$5 Gas?? "What If?"

Yesterday, I introduced the book $20 Per Gallon that was recently reviewed on NPR's Talk of the Nation.

I promised a post today about my hypotheses for "what if" gas reaches certain levels.

Well, I'm going to cheat a little bit because I'm only going to talk about part of the price range beyond the current price.

Today, I'm going to discuss what I think might happen if gas were to go back to $4 per gallon and reach $5 per gallon soon after that. I'm going to leave the $6, $8, $10 and beyond scenarios for another day.

First of all, for gas to move back up to $4 per gallon, would require either a great deal of speculation and/or an economic recovery. This recovery would probably be worldwide, but it's possible that it could happen mostly in China and India and only a little bit in the U.S. and Europe.

Right at the moment, there is a glut of oil on the world market. Gasoline demand needs to rise for prices to go up substantially, or production somewhere would need to be shut in.

All in all, it's quite unlikely that gas will go back to $4 per gallon before next summer.

Nevertheless, it's a good idea to think about what might happen if it did. Long-term planning is necessary for energy policy, and thought experiments are an avenue toward that.

So, let's write out an imaginary schedule. We will assume that the recession ends around next February, although most people don't know it. Unemployment starts decreasing at that time, and recovery is evident to many people around April of 2010.

What if Gas Were to Go Back to $4/Gallon?

Over in China, the recovery has started much earlier, and their demand for gasoline starts pushing oil market prices upward in January of 2010.

Gas reaches $3.00 per gallon around Memorial Day 2010. This is tolerated fairly well by businesses and individuals.

The price creeps up to $3.45 around July 4th of next year. There's mild grumbling, and small cars and hybrids sell better than large vehicles.

In mid-August, a major hurricane destroys a number of Gulf oil platforms. This causes gasoline to hit $4 per gallon.

What happens?

People are more attuned to watching their expenses after their experiences in the current recession. So, people start consolidating errands and driving less on the weekends. The auto industry is hoping for a sales recovery, but sees recovery mostly in the sale of smaller vehicles.

However, the economic recovery continues, albeit a bit more slowly than before. Because people saw $4 gas during 2008, they are concerned but not alarmed when they see it in late summer 2010.

What if Gas Goes to $5/Gallon?

Let's say that this happens in spring of 2011. I am going to list some trends that might occur, under the headings "Hot," "Not," and "Worrisome."

HOT

• Small, sporty vehicles
  
• Local food e.g. farmers' markets
  
• Bike commuting, especially among the 18-40 year old set
  
• 4-Day workweeks (4 x 10 h) and part-time telecommuting
  
• Shoes that are appropriate for walking
  
• Small lawns and mixed plantings
  
• Real estate (especially urban). Suburban and rural market isn't totally dead.
  
• Summer vacation on Amtrak
  

NOT

• Used or new SUV's and large cars
  
• Cars for teenagers. Many teenagers start driving at 18 or 19 rather than 16 or 17.
  
• Shoes that are ill-suited for walking long distances
  
• Large lawns that require a riding mower
  

WORRISOME

• Highways, roads, and subdivisions are still being built with little thought to bicycle access. Some are still built without sidewalks. Bike community is growing, but consensus for mandatory bikeway planning is only starting.
  
• Real estate prices in suburban and rural areas are recovering rapidly. Property owners who buy now will be walloped in a couple of years when gas prices rise to around $8/gallon.
  
• Activist groups are creating delays in nuclear energy licensing.
  
• Many people still "drive everywhere" and do little walking or bicycling. They will be very poorly prepared for the road ahead.
  

My next post will be more exciting and "interesting." In it, I will consider what might happen should gasoline prices reach $6 or $8 per gallon. For now, note especially the "worrisome" trends, because I will refer back to them.

Gasoline part I

This afternoon, I heard an interesting show on Talk of the Nation. It was an interview with Christopher Steiner, who has written a book entitled $20 Per Gallon.

Now, I can promise you that I haven't been thinking much about the possibility of $20/gallon gas, but I have been thinking quite a bit about what might happen if and when it goes back to $4. I've also been thinking about what could happen at $5/gallon, $8/gallon, and so on.

I have quite a few thoughts about this topic, which I will post tomorrow.

