Nuclear's death gasps

I'm getting pretty tired of hearing the nuclear argument. A friend recently sent me the same old argument. It's here, below my reply:

As a footnote to it. The author ends on an interesting note - that we need to choose our poison when it comes to energy. I think that is a good point. There is another option however. Don't use electricity. My choice.


Oh man so old.

• Most people who are against atomic power want renewables, not gas or coal.
• We don't want anyone to die. Not less people to die.
• Financially, nuclear is MUCH more expensive, if you take into account waste and decommissioning and insurance. I say if here, but there isn't really an "if" when it comes to the costs. The only if is whether it is taken into account or not.

These arguments are the last dying gasps from people desperately trying to earn a last fading buck before they have to shut up shop and start engineering solar panels.
Pathetic really.

On 8 April 2013 09:31, A Friend wrote:

Just saying …

Feed: Co.Exist
Posted on: 05 April 2013 04:01 PM
Author: Ben Schiller
Subject: Forget Fukushima, Nuclear Power Has Saved 1.8 Million Lives

Chernobyl. Three Mile Island. Fukushima. All horrible accidents, but is the cost in lives far less than if those power plants had been burning coal? Following Fukushima, many people turned their back on nuclear power. Governments, such as Germany’s, decided to halt plans for new stations or phase out existing ones. Critics were happy to say the disaster proved what they’d been saying all along: Nuclear is too dangerous, and we don’t need it. But exactly how dangerous is nuclear really? It depends on how you look at it. In absolute terms, nuclear is as risky as hell. We would never conceive of building something like a nuke station, if we didn’t have to. But comparatively speaking? That’s perhaps another story. From 1971 to 2008, 4,900 people died as a result of nuclear power. A new paper by two researchers at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies calculates the damage if we hadn’t had nuclear power for the last several decades, and what damage might be caused if we don’t embrace the technology going forward. Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen estimate that 4,900 people died as a result of nuclear power between 1971 and 2009, mostly from workplace accidents and radiation fallout, but, they said, 370 times more people (1.84 million) would have died, had we generated the same power from fossil fuels. The scientists’ figures are based on estimates of mortality caused by particulate pollution, which killed 1.2 million people in China in 2010, according to a recent report. And it gets worse. They say burning natural gas to replace nuclear power will result in at least 420,000 deaths by 2050, and 7 million more if we replace it solely with coal. Burning natural gas to replace nuclear power will result in at least 420,000 deaths by 2050. Aside from immediate health impacts, Kharecha and Hansen’s point is to show that we really can’t do without nuclear if we want to keep climate change within manageable boundaries. They believe that renewables won’t supply the scale or dependability to replace nuclear, if we want to stay under a 1 degree C global temperature rise (above preindustrial levels). "Achieving these targets emphasizes the importance of retaining and expanding nuclear power, as well as carbon-free renewables, in the near-term global energy supply," they say. The paper says nuclear power prevented 64 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions in the period to 2009 and would prevent 80 to 240 gigatonnes by 2050, depending on the replacement. Kharecha and Hansen’s paper is likely to annoy (perhaps too mild a word) opponents of nuclear power who tend to exaggerate the actual evidence of harm. The best science shows that the long-term fallout from major nuclear accidents has been more modest than advertised. The paper states: ..no deaths have been conclusively attributed (in a scientifically valid manner) to radiation from the other two major accidents, i.e. Three Mile Island in March 1979, for which a 20-year comprehensive scientific health assessment was done, and the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. Meanwhile, a United Nations study of the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the worst in history, found that 43 people died, including 15 first responders. Kharecha and Hansen’s point is not to minimize these deaths, or nuclear’s larger risks or costs, but to put them in comparative context. Rail against nuclear, if you want to. But when it comes to energy, you have to choose your poison.

--

Love, Respect, Action.

Why insurance companies are bad

They work against community. If you know anything about me, you'll know that that would be a sure-fire way to piss me off. Building, supporting and nurturing community is one of, if not the, most important way we can make the world a better place.

