EPA Regulations Killing Clean Energy

In sharp contrast to the pro-nuclear energy rhetoric of the Administration, some nuclear power plant owners are considering shutting down their facilities. Exelon, owner of the New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, recently announced that it plans to close the plant 10 years early because of EPA regulations aimed at reducing the environmental impact of plants' cooling water intake systems.

Currently, Oyster Creek employs the accepted "best technology available"—based on a site-specific cost-benefit analysis—and uses water from nearby Barnegat Bay to cool the reactor. This is no longer good enough for regulators. The EPA's revision of Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act determines that the thermal discharge released into the Bay from this "once-through" cooling system is too damaging to organisms there. Oyster Creek would have had to install large cooling towers to accommodate the new rule, but spending eight years and $700–800 million simply did not make economic sense.

This latest mandate is costly to the American people and denies them a reliable source of clean energy. Further, it is unclear whether the EPA mandate achieves its alleged purpose of protecting the environment. Indeed, some have suggested that there are actually non-invasive species that thrive in the bay because of the warm water produced by Oyster Creek. Either way, ecosystems are resilient and are generally able to support natural biological quantity and quality with nuclear plant current cooling systems, as a Heritage Foundation article on New York's Indian Point power plant reported.

So what will replace the roughly 625 MW of electricity when Oyster Creek powers down? Wind and solar energy are unreliable, requiring backup when the wind stops blowing or the sun stops shining. Natural gas and coal are more expensive than nuclear, with costs of 5 cents per kilowatt hour and 2.97 cents per kilowatt hour to produce, respectively, compared to 2.03 cents for nuclear.

Interestingly, New Jersey is considering a bill that would guarantee utilities a minimum output price for constructing natural gas plants. But this is not a good idea. Electric Power Supply Association President and CEO John Shelk accurately states that subsidizing select energy sources affects the future market of all sources, and it could lead to higher prices in the end. Simply put, this mandate is wasteful and will cost consumers..

Such sweeping action by the EPA is clearly not the best solution. A good solution would:

• Allow for site-specific assessment of the best cooling system technologies. Cooling towers are suited to certain nuclear power plant sites, but not all. A site should be able to determine which system is best economically and thoroughly considers its environmental impact.
• Provide that alternative methods be employed that protect marine life. Technology such as underwater screens, barrier nets, and fish return systems are three such examples.
• Consider the economic impact on local communities. Both jobs and a significant amount of revenue are lost when a nuclear power plant shuts down. In the case of Oyster Creek, homeowners in the surrounding communities may experience a substantial property tax increase due to the decrease in revenue.
• Ensure that regulations actually accomplish their targeted environmental goal. If protecting the environment and marine life is the actual goal of a policy, the environmental effects of the policy in practice should be considered. Nuclear power going offline permanently or during a retrofit means that a more polluting energy source may take its place. In the latter scenario, no organisms would be saved during the construction phase of a cooling tower, for example.

Regulating an industry into decline, a situation this policy foreshadows, imposes undue electricity costs on consumers, does away with a perfectly dependable, emissions-free energy source, and dampens prospects for nuclear energy's growth. Representative Fred Upton (R–MI), the incoming chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, puts it well:

At a time when we are woefully unprepared to meet our nation's growing energy demands, we should be working to bring more power online, rather than shutting down plants.

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/15/the-epa-threat-to-existing-nuclear-power/

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Glenn Beck on Liberal Florida Shooter: “You Can Tell He’s Liberal Because He Can’t Shoot” (Video)

The far left Mediaite website was stunned today to hear that Glenn Beck had linked the liberal Florida school board shooter to liberal websites.

Mediaite reported:

While CNN viewers watched in horror as a disgruntled man opened fire on members of a Florida school board, at least one Fox News pundit was watching along. Glenn Beck took to his radio show to discuss the unfortunate events, and he did so in classic Beckian fashion. As usual, he began with Media Matters and twisted his way to the "satisfying story of the year" – the Florida shooter's supposed liberal leanings. "You can tell he's a liberal because he can't shoot," he said, whipping his audience into a cheerful frenzy.