For right now, I'd like to direct readers to the audio of the program, and to read the comment section at NPR's site.

I will go ahead and say that I am interested in reading this book, but that I disagree with the apparently optimistic nature of the book, especially at the higher levels of gas prices i.e. over $10/gallon. I think that $8/gallon gas would pretty much bring about the collapse of U.S. society and culture as we know it.

This book, and the story on NPR bring up a topic I've wanted to discuss for quite a while.

We need to talk about this. Now is a good time to do it, while gas prices are relatively moderate, but we still have the memory of last year's $4/gallon gas.

It's critically necessary for Americans to have an in-depth discussion about gasoline and the U.S. lifestyle.

It's far better to have this discussion now, during a recession when gas prices are manageable at $2.30-2.50/gallon, rather than to neglect the discussion and just bumble through life and then one morning the price at the pump is $4.99 9/10 per gallon. At present, the housing, retail and workplace economy is built around the assumption of relatively cheap gas. Big-box stores wouldn't be so successful if people were not willing to drive out of the way to shop at them.

My next post will include a sort of "hot or not" list of trends and events that I would predict to occur at certain levels of gas prices. We already know one of the major things that happened when gas hit $4/gallon last summer: SUV sales hit the skids.

What might happen if gas went to $5/gallon? What about $6? $8? When I make my predictions, I intend to consider a timeframe of a "few years" rather than a "few months" or "decades."

Not Enough Food? Longer Life?

I'll be away from the computer for a few days.

Meanwhile, one of my interests is research toward the goal of life extension. While much of this work is focused on things like resveratrol that are available as nutritional supplements, other aspects of this work are a bit more theoretical i.e. less-applied.

Some of this work can be categorized as being related to the concept of hormesis, while other studies are more properly categorized as gerontology research or studies of the body's response to mild stresses.

While too much stress is obviously bad for the human body, a mild amount of stress is needed to be healthy. Not so much a constantly jangling telephone, but rather the mild stress that is caused by exercise or movement.

Humans evolved under conditions where they needed to spend several hours per day hunting or otherwise searching for food. This implied several hours of walking or other movement per day...rather than several hours per day sitting behind a desk.

The physiological response to exercise is complex. Exercise produces a large quantity of reactive oxygen species, which are normally damaging to the body. Yet, why is it better for the body to be exposed to moderate amounts of exercise each day, than none at all? Exercise also involves the production of heat shock proteins which modulate the oxidative stress.

One stressing agent is sheer lack of food. This is certainly not a stress that most people choose, unless they are on a serious diet! A just-released study showed that rhesus monkeys live considerably longer when they eat 30% fewer calories than normal. The authors caution readers not to try this at home, because the proper nutrient balance for a restricted-calorie diet is very important, but has not been fully investigated. This is the case both for macronutrients as well as micronutrients like vitamins. Obviously, with restricted calories it is very easy to have nutrient insufficiencies.

There have been some studies with mice and insects that have showed an increase in lifespan with exposure to low dose rates of ionizing radiation. Life evolved with exposure to radiation, so it would make sense that the body has a response mechanism to low levels of this stress. A couple of these studies have shown production of heat shock proteins as well, although the response is not the same as to a daily event like exercise.

Too much of anything is not good for an organism. It would be harmful for an untrained or even moderately trained person to attempt to walk or run three marathons during the course of one week. However, moderate amounts of a stress like exercise are necessary for the human body.

The BELLE newsletter provides an excellent introduction to the concept of hormesis, and I invite readers to familiarize themselves with the concept.

Have a great weekend!

Today's News

This sounds a little bit flakey, but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading most of the news today:

1. Progress in disarmament talks with Russia. It's about time we started talking with, and not against other nations. And, yes, Russia with Medvedev (and Putin) is not the easiest country with which to talk.
   
2. Gaffney SC serial killer caught/killed, and preliminarily identified. Admittedly, this has nothing to do with politics. However, it shows that law enforcement is on the job and truly putting their lives on the line.
   
3. Lance Armstrong pulls up to third place (from 10th) in the Tour de France. What can I say? He's baaaaaaaaack!
   

I flew the flag on Saturday for the Fourth of July.

I'm glad I did.

Sure, it's said that Michael Jackson has passed. We're having economic problems, and California is technically broke.

