Going Nuclear

A committed, lifelong Green pounds the table for nuclear power. People familiar with the baseload problem and the unreliable nature of wind and solar won't find the plot surprising, but the detailed studies of California's seasonal use and generation from wind and solar were new to me. And no, batteries are not right around the corner. No mention of electrolysis, hydrogen and fuel cell batteries, however, so lots of room for follow-up.

And the safety of nuclear plants? Well, compared to what? This factoid grabbed me:

Because nuclear plants produce heat without fire, they emit no air pollution in the form of smoke. By contrast, the smoke from burning fossil fuels and biomass results in the premature deaths of seven million people per year, according to the World Health Organization.

Even during the worst accidents, nuclear plants release small amounts of radioactive particulate matter from the tiny quantities of uranium atoms split apart to make heat.

Over an 80-year lifespan, fewer than 200 people will die from the radiation from the worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl, and zero will die from the small amounts of radiant particulate matter that escaped from Fukushima.

As a result, the climate scientist James Hanson and a colleague found that nuclear plants have actually saved nearly two million lives to date that would have been lost to air pollution.

Seven million lives per year? That is a lot of Chernobyls and Fukushimas. However, assuming this is the study, there is a bit of apples-to-oranges going on here. From WHO:

After analysing the risk factors and taking into account revisions in methodology, WHO estimates indoor air pollution was linked to 4.3 million deaths in 2012 in households cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves. The new estimate is explained by better information about pollution exposures among the estimated 2.9 billion people living in homes using wood, coal or dung as their primary cooking fuel, as well as evidence about air pollution's role in the development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and cancers.

In the case of outdoor air pollution, WHO estimates there were 3.7 million deaths in 2012 from urban and rural sources worldwide.

Many people are exposed to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Due to this overlap, mortality attributed to the two sources cannot simply be added together, hence the total estimate of around 7 million deaths in 2012.

The indoor pollution, as well as the level of outdoor pollution, sounds like London in 1952, not the first world today. Nuclear power plants in California won't be a direct help to Third-Worlders burning dung. What is needed is to get developing countries onto a cleaner electric grid. Nuclear would be fine but any modern natural gas plant will be cleaner than coal-, dung- or wood-fired stoves.

Also, a lot of industrial air pollution won't be addressed by cleaner electricity, renewable or otherwise. Steel mills, for example, will remain a challenge.

Nonetheless, welcome aboard! If Greens generally are serious in saying we face a crisis then even more of them ought to re-calibrate their position on nuclear power.

Hmm - a big, critical project uniting left and right... applying American tech and can-do... saving the world... I can hear the Indiana Jones theme right now!

A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER: The NY Times notes that within Republican ranks there is a changing climate on climate change. They cite editorials by Senator John Barrasso (R, WY) who chairs of the Senate Environment Committee, and this from House Republicans Walden, Upton and Shimkus.

All emphasize nuclear power and innovation. On the importance of innovation, Megan McArdle makes an excellent point: The US, Europe and Japan are wealthy enough to subsidize our way to a much lower carbon footprint; India, China and the developing world are not. Unless we are prepared to subsidize them as well as ourselves, we need solutions that are competitive with fossil fuels. And however hard that looks, it is probably harder - as Tyler Cowen notes, if the West cuts back on its use of oil, the resulting price drop will make it more attractive in China and India.

Well, as the great Raylen Givens said in a different context, "I ain't lookin' for easy".

Comments

[President-Elect Jim,SunnyvaleCA]

Thanks, Mr Pin!
Posted by: Pinandpuller | March 03, 2019 at 01:14 AM

[Pinandpuller]

One of Milwaukee's 2 PBS stations is running a MONEY DRIVE, tonight the lure is QUEEN.

It is fantastic.

Posted by: GUS | March 02, 2019 at 10:17 PM

What town needs two PBS stations when people aren't being entertained in Venezuela?

[Pinandpuller]

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/beyond-the-pale.html

The first printed reference comes from 1657 in John Harington's lyric poem The History of Polindor and Flostella. In that work, the character Ortheris withdraws with his beloved to a country lodge for 'quiet, calm and ease', but they later venture further:

"Both Dove-like roved forth beyond the pale to planted Myrtle-walk".

Such recklessness rarely meets with a good end in 17th century verse and before long the lovers are attacked by armed men with 'many a dire killing thrust'. The message is clear - 'if there is a pale, decent people stay inside it', which conveys exactly the figurative meaning of the phrase as it is used today.

[Pinandpuller]

Kagan was the name for Khazar kings but it later became associated with people who vote with Roberts.

[clarice]

good (early) morning, JOM:https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/03/the_political_suicide_hotline_ringing_nonstop.html

[Pinandpuller]

maybe he converted ...

Posted by: rich | March 02, 2019 at 11:55 PM

Now we have to check his garage for prayer rugs!

[Pinandpuller]

Bucyrus, Ohio! Arrgg. The W plant was Waynesville, NC. They had a plant in Sebring, Fl and Saltillo, MX too I think.

Which circles back to Cyrus, the only foreigner given the title of Messiah:

http://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/people/related-articles/cyrus-the-messiah.aspx

[Pinandpuller]

I don't think I'm qualified but I nontheless give my interpretation of the name 'Bucyrus.'

Ox Lord.

[hoyden]

Good morning, Clarice. I love it when Pieces and First Coffee come together. Thank you for connecting the MFM dots to highlight the Democrats rot. Talk about two carp birds with one shot.

As the Democrats continue "Jim Jones"ing their party I sought a Keto friendly popcorn designate. I like pork rinds with Top The Tater chive onion sour cream.

