[Rhodes22-list] Serious subject not related to sailing - ChernobylUkraine reactor today

[Robert Skinner]

Tootle wrote:
> I was going to send the following web
> site to a few who might be interested
> in it.  I have changed my line of thinking...
---------------------------------------------

Ed,

Thank you for the very interesting reference.  
It is a real kick in the gut, bringing back 
some memories from 30 years ago.  It sure 
underlines the need for careful management 
of nuclear power.

In the '70s, I lived in the little town of 
Port Clinton, Pennsylvania.  There were (and 
still are) some 400-500 residents.  It was 
situated on route 61 in the Blue Mountains 
at the fork where the north branch of the 
Schuylkill river joins the west branch 
before spilling out on the flatland toward 
Reading and Philadelphia.

It was also exactly downwind of the Three 
Mile Island nuclear reactor during its 
meltdown scare.

As a borough councilman, I had to try to make 
sense of the information available and 
determine whether/when/how to evacuate the 
town if the situation warranted it.  

I was one of perhaps 5 people in town who had 
even a foggy idea how a nuke plant worked.  
It was an interesting few days.  I was on the 
phone constantly, and learned a lot more than 
I have had to use since then, thank you, about 
both nuclear power plants and evacuation 
planning.  

I'm not against nukes, but would like to keep 
them as a fall-back if/as/when we max out 
other sources of energy.  The long-term 
nuclear waste transportation and storage 
problems are only partially solved.  

While I have become convinced that we cannot 
stop or reverse global climate change, I see 
no reason to aggravate the situation when 
alternatives to CO2 producing energy sources 
exist and are practical - and cheaper than 
oil as it becomes scarce and/or is manipulated 
as a political weapon.

Here in Maine, there is an escalating debate 
about the placement and construction of wind 
turbine power generation towers.  If we could 
harness even a fraction of the wind generated 
about spoiling the view and the danger to 
migrating birds, we would be miles ahead of 
the game.  With tides that range up to 20 
feet down east, we could also use retention 
ponds and low-fall generators for "carbon 
free" and relative nonpolluting energy.

Ed, your illuminating reference agitates my 
thinking in a visceral way, and I thank you.

/Robert