Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Kerry Campaign Airs New Ad: The Heating Oil Crisis

By

Above is a clip I first posted a couple of weeks ago of Senator Kerry answering a question about heating oil at an event in Leominster on August 18. The next clip has not been posted before.

This is a conversation between Senator Kerry and a resident of Quincy who has been speaking to elected officials about the heating oil problem. Senator Kerry had just come from a stop at the local ice cream shop. The video was shot on August 5.  

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0

Comments

      • The diary is about people – straight, gay, or indifferent – worried abut not being able to make it through the winter because they can’t afford heating oil.

        <

        p>I don’t see Kerry doing anything that would stop any 2 (adult) people – straight, gay, or indifferent – from keeping each other warm in lieu of being able to afford heating oil. Somehow I don’t think that’s a sufficient solution to the high cost of heating oil, though.

        • on a larger note and talking about the heating issue specifically.

          <

          p>Cougar said she was glad she’s supporting Kerry and that he gets it.  Well, it’s most definitely relevant to bring up an issue that John Kerry does not get which is marriage equality and touches upon an issue that Kerry has not dealt with this campaign season.

            • John Kerry does not support marriage equality and he has no constitutional leg to stand on for such a position.

              • Massachusetts residents who heat their homes with natural gas or oil could end up paying nearly $1 billion more this year than they did in 2007, about a 30 percent increase, according to a University of Massachusetts report set to be released today.

                <

                p>snip

                <

                p>Massachusetts residents who heat their homes with natural gas or oil could end up paying nearly $1 billion more this year than they did in 2007, about a 30 percent increase, according to a University of Massachusetts report set to be released today.

                <

                p>snip

                <

                p>http://www.boston.com/business…

                <

                p>Grim…

                <

                p>From JK.com

                <

                p>

                Kerry urges energy companies to help low income families in MA with heating oil costs this winter
                Jul 01, 2008 – 02:28 PM
                KERRY URGES TOP FIVE ENERGY COMPANIES TO HELP LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN MASSACHUSETTS WITH RISING COST OF HEATING OIL THIS WINTER

                BOSTON – Senator John Kerry today wrote to the CEOs of the top five energy companies in the U.S., urging them to provide assistance to millions of American families suffering from the rising cost of home heating oil. Heating oil in Massachusetts currently averages $4.60 a gallon, and many households are currently entering into contracts for the winter heating season.

                In the letters, Kerry requests a meeting with the energy company CEOs, Joe Kennedy, the CEO of Citizens Energy Corporation, and himself. Citizens Energy currently works in partnership with CITGO and thousands of oil heat dealers and local fuel assistance agencies in 16 states to provide deliveries of home heating oil to those in need.

                “Last year, thousands of families across Massachusetts faced severe economic hardship as they tried to heat their homes. In fact, today more than 100,000 Massachusetts households still are having trouble paying their utility bills from last winter and are facing the prospect of utility shutoffs,” said Senator Kerry. “Congress is doing all it can to ease the burden, but I believe private companies should play a leadership role in providing assistance to low-income consumers. I strongly urge the CEOs of all five big oil companies to help low income families as they struggle to heat their homes this winter.”

                Kerry wrote to the CEOs of Exxon Mobil Corporation, BP, Shell Oil Company, Chevron Corporation, and ConocoPhillips.

                http://www.johnkerry.com/news/…

                <

                p>Kerry GETS IT.

              • Consumers will likely pay record prices to heat their homes this winter, with a particularly big jump expected in heating oil bills, according to a report to be released today showing how a recent surge in oil prices could hit homeowners.

                <

                p>snip

                <

                p>For heating oil customers the increase may be particularly dramatic. The average U.S. heating oil bill is expected to be a record $1,834 for the winter, up 28% from a year ago and double the cost seen four winters ago. Average prices are expected to top $3 a gallon, up from $2.48 last winter.

                <

                p>The sharp, expected increases are attributed to elevated crude oil prices and low inventories.

                <

                p>Eight percent of U.S. homes use heating oil, mainly in the Northeast.

                <

                p>
                “Everything points to a tough couple of months,” NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe says. “(Some) people who could afford last year’s prices, can’t afford this year’s.”

                <

                p>http://www.usatoday.com/money/…

                <

                p>~~~~

                <

                p>People in the MA understand that it would be inhumane to stand by while seniors freeze to death this winter or kids get sick!!!