However, anyone who has any common sense whatsoever has known there were serious economic problems for the past 3 or 4 years, as the cost of living galloped past stagnant wages. This isn't exactly new news. I've been talking about the problems with the economy for quite a while. It's taken politicians a while to catch up. Of course, some of them, mostly Republicans, never did.

The things that happened today are helping to restore my pride in America. This pride was honestly injured by many things that happened during the Bush Administration. It's been injured by the economic problems we've seen lately. Everyone's acknowledged these problems since last September, but the reality is there were serious economic problems for the last several years.

Long-time readers will remember that back in 2007, I predicted serious economic problems when I talked about the 800-lb gorilla in the room that no one wanted to talk about: the gap between stagnant wages and ever-increasing cost of living.

I was condemned in the comment section for my posts about this topic. Those who condemned me were, well, shall we just say "too shy" to reveal their name or handle.

Looking back on this, it's clear that I was saying "dangerous things." They were "dangerous" because they questioned the establishment at that time.

In a post below, I questioned the left-leaning parties in Spain and Germany on the nuclear power issue. As readers know, I lean a bit to the left, mostly on economic issues. However, in Europe, I would be center-right. Everyone is open for questioning.

But, today, with positive movement towards arms control, the quick resolution of a crime mystery, and a little bit of really fast bicycling, it's time to wave the flag a little bit.

Yes, we can:

• Negotiate arms-reduction treaties with Russia
  
• Fight crime - where it really matters
  
• Play a winning game
  

America will come back from its current problems. Things will be different a few years from now. Detroit won't be making the car that you see above, but we'll be making something innovative.

Ardent advocates of non-violence may question the killing of the murder suspect. However, he shot an officer, so it's almost certain that the officer only fired his weapon because he was in mortal danger. The officers are on administrative leave, as is standard in such cases. This blogger believes that they will eventually receive some sort of award for their work.

In our current period of introspection, which has been needed for a very long time, we are finally questioning the wisdom of yielding the right of way every time to corporations. We are at long last questioning the wisdom of allowing the very companies that get so many tax breaks...to ship jobs overseas.

We're starting to do some things the right way. Not the least of them is today's arms control negotiations with Russia. By the way, the result of such negotiations is often some very usable down-blended fuel for civilian power.

Murders in Gaffney, SC

Subject to Police Stakeout

Update:
Ballistics evidence indicates that a suspect killed during a burglary attempt in Gastonia, NC is probably the Gaffney SC serial killer. Congratulations go out for some quick detective work in this case!

Original Post:

This blog is, of course, named after the William States Lee III Nuclear Station, which is proposed for Cherokee County, South Carolina.

The county seat of Cherokee County is Gaffney, which is a small town that is currently best known for being the home of an outlet center and of the Giant Peach water tower, or, as it is sometimes called, the Peachoid.

The local economy is currently struggling. The blogger visited Gaffney last year and noted an abundance of abusive "payday loan" shops in an otherwise pleasant small downtown.

The relatively rural nature of Cherokee County, along with abundant water resources, is of course what makes it attractive as the possible site of a nuclear power plant.

Unfortunately, the residents of Gaffney have had a tough 4th of July weekend.

There is a serial killer loose [not anymore as of Monday night] who has killed 5 people in the Gaffney area during the past week.

Normally I don't post about crime cases or the like, but because this is such a major case in the county where the Williams States Lee proposal is located, I feel like I should post about it.

Downtown stores in Gaffney have locked their doors, and everyone is on the lookout for a heavyset 6'2" man who drives an early-90's Ford Explorer with faded paint.

Police have been called in from neighboring counties to assist with the search.

The reward for anyone who finds this man and turns him into the police is now $20,000.

This blogger sends out best wishes and prayers that law enforcement in Cherokee County will succeed in catching the murderer before he strikes again.

Developments in Spain and Germany

There's currently a controversy in Spain about the time to decommission the Garuña power plant, which is Spain's smallest and oldest. Spain's government has allowed a license renewal until 2013, but engineers believe the plant can safely operate until 2019.

In another development in western Europe, the Kruemmel plant in Germany tripped after a short-circuit developed in a transformer.

Germany, as most readers know, is currently governed by a coalition between the CDU and the SPD. Chancellor Angela Merkel is a member of the CDU, while environment minister Sigmar Gabriel is a member of the SPD.

