RBL,

As for the your link from the Friends of the Earth. I didn't get very far through it before I ran into nonsense:

In order to free up space in a geological repository,

the major preponderance of the radioactivity in

spent power reactor fuel would be stored and

disposed in shallow burial near water supplies.

By contrast, much smaller amounts of similar

radioactive materials from past reprocessing at

DOE sites are to be geologically disposed because

they are considered to pose significant

risks to the human environment.

With reprocessing, most of the radioactive material is turned back into fuel, not stored in shallow burial. Yes, some low-level waste is created in the process, but low-level waste is relatively easy to deal with.

Hospitals create low-level waste as well.

Your link on cost was interesting, but I have to take it with a block of salt, since it is from an obviously anti-nuclear group and they give no references to where their numbers come from. There is a reason a gave a link to a neutral source.

I couldn't find a decent link from my local power company, but they offer a program where people can pay extra to use wind power. They don't offer a similar program for nuclear power, because their nuclear power plants are always among there least expensive sources of power.

RBL,

Prominent environmental groups have put out a lot of inaccurate information, as have industry groups. I think that you need to be a little more skeptical of the claims of environmentalists. They believe in what they are doing, but that doesn't make them right.

Of course getting power out of current plants is cheaper. And that is what we were talking about - the current cost of electric power.

Yep, humans screw up. But nuclear power plants in the US have been designed with that in mind. The worst power plant accident in the US - TMI - didn't hurt anyone, though there was mass hysteria. Humans are scared of things they don't understand. We shouldn't let irrational fear set our policy.

RBL,

I am not sure who you are arguing with, but it is not me.

I agree that Wind and Solar should be in the mix for electricity generation, and that we should continue researching them (as well as geothermal, fusion, etc). You agree that they are both problematic for baseload power, which means that they cannot completely replace fossil fuels. The need for baseload power is why we need nuclear power plants.

Given the current political climate we obviously are not going to build a lot of nuclear plants in the near future. So realistically, we are going to need more fossil fuel plants. To me coal is the least objectionable fossil fuel since it isn't really good for anything else and we have a lot of it. Coal plants should be strongly regulated to reduce emissions, and eventually sequester the C02.

So my point is that a balanced energy policy requires several sources of energy, and wind and solar cannot do it alone.

But I wouldn't worry too much about that part of the occasion.

King,

Even though you are back in California, do they still have you phoning in your columns? It seems like the word you want at the end of that sentence is "equation", not "occasion".

I am sorry, but I can't vote for a candidate for President just because I agree with him, I have to also think that he will be able to govern. (In Kucinich's case, I agree more with many of the other candidates anyway.)

If I agree with a a candidate, but he can't govern effectively, it doesn't do me much good (see Jimmy Carter).

Kucinich seems like an OK guy, but it is kind of sad that he is supposed to be the progressive candidate. He is no Feingold or Wellstone.

What really surprises me about this A Rod situation is how often I see statements like "when A Rod gets the career homerun record." I have seen that sort of silliness from several columnists, as well as AP articles.

While he may have good chance of beating the record, he has a long way to go. More than likely it will be at least five years. A lot can happen in five years, from career ending injuries, to developing a bad case of the yips. So let's hold off on the coronation for a few years, please.

Ron Paul doesn't really fit with Linux very well, and I think that his supporters would agree. I would guess that he is more of a BSD. My guess would be OpenBSD.

Andrew,

If you have not yet read Neal Stephenson's three book series The Baroque Cycle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle), you should give it a try. I mention this here, because the second book, The Confusion, has along section dealing with one of the protagonists dealing with wootz production in India in . The series as a whole deals with beginning of our modern economic system, as well as a lot of the technological advances of the 1600 and 1700's. And of course the title of this blog evokes the title of the last book, The System of the World.

One minor nit pick. In some caucuses, the presidential vote is secret. For example, in the Minnesota DFL (Democratic) precinct caucuses, the number of delegates to the National Convention each Presidential candidate receives will be set by a secret ballot. Which people from the precinct caucuses move onto the district and state caucuses will not be set by a secret ballot, but that doesn't seem like a problem to me.

I believe that the Iowa Republicans did something similar.