"Times they are a-changin"

To quote Bob Dylan - 

Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call

Don't stand in the doorway

Don't block up the hall

For he that gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

There's a battle outside

And it is ragin'

It'll soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin'.

~

It has been a very busy week; hurricanes blowing right along side the winds of political rhetoric. And squeezed in between the many lines written in the press are some lines of good news and a feeling, a surge going in the right direction in the world of things nuclear.

On Thursday, August 30th, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearing denied a construction/operating license for the Calvert Cliffs-3 reactor. In this instance the protesting group was the NIRS (Nuclear Information and Resource Service) which based their case on the fact that Electricite de France (EDF) ownership of this project violated the Atomic Energy Act's prohibition against "foreign ownership, control or domination" of a U.S. reactor. For more information on this read what is available on the NIRS website at www.nirs.org

On Wednesday, August 29th, Exelon Corportion gave up on a planned twin-reactor project in Victoria County in Texas. It seems the abundance of natural gas at a lower price and the possibility of a carbon emissions charge unlikely turned the tide, in this case, Exelon, against pushing further on the nuclear front. For more on this read Unraveling the Nuclear Renaissance by Matthew L. Wald in the NY Times Unraveling the Nuclear Renaissance

On Monday, August 27th, Edison Company in California at their sick and failing San Onofre Nuclear Plant made the decision to transfer tons of fuel from reactor Unit 3 into storage. They are still undecided on a start up date for Unit 2. San Onofre has always topped the list of reactors with safety issues and of course in my own opinion should be permanently shut down on this basis alone. 

And earlier this month the court ruling which came down putting a hold on all NRC licensing until the issue of storage of spent fuel is addressed.

So for those of us fighting the good fight it seems as Dylan so aptly put it - "The times they are a-changin".

"The Times They Are A-Changin'"

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Nuclear Butterflies

• NUCLEAR BUTTERFLIES
• AUGUST 14, 2012
• BY: RACHEL DILLIN

There are nuclear butterflies in Japan, and according to an August 13 ABC News report, they have been traced to the Fukishima nuclear disaster after last year's massive earthquake and resulting tsunami.

The pale grass blue butterflies have suffered both "physiological and genetic damage" due to the radioactive fallout from the Fukishima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Researchers began studying the insects just two months after the 2011 disaster.

The researchers wrote,

"At the time of the accident, the populations of this species were overwintering as larvae and were externally exposed to artificial radiation. It is possible that they ate contaminated leaves during the spring and were thus also exposed to internal radiation."

Obviously the full impact of the Japan nuclear meltdown will not be known for years if not decades. Even so, it is disheartening to see that these butterflies have suffered such damage as a result of the nuclear fallout.

The good news is that the researchers noted that the human effect of this disaster should be much less than the butterfly effect.

Link to NBC News Story by Arata Yamamoto

Meet the new NRC Chairwoman

Photo by: Brendan Hoffman
for The New York Times

Allison M. Macfarlane. NRC Chaiwoman

I wonder if having a woman at the helm will make any difference? I certainly hope so. Here is something from today's New York Times, I call it 'getting to know you'.

AUGUST 14, 2012, 2:51 PM

Nuclear Regulator Ticks Off Her Wish List

By MATTHEW L. WALD

The new chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday that she had asked the agency's staff to look into the likely effects of climate change on nuclear power reactors.

As I write elsewhere in The Times, the chairwoman, Allison M. Macfarlane, is a geologist who focuses on nuclear waste and earthquake safety, among other topics. She was answering a question about the shutdown of the Millstone 2 reactor in Waterford, Conn., on Sunday. The water pulled in from Long Island Sound had become so warm that it exceeded the temperature limit specified in the plant's operating license, 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Speaking at a reporters' roundtable organized by the trade publication IHS The Energy Daily, Dr. Macfarlane said the study would cover areas like how plants would fare if storms grew more severe and flooding increased, and how they might compete for water if rainfall patterns shifted.

Making her first appearance before reporters, Dr. Macfarlane also made these points:

Her agency cannot set policy on the disposal of nuclear waste, only regulate the projects that are proposed, but at some point, Congress and the president are going to have to make some policy decisions, now that the Yucca Mountain repository project in Nevada is officially dead. The commission can regulate spent fuel pools and their alternative, dry cask storage, now in use at many reactors. But "In the end you need a repository, because the alternative of just leaving it there indefinitely above ground is not really a suitable alternative,'' she said.

The agency does not yet know how it will replace its policy, thrown out by an appeals court last month, of continuing to license nuclear plants even though is no clear path to waste disposal. But it is working on the problem, and the commissioners have received a paper from the commission's staff outlining the possibilities.