The anti-nuclear Sigmar Gabriel has basically dissented from his boss (Chancellor Merkel) over the shutdown schedule for Germany's nuclear power plants.

Germany has elections scheduled in about 100 days.

It looks like environment minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) is trying to use nuclear energy as a wedge issue to try to break the current coalition with Angela Merkel's party, the CDU. Sigmar Gabriel wants older plants to be shut down more quickly than is currently scheduled. He is pushing for the aggressive nuclear phase-out policy, at the very time Germany is actually in the process of building coal-fired power plants.

There is a common thread here. In both Spain and Germany, parties on the European left have taken strong anti-nuclear positions and are trying to make an electoral issue out of nuclear energy. The parties on the (comparative) right in Germany and Spain are taking very modest positions that the reactors should be allowed to serve out their useful lives before being shut down. The parties on the (European) right see nuclear energy as a way to address climate change, whereas the parties on the European left believe they can rally their adherents with anti-nuclear rhetoric.

This is unfortunate, especially in an era when all alternatives for reducing fossil fuel emissions should be used.

Renewables make up a bit over 14% of Germany's current electricity output. While this is admirable and Germany is leading in renewable generation, the shutdown of nuclear plants doesn't cause windmills or solar panels to be built faster.

What it does is increase natural gas imports and the use of coal in Germany's coal-fired plants.

Deadly LPG Explosion in Viareggio, Italy

Viareggio, a beautiful seaside town in the Italian region of Tuscany, has been hit with a deadly train derailment in which train cars filled with liquefied petroleum gas exploded. People were killed in homes and buildings that are close to a train station.

Italy has had a long period of time, especially since a complete nuclear phase-out in 1987, in which it has depended heavily on oil and natural gas for electricity generation. There is no commercial nuclear power production, and in fact Italy is the only G8 country that has no nuclear electricity.

Maryland PSC Approves Unistar 3d Unit at Calvert Cliffs

After a number of hearings, the Maryland Public Service Commission has approved Unistar's application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a third reactor proposed for Calvert Cliffs, Maryland.

The initial application for the third unit was submitted to the NRC on July 13th of last year.

Darlington, Ontario Plans on Hold

Canadian government policies regarding AECL are starting to affect its projects. Canada's Conservative government wants to sell AECL to private interests in order to raise cash. Conservatives generally support the plan.

The policies toward AECL are starting to have a negative effect on nuclear energy plans in Canada.

The government of the Canadian province of Ontario had been taking bids on two building reactors at Darlington, Ontario that were to be built by 2018. AECL came in with the lowest bid.

The Province of Ontario has now suspended those plans. Some reports cite concern over cost overruns, while others cite concern about the future of AECL.

The Globe and Mail reports:

The move marks a huge shift in policy for Premier Dalton McGuinty's government, which had been planning to spend $26-billion expanding and refurbishing its fleet of nuclear reactors to meet the province's electricity needs over the next two decades.

AECL was competing against two global players to build the reactors: France's Areva SA and Westinghouse Electric Co. Mr. Smitherman today said AECL was the only company that submitted a bid that complied with the terms and objectives set out by the government....

Just last year, the government said it would have two new reactors up and running by July, 2018 at its Darlington nuclear station in Clarington, a fast-growing community about 80 kilometres east of Toronto. Darlington is home to four nuclear reactors operated by Crown-owned Ontario Power Generation.

Jatin Nathwani, professor and Ontario Research Chair in Public Policy for Sustainable Energy Management at the University of Waterloo, has written a thoughtful opinion article for The Star:

The shutdown of the NRU reactor at Chalk River has again brought into sharp focus the critical need for a consistent supply of isotopes to our hospitals. The most compelling and difficult issue is the reliability and safe operation of a single aging reactor on which the well-being of so many depends, both in Canada and globally.

...

The government's recent decision to exit from the supply side of isotope production by 2016 would make us dependent on sources outside of Canada. For a resource this critical to the health of Canadians, the exit strategy is not prudent. The provision of a reliable supply of medical isotopes is far too important to have the terms and conditions determined by others.

If frustration with current costs is the primary concern, what of the higher costs later when we have conceded all control of our own supply? Upon exit, we simply become a minor player with no influence.....

