Skip to main content

Another Bogus Argument From the Anti-Nukes

By Eric McErlain
The release of a government report on the future of nuclear energy in Australia has inaugurated a new silly season in public political discourse. In the wake of the report, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said he feared that the construction of new nuclear power plants might harm Australia's tourism industry.

I think this response struck the correct tone:
But federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey has urged Australians to consider nuclear power, and says it will help deal with climate change.

Ms Bailey says France has combined a nuclear power industry with a successful tourism sector.

She says it is possible to go nuclear and protect Australia's clean green image.

"France is a country that's 14 times smaller than Australia, it has 59 nuclear generators and yet ... it's the most visited country in the world, attracting more than 76 million tourists a year," she said.

"It's able to do this, of course, with nuclear energy."
UPDATE: More, in a similar vein, from Rod Adams.

Technorati tags: , , , , , , , ,

Comments

Brian Mays said…
They're just not using their imaginations. Perhaps "two-headed mutant kangaroos" (which every anti-nuclear activist knows is the only logical outcome of the construction of nuclear plants in Australia) might actually help the tourism industry. I know I'd be willing to fly to Australia to see one.
November 27, 2006 at 1:45 PM
Anonymous said…
Looking at the stuffed two-headed calf at the University of California at Davis back in 1962-1965 was one of the big attractions when I used to go there for Field Day with my high school classmates. It remained a big attraction every year despite having seen it in previous years.

Also the Sioux on the Prairie Island Reservation were concerned that tourists would be dissuaded from visiting their proposed casino by the proximity of the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant and its ISFSI (about 2 miles). However the impressive growth of the Treasure Island Casino indicates that that is not a factor in tourist decisions. The rapid growth of the areas near Davis-Besse (Port Clinton and Catawba Island) is another indication.
November 27, 2006 at 8:53 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday Update

By
From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fluor Invests in NuScale

By
You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...
1 comment
Read more

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

By
Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...
Post a Comment
Read more