obvious Child

That depends on the design. Probably also on the type of fuel, particularly the ratios within it.

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Reverend_Hellh0und

I guess on average.....

i don't know much about light water reactors and would be interested to see if this is a case of less output less waste, more output more waste but output equals waste sort of thing.

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كافر
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hrdman2luv

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UtahBill

It isn't that simple....
Demand isn't the only thing driving the price of oil, the weak dollar has something to do with it, likewise the speculators.
Oil companies often lease the land from the government, that is us. If they want to continue getting their leases as cheaply as they are, they can remember who owns the land. Nothing stopping the govt. from increasing lease fees...
Local oil has less transportation costs than foreign oil, and doesn't make the Arabs filthy rich.

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PeteEU

Weak dollar has a lot to do with it. The oil price per barrel would be under 100 dollars (approx) if the dollar had maintained its value over the last few years.

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PeteEU

UtahBill

And I am thinking that the policies of the current administration can be blamed for that....God forgive me, I voted for the shrub.....

PeteEU

Well yes and no is the best answer if you ask me.

Has the US policies on energy over the last 30 years been brain dead and not looking to the future? Sure, and Pelosi is part of the problem and the solution. Her going against drilling is looking to the future and forcing the US to change its habits. However her own inaction along with the republicans and democrats during the last few decades on everything from more refineries to promoting alternative fuels and energy over to simple things like fuel efficiency for cars, has lead in large part to the issues we see today. Bowing to industry pressure so that reforms are not pushed through has hurt the US big time and you all are paying the price because of the greed of industry. At least our politicians over here in Europe, had the balls to fight the greed of industry and force through many of the reforms that the US lacks, although personally I think we could have done far better and that industry still had a huge say in how things panned out.

On top of that you have the very real issues the US has gotten into since Bush went into office. Its from the big things like, not backing your own currency pretty much, to the small things like how hard it is to enter the US and do business there these days. All this has eroded the confidence in the US dollar and the US economy, which in turn has produced these issues we see today. When the US government does nothing to curb spending, but cuts taxes so that the deficits go nutso... its not exactly confidence building for international investors. The only thing that has been keeping the US in the game, is the fact its a huge market that loves to spend regardless of the economic facts. This makes it attractive to outsiders, and they are willing to forgo the humiliation often associated when entering the US, and are willing to accept the random xenophobic jibes that they hear on a daily basis in the press coming from the US.. but at some point, they will say enough is enough and that will be when the average American stops spending.. when and if that happens we will see.

The Oil countries have also been seriously considering and some have already done so.. moving away from the dollar.. and if that happens.. lets just say it aint gonna be pretty.

UtahBill

Back in the 70's Congress mandated reduced emissions on cars sold in the USA, and it took a few decades but we made some real progress in that arena, and gained some great improvements in mileage and performance as well.
IF CONGRESS HAD ONLY mandated more energy efficency in our buildings at the same time, we might not be in the jam we are now.
My wife and I built an energy efficient home for our retirement years. Our new neighbors just up the hill are building homes with multiple Air Conditioning units to compensate for poor structure orientation, too many east and west facing windows, etc. They are now paying big utility bills and complaining about it.

We in the U.S. are a nation of unwise consumers, and we have tons of debt to prove it. We are only a small step away from financial disaster, and that will very likely spill over to become a planet wide situation. Who suffers? Not the truly rich, they will always have enough money.
To some extent the poor, as the truly poor have little to lose. The middle class will shift downward, and the gap between rich and poor will widen.
Then the democrats will gain more power, and take more from the rich, who can afford it, and the middle class, who cannot afford it, to aid the poor.

Yes, it ain't gonna be pretty.....
We, the wife and I, have been preaching financial conservatism to our kids all their lives, and our in-laws have been doing the same to their kids. But for every person in the USA who lives within their income, there are hundreds who do not.
Our chickens are coming home to roost....

BWG

Does anyone remember Jimmy Carter's 'ten principles' speech on energy in '77?

Not saying that everything he was saying was exactly correct or feasible, but his ideas were in the right direction.

But then we got cheap oil and here we are again.

Are we to repeat ourselves?



We need to use our advanced technology to accurately locate and estimate our oil fields, conserve/promote alternatives to reduce importation and usage, THEN leave the oil in the ground until we absolutely, positively HAVE to have it.

Link to Carter's speech:

American Experience | Jimmy Carter | Primary Sources

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UtahBill

My pessimist side says we will repeat history, that we will squander yet another opportunity to get off the arab oil teat. Granted, we only import about 12% of our oil from the arabs, but that is too much. Better we should buy oil from the Russians, who would then stand to lose a lot economically for rattling sabers against us....