Ohio faces a decision soon about its two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse and Perry, and on Wednesday, neighbors of one of those plants issued a cry for help. The reactors’ problem is that the price of electricity they sell on the high-voltage grid is depressed, mostly because of a surplus of natural gas. And the reactors do not get any revenue for the other benefits they provide. Some of those benefits are regional – emissions-free electricity, reliability with months of fuel on-site, and diversity in case of problems or price spikes with gas or coal, state and federal payroll taxes, and national economic stimulus as the plants buy fuel, supplies and services. Some of the benefits are highly localized, including employment and property taxes. One locality is already feeling the pinch: Oak Harbor on Lake Erie, home to Davis-Besse. The town has a middle school in a building that is 106 years old, and an elementary school from the 1950s, and on May 2 was scheduled to have a referendu
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My understanding of the symbolism is perhaps a bit different from that of the antis. Ice is commonly used to cool something that is too warm. So the message I get from the picture is that the antis are saying, "The solution to global warming is sitting right here in front of us, and we refuse to admit it."
Yes, there were some Entergy employees there. I don't know how many attended, but at least a few of them located in Jackson used their lunch hour to attend the rally. But even if there were nuclear professionals from Grand Gulf in attendance, what does that prove? Entergy employees are the people closest to the operation of the plant. If the claims of antinuclear activists are true, their health and safety, and that of their families are the most at-risk. If the people closest to operations are confident enough in the safety and security of the plant to publicly support new nuclear, I believe it is a powerful demonstration to the layperson that the risks are manageable.
Furthermore, my colleagues from Virginia used their own vacation time and paid their own expenses for the trip. NA-YGN members in North Carolina volunteered their time to make posters for the rally. There are many examples of people volunteering their time and their money to support new nuclear power because they believe it should remain an important part of a balanced energy mix in the this country.
In short, to posit that anyone that supports nuclear power must be a lackey of the big bad corporations is a flimsy, and offensive, attempt to attack the messenger.