Replies to post #124894 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[harrypothead]

At under $25 a barrel, it is not cost effective for the US to drill and refine it's own oil. It is only within the last few years that oil exceeded that price. The Bush cartel and the war premium certainly helped to drive oil production above the $25-ish break even point. To say it is tree huggers is absurd. During the Clinton years, oil was as low as $8 a barrel. Our wage structure is non-competitive with much of the world.

[mlsoft]

ergo...

It is good to hear that "many environmentalists" are turning toward the nuclear option, but if so, they certainly are not vocal about it. I have heard nary a peep from that end of the spectrum.

I would not mind a nuclear facility in my area -- there is an uncompleted one near here and a couple of more in the state of Tennessee (not to mention the Oak Ridge facility.) I want them to be as safe as possible, yet I do not want the anti-everything left to bog them so far down in bureaucratic nonsense that if they ever get built they will cost 100 times what they should have and will be 50 years before completion. If both sides would simply work together we could have safe and relatively inexpensive nuclear power in abundant quantity.

But that will not be enough -- we will also need some realistic conservation (Americans are not ready to drive around in go carts yet) and regardless of what else happens we need new refinery capacity, which has been blocked by the liberals forever. How about waking them up for us so we can all work together.

mlsoft

[harrypothead]

"Many environmentalists are realizing now that nuclear options are the best solution at the moment."

Is it? I am not terribly familiar with the process or safety concerns. I know Chernobyl and Three Mile Island scared the heck out of everyone. Chernobyl was a catastrophe even if they are now trying to downplay the effects. Yucca Mountain is another issue. What do we do with the byproduct of nuclear energy? Maybe until now nuclear power was too politically toxic to be considered?