Japan... Shaken to it's core. Is 2012 really happening

[Rantsalot]

...

Whats the word on the nuclear power plant? Under reasonable control now or still at dangerous levels?

[toban]

Whoa Cobbler

Not entirely free. Just ask the Dene people who lost their land to the Churchill Falls dams. Or those who lived for centuries in the valleys of the Yellow River.
There has to be a more concerted push for viable solar, wind and geothermal energy harnessing. Those sources are indeed free for the taking.

Not so fast there, Cobbler.

Yes, those sources you mention are as free as the waterfalls I mentioned in my earlier post but, if someone decides to develop any source of power, whether water, wind, solar or geothermal on Dene land, or on land belonging to any other nation, the same problem would befall those peoples - right?

Fortunately there are still countless waterfalls located on public lands in all parts of Canada! All power sources are very expensive to develop but water produces power at a very low cost and without the dangers inherant in messing around with atomic power, or the significant loss of agricultural land and other land use caused by solar farms occupying 100's of acres or the unreliable power production of wind farms.

If the sun don't shine or the wind don't blow at the time you want to charge your Chevy Volt you will be out of luck!

[cobbler]

Not so fast there, Cobbler.

Yes, those sources you mention are as free as the waterfalls I mentioned in my earlier post but, if someone decides to develop any source of power, whether water, wind, solar or geothermal on Dene land, or on land belonging to any other nation, the same problem would befall those peoples - right?

Fortunately there are still countless waterfalls located on public lands in all parts of Canada! All power sources are very expensive to develop but water produces power at a very low cost and without the dangers inherant in messing around with atomic power, or the significant loss of agricultural land and other land use caused by solar farms occupying 100's of acres or the unreliable power production of wind farms.

If the sun don't shine or the wind don't blow at the time you want to charge your Chevy Volt you will be out of luck!

Now Toban, you know you don't just stick an extension cord into a waterfall and charge your battery. Hydro generation requires damming the water source and thereby flooding the valley above the falls.
I'm not against hydro, I too grew up in an Ontario which considered electricity limitless thanks to Niagara Falls. I also don't think burning anything is a viable method of creating electricity. That is a perversely counter productive waste of resources. Atomic is, as we have seen over again, far too unstable as we currently(lol) understand it.
There is no one simple method. I just think we should aim for the least invasive sources.

[toban]

Of course you are correct Cobbler but > > >

Now Toban, you know you don't just stick an extension cord into a waterfall and charge your battery. Hydro generation requires damming the water source and thereby flooding the valley above the falls.
I'm not against hydro, I too grew up in an Ontario which considered electricity limitless thanks to Niagara Falls. I also don't think burning anything is a viable method of creating electricity. That is a perversely counter productive waste of resources. Atomic is, as we have seen over again, far too unstable as we currently(lol) understand it.
There is no one simple method. I just think we should aim for the least invasive sources.

> > if I remember correctly, the Province of Manitoba recently offered to sell a large block of surplus hydro-generated electricity to Mr. McGuinty at a rate far less than Ontarians currently pay now for their power, and less than they could sell it for to the U.S. rather than export that surplus power to their energy hungry neighbors in the U.S.A..

At the time McGuinty claimed that the cost of building new power lines to the Man./Ont border to connect the two grids would be prohibitve. Instead he is paying unheard of prices for wind, solar and proposed new or rebuilt nuclear power plants.

Today Ontario is paying 40 to 80 cents per kwh, (a price that is guaranteed for 20 years yet), for wind and solar power and is charging the consumer the going rate of whatever it is, 8 or 9 cents/kwh maybe? (I don't pay directly for my power)

The cost of a nuclear rebuild or a completely new plant can not ever be definitively priced! The price just keeps soaring!

So, I have to ask, how long can that power be sold by Ontario at such a loss? Someday, someone will have to pay for it! That someone is, of course, you and me.

Question:
Which of these two choices would provide the least expensive power in the long term?

1. -an outrageously expensive and potentially deadly nuclear reactor as proposed, built on a known seismic fault line in one of the provinces most highly populated areas, or

2. - a lengthy tranmission line bringing in power at least 8 - 10x less expensive than is currently being paid in Ontario for wind and solar power today?

An afterthought:
Many of Manitoba's hydro plants make use of water flowing westward and Northward from NorthWestern Ontario on its way to the Arctic. Maybe Ontario should utilize that same water before it flows over the border. The rugged Canadian Shield extends well into Manitoba.

An apology:
To Cobbler - I know what you are getting at and I appreciate the dangers you mention here, of misuse of lands, lands which we may carelessly destroy and which sometimes unfortunately belongs to others.

[Lani]

I agree

The world needs to learn from all of this.that nuclear power plants are unsafe especially if u are buiding them in countries that are more succeptible to natural disasters. like cobbler and toban mention there are other methods for aquiring energy. But my heart goes out to those poor people in japan.