                <

                p>Kerr gets that and is trying to help.  Too bad Republicans have their head stuck up….and filibustered the LIHEAP.

                <

                p>This is life or death.

                <

                p>People WILL freeze to death this winter.

                <

                p>He GETS that too.

                <

                p>From JK.com

                <

                p>

                KERRY, KENNEDY CALL FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
                Jun 20, 2008 – 10:08 AM
                BOSTON – Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy today called for an additional $2.53 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Senators co-sponsored an amendment put forward by Senator Bernard Sanders (I-Vermont), which was attached to the Housing bill.

                The increase of $2.53 billion would raise the total LIHEAP funding to $5.1 billion for FY ’08.

                It’s estimated that heating oil costs have risen 116% since 2005. A vast majority of households that rely on LIHEAP are located in the Northeast.

                “This winter, thousands of households across Massachusetts may be forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on their tables. Washington must take action now rather than wait until the point of no return. Fully funding LIHEAP now is the best way to help our state’s vulnerable, low-income families before the snow starts to fall,” said John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

                “This amendment will provide essential assistance to those unable to afford their energy bills. Senator Kennedy believes that we must not allow vulnerable families to go without heat this winter, and he strongly supports fully funding LIHEAP,” said Kennedy Spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner.

                In addition, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold a public hearing entitled, “Examining Solutions to Cope with the Rise in Home Heating Oil Prices,” next Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. The hearing will examine the high cost of home heating oil and its effect on homeowners and small businesses, and look at innovative programs and renewable alternatives to help consumers in the Northeast.

                <

                p>Oh Yeh.  Kerry GETS IT and is trying to save lives.

                <

                p>

          • do with that issue? How did Kerry vote? How would you have voted? Is there a difference?

            <

            p>Then ask your self if even the repeal of DOMA is likely in the next 8 years – then remember Kerry voted against it and would clearly confirm that vote by voting to repeal it.

          • so-called “marriage equality”?

            <

            p>Either way, the diary was about Kerry campaigning on the issue of home heating assistance. Do you have an opinion on that topic?

            • However, most issues can be spun one way or another.  Ex. The vote to authorize the war in Iraq which I view as a negative for Kerry.  An argument can be made for and against Kerry on it however.  The thing with civil rights however is that it’s hard to spin the story.  John Kerry is 100% wrong to not support marriage equality and he doesn’t have a constitutional leg to stand on.

              <

              p>As to heating assistance.  Sure, I think Kerry is trying to do some good stuff, but it’s a safe issue.  It’s a no-brainer to work for such aid.  Where true leadership comes in is tackling the tough issues and taking the right stance even when it’s difficult to do so.

              • when you are fighting against the Republican ideology. Or else it would be a done deal.

                <

                p>I honestly don’t know enough about the constitutionality issue of gay marriage, I do know of some practical issues for a large chunk of the populace, which is why most of them are so afraid of it, that for a Democrat to raise it in a competitive race, makes the race even more competitive because it galvanizes the opposition. I don’t call that smart politics, I call it counterproductive – considering that domestic partnership rights seemed to be on the march, with more and more companies and states recognizing them – until someone decided to throw it in the face of the conservatives.  But gee, what do I know?  I’m against the death penalty too…. where’d I lay my “Free Mumia” sign now…

                • for John Kerry to take up, seeing as how he is a Democrat.

                  <

                  p>And yeah, domestic partnerships just aren’t good enough.  Sorry, but there’s this little ole’ thing called equality.  And we already have marriage here in Massachusetts so I’m not sure why you would go backwards and suggest that.

                  <

                  p>Anyways, if you would like to read up on the issue I suggest starting off with the Goodridge decision.  

                • 1) He said gay marriage in MA is “settled law”

                  <

                  p>2) He voted against DOMA

                  <

                  p>3) In 2004, he spoke of acting as President to encourage Congress to make the changes needed to give the full federal rights to covil unions that marriage has. That is NOT a small thing. It would in fact be a quantum leap towards gay marriage because it creates more equality than there is now.

                  <

                  p>As to working on things that were not safe, there are is no prominent Senator I see who has taken as many not safe actions.

                  <

                  p>Do you really thing that investigating the illegal arming of the Contras was safe? Reagan was extremely popular and as much as half the Democratic party was for supporting the Contras – including the Clintons and Gore.

                  <

                  p>Do you think it was safe to fight the entire power elite to stop the corruption and support of international nonstate terrorism and international money laundering that BCCI was involved in?