It started with him shaming the "despicable people" of Media Matters, as well as the media in general, for painting "Tea Party people as violent." He stressed that impassioned people from either side of the aisle aren't "nut jobs," and that "Crazy" isn't partisan. But his admirable message took a turn when he began to politicize last night's shooting. His co-host took the floor to say:

According to the Blaze.com, Clay Duke, the man who opened fire on a Florida school board Tuesday, posted a "last testament" on Facebook decrying the wealthy and linking to a slew of progressive sites including… Media Matters!

Beck, of course, chimed in to exclaim "Media Matters!" along with his wingman. Anyway, this all stemmed from Clay Duke's Facebook page, which lists Media Matters, Warren Buffet, and theprogressivemind.info as some of his interests.

More… The Blog Prof has more on this liberal shooter.

http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2010/12/glenn-beck-on-liberal-florida-shooter-you-can-tell-hes-liberal-because-he-cant-shoot-video/

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Unbelievable… Democrat Asks For $48 BILLION EARMARK to Redistribute Wealth to Inner Cities

No, this is not a joke.
Liberal Representative Emanuel Cleaver has proposed a whopping $48 BILLION EARMARK that would redistribute wealth to the inner cities.

(CBC Blog)

The mother of all earmarks.
The Southeast Missourian reported:

Rep. Cleaver has proposed a $48 billion earmark
When absurdity gives way to hilarity, you must be talking about politics.

In the midst of a colossal global concern for the economic stability of our great nation, Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri's 5th Congressional District representative, has one small earmark on his wish list that deserves some attention.

Cleaver has listed a new earmark — one of several — and he promises to "fight for every one." But this is a whopping $48 billion package that must go down as the grandaddy of all earmarks.

Proposed by a gentleman named Lamar Mickens, president of the not-for-profit Quality Day Campus, the $48 billion earmark would funnel money into the inner cities to give money to the poor and thereby produce a much larger consumer class to buy the goods and services produced in this country.

Just call this redistribution on steroids.

Cleaver's office says this of the proposal:

"The Epicenter is a proposed estimated $48 billion (Phase One) mass scale urban reclamation project for combating, reducing, reversing and/or eliminating poverty within under served communities by utilizing mass scale economic redevelopment to bring about stability and self reliance.

Hat Tip Lee

You sure wouldn't wouldn't have heard this if you only followed the state-run media. They're too busy attacking Republicans for their hundred thousand dollar earmarks.

http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2010/12/unbelievable-democrat-asks-for-48-billion-earmark-to-redistribute-wealth-to-inner-cities/

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White House Whines, "How DARE They Read The Bill !"

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs blasted Senator Jim DeMint, R-SC for requesting that the START treaty be read out loud in its entirety before the senate debates and votes on the measure.Oral readings of bills are usually scrapped by lawmakers reaching a unanimous consent agreement. Reading the entire START treaty  could take around 12 hours as the Senate tries to wrap up its business before Christmas.

"This is a new low in putting political stunts ahead of our national security, and it is exactly the kind of Washington game-playing that the American people are sick of," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Gibbs noted that some senators – Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., most prominently -- have expressed "concern that the Senate doesn't have time to debate the Treaty," but DeMint "wants to waste 12 hours to read the text of a treaty that has been available to every member of the Senate and the public for more than eight months. This Treaty has been the subject of nearly 20 Senate hearings and 1,000 questions, and is supported by President George H.W. Bush, every living Republican Secretary of State, our NATO allies, and the military leadership of the United States of America. Every minute that the START Treaty is being read on the Senate floor increases the time that we lack verification of Russia's nuclear arsenal."

The White House press secretary called it "the height of hypocrisy to complain that there is not enough time to consider this Treaty, while wasting so much time reading aloud a document that was submitted to the Senate months ago."

Jim DeMint, said the moves were intended as a way to force lawmakers to slow down and learn what's actually contained within the legislation.

In case Gibbs and his progressive army has short term memory problems, there are a few good reasons why DeMint was asking for the treaty to be read. Like this: (if you cannot see videos below click here)



or this:



or even This:



During the past two years this congress passed an Stimulus, Cap and Trade and the first incarnation of the Obamacare bill ALL without reading the dammned thing.