For long-term sustainability, we also need to address aspects of governance, regulatory policies and public acceptance. How we set up the governance of institutions responsible for nuclear matters does have an impact on the quality of day-to-day decisions.

...

We cannot allow ourselves to be stymied by the perceived risks of reactor operation, which place undue weight on hypothetical fears and end up denying patients the healing benefits of the reactor technology.

Beyond specific aspects of governance and regulatory policies, there is a deeper and more fundamental problem of public acceptance that can only be addressed in the political arena. In simple terms, there is a small but strong anti-nuclear sentiment that dominates public discourse.

Even though the safety risks are generally very low, the social amplification of risk through the media gives rise to a political and cultural climate that makes it difficult for policy-makers and politicians to take a strictly rational approach. It reduces their comfort space of operation and forces the easier way out: witness the exit strategy proposed by the government.

The time has come to shift the terms of debate around nuclear issues and help reduce the social friction. Then, all parties will have to begin to articulate clearly the benefits of nuclear technologies.

The current crisis is but the simplest and clearest example of how we effectively ignore the benefits that nuclear technology provides because the political space is too narrow to allow for a more balanced and nuanced response.

We create a cultural straitjacket that leads directly to an exit strategy: an easier and a quicker response to a problem. What it does not do, however, is take into account the full consequences of decisions over the long term.

For Canada, it would be truly unfortunate to walk away from having built and led a reasonably successful enterprise around the production of isotopes without a determined effort to fix the short-term problems.

Interesting commentary.

It appears to the blogger that the Federal Government of Canada lacks a commitment to long-term non-fossil fuel energy planning.

P.S. For what it's worth, Canada's wind industry feels the same way.

Craig Mundie Speaks on CO2 Reduction and MS Hohm

Craig Mundie, Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy Officer, said that the concept of green energy should prioritize cutting output of carbon dioxide, not necessarily the "renewable" or "non-renewable nature of the energy source.

Mundie recommended both conservation and new nuclear developments as approaches to drastically cut CO₂. The Reuters story mentions that he has an intellectual interest concerning the traveling-wave reactor concept. This design, which is theoretical only, has some major advantages involving proliferation resistance, but has a serious disadvantage in that it would use liquid sodium as a coolant.

Mundie introduced Microsoft's new Hohm software at this week's convention of the Edison ElectriC Institute in San Francisco. MS Hohm will enable computer users to track their home energy usage and will help show them the best ways to conserve electricity.

Manufacturing of Large Forgings Will Probably Occur Overseas

There's a quite detailed article over at Industry Week about the very large steel forgings that are needed for Gen III light-water reactors.

Japan Steel Works is the major producers, and Areva is looking to be a producer as well, along with companies in China, Russia, South Korea, and the U.K.,...but not the U.S.

No U.S. steel producers have the capability, because they cannot produce the 600-ton steel ingot that is needed for such a large forging. Steel producers are reluctant to add the capability because the capital investment for a melt shop that can producer the huge steel ingots is very high. There is not the growth in demand for the rest of the steel (other than the nuclear plant forgings) that such a shop would produce.

The Industry Week article is strongly recommended reading.

As a side note, the U.S.'s lack of capability in producing large steel forgings is another reason to look at the smaller nuclear designs that Rod Adams often discusses at his blog.

Wisconsin Technology Council Supports Repeal of Wisconsin Nuclear Construction Moratorium

Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council, has penned an editorial that supports a repeal of Wisconsin's moratorium on construction of nuclear power facilities.

The Wisconsin Technology Council is "the leading catalyst for the creation, development, and retention of science and technology-based businesses in Wisconsin."

Medical Isotopes and Nonproliferation

There are a few different sides to the medical isotope shortage involving the shutdown of the NRU reactor.

One aspect that I didn't discuss in a previous post is that the NRU uses highly-enriched uranium and is thus, in theory, a proliferation risk should the fuel or irradiation targets fall into the wrong hands. Policies regarding export of highly-enriched uranium to Canada and the Netherlands for use in medical isotope production targets are discussed by the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

We Support Lee would like for readers to understand as many sides of the medical isotope issue as possible.

The aging and shutdown of the NRU reactor in Canada, combined with nonproliferation concerns have led to proposals for domestic production of ⁹⁹Mo, which has traditionally been imported from Canada or the Netherlands.

