algae just love it and crowd out everything else, eating up all the oxygen in the water. Phosphates in fertilizer are an integral component of ‘Green [...]
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hpschd commented on the blog post Sunday Late Night: Lurkers, Please De-Cloak
The second book I mentioned, “Health Care”, describes the Canadian system through it’s history and current format. They talk about how the system needs to be protected from privatization and how it can be improved.
I’ve been reading both books and tracking down articles by others. I’d like to do a diary on the subject. It’s a great system that is currently under an ‘austerity’ attack (which is totally un-justified).
Many doctors were relieved when the single-payer system was set up because they were getting paid for everything they did in dollars (as opposed to chickens, ducks, geese, produce, handmade stuff, etc.)
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hpschd commented on the blog post Sunday Late Night: Lurkers, Please De-Cloak
It’s a book. And there’s “Health Care” by the same authors, Pat and Hugh Armstrong. They’re a couple working at two different universities here (Kingston and Ottawa). They have been tracking the Canadian health care system for 20 years.
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hpschd commented on the blog post Sunday Late Night: Lurkers, Please De-Cloak
Hear, Hear! for Kim Stanley Robinson. R,G,B Mars is fabulous!
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hpschd commented on the blog post Sunday Late Night: Lurkers, Please De-Cloak
Hi ET!
I’m back and forth tonight while stringing a new instrument. Delivered a big one recently and it looks like we may survive for a bit longer.
re: Canadian health care
The system is gradually and almost invisibly being privatized piecemeal via clinics and testing labs and closing hospitals. Harper is a real master at getting his
conservativereform agenda out and very un-transparent.Highly recommended, “Wasting away : the undermining of Canadian health care” by Pat and Hugh Armstrong
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hpschd commented on the blog post Sunday Late Night: Lurkers, Please De-Cloak
Hi,
I’m a US ex-pat living in Toronto, and I feel much the same as you. I really wish we had such a great asset as FDL in Canada. We have rabble.ca which is pretty good and I follow the Council of Canadians at http://www.canadians.org/.
One of the best features here at FDL is the remarkable set of posters and commenters, many of whom are here right now!
Book Salons are are a favourite (CA sp) for me.
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