Energy
World’s energy crisis solved using cats
Just one of the many challenges that humanity faces is the continued pursuit of new and emerging ways to effectively move away from fossil fuels for it’s energy sources.
Is this the answer?, all it’s going to take to solve our energy crisis is a few billion cats set to work lying about in the sun.
On a more serious note I just want to pose one question.
Why is it that Governments around the world are continuing to build new nuclear power plants? The proponents of these nuclear power plants will tell you that Nuclear is the only cost and practically effective way to produce the levels of power we need, I say that their reasoning is all spin, the real reason being that only massive organisations can build this type of power station and therefore the power stays with them and not in the hands of US.
My answer to their question is;
The only good Nuclear Power Station we need is the one that is 91 Million miles away
Energy
Honest Government Ad, National Energy Guarantee, NEG
The Juice Media have released another of their satirical truths, this time they articulate the Aussie Government’s Energy Policy
Another ripper of a Video by TheJuiceMedia. These guys absolutely rock!
One of the great things I find with these guys is how quickly they articulate the issue, they are so right on the money every time they post and it is so succinctly done, they are so right here, the price of renewables has dropped dramatically in the last 4-8 years or so. that has really brought renewables into a position of being 100% competitive with traditional fossil fuel burning, polluting power stations, yet they will continue to ram shit down our throats about base-load only being possible via coal or gas. Don’t believe what these a..holes running our government are saying, it’s a load of shit. The Australian National University in Canberra ( one of our most respected Uni’s) have done a major study over a number of years, which clearly shows that Australia has thousands of appropriate locations to house small scale pumped hydro and that we could be completely operating from 100% renewable electricity with 20 years. The small scale pumped hydro they are discussing involves relatively small dams and they are closed systems to avoid major evaporation, so good for the environment and not taxing on land space requirements. Anyway, back to TheJuiceMedia’s video, this one is an absolute ripper, really on the money, hope you enjoy it. For more of their videos, check out their YouTube Channel, TheJuiceMedia on Youtube
Honest Government Ad | NEG (National Energy Guarantee)
Energy
List of major Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents
This list really does provide some sobering reading, especially given some of the decommission times required, at 50 years and counting …
Fukushima, reactor 3 nuclear plant seen burning Image Credit: The Guardian
It has been reported that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he’s “Open to the idea of nuclear power if research emerges showing it stacks up economically.
Well Mr Morrison, we at Palebludot say, “There is more to consider than just the cost. I wonder if Scott Morrison has seen the table below from Wikipedia, which outlines the major Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents. It makes for interesting reading to say the least.
Just a few points on the list below;
Chernobyl, Although listed below as costing 6.7 Billion, if you look at economic losses, figures of 235 Billion have been expressed and the fact that Chernobyl is still being managed 32 years later, is in itself so incredibly concerning. Along with this the latest containment structure built just recently is designed to last another 100 years and helping to contain any radiation while the decommissioning continues.
Sellafield in The UK is still being decommisioned some 51 years after the fire that brought this plutonium production plant facility’s operations to an early end.
Finally before taking a look at the list below, Id like to point out to all the people who like to claim that the latest generation nuclear plants are safe, Well in the 1950’s we were told nuclear was safe, In the 1960’s we were told nuclear was safe, in the 1970’s we were told nuclear was safe, in the 1980s we were told nuclear is safe, even after Chernobyl and into the 1990’s, we were told nuclear is safe, we are still being told nuclear is safe even after Fukishima, we are being told “The new nuclear reactors are so much safer. Well we at palebludot do not trust those that are telling us “Nuclear is safe” we believe that there is too much money involved, big organisations want control of the power, they don’t want small scale solar, pumped hydro or wind providing power for us, it puts power back somewhat in our hands and this is just one of the reasons the establishment are pushing for nuclear power
THE LIST, makes for sobering reading
| Date | Location of accident | Description of accident or incident | Dead | Cost ($US millions 2006 ) |
INES level[25] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 29, 1957 | Mayak, Kyshtym, Russia | The Kyshtym disaster was a radiation contamination incident that occurred at Mayak, a Nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the Soviet Union. | 6 | ||
| July 26, 1957 | Simi Valley, California, United States | Partial core meltdown at Santa Susana Field Laboratory’s Sodium Reactor Experiment. | 0 | 32 | |
| October 10, 1957 | Sellafield aka Windscale fire, Cumberland, United Kingdom | A fire at the British atomic bomb project destroyed the core and released an estimated 740 terabecquerels of iodine-131 into the environment. A rudimentary smoke filter constructed over the main outlet chimney successfully prevented a far worse radiation leak and ensured minimal damage. | 0 | 5 | |
