The Stimulus Program

Interesting to see how this thread has evolved...

...and, interesting too, for me as an old guy to see how even a few years of in-depth study of the issues by the posters above, can result in a better discussion. And, again I say this with all respect, but the candidates are talking theory, some of us older folks are talking "been there..." and know that, if one government agency can't do the job, forming ANOTHER one isn't a solution! And some like Hornet are obviously thinking this all through, in class! I think my appointee son (as are the rest of you, including Boxer) will be going to a GREAT school! (whichever academy it is...) :thumb:
Funny how "environment" seems to get twisted around. Nuclear is probably the best "for the environment" but the "what about the waste?" issue always comes up. France can deal with their nuclear waste. So can Germany and other countries. As has been pointed out, our "waste problem" is a political one, not a technical one. :shake:

(oh, "the club" is that bar you put across the steering wheel to keep your vehicle from getting stolen!)
 
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We have this really cool facility here outside Las Vegas called Yucca Mountain. The DOE built it in the side of a mountain for the express purpose of safely storing the waste. Unfortunately politicians like Harry reid have fought tooth and nail to kill it. The jobs that could be generated and the revenue would go a long way to easing Nevadas fiscal problems. A shame my NIMBY Senator is such a Troll.
 
Hornet, Civics (especially old ones) are some of the most stolen cars. Teh Club is the old device that went on the steering wheel to keep people from stealing the car.
 
The nuclear waste situation is the identical problem we have with our current oil situation. People want us to be less dependent on foreign oil, but to do so we need to drill. However, noboday wants to drill in their backyard...the only place that says drill baby drill isn't being allowed to for fear that we might upset the caribou. The same is true for refineries, they are decades old, but who wants a refinery in their town. So there we stand in this conundrum, we know we need it, but nobody wants it to be the one that is effected by it.

In theory this all sounds lovely...wake me up when it can become a reality.
 
Ah, you hit it on the head unitedstatesafa2013, what the United States federal government needs is ANOTHER agency to ensure things are done properly...only because the other agencies apparently won't. Personally I won't be happy until I'm told how many breaths a day I can take, since I too am contributing CO2 to the environment (sure makes the plants happy though).

And certainly with a new agency of "high qualified" GSs, there will be JOBS FOR EVERYONE!!! YAY!!

I want to work in MiniTruth, where do you want to work?

Haha this is true.
We're not a dystopia though...yet.
 
Either way, whether you use the exhaust or not, you emit the same amount of gases. The major component of the exhaust is CO2 and water. (Hydrocarbon + oxygen yields CO2 and water) The heat produces NOX compounds (the compounds that cause the brownish haze you see), and some sulfur compounds (SO2) are released, though significantly less compared to coal. Remember where this stuff is coming from. ;)

Hybrids are a dead-end tech. You're taking the worst of both worlds. An underpowered engine and a low-energy capacity battery. The future will be a combination of full electrics in urban areas and hydrogen tech for long distances (doing research on hydrogen storage technologies here right now).

We will see the time for change come, its much closer than you think. The next or concurrent major issue along with energy will be water supplies too.

Nuclear waste isn't that hard to deal with. Put it into Yucca where it can be sealed in an emergency and can't contaminate ground water. The worst parts of the waste only need a meter thick layer of concrete over them to block the radiation.

Cogeneration doesn't remove the most important part: the use of fossil fuels. Still burning oil/gas/coal in huge amounts which means we still will run out, still are polluting, and still will have to rely on foreign sources.

A breeder reactor is 100 times more efficient than current light water reactors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor

They can take other radiation sources like thorium and Uranium fission by-products to produce more electricity. They are the Honda Civics of nuclear fission efficiency with the power of a Ferrari.

The last government effort to regulate nuclear energy (see the EPA), has halted nuclear production and made both construction and electrical production cost prohibitive. It takes us twice as long at twice the cost to implement a new reactor compared to France which gets nearly 80% of its electricity from nuclear reactors.

Capiche, thanks.
For the hybrids I said Electric Hybrids where it would use electricity more than gas, and running on gas- the car would have hundreds of miles per gallon. But then again...we'd still be dependent on oil.
 
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1enr.txt.pdf <<in case anyone wants to read it.

Anyway (I know the F-22 debate is over) but I have to mention the fact that the majority of the package is contracted projects. Infrastructure rehabilitation, things like bridges and roads, I don't believe a country can survive to even afford an F-22 if our infrastructure continues to degrade at its current rate to a breaking point.

As for the envrioment and energy consumption, this may be the only time in this forum anyone ever says it but the French actually have done a great job in advancing nuclear power technology over the past few decades. Most of their more modern plants produce less 1/10th of the waste that our aging ones do.
 
A French nuclear plant providing something like 50,000 homes with electricity produces about a bathtub sized amount of waste a year. Ponder that when you see a couple TRAINLOADS of coal going to the local power plant for the week. We have mini-reactors now that can power 10,000 homes for 7-10 years (Hyperion) which will produce a softball size amount of waste when it is refueled after 7-10 years. We missed the train so long ago and we will unlikely be able to catch back up.
 
who needs a hybrid... on 10/13/08 I ordered my new Camaro.. it will be delivered sometime before June this year.. AND thanks to the President I will get an incentive to buy it! WOO HOO..

ohh and nevermind it is a US car made in Canada....
 
A French nuclear plant providing something like 50,000 homes with electricity produces about a bathtub sized amount of waste a year. Ponder that when you see a couple TRAINLOADS of coal going to the local power plant for the week. We have mini-reactors now that can power 10,000 homes for 7-10 years (Hyperion) which will produce a softball size amount of waste when it is refueled after 7-10 years. We missed the train so long ago and we will unlikely be able to catch back up.

And then most of that softball can get dumped into a breeder reactor.

Seriously, the fact that it can use sources other than uranium is good too. I know there is quite a bit of thorium laying around; my chem teacher had a jar of thorium nitrate from 1923 sitting in his storage room. About 1 kilo, I think.
 
Yup, there's lots of uranium and thorium sitting out there. The largest reserves are also in the US and Canada!
 
who needs a hybrid... on 10/13/08 I ordered my new Camaro.. it will be delivered sometime before June this year.. AND thanks to the President I will get an incentive to buy it! WOO HOO..

ohh and nevermind it is a US car made in Canada....

way to support the Canadian economy! lol kidding.:biggrin:
 
My Honda Odyssey is made in Alabama, but my old Dodge van is made in Canada. And, my husband's Toyota is US made (maybe Kentucky?), but my sister's Ford is made in Mexico.

And, with only four more payments to go on my house, I am getting pretty annoyed with the stimulus thing. Now, I read that if these poor folks just stay current for a year, $1000 will come off what they owe to the bank. Now they tell me.
 
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