The security risks involving highly-enriched uranium need to be acknowledged, while the historic safety and efficiency of Canada's ⁹⁹Mo production program are also acknowledged.

The most widely established process for production of ⁹⁹Mo is to bombard a target of highly-enriched uranium, which yields ⁹⁹Mo as a fission product. The ⁹⁹Mo is then chemically separated from the other elements present in the target.

Argentina and Australia use low-enriched uranium in the targets as well as for fuel in the reactors used to produce ⁹⁹Mo.

⁹⁹Mo decays to yield the ⁹⁹Tc that is used in medical diagnostic tests.

The yield of ⁹⁹Mo from low-enriched uranium is lower, with higher production costs and higher amounts of fission products (waste) generated.

The Canadian MAPLE reactors, mothballed because of a fundamental design problem involving a positive reactivity coefficient, use low-enrichment fuel, but still would utilize highly-enriched uranium in the targets.

This month, influential members of the U.S. medical community, including the President of the Health Physics Society and the Chair of the American Society for Radiation Oncology have joined with the non-proliferation movement in a letter to Congress that asks for funding within the United States of medical isotope production reactor(s) that utilize low-enrichment fuel and targets. This is a new development.

The Union of Concerned Scientists website discusses the proposal for domestic ⁹⁹Mo production using low-enriched uranium, which was put forth in a National Academy of Sciences report. Somewhat notable is that fact that the UCS is actually endorsing the development of a nuclear technology in the U.S. From the UCS site:

In an article published last month in the on-line edition of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Lyman argued that the U.S government should fund development of domestic isotope production facilities. The fastest way to do that would be to utilize the research reactor at the University of Missouri at Columbia and spend some $40 million to build an auxiliary facility to extract the desired radioisotopes from irradiated LEU targets. In the longer term, Dr. Lyman wrote, the federal government should build a new, dedicated facility in a remote area with state-of-the-art safety and security features.

The National Academy of Sciences report issued.., "Medical Isotope Production without Highly Enriched Uranium," was requested by Congress in the 2005 Energy Policy Act to evaluate the feasibility of obtaining isotopes from commercial sources that do not use HEU.

Changing subjects to go back to Canadian coverage of the medical isotope shortage, most commenters to a Globe and Mail article support the idea of investing further money into the MAPLE reactors.

In another note, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that biophysicists and researchers who work with neutron beams from the NRU are considering moving their research elsewhere.

Bad PR Move by Exelon ---- 50 Employees Sent to the Already Overcrowded Unemployment Office

If I were running public relations for Exelon, I would NOT do this:

Exelon cuts 500 jobs.

While most of the jobs being cut are management-type positions in headquarters (rather than plant operations or maintenance or health physics), nevertheless this is a bad PR move for a nuclear utility.

Here is why this is a bad move on Exelon's part:

Nuclear energy should position itself as a CO₂ form of green energy. Nuclear should promote the concept of recession recovery and economic growth free of greenhouse gas emissions.

These layoffs contradict that concept. They are an admission of economic weakness from a company that is a leader in CO₂-free energy.

They are perhaps also an admission of a sort of failure to live up to the social contract with employees.

The folks who will be laid off probably have good benefit packages that include retirement and health insurance.

They are probably well-educated. They have invested in their education both through academic effort and perhaps through student loans. Because they are probably insured, they are not contributing to the rise in healthcare costs that comes from uninsured people who are flooding emergency rooms.

Because their employer has helped insure them, they are able to pay their own way in the health care system, as well as with their wages and retirement. The employees invested in their education and talent, while the employer has invested in their salary, retirement, and health insurance...until now.

Do we really need more people to add to the already-crowded unemployment rolls and ranks of the uninsured??

The employees didn't strike and walk off the job. Exelon laid them off.

When we talk about "personal responsibility" to maintain one's own health care coverage, these employees have done everything correctly. They sought a job with a financially solid employer who probably provides benefits.

Now, probably through little fault of their own, they are going to be thrown into the unemployment office, and after their COBRA runs out, into the ranks of people who, all of a sudden, with less money, are forced to buy their own insurance.

That's not right.

