HeidiAllen.com

Back in 1994, when the internet was new and government agencies were still relatively clueless about network security, I unwittingly stumbled into the Department of Energy’s nuclear power plant accident database. What I discovered was that every nuclear plant in the country had filed dozens (often hundreds) of accident reports.

While most of the accidents didn’t endanger anyone, a number did. Any release of highly radioactive isotopes increases the risk of cancer, birth defects and unforeseen consequences within the environment. The trick (and the fact that plant builders and operators depend on) is that the cause is nearly impossible to prove.

On their website, Texas’s largest retail energy provider, TXU, claims “Nuclear power plants have a record of safety excellence”. This may be true, relatively speaking. Every plant, nuclear or not, has accidents. The problem with nuclear is that accidents pose a far greater risk for a far, far greater length of time.

Plutonium-239 is one of the constituents of nuclear power waste. It can be used to produce nuclear weapons, which makes it highly sought after by terrorist groups and rogue nations. It has a half-life of 24,110 years.

Uranium-238, the most prevalent isotope in uranium ore, has a half-life of about 4.5 BILLION years.

Does anyone really think it’s possible to ensure safe storage and handling of these materials for even a tiny fraction of that time? The former Soviet Union was under that delusion, and now their nuclear arsenal has been dispersed to questionable sources worldwide.

Nuclear is not an option, not even to create power.

TXU is moving ahead with plans to build 2-5 new nuclear power plants in Texas. Friends of the Earth has a page that will enable you to easily send an email to the decision makers involved. I urge you to take action on this issue:

Friends of the Earth TXU action page

We have three cats, and it’s apparently a big deal for them when we finally get up in the morning. Each one wants to get the first/most attention, and this has resulted in each cat giving a lot of thought as to how to best achieve this.

Orange was the first to put her plan into action. She’d wait for hours at the edge of the scat mat in front of the bedroom door (which gives a tiny electric shock to kitties who step on it), then leap over it and up onto the bed when the door opened.

Puddytat countered by wedging herself into the corner closest to where the first crack of open door would appear, then beating Orange to the bed. Orange fought back by figuring out a way to actually sit on the scat mat (a surface charged with static electricity). We still haven’t figured out how she’s doing this without getting zapped.

Mr. White got into the act by lying in front of the bathroom door, knowing that would be our next move. Since Orange had retaken the bed, Puddytat outmaneuvered Mr. White by sleeping on the bathroom counter. He responded in typically male fashion, by forcibly commandeering the counter away from her.

Orange, patient woman that she is, decided to sit next to the toilet all night, a position that enabled her to be the first to rub against the toilet user’s legs. This left the bed wide open, which Puddytat quickly took advantage of.

Mr. White wasn’t going to play second banana to anyone. He spent the next night opening up the under-sink cabinets and knocking out enough bottles to hide inside. When I entered the next morning, he sprang out, chasing Orange away from my legs and taking me prisoner. Orange was visibly upset.

Made overconfident by his success, Mr. White spent the next morning trying to figure out how to beat Puddytat through the bedroom door. He was unsuccessful. He’s wary of the bedroom, because it’s the “girls’ room”, where they work together to repel him. His hesitation gave Puddytat the advantage.

All this enabled Orange to sneak into the bathroom, pry open the shower door far enough to get inside and wait until she had me alone before climbing out again. Mr. White realized his error too late and cried piteously outside the door.

I can’t wait to see what they come up with tomorrow.