The agency needs to improve its communications to foster public confidence in its work. Asked if the commission needed to show that it was not a victim of "regulatory capture," a Washington term indicating that a government agency has come under the sway of the industry it supposedly controls, Dr. Macfarlane replied, "If that ends up being part of the message, that would be fine." But she added, "My impression so far is that is not the case at all.''

If Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents are going to continue to be so full of hard-to-understand acronyms, they should begin with an L.O.A. (That's "List of Acronyms," she explained dryly. Nobody at the agency with whom she has spoken understood that acronym about acronyms, Dr. Macfarlane said.)

Nuclear Waste is an Issue!

Photo by:  David Carson dcarson@post-dispatch.com
Callaway Nuclear Plant #1 April 1, 2011

In the week since the NRC has issued a stay on the licensing of any new nuclear plants or the extension of existing licensing not too much has been made of it in the news, except for the print media where one can continue to find informative articles written here and there. I especially like this one from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is a part of the federal bureaucracy, it can make even groundbreaking news seem mundane. 

Take this understated sentence in its ruling Aug. 7 delaying the final issuance of any nuclear permits, for existing or new power plants: 

"Waste confidence undergirds certain agency licensing decisions, in particular new reactor licensing and reactor licensing renewal."

Translation: The country cannot continue to talk about building new nuclear plants without figuring out what it is going to do with the dangerous waste that literally is stacking up at sites all over the country, including at Ameren Missouri's Callaway County plant. [Full editorial comment here]

This editorial is spot on, please read it and then think about it, our very future lies in these waste piles and what we decide to do about it. The issue is bigger than just parading with "No Nuke" signs or listening to people like Governor Nixon tell how small nuclear reactors are the economic future of Missouri and the world.

The issue is - "What are we going to do with the nuclear waste being generated that needs to be stored, safely and permanently ?"

The Three R's

Romney

Ryan &

Republicanism

Well here we go folks, back to basics - the Three R's, the very foundation of our American system. How can we possibly go wrong?

Answer - Maybe the same way our children have been slipping through the educational cracks. They can't read, they can't write and the old 'rithmetic is pretty poor as well, but dang they do look good carrying their smart phones and hanging out in their designer clothes. And after all that's what really matters, right?, looking good.

Just look at Romney, even central casting couldn't come up with a better person to play the role of Mr. President. He's rich and well groomed and his clothes fit perfectly. Nice teeth as well, none of those fake wooden jobs that another president wore.

And as any well bred person knows you don't talk about your money or religion and he hasn't. But I wonder how long he can keep his tax returns under wraps or shall we just let our speculation run rampant? As far as religion goes Romney really doesn't need to say anything, the Mormon Church has been spending a lot of bucks over the past few years advertising on television the fact that Mormons are just like you and me; they come in all flavors and can be found in all professions. Why I bet you can even find unemployed Mormons as well.

Republicans who couldn't seem to find a way to be supportive or offer up alternative solutions under the Obama presidency are now able to offer up solutions for everything that ails us from healthcare to education and from homeland security to energy. Sit back folks and enjoy the ride, you well be in good, well manicured hands.

But I caution you take notes. Buy yourself one of those little spiral notebooks and start writing and don't forget to date the pages. Then in 2016 look back through your notes and ask yourself, "Am I better off today than I was four years ago?"

Then you can decide if one term is long enough for Romney and start thinking about moving ahead in a better direction. That is if we haven't gotten ourselves in more of a pickle in the middle-east. And that is if we the people really care about changing things for the people, the ordinary people like you and me. The ones that walk the streets, stand in lines and lay awake a night worrying about tomorrow.

I'm thinking that if our leaders continue to look good, wear nice clothes and have enough money to get elected  that's all that really matters. Maybe if we plant more trees and shrubs we won't have to see our poor and hungry and our sick or our old folks. Just cover them up with greenery and no one will notice.

"Don't forget to take the trash out, Dear."

If it's Thursday it must be Trash Day.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission puts a hold on new reactor construction and licensing renewals. This is a result of a recent court ruling that questioned the NRC's plans for storing radioactive waste.

This action will delay at least 19 requests by utilities for new operating licenses or license renewals. This includes the plans here in Missouri by Ameren for license renewal of the current nuclear reactor at Callaway Plant #1 and the recently touted SMR's, small reactor project a joint effort by Ameren-Westinghouse.

Environmental groups have been working to seek this delay after the June ruling that basically said that the NRC's plans for long-term storage of radioactive waste at individual reactors were insufficient.