Not all of these people have the savings or asset base that will allow them to fund their own retirement and purchase their own health insurance.

As an independent supporter of nuclear energy who realizes that nuclear energy is rather unpopular because many people don't understand radiation, I want to come out and say that I believe that the nuclear industry should position itself as a leader in stable employment and in social responsibility toward the technically skilled, hard-working folks who work in the industry.

Yes, the nuclear industry should take special measures to protect jobs and benefits, and should spend some advertising dollars to promote that.

If budgets are tight, one unpaid July 4th or Thanksgiving for everyone this year is far better than actually laying off employees.

The nuclear industry should promote itself as a leader in the private sector in job security, as well as its established role in protecting worker health. In this economy, there are many calls for increased government role in protecting jobs and providing health insurance. This is not really favorable for private enterprise.

If the CEO's of nuclear utilities believe in the American tradition of a strong private sector and a small government sector, while promoting innovation and clean energy, they should be leaders in protecting their employees from this nasty recession. Not laying them off.

One of the dreams of the early nuclear energy pioneers was that nuclear energy would bring about a stabilization of prosperity.

By contrast, these layoffs show mediocrity and acceptance of failure.

We all know about the failures associated with AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, and their unregulated gambles on derivatives that led to this recession, along with unwise mortgage lending practices.

We all know about the failures associated with GM and Chrysler and their massive layoffs. With the carmakers there is the aspect of outdated technology. GM and Chrysler admitted through bankruptcy that they have been producing gas-guzzling vehicles during an era of $3-4 gas. (small note: gas prices which are around $2.59-2.69 now around my neck of the woods, but gas station owners predict them to go back to $3 levels this summer. They're not necessarily happy about that, because they know their customers really can't afford expensive gas).

The nuclear industry, with its long-term investment pattern and steady, regular, CO₂-free production of electricity, should position itself as a leader in a new, cleaner, more humane economy.

Only by making an effort to position itself as progressive with regard to protecting and supporting good jobs for people who have invested in their own education (jobs that include benefits), will the nuclear industry win acceptance from the reluctant Democrats who are intelligent enough to be skeptical of the Greens' harping against anything-and-everything technological, but who are also strongly concerned about the effects of corporate decisions on workers.

Bad PR move, Exelon.

There Is No Teacher Surplus

A guest editorial from Bubba Chicken-Screech

There is no "teacher shortage".

Teachers represent a labor surplus, as shown in the examples below. I have quantified the units of labor that are in surplus for some localities that I found in a quick search of Google News:

• nearly 400 teacher to be laid off in Broward County, Florida
  
• 120 layoffs in Palm Springs, California
  
• 2,520 layoffs in Los Angeles, CA, adjusted down from over 3,000
  
• 1,590 teacher layoffs proposed for prosperous Orange County, California
  
• 50 layoffs in San Jose to be accomplished by increasing class size in lower elementary grades from 20 to 30 kids to get it back to the way it was in my disfunctional junior high school under Proposition 13!
  
• almost 90 layoffs in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
  
• 165 layoffs in Seattle, Washington
  
• possibly 200 layoffs in Manteca, California (manteca means "lard" in Spanish. Obviously the schools are a part of the lard of society. Can I $ell that idea, perhaps on talk radio?
  

Math and science? Bah.

Perhaps PM Stephen Harper up in Canada is correct. Nuclear energy is too expensive and too much of a luxury. Education for its workers is too expensive. If you thought that elementary and secondary schools are too expensive, wait till you see what college costs, especially in lab-based disciplines like engineering!

PE? Kids don't need to exercise. Let 'em sit on the couch and watch TV.

English? Look at the journalism profession. Job losses abound. Who needs training in grammr and compstion anymore?

Civic participation? Nah. Don't need it. LOWER MY TAXES!!!!!

Say that again!!!! My friend Billy who owns Brown Deposit PayDay Lending came in to my office screaming this morning about his property taxes!!!!

Poorly-educated kids? The prison system will take care of 'em...

Thanks, Bubba Chicken-Screech for your opinion. We're sure that the listeners will agree!

And, now for a word from our sponsors at Brown Deposit PayDay Lending where you can get a loan of $150 at the low-low-low interest rate of 24.5%!!! And once you've paid back the loan plus interest, you will feel like.....Brown Deposit!!!!