Insurance companies start out badly on this account. The whole premise behind them is that we should not trust or rely on each other, but should rather buy security and peace of mind. So instead of looking out for each other and resolving our problems together, we rely on someone who we've never met before on the end of a phone, and internet banking.

I found an even better example of their assault on social cohesion yesterday. Apparently they won't insure household contents if more than 2 people live in your house who are not family relations. Way to breed a little mistrust and resentment assholes.

I hope they don't mind that I see everyone as my brothers and sisters. Now just to decide whether I want to get rid of all my stuff, or start my own community based insurance scheme - anyone in?

Eating jobs

Walmart recently entered SA to much fanfare and consternation. Capitalists licked their jowls and trade unionists protested. Some people celebrated cheap prices and wider range, while some worried about their jobs. 

I caught a glimpse of what Walmarts entry into SA might mean yesterday. On the way to the station, we drove past the Timbercity in Lakeside. Timbercity is a South African hardware chain store. A few years ago a Builders Wharehouse (a Walmart subsidiary) opened up about a kilometre and a half up the road. The writing was on the wall for Timbercity and all the people who worked there. My phone automatically capitalises Walmart, it doesn't recognise Timbercity. Builders Wharehouse has the support of Walmart and all that comes with. They can stay open late and on weekends and not worry about initial loses, they have a much bigger range than Timbercity and they will soon be a monopoly. Already my friends in Joburg talk about going to Builders and not the hardware store. I don't think this consolidation of the market place is good for society. The invisible hand of the market will ensure there are less jobs and the jobs there are are McJobs (compare the concept of a job to a livelihood). 

What can you do about this? Unless you're an activist, and it's your life's work, not much. Perhaps you could hit capitalism where it hurts though. Never enter a Builders shop (there are a bunch of different types) without a shopping list, and never leave with more than is on your shopping list. What do you think?

---

To put a human face on all this. I was walking my dog on Zandvlei, near where I lived at the time. The dog ran into the vlei near the bridge and went after a duckling. A man saw it happen, and didn't see the duckling reappear. He told me that he thought my dog had killed it. Not in an angry way, more just sad. I saw he had a Timbercity shirt on, and recognised him from there. 

He walked off, I scolded my dog and stood looking out over the vlei in the direction of the beach and water slides where the duckling had been. Pretty soon I saw the duckling bob back to the surface and join its (my long range duckling sexing skills aren't what they used to be) parents. I was happy. 

I had to go into Timbercity later that day and saw the same guy. I told him the duckling had survived - he was really happy. I hope he has managed to find a job somewhere else now. 

Hope

It started with a conversation about a platform shop. As we pulled out of Cape Town Station he said it would be great if we could just quickly buy something from the shop, if only they had an entrance on the platform. Sweets, something to drink or a newspaper. Then they would make a killing. I said "but then the people would get free access to the train, and they'd have to control it". Silence. Me problem solving: "What about a small window. Then people could just say what they wanted, pay for it and it gets passed through the window." Satisfied silence?

As we approach De Doorns, we stop and wait for police to clear striking farm workers off the tracks. The police on board ask us to close the blinds in case people are throwing stones. For a moment, me and my camera phone feel like a member of the Bang Bang Club. Somehow sharing a tense moment gets the conversation going again. He tells me about a farmer he met who sends grapes from that area all over the world. He is angry at others eating grapes when South Africans can't. I am too.

The dry Karoo landscape silences mirror our conversation like the distant mountains. A political mountain approaches. We talk with disgust of Jacob Zuma and Nkandla. He tells me about meeting Ramaphosa "...before NUM. Before he changed his jacket. When he used to run side by side with Biko". I'm fleshing out my academic history with these gems, scattered like the sheep across the landscape. We both agree that education is the key. He tells me how he would put money into teacher training colleges if he were Zille and uplifting schools like Langa High to be more like Rondebosch Boys Prep. Langa High was the only high school for Africans in Cape Town when he was young. My dad went to "Roast Beef and Pork Sausages".