A DeMint spokesman says that "despite repeated requests, the Obama Administration has refused to share the full negotiating record of the START Treaty with the Senate. ...The Senate needs to have a full debate next Congress over the weaknesses of this treaty that could seriously limit America's missile defenses that protect our nation and our allies."

Senate Republicans are also planning on forcing a reading of the omnibus spending bill. DeMint said in a statement that "President Obama and Democrats have apparently learned nothing from this November's election" as evidenced by the fact that the massive spending bill is "filled with thousands of earmarks …Democrats are intent on raiding every taxpayer dollar that they can grab from the Treasury on their way out of power."

DeMint should be commended for his action, as for the White House, they should Shut up and listen to the people.

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Gallup: Congress' Job Approval Rating - 13% - Worst in Gallup History

Gee. What could have possibly gone wrong? From Gallup via memeorandum:

Somewhere out there, George W Bush is laughing his head off.

The prior low approval rating for Congress was 14% in July 2008 when the United States was dealing with record-high gas prices and the economy was in recession.

The current results are based on a Dec. 10-12 Gallup poll, conducted as Congress is finishing work on an important lame-duck session. The session has been highlighted by the agreement on taxes forged last week by President Obama and Republicans in Congress. The tax deal preserves the 2001 and 2003 income tax rates for all Americans for two years, revises the estate tax, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed for a year, and reduces payroll taxes for American workers. It is expected to pass despite vocal opposition from some lawmakers.

Americans are generally more positive than negative toward the deal, but many Democrats in Congress oppose it.

Frustration with the tax deal among Democrats in the general population could be a major reason for Americans' historically low approval rating of Congress. That frustration could be opposition to the bill's particulars or frustration with the Democrats in Congress opposing the president's deal. Democrats' approval of Congress is down significantly, to 16% now, from 29% in November. The November poll was conducted after Republicans won control of the House of Representatives for 2011-2012 in the midterm elections, so the drop in this month's numbers is not a reaction to the Democrats' midterm losses.

The GOP better shape up and start serving the American people like we expect, or they'll be out on their rear ends too the next election cycle.

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/12/gallup-congress-job-approval-rating-13.html

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Predictable: Washington Post won't publish result of it's own poll showing ObamaCare tanking in popu

Well this was predictable: Amazing: WaPo Fails to Publish Own Poll on ObamaCare's Lowest Popularity Ever

A new ABC-Washington Post poll found ObamaCare sunk to its lowest popularity yet: 52 percent opposed, and only 43 percent in favor. ABC mentioned the poll without fanfare at the end of a Jake Tapper report on Monday's World News, and Tapper added this was the health law's "lowest level of popularity ever." But Tuesday's Washington Post reported not one sentence on the poll in the paper – even as they reported in the paper that the same survey found Obama's tax-and-unemployment-compensation deal has "broad bipartisan support."

This is the same Post that highlighted the news on Page One on October 20, 2009, when they found a "clear majority" in favor of a socialist "public option" -- amid charges they oversampled Democrats.

The numbers weren't excluded because they arrived late. The Post poll numbers went up on the website yesterday at about 1 pm, under the headline "Health care opponents divided on repeal." That obscured the numbers a bit, as Cohen found a "slim majority" (not a "clear majority"?) currently oppose ObamaCare:

Overall, 52 percent of those polled oppose the overhaul to the health care system, 43 percent are supportive of it. Fully 86 percent of Republicans are against the legislation; 67 percent of Democrats support it. Independents divide down the middle, with 47 percent in favor and the same number opposed.

Cohen made no mention of that phrase "lowest level of popularity ever." He did try to suggest that the individual mandate was wildly unpopular -- implying other parts of ObamaCare are still worth keeping:

Among the general public, the Kaiser poll showed 68 percent supportive of a repeal of the individual mandate. Of four core components of the health care law tested in the poll, the individual mandate was the one with the highest negatives, by far. Seventy percent of all those polled said they held an unfavorable view of the requirement that everyone carry insurance, including 52 percent who had "strongly unfavorable" opinions.

