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Nukes. Baby, Nukes
By Bradley Blakeman
FOXNews.com
With regard to our
energy independence, the BP oil disaster should be a call to action.
Everyone knows we are dependent on fossil fuels coming from foreign sources
yet; no one to
date has the will to do anything serious and credible about it.
Nuclear energy is the Holy Grail of clean, safe and affordable energy
that America can produce and exploit without detriment to the environment.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Glen L. Mc Cullough, Jr., the
former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Glen wrote a terrific
paper entitled, "Five Smart Energy Steps for America." This is what Glen
said with regard to nuclear power:
Build advanced nuclear energy plants.
Nuclear energy provides 20 percent of the nation's electricity but comprises
70 percent of our carbon-free electricity with no nitrogen oxides, sulfur
dioxide, mercury or particulate emissions. Nuclear plants are online 91
percent of the time making nuclear the most reliable source of electricity.
Nuclear energy is affordable with an average cost of around 1.9 cents per
kWh.
Nuclear energy is safe. The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that it is safer to work in a nuclear power plant than in a bank. Nuclear energy is also sustainable: ample uranium supplies exist and the U.S. should begin to recycle used fuel, which can power our nuclear plants for centuries.
But we must close the fuel cycle -- the U.S. Department of Energy should comply with the Nuclear Energy Act of 1982 and utilize the more than $24 billion paid by ratepayers to build a secure, national repository like Yucca Mountain.
Nuclear energy can be
an economic boon. According to one of the largest U.S. electric utility
companies, building 1,000 megawatts of advanced nuclear energy provides more
than twice the amount of jobs than wind and six times more jobs than solar.
What's more nuclear power plant employees earn high average salaries -- yet
another reason 74 percent of Americans favor nuclear energy.
America
today has approximately 100 operating nuclear power plants. For the past 30
years America all but put a complete halt to construction of new nuclear
power plants in spite of the fact that the U.S. was the pioneer of this
technology. Today the U.S. Navy operates over 150 nuclear powered
ships and submarines. The Department of Defense has relied heavily on
nuclear power while the private sector has been shut down by government
regulation and environmental objection.
France is about the size of
Texas and primarily relies on nuclear power for its electricity needs. In
addition, France is the world's largest exporter of electric power.
So, not only is France providing adequately for
its own needs but it is also selling excess to other nations in Europe.
France has become an example for the rest of the world for providing clean
and affordable energy.
Nuclear power plants do not pollute the air or
produce greenhouse gases.
Today, thanks to technology, spent radioactive
fuel can be reprocessed to recover fissile and fertile materials thereby
providing fresh fuel for plants. Sadly, in America today there exists no
civilian reprocessing plants in operation, although three have been built at
great expense.
The world is passing by the very country that invented
clean and safe nuclear power.
If our country is serious about
becoming energy independent and free from foreign sources of fossil fuel
then we need to get serious and build within the next 15 years 200 nuclear
power plants throughout our nation.
We should also demand
that Yucca Mountain be opened for
storage as well as reprocessing. The average time for the
permitting and construction of a nuclear power plant is between 8-10 years.
The average life span of a nuclear power plant is 30+ years. Think of the
jobs that could be created and the costs that could be amortized over long
periods of time to make nuclear power affordable. It is a win win.
America needs a "moon shot" on energy and nuclear power is not "pie in the
sky." If other countries can rely on nuclear power as a main source of their
electricity needs then America should as well.
Forget "drill,
baby, drill" we need "nukes, baby, nukes."
Bradley
A. Blakeman served as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush from
2001-04. He is currently a professor of Politics and Public Policy at
Georgetown University and a frequent contributor to the Fox Forum.