Train and electricity warning signs alert non-existent drivers that they will soon cross our path on the dusty roads. I tell him I want to mentor young people and how I think that that is so important. I don't mention her, but I'm proud of my mums work when he agrees with me that it is important in overcrowded schools. He tells me he worked for the Western Cape Government. I'm proud to explain my work, but tell it from the peoples side, not the environments. He is a proud PAC supporter. Robert Sobukwe said there is only one race, the human race, as we cross a river. The PACs downfall was accepting money from a white Australian woman. It shouldn't have been. He's angry because of that. Mandela didn't have a mandate from the ANC or the people of South Africa to negotiate. Mandela sold us out, and he's not too impressed with the little man, Tutu, either.

He didn't start talking about the grape farmer once we had passed the striking workers. What he told me was that when he went to school in Fort Beaufort (because there was only one high school in Langa for Africans) he used to hate taking the train. He said that with passion, and his bottom lip quivered. There used to be a shop on the platform, and only the white people could go inside. The black people were served through a small window on the side.

As the Karoo succumbs to sunset he says "I'm glad I could speak to you, Glen." I say, "I am too, Sky." I think how glad I am there wasn't a free coupe. He goes to get water to take his pills.

Dogs

Zuma's has gone too far. I mean the whole rape trial, arms deal corruption and the hollowing out of our democracy was bad and so I guess this was just the final straw. He said that owning dogs and looking after them (taking them to the vet and for walks) is part of "white culture" - whatever that is. He also said that people who spend more money on their dogs than their domestic workers "lack humanity".

There is a lot in this and it's got me thinking - which I guess is one positive. Being a dog owner, I reacted very strongly when I heard what JZ had said. The first bit - about white culture - I don't think much can be said about in terms of arguing the point. I don't know what white culture is, but referring to it is an example of JZs leadership style. Well, calling it leadership is a bit too generous. His career or survival skills. It is so very divisive. Playing groups off against each other to win votes - I think Not what I'd expect from the leader of a democracy. 

On to the "lacking humanity" bit. This gets a bit trickier. Comparing an employee who cleans your house or tends your garden to a dog is not easy. One is an employee and the other a dependant, and to suggest they are both dependant would, I would think, be insulting. So to simply look at your budget and say I spend R1000 on my dog every month (I actually spend about half that) and R500 on having my house cleaned (I actually pay R200 for one day a week at the moment, but would prefer not to have any domestic help - more on that later) and therefore I value my dog twice as much as the person who cleans my house, is very problematic. 

This is not to say that some people's monthly budgets aren't seriously out of whack, or that people don't pay the people who clean their houses or tend their gardens enough. It also doesn't mean that JZ can not talk about that or actually DO something about it (shock horror). If he really has a problem with dogs, how about making dog food more expensive? Or even better taking on the WTO and raising huge import tariffs on imported dog food? After all most of the brands of expensive dog food are imported from the US or EU - now that is crazy! 

Going beyond dogs, and if humanity was something JZ really wants to get serious about, how about getting a task team or the National Planning Commission to look into some standards that everyone in SA could live sustainably by and then encourage people to live according to these (whether that would allow people to own dogs or not, I don't know). That might mean JZ would have to live according to those standards too though - something he seems incapable of doing, rather setting the worst example of fiscal responsibility for the rest of the nation. 

I reacted to JZs utterances emotionally, because I own a dog. However I really think that there is far more going on behind what he is saying that warrants outcry, whether you are a dog owner or not. We should want change, we should want to discuss these things and we should want more social stability and equality. Trying to approach these questions through the off hand comments of a career politician who is in it for the cash is not the way to go about it.

JZ using these sorts of issues as a way to entrench his grip on power sickens me. 

What did I think of Tanzania?

