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Apr. 29, 2005 Have you heard? George W. Bush wants to go back to constructing nuclear power plants to lower the price of fuel. This despite Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Scorpion, Thresher, K-219, Komsomolets, Kursk and so on and on. Apparently, nothing counts except the shell game du jour. Dubya does not care that there is fierce opposition to nuclear power all over the place. Even engineering schools have been winding down nuclear science programs. So now this country has a deep rooted lack of experience in the field, years of nothing going on around here, of not in my backyard politics, making accidents more likely but Dubya persists in his politics of dump and hide. Just the increased cost for mandated safety improvements raising the cost per kWh of construction for new atomic plants to $1,400 from $1,000 making the costs of nuclear far less competitive than fossil fuel mocks his intentions. He also does not care that this would encourage the remaining members of axis of evil: primarily Iran and North Korea, but not limited to the despots there, look upon nuclear development as a commonplace development. Even the hostile reaction to Yucca Mountain does not discourage Dubya. No. “Technology is the key,†he says What technology? To paraphrase a good one, I know engineers and George Bush is no engineer. Trust me on this. Perhaps someone applying for a license to build a nuclear facility at 1601 or 1598 Pennsylvania Avenue or around Prairie Chapel near Crawford, Texas would clarify this point. He is also going to convert old military bases into oil refineries but has said nothing about finding old unexploded ordinance lost since when? A bomb is a bomb and not a dud that can go off at any time. That’s what makes accidents so harmful. They burst when you least expect them to go off! Then there is Bush’s push for energy efficient vehicles. Where is the hydrogen coming from? Considering his love of hot air, it is surprising he did not tout windmills once more. But then, maybe he considered the damage caused by a tsunami wiping out entire villages compared to that of a hurricane or tornado where a couple of trees are tossed and some roofs go flying. Big difference. And easy to explain. No wonder he ducked. He also wants to increase supplies of liquefied natural gas stored at minus 260 degrees. Things get a little hot on a summer day and kaboom goes the neighborhood. Think in terms of a local Bhopal. He has dropped any interest in flood control and water distribution because this brings up the wrong images, things he apparently considers unpleasant, but the need and possibilities remain clear. What he really is doing is playing to the Democrats strengths because he has trade prospects that will break his way and he will eventually make the point that his new Social Security accounts are on a par with IRAs and other personally mandated savings accounts. But it is this kind of thinking that resulted in ruined brakes on those “new†high speed bullet trains and caused that highly publicized spike in California electric rates that led to the recall of Grey Davis. As that infamous Thomas Nast political cartoon make clear: all fingers in the end point to The Boss of Bosses–William Marcy Tweed, for whom the new New York City education headquarters is so aptly named. Talk about political irony. In the current political thinking Ponzi schemes have economic potential. A big game of diddly-squat. Critics don’t refer to funny farms without good reasoning. Clearly he is trying to bluff down the price of oil, something he has succeeded in doing, ($57 to $51 is a nice drop), but as everyone knows the cupboard is dry. The oil has been used. So where is the next tankful coming from? Notice that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the only potential new source of domestic crude that is going to be developed. No other sites have been mentioned for good reason. Bush is practicing Fantasy Island politics, while the “Wall Street Journal†reports The Fed is going to force interest rates up another quarter of a point on Tuesday, the eighth quarter point increase in about two years with Fed increases likely at subsequent meetings. I do not mind making it clear that I have a stud in this ring. I have a vested interest. I continue to remain available for proper assignments, parties and other dignified activities. This is my tenth essay for "Useless-Knowledge." I am enjoying the opportunity immensely. ------------ About the author Mr. Neil Levine: Where I stand. I can be reached at neillevine@yahoo.com OR neillevine3@aol.com. Please make the purpose of the email clear as I try to ignore spam. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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