Dirty Energy Quotes

As a member of the Crow Tribe living on the Montana Crow Reservation, she recieved, alomg with all other tribal members, about $225 every quarter for the royalty payments that a commercal coal mining company paid on the coar that they mined on the Crow land. The demand for coal had been steadily decreasing for over a decade since coal was the worst of the fossil fules in terms of polluting the air and emitting greenhouse gases increasing the global warming. With the Fracking technology, oil had become much less expensive as was natural gas, making coal not only the dirtiest fuel for producing electricity but one of the most expensive whereas in the past it had been the least expensive. The Montana Crow Reservation was econmically destitute, with no industry, very little agriculture, and littel else to help the local economy other than the royalty payments for coal mining. In other parts of the country otehr Indian nations were giving up economic benefits that came from enviornmentally damaging commercial activity and there was some pressure on teh Crow nation to close the reservation to coal mining. Ms. Ten Bear Reed's quotation illustrated the great dilemma that she, the Crow, other Indian tribes and general citizens all over the country. For decades many areas of the country had been in economic recession, and poverty was endemic. The royalties from coal mining, oil drilling, pipeline right of way and other commecial activities that did or potentially threatened the enviornment was in many cases the only cash families and tribes recieved or it was a large proportion of their income. The moral dilemma was profound when there were chilren to feed and care for. it was much harder for the poor to be environmentally conscious than for people who were economivally better off.

He was speaking from retirement. When he was Prime Minister--2001-2005, and active politically, he was in favor of nuclear power for Japan. But after the meltdown of the reactors at Fukishima, he saw happening exactly what the corporation executives running the nuclear power told him could never happen. He aslo supported the claims of American Sailor who had provided much help in the nuclear emergency that they were suffering from deseases brought on by teh excessibe radiation that they encountered.

This quotation on the surface appears to be a clear summary of the scientifically measured negative aspects to coal. However, it was an extremely bitter political quotation. The reason was that West Virginia and the other parts of Appalachia depend on coal for employment—jobs for the residents in a poverty-stricken area where there are few other potential sources for employment. Coal is also a key economic component of the economy in Wyoming. These states regard the reduction of coal as an energy source as one of the most serious political threats to their states and the treat it accordingly. West Virginia has Democratic Senators and congressmen from Appalachia. Wyoming has Republicans. Both exert enormous pressure on their Congressional Party leadership and the White House. With the country and Congress split at the time, Republicans had control of the House, and Democrats, the Senate and the Presidency—by very narrow margins so the leaderships cannot offend anyone in Congress. The result is that there was almost total silence about the huge coal pollution problem, and even in the second decade of the 21st century, where shale natural Gas was extractable in sufficient quantities to totally replace Coal as a fuel source, few in Congress or the administration ever even spoke of adopting a national policy to this effect, much less passed any legislation. During this period many Americans sickened and died as a result of coal every year with no end in sight.

The rate and intensity of the anti-nuclear power movement in Japan had slowed somewhat from the peak after the meltdown and catatostrope of Fuklishima. Professor Nakano was asked if this meant the end of popular social action regarding nuclear popwer.

Corporations in the nuclear business argue that Nuclear power is less expensive than otehr forns of ower that are in common use. However, when a nation adds the huge cost of maintianing a scientific infrastructure to inspect and regulate the nuclear power plants, and the costof establishing the contingency capability of popularion evacuation and containment when there is a nuclear accident, and then the cost of safely stopring and containing the spent but deadly radioactive fuel, the incredibly high cost of insurance, then it is clear that nuclear power is the most expensive form of power. However, some countries do it better than others with France being the only country at the beginning of the 21st century that operated nuclear power safely and efficiently. The United States, Russia and Japan had huge costs