                  <

                  p>Was standing against Nixon, as a 27 year old vet still dealing with the horros of Vietnam?

                  <

                  p>Was it safe to be one of the strongest voices against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?

                  <

                  p>Was it safe to write the Clean Money/Clean election bill with Welstone?

                  <

                  p>What in his competitor’s record suggests he would stand against power or that he would stand for principles? What types of cases did he handle as a lawyer? The articles I read suggest he handled many cases of drunk driving – because they could pay.

                • He only said it’s “settled law” in Mass after the Constitutional Amendment against marriage equality failed, of which he tried to help pass by the way.  And only after 75% of the legislature voted against.  I’m sure with those type of numbers Mr. Kerry could see how unpopular it is to be against civil rights.  Also, he came out and took an ambiguous position only after O’Reilly challenged him of which O’Reilly is a full supporter of marriage equality.  

                  <

                  p>Don’t try to insinuate that he supports marriage equality by the “settled law” phrase because he doesn’t.  He chose that phrasing specifically so he could “get by” without actually supporting it.

                • will need weigh in light of other things he does.

                  <

                  p>If someone only cares about gay marriage and kids and seniors can effing die in the freezing cold next winter, then, I guess they’ll let that one issue determine their vote.  On the other hand, if they look at a multitude of issues as well as the having a powerful Senator with seniority on the committees fighting for those additional goals that they want too, then they’ll vote for Kerry.

                  <

                  p>On the other hand, if they want a guy who can’t even finish off his term on the school board without citing “Other obligations…too busy” and if they want a guy who can’t even bother to post his positions and resume on his website in great detail…then they’ll vote for EOR.

                  <

                  p>

                • I can only take so much.

                  <

                  p>

                  If someone only cares about gay marriage and kids and seniors can effing die in the freezing cold next winter, then, I guess they’ll let that one issue determine their vote.

                  <

                  p>I already discussed heating assistance above.  I see it as a safe issue and most any Democrat in office would support it.

                  <

                  p>Now where we need some leadership the Senator is severely lacking.  You seem to not want to discuss that fact that John Kerry does NOT support marriage equality.

                • Since you clearly don’t believe Kerry (just because it’s Kerry) maybe you’ll listen to the Globe:

                  <

                  p>

                  A frozen Katrina will be measured in hypothermia cases and malnutrition or unfilled prescriptions if the poor are forced to spend grocery or medicine money on fuel. Fire marshals worry that families will turn to dangerous makeshift heating alternatives, risking fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. Both the congressional delegation and the state government’s winter energy task force are alert to the looming threat. Now they must act to make sure that something as predictable as the change of seasons does not endanger the health and safety of the state’s poor and elderly.

                  <

                  p>Think about it…Even EOR as a former fire fighter, surely must get it too!  Instead of denigrating this important bill, EOR and his supporters should be putting aside that silly-a$$ rancor and should be out fighting to HELP the poor (and the middle class who may not be able to pay for these increases either.)

                  <

                  p>Even EOR would have to admit that when a family can’t pay the heating bill, they may try to use alternative means to heat the house.  Maybe they run the gas stove, maybe they create a fire and leave it unattended, maybe they get heat lamps that have been proven dangerous too.

                  <

                  p>Safety isn’t something that one can exaggerate about and if EOR can’t admit it, then he has not business running for Senate!

                  <

                  p>This is NOT an issue that EOR should even attempt to minimize and nor should you!

                  <

                  p>This is a life threatening, dangerous situation!  

                  <

                  p>And if you don’t want to support Kerry, the read Sen. Bernie Sanders:

                  <

                  p>

                  Energy Emergency

                     “This country is struggling with emergency situations from floods in the Midwest to wildfires in California. But there is another emergency which must be dealt with NOW. At a time when the cost of home heating fuels and electricity are soaring, and when the economy is in a decline, millions of Americans are finding it harder and harder to stay warm in the winter or cool in the summer.”

                     – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

                  The Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act, S. 3186, would provide immediate relief to millions of senior citizens, families with children and the disabled who are struggling to pay their home energy bills. The bill would nearly double the funding for the highly successful Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) from $2.57 billion to $5.1 billion, a total increase of $2.53 billion.

                  <

                  p>So, you’re right Paul.  I’m only into discussing the heating bill because PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM THESE COSTS.

