| JuryFury.com
A New Issue Every Monday ! SUBSCRIBE NOW !! Online School of Politics |
|||
| Areas of Interest THE USA American Foreign Policy US House and Senate US Presidents State & Local Politics Regional Politics Politics of China The British Commonwealth Indian Subcontinent Middle East The European Union Africa Latin America ASEAN NATO United Nations The Non-aligned Movement Eastern Europe New Nations of the 20th Century General Topics Constitutional Law Human Rights Nuclear Disarmament & Treaties International Warfare Environmental Law Peace Treaties Economic & Social Alliances International Organizations Journalism & Media Racism and Democracy Women in the Workplace Family Law Courts and Practices The Judicial System Higher Education Education and Government Health Care & Insurance Rights of the Disabled Copyright & Working Online Legal Representation Legal Insurance Pornography Domestic Violence Religion & Law Workers Rights Employers Rights Prison & Life after Social Organizations Welfare & Poverty Taxation and Democracy Third World Aid Programs Space Exploration Alternative Energy Petroleum Industry & Cars Nuclear Power Programs for the Arts Sports Education Policing the Internet Privacy and freedom Immigration Food and Regulation War on Drugs War on Pharmaceuticals Public Housing Pollution and Control Sexual Harrassment Discrimination Electoral Process Consumers Rights Investors Rights Abortion Death Penalty Social Security Gender & Sexuality Grassroots Organization ACLU World Watch Oxfam UNICEF United Negro Fund Ford Foundation (suggestions welcome at our chatsite) Law of the Economy Join I-Traderschool, our sister magazine, for debates and news. |
The Nuclear Option More Nuclear Power Plants Approved by Congress forwarded by moviemaniababy@yahoo.com The House Committee on Science released this news: http://www.house.gov/science/press/108/108-078.htm Committee on Science SHERWOOD BOEHLERT, CHAIRMAN Ralph M. Hall, Texas, Ranking Democrat Press Contacts: Heidi Mohlman Tringe Jeff Donald (202) 225-4275 UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR RESEARCH PROGRAMS NEED TO EVOLVE TO MEET FUTURE NEEDS WASHINGTON, D.C., June 10, 2003 - A panel of expert witnesses today called for increased funding for university nuclear research programs even as they disagreed sharply on the likelihood that the nuclear power industry would build new nuclear power plants. Increased funding for university programs would strengthen nuclear research and improve nuclear engineering programs that train the workforce of tomorrow, the witnesses said "Now, more than ever, nuclear scientists and engineers are needed for much more than simply operating nuclear power plants," said Energy Subcommittee Chairman Judy Biggert (R-IL). "Regardless of how many new plants are built, there will still be a need for educated, well-trained nuclear scientists. The question is one of supply and demand, and right now, the level of future demand is uncertain. DOE, with the help of industry, must work to ensure its university programs support the facilities and research necessary to attract and educate the nuclear workforce of the future." Subcommittee Ranking Member Nick Lampson (D-TX) said, "Given the crucial role the Department of Energy's university science programs play in the domestic nuclear power industry we must do all we can to attract talented students to established or emerging fields within science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. I have seen first-hand how important these undergraduate and graduate scholarships and fellowships are in fostering innovations and cutting-edge technologies. Texas A&M and the University of Texas are examples of how partnerships with the DOE nuclear energy program produces large numbers of high quality graduates to fill the growing needs of the nuclear power industry and related fields." With a new emphasis on nuclear energy, particularly as a result of President Bush's National Energy Policy, industry has set a goal of building 50,000 megawatts of new nuclear energy production said Angelina S. Howard, executive vice resident of the Nuclear Energy Institute. Higher demand for nuclear energy and an anticipated surge in retirements throughout the industry are setting the stage for a scenario where "the need for nuclear engineers and health physicists will outstrip supply," Howard explained. "It will be vital that the new employees coming into the industry are highly skilled upon entrance and the best and brightest out nation has to offer." Dr. Daniel Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, disagreed with the predictions of significant growth in the nuclear industry saying, "A