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit by New York's attorney general and others over a relicensing application for the Indian Point nuclear plant along the Hudson River.

We will see if this makes any difference and whether action will be taken to find permanent long-term storage for the nuclear waste that has already been generated. It's a political football that has been kicked around for a long time and the football still looks like its got enough air in it to stand further kicking so we shall see what happens.

At least for now we have a short reprieve on the building of new nuclear reactors and license renewals.

Hurry, Get it while it's cold....

'cus once it gets HOT you are gonna need to run for your life.

I wonder why it is so hard to ask and want an answer to the question, "What are the plans for the permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel?" This needs to be solved BEFORE we start building new nuclear reactors of ANY SIZE. Don't believe that size doesn't matter.

Small reactors mark valuable opportunity

By DAVE GRIGGS

Saturday, August 4, 2012

"Missouri and, more important Central Missouri might be on the leading edge of a transformational economic development opportunity as a result of the Ameren Missouri/Westinghouse partnership to build modular nuclear reactors at the Callaway site in Reform.

Just in case you are unaware of this amazing opportunity, here's the scoop. There is growing worldwide interest and competition in developing small "modular" reactors that can be prefabricated and assembled on site to generate the electric power of the future.

If you give this concept a bit of thought, you'll quickly see the potential is amazing. These plants will be shipped to a site via truck, barge or rail and capable of producing electricity far faster than the conventional process of constructing a nuclear reactor. Westinghouse is a world leader in nuclear power production and has developed cutting-edge technologies in this field.

Ameren's Callaway site is the most geologically stable reactor site in the United States. The site is centrally located in the country and has ample acreage available for the construction of these units, and all things point to a great joint venture between Ameren, Westinghouse, the state of Missouri, the University of Missouri, Boone County, Regional Economic Development Inc. and others. Last week, Gov. Jay Nixon appointed a task force that will be led by Boone County Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill to coordinate the public side of efforts to support this opportunity.

The federal government has asked for companies to submit to the Department of Energy for funding to take this concept to reality. Ameren and Westinghouse have applied for this funding. Make no mistake about the fact that the competition will be fierce, but if Ameren and Westinghouse are successful in this venture, the economic impact is almost beyond comprehension.

There is a moderate expectation of a global market of more than $25 billion per year for these small modular reactors. Being first to market with this proven technology will allow the development of hundreds of production jobs that Missouri and Central Missouri will compete for.

Just imagine the economic impact of an industry with that market potential centered in Central Missouri.

I've commented numerous times on the loss of manufacturing jobs in our community over the past decade. This stark reality really hit home a few weeks ago while traveling across Highway 60 and then up Highway 63 to Columbia.

Town after town along the way has a deserted manufacturing building. You can easily see the empty parking lots where folks in those communities used to work. What if those empty buildings were being used to produce the component parts for these modular reactors? My point here is there is significant statewide impact should we be successful in this effort.

This opportunity appears even greater when you consider our aging coal-fired power plants. The vast majority of our electric power is produced in these plants. The ever-increasing environmental restrictions being placed on these aging plants put many at risk of shutdown simply because the costs of upgrade are simply unrealistic if those plants could be upgraded to meet new standards.

We have become totally dependent on being able to flip the switch and turn on our whatever. Think of what happened this week in India and imagine not having reliable electricity on a regular basis. Reality is, without a clean, reasonably available replacement for these coal-fired plants, we could be in that exact situation.

I'll keep you informed as this project progresses as there has never been such a significant project with worldwide impact in our history."

Dave Griggs owns and operates Dave Griggs Flooring America and is chairman of the board of directors for REDI.

This article was published in Saturday Business on page 4 of the Saturday, August 4, 2012 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune. Click here to Subscribe.

Tuesday's Primary - God is on the ballot

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 2   Proposed by the 96th General Assembly (First Regular Session) HJR 2

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure
- That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed
- That school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools   and
- That all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.

~ ~ ~

I always believed that praying could be a silent act, I could be standing right next to you, our elbows touching, and I could be contacting my god and you standing right there in actual contact with me, could be totally unaware of this act of prayer I was engaged in.

I believe this back in the 50's when prayer in school was an issue. I was a kid then and I couldn't figure out what all the hoop-la was about. If I wanted to pray I could do so and no one would know except me and my god.

Here we are a million years later, I am no longer a kid instead I'm old and some probably believe I should be praying everyday that I will receive god's blessing and be accepted into heaven to reside in bliss for eternity.

