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Energy, Nuclear and Otherwise
Mar. 14th, 2011 09:15 amNuclear
Having publicly advocated increased nuclear energy for the US, I should comment on the ongoing nuclear mess in Japan. However, the blogger over at Gin and Tacos beat me to it. Basically, for those not clicking through:
1) The Japanese plants having problems are all Generation II plants - old technology which is not safe-to-fail. (Safe-to-fail means that even when it fails, it doesn't create a disaster.)
2) Unfortunately, the failure of these plants will make it more difficult politically to get approval for Generation IV (inherently safe) plants.
Oil
The US military is investing a lot of money in alternative energy, including solar. The big reason is that, as discussed in this article, our enemies have figured out it's easier to shoot at the fuel tanker convoy then at the combat troops. So, every gallon that doesn't get sucked up by a generator means less US troops are needed to protect (while getting shot at) fuel convoys.
While on the subject of oil, if anybody tells you that "Obama is stopping domestic oil production" they are wrong. US domestic oil production has increased to levels not seen since 2003.
Having publicly advocated increased nuclear energy for the US, I should comment on the ongoing nuclear mess in Japan. However, the blogger over at Gin and Tacos beat me to it. Basically, for those not clicking through:
1) The Japanese plants having problems are all Generation II plants - old technology which is not safe-to-fail. (Safe-to-fail means that even when it fails, it doesn't create a disaster.)
2) Unfortunately, the failure of these plants will make it more difficult politically to get approval for Generation IV (inherently safe) plants.
Oil
The US military is investing a lot of money in alternative energy, including solar. The big reason is that, as discussed in this article, our enemies have figured out it's easier to shoot at the fuel tanker convoy then at the combat troops. So, every gallon that doesn't get sucked up by a generator means less US troops are needed to protect (while getting shot at) fuel convoys.
While on the subject of oil, if anybody tells you that "Obama is stopping domestic oil production" they are wrong. US domestic oil production has increased to levels not seen since 2003.