| January 3, 1961 | Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States | Explosion at SL-1 prototype at the National Reactor Testing Station. All 3 operators were killed when a control rod was removed too far. | 3 | 22 | 4 |
| October 5, 1966 | Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan, United States | Partial core meltdown of the Fermi 1 Reactor at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station. No radiation leakage into the environment. | 0 | 132 | |
| January 21, 1969 | Lucens reactor, Vaud, Switzerland | On January 21, 1969, it suffered a loss-of-coolant accident, leading to a partial core meltdown and massive radioactive contamination of the cavern, which was then sealed. | 0 | 5 | |
| 1975 | Sosnovyi Bor, Leningrad Oblast, Russia | There was reportedly a partial nuclear meltdown in Leningrad nuclear power plant reactor unit 1. | |||
| December 7, 1975 | Greifswald, East Germany | Electrical error causes fire in the main trough that destroys control lines and five main coolant pumps | 0 | 443 | 3 |
| January 5, 1976 | Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia | Malfunction during fuel replacement. Fuel rod ejected from reactor into the reactor hall by coolant (CO2).[27] | 2 | 4 | |
| February 22, 1977 | Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia | Severe corrosion of reactor and release of radioactivity into the plant area, necessitating total decommission | 0 | 1,700 | 4 |
| March 28, 1979 | Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, United States | Loss of coolant and partial core meltdown due to operator errors. There is a small release of radioactive gases. See also Three Mile Island accident health effects. | 0 | 2,400 | 5 |
| September 15, 1984 | Athens, Alabama, United States | Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force a six-year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2. | 0 | 110 | |
| March 9, 1985 | Athens, Alabama, United States | Instrumentation systems malfunction during startup, which led to suspension of operations at all three Browns Ferry Units | 0 | 1,830 | |
| April 11, 1986 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | Recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant | 0 | 1,001 | |
| April 26, 1986 | Chernobyl, Chernobyl Raion(Now Ivankiv Raion), Kiev Oblast, Ukraininan SSR, Soviet Union | Overheating, steam explosion, fire, and meltdown, necessitating the evacuation of 300,000 people from Chernobyl and dispersing radioactive material across Europe (see Effects of the Chernobyl disaster) | 30 direct, 19 not entirely related and 15 minors due to thyroid cancer, as of 2008.[3][28] | 6,700 | 7 |
| May 4, 1986 | Hamm-Uentrop, West Germany | Experimental THTR-300 reactor releases small amounts of fission products (0.1 GBq Co-60, Cs-137, Pa-233) to surrounding area | 0 | 267 | |
| March 31, 1987 | Delta, Pennsylvania, United States | Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 shutdown due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems | 0 | 400 | |
| December 19, 1987 | Lycoming, New York, United States | Malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1 | 0 | 150 | |
| March 17, 1989 | Lusby, Maryland, United States | Inspections at Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns | 0 | 120 | |
| March 1992 | Sosnovyi Bor, Leningrad Oblast, Russia | An accident at the Sosnovy Bor nuclear plant leaked radioactive gases and iodine into the air through a ruptured fuel channel. | |||
| February 20, 1996 | Waterford, Connecticut, United States | Leaking valve forces shutdown Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures found | 0 | 254 | |
| September 2, 1996 | Crystal River, Florida, United States | Balance-of-plant equipment malfunction forces shutdown and extensive repairs at Crystal River Unit 3 | 0 | 384 | |
| September 30, 1999 | Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan | Tokaimura nuclear accident killed two workers, and exposed one more to radiation levels above permissible limits. | 2 | 54 | 4 |
| February 16, 2002 | Oak Harbor, Ohio, United States | Severe corrosion of control rod forces 24-month outage of Davis-Besse reactor | 0 | 143 | 3 |
| April 10, 2003 | Paks, Hungary | Collapse of fuel rods at unit 2 during its corrosion cleaning led to leakage of radioactive gases. It remained inactive for 18 months. | 0 | 3 | |
| August 9, 2004 | Fukui Prefecture, Japan | Steam explosion at Mihama Nuclear Power Plant kills 4 workers and injures 7 more | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| July 25, 2006 | Forsmark, Sweden | An electrical fault at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant caused one reactor to be shut down | 0 | 100 | 2 |
| March 11, 2011 | Fukushima, Japan | A tsunami flooded and damaged the plant’s 5 active reactors, drowning two workers. Loss of backup electrical power led to overheating, meltdowns, and evacuations.[29] One man died suddenly while carrying equipment during the clean-up.[30] The plant’s 6th reactor was inactive at the time. | 2+ | Estimated 1100 – 1900[31] | 7 |
| 12 September 2011 | Marcoule, France | One person was killed and four injured, one seriously, in a blast at the Marcoule Nuclear Site. The explosion took place in a furnace used to melt metallic waste. | 1 |
Energy
The Size of the Universe
See just how small our Planet really is in this big fat universe of ours. See this interesting comparison video at PaleBluDot.com.
This is just another in a line of “We are not that big in the whole scheme of things”. I wouldnt like to be an early explorer trying to circumnavigate some of these huge planets or stars.
Bunya Pine Tree
We Are Here: The Pale Blue Dot
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind”
With GM you can’t be just a little pregnant…
Zeresenay Alemseged Finding the origins of humanity
Honest Government Ad, National Energy Guarantee, NEG
Solving Australia’s Drought Problem
Another great Noam Chomsky speech
List of major Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents
