In the US, liberals frequently point at European countries as examples of how far behind we are in our social and environmental ways. Well, they are indeed far ahead of us when it comes to use of nuclear power, which has proven very safe and efficient. Yet here we are, with vast spaces and resources completely capable of supporting a wide network of nuclear energy facilities , caught up in arguing about what to do with the spent fuel rods. We have a perfectly legitimate way of reducing greenhouse gases ans lowering the cost of electricity, and yet it doesn’t appear to be a major item on the US climate change agenda. Adding two new reactors is a pittance, hardly even worth the mention. Why? If the Obama administration is so intent on curbing climate change, why is an obvious and proven means of doing so scrapped or poorly funded and yet the unproven cap and trade scheme is so top of mind?

I hate when car manufacturers do this. Yes, it’s cool to see but then they say it won’t be available for at least 10 years. I think that’s so we have enough time to forget about it all the while they are receiving press for it today. Why does it have to take so long to come to fruition? Just go ahead and build it! Oh, yeah, this is GM we’re talking about. Same old company, same old-fashioned, bureaucratic way of doing things.

All across the country, we continue to see stories like this one. Scrap prices are up and the availability of scrap is low. With manufacturing having taken such a blow during the recession, the inflow of scrap iron has dropped off dramatically from a couple of years ago. The question is, then, how long will this shortage last? The easy answer is to say “until manufacturing picks back up.” The tougher answer is trying to predict when that will be. What do you think? How soon will we see higher levels of manufacturing and thus a larger supply of scrap?

Applause goes to Walmart for trying to do it’s part to become more environmentally responsible. The goal to cut 20 million tons from its carbon footprint is admirable. You just have to wonder what tactics it will use to accomplish this goal. It’s common knowledge that it isn’t easy for suppliers to negotiate with Walmart. In their drive to keep costs low for its customers, it constantly requests price concessions.  Again, while admirable, one has to consider what this will mean to its supplier base. What other cuts/shortcuts will suppliers have to take in order to afford to remain a supplier as they help Walmart achieve its environmental goals? Hopefully, Walmart will see it as a duty to subsidize those suppliers in making the necessary changes instead of just dropping them if they don’t make the changes because they can’t afford to.

Bloom Energy recently unveiled its new BloomBox – a solid oxide fuel cell that uses no precious metals or corrosive acids and doesn’t use combustion as it turns carbon-based or bio-based fuel into megawatts of electricity. This is certainly a marvelous breakthrough with a promising future. Those who are interested in energy solutions that don’t produce greenhouse gases should certainly sit up and take notice.