significant increase in nuclear plants is in my view both unlikely due to opposition, and unnecessary in light of the growing number of low-carbon alternatives, that include energy efficiency, biomass, wind, and solar energy. The current set of graduate nuclear science and engineering programs in the U.S. is more than capable of producing 50-70 new graduates per year, which would be more than enough to sustain this industry." Kammen supported efforts to increase support for university nuclear research centers but said there is more of a need to broaden programs and increase investment in cutting edge research, like producing hydrogen from nuclear energy. Gail Marcus, principal deputy director of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, Science , and Technology announced that DOE will devote a percentage, probably 5-10 percent, of the research funds from all DOE nuclear research to universities. As an example of a program that could soon be sharing a portion of its funding with universities, Marcus pointed to the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative. The Initiative is designed to explore innovative ways to deal with spent nuclear fuel to reduce the need for waste repositories, dramatically reduce the environmental impact of the remaining waste, and allow useful elements of spent nuclear fuel to be recycled. Several Members questioned whether industry was doing enough to support university programs. Several panel members agreed that there could be a greater collaboration between businesses and university nuclear programs. Dr. Kammen noted that there is not a collaborative R&D effort in nuclear energy as there is in other energy areas. Dr. David M. Slaughter, chair of the Nuclear Engineering Program and director of the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Technology, Engineering, and Research said that in a time of state budget crunches, businesses can help universities deal with the high costs of training engineering students, particularly nuclear engineers. In turn, Slaughter added, "The benefits for industrial partners are that these cooperative research efforts provide relatively inexpensive access to bright minds and cutting-edge expertise in these fields and a conduit to future employees for the specific needs of their business." By Sophia Barkat Re: moviemaniababy@yahoo.com Regarding Nuclear Energy, some nuclear physicists I know say it's very safe these days, which is why I'm open to the possibility. However, the risk with nuclear energy is it's ability to wipe out entire cities if controls fall into the wrong hands. It's a weapon or an useful product depending on who has access. As such we heard the US grumbling about Iran's Nuclear expansion plan. I don't want to make Iran into a rogue nation but the relationship between US and IRAN has been so sour that one can only expect both nations to have nuclear war-heads directed at each other and very suspicious of each other's nuclear energy plans. If Iran doesn't have nuclear warheads now, it will probably develop it because no one likes to have weapons pointed at them and do nothing about it. Likewise, America's 10,400 nuclear warheads and history of use alone should get every industrialized nation concerned about it's safety. But nuclear power-plants kill local people only. As such Iran's nuclear plans are a weapon only in enemy hands, and same for US nuclear plants. If used in the right way nuclear power plants might have been a great way to reduce dependence on the Oil industry. In fact, what if anything is the connection between companies that own nuclear power plants and fossil-fuel driven power plants? It would be fun to see if Oil industry people finance anti-Nuclear activists, and if nuclear industry folks finance "anti-hydrocarbon/global warming" activists. |
Become an Activist Join an Organization Get Volunteerism Alert Write Letters to a local Politician Start your own Group Applied Politics Projects Suggest a Project Start your Yahoo Groups Get Internship Credit Funding for Projects Encourage Discussion Join Juryfury Chat Promote Juryfury.com Join online discussion Groups Be In the Spotlight Let us Interview you : Authors of political books Activists Journalists Lawyers Law Enforcement Politicians Politican Scientists Archives Be A Columnist Get Internship Credit Write twice a Month Get Heard Start a Yahoo Group Advertise with Us Books (Free) Our Staff & Contributors Our Magazines Quietpoly.com I-Traderschool Juryfury.com The Company Our Address: QuietPoly Inc. 240 W. Saunders. Dr. (#146) Flagstaff, AZ 86001 Tel (928) 214-7365 quietpoly@yahoo.com Our Affiliations MoveOn.org MediaChannel.org IndyMedia.org |
|