Let me tell you. It was hot. I'm talking 31 degrees on my way to the airport at 4am this morning hot. Most of my clothes are still sweaty, and I'm wondering if my Earthsap washing powder is up to the job. One thing I lost is my concern for walking into a meeting with sweat patches on my clothes. To hot to care. Often I couldn't get more than those four words through he fug of my brain.

Not that this was a bad thing. I wallowed in the heat at times - especially when I could. That was normally just before getting to another wave of air conditioning or the Sunday morning I had on Kipepeo (butterfly) beach. The city itself is really friendly with everyone willing to go out of their way for you. From the guy at breakfast who always looked like he was super happy to see me, to Taxi drivers telling me about "their" Dar.

That is probably one I the best memories of my trip - I managed to use every form of public transport there was, except cycling. I took taxis, a couple of Dala dalas, piki pikis a bus, bajaj and of course walked quite a bit. The dala dalas are very similar to minibus taxis in SA, just bigger and cheaper. Crazy cheap. R1.50 for pretty much any ride. The piki pikis are motorbike riders who'll take you where you want to go in the bliss of the open air. Bajaj are tuk tuks in various states of repair.

The other great thing was the fruit - everywhere, big and sweet. On the trip to Morogoro to speak to some professors of agriculture, there were mangoes dripping off the trees, and when I got to taste them, they were goooood. I also bought a big pineapple and some Jamul - a new fruit for me. I could have racked up way more than one new fruit - if only I'd had a kitchen a fridge that didn't freeze everything that went near it. That said, I had THE best banana and pineapple ice cream ever. Oh the bananas - so good, they have that tang you only really get in bananas grown not for supermarket - almost like they have a hint of guava. Guess this is one of the reasons I do what I do.

The work itself was great - nice and flexible and without too much pressure. Getting to know the country and the issues around agriculture here. It's a place where 80% of farmers are small holders (about an acre or less) and 98% of the ag is rainfed. It's also a place were stunting is rife - in 42% of children under 5. Scary stuff. Especially when most of the big ag initiatives are pushing production of commodities and monoculture a of the staples, maize, rice, sorghum, etc. I think the solution to this "hidden hunger" is a diverse diet. Your mom was right when she told you to eat your greens.

There is a lot to do, and the sector has the feeling of a good rush, with land grabbers and big agri-business rushing to get a piece of the pie, which is often already on someone else's plate. There is a big job ahead, to tell the story of a different model of agriculture, one that is farmer centric and knowledge intensive as opposed to merely technology intensive. I've got a much better idea of the challenges ahead now, and I've also learnt, that if I can learn to love the heat, Tz is a country I would love to come back to.

Plastic rhino horns

I think wanting to help the rhino avoid extinction is a very noble cause. In exactly the same way as I think wanting to help the Ethiopian wolf (<500 left) Sumatran tiger (<400 left) Cape Leopard toad, African wild dog and very other threatened species is a very good idea.

What is the primary reason for most of these species threatened status? Habitat destruction. And by habitat, I mean the web of life and ecosystems they and all species depend on, not just the geographic area the species inhabit. Oh, and incidentally I include humans in that "all species". The dominant way of life of most of humanity is destroying that habitat - in short, civilisation. The idea that the soon-to-be-majority of us can live completely disconnected from our land base and off the work (and what corporate environmentalists like to call "eco-system services") of others.

Of course poaching plays a part, but this is a part of the cause, not the cause itself. Let's be clear - our use of electricity and the pollution and very real habitat destruction it causes is MUCH more of a threat than poaching. That is just one example. Our increasing reliance on plastic is another. Look at the pacific garbage patch and the amount of sea birds (and countless fish that are never found) that it kills.

So while I love the idea that many people are concerned for the fate of the rhino, strapping a purpose built plastic rhino horn to their car (and in many cases their 4x4) is part of the problem. It is however indicative of our separation from nature. We are so far divorced from that which we love and which we rely on that we are killing it to try and save it.

I know I know, there is no pleasing some people.

Cut plastic out of your life. Reconnect with your land base. Reconnect with your community. Those are some places to start.