                  <

                  p>And I’d like to see Ed O’Reilly, the fireman, show some courage and come on BMG and discuss the number of families he had to rescue in the winter time because of fires or carbon monoxide poisoning.

                  <

                  p>
                  Even EOR should be able to set aside his rancor to do right by the MA people!  If he’s serious about saving lives, then let him show he’s willing to fight for it and not just willing to smear his opponent.

                  <

                  p>

                • This is NOT an issue that EOR should even attempt to minimize and nor should you!

                  <

                  p>where I have minimized this issue?  That’s an outright lie.  I stated that it’s a safe issue for Democrats to support of which it is.  And they should be supporting it which Kerry is doing.

                  <

                  p>On the other hand Kerry does NOT support marriage equality.  That is also an issue that he should support and he does not.  So then what?  It’s okay for the Senator to not support civil rights for a minority?

                  <

                  p>Why don’t you answer if the Senator is right or wrong on the issue?  Should he support marriage equality?

                • assistance advocacy.  So I agree with Cougar it is  minimizing the energy issue to disrupt the thread by challenging re Marriage equality.   BTW you are going to find that most Kerry supporters, like myself, actually disagreed with Kerry, as well as Obama, Clinton, and Edwards in not going 100% for marriage equality nationally.    

                • you can push for your candidate.  The way you dismiss one of the most important and vital issues for Mass. and the country is quite breathtaking.  I dare you and your candidate to suggest to residents of the Commonwealth to get all worked up about gay marriage while calling being able to deal with rising energy costs as a “safe issue”.  You’ll be looked at with eyes of puzzlement.  Not only are you way off base about what good and important work Kerry is doing on LIHEAP, global climate change, and energy issues, you come across as utterly tone deaf to what the REAL issue staring everyone in the face this winter will be.  Yes, even gay couples (married or otherwise) will be affected by the cost of heating oil and gas in 2008 and beyond than any debate of the fine points of what is and ever shall be settled law for gay marriage in Mass.  

                  <

                  p>I mean can you be any more transparent in the Rovian politics you are practicing?  And before you balk, Rove is an atheist who couldn’t give a whit about the Religious Right except getting votes.  And that is all of what you and your candidate are doing.  Of course, it’s not going to work.  Thank God for that.

                  <

                  p>  

                • on marriage equality.  You may not like it being an obvious Kerry supporter, but it’s a fact.  Nice of you to simply brush aside an important issue of civil rights.

                  <

                  p>And as I stated above, I have not dismissed heating assistance as a major issue just as there are many others.  Many Democrats are working on it.  They are doing what’s right and I don’t see an issue with it.  What I do have an issue with is when politicians, namely John Kerry, doesn’t support marriage equality because he either has a bias against gay people or he’s lying about higher office.  There’s no other possible reason.

                • that he is not part of. I assume he chose that phrase because it is the true situation.

                  <

                  p>Ed O’Reilly was not a big enough threat for Kerry to change his position because of him. Much is made of him getting 22 % at the convention – less is made of Kerry getting 78%.  

          • It makes discussion much easier if folks try to stick to the general topic under discussion in each thread — in this case, heating oil. Plus, there has already been a long and involved discussion about marriage equality on your other thread, which I just promoted. Please try to follow this basic etiquette for better discussions. If you want to have a general discussion, just make a new post and ask people to weigh in on whatever campaign issue they want. Thanks.

      • “People in the north understand that it would be inhumane to stand by while seniors freeze to death this winter or kids get sick,”

        <

        p>And he gets this,

        <

        p>”This is life or death. People are dying in the summer heat. People will freeze to death this winter.”

        <

        p>And he ‘gets this’ too:

        <

        p>

        Currently, eight million homes rely on heating oil during the winter months, and last winter’s prices forced too many citizens to choose between heat, food, and medicine .

        According to the New York Times, heating oil prices are now 36 percent higher than they were last winter and bills will be up to $1500 higher than they were last year. As for the 54 million households heating with natural gas, prices are expected to be 67 percent higher this winter. Current funding for the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is below 1980’s levels–“a time when fuel prices were just a tiny fraction of what they are now,” The Timberjay newspapers point out. In fact, last year’s $2.5 billion in LIHEAP funding allowed just 16 percent of eligible recipients to receive aid. Congressional representatives of New England states have sought as much as $6.5 billion in additional LIHEAP funding to meet the anticipated needs of the upcoming winter. With both lower-income and middle-class people now unable to afford this basic necessity–a requirement for security in one’s own home–newspapers in the Northeast are sounding a clarion call to head-off the impending disaster.

