Of course life is nearly always hectic, so its nice to be able to kick back and relax from time to time. I recently collapsed into the easy chair and happened upon a documentary about the aftermath of the earthquake, the resulting  tsunami and the disastrous disabling and subsequent explosions at the Fukishima  Nuclear Power complex. What we have to deal with there is huge area that is basically taken out off the books as far as human habitation is concerned. A larger region might be amenable to clean up but at phenomenal cost. Another TV documentary dealt with the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl power plant. The program showed how the former industrial city's town square is not being slowly reclaimed by the surrounding forest and in particular how a series of wolf packs are now living in the region and apparently producing pups. That human exclusion zone around Chernobyl will be there for generations. Ironically, because of this moratorium on human activity the entire region has reverted to what is in effect a wildlife sanctuary albeit a flawed one. In the US the nuclear power industry had been on long decline after the Three Mile Island incident. There was a renewed interest in nuclear power up until the March 2011 Fukushima disaster and sequelae. Here in South Carolina there are plans afoot to expand the V.C. Summer nuclear plant on the Broad River in Fairfield County SC near Jenkinsville. The proposed expansion will take about 40 million gallons of water out of the Broad River PER DAY to use for cooling. Now the plan is to actually pump the water from what is currently the cooling  reservoir but the reservoir is filled from the river. On the Savannah River in Georgia the Vogtle nuclear power plant is planning expansion from two units to four. This will obligate additional water withdrawal from the Savannah river at time when interbasin water transfer in Georgia is being discussed to as to satisfy growth in the greater Atlanta region.  As Steve Willis reminded us at the April membership meeting, these two potential water removal projects fly directly into the face of the plans to dredge nearly forty miles of the Savannah river to "improve" shipping access for deeper draft ships. With less fresh water flowing to the sea, the saltwater intrusion up the watershed will increase. On top of all these contraindications for nuclear power are these considerations. As part of the process to build a nuclear powerplant, the sponsoring Utility company can begin charging increased rates to current power users right now. The Utility is guaranteed to be able to charge users sufficiently to make a profit. On top of all that you as a consumer are not even getting stock in the company and if at some point the utility decides not to go forward with the plant you the consumer still have to pay the rate increases to cover their debt. Now a friend of mine often says as she views life, 'what's the worst that can happen?'. If you examine Chernobyl and Fukushima you can  see the worst that can happen if there is a serious accident and you can examine your power bill to see how you are paying right now to take on the additional risks. Is it worth it to you? Is it worth it to your descendents?

Looking Ahead at Charleston's Port Deepening: A Panel Discussion

It’s often difficult to know with certainty how to place events into a proper perspective. A case in point is the proposed deepening of the Charleston ship channel from its present control depth to 50 feet. On the one hand Charleston has always been a fine harbor and commerce by sea has always been central to the human economy. So on the face of it you might think that making the rather narrow ship channel a mere 4% deeper would have minimal adverse effects. Further more if it helps commerce this might be enough to persuade you. As Sierrans we appreciate that most actions, when viewed narrowly can seem a good idea. After all who has not been tempted for a second helping at the supper table without consideration of the consequences. But it’s in our Sierran nature to discipline ourselves to take a broader view and to understand as many outcomes as possible for our public actions. You might also think that its all well and good look at both sides carefully but who has the time? And so, the Robert Lunz Group has gone to some effort to recruit a panel of experts to discuss with you various aspects of port deepening project. Our panel will include Dana Beach, Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation, Lt Col Edward Chamberlayne USACE Charleston District Commander, Jim Newsome Chairman and CEO of SC State Ports Authority and Steve Willis

from the Georgia Sierra Club. The discussion will be led by Steve Eames of the Coastal Conservation League. Here are some thoughts that occur to me and that I have read about. What happens if we do not deepen the channel? Will our transshipment tonnage drop grow or stay the same? Does EVERY port in the South East US have to be dug to the Panamax level? Its worth pointing out that deepening the Savannah River ship channel requires a bit shy of 40 miles of deepening compared to well under 10 miles for Charleston. There are substantial environmental risks to deepening the Savannah river. What about such risks for Charleston’s harbor? I want fishers of all ages to continue to harvest and safely consume fish, crabs and shrimp from our harbor. I trust that the waters of the harbor will remain swimmable throughout, that the manatees and dolphins remain and that the sturgeon will return. I hope that the historic forts of the harbor are not adversely impacted and I would like for Crab Bank to remain intact as a viable sea bird rookery whatever the outcome. There is plenty of intriguing political and legal activity going on as well. So watch the P&C daily for news, check out the background info on the USACE Project 45 web site, and plan to bring your thoughts and questions to ask the experts on Thursday April 5, 2012 to listen.