Comments on Nuclear Power

Comments on Nuclear Power,

By Brian Burgess

For those who don’t know, I am a HUGE supporter of Nuclear power.  It’s arguable that nuclear energy the most cost efficient; there are many studies out there that average the cost of production on par with wind, and even lower than all the fossil fuel types.  I’ll link a few here, World Nuclear Association, and here’s an indepent analysis- http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/analysis/nuclearpower.html. Me, being the skeptic of all things, I’ll conclude that from what i can see, in Nuclear’s current form (being that all of our plants are 20+ years old), we can probably engineer modern nuclear plants to where the cost of electricity can be lower than all the fossil fuels.  Maybe that will change, maybe it wont.

But what about the environment?  Groups like Green Peace are always quick to point out Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.  Even CNN recently did a story about “Where is the waste going?” What the article doesn’t mention is YUCCA mountain, a permanent storage for all nuclear waste.  It will probably be completed by 2020, it costs booku bux, however many groups criticize that it’s not safe.  After doing some extensive research, I’ve found it is 99.99% safe.  The reason Nevada was chosen for the site is because there’s NO ground water, it’s a desert.  Therefore even if all the safety measures failed, we’d still be pretty OK considering the only thing that would be radiated is sand.  The odds of that land becoming a lush jungle in 100 years is zero.  440,00 years ago it probably WAS a jungle, however in 10,000 years, the radiation will be probably less than the average radiation i got when drinking the water in Northern Illinois.   But still, Nevada residents are saying NIMBY (Not in my backyard) and are being fed propaganda.

What about Chernobyl you ask?  Well the famous meltdown wasn’t its first problem.  In fact, that particular reactor had a history of fires and other problems long before the incident, and in a developed nation, like the United States, that plant would have been maintained properly or shut down.  Upon further inspection of 3 Mile island, there were no casualties, very marginal increases in reported cancer (1 specific cancer for males),  and no injuries.  So we could say that, in the United States, there have been no significant deaths or injuries associated with Nuclear Power.  We can’t say that for coal, after all, we have cave collapses every year.

Environmentally, Nuclear is the most “green”.  Since there is a permanent spot to put the waste, there will be no adverse effects on ANY environment (including the desert in Nevada).  That’s the best we can say for pretty much any man made power- Wind power kills birds, Hydroelectric disturbs rivers, coal, oil, and natural gas all give off some atmospheric particles and C02, (no comments on global warming in this article, although we can all agree C02 is probably not a good thing).  So the way I see it, if Nuclear is the greenest, the safest, and the most cost efficient method we have, why aren’t we using it?  If the costs of electricity were lower, it becomes much more practical to start using plug-in cars, plug-in lawn mowers, plug-in everything!

Disclaimer: Blog does not represent the view or opinions of Lake County Young Republicans

Lake County YR Business Meeting

Title: Lake County YR Business Meeting
Location: 322 E Peterson Rd (Republican Federation HQ) Libertyville IL
Description: Our monthly business meeting, guests always encouraged to attend!!! Keynote Speaker Demetra Demonte
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2010-03-09

Illinois Policy Institute Releases 2010 Piglet Book

Great Read!

http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/2010PigletBook.pdf

Our friends at the Policy Institute released their piglet book which underlines 350 million in outrageous waste spending.  Some of my favorites included

$61,312 to Pheasants Forever, an organization “dedicated to the conservation of pheasants”

$13,775 to the National Wild Turkey Foundation

$1,607,367 to various county fairs (shouldn’t county fairs be paid by… counties?)

$248,094 to the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen

My most surprising revelation after reading the pork report is most waste expenditures are not over 50 thousand dollars.  Most are small, some under one thousand.  It is clear, if Illinois is to come out of its financial crises, it’s going to start with the little fish.

Getting involved with fiscal conservative groups and organizations, like the young republicans and getting involved on a local level, like library board, school board or trustee; can often be the first way to start tightening Illinois’ belt!

-Burgess

Support Transparency in Government Feb 3rd

On Wednesday, Feb. 3rd at 7 p.m. Joe Calomino, State Director of Americans for Prosperity, will be speaking at the board meeting to encourage the district to become transparent with how tax dollars are being spent.

This has been a great but difficult fight so far, and this issue alone has garnered a lot of media and public attention. I would like to formally invite the YRs to attend the board meeting to show their support for the need for transparency in government. The media is expected to be there to cover the event, and we need a huge showing from the community, especially LCYR.

By attending the meeting to show support for transparency and fiscal responsibility, this will help in building a relationship with Americans For Prosperity and prove that LCYR is an organization serious about fiscal conservancy and making a difference in Lake County.