        As the Boston Globe wrote in an editorial this month:

           The country had a few days to prepare for Hurricane Katrina, and failed. It has more than three months to prepare for this frozen Katrina, and there will be no excuse this time…. A frozen Katrina will be measured in hypothermia cases and malnutrition or unfilled prescriptions if the poor are forced to spend grocery or medicine money on fuel.

        “It could be New England’s own Katrina disaster,” read a Stowe Reporter editorial. “Hundreds of homes rendered uninhabitable, families’ finances stretched to the limit, some driven away altogether to take shelter with friends or family. But unlike Katrina, this calamity is clearly visible on the horizon and we have months to prepare.”

        http://www.thenation.com/blogs…

        <

        p>So get it Paul?  We have winter 3 months away and Republicans have once again stifled legislation, obstructed legislation, that would have saved lives.

        <

        p>So YES, he “GETS IT”.

        <

        p>He’s trying to save lives.  He understands that people are choosing between food and gas.  And when winter comes, they will be choosing between food, gas, and heating fuel and he’s working his a$$ to get SOMETHING DONE for the people of MA.

        <

        p>You’re not even comparing a life and death situation.  

  2. The people of the commonwealth are so fortunate to have a man such as Mr Kerry waiting in reserve.
    What an asset, especialy if any of the commonwealths proposed wind farms should reach fruition.
    Having the capacity to deploy John, the domesticaly produced bag of wind energy source that he is, to the imaginary wind farms could help power many communitiies, warding away winters cold.
    And on that subject, rather than dole out even more cash to pay SOME peoples outrageous heating costs, why doesnt Johnny get out of the way and let the market develop the reources required to lower the cost for EVERYONE.
    I for one am not content to stand idly by worshipping his eminence, in the hope that some day I become poor enough to merit his public dole.
    GET OUT OF THE WAY JOHN!

    • However, I don’t see anything that tells me what the market has done to fix the situation except…raise prices even more!

      <

      p>Why don’t you toss some links and facts out here instead of just sarcasm and nastiness and hot air?

      <

      p>If you have specific market solutions that you can point to, then maybe some of us will decide to look at your information and decide if your original snark was meaningful or just pure pettiness.

      <

      p>As it stands right now.  You’ve got zero.  Zero facts.  And you have no information in your post that shows that the Republicans or anyone else has done anything else to improve the situation.

      <

      p>Hell, you don’t even bother posting facts about how Kerry is in the way.

      <

      p>Tell you what…I won’t hold my breath waiting for your facts and verifiable links.  

      • If it were my choice and I had some oil I wouldn’t prohibit using it. Just doesnt seem like a good plan to get costs down.
        If it were my choice and I had the technology to build nuclear power plants, I would join the rest of the world in doing so, rather than importing oil from Arabs to fight wars to prevent others from … building nuclear power plants.
        If it were my choice …
        But alas its not … its Kerry’s.
        Must be time for a speach, I can feel the breeze kicking up …

        • Hey..would you chose to build your home or live and work near those nuclear plants?

          <

          p>If it were your choice to support nuclear plants then what would you do with the nuclear waste?

          <

          p>Are you willing to have them bury the nuclear waste in your backyard? Are you willing to allow the nuclear waste to accidentally leak into your drinking water?  Are you willing to have the cattle eat the grass near any nuclear waste dump sites?

          <

          p>So where’s your links on safety of nuclear wastes?

          <

          p>Oh..and btw…have you ever heard of Chernobyl?  

          <

          p>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C…

          <

          p>

          The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear reactor accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union. It was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history and the only instance so far of level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, resulting in a severe release of radioactivity into the environment following a massive power excursion which destroyed the reactor. Two people died in the initial steam explosion, but most deaths from the accident were attributed to fallout.