The Political Suicide Hotline: Ringing Nonstop

[hoyden]

Clarice, the link to Daily Caller didn't work for me.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/28/notturno-bulwark-methadone/

[MissMarple2]

Good morning!

clarice, That is one of your best Pieces!

[MissMarple2]

When it comes to impacting economic success through policy, how is President Trump different; what makes him more successful?

Here's my answer... pic.twitter.com/CWzMWbcBNz

— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) March 3, 2019

Link goes to diagram.

[MissMarple2]

Hope the NYC meet-up guys don't have any trouble!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6763907/Snow-rain-blanket-East-Coast-winter-storm-moves-in.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus

[MissMarple2]

Meanwhile, you folks in Florida can be smug:

AccuWeather
‏Verified account @breakingweather
2m2 minutes ago

While much of the nation contends with brutal cold, heavy snow, or severe storms today, the Florida Peninsula will be subject to another dry, unseasonably warm day: http://ow.ly/gPSe30nTXuK

[MissMarple2]

Well, this popped up and seems rather interesting:

[MissMarple2]

https://apnews.com/bfe523e77bb84cafbbaec4be6ad662c4?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

5 years on, Malaysia open to proposals to resume MH370 hunt

[hoyden]

I would amend "literally been taken over by" with "enthusiastically embraced". The Left again dropped their sheets to show us who they really are with their abortion policies.

[MissMarple2]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6763917/Illinois-nurse-adopts-baby-boy-heart-defect-helped-care-for.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus

[MissMarple2]

hoyden,

I found it interesting that the observation came from someone well-known in the gaming community. That's a part of the public we really dono't know much about. I do know that they discuss things on the platforms, but that's about it.

[clarice]

Thanks.

Howie Carr echoing SBW:https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/03/03/howie-carr-smirking-media-bias-against-gop-couldnt-be-clearer/

[MissMarple2]

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/trump-approval-above-50-17-states-including-62-approval-wva

[MissMarple2]

https://nypost.com/2019/03/02/dont-listen-to-the-naysayers-trumps-economy-is-booming/?utm_campaign=iosapp&utm_source=twitter_app

[Robin, eff 'em all]

I found it interesting that the observation came from someone well-known in the gaming community. That's a part of the public we really dono't know much about. I do know that they discuss things on the platforms, but that's about it.

My son is part of the gaming community - his group is pretty international - and they are all concerned about mass migration, corrupt politicians, and a political system that seems beyond repair. He’s a Trump voter who is seriously tee’d off that the president has not blown up DC.

He was born in ‘96 so he bridges the millennial/GenZ divide, works fulltime and has just started college parttime (paying for it himself). After listening to my lefty friends bemoan the fact that their sons are not buying the talking points, I suspect that the gaming community post GamerGate is publicly going along with the narratives while a silent preference cascade has already taken hold.

[James D.]

Exactly. It's circular logic: we wrote slanderous shit about him but since we made him famous we're off the hook. Unfortunately that might work on a third rate tool like John Roberts.

And this is why Shakespeare instructed us to kill all the lawyers.

[James D.]

Why Omar apologized

She DIDN'T actually apologize. She repeated her baseless and vile accusations right in the middle of her so-called "apology".

[MissMarple2]

I am posting this as a help to those who use twitter. It's directions on how to remove your Twitter-assigned preferences to keep them from hiding things from you:

https://twitter.com/RichardWByers/status/1102145120491712512

ChiTown first alerted me to this. I do it every morning. Some days they have assigned me just a few interests. Other days a lot.

[clarice]

chicken feet:https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/chicken-feet-trade

My grandma used to add them to soup. They are practically unobtainable here now--here's why--they are a big trade item with Asia.

[James D.]

Great Pieces, Clarice!

Except I don't know if they really ARE committing political suicide.

Yeah, the Weekly Standard died, and NR is circling the drain. But the nevertrmpers who led them to disaster are still finding donors and getting paid and appearing on TV every day. There clearly are still enough people with enough money to keep them living in the manner to which they've been accustomed.

And yeah, the Demos have run screaming to the far, far, lunatic left. But here's the thing - they'll still get between 45 and 50% of the vote in 2020. Even though they are gleefully shouting things that no mainstream politician would have dared whisper aloud even ten years ago. Which absolutely terrifies me. If our electorate were sane, the Democrat party would be polling in the high teens or low twenties nationwide.

[clarice]

Thanks, James D. You know those people are not paid for guest appearances.I don't think they're rolling in dough, actually...unless they inherited it.

[clarice]

The Democrats' anti-semitic march continues:https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272969/virginia-democrats-elect-their-first-islamist-anti-daniel-greenfield#disqus_thread"%20data-disqus-identifier="node/272969

[hoyden]

I wonder if nevertrmpers losers are being financed by The Left in a copycat Rush Limbaugh inspired Operation Chaos.

[clarice]

https://abc30.com/society/california-dmv-audited-after-lawmakers-become-suspicious-of-voter-fraud/5160294/

At last. (Another reason why the electoral college makes sense--imagine waiting months to determine the results with hundreds of claims of fraud !)

[MissMarple2]

https://www.wishtv.com/news/international/ian-mckellen-has-apologized-for-remarks-about-spacey-singer/1823541446

Apparently the gay community is now turning on each other.

[Captain Hate]

Ahoy!

https://mobile.twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1101991063185707008

[Buckeye]

new thread

[anonamom]

Regarding the razor wars, if anyone's interested (don't read further if not), the undisputed king of all the reviews is the Gillette Fusion 5 cartridge blade.

this may be TMI, but I have a five blade from them that I have used FOR YEARS to shave my legs, and it is still gettin 'er done!
Lives on the bathroom vanity; I do rinse it well, but that's it.

I'm going to bequeath it to my niece...