If we expand the topic from electricity to energy in general, Nuclear Power really starts to get cheap.
The Chicago Auto Show is going on right now. The Chevy Volt, an electric-powered car is drawing alot of attention. Honda has a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Civic, which can be powered from electrolytically produced Hydrogen.
According to Dr. Arthur Robinson of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine:
“The construction of just one nuclear power station like Palo Verde (CA) in each of the 50 states, with a full complement of 10 reactors, would supply all of the energy that the United States currently imports—with, in addition and at current prices, $300 billion per year worth of excess energy to export.”
Energy is measured in British Thermal Units, BTUs. One BTU is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2006 the United States used
99.5 quadrillion BTUs of energy for electrical energy
and for our transportation needs.
What energy sources were used? This includes transportation, which nearly matches our heating and electrical demand.
40% came from oil
23% came from coal
22% came from natural gas
2.9% came from biomass
ALL of these sources are Carbon Dioxide emitters8% came from nuclear plants2.8% came from conventional hydroelectric dams
less than 1% came from all other alternatives combined, geothermal, wind and solar power.
So about 12% of our energy consumption does NOT emit Carbon Dioxide.It's so bad that a large portion of the nation’s corn crop, an essential element of our food supply, is liquefied into ethanol and burned for fuel! Which is tantamount to a sin, when people in other countries are literally starving for a fraction of the corn crop.
We're burning the furniture to heat the house, folks. People will die, if we continue to act like this.
According to the DOE, between 1989 and 2004, a
15 year period, US spending on energy
DOUBLED from 437 Billion to 869 Billion.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0105.htmlSince 2004, energy prices
1) have been conveniently EXCLUDED from the Consumer Price Index, as has food. You'll hear the term
Consumer Price Index for Inflation, excluding food and energy... 2) has increased by 250%, from $38 to nearly $100 per barrel.
The number is so staggering, they have spared you the statistical reference in the CPI.
A few hundred billion dollars in the right direction, beats the trends shown above.
We need to get off oil, get off gas, get off coal, get off corn...
...and get on nuclear.