          On 26 April 1986 at 01:23:44 a.m. (UTC+3) reactor number four at the Chernobyl plant, near Pripyat in the Ukrainian SSR, exploded. Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area. Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.[1]

          The plume drifted over extensive parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, and eastern North America. Large areas in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. According to official post-Soviet data,[2] about 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus.

          snip

          The 2005 report prepared by the Chernobyl Forum, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO), attributed 56 direct deaths (47 accident workers, and nine children with thyroid cancer), and estimated that there may be 4,000 extra cancer cases among the approximately 600,000 most highly exposed and 5,000 among the 6 million living nearby.[4] Although the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and certain limited areas will remain off limits, the majority of affected areas are now considered safe for settlement and economic activity.[5]

          <

          p>Or ever hear of Three Mile Island

          <

          p>

          On an island 10 miles from Harrisburg Pennsylvania resides the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station. There are two reactors at the plant, dubbed Unit 1 and Unit 2. One of them is inoperable. Unit 2 experienced a partial reactor meltdown on March 28, 1979. A partial nuclear meltdown is when the uranium fuel rods start to liquefy, but they do not fall through the reactor floor and breach the containment systems. The accident which occurred at Unit 2 is considered to be the worst nuclear disaster in US history. Why did it happen? There are many reasons for the accident, but the two main ones are simple human error and the failure of a rather minor valve in the reactor. In the following paragraphs, we will explain how it was possible for the accident to happen and both its psychological and physical effects on the American people.

          The accident at TMI (Three Mile Island) began at about four in the morning with the failure of one of the valves that controlled coolant flow into the reactor. Because of this, the amount of cool water entering the reactor decreased, and the core temperature rose. When this happened, automatic computerized systems engaged, and the reactor was automatically SCRAMmed. The nuclear chain reaction then stopped. This only slowed the rate at which the core temperature was increasing, however. The temperature was still rising because of residual heat in the reactor and energy released from the decaying fission products in the fuel rods.

          Because the pumps removing water from the core were still active, and a valve that controlled the cool water entering the core failed, water was leaving the core, but not coming in. This reduced the amount of coolant in the core. There wasn’t enough coolant in the core, so the Emergency Core Cooling System automatically turned on. This should have provided enough extra coolant to make up for the stuck valve, except that the reactor operator, thinking that enough coolant was already in the core, shut it off too early.

          There still wasn’t enough coolant, so the core’s temperature kept increasing. A valve at the top of the core automatically opened to vent some of the steam in the core. This should have helped matters by removing the hot steam, but the valve didn’t close properly. Because it didn’t close, steam continued to vent from the reactor, further reducing the coolant level. The reactor operators should have known the valve didn’t close, but the indicator in the control room was covered by a maintenance tag attached to a nearby switch. Because the operators didn’t know that the valve had failed to close, they assumed that the situation was under control, as the core temperature had stopped rising with the first venting of steam from the core. They also thought that the coolant had been replaced in the core, because they didn’t know that the pump outlets were closed. A few minutes later the core temperature began to rise again, and the Emergency Core Cooling System automatically switched on. Once again, an operator de-activated it, thinking the situation was under control. In reality, it was not.

          Soon, because of the coolant lost through the open valve at the top of the reactor, the core temperature began to rise again. At this point the fuel rods started to collapse from the intense heat inside the core. The operators knew something was wrong, but didn’t understand what it was. This was about 5 minutes after the initial valve failure. It took almost 2 hours for someone to figure out that the valve releasing steam at the top of reactor hadn’t closed properly. During those 2 hours, precious coolant continued to be released from the reactor a meltdown was underway. At approximately 6AM, an operator discovered the valve at the top of the core was open and closed it.

          During the day hydrogen gas began to accumulate inside the reactor and caused an explosion later in the afternoon. This explosion did not damage the containment systems, however. Two days later, the core was still not under operator control. A group of nuclear experts were asked to help evaluate the situation. They figured out that a lot of hydrogen gas had accumulated at the top of the core. This gas could have exploded, like the explosion on the first day of the accident, or it could have displaced the remaining coolant in the reactor, causing a complete nuclear reactor meltdown. No one really knew what to do about the hydrogen build-up. A hydrogen recombiner was used to remove some of the hydrogen, but it was not very effective. However, hydrogen also dissolves in water, which is what the coolant was composed of. Thus, over time the hydrogen that had collected at the top of the core completely dissolved in the coolant. Two weeks later the reactor was brought to a cold shutdown and the accident was over.

          No one was directly injured as a result of the accident. However, some radioactive gas and water were vented to the environment around the reactor. At one point, radioactive water was released into the Susquehanna river, which is a source of drinking water for nearby communities. No one is really sure what effects these radioactive releases might have had on people living near the power plant.

          http://library.thinkquest.org/…

          <

          p>And what’s the life of nuclear waste?