So please spread the word – tell your friends, family and neighbors – and join us to support responsible government spending, Americans For Prosperity and your fellow YR members, and let the District 46 School Board hear the voice of the people.

VOTE!!! FEBUARY 2ND VOTE!!!

I think you got the message- please vote for the candidates who you think will best represent your viewpoints.  When people ask me, Brian, how do you vote?  I tell them I come up with the three most important things to me, and I vote for the person who is most in line with those.

So please, go vote!  Then see you at the business meeting feb 9th

“I’m Scott Brown. I’m from Wrentham. And I drive a truck.”

Young Republicans congratulate Scott Brown on a victory in Massachusetts. While the Democrats start pointing fingers , as Republicans, it’s time to actually get to the bottom of how a no name with no money, and just a few weeks ago was trailing the polls by double digits scored a win.

I recommend looking at Rasmussen Reports, where their polls showed 56% of voters (exit polls) cited health care as their #1 concern. The Dems are probably going to shrug this election off to the economy. It’s true, that most times presidents get too much blame and too much credit for the economic conditions. However, in a state with already government provided health care, over half were most concerned with it, and those people voted for Coakley with a 7 point lead.  Something seems odd to me about already having government provided healthcare, but then being motivated to go out and vote for it when it doesn’t affect you.  There’s always a motive to go out and do something, but in this case, where’s the motive to vote for government health care, Stockholm’s Syndrome there maybe?

Scott’s wins were with taxes, job creation, and national security. These are fundamentals of the Republican and ‘Tea Party’ movements sweeping the country, a clear opposite to the plans of our current administration.

There’s a third option which isn’t receiving any attention, and that is maybe this election had very little to do with national agenda, but more to do with quality of candidates. A person who was a soft supporter of Obama was still 31% likely to vote for Brown, as opposed to people who slightly disapproved Coakley only grabbed 5% of those voters. The results might suggest Coakley is simply a weak candidate and people don’t care for lines like” (referring to why she left a political event so early) standing outside Fenway Park? In the cold? Shaking hands?’’

Anyways, what do you think, is this a vote against obama? A vote against health care? Or does it simply show that the mood of a country isn’t pro-Democrat and Dems actually have to shake hands and campaign to win again?

-Brian Burgess

PS- Thanks to everyone who came out tonight, our 1 year anniversary was a smashing success.  A special thanks goes out to Lauren and the Events Committee for hosting!  I hope to see you all at the next business meeting!

The Primaries are Feb 2nd… Do you know who you’re voting for?

I just wanted to make an announcement here to make sure you go out and vote in the primaries February 2nd. If you’re reading this, hopefully you’ve already seen most of the candidates at one point or another and know not only know what they say, but their past votes as well.

I’ll link this website-

http://www.politics1.com/il.htm

It has EVERY candidate running in the race, at this point.

If you think your vote doesn’t count- think again. My first campaign I ever worked, our candidate for state representative, lost by less than 100 votes… That’s less than 1 vote per precinct. The outcome would have been much different if one person in each precinct had simply taken five minutes to stop at the booth.

And if nothing else, if you vote, and your candidate looses… You have earned the right to complain.

Thanks, and hope to see you all at the upcoming social and at the voters booth!

-Brian Burgess

Ps- If you want to find out where to vote, Click Here!

LCYR – Historic Vote Tuesday

Make sure you are at the Business Meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) as we will be voting on a new LCYR President and beginning the first of what will be many successful transitions in a lasting political powerhouse in Lake County.
 
To date, the only person nominated for the position is Lauren Fleming, LCYR Secretary. Nominations are open until the meeting Tuesday…to submit your name for consideration, please email lakecountyyrs@gmail.com.
 
We have many important items to discuss as we map out the future of our organization, so please make sure you attend so you can be a part of the discussion. We also will have several guests, including Pastor Randy White, candidate for Lieutenant Governor, and Chelsea Stanley, the new Executive Director of the Lake County Republican Federation.
 
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.
 
–Collin Corbett

Monthly Business Meeting — October 13th, 7 pm

Please join us for our monthly business meeting at Lake County Republican HQ (320 Peterson Rd, Libertyville, IL).  We have a lot to cover in a short time as we vote on a new LCYR President.

To date, the only person nominated for the position is Lauren Fleming, LCYR Secretary. The official vote will be held at the October Business Meeting. Nominations are open through the meeting…to submit your name for consideration, please email lakecountyyrs@gmail.com.

Please be sure to join us Tuesday to take part in an historic vote: the first of what will be many successful transitions in a lasting political powerhouse in Lake County.

See you on Tuesday. We have many exciting things to discuss!

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