The omission of the new poll was so stunning, we double-checked. Obviously, the Post reported Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's win in federal court, with a ruling that found ObamaCare's individual mandate unconstitutional, but that story by Rosalind Helderman and Amy Goldstein never included Post poll numbers...

Shocked as hell, no? They won't report their own numbers! HT: memeorandum

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/12/predictable-washington-post-wont.html

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After asking Hollywood director James Cameron to help plug Gulf oil leak, Obama appoints singer Bon

Obama is not only incompetent, he stupid. And in that stupidity he is indeed creating a kakistocracy (a government run by the most unqualified among citizens). Indeed, Obama appropriately sits at the head of the kakistocracy. In the summer, he had Hollywood director James Cameron make suggestions to plug the Gulf oil leak: Top 10 suggestions James Cameron gave BP to stop the oil leak. And now our community organizer-in-chief is appointing Bon Jovi - a singer and nothing more. From the Politico via memeorandum: WHITE HOUSE APPOINTS JON BON JOVI

Actor. Poet. Musician. Performer. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi can now add one more title to his impressive resume: White House appointee.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the White House Council for Community Solutions, and Bon Jovi appears as one of the individuals appointed to the group.

"The Council will provide advice to the President on the best ways to mobilize citizens, nonprofits, businesses and government to work more effectively together to solve specific community needs," states the release.

"These impressive men and women have dedicated their lives and careers to civic engagement and social innovation," said Obama. "I commend them for their outstanding contributions to their communities, and I am confident that they will serve the American people well in their new roles on the White House Council for Community Solutions. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

So what exactly will Mr. Bon Jovi do? The White House has outlined three functions the Council is tasked with:

1.)" enlisting leaders in the non-profit, private, and philanthropic sectors to make progress on key policy goals"

2.) "providing strategic input and recommendations to help the federal government promote greater innovation and cross-sector collaboration"

3.) "honoring and highlighting those making a significant impact in their own communities"

The fact that Bon Jovi is a huge Democrat fundraiser had nothing to do with the decision. And let's ignore the fact that all he's done is sing and have lots of sex with flussies. Bill Clinton give Bon Jovi a 10-cigar top-rating. Just like our community organizer-in-chief, what we have here is an unqualified megalamaniac that fancies himself a god:

More from Michelle Malkin and Scared Monkeys

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/12/after-asking-hollywood-director-james.html

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"Stuxnet as Effective As Military Strike on Iran" Says Top German Computer Guru

According to a top Computer expert from Germany the Stuxnet virus which as been wreaking havoc on the Iranian nuclear program is just as effective as a military strike. Actually it is more effective,  it has set back Iran's quest for nuclear capability by at least two years which is the best that can be hoped for with a military strike, without all the "mess" and human suffering due to war.

Little by little scientists are beginning to understand Stuxnet a computer worm developed with the sole purpose of doing what sanctions were not able to do, slow down the Iranian march to nuclear weapons. During the past year, Stuxnet the computer worm with a biblical calling card, not only crippled Iran's nuclear program but has caused  a major rethinking of computer security around the globe (if you want to know how Stuxnet works click here)

"It will take two years for Iran to get back on track," Langer said in a telephone interview [with Jpost]  from his office in Hamburg, Germany. "This was nearly as effective as a military strike, but even better since there are no fatalities and no full-blown war. From a military perspective, this was a huge success."

Langer spoke to the Post amid news reports that the virus was still infecting Iran's computer systems at its main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and its reactor at Bushehr.

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, said that Iran had suspended work at its nuclear-field production facilities, probably as result of the Stuxnet virus.


Because it benignly hides in computers and back up systems,  some scientists have claimed that there is only one way of getting rid of the virus, throw out every computer involved with the Iranian nuclear program and get new ones, otherwise they will continually be re-infecting themselves. Langer agrees.

According to Langer, Iran's best move would be to throw out all of the computers that have been infected by the worm, which he said was the most "advanced and aggressive malware in history." But, he said, even once all of the computers were thrown out, Iran would have to ensure that computers used by outside contractors were also clean of Stuxnet.

