Unclear on nuclear energy?

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power plant

While everyone is worrying about an earthquake generated meltdown at a nuclear generator (or three) in Japan the nuclear energy people here in the United States are all upset that it will cause negative reaction (pun intended) to plans to expand nuclear plants in this country. Like it is all our fault?

The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California sits on top of one of the most geologically active (read that as earth quake prone) areas in the United States. And one plant in California was shut down because of earthquake activity. The 63 MW Boiling Water Reactor at the Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Eureka was in operation by PG&E from August 1963 to July 1976. It was the seventh licensed nuclear plant in the United States. It was closed because the economics of a required seismic retrofit could not be justified after riding through a moderate earthquake.

California law now prohibits the construction of any new nuclear power plants in California until the Energy Commission finds that the federal government has approved and there exists a demonstrated technology for the permanent disposal of spent fuel from these facilities. California's existing nuclear power plants provide a significant amount of California's non-fossil fuel based energy and power but produce significant amounts of spent nuclear fuel. Continued operation of these plants will require substantial investments in replacement steam generators, turbines and other major pieces of equipment, ongoing recruitment and training to maintain an experienced nuclear work force, and accommodation of evolving federal policy regarding nuclear technology, in addition to other requirements.  

All, well and good, especially since everyone wants to store those spent nuclear rods in caves in New Mexico and Nevada.

However, this 1978 action, makes no mention of the San Andres fault and the tendency of power companies to build their plants on such unstable and shifting bases. And in high population areas. On the map below white is where it would be safe to build. But when I was living in Missouri we were fighting to shut down the building of a plant on the New Madrid fault. That is that red oval on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

The track record of companies proposing to build nuclear power plants is not good. The old joke was would you want to go on a rocket ship to the moon built by the lowest possible bidder? The bidding system on construction projects in the United States is about cheap. That New Madrid Fault plant was using substandard materials and rusty rebar. It does not inspire confidence. And some of the problems that occurred in the Three Mile Island near melt down was due to inadequately trained personal hired on the cheap.

So if we here in the United States are seemingly anti nuclear power may I suggest the fault is not in us but in the companies that build and maintain these plants. Look not at the population but at yourselves. Show us you can be responsible and also that you won't lie to us.

Disaster Response

My blogs of late have focused on cultures and their ability to survive: can a country which did not produce its technology continue to develop it?

Now I am going to take what would seem to be a diversion and focus on a culture's response to disaster. It can and does vary widely. And could be an indicator of its survival as a viable culture.

Where I live we are having a very dry winter and that means we could well have a summer of forest fires. I have survived one of these and was totally amazed at the change in my community. Everyone helped everyone. The spirit of concern and cooperation was amazing. And neighboring mountain towns out of the path of the fire offered places to stay, fields for our livestock, clothing and food.

A dear friend lived through the force five hurricane on the island of Kauai. She has almost romantic memories of her island community in the days after the storm passed. Restaurants threw open their larders and cooked food for the homeless. The residents banded together informally to remove rubble and clear roads. Pooled resources pulled from the wreckage of buildings. While on the mainland survivors of hurricane Andrew, which happened in the same week, waited for relief workers to do all that for them, and whined to cameras that they were being neglected. There was no ice water.

Stories are coming out of Haiti following the earthquake that are deterring the deployment of relief workers. The Red Cross is holding off sending in workers until they know the streets are safe. Doctors without borders at one time withdrew its medical personnel for their own safety while the CNN cameras rolled. There are reports of looting and gangs running around with machetes. But when Kyoto, Japan suffered an earthquake its citizens established camps in the streets, away from falling buildings, and pooled all their meager resources. And began the rescue of people trapped in the debris.

What makes the difference in how a community or culture responds to a disaster? Why do some erect idols and just pray for deliverance, while others immediately set to work helping themselves? Kyoto and Kauai would lead one to believe that island people don't expect rescue and ergo set out to rescue themselves. But then Haiti is an island. And the New Mexico mountain communities threatened by forest fire are not. But it has been my experience they immediately start setting up plans for not only their survival but the rescue of their neighbors.

Is it the presence of camera? Anthropologists believe that when a culture is studied it changes. The StarTrek show and movies always emphasized that they should not reveal themselves to cultures of lower development.  There were news crews in Florida within hours of hurricane Andrew but not on Kauai after Inki. CNN was on the ground in Haiti within hours of the aftershock. But it took the world almost a week to know about the earthquake damage in Kyoto. Most of the United States does not know New Mexico is one of the 50 states. News people showed up for the Los Alamos fire but not the Hondo fire I watched for 22 days.


Is it the glare of the lights? A cultural development? Or is our response to disaster genetic? What is the basic nature of your community? And where do you fall in your response to disaster? This goes beyond having a survival kit to load into the SUV.