Saint John EDA, Green Party of Canada

This is a document authored by our Dr. Leland Thomas, Chairperson of the Saint John, New Bruswick EDA. It has been widely distributed locally and we though perhaps you might enjoy it.
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In recent weeks or months, we have begun to hear about a large increase in the price of uranium and an associated boom in uranium exploration. This claim staking frenzy has now hit parts of New Brunswick and people in the affected areas are rightly concerned about the effects on their land, air and water. If any of these claims turn out to be economically viable, we may see the visually ugly side of the health risks of nuclear power generation here in New Brunswick.

Most of us have become complacent about the nuclear generating station at Point Lepreau. Unlike many of the industrial plants around Saint John it doesn’t spew clouds of steam and smoke, it doesn’t fill the air with visible fumes or discharge visible waste into the surrounding bodies of water.
What we don’t see, however, is the accumulation of waste products from the nuclear reactions taking place. One of these by products is plutonium, which can be used in the production of nuclear weapons and a half-life of approximately 24,000 years. After 50 years of commercial electrical power generation in North America neither the U.S. nor Canada have found a safe or
secure method of storing this waste for the many thousands of years required. At present the nuclear waste at Point Lepreau is being stored in water bath on site. Besides the waste disposal issue the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a serious international issue. Once a country obtains a nuclear reactor there is little to stop a regime from pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Just look at the concern being raised over the nuclear programs of
North Korea and Iran.

Further, the present generation of nuclear reactors need Uranium 235 to operate. This isotope makes up less than 1% of uranium ore. The price of uranium is rising because, like fossil fuels, the resource is limited and non-renewable. Building more of the present fission reactors will not
solve our long-term energy problems. Oddly enough, the long-term solution to our energy problems lies in a large fusion nuclear reactor safely located some 93 million miles away. This reactor requires no maintenance and has
operated reliably for several billion years and is expected to continue to do so for several billion more years. This reactor is, of course, the sun and it has supplied virtually all the energy needed to support life on earth. Wind power, waterpower and even the fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) are all energy forms derived from the sun. We must simply find better methods of
harnessing solar energy without releasing the carbon stored in fossil fuels. This can include both passive and active forms of solar energy to heat our homes, offices and factories, solar cells to generate electricity, hydro electric power, wind power and other forms of direct use of solar energy now being experimented with. It should also be noted that biofuels are a form of solar energy captured by photosynthesis.

In our area we also have the possibility of capturing the gravitational force of the moon by making use of the large tides and associated currents in the Bay of Fundy. We don’t need to pursue energy sources that create more problems than they solve. We need to pursue ways of harnessing these safe, non-polluting sources of energy.

Dr. Leland Thomas
Chairperson
Saint John EDA
Green Party of Canada
(506) 635-0514
(506) 635-4102
October 24, 2007