          Spent fuel is highly radioactive and needs to be handled with great care and forethought. However, spent nuclear fuel becomes less radioactive over
          time. After 40 years, the radiation flux is 99.9% lower than it was the moment the spent fuel was removed, although still dangerously radioactive.[43]

          Spent fuel rods are stored in shielded basins of water (spent fuel pools), usually located on-site. The water provides both cooling for the still-decaying fission products, and shielding from the continuing radioactivity. After a few decades some on-site storage involves moving the now cooler, less radioactive fuel to a dry-storage facility or dry cask storage, where the fuel is stored in steel and concrete containers until its radioactivity decreases naturally (“decays”) to levels safe enough for other processing. This interim stage spans years or decades, depending on the type of fuel. Most U.S. waste is currently stored in temporary storage sites requiring oversight, while suitable permanent disposal methods are discussed.

          As of 2007, the United States had accumulated more than 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors.[54] Underground storage at Yucca Mountain in U.S. has been proposed as permanent storage. After 10,000 years of radioactive decay, according to United States Environmental Protection Agency standards, the spent nuclear fuel will no longer pose a threat to public health and safety.[citation needed]

          The amount of waste can be reduced in several ways, particularly reprocessing. Even so, the remaining waste will be substantially radioactive for at least 300 years even if the actinides are removed, and for up to thousands of years if the actinides are left in.[citation needed] Even with separation of all actinides, and using fast breeder reactors to destroy by transmutation some of the longer-lived non-actinides as well, the waste must be segregated from the environment for one to a few hundred years, and therefore this is properly categorized as a long-term problem. Subcritical reactors or fusion reactors could also reduce the time the waste has to be stored.[55] It has been argued that the best solution for the nuclear waste is above ground temporary storage since technology is rapidly changing. The current waste may well become a valuable resource in the future.

          <

          p>There’s not even sufficient documentation of safe disposal

          <

          p>

          The issue of disposal methods for nuclear waste was one of the most pressing current problems the international nuclear industry faced when trying to establish a long term energy production plan, yet there was hope it could be safely solved. A recent research report on the Nuclear Industry perspective of the current state of scientific knowledge in predicting the extent that waste would find its way from the deep burial facility – back to soil and drinking water (such that it presents a direct threat to the health of human beings – as well as to other forms of life) is presented in a document from the IAEA (The International Atomic Energy Agency) – which was published in October 2007 This document states “The capacity to model all the effects involved in the dissolution of the waste form, in conditions similar to the disposal site, is the final goal of all the research undertaken by many research groups over many years. As we will see in this report, this kind of investigation is far from being finished” [1]. In the United States, the DOE acknowledges much progress in addressing the waste problems of the industry, and successful remediation of some contaminated sites, yet also major uncertainties and sometimes complications and setbacks in handling the issue properly, cost effectively, and in the projected time frame.[2] In other countries with lower ability or will to maintain environmental integrity the issue would be even more problematic.
          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R…

          <

          p>

          How does nuclear waste get to you?

          The planet’s water cycle is the main way radiation gets spread about the environment. When radioactive waste mixes with water, it is ferried through this water cycle. Radionuclides in water are absorbed by surrounding vegetation and ingested by local marine and animal life. Radiation can also be in the air and can get deposited on people, plants, animals, and soil. People can inhale or ingest radionuclides in air, drinking water, or food. Depending on the half life of the radiation, it could stay in a person for much longer than a lifetime. The half life is the amount of time it takes for a radioactive material to decay to one half of its original amount. Some materials have half-lives of more than 1,000 years!

          snip

          According to a report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, it will take 3 million years for radioactive waste stored in the United States as of 1983 to decay to background levels. So, presently, the only solution is to store the waste in a place so that the environment won’t be contaminated.

          <

          p>Oh yeh…so I guess you think Kerry should get out of the way so that the nuclear industry can poison our families.

          <

          p>Like this:

              • Furthermore, I have family members who have studied nuclear physics as well and worked on nuclear submarines.  And I showed them you’re graphic art.  They want to know where you studied science so that they can make sure their kids don’t go to that school too.

                • Know how I could tell? Becuase you cant keep your replies under a thousand words, a lot like your mentor John Kerry, when in doubt baffle them with bullsh*t. Who has time to read all that crap?
                  Well brainiac, I am a mere chemical engineer with 35 years in the field. Obviously my limited knowledge pales in comparison to your well rounded self so could you tell us again the relevance of Chernobyl, a work of art created by a corrupted communist regime, or 3 mile island, our worst nuclear disaster, where the death toll was … zero and the injury count was … zero.
                  Hmm ….
                  I await your heated reply.

