Wisdom, Knowledge, and the Folly of Nuclear Power
Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011
by Ken McCreless
RMS1437
Greetings Fellow Travelers …
What a horrific, cataclysmic, if not Apocalyptic time for the nation of Japan! Shaken apart by an earthquake, slammed by a tsunami, and living day-to-day with what appears to be an ever-increasing threat of at least one reactor going into full-on meltdown.
Proponents of nuclear power claim that it is still a viable option for “clean” power. I seem to remember hearing such a proponent claiming that there was a “silver lining” to the nuclear woes evidenced by the Japanese situation. I was so stunned by the idiocy of his statement that I missed his name.
Now, I can see the attraction of such an enterprise. Fission is indeed an awesomely cool science project, but hardly an intelligent option for the generation of electricity.
Solar power, wind power, tidal power- not one of these options will cause you to have to leave your home/city/state-forever- if they stop working, right? Or am I wrong? What would happen if we stopped focusing so much on nuclear power and put our resources into more efficient cars/lamps/toasters/water heaters and higher output for the generation of power that does not, if working properly, result in waste that will kill you 100 years or more into the future, or turn your state into glass if something does go wrong?
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, (NIE), approximately 2000 metric tons of radioactive waste is produced every year! Extreme measures must be taken to prevent this waste from leaking. If, that is IF, every step goes as planned and the waste is properly stored, what if there's an earthquake? Or a clever terrorist finds a way to release it?
And, PLEASE don't give me that baloney about “our procedures are sound. There is no danger.” The Japanese thought that right up until the tsunami hit. Safeguards had kicked in and the fuel rods were cool until, some believe, the wall of water came along.
I love science, and have great respect for scientists, but we humans are not ready for this. We can't handle it. I want to see no more coal-fired or nuclear power plants built, and the ones in place now dismantled and stored for the 100, or 500 years or whatever it takes to make them safe.
Let's focus on TRUE “clean energy.” It's a tall order, I know, and may not be politically correct, but so what?
What a horrific, cataclysmic, if not Apocalyptic time for the nation of Japan! Shaken apart by an earthquake, slammed by a tsunami, and living day-to-day with what appears to be an ever-increasing threat of at least one reactor going into full-on meltdown.
Proponents of nuclear power claim that it is still a viable option for “clean” power. I seem to remember hearing such a proponent claiming that there was a “silver lining” to the nuclear woes evidenced by the Japanese situation. I was so stunned by the idiocy of his statement that I missed his name.
Solar power, wind power, tidal power- not one of these options will cause you to have to leave your home/city/state-forever- if they stop working, right? Or am I wrong? What would happen if we stopped focusing so much on nuclear power and put our resources into more efficient cars/lamps/toasters/water heaters and higher output for the generation of power that does not, if working properly, result in waste that will kill you 100 years or more into the future, or turn your state into glass if something does go wrong?
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, (NIE), approximately 2000 metric tons of radioactive waste is produced every year! Extreme measures must be taken to prevent this waste from leaking. If, that is IF, every step goes as planned and the waste is properly stored, what if there's an earthquake? Or a clever terrorist finds a way to release it?
And, PLEASE don't give me that baloney about “our procedures are sound. There is no danger.” The Japanese thought that right up until the tsunami hit. Safeguards had kicked in and the fuel rods were cool until, some believe, the wall of water came along.
I love science, and have great respect for scientists, but we humans are not ready for this. We can't handle it. I want to see no more coal-fired or nuclear power plants built, and the ones in place now dismantled and stored for the 100, or 500 years or whatever it takes to make them safe.
Let's focus on TRUE “clean energy.” It's a tall order, I know, and may not be politically correct, but so what?
Ken McCreless is just a guy who loves to write, and was born to do so. He is a freelance writer with several projects ongoing, including books and magazines. A huge fan of both irony and history, Ken has dedicated his life and his writing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hey Bro! Very well said. Thanks for sharing your thoughts - I don't think you are alone. We need a lot of help down here...!We do, don't we? I am so glad that God is in control!
I have a brother-in-law who worked many, many years for various electric companies - last I spoke with him he was all in favor of nuclear power. I think back to my years in California where a nuclear power plant, on the coast, right on top of a major earthquake fault was named Diablo Canyon (duh - prophetic or what) I look at the last chapter of the Book and see things about "worm wood" and various other scriptures talking about large parts of the ocean dying, and the fish etc..... It doesn't take an adding machine to figure out how this might happen, does it? I agree with you Ken but suspect we are in the minority.... and it does all tie in, doesn't it? MARANATHA!!!!
Ultimately Ken this was an act of nature, The power of nature is something we overlook at our peril. I am aware that my words are harsh and the sheer scale of the suffering and dangers facing the nation of Japan are difficult to imagine, but these very dangers can strike anyplace and at any time. Do not believe the, ah yes, but ours are much better, much safer.....
We continue to ignore, abuse and destroy nature faster than it can possibly recuperate. How on earth we can ever have considered as a viable source of energy tampering with something that we should never in the first place have tampered with is beyond belief and comprehension. Ah yes, the argument goes, to prevent global warming.
If that is where we are, if that is the sum total of our development and evolution, we are in some serious trouble here.
Yea, "prevent global warming," while cooking everything within hundreds of miles.
Thanks for stopping by.
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