I totally agree with you alyssa about the nuclear power plants and also to Toban and cobbler being against it, if it's really really inevitable and necessary to have it, it must be in a no-prone earthquake region, but nowadays I don't think any region is safe from earthquake as we also have it here just last year.

And it's ironic that after 65 years when the first Atomic Bomb hit Hiroshima in Japan, the same country is now in danger of the same ominous and deadly radiation, which unfortunately is caused by their own action this time, and this could affect not only Japan, but it's neighboring nations as well, even up to the west coast of Canada, thus the rush for people there to buy the iodine needed to prevent the thyroid from absorbing it to the body.

Btw. If it's not too hard in your financial situation and may want to donate, starting today March 15 up to April 15, ten Canadian Banks will accept donations for Japan for the Canadian Red Cross...

BMO
Canadian Western Bank
CIBC
HSBC Bank Canada
ING DIRECT
Laurentian Bank of Canada
National Bank Financial Group
RBC
Scotiabank
TD Canada Trust

Or you can use your cell phone and text # 30333 and $1o dollars will be automatically billed on your cellphone account, or if you're with Rogers, just type 'asia', but it's better to check first before making any donation.
In the U.S. cellphone user I believe can text # 90999, just check whenever you're in doubt.

Red cross and Salvation Army is the most legitimate fundraiser for this Japan's disaster relief aid.
Red cross guarantees $.91cents for every $$$ you will donate. the other$.o9 we know have to be use for staff and other expenses that incur, and that amount is quite fair, IMHO.

[Rockheart]

i think we have more to worry about by being hit by a stray asteroid!!

Our biggest worry is the volcano in Yellowstone park, USA, that is the most dangerous thing in the world.

the definitive proof that their is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is the fact they have not come hear.

It's too fucking smoggy here!

Not entirely free. Just ask the Dene people who lost their land to the Churchill Falls dams. Or those who lived for centuries in the valleys of the Yellow River.
There has to be a more concerted push for viable solar, wind and geothermal energy harnessing. Those sources are indeed free for the taking.

Many people are installing geothermal in place of gas furnaces now.

The City of Calgary has all of it's municipal power supplied by wind power.
(Public buildings, streetlights etc.)


Saskatchewan has some hydro but they are comitted to "Clean Coal"
They say they have a 100 year free supply of coal, so if they can perfect a way to burn it cleanly then why not. They are considering nuclear too.

[Lani]

I totally agree with you alyssa about the nuclear power plants and also to Toban and cobbler being against it, if it's really really inevitable and necessary to have it, it must be in a no-prone earthquake region, but nowadays I don't think any region is safe from earthquake as we also have it here just last year.

And it's ironic that after 65 years when the first Atomic Bomb hit Hiroshima in Japan, the same country is now in danger of the same ominous and deadly radiation, which unfortunately is caused by their own action this time, and this could affect not only Japan, but it's neighboring nations as well, even up to the west coast of Canada, thus the rush for people there to buy the iodine needed to prevent the thyroid from absorbing it to the body.

Btw. If it's not too hard in your financial situation and may want to donate, starting today March 15 up to April 15, ten Canadian Banks will accept donations for Japan for the Canadian Red Cross...

BMO
Canadian Western Bank
CIBC
HSBC Bank Canada
ING DIRECT
Laurentian Bank of Canada
National Bank Financial Group
RBC
Scotiabank
TD Canada Trust

Or you can use your cell phone and text # 30333 and $1o dollars will be automatically billed on your cellphone account, or if you're with Rogers, just type 'asia', but it's better to check first before making any donation.
In the U.S. cellphone user I believe can text # 90999, just check whenever you're in doubt.

Red cross and Salvation Army is the most legitimate fundraiser for this Japan's disaster relief aid.
Red cross guarantees $.91cents for every $$$ you will donate. the other$.o9 we know have to be use for staff and other expenses that incur, and that amount is quite fair, IMHO.

Correction...Cellphone texting donation can be done thru Rogers or Fido. Text "ASIA" TO 30333 for your $5 dollars donation will go to the Canadian Red Cross or you can contact the Red Cross at 1800-redcross or go to their website www.redcross.org

Or you can go to any of the participating Banks near you. And warning!!! be careful by those people in the street asking donations for Japan, no matter how lovely they smiled at you.
There's a news now in LA about the sprouting donation scam brought on by this tragedy.

[BiankaBanks]

I hope the world lerns from the horable tragedy that is hapining to Japan and starts looking for eficient alternate sources of power because we cant rely on these dangerous nuclear power plants, they are just not worth the risk,.,., we have to find alternate power sorces and close the nuclear power plants down before they cause even more harm