Re/Action on Climate Protection

Last word on nuclear

There has been a lively debate on nuclear power and wind power on this blog, and here over the last month or so. Unfortunately, it is time for me to move on to other topics.

Global Wind Power Capacity Increases 25 Percent in 2005

(From EERE Network News)
Last year established new records for wind power, as 11,769 megawatts (MW) of wind turbines worth about $14 billion were installed throughout the world, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Wind power grew at a 43 percent faster rate than in 2004, when 8,207 MW of wind power were installed. As of the end of 2005, the world's total installed wind power capacity stands at 59,322 MW, a 25 percent increase over 2004.

Excellent website on "Transportation Demand Management"

From the TDM Encyclopedia,

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is a general term for strategies that result in more efficient use of transportation resources.

This resource is a cornucopia of information related to efficient transportation.

12 states appeal EPA refusal to act on climate change

This is potentially a huge lever to force the federal government to deal with climate change:
12 states appeal emissions decision
Challenge to EPA refusal to regulate greenhouse gases

"Impossibility" of nuclear financing

"It's hard to imagine people putting a $5 billion bet on new reactors, as matters stand now, with uncertainty around climate change policy and impossibility of getting financing for them in private markets."

-Peter Bradford, a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and later head of the public service commissions of both New York and Maine

From "New dawn for nuclear power is distant" NY Times

Cost of Wind vs Cost of Nuclear to Replace Coal

One of our commenters, David Bradish, has asked how wind is more cost effective than nuclear to replace coal. The short answer is: It is cheaper to build, cheaper to operate, and it is a lower risk to investors, which means that the cost of financing for wind is lower on private capital markets.