Recent Comments
Re: “PG&E should be allowed to keep Diablo Canyon open, build more nuclear plants”
I agree with John Texeira's first sentence and the beginning of his second sentence. I work with Californians for Green Nuclear Power (CGNP,) an independent nonprofit founded a decade ago. To learn more about why Diablo Canyon's operating license should be extended, please visit CGNP's website at CGNP dot org
CGNP also runs a booth at the Downtown SLO Farmer's Market on the second and fourth Thursdays most months. Our booth is a green canopy next to Shin's Barbeque at the intersection of Higuera and Garden. Please talk with us there.
Re: “We need Diablo”
Mr. Racano, a science fiction writer who lacks degrees in science or engineering is a self-proclaimed "expert" who denigrates people with actual, relevant expertise. Diablo Canyon provides the equivalent of more than five Hoover Dams of safe, abundant, reliable and emission -free to California 24/7 . In the middle of August, California's solar plant output was substantially reduced because of the haze from wildfires. The winds were diminished because of the large high pressure area to the east of California. The rolling blackouts the state experienced would have been much worse without DCPP's reliable power. Furthermore, DCPP's desalination plant does not cause a measurable impact on the loss of larvae, eggs and plankton. Mr. Racano's sea life loss statistics are not fact-based. There are abundant mussels and barnacles in the outfall above sea level because they got past the filter feeders and DCPP's condensers.
Mr. Racano appears to not want to understand the careful characterization of the seismology around Diablo Canyon - and makes up his own active earthquake faults. Please refer to the April 28, 2015 SLO Tribune article, by David Sneed, "NRC reaffirms Diablo Canyon's seismic safety," In the posted comments to the article, this is the version of my comments that appeared in the NRC report released to the public regarding the 28 April 2015 meeting between the NRC, their consultants, and the owner of Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
The staff received a comment from Dr. Gene Nelson (Physical Sciences professor at Cuesta College and Government Liaison for Californians for Green Nuclear Power) via email during the meeting. The NRC staff inadvertently missed the opportunity to acknowledge Dr. Nelson's comment during the meeting.
According to Dr. Nelson, Diablo Canyon has favorable site conditions, which attenuate or dissipate earthquake energy over relatively short distances. Due to these favorable conditions, the primary earthquake forces seen by the plant would be dominated by nearby earthquake sources and energy transmitted to the plant would be dominated by the small section of the earthquake rupture closest to the plant. Dr. Nelson stated that when considering the information presented at the meeting of overall plant ruggedness and the seismic hazard insights discussed above, Diablo Canyon will continue to operate safely - with generous safety margins - during anticipated earthquakes.
Gene Nelson, Ph.D. San Luis Obispo, CA
Re: “We need Diablo”
Mr. Racano needs to sharpen his critical thinking skills. Unlike burning fossil fuel, which compensates for the substantial intermittencies of both solar and wind - and dumps the waste products into the atmosphere we breathe, nuclear power safely stores its waste products until they can be used as fuel for the next generation of nuclear power reactors. The waste products are carefully guarded - and because of their safe storage, their radiation has never harmed anyone in the six-decade history of U.S. nuclear power production. That can't be said for the mountains of coal ash at LADWP's Intermountain Power Plant in Delta, Utah connected with California power production. Furthermore, the spent nuclear fuel decays to a level comparable to a good grade of uranium ore found in nature in 300 to 500 years.
BTW, Diablo Canyon already desalinates lots of seawater every day. SLO County began a study to expand the desalination station to help supply drought - parched southern SLO County. Then, there's the phony claim of an active earthquake fault under Diablo Canyon. The reality is the 95% of the huge daily consumption of natural gas that California imports to generate electricity and other uses is imported from out-of-state via an aging and vulnerable bulk transmission and storage system. California's active earthquake faults currently harm this natural gas infrastructure. Finally, most of the plankton, eggs, and larval sea life that is associated with DCPP operations is consumed by the filter feeders like barnacles and mussels that line the 10 foot by 10 foot cooling water tunnels leading to DCPP's power deck. The filter feeders grow so well that every nine months, the tunnels are closed off so workers can scrape off the abundant mussels and barnacles. The loss is comparable to the actions of the filter feeders on a mile or so of rocky California coastline. The reality is that the SLO Tribune ran a cover story about the abundant fish and sea life catches from the waters near Diablo Canyon.
Gene Nelson, Ph.D. San Luis Obispo, CA
Re: “Who do you think is really behind the recent Adam Hill robocall sent out to District 3 voters?”
Kevin P. Rice is the culprit. . https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/politic…
SLO County DA identifies conservative activist as source of KKK robocall sent to voters
BY LINDSEY HOLDEN, MONICA VAUGHAN, AND MATT FOUNTAIN
FEBRUARY 28, 2020 11:59 AM
Re: “Hot mess?”
Here's a 2016 photograph on the fourth slide of this PowerPoint of the Diablo Canyon ISFSI, courtesy of PG&E. https://tinyurl.com/DCPP-ISFSI Each of the spent fuel canisters are about 20 feet high. Gene Nelson, Ph.D. Californians for Green Nuclear Power, Inc. Legal Assistant.
Re: “Diablo Canyon already produces clean energy”
The above anonymous comment is not supported by facts. This reader likely don't know as a consequence of fracking, a billion cubic feet of natural gas is being wastefully flared in the U.S. EACH DAY. That is a symptom of a glut of natural gas. The natural gas industry is ahem " lobbying" throughout the U.S. to eliminate the only large-scale competition to natural gas, namely nuclear power. They have enlisted the support of poorly-informed groups such as SLO MFP to help them to expand their market share. You may also be surprised to learn that natural gas is the secret friend of solar and wind generators. See this 2016 Washington Post story http://tinyurl.com/Natural-Gas-Secret . To learn more, please visit CGNP dot com - Gene Nelson, Ph.D., San Luis Obispo
Re: “PG&E should be allowed to keep Diablo Canyon open, build more nuclear plants”
The most recent and most lengthy reply is replete with the exaggerations and distortions that DCPP opponents typically utilize. This person seems to want to sound educated regarding the technologies employed at DCPP but perceives the plant through a set of distortions. The scientific consensus is that DCPP is a safe plant that has been running well since 1984, almost 40 years without significant incidents. A pair of quotes from Professor Christopher Lasch's 1975 book The Culture of Narcissism come to mind. “When the images of power overshadow the reality, those without power find themselves fighting phantoms.” and “Ruling classes have always sought to instill in their subordinates the capacity to experience exploitation and material deprivation as guilt, while deceiving themselves that their own material interests coincide with those of mankind as a whole.” As a science and engineering professor, I encourage students to utilize their critical thinking skills and ignore self-appointed experts (narcissists.)