"It is extremely difficult to clean up installations from Stuxnet, and we know that Iran is no good in IT [information technology] security, and they are just beginning to learn what this all means," he said. "Just to get their systems running again they have to get rid of the virus, and this will take time, and then they need to replace the equipment, and they have to rebuild the centrifuges at Natanz and possibly buy a new turbine for Bushehr."

It is unlikely that Iran would take the time (a year or more) to take that drastic step.

Widespread speculation has named Israel's Military Intelligence Unit 8200, known for its advanced Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities, as the possible creator of the software, as well as the United States.

No one knows for sure where the virus came from, but there is evidence that Israel is probably behind the Stuxnet worm, evidence of biblical proportions. If not Israel maybe the virus is a sign from God. Computer Scientists who are analyzing the computer worm have found a file name that seemingly refers to the Biblical Queen Esther, the heroine from the Book of Esther the Old Testament narrative in which the Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them (ancient Persia is today's Iran).


Langer said that in his opinion at least two countries – possibly Israel and the United States – were behind Stuxnet.

Israel has declined comment on its suspected involvement in the Stuxnet virus, as they traditionally decline to comment on any possible military action, whether they are involved or not. 

"We can say that it must have taken several years to develop, and we arrived at this conclusion through code analysis, since the code on the control systems is 15,000 lines of code, and this is a huge amount," Langer said.

"This piece of evidence led us to conclude that this is not by a hacker," he continued. "It had to be a country, and we can also conclude that even one nation-state would not have been able to do this on its own."

Last week we reported that Stuxnet was still damaging the computers running the Iranian nuclear computers.

How do we know? Because a US site that has been studying the Stuxnet worm has been inundated with requests for information from Iran:

Eric Byres, a computer expert who has studied the worm, said his site was hit with a surge in traffic from Iran, meaning that efforts to get the two nuclear plants to function normally have failed. The web traffic, he says, shows Iran still hasn't come to grips with the complexity of the malware that appears to be still infecting the systems at both Bashehr and Natanz.

"The effort has been stunning," Byres said. "Two years ago American users on my site outnumbered Iranians by 100 to 1. Today we are close to a majority of Iranian users."

He said that while there may be some individual computer owners from Iran looking for information about the virus, it was unlikely that they were responsible for the vast majority of the inquiries because the worm targeted only the two nuclear sites and did no damage to the thousands of other computers it infiltrated.

At one of the larger American web companies offering advice on how to eliminate the worm, traffic from Iran has swamped that of its largest user: the United States.

Perhaps more significantly, traffic from Tehran to the company's site is now double that of New York City.

Ron Southworth, who runs the SCADA (the Supervisory Control and Data Access control system that the worm specifically targeted) list server, said that until two years ago he had clearly identified users from Iran, "but they all unsubscribed at about the same time." Since the announcement of the Stuxnet malware, he said, he has seen a jump in users, but few openly from Iran. He suspects there is a cat-and-mouse game going on that involves hiding the e-mail addresses, but he said it was clear his site was being searched by a number of users who have gone to a great deal of effort to hide their country of origin.

Byres said there are a growing number of impostors signing on to Stuxnet security sites.

"I had one guy sign up who I knew and called him. He said it wasn't his account. In another case a guy saying he was Israeli tried to sign up. He wasn't."

The implication, he says, is that such a massive effort is a sign of a coordinated effort.

Who ever created the Virus, the fact that it has set back the Iranian nuclear program without requiring a military strike should earn them a massive bonus. No matter what country they come from.

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Not hard to see why this is the most unpopular Congress ever

The other day, Charlie Cook wrote in National Journal of House Democrats' resistance to the bipartisan tax deal: Here's a theory: House Democrats know their chances of recapturing the majority they just lost in two years aren't good and have decided, "What the hell." So yes, the House lame ducks are acting on a mandate that...

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BeltwayConfidential/~3/dfeGLKd65ro/not-hard-see-why-most-unpopular-congress-ever

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Bon Jovi appointment gives Washington a bad name

So this really happened: On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the White House Council for Community Solutions, and Bon Jovi appears as one of the individuals appointed to the group. "The Council will provide advice to the President on the best ways to mobilize citizens, nonprofits,...

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BeltwayConfidential/~3/U9rHLIobbQA/bon-jovi-appointment-gives-washington-bad-name

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