                • Obviously my limited knowledge pales in comparison to your well rounded self so could you tell us again the relevance of Chernobyl, a work of art created by a corrupted communist regime, or 3 mile island, our worst nuclear disaster, where the death toll was … zero and the injury count was … zero.

                  <

                  p>well I never studied nuclear physics, but what you’re telling me is that there have been more deaths from bear attacks than nuclear accidents in the US?

                • I personaly do not know any bears to judge their temperment by, but what is really scary IMO are rabid racoons. I tremble just imagining that there might be some lurking in the shadows ….
                  Did you hear that? What was that sound?

                • Furthermore, you’re smart enough to realize that the actions our government took after Chenobyl and after the 3 mile Island scare offered more protections against nuclear accidents.

                  <

                  p>Those two incidents changed the haphazard way the nuclear industry was regulated.

                  <

                  p>Furthermore, though immediate deaths were not caused there were long term consequences and whole towns of people getting cancer many years later.

                  <

                  p>So why don’t you quit the bullying games and instead do a bit of research.

                  <

                  p>Or do you just buy into fake science like the current administration does?

            • You didn’t even bother posting facts or links.

              <

              p>So I won’t bother wasting my time asking if you’re being compensated.  There’s a saying, “You get what you pay for…”  Well, in your case…you gave nothing, I’m sure you’re getting paid nothing.  OR, if you are getting paid, then your employer is getting ripped off.

    • Massachusetts residents who heat their homes with natural gas or oil could end up paying nearly $1 billion more this year than they did in 2007, about a 30 percent increase, according to a University of Massachusetts report set to be released today.

      <

      p>”It’s a tremendous amount of money out of people’s pockets,” said Robin Sherman, the report’s lead author. “People can cut back on [heating] to some extent if it gets too expensive, but there’s obviously a floor beyond which they can’t go to keep themselves in their homes without freezing.”

      <

      p>The increase will have an especially dramatic impact on the nearly 1 million households that are heated with oil, which now sells for about $4.70 a gallon, up from $2.59 a year ago, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

      <

      p>Heating costs are expected to keep rising, the report says. The state’s average household oil bill next year could top $3,000, according to the report by the UMass Donahue Institute, a university think tank. All told, consumers can expect to spend $4.45 billion for gas and oil heat in 2009 – a $469 million increase from 2008.

      <

      p>http://www.boston.com/business…

      <

      p>People are going to die this winter from the current free market’s greedy profit-making grab.  So, since you’re our resident Republican, tell me what the Republicans are doing to make sure people don’t die while the CEO’s rake in more money?

    • to married couples, how is this relevant?

      <

      p>There is NO bill in the US Senate on which Kerry has voted any way other than the way you would choose. There is NO chance of a bill in the future where he would.

      <

      p>So, for an issue where Kerry changing his position to exactly yours would not impact a single vote, you feel it reasonable to bring this issue up constantly? He was endorsed by the Bay State Stonewall Democrats because of his excellent record.

      <

      p>I have yet to hear ANYTHING that O’Reilly or Beatty have done either in their careers or as activists that demonstrates why they could be decent Senators. Senator Kerry is among the  dozen most influential.

    • assuming the final environmental reports are positive. Waiting for the reports, while sounding otherwise enthusiastic – as he did on the conference call that bloggers reported here a few months ago, is a sensible positive position. His opponent was the one who was against it earlier in the year.

      <

      p>This will be one of the first large offshore projects, if it goes well, I would assume it will be copired elsewhere. If it fails, it will be a setback for other projects being approved. For that reason alone, it is a very good idea to do the planning as well as it can be done. Even with the best planning, there will likely be difficulties to overcome – but eliminating those that can be forseen is simply prudent.

  3. of why we should all be working to put MORE Democrats in Congress.

    <

    p>Cloture vote on Sanders’ bill for LIHEAP funding, needed 60 to go to a vote on passage, only got 50.  Take a look at the rogue’s gallery of nay votes. (Note that Harry Reid voted against cloture as Majority Leader so that he can bring the bill up for consideration again. Had there been 59 other aye votes, he would have voted aye also, to pass cloture and proceed to the vote on the bill.)

Archives