Spoke for July 30th 2015
Johnny Y maintained true form with a thoughtful joke about politicians, this being the season for them to be out and about.
Then President Don opened the meeting with announcements about this week’s upcoming program with the District Governor Louisa Tripp and asked for signups for the Presidents Picnic at the MacMeekin home on Mascoma Lake between 5 and 11PM on August 29th.
Jean Flaherty-Wulpern and Steve Usle took over and talked about this year’s auction effort in support of the Upper Valley Haven Children's Food Program. This year, we will be helping to send children in the Haven's After School program home with supplemental food for the weekend. It's known as the "Backpack Program". Donation forms, additional information concerning marketing initiatives, etc. will soon be provided to all. As mentioned, each Club member has been assigned to a Team. Here's the listing:
Team 1 (Dan A., Mike, Suellen, Bill B., Jason, Garlan, Jon and Ernst)
Team 2 (Ron C., Marion, Jennifer, Steve C., Bartolo, Lorraine, Rick and Paul T.)
Team 3 (Kevin, David, Jean, Forrest, Nat, Dan N., John Y., and Rich)
Team 4 (Westin, Cathy, Paul B., Linda, Will K., Bruce, Steve U., and Jamie)
Team 5 (Jane, Phil, Valerie, Mary, Ron M., Carla, Steve W., and Don)
If you were successful in securing a donation from a particular company or individual during the past few years, you have been assigned that company or individual again this year. Each member has received an individual listing of these names. In addition, Teams have received additional names of companies and individuals who have given in the past, but were perhaps solicited by someone who is no longer an active member of the club
According to Steve and Jean each team needs to begin a process of communication. Each team member brings a unique strength to the solicitation process. There are folks who may be comfortable in committing to making calls, those who prefer site visits, pick up/delivery, computer? And each team needs a "Captain"...that individual willing to step forward to lead and keep the team on task?
This year, we are starting a little later than usual, so much will need to be accomplished in the next few weeks. With Rotary’s support of a great program and organization, and with commitment and focus, we can make this our most successful Auction yet!
Our speaker had a bit too much to get into his half hour time slot and besides was shooting difficult shots over our heads with the facts and figures of energy and the safety of nuclear power. However, I sure knew where he was coming from even if I couldn’t follow his scientific proofs. It was reassuring to see that the scientific process required provable facts from which reasonable judgements could be made.
Bob Hargraves delivered the message that the fear of nuclear energy is an irrational fear which is holding the US back from adopting cost effective, safe, electric energy solutions which are necessary for the US to continue to grow in the world economy. Without that growth we will have a much lower standard of living in a world that will be leaving us behind.
I think a summary of what Hargraves was showing us is:
Linear No-threshold Theory (LNT), which was formulated in the 1950’s at the time of the fear of a Russia vs US nuclear war, is wrong.
No-threshold means any radiation, however minute, is cancer causing and therefore bad, bad,bad!
However today we observe that:
1. DNA damage and repair occur naturally at 1000x the rate from background radiation.
2. Adaptive protections guard against future damage from many stresses, including cancer.
3. Environmental studies (eg Taiwan apartments) show fewer cancers from low dose radiation.
4. Occupational studies (eg shipyard) show lower death rates for workers exposed to low dose radiation.
5. Atom bomb Long-term Survivor Study (LSS) was not about low dose rate. They didn’t measure below 100 mSv.
6. Yet LSS data showed fewer cancers at 5-40 mSv doses.
7. Experiments with dogs and mice show that low dose radiation suppressed cancers.
Radiation is safe as sunshine.
• LNT and ALARA are regulation policies, not scientific facts. Replace them.
• An evidence-based radiation safety limit would be 100 mSv/y.
• Rational regulation is all that is needed to let nuclear power thrive and solve our global environmental and economic crises
And if anyone wants to know more about the thorium/uranium molten salt reactor, please visit the Documents section of
thorconpower.com. It is expected that this process would allow costs of producing electricity would be 40% less than today’s price for coal generating plants, our present cheapest way of producing steam for the turbines and would be 80% cheaper than the cost of renewables such as wind and sun.
Update: WSJ Monday 8/3/15: Front page Headline – New Power-Plant Regulations to Alter, Challenge Industry.
EPA administration proposes to rule that there needs to be a 32% cut in power-plant carbon emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels. The final rule would call for the nation to get 28% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2030 versus roughly 13% last year.
| |
Sources of US Electricity Generation
|
|
|
|
|
1 Qtr 2005
|
|
1Qtr 2015
|
Change
|
% Change
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
496.4
|
Coal
|
368.5
|
-127.9
|
-25.8%
|
|
148.1
|
Natural Gas
|
291.2
|
143.1
|
96.6%
|
|
192.3
|
Nuclear
|
202.3
|
10.0
|
5.2%
|
|
68.8
|
Hydroelectric
|
71.7
|
2.9
|
4.2%
|
|
3.7
|
Wind
|
45.6
|
41.9
|
1132.4%
|
|
49.7
|
Other
|
40.6
|
-9.1
|
-18.3%
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
959.0
|
Total
|
1019.9
|
60.9
|
6.4%
|
| |
(Millions of Megawatt Hrs.)
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)