"You don't have to look far beyond the recent news to see the dangers and costs of the energy we depend upon."- AEHI CEO Don Gillispie
Very well stated, Don.
How will the recent disasters in Japan affect AEHI's business?
One answer can be found in the Company's own annual report, the 2009 10-K, on page 19:
"A nuclear incident anywhere in the world could revive nuclear plant opponents."
"While there is a global renaissance underway for nuclear energy, its current popular support could evaporate quickly. It has been 30 years since the Three Mile Island accident and 20 years since Chernobyl. These events are gone from the memory of most citizens, but a new incident could reawaken old fears and raise public opposition. Public opposition could lead to political opposition and failure of regulatory agencies to grant necessary permits and licenses."
Now that we have seen exactly what happened to Japan's nuclear power plants after an earthquake in excess of magnitude 8, it is entirely possible that current nuclear plant safeguards and assurances will be called into question and possibly reevaluated to insure they are as safe as has been continually claimed.
Meanwhile, public and political support will probably evaporate quicker than the seawater being poured on the melting reactor cores in Japan.
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Good points. After seeing the photos of all the people getting radiation scanned in Japan it looks like a good time for Don and Jenny to go on a much needed vacation.
ReplyDeleteNuclear power has just shown its ugly side. It isn't bad enough to have an earthquake, then tsunami, now no power because nuclear power is not safe to operate, but now radiation, even one of the U.S. Carriers sailed through a cloud of radiation (that regulators say is not dangerous, NOT!).
ReplyDelete6 of Japan's reactors are in trouble, two have had explosions even if you believe they were hydrogen, where do you think that hydrogen comes from, (right from the reactor core), but even with as bad as it is, it could have been so much worse. Time will tell what the truth is.
There is no such thing as harmless radiation release. The nuclear industry is fraught with lies and liers.
Not only all of the above: what about the US nukes located right on top of severe earthquake faults--namely Diablo Canyon and San Onofre in California. S.Onofre is right on a beach, so a tsunami would of course go right through that one causing similar radiation dangers to the surrounding area as what we can, and will see (when it's all over), in Japan's mess.
ReplyDeleteThe MOSt exasperating aspect of the so-called nuke renaissance (NOT) is that WE the TAXPAYERS would be required by law to furnish the wherewithal as loan guarantees, and also cleanup in case of accidents (beyond a certain laughable minimum).
I urge everyone to visit www.nirs.org. They have the most comprehensive nuke info and it is regularly updated.
The "insert industry here" industry is fraught with lies and lairs.
ReplyDeleteI prefer any kind of energy as long as it's not from coal. Coal kills your lungs and the fine men and women who dig it out of the ground.