Comments: Thanks Mr. Nader for coming to VA and thanks to Pace for bring him to VA! We need true green energy and not nuclear power! The beginning of the nuclear chain is uranium mining which has ruin people's health, their water, their land and the air around them. The nuclear chain is the chain of death! Nuclear power is the only type of business that has to have an evacuation plan. Just think about that, this describes nuke power, dangerous and deadly. R's do not like big government but they are willing to give taxpayer's monies to huge energy corporations that should pay for their plants. Instead of giving monies to nuke's, give the monies to the people to put up solar panels, wind mills or geothermal heat pumps, this would be a heck of lot cheaper than building nuke plants which will cost at an average of $24 billion per reactor, which has never been built on time, never come under budget, our home power will not call for an escape plan either!
By Tara Bozick
Published: September 18, 2010
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, a four-time presidential candidate, was always a hero for Deborah Dix of Danville.
Dix and three other local women made the trip to the University of Virginia on Monday to hear Nader’s take on energy policy in his talk titled “Megawatts, Negawatts and You.” Event sponsors included the People’s Alliance for Clean Energy and Donal Day, a U.Va. research professor of experimental nuclear and particle physics.
Nader pushed for more energy efficiency and conservation and clean energy, which he said didn’t include more nuclear reactors or uranium mining.
“We don’t believe the country needs nuclear power,” Nader said in a Thursday interview. “It’s too costly. The opportunities for energy efficiency and electric generation to the consumer are far greater.”
Dominion Virginia Power is proposing to add a third nuclear reactor to its North Anna Power Station in Central Virginia.
Nader said money should be invested in solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy rather than nuclear power, which he called a “gigantic technological lemon.”
Nuclear plant projects can’t go forward without federal loan guarantees, he said, because Wall Street won’t invest in them without that backing.
Additionally, nuclear plants have the problem of radioactive waste, he said. The enrichment of uranium to concentrate it for use in fuel rods for nuclear reactors also takes coal-fired power, Nader said.
“Why do we need uranium mines?” Nader said. “They are extremely dirty.”
Nader said not all types of energy are alike and it’s a “fallacy” that all need to be included in the energy portfolio. Some carry risks or are not cost effective while others like wind and solar reduce greenhouse gases.
“Where are you going to put your dollar?” Nader asked.
Dix also got up to speak in front of the crowd to let Charlottesville know that the possibility of uranium mining isn’t relegated to Pittsylvania County.
“It will not stop in Pittsylvania County if the (statewide) moratorium is lifted,” Dix said.
Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and a mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit in Pittsylvania County, but Virginia currently has a moratorium on uranium mining. Legislators (Yes, GA did this after the local uranium company told them to and offer to pay for the study, funneled by VA Tech, Ace says) asked the National Academy of Sciences to study the scientific aspects of uranium mining in Virginia (Members of the panel are pro mining and pro nuclear power, therefore, not a fair and balance study, Ace says).
Dix let event attendees know that the study is for Virginia and not site-specific to Pittsylvania County.
“This is a statewide issue,” said Deborah Lovelace of Gretna, who accompanied Dix.
Lovelace’s position is that uranium mining can’t be done safely in Virginia, but advises everyone to research the issues.
Donal Day remembers speaking against uranium mining, including in Danville and Southside, before the moratorium began in 1982. He didn’t want to risk Virginia’s assets of agriculture, scenery and tourism.
“For me, it’s like a bad dream. I thought we had settled this once and for all,” Day said.
Read more:
http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2010/sep/18/nader-shares-locals-concerns-about-uranium-ar-512004/#comments