But I don't pray and I don't believe in god, but if you do fine and dandy and if you want your children to pray in school fine, just do it quietly, so quietly I won't have a clue what they are doing. Because as much as people who pray feel they have a constructional right to do this, I think I also have the right not to have to endure public prayer, I find it offensive in public places.

It's my guess that if a little Muslim child rolled out his prayer rug in the classroom and faced Mecca and began to pray it would not be allowed. I bet the public schools wouldn't allow a priest to swing through the classroom with his incense ball while little Catholic children prayed. Then there is the Buddhist children, the Hindi children, the Jewish children and the list goes on and on... but over-looks the right of non-believer to express their non-belief. Does this right to pray and acknowledge god voluntarily include the right to not pray and acknowledge no god? Now that would truly be religious freedom.

Want to read more about prayer? Click here for Prayer 

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus 

Want to read more about Atheism? Click here for Atheism

Good News - Panera Cares

Panera Community Cafe - Clayton, MO

Yesterday I needed to be in Clayton for the day and for lunch I went to St. Louis Bread Company that really was one of four of Panera's Community Cafes. This was my first opportunity to hear about what Panera is doing to help with current hunger problem. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Your are given a sales slip with a suggested donation on it and you pay what you want. More if you like and less if that is all you have. If you are hunger and have no money at all, eat for free and donate one hour of your time in exchange.

You can read more at their link: http://paneracares.org/

Our Mission

“Panera Cares® community cafes exist to feed each and every person who walks through our doors with dignity regardless of their means.”

Panera Cares community cafes are about working together, shoulder to shoulder with our customers, to confront a serious problem plaguing communities across this country. Hunger. Simply put, in these non-profit locations, we will feed anyone. We will offer a dignified dining experience in an uplifting environment – without judgment – whether or not a person can pay. Panera Cares community cafes – operated by the Panera Bread Foundation, a separate Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity – are meant to raise the level of awareness about food insecurity in this country, while also being a catalyst for change in our communities.

Panera Cares community cafes are designed to help address the ever-worsening epidemic of food insecurity (hunger) in the U.S.  Consider this: according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 17 million U.S. households are considered food insecure. Simply put, for a significant number of Americans, putting food on the table is a struggle. 16 million kids – 1 in 5 – do not have enough to eat each day and lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis.

We’re trying to help fix that. While many solutions exist to provide access to food, Panera Cares community cafes are designed to address hunger in a new way…in a restaurant setting that maintains one’s dignity and fills one’s belly.

If you live in one of these four cities and agree this is a good idea try to support the cause with a visit.

Locations

• Saint Louis Bread Company Cares™ Community Cafe

  10 South Central Ave.
  Clayton, MO 63015
  (314) 725-9666
  Located in Panera’s (Saint Louis Bread Company) hometown, our Saint Louis location was the pilot run for our non-profit donation-based cafe model. We chose Clayton because it was one of our oldest cafes – we have deep roots in the neighborhood and we were confident that the people of Clayton would help ensure the cafe’s success. Saint Louis Bread Co. Cares opened on Sunday, May 16, 2010 and the subsequent opening of additional Panera Cares community cafes has been the best testament to its great success.
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

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• Panera Cares® Community Cafe (Dearborn)

  22208 Michigan Avenue
  Dearborn, MI 48124
  (313) 274-3301
  We opened our second Panera Cares location right before Thanksgiving 2010 – Sunday, November 21, 2010 to be exact. We had been targeting the Detroit market for quite some time and found the Dearborn site to have the perfect blend of customers that we were looking for. Coupled with a deep sense of community, we were confident that this site would exceed our expectations. And it has.
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• Panera Cares® Community Cafe (Portland)

  4143 NE Halsey Street
  Portland, OR 97232
  (503) 287-5900
  Panera Cares came to the Hollywood district in Portland on January 16, 2011. We’d had our eye on the Pacific Northwest for a few months and were excited when we found the Hollywood cafe – the community’s deep social awareness and interest in innovative programs made it the perfect market for an experiment like Panera Cares.
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• Panera Cares® Community Cafe (Chicago)

  616 W Diversey Pkwy
  Chicago, IL 60657
  (773) 528-4556
  June 21, 2012 was an exciting day for Panera Cares as our fourth location opened in Chicago!Like the other Panera Cares cafes, the Chicago site (located in Lakeview East) is easily accessible via public transportation and expects to attract an eclectic mix of economically diverse customers, exuding a genuine neighborhood vibe.In addition, there are more than 9,000 Lakeview residents who are food insecure.  This need, matched with the neighborhood atmosphere, made Lakeview East an ideal location for Chicago’s Panera Cares cafe.
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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